The Oberon Rocks With The World Premiere Of "Burn All Night" - Partying At The End Of The World

Over the years, The A.R.T.'s second performance space, The Oberon at 0 Arrow Street in Harvard Square, has been the venue for some fascinating, boundary-pushing, rollicking works of art. The creative and artistic team at A.R.T., beginning with Artistic Director Diane Paulus, often program the use of this space to encourage the development of works by emerging artists. Such is the case with the sizzling "Burn All Night," that is enjoying its World Premiere through September 8th.

Beginning with a conceptual idea by Andy Mientus (TV's "Smash," Broadway's "Spring Awakening") the creative team began to form with the addition of musicians from the synth-pop band Teen Commandments, including Andy's friend, Van Hughes and his bandmates Brett Moses and Nicholas LaGrasta. They set out to tell a story about a bunch of young New Yorkers, anxious about a potential apocalypse, but partying and coupling in the shadow of impending doom. So, why not tell the story in the setting of a dance club, using the kind of music that the kids would dance to in such a club. The Teen Commandments guys wrote a couple of songs for Andy, to which he added lyrics, and the project was off and running. They added Director Jenny Koons ("Runaways" Encore production at Citi Center) and Choreographer Sam Pinkleton ("Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812," plus several previous Oberon productions).

Then they added a troupe of energetic and gifted actors, singers, and dancers:

• Lincoln Clauss is Bobby, recently arrived in NYC with no plan except that of having escaped the micromanaging of his widowed Mom back in Pittsburg. Mr. Clauss is the perfect combination of naive, charming, scared, adventuresome, and resilient as he faces the concrete jungle knowing no one in the city. Serendipitously, within moments of stepping off the bus at the Port Authority, he encounters Holly, an old high school friend who had previously escaped the surly bonds of Pittsburgh to make her way as an artist in New York.

• Krystina Alabado is Holly, who has shelved her artistic dreams to pay the bills in a corporate job. She invites Bobby to crash back at the apartment she shares with boyfriend, Zak. Ms. Alabado uses her singing and acting to create a character torn between her love for Zak, her support of Bobby, and her rekindled romance with Will.

• Ken Clark as Zak is the very embodiment of a disaffected young artist. He had a hit two years ago that helps to pay the bills, but he is drilling in an artistic dry hole - nothing new that satisfies him has come to the surface for long while. Just as there are literal subterranean rumblings that shake the foundations of New York and foreshadow a major disaster, so there are rumblings in his relationship with Holly that tell of a possible relational apocalypse. The driving vocal power of Mr. Clark's opening rock number reminded me of Gavin Creel as Prometheus in "Prometheus Bound" in this same Oberon space.

• Perry Sherman is Will, who shares with Bobby (and with Andy Mientus) the fact that they have lost their Dads at a young age. Will and Bobby make a pact to be each other's Dad. What does that mean? How will that relationship evolve? Mr. Sherman's impressive credentials include "Fun Home," "Spring Awakening," and the role of Marius in "Les Miserables." His Will exudes the confidence and cachet that comes from having the financial resources to host parties for Bobby and other friends, and to make a move on Holly, once he realizes that she is just about done with Zak. Mr. Sherman's performance is memorable.

Krystina Alabado as Holly
Lincoln Clauss as Bobby
Perry Sherman as Will
Ken Clark as Zak
"Burn All Night"
A.R.T. - Oberon
Through September 8th
Photo by Evgenia Eliseeva

• MJ Rodriguez is no stranger to A.R.T., having appeared in last season's "Tran Scripts, Part 1: The Women." As Oona, MJ's electric dance moves and soaring vocals help to set the scene for the dance club ethos.

• Jamar Williams graced the A.R.T. stage in "Witness Uganda/Invisible Thread." In this show, his joyful countenance and exuberance in dancing and singing provide a nice counterpart to the gloom that pervades much of the action as the characters contemplate the possible end of the world.

• Ashley LaLonde as Kayla returns to A.R.T., having appeared in "Arrabal" and "Violet."

• The remaining ensemble members, playing The Kids, are making their A.R.T. debut. They are Gabrielle Carrubba, Aurie Ceylon, Marquis Johnson, and AJ Rafael.

