Shaky Heart Feeling

“your heart does three things:

expands

rests

contracts.”

                                     –lisa sokolov

 

it’s that shaky heart feeling

 

when something is being unasked, skated over 

there’s the water and i haven’t put my toes in it

because because because then my toes will dive and there goes all will to stay afloat.

how soothing the water will feel

yet i anticipate the shattering cold.

 

you can only breathe so deep when your diaphragm is battling to hover.

 

i built myself a window screen the other day.

preparing for the mad heat,

i refuse to be eaten alive, not again.

 

measurements and hacksaws, 

testing, cheating when my measurements are off

with just a little nubbin left over.

mechanics. alone.

 

getting to know the wood.

shredding aluminum

pressing in the mesh.

 

i said

“god, i am free at last.”

 

lay me down by that window

breathing in the fresh air

crossing a threshold

 

dear air, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(some white space is important here.)

 

By Sophia Treanor

The Journeyman Years

Written by NOAH SHALOM

Journeymen. I am one of them. It took me a while to realize that I am in the middle of my journeyman years. I’m not exactly sure when I am coming out of them (I’d like to think within the year). Lots of us are in what I am referring to as ‘The Journeyman Years’, a time full of couches, parents, grandparents, fluctuation, dependence, and nothing to put in the permanent address line. Just know friends, many of us are wading in the Journeyman Years.

 

Here. A poem. Written by a successful person. Mr. (         ):

 

 

 

I’ve gotten off the caravan,

And the camels wasted no time galloping back towards where I came from,

Without me.

There is no schedule for caravans.

No lists with times stamped in columns,

No attendant to answer inquiries.

Nothing can tell you when the next caravan is coming

To take you back the way you came.

 

But—there are signs.

Signs, that one is on the horizon, perhaps.

No such signs exist now, but that is only to be expected.

So here I travel on foot,

Marching on with a faint guiding beat stretching out my legs in some rhythm.

The native people here don’t seem to regard me as one of them.

This excites some, and annoys others,

But I must keep bobbing along regardless.

 

Bobb Bobb Bobb Bobb Bobb.

Headache.

Bobb Bobb Bobb Bobb Bobb Bobb Bobb.

 

I hear there is an inn somewhere nearby,

For resting.

Resting is good, almost sufficient.

But it doesn’t bring home the caravans.

No, you need something more akin to an oasis.

Then the Caravans come.

And take you back.

 

Lots don’t take the Caravans.

In fact, the Caravans already picked them up,

And brought them to their final destination.

Here.

Me though, I need another Caravan.

 

It is possible to follow the trails of the Caravans back the way I came,

But then I will end up exhausted,

Dehydrated,

And with little of my shoes remaining on my feet.

Not a way to travel back to where I came from.

No, I need a Caravan.

 

 

P.S. MPR’s New Play!

Hi Everyone, 

MultiPurposeRoom is at it again: another summer will be spent developing a new play. Previously known as The Untitled Work/Dream Documentary Play (a self-admitted terrible title), the play is now called:

P.S. The World Is Ending This Friday.

It is a play that attempts to capture our generation’s version of The American Dream. 

It is a play that questions what money can buy … and what it can’t.

It is a play that asks: “If you had all the money in the world, what would you do?”

We are in a funny time. And our generation is in a funny place. We are all searching for the golden ticket in a modern Willy Wonka world. Stay tuned for a workshop of our new play in early Fall 2012, with performances and writing by Logan George, Molly Gillis, Alex Milak, Tess Niedermeyer, Will Seefried, Noah Shalom, and Nick Smerkanich.

New WEBSITE!

MultiPurposeRoom has moved to a new home!

For up-to-date information about the company, visit us at:

 

www.mprplays.com

 

Thank you for your interest and support!

You’re Invited To: THE BIRTHDAY PARTY Celebration of the Century!

Dear Friends of MPR:

The first thing you should know is TICKETS are on sale NOW! You can reserve your ticket online by clicking here. Tickets are ONLY $10! Remember we have ONLY 6 PERFORMANCES so get your tickets early to reserve your seat!

We are heading into our final rehearsals before we Load-In at the Theater at the 14th Street Y and this play is getting the whole company excited. We hope our production of The Birthday Party will entertain and terrify you. Consider this your invitation to what is sure to be the CRAZIEST birthday party of your life.

This play is made up of a series of games and is greatly inspired by Michael Haneke’s horror film, Funny Games. The Birthday Party is a menacing play about Stanley Webber, a young man with a big secret, who lives with a young married couple, Meg and Petey. At first everyone wakes up to a typical morning routine of reading the newspaper, eating breakfast, and seemingly meaningless conversation. But Pinter’s Pauses tell a different story. (Pause.) And with the entrance of “two gentlemen” who wish to stay the night and throw Stanley a party for his birthday, the rules of the game change. Be prepared to question everything you think you understand about these people.

THE CAST

Stanley: Logan George

Meg: Alex Milak

Goldberg: Noah Shalom

McCann: Peter Graham

Petey: Nick Smerkanich

Lulu: Molly GIllis

THE PRODUCTION TEAM

Directed By: Will Detlefsen

Assistant Directed By: Teri Madonna

Stage Managed By: Carolyn Cutillo

Dramaturgy By: A.P. Andrews

Set Design By: Charlie Gaidica

Light Design By: Sarah Lurie

Sound Design By: Ryan Maeker

Media Design By: Alice Fiedler

Costumer Design By: Ramsey Scott

Props Design By: Michael Norton

Fight Choreography By: Mitchell McCoy

MPR Executive Director: Lauren Noble

MPR Marketing Director: Vanessa Koppel

MPR Social Media Director: Alexandra Pike

Logan George, Noah Shalom, & Peter Graham in rehearsal for the Interrogation Scene of Pinter’s “The Birthday Party,” opening February 18th, 2012.

MPR Seeks an Intern!

Hello!

MultiPurposeRoom Seeks an Intern!

Have you ever had any interest in starting or being a part of a theatre company? This is a great opportunity to experience what it might be like. MultiPurposeRoom is a theatre company made up of 13 Artists that has been producing and devising theatre in New York City since 2010. In February of 2012 the company will perform Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party at the Theater at the 14th Street Y and in Spring of 2012 we will begin rehearsals for our next devised project currently titled The Work/Dream Documentary Play. 

MultiPurposeRoom is looking for help in development, fundraising, publicity, and production support. Because we will have two full-length productions happening in the first half of 2012, we are looking for someone who can commit to the next 3-6 months for an average of 6-8 hours per week working directly with the Artistic Director. Experience in Excel, Photoshop, Web Design, and Fundraising are a plus, but it is not necessary to apply. Mostly we are looking for someone eager and interested in the passion behind creating theatre.

Email Will Detlefsen if you are interested atMPRplays@gmail.com

2011 in review

 

Here’s an excerpt:

A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 3,700 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 3 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.