Meet the Playwright Behind SHINER
Christian Durso is a playwright, screenwriter, and classically trained actor. His plays have been performed in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. His work has also enjoyed workshops and readings at The Roundabout Underground, The Flea, The Old Globe and EST/LA. He is currently writing a six-part mini series for HBO Asia and is adapting the YA novel LIKE NO OTHER into a feature for Overbook Entertainment. He has also adapted LAST SUMMER OF THE DEATH WARRIORS into a feature for REEL FX. Also an actor, Christian has worked regionally at The Old Globe, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Great Lakes Theatre (OH), Idaho Shakespeare Festival as well as Off-Broadway. A proud member of the Los Angeles based IAMA Theatre Company. BFA, NYU. MFA, USD.
0 Comments
GLM's Producing Artistic Director Reflects on Kurt Cobain and the Music of Nirvana In 1994 I was 13. I was a HUGE Nirvana fan. My favourite item of clothing was this really weird Nirvana T-shirt that I have never seen anywhere else since, I found it in my local record shop in my home town of Pontefract, West Yorkshire. It was way, way too big for me but I wore it anyway, because you know "fuck the man and his clothes that conform to specific sizes" - yep that's how pretentious I was/am. I wore that thing until it literally fell apart when I was about 17. This record shop was also the place I purchased my first ever tape - Nirvana All Apologies single. Most of the music I had I got from my sister who is 4 years older than me and her friends who were Nirvana fans back in the early 90s. I can remember the first time I ever heard Nirvana. I was about 10. My sister came home from High School and put a tape of Nevermind in the stereo in our front room (living room). I sat on the arm of a chair listening and we just kept flipping the tape over and re-listening. I couldn't wrap my head around what I was hearing - just like Jake in this play when he first hears Nirvana. My favourite Nirvana song was Big Long Now from Incesticide, because I wasn't a poser :) I had just started learning to play the guitar during this time so I was obsessed with trying to learn Nirvana songs... somewhere I have a CD of music I recorded with my Dad, where I'm singing Nirvana songs at age 11 or 12 with a super high nasal voice haha - I will try find it, although it would be pretty mortifying to allow people to hear it, I will let that happen, for the art man... I remember the exact moment I heard about Kurt Cobain's suicide. I was at school, walking from the main block, passed the gym towards the annex (music block) to meet up with my other music minded friends (huh, weird I've never really thought about that...), wearing our awful school uniform. A friend of mine, Michael Atchinson shouted to me across the yard and then came over and told me "Kurt Cobain topped himself". Of course we were 8 hours behind the news and it was really before the internet and cable news is what it is now. I didn't believe him. When I found out it was true I was devastated. For the next few days I played my All Apologies tape over and over again... Huh I guess that's how fans of one direction probably felt when that dude quit. In the mid 90s my parents were going through a protracted and pretty shitty divorce so Grunge music spoke to me in exactly the same way as the characters in this play. That's why I love this play so much so much. I had some of these exact same conversations. GLM's Board President Reflects on the 90's Era I am a child of the 90s, and I remember that era distinctly, as a young teen, when kids my age started getting away from hip-hop and listening to "alternative" music--Green Day, Stone Temple Pilots, Soundgarden, and of course Nirvana. Favorite song from that era: "What's Up?" by 4 Non Blondes. Favorite Nirvana tune: "Heart Shaped Box", because I couldn't put my favorite covers of theirs: Leadbelly's "Where did you Sleep Last Night" and the Vaselines' "Jesus don't Want me for a Sunbeam". A few years ago I found a cassette tape of their Unplugged album, which worked fine as I was rocking an 87 Chevy Suburban at the time (this was 2009 folks)...I never took the tape out, just kept turning it over. How beautifully nostalgic. The pic = is from '96 I think (I was 16), when rock and roll declined in my opinion. But I held onto it, as evidenced by the haircut and flannel jacket. Members of GLM Board Reflect on Influence of Kurt Cobain At the beginning of the 90’s I was just finishing out High School. I was pink slipped from drama class for being disgusted by the teacher’s negligent personality and altogether teaching disinterest. I was heavily into 80’s hair bands, Cyndi Lauper and Madonna as well as ANY musical I could get my hands on from Phantom of the Opera (Michael Crawford