Farewell!

Over two years of shows, readings, and attempts at innovation have come to a close. Open Source Theatre Project has disbanded indefinitely. Many thanks to all the wonderful and brilliant collaborators I’ve had the good fortune to work with. Thanks to the venue owners and managers who have been so generous. And thank you to the audiences who taught me so much about theatre. This little engine that could was great while it lasted, but unfortunately unsustainable. I will hold dear my Open Source memories and colleagues.
– Eileen Tull

You can keep up with my Midwest adventures at eileentull.com.

We missed our own birthtday in preparation for FLESH! Happy Terrible Twos, Open Source!

Making FLESH Crawl

Hey Internet–

I’m trying to make some kick-a updates to the ol’ BarryEitel.com, many of which focus on Flesh, my latest project. We got postcards printed, a venue (the ubercool Motiv), some great actors, and a wicked script. It’s been a very challenging project and I’ve been learning a bucket-load about producing, but I think the finished product will be frickin’ awesome (a show about flesh-eating bacteria, and you can drink through the whole thing!).

Get some tickets and come down to lovely Santa Cruz. You won’t be sorry. I might even buy you a drink.

Have a blessed Tuesday evening,
Barry Eitel

FLESH coming to Motiv

You can RSVP on Facebook for all the updates and details of Flesh.

 

Cast and crew list coming soon!

FLESH

Flesh at the Santa Cruz Fringe Festival

Flesh, a new one act by Barry Eitel, will premiere at The Santa Cruz Fringe Festival this July at Santa Cruz’s hottest club, Motiv. Dates and casting to be announced soon!

Stay tuned, don’t get infected.

AULD LANG SYNE!

Hello, Internet Friends, and Happy New Year! A few of you (in places like Samoa) are already knee-deep in 2012.

We thought this would be a spectacular time to review what a terrific year 2011 was for us. Although most of the world saw spasms of revolution and economic woes, Open Source Theatre Project made some crucial progress. And now, 2011 in review (with some very sexy pics)……

APRIL, 2011: The Comfort Station Plays
The Comfort Station Plays was our most ambitious show to date, involving something like 20 people. We commissioned three playwrights (the talented Eileen Tull Benjamin Brownson, and Dusty Wilson) to write 10-minute plays, which were directed by three different directors (the talented Barry Eitel, Hannah Friedman, Kaitlen Osburn). Each play was set in the historic Comfort Station on Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square, Chicago. Also, each play was set in a different decade in the Comfort Station’s history (1918, 1933, and 1949). We had full houses every night, and the prologue (an interpretation of Carl Sandburg’s “Chicago”) was remounted for a preview of Theatre Seven‘s “The Chicago Landmark Project.”

With everyone’s help (cast, crew, and audience), Open Source added another chapter to the history of the Comfort Station.

Carl Sandburg's "Chicago"

Carl Sanburg's 'Chicago' peformed by Chris Lysy, Charlotte Mae Jusino, David Weiss, and Emily Bates

Emily Bates and Charlotte Mae Jusino deal with young love and Spanish Influenza

David Weiss celebrates the end of Prohibition

Ben Brownson solicits Leana Savoie

Outside the quaint Comfort Station

EVERYBODY HAD A WONDERFUL TIME!

LATE APRIL, 2011: STAGED READING of OEDIPUS REX by BARRY EITEL
Using the stream of Comfort Station Plays, we plowed right into a staged reading at the Oracle Theatre, Chicago. We did an original adaptation of Sophocles “Oedipus Rex” by Barry Eitel (a play currently being shopped around the Bay Area). We had nearly a dozen actors on one stage working through one of the best incest stories of all time. Cast and audience were over the moon with excitement.

Director Eileen Tull and Playwright Barry Eitel are heckled by the angry mob.

JUNE/JULY 2011: PARADIGM SHIFT
OSTP moved from Chicago, Illinois to Oakland, California. Although we were sad to leave our stomping grounds, we were excited to start panning for gold.

OCTOBER 2011: STAGED READING of REMAINDERS by EILEEN TULL (CALIFORNIA DEBUT)
It took mere months for us to cook up our next event, a staged reading of a new play by Eileen Tull (it’s about these two kids whose parents die and find themselves entangled with a greedy detective and a guilty butler). We gathered up some talented folks and put it up at the Good Shepherd in Berkeley, CA. We learned, we laughed, we reflected on ourselves.

