Wednesday, February 24, 2010

FRIGID New York Interview - Maggie Nutall of Roll With It

By Byrne Harrison
Photo by George Courtney


Name: Maggie Nuttall
Show: Roll With It
Website: http://www.youtube.com/user/mznuttall
Here's where you can purchase tickets

How did you first get involved in theatre?

Many years ago in a land called Scranton, PA, I jumped in head first playing all the roles that most actors don't fight over, like elderly women, men, and animals. Then I moved on to playing raging alcoholics and severely fractured personalities. In NYC I did improv for a couple of years with Greg Sullivan's KLAATU, took Dunham classes at Alvin Ailey, acting classes with Charlie Katkasakis and saw a lot of Off Off Off Broadway shows. I stopped performing completely in 2000 due to a large ton of bricks that had the unmitigated gall to fall on me. Then in 2006 I started doing stand up comedy throughout Manhattan at places like NY Comedy Club, Broadway Comedy Club, Ochi's Lounge at Comix. Throughout the last 4 years I've been telling true stories at The Moth Story Slams and at various venues throughout the city such as Sidewalk Cafe, Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Under St Marks, and The Bitter End.

Who are your biggest influences?

As a performer it changes 'round the material I'm attacking. Currently it's people like Eric Bogosian, Henry Rollins, George Carlin, and Johnny Rotten, unrelenting slammers all that influence me. These are people I love: Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Bette Midler, Bill Irwin, Steve Martin, Joan Rivers, Eddie Izzard, and Billy Connelly

Tell me a little bit about Roll With It.

Roll With It comprises of a string of true stories of madness and random acts of violence told with wonder and amazement by a wide-eyed child. It is the continuous struggle between reality and fantasy, what we want life to be and how it actually is. It is a deadly hilarious comedy of errors that leads down the darkest path of our fears. Come with me, I'll take you by the hand and lead the way.

What inspired you to write it?

At first I thought I'd just knit a few stories together for an hour's worth of entertainment. Then as the stories started coming together, I found myself in the middle of a series of arguments about fantasy and reality, about stand up comedy versus storytelling, about the art of the story and it's origin, about paradise and hell. Now I have a show called Roll With It.

Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with
them?


Currently, I work by myself. I've collaborated with a number of theatre groups over the course of 15 years both in Scranton and New York. This particular project I've written and performed by myself as myself. This is my first solo theatrical project.

What's next for you after FRIGID?

I'm up for anything that comes my way.

And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience,
what would it be?


Aren't you tired of listening to the incessant complaints of your clients, customers, coworkers, and boss? Come on out and escape your troubles for an hour, you're worth it.

Roll With It
By Maggie Nutall

The Red Room
85 East 4th Street

Fri 2/26 - 9:30 PM
Sat 2/27 - 5:00 PM
Tue 3/02 - 8:00 PM
Fri 3/05 - 8:00 PM
Sun 3/07 - 2:00 PM

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