ArtSavant - Stan Peal's main page

written by
Stan Peal

Stan, along with his wife, Laura Depta, is co-founder and co-artistic director of Epic Arts Repertory Theatre. He's a local playwright, actor and director who strives to infuse his work with spirituality and feminism, and feels his is at his very best when he works, creates and recreates with his wife. He is also an ordained minister, records his own albums as a hobby, and is religiously dedicated to pizza, coffee and chocolate. Though he prefers to express himself through theatre and music, he will write about, or discuss feminism, religion, politics or any controversial topic with little or no provocation.

For more about Stan, please visit his home page.

COMMENT AND ARTICLES

"Zero to Sixty Pages"
May, 2003
"Part of the magic of theatre is the spectacle of kinetics and passion that happens before your eyes, the illusion that feels more real than cinema, and sometimes more real than everyday life. But theatre begins as nothingness. Then comes an impulse, then an idea. Then a plan, then collaboration, and the result is a communal experience, infused with life and breath. Theatre is a powerful art form. Often for the actors, and sometimes for the audience, the created reality of the play is the only reality there is for those two hours. It is temporarily everything. From nothingness to everything in a few months, give or take."
"Theatre-A-Gender"
2003
"My first question (which I said to myself, out loud in an incredulous tone) was, "Why do they keep doing these shows?!" These were two well-established theatres, whose producers and directors had to be well aware of the available acting pool in the community, and yet they produce male-heavy shows, knowing full well they will spend auditions making difficult decisions about the preponderance of excellent female actors all vying for the few good female roles, then spend the next week trying to find males that can stand in one place without falling over. Never mind acting, can they speak English well? Do they understand the basic principles behind walking from one spot to another? Cast that guy!"
"What Can A Regular Guy Do For Women In Theatre?"
2002
"I fully admit that as a male theatergoer, I am extremely typical in my tastes. I love guns, fake blood, fights and lots of swearing. Sam Shepherd, David Mamet and Eric Bogosian have always been there for me, and for a long time I continued to think that was all I wanted. I hit a personal milestone when I saw Steele Magnolias the first time. I had no choice but to watch the thing (it was either that or some foreign film) and I fell in love with it. It was written by a man who wanted people to know about these great female characters. This started to change the way I looked at women’s stories. I still love Mamet and Bogosian, but as a playwright I don’t have to try to be them, we already have them and plenty who aspire to be like them."