Theater Retreat = Shirtlessness

The past two weeks I have been in writing hell, trying desperately to finish a play that I was commissioned to write.  Unfortunately, I seem to find it harder to write plays that people actually pay me to write than writing plays for free.  This does not bode well for my playwriting career.  Luckily, I have some theater friends who boost me up when I am feeling low, two of whom are pictured above and one of whom is shirtless.  Happiness is shirtless theater.  Now I realize that my difficulty with my own play was probably largely due to the fact that there was no shirtlessness in it.  Hmmm...

So it's generally unusual for any play of mine to not at least make mention of male shirtlessness, but in those rare occasions that I write a shirt-ful play, I am grateful to know that there are other playwrights out there who keep working for the cause, like Adam Szymkowicz whose play, "Violent Bones," is pictured above.  I was lucky enough to be invited to the Flux Theater retreat a few weeks ago where a fantastic group of theater artists got together in the Pennsylvania countryside to workshop plays.  Not only did I get to work on two of my own plays, but I also got to participate in workshops of other plays including Adam's.  Just before this scene, the cast had some discussion of the shirtlessness and decided collectively that it was necessary to do for Adam to get the full experience of his own play, and actor Ryan Andes very kindly removed his shirt.  After that rehearsal, I explained the blog to Adam who assured me that he had several plays which featured male shirtlessness.  So brava to Adam, Ryan, and the lovely Anna Rahn who did some amazing stage sewing as well as concocting a whiskey-looking brew from iced tea and coffee that she and Ryan both drank on stage.  Thank you all for creating a space for male shirtlessness on retreat, something that I think all theater retreats should include.  And thank you to Isaiah Tanenbaum for catching this excellent shirtlessness with his wonderful theatrical photography.  If you'd like to catch more from Flux, check out their upcoming "Have Another" event this weekend which will feature excerpts of plays by me, Adam, and Nat Cassidy.  I can't promise shirtlessness there, but I can hope.  Until then, I continue to be...

Yours in shirtlessness,
Nandita
President
IMS