Planet Connections Interview - Diánna Martin of "Coyote On a Fence"

By Byrne Harrison

Name: Diánna Martin
Show: Coyote On a Fence (free staged reading)

Relationship to production: Producer/director/actor


How did you first get involved in theatre?

This is my third year with Planet Connections, and I always end up being the one doing the interview, so I’m trying to come up with something different! I come from a theatrical family, so I suppose since I was a small child. I did move on and focus on writing for a time, as well as working in Television and Radio, and was working on filmmaking as well (shooting camera, directing, and editing) but I returned to theatre in the early 2000s at the request of my family, who saw that I wasn’t happy with what I was doing. In theatre, I soared. I enjoy other mediums of visual work, but few have the same flame that theatre ignites. It’s a rush better than any other.

Who are your biggest influences?

My parents (Ann Wedgeworth, Ernie Martin), without a doubt, who between the two of them act, direct, and teach acting (which are all things I do now as well). They are incredible and have shaped my life creatively and are my immediate inspirations. As well, there are so many brilliant – and I use that word sparingly -  actors and directors who have inspired me to go further, by seeing the amazing work they do. To list them would be tedious, so I’ll throw out a few names for theatre: Kate Blanchett, Sam Sheppard, Mike Nichols, William Hurt, Jessica Lange. I am also, especially in regards to this project, very much influenced by the passion of the people around me, who I have created and worked with, in particular an actor/teacher/director/writer David Robinette, who was also a student of my father’s as well. Seeing him go forth and pursue dramatically the things that I wanted to do – gave me inspiration to try and try and try again.

What is your show about?

On the surface, Coyote On a Fence is about two men on death row in a Southern Prison and the questions: What is true evil? True innocence or guilt? And questions the death penalty itself – never taking a side, but showing two sides to every coin. One man is a sworn member of the Aryan Nation and committed a horrific crime; the other is an intellectual who works tries to use his publicity as a champion of inmates’ rights with his newspaper to save the lives of those around him. Around them to help tell the tale – and be effected by these men -  are a female corrections officer and a reporter for the New York Times, both of whom have their own issues and needs to be involved.

Underneath the surface, it is about the push and pull of people’s choices coming from the most dire of circumstances; of the desire to be loved, of hate, and basically the mediums that are the most extreme of the human condition. This play is funny, tragic, beautifully well-written, and makes one think and question – I believe, anyway – regardless of what their stance is on capital punishment. I think people will talk about the play for days after seeing it – I know everyone who has read it has.

What inspired you to direct and produce it?

I started this project about four years ago on and off, with my fellow actors/directors in crime, David Robinette and Robert Michaels – the former actually bringing me this play, which I had never seen; never heard of Bruce Graham, and we began work with another actor and it became magical. At one point I was asked to direct as well as act in it, since the character Shawna that I play is mostly in monologue, and as the prison guard is watching the actors on stage – so it kind of works. If we were doing a production I would have to relinquish the directorial reigns (although find someone whose work I trusted – and let go of my ego!!!) so that I could play this character…since Shawna speaks to me in ways on a very personal level. Eventually, due to other projects and David moving to California, we stopped working on it – and I vowed to bring it back.

Although I am an active member in three theatre companies, this past year I finally formed a producing entity, The In-Pulse Group, a producing arm of Martin Acting Studios, for producing readings, and hopefully someday, productions, since I want to focus on revivals for this producing arm. I am blessed in that I am surrounded by many fine actors, playwrights, and directors in my theatrical community, and I enjoy working with them, even if it means just getting a few people together to read a play and go have a beer and talk about it. So Coyote is the first one that I brought, casting it with people I have either directed or acted with before and found their creativity and talent to be rewarding, and their work as actors perfect for the characters. What will be performed in this PCTF staged reading is very simple: music stands and talented actors perfect for the roles reading a brilliant play that I think is one of the most compelling works I’ve read – or worked on -  in the past ten years. This reading is a labor of love for me – make no mistake. It’s also my first theatrical producing effort on my own – so I’ve been learning a lot. 

