By Byrne Harrison
Unfortunately, I was unable to see as much of the FRIGID Festival as I would have liked, especially given the great interviews that the participants gave. Here is a brief round up of the first FRIGID shows that I was able to see. I hope that this encourages you to check out this year's terrific offerings.
Fate, Fury, and Musical Theatre: A Kind of Cabaret
Written and Performed by Liz Wasser
Directed by Amanda Thompson
Choreographer: Chanda Calentine
Stage Manager: Laura Hirschberg
Producer: Matt Franzetti
Pianist & Musical Director: Kristin Sgarro
Featuring: Liz Wasser, Michael Hull, Kennedy Kanagawa, Ryan David LaMont
This inventive show follows Liz, an actress pushed to the breaking point by a bad Equity open call, who after running to Montauk meets the incarnation of the ancient Greek gods, the Fates/Furies (Michael Hull, Kennedy Kanagawa, Ryan David LaMont). The three Fates, who know everything about human destiny, are unable to directly affect it, though they can give it a little nudge from time to time. In a game of cat and mouse, Liz tries to figure out where her life is going, and what she should be doing with it.
The show is terrific, and features some talented actors. Wasser is a strong playwright and performer. Fate, Fury, and Musical Theatre features clever, snappy dialogue (especially for the Fates, portrayed here not as women, but as flamboyant, fabulous gay men). The music is well done (both in terms of Music Director Kristin Sgarro's work and the strong voices of the actors), and featured some very clever mash-ups (my favorite being one that mixed Lady Gaga and Sweeney Todd). Chanda Calentine's choreography was terrific and made good use of the limited space. Amanda Thompson's direction was outstanding. All in all a very good production.
Hi, How Can I Help You?
Written and Performed by Scout Durwood
Directed by Lucile Baker Scott
Sometimes one-man shows have a tendency to get a little self-indulgent. This is most certainly not the case in Scout Durwood's play about the ladies (and customers) at a local "house of domination." Set on the eve of the 2008 election, everyone has different reactions to the brash upstart, Barack Obama, who is bringing a message of hope to the country, but like him or not, everyone is affected by the new energy that is sweeping the nation.
The play gives a slice-of-life view of a night at the house. Jane, one of the girls who left to get a legitimate job, has returned after failing in the outside work world. Most of the girls welcome her back, but not Genevieve, her younger, prettier rival. The most interesting scenes of the play feature interactions between the two. Also part of the mix are Charlotte, a flighty English girl, Darcy, the receptionist and Jane-of-all-trades at the house, and Lisa, the seen-it-all owner of the house. Durwood does an exceptional job bringing these women (and a couple of their customers) to life in this play that features music, comedy, hula hoops, recorders, and a host of other props (trust me, it's cool).
One conceit of the play didn't always work for me. At times, the audience is put in the role of the "new girl," someone who is trying to get a job at the house, and at others, the audience is acknowledged as the audience and the play is acknowledged to be just a play. I think it would have been stronger if the audience had had one role only. Personally, I liked the audience as "new girl."
Overall however, this was an excellent production. Durwood is an amazingly versatile actor. It was easy to forget as she moved from character to character that she was only one person.
Paradise Lost
By John Milton
Adapted, Directed and Performed by Paul Van Dyck
Lighting design by Jody Burkholder
Puppet designer: Lyne Paquette
CGI artist: Jeremy Eliosoff
Van Dyck's Paradise Lost celebrates theatricality. Featuring CGI projections, puppetry, masks, and music, this retelling of Satan's fall and the corruption of Adam and Eve is outstanding and one of the highlights of the festival. Van Dyck is an engaging performer with good vocal range that he uses to great effect as he plays brings to life Satan, Sin, Death, Adam and Eve, and God. Jeremy Eliosoff's CGI work is excellent and adds many dimensions to an already strong show.
For me, however, the real surprise was Lyne Paquette's Adam and Eve puppets and the excellent job that Van Dyck did in animating them. It was wonderful to watch.
I highly recommend that you see this play while you can, and I hope we will be seeing more of Paul Van Dyck and this inspired show.