was my High School God at the time) to the resurgence of Les Miserables. I remember listening to Nirvana because my little sister was obsessed. She had postured our room in Kurt Cobain posters while I had a life size poster of David Bowie. The two had always looked so incongruous to me on the one side bleach blond short haired dichromatic eyed David Bowie and on the other the grungy bedraggled drug addled Cobain with stringy hair. I knew that Bowie had had his time with drugs too but he was soooo much more handsome in my aging eyes. My sister was devastated the day Cobain died. We all have our demons and me and my siblings are no different. But to know that one of your heroes has decided to end his own life is devastating. I still think to this day that she believes his then wife killed Cobain for notoriety and because she suffered from drug abuse. He still figures into her personality I think, though in a more positive way. She lives in Seattle and is an alternative hairstylist, working with the transformation of people with an artistic mien in her own way. She still wears loose ill-fitting clothing but instead of the grunge look that so worried me and my parents her style has become one more reticent of a settled gypsy flowing through life and color instead of ire and angst. She has stopped smoking and helped, I believe a few of her friends with drug problems kick their habits too. If her love of Nirvana was in some way a stepping stone to this much matured and greatly admire young woman, I am grateful. SHINER Opens May 15th Talented Regional Actor Joins GLM Family We are excited and thrilled to welcome Patrick John Kiernan to the GLM family. Pat will star opposite prominent actress Kate Atack in our upcoming production SHINER written by the incredibly talented Christian Durso. Pat has performed regionally with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival (The Comedy of Errors), Great Lakes Theater Festival (A Christmas Carol, As You Like It), Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival (As You Like It), Shadowland Theatre (Side by Side by Sondheim, Good People, Farragut North), Northern Stage (A Christmas Carol: A Radio Play) and in New York City (The Hunting of the Snark, Genesis: An Aerial Play). Offstage, Patrick is a writer and a sound designer. He is a proud graduate of SUNY New Paltz, with a BA in Theatre Arts.
Moving Production about Kurt Cobain, Grunge, and Suicide Opens in May Reno, NV, May 15, 2015– Good Luck Macbeth Theatre continues its 2015 season with one of its highly anticipated shows of the season, Shiner. Shiner, by promising young playwright Christian Durso, follows two 13-year-olds Jake and Margot, in 1994, who form their own grunge-music fan club to celebrate all things Nirvana. Soon Jake and Margot become bound as much by their shared insecurities as by their music. The two teens make a pact to die happy. All they need to do is see Nirvana live in concert and then they will jump off the 101 overpass. But a first kiss, a restraining order, and Kurt Cobain's ailing health threaten their plans. The production, directed by Bill Ware, stars prominent Reno actress Kate Atack and regional actor Patrick John Kiernan.
“We are so fortunate to be able to bring Shiner to Reno” states managing director, Christopher Daniels. “This is only the 5th city to ever premiere the production, so our patrons truly are getting a unique experience.” Also unique to the production of Shiner is the arrival of regional actor Patrick John Kiernan. “Shiner will be this beautiful melding of local and regional talent to generate a distinctive and one-of-a-kind piece of work”. He has performed regionally with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theater, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival Shadowland Theatre, Northern Stage, and in New York. Offstage, Patrick is a writer and a sound designer. He is a proud graduate of SUNY New Paltz, with a BA in Theatre Arts. SHINER was listed on the Tracking Board's 2012 Young and Hungry List, a roll of the top 100 best scripts in Hollywood and was listed as one of the top 10 plays in New Orleans for 2014. “This production could not have come to Reno at a more relevant time” relates Daniels. With the music and arts scene booming in Reno and with the recent release of the authorized documentary of musician Kurt Cobain, Shiner arrives at GLM during a perfect point in the season. Shiner opens May 15th and runs through June 6th. Evening shows begin at 7:30pm and our matinee begins at 2:00pm. Tickets are $15 pre-sale and $18 at the door. Tickets are available online through brown paper tickets. # # # |
Christopher DanielsChristopher Daniels is the current managing director of Good Luck Macbeth Theatre Archives
August 2015
Categories
All
|
Our Company
|
Proudly powered by Weebly
|