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

As I mentioned, I originally collaborated with David Robinette (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1284223/) and Robert Michaels on this play, but now we have Michael Vincent Carrera* (who I directed in a 2010 Fringe Show, “Banshee of Bainbridge” by Jim Tierney), Anthony Crep (with whom I acted in the MTWorks production of “The Oath) and Mark Emerson*(with whom I have acted and have also directed in various readings both for MTWorks and Oberon Theatre ensemble and evening of scenes). Maureen O’Boyle (also a brilliant actress with whom I have acted in “The Oath” and directed in the 2010 production of  Carol Carpenter’s “Good Lonely People” in PCTF, both MTWorks productions) is reading stage directions and introducing the show. Adam Samtur is my Stage Manager and keeper of my sanity.

Why was it important to you to be part of an eco-friendly theatre festival?

Planet Connections Theatre Festivity is amazing. The work they do to try to marry art with outreach and the survival of our planet is wonderful. They are doing something incredible – and they’ve been doing it for a few years now, and every year it’s better. Ten years from now other festivals are going to look back on what Glory and the rest of PCTF started and hope that they can be as beneficial to the community. Reminding the community that not only is theatre and performance art important but also making our world a healthier place to live – that’s pretty awesome in my opinion.

Planet Connections donates a portion of the box office for each show to a charity.  What charity has your production chosen and why?

I chose CEDARS as the charity, which is the same one that Jim and Rachel Tierney chose last year for our PCTF production of “Carry On”.

For “Coyote”, I think it’s very important because it focuses on saving kids in crisis: neglected children, families torn apart – both after the fact and also in prevention. The character that Mark Emerson plays, Bobby, is definitely a child who could have benefitted from an organization like CEDARS, and I can’t think of a better charity for our show. I also think it’s so important because when you think about it: how many men and women in prison come from broken homes? We need more organizations like CEDARS to help possibly prevent a percentage of those people from ever having to enter those doors.
 
What's next for you after Planet Connections?

The In-Pulse Group will be hopefully putting up 6 readings in the next 6 months. I’ve been very fortunate to be sent plays by a few very talented playwrights who are interested in my possibly directing their work. I’m going to spend time reading and also auditioning; I spent most of the last two years directing, and I want to go back to acting more and more – my love for the both of them is extreme.

I’ve also gotten bitten by the writing bug again (I was a writer for many years during my “I don’t want to follow in my parents’ footsteps” years) so…I am trying to write a one-woman show. We shall see what that brings.

And then there is my acting coaching and classes…
 

If you could work with any famous actor, living or dead, who would it be?

Jimmy Stewart. The intensity and passion he put into his work was spellbinding. I would love to work with him, talk to him about the work (I have a feeling that he and I would be very different in our approach, from articles I’ve read on him) and give him a kiss. Just a little one. J

For more information about Coyote on a Fence, visit http://planetconnections.org/coyote-on-a-fence/.

Planet Connections Interview - Craig J. Horsley of "Men Who Let Women Do Too Much"

By Byrne Harrison

Craig J Horsley has been in the accounting/finance field for over twenty five years. For the past twelve years he has been an independent consultant working with several Fortune 500 companies implementing budgets, preparing financials and monitoring capital projects. He has a BS in Accounting, an MBA in Finance, and RSC Certification as a teacher of English as a Second Language. He is a native New Yorker but has traveled to quite a few far off countries. He lived in Abu Dhabi in the Middle East for seven years where he was the Finance and Admin Manager for a subsidiary of the American oil company, Hess Corp. Living overseas infected him with the travel bug which resulted in his trekking the Inca Trail, exploring Bhutan and climbing Kilimanjaro. When not climbing mountains and sleeping in tents, his favorite location is an aisle seat in a New York City theater.

He is a very strong supporter of the theater; he is a Board member of Abingdon Theater Company, has been a patron of NYMF (NY Musical Theater Festival) for the past three years, and is a member of TRU (Theater Resources Unlimited). He has invested in a number of Broadway plays including the current revivals of “Death of a Salesman” and “How to Succeed in Business,” “Peter and The Starcatcher,” “Lysistrata Jones” and “Catch Me If You Can.”

