The Eden Game

On March 23, 2012, Prague Film & Theatre Center put on a staged reading of my play about Václav Havel, "The Eden Game":

Prague actors perform a staged reading of "The Eden Game"

PFTC conjured the reading out of thin air in the space of five weeks. Kudos to PFTC's Lindsay Taylor, Rosie Dwelly, and Ruth Siller for their professionalism and get-it-done attitude. Here's the dream team:

Lindsay Taylor, PFTC

Rosie Dwelly, PFTC

Ruth Siller, PFTC

My friend Radoslav Polášek 

Radoslav Polášek and his sister Markéta Polášková

took photos of the rehearsal on March 22 and the performance on March 23, 2012. The actor in bare feet is reading the part of Václav Havel.

And here are some pix that Radek took at the rehearsal the night before:

For the story of my adventures getting "The Eden Game" produced in Prague, go to Waiting for Vaněk.

Comment from PFTC's Lindsay Taylor:

"I wanted to address some of your concern about it being received by a Czech audience. I myself was surprised at the Czech response being very positive. They . . . seemed to really be in touch with the thematic tone of the play. That was a pleasant surprise and one, as an American, I'd be very flattered by." - Lindsay Taylor, PFTC

Written comments from audience comment-cards: 

"Loved the writing -- the words really resonated throughout the play -- reminded me of the essence of Prague! Cheers!" - Audience member

"Very nice play, Jock!" - Audience member

"In the beginning a bit confusing, especially because of the play-within-the-play element, but once you get sucked into the play it all becomes clear and inspiring." - Audience member

"It reminded me of Being John Malkovich." - Audience member

"Much preferred the second act to the first." - Audience member

"A bit long . . . but engaging." - Audience member

"The character of Dagmar some thought was a little one-sided and unfair to the individual (some even felt the same of Olga) -- although during the reading I didn't mind it as I got the dichotomy of the two and the point the writer was making." - Audience member

"The play was LONG -- biggest comment. It ran nearly two hours each time and was very mentally exhausting on actors and audience -- but no one feel asleep -- they were still engaged -- so KUDOS to you for that. . . . A bit of editing would make a world of difference (if I were you I'd aim to cut 30 minutes of dialogue from the show) -- there is real fantastic stuff in there -- and some of it is unnecessary and takes away from the pacing of the show (which is crucial, most times)." - Audience member

"The show is not necessarily "budget friendly or theatre friendly" in the second act. Act 1 is brilliant with this -- but when considering bringing it to a live theatre stage for a full production paring some of the fantasticalness of the second act would be helpful from a producer mentality." - Audience member

"Perhaps limit your characters to the essential ones. It's a big show to cast and this would cut down on some of the complexity, confusion, and overall ease of putting the production on. Also, my feelings are that some of the characters felt more like "film characters" and not theatre characters if that makes sense. The heart of the story was already there for me -- and I felt myself connected to Havel, Olga, Dagmar, The Psychiatrist, Warden. (Gypsy, Reporter, and Jiri are great characters but secondary -- think about double casting (and how you could make that easier for a director). Consider cutting the Nurse, Guard, Intercom Voice. I still love Inessa and Adam and Eve -- but i think you could double cast those if necessary." - Audience member

"Personally, I love the Director and Director's Brother characters and witty dialogue. Brilliant. Would like to see that the play within the play stays consistent throughout. I missed them a bit in Act II." - Audience member

Additional comments: 

Further comments have been written by Grant Podelco, the actor who read the part of the Warden in the staged reading. Grant's comments are titled: "My Time in Eden."