By Kristopher Karcher
Sometimes in life we all can be caught up in our individual lives, in our own little world, our own little boxes. But what if we took the time to think outside the box to discover the beauty and artistry within our lives?
Well, V. Lee’s play, Postcards from Hotel
Cassiopeia,
a Play with Dance & Music inspired by the play Hotel Cassiopeia by
Charles Mee, speaks about the qualities of an artist and celebrates the life of
American assemblage artist Joseph Cornell (1903-1972). In the midst of
recasting, redrafting, and working on many different projects on the West
Coast, V. Lee, the playwright of Postcards from Hotel Cassiopeia took
some time to chat with me about her upcoming play in the Strawberry Theatre
Festival. Here’s a little glimpse into our chat:
What motivated you to write a play
based on Hotel Cassiopeia?
 |
| Charles Mee |
Well, as of last spring I did not know
of Hotel Cassiopeia or Charles Mee, the playwright’s, work. We were reading it in a text analysis course. I
was struck by what it evoked in me; the scenes, the language, the timelessness
of it all. And I went on his website, which is entitled the “(re)making project,”
and the whole
"thing" is that all of his works are sourced from previous stories,
or history, or current affairs -- something that he remakes and redesigns into
plays. He urges his readers to redesign his plays and (re)make them into
something truly different. Mee says, “There
is no such thing as an original play...” and that really struck me and inspired
me to make something ‘new’ out
of his fascinating work. Then I started doing research on Joseph Cornell and I
couldn’t get enough of discovering more about
him and his artwork. I wanted to dig deeper into the unique world of this
artist. The metaphors and symbolism translate into a surrealistic style of
theatre. Our Postcards From Hotel Cassiopeia takes a similar approach,
yet the characters in Mee’s play are based on real people, while ours is almost the
opposite. Through the process of our workshop process, Joseph’s character became primarily a voice
from beyond, yet still an archetype of an artist. All of the other characters
in our play are ‘aspects’ of
people. Everyone’s
struggle is to discover something deeper within themselves; to discover the
artist within.
 |
| Building by Joseph Cornell |
How has the creative and workshop
process been for you?
It was so unique. I think because I
had decided to do the workshop, but not with a production in mind. There wasn’t a performance deadline. It was all about honoring the
workshop process for what it was, a workshop. I came in with ideas for the
aspects of an artist I wanted each actor to develop. However, the actors and
the collaboration process really helped to shape their characters. I’m currently located in Southern Oregon
so I worked with different actors from both Oregon and Northern California in
this workshop. Unfortunately they can’t all make it to the festival, but I loved working with
them and they really inspired me and moved the piece forward. For instance, the
actor playing the young ‘Ballerina’ (Miss DB) was also a musician, so we made one of the
characters a dancer as well as a musician. I actually have a quote from one of
my older actors I wanted to give to you. She plays ‘Aesthete’ Lillian and her name is Carol Weekley:
 |
| "Leila" in Postcards |
“This play is very personal to me and to my growth as an
individual and as an artist/actress/evolving persona. [...] Whether or not I
[thought I would be] able as an actress to portray an artist who became
transformed, this project transformed me as an individual, who now sees
the artist within, art in a whole new context, and the importance of creativity
in everyday life --really in everything; simply seeing beauty in everyday life.
Creativity is a pathway to the soul and offers many different possibilities to
me, a former linear, white, female senior citizen!”
In all, being involved in the workshop
and with these people was a total gift.
What inspired you to use song and
dance in your piece?
In Hotel Cassiopeia, a
ballerina would appear or there would be a dance, or someone would come on and
sing a song. And it was a very surrealistic writing style. And I thought, what
if I took this “out of the box” theatre piece, put it in a box, assembling the
different elements in different order and with juxtaposition so in proximity to
each other, making a new “out of the box” piece. Yet, instead of the actors singing and dancing, I
wanted to do a play where the actors could focus on their work and then have
guest artists—like Hotel “Guests”--come and go and incorporate their
artistic work. The play is all about celebrating artistry in living, so I
wanted to create a play that could speak to that as well as showcase local
singers, dancers and choreographers.
 |
| By Joseph Cornell |
|
Your play discusses what it means to
be an artist. As a playwright, what does being an artist mean to you?
I don’t necessarily think of it as a label,
but more as a human trait that we either do, or maybe don’t, discover within ourselves. And people can discover their artistry
through a variety of ways, whether it’s through the performing arts, fine art, gardening,
meditation, or some other form that my generation may not even be into! I don’t really think of myself as an “artist,” yet rather as someone in which art
may come through – to be passed on to others, even future
generations, as our play voices.
As an artist, who and what are your
greatest influences?
 |
| Joseph Cornell |
I know I haven’t known about him for long, but I will
definitely say Joseph Cornell is a huge influence on me; especially now. He
approached life differently. He didn’t
talk much to others, at least in a typical way, about life, but he would
simply live it...and write about it on scraps of paper, in magazine articles,
or even on Postcards... I look forward to coming back to New York and taking
our cast to see his work first hand when we come to the Festival. Also, I think
literature—the written text—is
and has been a really big influence on me and my life. Anything written down,
even just a singular word, causes me to think a little differently and expands
my perspective. Although all forms of art really influence me, whether it’s music, painting, drawing, dance,
literature, etcetera. And this play is a testament to that. It’s a testament to all artists and the
artist within. And I hope when people come see it they’ll discover a little more of
themselves through at least one of the characters that come to life in Postcards
From Hotel Cassiopeia.
Postcards From Hotel
Cassiopeia will premiere at the
Hudson Guild Theatre as part of the Strawberry One Act Festival Sunday, February 15th at 2pm,
Monday, February 16th at 8pm, Saturday, February 21st at
7pm and Sunday, February 22nd at 1pm. For
tickets go to www.therianttheatre.com or call 646-623-3488. Buy now click here.
The Riant Theatre's Strawberry Theatre Festival
is now accepting submissions for Full Length Plays (between 55 - 90
minutes) and Musicals (not to exceed 120 minutes), and Short Plays (40
minutes - 50 minutes). Plays selected for the festival can perform
between 3 - 5 performances and elect to share a percentage of the box
office by paying a theatre usage fee between $1 - $9 per ticket to
receive 10% - 100% share of the box office. To obtain an application
email us at RiantTheatre@gmail.com. The deadline to submit an application is February 28, 2016. Late Submissions deadline is March 15, 2016. The participation fee for the STF is $400 for plays received by February 28, 2016 and $500 for plays received after February 28, 2016. The participation fee for Short Plays is $350. All submissions are done by email.
