2 Books for World Theatre Day

Another post for World Theatre Day — seems the most appropriate day to plug these two swell indie theatre related books!

The first (as you may have noted from the above illustration) is Martin Denton’s Indie Theater Guy. From the late ’90s through the middle teens, Denton was part of the glue that held New York’s indie theatre scene together. I’m quite sure I wrote a blogpost here when he shocked us all by taking down his website in 2014, but now I can’t find it! At any rate, the stats of what he accomplished during those years of activity are amazing, thousands of reviews published, hundreds of plays anthologized. He is best described by one of the chapter headings in his new memoir “Citizen Journalist”. A CPA with a corporate background, he chose to use his inheritance to give something back to the art form that had given him so much pleasure throughout his life. I can’t pretend to be objective toward the book, because I’m in it. I first began writing for his website around 2000, the first person besides him to write a review for the site, and then was fortunate enough to get to host scores of podcast programs for him between 2006 and 2009, interviewing over 250 theatre artists. We even spent several months putting together a public access tv show, and produced 2 episodes. He published my play House of Trash, and reviewed many of my shows. I did some fundraising work for him. It was all very incestuous. As it should have been. His enterprise was very much at the hub of New York’s independent theatre community, what used to be called “off off Broadway”. I met dozens of good friends and colleagues through Martin, not the least of whom was Noah Diamond, a close collaborator on projects Marx Brothers related and not, ever since. In fact, I just realized that the last time I was in front of a mic with Martin, was with Noah plugging Marxfest in 2014! So Martin’s chronicle is an invaluable record of a period of incredible ferment. From what I can tell, the scene has languished in his absence. But to find out what you missed, get your copy here.

I’m also tardy in telling you about Sara Farrington’s recent book (released last year) The Lost Conversation: Interviews with an Enduring Avant-Garde. The folks profiled in this tidy volume are largely well-established folks in NYC’s avant-garde theatre scene. The interview I went to immediately of course was the one with Black-Eyed Susan, Charles Ludlam’s (biologically female) leading lady. Big fan! There’s also Maude Mitchell (who I worked with some in the late ’80s before she was a fancy shmancy OBIE winning hot shot!), La Mama’s Nicky Paraiso, Lola Pashalinski, Linda Chapman, Anne Bogart, Lee Breuer, Richard Foreman, Andre Gregory, Henry David Hwang. Eduardo Machado, Mac Wellman, Robert Wilson, etc etc etc! It’s quite the Who’s Who! Get yours here.