His first play “Men Who Let Women Do Too Much” will be given a staged reading at the Planet Connections Festivity this June at the Bleecker Street Theater.

How did you first get involved in theatre?

I lived in the Middle East in Abu Dhabi for seven years as the Finance Manager of an oil company. I returned to New York and realized that if I plan to stay in NY I am going to do something that you can’t do anywhere else – and that was attend live theater. For the past 15 years I have seen close to 100 shows each year. After seeing some “not so good” theater I decided to try my hand at writing. I wrote two scripts and I submitted this one to Planet Connections. Hope this is better than “not so good.” I always wanted to be involved in TV or theater but I had an incredibly high pitched voice growing up so any thought of being on stage was out of the question. The voice has been fixed but I figured let’s start out writing before I take the plunge on stage.

Who are your biggest influences?

In life my mother was a very good person; she passed away too young but I feel she is with me always. With regard to my writing style I would have to say Erma Bombeck (does anyone still remember her?); I loved the way she took every day occasions and put humor to them but on those special occasions she could write something that could really tug at your heart. In my pursuit of creative endeavors, I would say the years of watching I Love Lucy made me appreciate humor and the therapy of laughter. Can you believe only three writers would write 39 episodes per season back then? For sheer genius I would say Stephen Sondheim, who I only really discovered fifteen years ago, but I am in awe of his talent.

What is your show about?

“Men Who Let Women Do Too Much” is a series of relationship vignettes; various male/female relationships starting from birth (mother/son) through romantic, family and professional situations. The title came to me years ago as I was going through the self - help section in Barnes & Noble and laughed at how many books there were. Originally I was going to write a graphic novel with the title but the play came out quicker and I can’t draw.

What inspired you to write it?

I love theater and wanted to be an active part in it. I have been investing in theater for the past 5 years and I have been a Board member of a couple of theater companies. Being an accountant by day I wanted to tap into my creative side (even more creative than accounting).

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

I wrote this play a few years ago. When I submitted the show to Planet Connections, I had just finished two classes of improvisation at the PIT. It was my first experience of being on stage. When my play was accepted as a reading in the festival, my first thoughts of casting were my improv instructor, Bradford Jordan and one of my fellow students, Tammy McNeil. Fortunately they are both available. I now need to find 3 or 4 more actors before we start running out of time.

Why was it important to you to be part of an eco-friendly theatre festival?

I have been a financial contributor to an organization that is involved in micro-financing for women in South America. When I saw that Planet Connections was involved in charity foundations, the coincidence of writing a play about men who let women do too much and my involvement with an organization that has women start businesses to support their families was too much of a sign that I had to get involved. The eco friendly part – well I hate to date myself but – I remember being in 7^th grade on the very first Earth Day and walking to school rather than taking the school bus and collecting trash off the street and planting something (don’t know what I planted – I lived in an apartment building); so I guess I have always been concerned with the environment.

Planet Connections donates a portion of the box office for each show to a charity.  What charity has your production chosen and why?

I believe in Pro Mujer as most of the money goes to the actual cause. In actuality each dollar is turned over a number of times as these are loans and the women who start the businesses pay back the loans so these funds are lent out multiple times. The interest the women pay funds the admin costs of the organization. Really like this charity.

What's next for you after Planet Connections?

WOW! I would love to take this show onward. I think it would actually make a great musical. I have no rhythm, unfortunately, and I have been asked not to sing more often than not. I have invited some music composers to the reading so hopefully they will see something in the show and want to collaborate. I want to do the lyrics though.

I have another play that I would like to mount after this experience. It’s a one man show based on one very strange week in my life when I lived in Abu Dhabi and traveled to New York to bid on Joan Crawford’s Oscar.

If you could do one thing to change the world, what would it be?

Open up people’s minds to new thinking and ideas. If I could get people to realize that the world is an “us” rather than a “me vs. you”, I think a lot of the issues we face would be solved. It’s our planet so don’t pollute, don’t waste natural resources. It’s a world economy so if you work and make money, you can buy the things I want to sell. It’s better to have a majority of healthy well fed individuals than many poor and sick living beside a few extremely wealthy and overly medicated. Open minds would take the blinders off of the people who can help.

