673) I will argue [...] that the theatre is the natural art form of democracy; that it promotes a kind of thinking necessary to democracy; and that our leaders both of the left and right thereby have a stake in promoting it. By democracy I don't mean a liberal free-for-all of instant individual and group rights or the conservative establishment of unregulated capitalism. I mean a system of popular rule that implicitly values the individual's contribution to defining, legislating and regulating the common good. [...]

Consider the theatrical process. A group gets thrown together to put up a play. Over weeks of planning, weeks of rehearsal and weeks of performance, all the people in the group have to agree. This doesn't mean they have to like one another or refrain from shouting at one another. It doesn't mean they don't have political and philosophical or racial and religious differences. It doesn't mean there isn't a hierarchy of power, with anything from a nitwit to a proto-Facist at the top. It doesn't mean everyone's equal in talent. It means that all these people have to work together and negotiate decisions and delegate authority together, whether they like one another or not, in the interest of some agreed-upon better good, in this case a play.

Putting up a play is, in small, a civilizing process [...]

David Ives
playwright
"The Ancient Greeks Did It; Why Can't We?" in
Sunday New York Times Art & Leisure Section (2/26/1995)

674) Theatrical Logic

In is down, down is front;
Out is up, up is back;
Off is out, on is in;
and of course -
Right is left, and left is right.

A drop shouldn't and
A block and fall does neither.
A prop doesn't and
A cove has no water.

Tripping is okay;
A running crew rarely gets anywhere;
A purchase lie will buy you nothing;
A trap will not catch anything and
A gridiron has nothing to do with Football.
Strike is work (in fact, a lot of work) and
A green room, thank you, usually isn't.

Now that you're fully versed in
Theatrical Terms - "Break a Leg..."
But not really!

Circular frequently found on backstage call boards,
found at the Parker Playhouse Fort Lauderdale, Florida
(2/28/1995)

675)
I'm just your customary wretch
So who am I to kvetch
Eternity is stretching out before me

"My One and Only Shlemiel" (song, 1994)
lyrics by Arnold Weinstein
from Shlemiel the First (play, 1994)
musical based on the writings of Isaac Bashevis Singer
(including his play "Shlemiel the First"),
adapted by Robert Brustein
edited by David Gordon

676)
I lead my life respectfully,
And nobody respects me.
I do my job correctfully,
And everyone corrects me.

"Beadle With A Dreydl" (song, 1994)
lyrics by Arnold Weinstein
from Shlemiel the First (play, 1994)
musical based on the writings of Isaac Bashevis Singer
(including his play "Shlemiel the First"),
adapted by Robert Brustein
edited by David Gordon

677) Working with your family is a lot like working with your family, which is really a lot like having dinner with your family, which is like going on vacation with your family ... which is like ... hell. Everyone thought it would be wonderful, but we fought like cats and dogs.

Ain Gordon (2/95)
on working with his father, David Gordon,
and his mother, Valda Setterfeld,
on The Family Business (play, 1993)

Note: "3089/898" is the designation I've given to the project of posting all my collected quotes, excerpts and ideas (3089 of them) in the remaining days of the Bush administration (of which there were 898 left when I began).

As of today, there are 690 days remaining in the administration of the worst American President ever.