Rehearsing though a particular heartfelt moment of 'Remainders'

NOVEMBER, 2011: OCCUPY THEATER GOES LIVE
In response to the worldwide Occupy Wall Street Movement (especially the wacky antics of Occupy Oakland), Eileen Tull wrote several short plays. She compiled them onto her website, Occupy Theatre (also hosted by our fabulous friends at WordPress). Though not directly under the domain of OSTP, Occupy Theatre was created in the same spirit of creating an open dialogue. Check it out and submit your own stuff (it doesn’t even have to be that good!).

THE FUTURE: HERE COMES 2012!!!!!!!!
What do we have planned? Lots of stuff!

We’re busy working on an adaptation of the first winner of Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Jesse Lynch Williams’ “Why Marry?“

Also, we’re putting up plans for an Open Source 24-Hour Theatre Extravaganza (coming summer 2012)!

Always, if you want to get involved, hang out, or hook up (in a platonic sense), just drop us a line at opensourcetheatreproject@gmail.com. Especially contact us if you have a cool idea that fits in with our mission.

The future is so bright, we’re already wearing shades. Here’s to 2012.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, INTERNET!

Sincerely,
-Barry Eitel and Eileen Tull
OSTP Co-Artistic Heads

Got a play?

Send it over to Occupy Theatre, a new blog by Eileen, where she hopes to spread the theatrical word and connect artists who are having an artistic response to the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Check it out and submit a play!

Occupying Theatre

As you may know, Oakland is being hella Occupied. The Occupy movement is gaining momentum, as hundreds of people continue to occupy public spaces in major (and non-major) cities across the world.

I feel that as artists, we are at a precipice in regards to responding to this movement. I have mixed feelings. I am, by very large definition, a product of the 99%. I come from a single income home and my father is a private high school teacher. We are a family of seven kids, and my parents have always made supporting their children a high priority, especially in regards to education. I could go on and on about how amazing and hard-working my parents are. But basically, my background is devoid of silver spoons. I have worked several minimum wage/just above minimum wage jobs since graduating from college. Given all this indulgent biographical information, it’s hard for me to connect to idea of Occupying. I went down to the Occupy Oakland camp for the first time today. Because I’ve been too busy to go down there for the last month. I know I’m kind of a product of the system, but I’ve always just thought to work very, very hard to achieve my goals (which, shockingly, do not include making obscene amounts of money. If you would like to give me obscene amounts of money, please do! But that is nowhere near my list of goals as a human being.) and by working hard, they will be achieved. This will not always be what I believe, as I do not currently have a family or a home or exorbitant bills, etc.  I understand there is unfairness. There are parts of this system that are designed so that people will fail.

I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t think the protesters know what to do about it. What I witnessed today at the camp was the societal wheel being reinvented. There were people reclaiming stolen property from fellow protesters. There was a public meeting that devolved into a screaming match when people didn’t get what they wanted (the meeting was a ‘discussion’ on whether or not to evict a fellow protester, a supporter of Mayor Jean Quan).

Not that it was all bad. And I think I came by at a lull in the day. There was a library. There was some amazing music. There were children dancing. There was a church service. There were some fascinating people. There was debate. There was organization. There was street art. I sat in Frank Ogawa Plaza reading the first scene of Waiting for Lefty by Clifford Odets. An already powerful play, the atmosphere of confused revolution made the subject even more arresting. Even as I type this, a police raid is rumored to be on the horizon. (The very short horizon. Be safe, Oakland.)

There are strides being taken by The Civilians in New York and The Triangle Lab here in Oakland. I want to take these further and start responding. Barry and I have both written a few pieces and so now we are in the process of putting them on their feet and taking it to the people.

THE CALL: We are looking for actors, performers, playwrights, musicians, artists, anyone who is having an artistic response to the Occupy movement (or if you just want to get together and read plays with Occupy-related themes). We are interested in different points of view. Email us at opensourcetheatreproject@gmail.com. Or converse with us on Twitter!

-Eileen

Tonight Only! A Play is Born!

Be there. Watch it happen.

Be a part of literary history and see the staged reading of Eileen Tull’s “REMAINDERS.” Two kids, lots of money, a greedy detective, and loads of intrigue.

7 PM. Wednesday, Oct. 12th. Good Shepherd Church, 1823 9th St., Berkeley, California.

Stay after for some cookies and one of our famously joyous talkbacks.

Thanks to the lovely Cheryl MacLean for the photo