Went and saw the play "Icebergs" at the Geffen Theater last week with Rita & Ellen Howard. It's a new play by Alena Smith about climate change. I wasn't really that keen in seeing it but it was extremely well done and entertaining. While everyone in California is worried about the drought and climate change one of the lead's best friends who is black is more concerned about going outside in his hometown in Missouri and not getting shot by a white policeman. Playwright Alena Smith writes for Showtime's "The Affair" and previously wrote for HBO's "The Newsroom". Alena has been named as one of the top 10 playwrights to watch.
“Timely and touching, humorous and human. Simply put, Icebergs is contemporary American theater at its best.” – StageSceneLA.com
“Randall Arney directs his excellent cast with playful warmth and a keen sensitivity to the generosity and complexity of Smith’s characterizations.” – Los Angeles Times
“The performances feel authentic and lived, and the characters’ rapports convey the richness and surprise of real-life interactions while deepening the play’s themes.” – Los Angeles Times
“The laughs are plentiful... a knowing look at Los Angeles filmmaker culture.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“Director Randall Arney conveys the humor and panic that has engulfed these characters as they navigate L.A.'s hip Silver Lake neighborhood.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Los Angeles, California, where the weather is always nice, and the future looks bright… at least on the surface. Playwright Alena Smith (Showtime’s The Affair, HBO’s The Newsroom) and Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Randall Arney bring you to Silver Lake on a warm November night for this acerbic, affectionate and affecting world premiere comedy, where a new generation of thirtysomethings navigate filmmaking and family planning, trying to put down roots before everything melts away.
“Timely and touching, humorous and human. Simply put, Icebergs is contemporary American theater at its best.” – StageSceneLA.com
“Randall Arney directs his excellent cast with playful warmth and a keen sensitivity to the generosity and complexity of Smith’s characterizations.” – Los Angeles Times
“The performances feel authentic and lived, and the characters’ rapports convey the richness and surprise of real-life interactions while deepening the play’s themes.” – Los Angeles Times
“The laughs are plentiful... a knowing look at Los Angeles filmmaker culture.” – The Hollywood Reporter
“Director Randall Arney conveys the humor and panic that has engulfed these characters as they navigate L.A.'s hip Silver Lake neighborhood.” – The Hollywood Reporter
Los Angeles, California, where the weather is always nice, and the future looks bright… at least on the surface. Playwright Alena Smith (Showtime’s The Affair, HBO’s The Newsroom) and Geffen Playhouse Artistic Director Randall Arney bring you to Silver Lake on a warm November night for this acerbic, affectionate and affecting world premiere comedy, where a new generation of thirtysomethings navigate filmmaking and family planning, trying to put down roots before everything melts away.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00My play is called Icebergs and it is a dark comedy set in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
00:07I wrote this play in large part because I wanted to reflect on my experiences
00:14living as a television writer in Los Angeles since I moved here in 2012.
00:21There's not really major and minor characters.
00:23Everyone is kind of dealing with the same problem but coming at it from a different angle.
00:29What really struck me was how much everybody related to what was going on in the play.
00:33And everybody had their own experiences of trying to handle the fear of the unknown
00:39as we sort of reach maybe certain cliffs that we might be going over as a society.
00:46What's really important to me about this play is that it allows people to confront
00:54some difficult stuff in a way that makes them feel comforted in some way.
01:00And I really was trying to extend a kind of hand of love and friendship
01:07that the characters share with each other in the play and extend that to the audience
01:10and that the audience also is welcome in this evening, is welcome into this discussion,
01:16is welcome to feel a sense of closeness with the people on stage and with each other
01:22because in the end I feel like all the unknown scary stuff that the play is confronting,
01:27the only sort of answer I can come up with for how we get through all of that
01:31is taking care of each other and being there for each other.