Playwrites Crowdsource Material for Off-Broadway Production
In the search for inspiration and material, writers undergo intense personal journeys into their own lives not to mention extensive research, in the hopes of finding that perfect idea that can be crafted into a successful novel, film, or play. For playwrites Troy Diana and James Valletti, the idea was present but in the search for content, crowdsourcing played a key role and thus Tales From The Tunnel was born, a bitter sweet collection of “rail – life” monologues set around a New York subway.
The hunt for material began with Diana and Valletti tapping friends and family for stories of their experiences riding the subway. Valletti’s father was extensively consulted, since he was a retired employee of New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, and provided much of the play’s vivid moments. Whilst this proved to be a valuable exercise, more stories were needed, so the writing duo crowdsourced the subway riders themselves. Working their way through the crowded aisles of the New York subway trains, Diana and Valletti handed out cards to straphangers (commuters who would cling to the straps hanging overhead) asking for their stories.
The pair had collected over 200 stories of people from the very destitute to the filthy rich. Stories featured incidents of violence, drug addiction, homelessness, surviving 9/11, as well as some crazy and hilarious sex tales and other stories that some may find unpleasent. Yet these reflect much of the events that happen every day to commuting New Yorkers who use the subway to travel. Tales from The Tunnel was a smash hit at 2009?s New York International Fringe Festival and opened on July 25th, 2010 at the Bleaker Street Theater in East Village, NY to postive reviews.
From the obviously comedic to the deathly serious, Tales from the Tunnel exhibits a sophistication of storytelling that propels us through the entire ride.
Stephen Kaliski nytheatre.com
In the same manner in which Nick Park and Aardman Animation sought the view of the British public for their animated series Creature Comforts, Diana and Valletti’s use of crowdsourcing enabled them to write a play that resonated with those New Yorkers for whom the subway was an intrical part of their daily lives.