The Kids

"Burn All Night"

A.R.T. - Oberon

 Through September 8th

Photo by Evgenia Eliseeva

Scenic Design is by Sara Brown, Costumes by Evan Prizant, Lighting by Bradley King, and Sound by Jessica Paz. Cian McCarthy is Music Supervisor, and the band is led by Michael Mastroianni, with Maxime Cholley on drums, Maddie Jay on Bass, and Claudio Raino on guitar.

Director Koons keeps the pace lively throughout the show, using every inch of the flexible Oberon space to create a truly immersive experience, especially for those patrons who choose to stand on the floor in the middle of the action that often swirls and percolates around them. The overall musical impression that I was left with was a vibrant mix of elements that reminded me of "Spring Awakening," "Rent," and "Runaways." It is no wonder that the spirit of these earlier groundbreaking musicals has provided fodder for "Burn All Night," for members of this cast and creative team have been involved in productions of all three of these predecessor shows.

Myriad themes abound and are explored or hinted at: being lost and rootless, feeling alone in a crowd, worrying about the future of the planet and the future of one's young life, making immature mistakes that hurt others, not knowing who to love or how to love, and ultimately, how to find and to offer forgiveness for those mistakes.

Forgiveness is a strong theme that emerges. Bobby betrays some confidences that hurt both Holly and Will. Can those wounds be healed? Andy Mientus addresses the issue of forgiveness - including the ability to forgive ourselves for young mistakes - in his Playbill notes: "In its creation over many years, 'Burn All Night' has brought me inspiring friends and collaborators, newfound passion for what has always made this genre magical, and best of all, forgiveness and even affection for that younger, messier me. People make mistakes when they are scared. It's not the end of the world."

As Mr. Mientus points out, it has taken many years for this work of art to get to this stage of development. It is often the case that shows that are birthed at A.R.T. often undergo further refinement as they move on to their next iteration. It would be my hope that this will also be the case for this already praiseworthy show. I would like to see it lengthened a bit to allow for further development of the Dad theme that is left hanging. I would also love to see more exploration of the love triangle among Holly, Will, and Zak - perhaps a polyhedron if we add Bobby into the mix. Zak hints at a spark he observes between Bobby and Will.  It would be worthwhile to explore a nascent bromance between these two characters.

Krystina Alabado as Holly

Lincoln Clauss as Bobby

"Burn All Night"

A.R.T. - Oberon

Through September 8th

Photo by Evgenia Eliseeva

Even in its current state of completion, this is a show worth seeing and celebrating. I am told that many of the remaining performances are already sold out. so do not hesitate to go online and secure one or more of the remaining tickets - even if you have to burn the midnight oil to do so. Burn it all night if you must!

American Repertory Theater website

Enjoy!

Al

Military Officers Who Succeed in the Business World - Profile of Bob Goodman

Most readers of the White Rhino Report are aware that as an executive recruiter and an executive coach, one of my areas of specialization is senior executives who have honed their leadership skills in the military. I have come to realize that in this age in which only a small minority of Americans have direct connection to the military, many stereotypes persist about men and women who have served in the military. These stereotypes can hamper them as they transition to life in the civilian world. It has happened to me so often that it has become a cliche when an HR professional or a company's hiring manger will look at the resume of someone who served with distinction in the military and will then say to me something like: "You'd better explain to your candidate that here in the real world he can't just say 'Jump!' and expect people to obey."

This outmoded image of the rigid, militaristic, command-and-control automaton still persists in the minds of many civilians - even though the most effective military leaders today can only succeed by being collegial and by using persuasion and diplomacy in motivating their troops and in winning hearts and minds of the residents in places where they are deployed. I have come to realize that it is my responsibility to help to eradicate those stereotypes. One of the ways to do so is to present as many stories as possible of men and women who have made successful transitions to leadership in the business world. I am pleased to offer one such story today. Meet my friend, Bob Goodman. Bob graduated from West Point, served in the U.S. Army and retired from the Army as a Major. He has had a successful career in the private sector in consulting and project management.

I asked Bob to tell me a few stories of the ways in which he has been able to apply the leadership lessons he learned in the military to his roles in the business world. Here in Bob's words are some of those stories:

The case studies that follow describe in some detail how I have added significant value to initiatives with my unique blend of problem-solving skills, innovation, leadership, team-building, and hands-on operations improvement experience.