Saving Tania's Privates
Written and Performed by Tania Kattan
Directed by Carys Kresny
Stage Manager: Emily Reitman
Lighting Design: AJ Epstein
Sound Design: Rob Witmer
Dramaturg/Associate Producer: Liza Comtois
Marketing/PR: Stephanie Schroeder
Additional Marketing: Kirsten Berkman Winikoff
Shirt Design: www.partybots.org
It's odd to think that a play about breast cancer and breakups can be a comedy, but Tania Kattan's riotously funny Saving Tania's Privates is just that. Dealing with her family issues, dating life, and her two bouts of breast cancer and the mastectomies that followed each bout, this could have been a really dark play. Kattan went the other route, and created a wildly funny, but remarkably moving play about her life and struggles. Through humor, Kattan finds strength, and that comes out clearly in this show.
Kattan is both a good storyteller and actress, expertly bringing her friends, lovers and family to life onstage. Featuring outstanding direction by Carys Kresny, this funny and powerful play is not to be missed.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
"The Tragedy of Maria Macabre," Rachel Klein's Latest Production, Plays Tomorrow
Rachel Klein Productions’ morbid dance drama, The Tragedy of Maria Macabre, will perform its first full-length production on Wednesday, March 2nd at 7:30 PM at Dixon Place (161A Chrystie Street).
Upon dying, Maria Macabre is not granted eternal slumber, but instead a whirling, kaleidoscopic carnival of horrors: a morbid funhouse where humanity is stripped away and a permanent place in the gruesome chorus line is all but assured. The Tragedy of Maria Macabre is a ghoulish movement and visual based theater piece that uses dancers and physical actors to create a world of fantasy and spectacle. It is a work of theater, dance, and performance art.
The Tragedy of Maria Macabre stars Abigail Hawk (from CBS’s “Bluebloods” with Tom Selleck), Danielle Marie Fusco (Martha Graham Company, Joyce Soho) Eric Schmalenberger (The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, The Citizens Band) and RKP regulars: Elizabeth Stewart, Michael Porsche, Megan O’Connor, Preston Burger, Freddy Mancilla, and Brian Rubiano. Conceived and Directed by Rachel Klein (Circus of Circus at the House of Yes, Princes of Darkness at Theater for the New City, Hound at Planet Connections Theater Festivity). Story by Rachel Klein and Sean Gill. Featuring Music by Borut Krzisnik (Peter Greenaways’ The Tulse Luper Suitcases) Costume and Wig Design by Rachel Klein, Makeup Design by Anita Rundles, and Sound Design by Sean Gill. Stage Managed by Marina Steinberg. Choreography by Rachel Klein, Preston Burger, Danielle Marie Fusco, and the Ensemble.
The Tragedy of Maria Macabre will perform on Wednesday, March 2nd, at 7:30 PM at Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street btwn Rivington and Delancey. F to 2nd Ave, J to Bowery, B, D to Grand, 4, 6 to Spring
Tickets available at https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/8640235
$15 general admission. $12 Students and Seniors.
Rachel Klein Productions (RKP) is a NYC-based theater company that strives to communicate its artistic vision primarily through visual storytelling techniques. Relying on innovative performances and lavish design elements, RKP’s ensemble of actors, dancers, circus performers, and performance artists convey a highly stylized representation of reality that is much more bold and often fantastical. RKP aims to create art that explores and elicits genuine human emotion, which is amplified through the actions and reactions of its characters, allowing the audience to simultaneously identify with the human condition and enjoy the artistic qualities of the performance.
Rachel Klein Productions has produced several full-length plays (both movement and text based) including Metro, Sir Sheever, Aenigma, and Go-Go Killers!, and co-produced Hound, All Kind of Shifty Villains, and Stage Blood is Never Enough. The Rachel Klein Theater Dancers have performed all over the city in different festivals, art gallery openings, and nightlife events including the opening number to Night of 1,000 Stevies (20th anniversary), the Highline Ballroom, La MaMa Moves! at La MaMa E.T.C. in 2009 and 2010, Dixon Place, the premier of Banzai! at the Red Lotus Room, Low Life @ HOWL Festival, (le) Poisson Rouge, the House of Yes, Rated X at Don Hills, the Hiro Ballroom, the Bushwick Site Fest at 3rd Ward, the Bushwick Open Studios Festival, the World Famous Bob’s Give Thanks!, Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO, the NY Downtown Clown Review, and Off-Broadway at the Bleecker Street Theater (45 Bleecker, Main Theater).
“There are certain directors whose work is instantly recognizable. Having seen a few Rachel Klein productions, I would add her to this list. Klein's productions feature an otherworldly feel, highlighted by odd costume pieces, choreographed movement, and a bold, non-realistic acting style.”
