Hi Friends, 

Burn Down This House is a compilation of our favorite scenes from Lanford Wilson’s Burn This. Since the entire show is too long for Freeplay, we selected our favorite moments that capture what it means to merge film and theatre. It is a study in site specific theatre, through the examination of character, set, production, and film. The central question we sought to answer with this project was: is there a middle ground between live performance and film that has yet to be discovered?

While some of our discoveries led us to find what was limiting in this middle ground, there were some that we found liberating. Due to their only being one location in this play, we were able to thoroughly explore Anna’s apartment as the setting. This project was filmed in Joshua’s actual apartment. While filming and rehearsing in an actual house, it was emphasized how sacred the home would be for Anna and Larry. This apartment was their haven from the outside world where the AIDS epidemic was ravaging the arts and queer communities. 

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The camera’s point of view was something else we experimented with in Burn Down This House.. The team was proud of how we captured an outside perspective using various camera angles. The desired effect was that the viewer would feel like a fly on the wall. We achieved this through long shots and handheld camera work. All scenes, except for the final selection, Duncan filmed with the camera mounted to his shoulder. This was a tedious task, but the result is complete control of the audience's focus at all times. We hope our approach will add a new dimension and perspective to these scenes that we are excited to share with you. 

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This project would not have happened without our director, William Austin, and our director of photography, Duncan Monroe. William and Duncan attended the film program at Minnesota State University Moorhead. In school, they trained with physical celluloid film for their first film projects. For context, that is the old fashioned and arduous way of putting together film. It requires diligence, respect for the craft, and practice. In school, they often worked by the phrase “measure twice, cut once”. Due to the global pandemic and the health and safety of the cast and crew, this team did exactly that. We are extremely grateful to William and Duncan for their hard work, dedication, and vision for Burn Down This House. We would also like to give a special thanks to Gus Mahoney, Cody Carlson, Angie Gagliano, Ella Egan, and Michelle O'Neill for helping us bring this project to life.  

For as much time as you wish, we invite you into Joshua’s apartment to experience a little slice of New York City in the late 80s. We hope you enjoy it, and maybe one day we can all get together in person and run it back. 

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With Love, 

Jordan and Joshua