Case Study #1

Problem: Honeywell was experiencing an issue-plagued track and trace system that had been designed and installed to combat counterfeiting, illegal importation, and diversion of its automotive products.

Approach: My role at Honeywell was technical project lead. First, to understand the process and clearly identify the problems, an assessment of the situation was performed. I investigated the solution from end-to-end by walking the production line and distribution center and talking to systems, manufacturing, marketing stakeholders, as well as reviewing available data. One of the key areas discovered was the lack of an integrated view of the system across the various nodes. I then assembled a cross-functional team consisting of software suppliers, hardware suppliers, manufacturing plant electrical and process engineers, IT, supply chain, product marketing leaders from Honeywell. We established a performance baseline of data integrity at only 20%. Using key Six Sigma tools that included a Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA), I lead the team to attack root causes of failure. Integral to this process was a focus on people. I personally communicated the value and purpose of the tracking system and why each associates’ role was important to its success. And most importantly, I sincerely listened to and acted on the shop floor associate voice of the customer (VOC). In just over 60 days, failure modes were remediated and the system became stabilized, reaching over 90% data integrity. We then designed and deployed a successful end-to-end system test, and placed the system back into production.

Result: An over three-fold increase in data integrity and the identification of $1.55 million in lost revenue. Unethical customer business practices of diverting product that were uncovered lead to legal and administrative actions by Honeywell.

Case Study #2

Problem: The US Army and Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan had the need for a durable, energy efficient material to insulate temporary structures and to provide increased force protection. Honeywell owned a spray foam technology that had not yet been productized or focused on the Department of Defense market.

Approach: My role at Honeywell Specialty Materials was project lead. During a visit to Fort Belvoir, I observed a large Army tent that had been insulated to provide some relief from harsh desert environmental conditions. I returned to Honeywell and investigated what insulating capabilities existed in-house, and learned of a Honeywell patented durable spray foam technology. I assembled a cross-functional team of business development, marketing and distribution leaders to determine how Honeywell could leverage this technology. I lead the team in developing several innovative spray foam use cases (problem statements, use descriptions, environmental / mechanical specs, and deployment requirements) for climate control, insulation of supplies, improving fighting positions, and counter-IED support. This lead to the design and demonstration of prototyped insulation of temporary structures and counter-IED tactics techniques and procedures.

Result: Honeywell commercialized the spray foam technology as TERRAStrong® and delivered on contracts to Department of Defense for over $66 million of business. This initiative was recognized for its innovation as the recipient of the 2007 Honeywell Chairman’s Award. Our fighting forces have a more energy efficient and safer environment with the deployment of TERRAStrong®.

Case Study #3

Problem: A large global computer chip manufacturer was experiencing counterfeiting of one of its key processor components with an estimated annual revenue loss of $30M as well as potential consumer confidence issues due to faulty counterfeit Ethernet chips.

Approach: My role at while at GenuOne, Inc. was lead project engineer and project manager to its key customer. I deployed to Malaysia to investigate the counterfeiting problem. I assessed key areas of supply chain vulnerability to counterfeiting activity at the customer’s contract manufacturer and in its own Malaysian distribution center. Upon return to the US, I developed and presented a conceptual design of an anti-counterfeiting solution focused securing the existing chip bar code label with covert ink. Upon approval to move forward by the customer, I defined solution technical specifications and formed a partnership with a label manufacturer and with a covert material supplier. Working with manufacturing operations, the solution components were added to the bill of material and were placed into production within 90 days of the trip to Malaysia.

Results: Over 1 million security labels have since been sold annually. An effective business partnership is currently in-place with the label manufacturer. There is an undisclosed amount of savings in reduction of counterfeit activity directed at the customer.

Case Study #4

Problem: Aventis Pharmaceuticals wanted to understand what RFID could mean to their business and to conduct a detailed business case for RFID deployment.