There are only a few seats left for this reading, to find out more visit: http://planetconnections.org/men-who-let-women-do-too-much/.

Planet Connections Interview - Susan Wallack of "Searching for a New Sun"

By Byrne Harrison

Name: Susan Wallack
Show: “Searching For a New Sun”
Relationship to production: Producer, Actor

How did you first get involved in theatre?

I had wanted to act my whole life, but due to many circumstances too lengthy to write about, I started at age 40. I took the best acting classes in NY, even though I lived in MD. Singing lessons added a great belt to my soprano. I felt like a new person.

Who are your biggest influences?

Just seeing great productions of plays and working with students at Columbia, thereby, listening to Anne Bogart who is amazing.

What is your show about?

It is about a grandmother who lives with her granddaughter and doesn’t want to share her past about The Holocaust. It has humor in it. It is not maudlin.

What inspired you to produce it?

I had done a reading of it as an actor. The playwright Robin Rice Lichtig is amazing and has won many awards and has plays being done around the country and this year in Edinburgh so I decided to produce it as well for Planet Connections.

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

I know the work of Katrin Hilbe. She directs plays and operas and is interested in things that are unusual. I’ll be working with 4 other actresses with whom I have never worked which is really exciting-Tatania Pavela, Emma Galvin, Liz de Betta and Valerie David. The writer and director did the casting.

Why was it important to you to be part of an eco-friendly theatre festival?

I have been in the festival twice before -- sharing material -- and the whole concept is so important in the world today.

Planet Connections donates a portion of the box office for each show to a charity.  What charity has your production chosen and why?

We can’t give to a charity because we are doing a reading but we are supporting 2 organizations: UJA and Heifer International. Ours is a showcase.

What's next for you after Planet Connections?

I have no idea. Things pop up all the time and it’s always a surprise.

If you could do one thing to change the world, what would it be?

Stop wars. I can’t even read the newspaper. There is so much animosity between people of different religions and races it never stops. Someone always wants to be dominant and there is so much bloodshed.

For more information, visit www.planetconnections.org/searching-for-a-new-sun

Interview with Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai of "Say You Heard My Echo"

By Byrne Harrison
Headshot by Katie Piper
Production photo by Adam Payne

Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai is a Chicago-born, Brooklyn-based, Chinese Taiwanese American spoken word artist who has performed at over 500 venues worldwide including three seasons on "Russell Simmons Presents HBO Def Poetry." Winner of an Asian American Arts Alliance/NYFA Urban Artist Initiative NYC Award & an Asian Women's Giving Circle Grant, she was profiled on Idealist in NYC's Top 40 New Yorkers Who Make Positive Social Change, AngryAsianMan.com’s “30 Most Influential Asian Americans Under 30,” and HBO's "East of Main Street: Asians Aloud." www.yellowgurl.com, FB: Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, Twitter: @yellowgurlpoet, Bandcamp: kellytsai.bandcamp.com)

Tell me about Say You Heard My Echo.

Say You Heard My Echo is a spoken word poetry theater project that tracks the stories of three young Asian Pacific Islander American women in New York today. They've each been impacted by the "echoes" of 9/11 in different ways - an Indian American burlesque dancer turned activist who is a survivor of the Twin Towers, a Chinese American hip hop mc and recently returned veteran from Operation Iraqi Freedom, a Pakistani American librarian whose family has been affected by the detainment and interrogation of Muslim communities post 9/11.

All of the women are grappling with these issues simultaneously with just living life and learning to love, adjust to change, hold their families together. Amidst these challenges, they each call on a woman of their respective faiths - Mary Magdalene, Guan Yin, and Aisha - who each show up to the challenge of what these women are going through in different ways.

We have a fantastic cast (myself, plus Aizzah Fatima and Yainidream), director (Jesse Y. Jou), dramaturg (Amissa Miller), and producers (Nancy Kim & Andre Lancaster) for the staged reading at the Poetic License Theater Festival. Folks who really understand the mixture of theater and cabaret performance like spoken word poetry as well as the political, personal, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of the work.

