“Please,” I say, quietly and professionally, with only the barest, tiniest bit of desperation which could, at any moment, escalate to full-volume pleading.
Read More'BUFFER' by Xavier Cha premieres at 2017 Next Wave Festival
in Writing, Performance
I was privileged to work with Xavier Cha on her performance art piece BUFFER, which received its world premiered Nov 2 - 5 at Next Wave Festival 2017, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
Read MoreNew Short Play: 'Breaking Up Is Hard To Do'
in Playwriting
My short play, 'Breaking Up Is Hard To Do' (read an excerpt here), received a performance with actors Griffin DuBois and Morgan Zipf-Meister, as part of the Boog City Fest in the East Village.
Read MoreNew Play "Doug & Ava Say 'I Love You'" On Stage In Brooklyn
in Playwriting
My short play, "Doug and Ava Say 'I Love You'" featured in the 20th Annual Black Box New Play Festival 2017 hosted by The Gallery Players.
Read More"Buffer" by Xavier Cha →
in Playwriting
I recently collaborated on the script segment of BUFFER, an expansive performance art and dance piece by artist Xavier Cha. 'Buffer' is schedule to have its world premiere as a part of the 2017 Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Performance dates are Nov 1 – Nov 4 at 7:30pm.
Book your tickets here.
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Glenn Ringtved returns to NYC
Danish author Glenn Ringtved and I began the translation of “Cry, Heart, But Never Break” in 2011, following Glenn’s first visit to the US with his family—a trip that took them from New York to Los Angeles to Las Vegas to Northern California and back to NYC.
Read MoreDetox
I need to detox. Pull the plug out of the wall. Turn off MSNBC. Put the New York Times away unread. Step off the treadmill of the Daily Trump Show. (Has anyone ever taken up so much oxygen with so little to show?)
Read MoreThe Dystopian Oligarchy
There are also, of course, the many daily reminders that we live, increasingly in a Dystopian Oligarchy. Haven’t most people, at some point, worked in an organization—corporate or volunteer or otherwise? There are lessons to be learned from that work.
Read MoreBegging
in Writing
Jim was one of my best friends; I met him when he was begging. He had cerebral palsy, and when he sat in his chair, hands askew off clenched arms, head sometimes lolling back, legs dangling, he might have–until you caught the gleam in his eyes–seemed completely inert.
Read MoreHarold Pinter, A Dissertation
in Playwriting
Back in the Sixties (yes, I was there), I had a dissertation to write to satisfy the requirements for my master’s degree in theatre from the Catholic University of America. Through a process of elimination (Eugene O’Neil’s scenic designer Robert Edmond Jones had been taken) I wound up writing about the then-burgeoning British playwright Harold Pinter.
Read MoreDeath Sentences
The question should not be: Why is a college education important for Life Without Parole prisoners? The real question is: Why isn’t it important?
Read MoreThe Old Normal
Now is the time…
Sitting idle and feeling the simmering anger bubble and rage beneath the surface isn’t really doing it for me right now. On the street I’m working too hard to keep down my screams at the wrong-way bicyclists, the taxis hogging the pedestrian crossings, the double baby buggies taking up too…much…space. I feel myself turning into That Guy.
Read MoreThe Meaning of “Candide"
New York City Opera is attempting (so far with some success, I’m happy to report: I’ve been a big fan for years) to rise from the ashes of its recent self-immolation of bankruptcy in 2013.
Read MoreUnder Assault
I’m not a woman. But I’m still feeling as though I'm under assault. I didn’t realize that’s what it was until Ana Marie Cox on Lawrence O’Donnell’s show on MSNBC spoke of Trump’s assault of women and continued, almost off-handedly, that we’re all feeling assaulted. Because we’re powerless to stop it.
Read MoreOn "Indignation"
in Writing
I just began reading Phillip Roth’s Indignation, prompted by the film’s release reminding me that this novel was one I’d missed. I go way back as a Roth reader (college, Goodbye, Columbus—the short stories—then the excitement of his first novel, Letting Go), dropped out mid-way, picked him up again about five years ago. But had missed this one. And The Humbling. I double-ordered.
Read MoreNew Children's Picture Book: 'Cry, Heart, But Never Break'
"Cry, Heart, But Never Break" is a children's picture book about death written by Glenn Ringtved, illustrated by Charlotte Pardi, and translated into English by Robert Moulthrop.
Read MoreGuilty Pleasures 2: Books
in Other
But when the world is too much with (or without) me, when skies are drear, and soul’s mid-winter approaches, it’s time for the solid comfort of escape with an old friend. Here’s my list:
Where I Write
in Writing
Yes, of course, "the writing space"—used to be the Writers Room, now it’s Paragraph on West 14th Street. My friend Jack, commenting on my first blog, asked why I didn’t find a more congenial place to write, as it seemed like a long bunch of work to get here. It’s tough, yes. But for me, the quiet sound of other writers’ brains engaged, the quiet tap of computer keys, the occasional muffled cough, all are eager fuel to my fire.
Read MoreChristmas Behind Bars
As of 2013 there were 2,220,300 men and women in prison in the United States; approximately 50,000 are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole. At this Holiday Season, I wanted to share a few thoughts from those inside prison. The following thoughts are from letters I’ve received during 2015. - RM
Read MoreGuilty Pleasures 1: Movies
in Other
Some movies are terrific classics—but re-watching them is a bit like “eat your lima beans.”
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