-Byrne Harrison, Stagebuzz
“Rachel Klein brings a heap of experience -- in ballet, clowning and acrobatics -- to the plays she works on. Her direction of the recent All Kinds of Shifty Villains showed an original mix of grace and slapstick that stretched the comedy and made for some clever theatrical surprises.”
-Tom Murrin, Paper Magazine
"That the deadpan delivery and physical screwball comedy coexist naturally is a marvel on behalf of the playwright as well as director Rachel Klein, whose exaggerated sex-kitten poses for leading lady Precious Jones and slapstick fight sequences inspire many well-deserved laughs.”
- Ronni Reich, Backstage
The Tragedy of Maria Macabre will perform on Wednesday, March 2nd, at 7:30 PM at Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street btwn Rivington and Delancey. F to 2nd Ave, J to Bowery, B, D to Grand, 4, 6 to Spring
Tickets available at https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/8640235
$15 general admission. $12 Students and Seniors.
Rachel Klein Productions (RKP) is a NYC-based theater company that strives to communicate its artistic vision primarily through visual storytelling techniques. Relying on innovative performances and lavish design elements, RKP’s ensemble of actors, dancers, circus performers, and performance artists convey a highly stylized representation of reality that is much more bold and often fantastical. RKP aims to create art that explores and elicits genuine human emotion, which is amplified through the actions and reactions of its characters, allowing the audience to simultaneously identify with the human condition and enjoy the artistic qualities of the performance.
Rachel Klein Productions has produced several full-length plays (both movement and text based) including Metro, Sir Sheever, Aenigma, and Go-Go Killers!, and co-produced Hound, All Kind of Shifty Villains, and Stage Blood is Never Enough. The Rachel Klein Theater Dancers have performed all over the city in different festivals, art gallery openings, and nightlife events including the opening number to Night of 1,000 Stevies (20th anniversary), the Highline Ballroom, La MaMa Moves! at La MaMa E.T.C. in 2009 and 2010, Dixon Place, the premier of Banzai! at the Red Lotus Room, Low Life @ HOWL Festival, (le) Poisson Rouge, the House of Yes, Rated X at Don Hills, the Hiro Ballroom, the Bushwick Site Fest at 3rd Ward, the Bushwick Open Studios Festival, the World Famous Bob’s Give Thanks!, Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO, the NY Downtown Clown Review, and Off-Broadway at the Bleecker Street Theater (45 Bleecker, Main Theater).
“There are certain directors whose work is instantly recognizable. Having seen a few Rachel Klein productions, I would add her to this list. Klein's productions feature an otherworldly feel, highlighted by odd costume pieces, choreographed movement, and a bold, non-realistic acting style.”
-Byrne Harrison, Stagebuzz
“Rachel Klein brings a heap of experience -- in ballet, clowning and acrobatics -- to the plays she works on. Her direction of the recent All Kinds of Shifty Villains showed an original mix of grace and slapstick that stretched the comedy and made for some clever theatrical surprises.”
-Tom Murrin, Paper Magazine
"That the deadpan delivery and physical screwball comedy coexist naturally is a marvel on behalf of the playwright as well as director Rachel Klein, whose exaggerated sex-kitten poses for leading lady Precious Jones and slapstick fight sequences inspire many well-deserved laughs.”
- Ronni Reich, Backstage
2012 NewBorn Festival Seeking Submissions
Submissions for The 2012 National NewBorn Festival are now open through June 2011. Now on its sixth year, "NewBorn" is MTWorks flagship program, created to find talented emerging playwrights from across the US, introduce their work to the New York community, and open new doors to regional voices. For the first time MTWorks will be accepting new musicals for consideration.
Submitted plays and musicals must meet the following criteria:
The world of the play/musical must take place in a region outside of New York City.
The play/musical must not have had a prior production in NYC.
MTWorks strongly encourages writers living in any region of the United States to apply.
The selected playwrights will be awarded:
One full reading of their work in a festival environment.
Assigned professional director / musical director and cast to work on their play.
“Playwright Spotlight” Newsletter received by over 3,000 members of the NY Theatre Industry.
Networking "Meet the Playwrights" Event.
Complimentary tickets to MTWorks shows, invited dress rehearsals and other special events.
Artistic and professional support from the MTWorks staff.
Second reading if your play/musical wins The Audience Favorite Award.
