Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens this coming Monday, December 16: PLAYWRIGHT: FROM PAGE TO STAGE
Robert Levi’s chronicle of the development and staging of two new stage plays makes its debut on the popular ITVS supported PBS program.
Levi’s film focuses on two plays made possible by the NEA’s New Play Development Program, which supports emerging playwright, following the efforts of two grant recipients to realize their visions over three years. Cleveland’s Rajiv Joseph crafts an allegorical tale exploring the Iraq War, “Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo,” while Miami’s Tarell Alvin McCraney plumbs personal and cultural history to represent African American Louisiana in his “Brother/Sister Plays” trilogy. As their work takes shape, Levi reveals the intense collaborative process these young writers separately engage in, working with producers, directors, actors, and theatres to hone their plays before they make their debut, wrestling with controversial subjects and themes. Of the two, Joseph’s play garners more attention, attracting noted director Moises Kaufman and eventually heading to Broadway. The concessions and compromises needed to support such an endeavor, such as the necessity of recasting a key role with celebrity Robin Williams in order to draw audiences, offer insight on the practical, economic realities of the theatre world, while both writers’ journeys as a whole reveal the painstaking work that goes into the creative process, making it especially resonant for other artists and theatre fans.
what (not) to doc 