Approach: My role at while at GenuOne, Inc. was RFID Assessment project manager for its customer Aventis. I designed a 10-step business case process which became the project road map. I assembled a team from the client consisting of IT, finance, distribution, manufacturing, security, trade, and marketing global leaders along with key technical advisors from GenuOne. I initiated weekly team and sub-team meetings and status reporting that enabled the client leadership to have visibility of progress and an ability to be proactive on issues and risks. I leveraged a proven process for Alignment of RFID Drivers, Strategies, and Enablers with the client to gain consensus on potential RFID use. I lead the cross-functional team in quantifying the expected process improvements and in identifying the economic benefits for the expected process improvements. On the cost side, I lead the team in develop the hardware, software, implementation, integration, training, and support investments required. The business case was presented to executive management.

Results: Aventis received a quantifiable business case that included several “what-if” scenarios for deployment. The global project team received education / awareness of RFID. The footprint of a global cross-functional deployment team was established. Note: This business case formed the basis of the RFID for Dummies Business Case chapter that I authored for Wiley Publications.

* * * * * * * *

Bob Goodman is a great example of the kind of innovative leaders that are coming out of today's military. HE lives in the Boston area, and is now available for consulting work or a full-time opportunity that would utilize the skills he enumerated in the stories above. He can be contacted through me at: achase47@gmail.com.

Al

A Whole New Mind - Moving From The Information Age To The Conceptual Age - by Daniel H. Pink

It has been a while since I added a posting to the Blog. I will be in Tampa much of next week visiting my sister, so before I head South, I want to share an exciting resource that I recent read. Daniel Pink, best-selling author of Free Agent Nation, has recently published a book that I think should be required reading for everyone who wants to understand the subtle shift taking place in the way we process information and knowledge.

My friend, Bob Allard, frequently mentioned in these pages as a source of great ideas and networking tips, simply said to me: “You must read this book immediately.” It only took me a few pages to understand why Bob had made such a strong recommendation. In its review of “A Whole New Mind,” Wired Magazine wrote: “Why right-brainers will rule the future.” As a left-handed and right-brain dominant individual, I heard this message of hope as music to my ears!

Pink’s basic premise in this book is spelled out well on the flyleaf of the cover: “Lawyers. Accountants. Radiologists. Software engineers. That’s what our parents told us to be when we grew up. But Mom and Dad were wrong. The future now belongs to a very different kind of mind. The era of “left-brain” dominance – and the Information Age that it engendered – is giving way to a whole new world in which artistic and holistic “right-brain” abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who falls behind.”

The book begins with a quick overview of the neurophysiology of the brain and the essentially different functioned performed by the left and right hemispheres of or brains. Then, drawing from research and case studies from around the globe, Pink shares his views on six essential aptitudes that will determine individual and professional success in the emerging Conceptual Age. The six tools and aptitudes – the Six Senses of the Conceptual Age – form the skeleton and structure of the book.

Design – “Good design is a renaissance attitude that combines technology, cognitive science, human need, and beauty to produce something the world didn’t know it was missing.” Paola Antonelli, Curator of Architecture and Design, Museum of Modern Art. (p. 72)

Story – “The story – from Rumplestiltskin to War and Peace – is one of the basic tools invented by the human mind for the purpose of understanding. There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.” Ursula K. Le Gun (p. 103)

Symphony – “Symphony, as I call this aptitude, is the ability to put together the pieces. It is the capacity to synthesize rather than to analyze; to see relationships between seemingly unrelated fields; to detect broad patterns rather than to deliver specific answers; and to invent something new by combining elements nobody else thought to pair.” (p. 126)

Empathy – “Leadership is about empathy. It is about having the ability to relate and to connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.” Oprah Winfrey (p. 154)

Play – “The opposite of play isn’t work. It’s depression. To play is to act out and be willful, exultant and committed as if one is assured of one’s prospects.” Brian Sutton-Smith, Professor of Education [emeritus], University of Pennsylvania (p. 179)

Meaning- “We are born for meaning, not pleasure, unless it is pleasure steeped in meaning.” Jacob Needleman (p. 209)

Not since I read “The Tipping Point” for the first time have I encountered a book that gave me more helpful and encouraging insight into how my brain functions. Many of my friends are wired as “left-brain” analysts; others are more like me – “right-brain” conceptualizers. This book makes it clear that to move forward in a positive, healthy and productive manner into the future, we have to “put our heads together.” We need one another.

Should you read this book?

It’s a “no brainer”!

Enjoy.