What was the inspiration for they play?

I'm proud to say that this play was commissioned by Asian American Arts Alliance (A4) and supported by major funding from Asian Women's Giving Circle, with additional support from NYU A/P/A Institute and Flushing Council for the Arts. Nico Daswani, the program manager at A4, had approached me about creating a project that would explore ideas of faith, womanhood, and 9/11 for the Asian Pacific Islander American community in NYC.

The commission sparked a lot of my own personal interest in and passion for exploring how spiritual life shows up in contemporary life today in worlds as diverse as burlesque, activism, hip hop, the military, how we archive our histories, our families. We presented a staged reading/workshop production for their Call & Response Mini-Festival in October 2011. The full production will premiere at A4's Locating the Sacred Festival in September 2012 here in NYC. This reading at the Poetic License Theater Festival will be a stripped down version of the newest version of the script, so I'm very excited to see the newest revisions on their feet and have an audience's energy to feed the text and the energy of the performers.

Adeeba Rana, Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai,
and Yalini Dream from Oct. 2011
Workshop production

You say the characters reach out to Mary Magdalene, Guan Yin, and Aisha. What is it about these three religious figures that resonates with you?

In this piece, I really wanted to explore what it means to have a personal relationship with your faith, which for me, is so often in conflict with what we have to go through in our daily lives. So really the desires of the characters led me to these three women, which led me to connect with these women in different ways.

When I think of Mary Magdalene, I think of sensuality and belief even though you are maligned. When I think of Guan Yin, I think of the impossible task of showing mercy to all in a world wracked with so much evil as well as her role as the perceiver of sound. When I think of Aisha, I think of her access to knowledge and her incredible responsibility in spreading the word of the Prophet, and yet, very little is known about her. So lots of fertile ground to explore both personally and creatively.

What is next for you after this festival?

For Say You Heard My Echo, we will be developing and workshopping the play throughout the year in anticipation of its premiere in September 2012, so that will be a very exciting process as the designers get involved to their express their visions. The full production will be presented on a 3/4 thrust stage or in the round to really put the audience right there with the characters as well as to bring the heat and intimacy of spoken word poetry performance into the theatrical realm.

For me as a solo artist, I'm also in development for spoken word theater solo dance project called Formosa, which examines ideas of beauty, Western gaze, and globalization via the history of Barbie doll manufacturing in Taiwan. That project is also directed by Jesse Y. Jou, with Jessica Chen as choreographer, and producer Chie Morita. There will be a works-in-progress showing of that at New York Live Arts on January 20-21, 2012 and Museum of Chinese in America on March 15, 2012. For info on this, you can visit http://www.yellowgurl.com.

All of this is in addition to my work as a spoken word poet, which usually brings me on tour all over the U.S. and abroad for roughly 40-60 tour dates per year. So far for 2012, I'll be performing in Illinois, New York, Washington, Arkansas, West Virginia, and more dates are rolling in right now. So all this plus probably a few more spoken word poetry videos before the year is through.

If you had to describe your show using only three adjectives, what would you choose?

Smart. Sassy. Spiritual.

Tonight - "8" by Dustin Lance Black

Gingold Theatrical Group's Project Shaw Performance of Man and Superman Coming July 19th

By Byrne Harrison

The Gingold Theatrical Group's Project Shaw, a monthly reading series dedicated to the collected works of George Bernard Shaw, will be presenting Man and Superman on July 19th at 7 PM at the Players Club at 16 Gramercy Park South.

The cast will include Simon Jones, Josh Grisetti, Michael Cerveris, Elena Shaddow, Jayne Houdyshell, Charlotte Moore, Emily Loesser, Arnie Burton, A.J. Shively, Daniel Jenkins, and Bill Nolte. Time Out New York theatre editor and critic David Cote will narrate. Actor and musician Alexander Sovronsky will provide music for the performance.

Project Shaw's next performance, after a brief hiatus in August, will be Candida on September 27th.

