Photos by Nancy Keegan
Name: Duncan Pflaster
Play: The Thyme of the Season
Relationship to production: Playwright/Director
Website: The Thyme of the Season and DuncanPflaster.com
How did you first get involved in theatre?
My mother was an actress when I was growing up, I was in a children's adaptation she directed of The Nutcracker, in which I played Fritz and a Chinese Dancer. From then on I knew I wanted to be an actor. Ironically, I'm now a playwright.
Who are your biggest influences?
Charles Ludlam, Charles Busch, Anton Chekhov, Tom Stoppard, Israel Horovitz, Donald Marguiles, Teresa Rebeck, and Berkeley Breathed. Oh, and Shakespeare.
What is your show about?
It's a sequel to A Midsummer Night's Dream, set on Hallowe'en, three months after the Shakespeare play.
What inspired you to write it?
My friend and frequent collaborator Clara Barton Green and I conceived it over drinks one night; I wrote the role of Puck for her to play. We were also in Holla Holla's production of Midsummer in 2005 in Central Park (I played Bottom, and she was Puck), and that informed most of the writing. What made you want to perform in an eco-friendly theatre festival like Planet Connections?
I was in the festival last year with my vampire play Suckers, and jumped at the chance to be in it again. They're great people doing great work.
Planet Connections is fairly unique in that a portion of the box office for each show is donated to a charity. What charity have you chosen and why?I chose Planned Parenthood because of the great work they do, and because there are matters of pregnancy discussed within the play. We're gonna have free condoms at the performances!
What's next for you after Planet Connections?
Oberon Theatre Ensemble will be producing my play The Starship Astrov in the Midtown International Theatre Festival in July, directed by Eric Parness. It's a new play I wrote in the style of Anton Chekhov, but set on a spaceship. It's rather like an episode of "Star Trek" on a ship that doesn't have adventures every week.
Tickets are already available here.
And finally, if you could go back in time and meet yourself as a kid, what advice would you give your younger self?
Follow your instincts.
The Thyme of the Season
Written and Directed by Duncan Pflaster
Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Venue: The Gene Frankel Theatre, 24 Bond Street
Performance dates:
Sat 6/5 @ 1:30pm
Sun 6/6 @ 7pm
Tues 6/8 @ 9pm
Fri 6/11 @ 5:30pm
Sun 6/13 @ 11:30am
Fri 6/18 @ 5pm
Sat 6/19 @ 7pm
Wed 6/23 @ 5:30pm
Photos
1. Clara Barton Green as Puck and Tania Jeudy as Pumpkinseed
2. Shawn McLaughlin as Lysander and Rebecca Hirota as Hermia
No comments:
Post a Comment