amazing post by jeffrey m jones

An Amazing Post by Jeffrey M. Jones

The blog medium, like a lot of technological communication, tends to

flatten complex ideas in favor of sound bites and catchy memes. This

is why you should print and read this amazing post on alternative

structures by noted avant-gardist Jeffrey M. Jones. Jones ruminates on

Charles L. Mee's Iphigenia 2.0, Carson Kreitzer's Flesh and the

Desert, and my own 1001. I'm honored to be in such good company, and

to have my work written about with such intense care and attention.

It's especially satisfying, as not long before starting 1001, I spent

a great deal of time familiarizing myself with the "language

playwrights" who achieved notoriety in the 1980s and 90s, Jones and

Mee among them, and read Paul Castagno's fascinating book about them,

New Playwriting Strategies. Of particular note is this, from the

opening paragraph: "Like the torque wrench or the toaster, [the play]

has been designed so effectively for its intended purpose--in this

case, making the audience care about its characters--that it's

virtually useless for anything else."

Theater bloggers who seek to develop instructive lists, organum, or

what have you could learn a lot from Jones; I would assign this essay

to my students were it not partially about me. The piece deserves a

home in print, in TheatreForum, PAJ, American Theater, or elsewhere.

I'm thrilled to have been included.