A long-haired musician touring the U.S. with his own private Pullman car and an entourage–and also a political activist? What is it about music that speaks to people, and what is it about musicians that calls the public to take action against injustice? That’s what’s explored in The Paderewski…
What a strange journey it has been to get The Hotel Play on its feet–and what a five-ring circus it feels like every time the play is performed. First, going back to the making of the play, just getting seven playwrights in the same room at the same time for…
The timelessness of the plays of the Ancient Greeks is well-documented, but it still never ceases to amaze me that a play written 2500 years ago can continue to have resonance today. Actually, some of the plays of Sophocles, Euripides, Aeschylus, Aristophanes may have even more resonance in times of…
There’s so much that is thankless about being a playwright, so when two projects pop up on an electronic screen serving as a billboard, it creates a big moment of fun. Here they are–an ad for ANTIGONE X and an announcement about SEVEN, on the same screen at the same time at SDA.…
Something about the high desert haunts me–the low-lying scrub, the huge expanse of what looks like nothing but is actually teeming with life, and the mountains in the desert. And the story of Scheherazade from 1000 Nights has always haunted me too. Why should a young woman be under constant threat…
The new year brings all sorts of work with it–which is always good news. I always feel that it’s better to focus on what needs to be done, and then get it done, than to worry about what could have been. And for me, it’s best to be busy.…
Art and ideas–and being outdoors–makes a winning combination for the LA Public Art Biennial. Here’s a view of one magical moment, a panel on Water As Power, as viewed from the perspective of the arts, and science, and public policy, and Native American activists, attended by people who care and…
One of my favorite things is when art and politics and policy and science and caring for the earth all come together. So it’s a thrill for me to be a part of the Los Angeles Public Art Biennial 2016–CURRENT: LA. This year the topic is water. I’m…
Calling all lovers of theatre, ancient rites, modern rituals, spectacle, movement, music, fun! venus in orange has a brand new website–with excerpts from the script available for reading. venus in orange is a performance piece with movement and music, written by Paula Cizmar (that’s me) and Laura Shamas. Our unconventional play…
THE CHISERA will be performed on Earth Day, Friday April 22, as the first play in Mach 33: The Festival of New Science Plays. Directed by Arden Thomas, and part of a special Earth Day celebration that includes a sound artist from the Owens Valley, plus food trucks, and free…