Buy tickets early, this monthly series always sells out quickly. Featuring excellent casts, strong direction, and, of course, the marvelous wit and wisdom of George Bernard Shaw, Project Shaw is the most consistently well-produced reading series in the city.

For more information or to purchase tickets, click here.

Review - Late Nights with the Boys: confessions of a leather bar chanteuse (The Lopsided Company and FRIGID New York)

By Byrne Harrison

In an earlier interview with StageBuzz.com, Alex Bond pointed out that Late Nights with the Boys: confessions of a leather bar chanteuse is not a show, as such; it is a reading from Bond's novel of the same title, a fictionalized version of her days as a cabaret singer at a Dallas gay bar.

Fair enough. However, five minutes into Alex Bond and David Carson's performance, you may very well forget that they are reading.

Late Nights with the Boys follows a series of meetings between Anna Zander, former debutante and leather bar cabaret singer, and Craig Bauer, the eager young writer who is helping her write her memoirs. A proper Southern lady who nonetheless has a wild and adventurous side, Anna fascinates Craig, and he strives to create a masterpiece about the happiest time of her life, while satisfying his curiosity about this charming woman who seems so full of contradictions. Over the course of the performance, the audience gets to see Craig and Anna interact and hear Craig's preliminary chapters of Anna's memoirs.

Both Bond and Carson are engaging and entertaining actors. Carson excels at showing Craig's eagerness and his growing fascination with Anna. Bond is outstanding as Anna, capturing her down-home charm and the naughty twinkle in her eye. Using economical gestures - a sly smile here, a raised eyebrow there - Bond creates a fascinating, puckish character, and like Craig, it's impossible not to want to know more about her.

Therein lies the only flaw in this production, it made me wish they had time to read the whole book. If the rest of her work is anything like witty, well-crafted sample that was produced as part of the FRIGID New York festival, then Late Nights with the Boys: confessions of a leather bar chanteuse is a must-read.

If you miss Late Nights with the Boys, there is another opportunity to see Bond and Carson perform together. Maieutic Theatre Works has announced that they will be playing husband and wife in the world premiere of David Stallings' Barrier Island in May.

Late Nights with the Boys: confessions of a leather bar chanteuse
Written by Alex Bond
Directed by Steven Yuhasz

Featuring: Alex Bond and David Carson

UNDER St. Marks
94 St. Marks Place

Wed 2/24 - 6:00 PM
Sat 2/27 - 7:00 PM
Mon 3/01 - 9:00 PM
Fri 3/05 - 6:00 PM
Sun 3/07 - 2:30 PM

Reading - Come Again (WorkShop Theater Company)

On Sunday October 7 the WorkShop Theater Company’s “Sundays at Six” series presents a free reading of

COME AGAIN

a comedy in five sexual acts

by Rich Orloff

four wonderful actors

Richard Kent Green*, Gary Mink*, Tracy Newirth*, Kari Swenson Riely

in five short plays set in one hotel room about five different combos:
- a married couple with conflicting scoring methods
- a threesome with a guy who’s still learning where to put what
- a lesbian couple who decide to strip away pretenses
- two swinging couples sharing one check
- a woman alone who gets tied up in a game of dare

stage directions read by Tanya Marten*

Note: These plays contain mature themes and immature characters

*members, Actors Equity

Performance times and dates are subject to change.

Please call (212) 695-4173 to confirm.

Reading - The Book of Ted (WorkShop Theater Company)

The WorkShop Theater Company presents a free reading.

1960. Late Summer. Ted and Mary have a great marriage, great friends and a great life. If only it weren’t for this pesky hurricane…Another beautiful day in the heart of the fabulous Florida Keys!

THE BOOK OF TED

by David Schmitt

featuring

C. K. Allen Frank Biancamano* Ken Glickfeld* Milton James*Joshua Knapp Cam Kornman* Jim Nugent* Linda Segal*

*Member, Actors’ Equity Association

directed by Scott C. Sickles

Thursday thru Saturday

October 11 thru 13 at 8:00 p.m.

Performance times and dates are subject to change.

Please call (212) 695-4173 to confirm.