Anne Hamilton/Hamilton Dramaturgy

From May 7-25^th, the Bushwick Starr in Brooklyn will premiere Eliza Bent’s THE HOTEL COLORS. Eliza’s one of my newest Talfs (Theatre Artists I Love to Follow). As the Associate Editor of AMERICAN THEATRE magazine, Eliza greenlighted an article on my Hamilton Dramaturgy’s TheatreNow! podcast in the October 2012 issue. Brava, Eliza, and thank you!

Here’s the link to her play: http://www.thebushwickstarr.org/CurrentSeason.html

And here’s her play’s website: http://thehotelcolorsplay.wordpress.com/

A Message from Eliza Bent:

I wrote THE HOTEL COLORS during my first semester of graduate school at Brooklyn College. Encouraged by my professor, playwright Mac Wellman, to draw on my knowledge of Italian, I wrote a wry love letter to Italy about the time I spent studying, living and traveling there as an undergraduate in Parma and later as an English teacher in Rome.

In the play six characters converge on a jankity, rundown hostel in the outskirts of Rome. They proceed to spend a curious evening together philosophizing, divulging secrets, having romances and playing party games. There are dance sequences, physical lazzi and original songs.

Characters speak in direct translation from Italian into English. “I’m sorry, but I have to check my email,” becomes “I ask excuse of you, but I must control my email.” An invitation to coffee morphs into, “Would Formal You like to take a coffee with me?” THE HOTEL COLORS portrays eccentric travelers and seekers. The heart of the play is about people coming together and forming unexpected friendships even as they fail—and flail—in their attempts to communicate.

I have produced shows in the past, but THE HOTEL COLORS is by far my biggest project to date. The show will premiere May 7-25 at the Bushwick Starr, an Obie-award winning Off-Off Broadway theatre venue. The Bushwick Starr usually presents work by ensemble theatre companies and it’s a great honor to be the first curated playwright in the theatre’s history.