FRIGID New York Interview - Ed Malin of "Generic Magic Realism"

By Byrne Harrison

Name: Ed Malin

Show: Generic Magic Realism

Website: www.temeritytheatre.org

Ed Malin’s plays include The Inconstant Infection, Film Noix, Dog Spelled Backwards Is Krishna,  L’aardvarcchio, I Shall Not Be Suede, Judge Yuri & Executioner, The Color Brunette, The Addicts, Inversion of the Baby Snatchers, and Girl=Mass°Anorexia. His work has been performed at FringeNYC (’97, ’05, ’06, '09), Frigid New York, Samuel French Festival, manhattantheatresource, Nuyorican Poets Café  Brecht Forum, Galapagos, the Wicked Ren Faire and Nuyorican Poets Café.    Ed edited the Spontaneous Combustion Anthology for manhattantheatresource, has several plays available online from Indie Theater Now, and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.  Readings of his work appeared recently at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, The Home Of, and Dixon Place.    

What’s your show about? 

   

What happens when the magical world of your average South American person is transplanted to a more northern, less magical, more real location? Join Octavio as he discovers poetry, satire, love, birds, chocolate, hippies and explosives on the way from the Andes to San Francisco during the fragrant 1960s. 

What inspired you to write it?

One day, I was at a crunchy yoga retreat and I asked myself whether there was something special about the Southern Hemisphere that would justify the amazing writing coming from Latin America.  It turns out, there are no flightless birds in the Northern Hemisphere, and birds are important to many cultures and economies of Latin America.  It took off from there.

Who else is involved with the show?

Nat Cassidy is the solo performer.  DeLisa White is the Director. Lauren Arneson is the Stage Manager.  Kristina Leath-Malin is the Graphic Designer.

Who is your dream audience for this show?

This show is a parody of South American “magic realism” literature, but it’s about real life and should appeal to most people who enjoy listening to a 45-minute monologue.  I am anticipating lots of literary and actor people will come to see it.

Who are your biggest influences?

For this show, I drew on Gabriel Garcia Márquez, Isabel Allende, and Salman Rushdie.   I also like Tom Stoppard, David Mitchell, Haruki Murakami, Kurt Vonnegut, and lots of jazz musicians.

What other shows are you planning to see at FRIGID?

I am seeing all thirty of them.  Based on last year’s shows, I am looking forward to Sisters Grimm: Fables of the Stage and Two Lovely Black Eyes.

What's next for you after FRIGID?

I am working on a series of detective stories starring Midwestern sleuth Barry Sachs.  Part one premiered in the 2012 Manhattan Theatre Source InGenius Festival.

Lightning round

Paper or plastic?  Paper

Comedy or drama?  Comedy

Beach or mountains?  Mountains

Black box or proscenium?  Black box

Glee or Smash?  Glee

Cats or dogs?  Cats

Musical or straight play?  Straight play


Generic Magic Realism plays at The Red Room on the following dates:

Feb 25, 7:35PM
Feb 27, 10:45PM
Mar 02, 1:35PM