Tony Kushner - Angels In America
I think my first love loved Tony Kushner. I didn’t know (and I still don’t know) all the reasons why. The last movie she told me she liked was Steven Spielberg’s “Munich,” screenplay by Tony Kushner. I love Tony Kushner for his intellect, independent thoughts, and craftmanship.
(Click on images to view them individually.)
My artistic talents are in presentation, connection with an audience, vulnerability, and coordination of diverse artistic styles and ideas. When I get up in front of an audience that is familiar with my artistic bents, I tend to make them excited and on edge because they know there’s a threat of controversy and laughter.
Most live performances have a sense of nervousness because the performer might make mistakes. But I’ve rarely been worried about making mistakes, because mistakes are to be expected. I worry I may not convey ideas and feelings that are worth remembering - that is a more difficult task for an artist.
In college, I was disciplined for my theatrical performances because I went off the script. I exceeded the boundaries the censors had implied. But my performances were funny, unconventional, and memorable.
Tony Kushner does the same things for his audiences. He carefully scans the cultural horizons for the topics people are afraid to discuss . . . then he discusses them.
If you want to understand some artists’ motivations and thought processes better, listening to these audio highlights from the film version of Kushner’s Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning play Angels In America may help:
http://us.share.geocities.com/snoopy_jump/AngelsinAmerica.mp3
The extraordinary actors featured in the above scenes include: Mary-Louise Parker, Patrick Wilson, Al Pacino, Justin Kirk, Jeffrey Wright, and Ben Shenkman.
Sometimes the Angels in America are not winged creatures sent down from Heaven.
Sometimes they are ordinary humans willing to discuss and face what most people fear.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Kushner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angels_in_America
© All rights reserved by Tony Kushner and the respective artists.
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