Eligibility for the MTWorks Board of Director's Excellence in Playwriting Award.
Consideration for future MTWorks productions.
REQUIREMENTS:
We are only interested in full-length plays and full-length musicals at the moment (at least 90min in length).
Applicants must submit the following:
A Cover Letter (can be in the body of the email).
A ten (10) page excerpt of your play.
A half (1/2) page synopsis.
If you are submitting a musical also include one mp3 that best represents your score.
If you applied for NewBorn before, you must submit a different play.
You can only submit one play per year.
All material must be emailed (all together in one email) to plays@mtworks.org with [title of the play and your name] on the subject line.
If your contact information changes between your submission date and November, you are required to update your information by sending an email to plays@mtworks.org with [updated contact information for-your name] on the subject line.
SELECTION PROCESS
MTWorks will select the strongest candidates based on the plays/musicals overall theme, dialogue and structure.
MTWorks encourages scripts with large casts, different ethnicities and diverse backgrounds. We accept applications from all cities in the United States. Whether the play/musical is a drama or comedy, it must fit within MTWorks mission.
The request for your complete work is determined by David Stallings, Artistic Director. The final selection committee is comprised of David Stallings, Artistic Director and other artistic staff. This process is what we call “The Living Room Series."
Submission Dates:
March 1st - June 1st, 2011
submissions outside of these dates will not be considered)
Selection Announcement:
Around November 1st, 2011
The 2012 NewBorn Festival:
Late January - Early February 2012
Location TBA
Submitted plays and musicals must meet the following criteria:
The world of the play/musical must take place in a region outside of New York City.
The play/musical must not have had a prior production in NYC.
MTWorks strongly encourages writers living in any region of the United States to apply.
The selected playwrights will be awarded:
One full reading of their work in a festival environment.
Assigned professional director / musical director and cast to work on their play.
“Playwright Spotlight” Newsletter received by over 3,000 members of the NY Theatre Industry.
Networking "Meet the Playwrights" Event.
Complimentary tickets to MTWorks shows, invited dress rehearsals and other special events.
Artistic and professional support from the MTWorks staff.
Second reading if your play/musical wins The Audience Favorite Award.
Eligibility for the MTWorks Board of Director's Excellence in Playwriting Award.
Consideration for future MTWorks productions.
REQUIREMENTS:
We are only interested in full-length plays and full-length musicals at the moment (at least 90min in length).
Applicants must submit the following:
A Cover Letter (can be in the body of the email).
A ten (10) page excerpt of your play.
A half (1/2) page synopsis.
If you are submitting a musical also include one mp3 that best represents your score.
If you applied for NewBorn before, you must submit a different play.
You can only submit one play per year.
All material must be emailed (all together in one email) to plays@mtworks.org with [title of the play and your name] on the subject line.
If your contact information changes between your submission date and November, you are required to update your information by sending an email to plays@mtworks.org with [updated contact information for-your name] on the subject line.
SELECTION PROCESS
MTWorks will select the strongest candidates based on the plays/musicals overall theme, dialogue and structure.
MTWorks encourages scripts with large casts, different ethnicities and diverse backgrounds. We accept applications from all cities in the United States. Whether the play/musical is a drama or comedy, it must fit within MTWorks mission.
The request for your complete work is determined by David Stallings, Artistic Director. The final selection committee is comprised of David Stallings, Artistic Director and other artistic staff. This process is what we call “The Living Room Series."
Submission Dates:
March 1st - June 1st, 2011
submissions outside of these dates will not be considered)
Selection Announcement:
Around November 1st, 2011
The 2012 NewBorn Festival:
Late January - Early February 2012
Location TBA
The Brick Theater's Iranian Theater Festival Opens March 3rd
THE BRICK THEATER, INC.
PRESENTS
THE IRANIAN THEATER FESTIVAL
MARCH 3-26 @ THE BRICK
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Iran is one of the oldest civilizations in history. Persian theater, influenced by Arab, Assyrian and other cultures of the Middle East, has created many rich traditions of performance from ancient times through the modern day. Yet this vibrant heritage remains woefully underrepresented on American stages.
The Brick proposes to expand the boundaries of this cultural moment, and collaborate with Iranian theater artists in the U.S. and abroad, by hosting and producing the first festival in New York devoted solely to Iranian Theater.
