NFX takes Gary Graves ASIDE
The Sad Truth: technology has decimated our attention spans.
Interesting: the etymology of "decimate" is the number 10.
Today we question Bay Area Theater legend Gary Graves with 10 questions to be asked and answered in 10 words or less.
We call it an ASIDE: Attention Span Is Decimated Exercise.
Gary's theater company Central Works is staging their 71st consecutive world premiere at the City Club of Berkeley: The Dignity Circle runs through July 30th.
(Click here to buy tickets and here to join us for a post-show discussion.)
How many world premieres are enough, Gary?
One. Hundred.
Fantastic. You have a PhD in Theater from Berkeley....why?
Deal with the devil. I traded writing&directing for a dissertation.
What was your dissertation about?
The Bohemian Grove theatrics.
What?
I was smuggled in by the Bohemian Grove Action Network.
*Shakes Head, Letting That Go Because Of The Self-Imposed 10 Word Thing, Which Now Seems Silly*
You've written five plays about Machiavelli. Why?
I'm madly in love with Italy, the Renaissance, and history.
Are you Machiavellian?
No.
I hope you know that's a Machiavellian answer.
Best kitchen sink drama in your opinion?
True West. What? It has a kitchen sink!
Most underrated playwright? Why?
I think Peter Barnes. He did Ruling Class.
Best advice for a playwright starting out?
Have an idea for the ending before you start.
What 1980s Berkeley Institution do you miss most?
The Berkeley Shakespeare Festival in Hinkel park.
The amphitheatre upon completion, 1934 (photo: Berkeley Recreation Department Annual Report, 1934–1935, Institute of Governmental Studies Library, U.C. Berkeley) Best playwright for a budding theater director?
A dead one.
NFX Co-founders Mike and Ipsheeta met in Gary's playwright development program at Central Works.
If our eponymous Network has a hub, it's him.
We thank Gary, and remind you that The Dignity Circle runs through July 30th.
(Click here to buy tickets and here to join for a post-show discussion.)