The festival will include new works, in Persian and English, such as Something Something Über Alles written by Iranian exile and Hellman/Hammett Grant–winner Assurbanipal Babilla, Two Stories That End in Suicide by Piehole (inspired by Sadegh Hedayet’s The Blind Owl), a preview excerpt from Brendan Regimbal and Samara Naeymi’s Aviary, Leila Ghaznavi’s Silken Veils, newly-commissioned contemporary works from Iranian-based playwrights and participants of the Fadjr International Theatre Festival, and a special celebration of the traditional Iranian New Year’s holiday, Nowruz.
A special celebration of the late theater legend Reza Abdoh will include exclusive screenings of complete films of his original productions "The Hip-Hop Waltz of Eurydice" and "Quotations from a Ruined City" with special panel discussions by Dar a Luz company members, including Sabrina Artel, Juliana Francis-Kelly, and Tony Torn.
The Iranian Theater Festival will run March 3-26 at The Brick (575 Metropolitan Avenue between Union and Lorimer, Brooklyn). Tickets ($15) may be purchased online at www.bricktheater.com or by calling Theatermania at 212-352-3101.
Something Something Uber Ales
Written by Assurbanipal Babilla & Directed by Michael Yawney.
Performed by Matthew Glass
A bizarre and dramatic journey of epic proportions, as our lonely actor recalls the life of a man whose only noticeable feature is that he is Hitler's doppelganger. Listen as he is discovered by two gay pastry chefs and inducted into a Hitler worshipping cult located miles and miles below the F Train in Midtown Manhattan.
Silken Veils
Written & directed by Leila Ghaznavi
Presented by Pantea Productions
An elegant hybdrization of Rumi poetry, marionettes, shadow puppets, live performance, animation, and contemporary Iranian history, Silken Veilsin an original work showing the turbulence and passion of family during the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Told through the eyes of Darya, the daughter character in this piece, we see how the Revolution pulled down her family as she recounts her memories to her fiancée on their wedding day. Fringe First Nominee at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. www.silkenveils.net
2 Stories That End in Suicide
Presented by Piehole
2 Stories That End in Suicide uses video, puppetry, and live actors to tell the story of contemporary youth in Iran, and the limitations of Western media representations. We draw from two seemingly disparate novels (Cesare Pavese’s Among Women Only and Sadegh Hedayet’s The Blind Owl),as well as the censorship laws required by the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the blogging habits of young Iranians. Tying these threads together with our distinctive brand of strangeness and humor, we probe ideas of private and public suffering and examine the repressed and complex conditions in Iranian society. www.pieholed.com
Aviary, A preview excerpt
Created by Brendan Regimbal & Samara Naeymi
In a lush world of dense media-scapes, dance and traditional storytelling are used to collide the story of Scheherazade and her sister with the Victorian era’s Isabel Burton and Jane Digby. The full-length production of Aviary will premiere at the Incubator Arts Project in June 2011. www.snaeymi.com/sn/Current
Pen Pals Meet: A Conversation Between Eliza and Salar
Presented by Thinking Persons Theatre
In 2008 Eliza Bent received an email from Salar Sardary, an Iranian university student, who asked about how to view American Theatre Magazine online. From that interaction, an unlikely sporadic pen pal friendship formed. Two years later the pen pals meet officially over Skype and have a conversation, live on stage.
Ka
Written by Siavash Pakrah & Directed by Gyda Arber
Three slaves, entombed in their Master's crypt, search for faith, meaning and a way out of their prison. Before their air is gone. And before The Master arrives. Join us in a world of double and triple meanings that sheds light on contemporary Iran, where one thing always stands for another. Translated into English for the first time.
Three Eternal Days
Written by Mohammad Ebrahimian
University students in war-torn Iran wrestle with Rumi, The Quran and The Book of Revelations as their families struggle to survive. But when the air-raid sirens sing out, whose ethos will truly matter? A cultural, historical, religious, mythical tour de force set during the time of the Iraq missile attacks on Iran, Three Eternal Days is a contemporary work by Iranian playwright Mohammad Ebrahimian. Translated into English for the first time, the play is steeped in the traditional Ta'ziyah and the devotions of Saint Reza.
Bootleg Islam
Written & performed by Negin Farsad
Presented by Vaguely Qualified Productions
Bootleg Islamis a one-woman comedy about a California-raised Iranian-American girl gallivanting around the streets of Tehran, Iran. She travels to this Middle-Eastern hotbed for a cousin’s wedding and discovers how ridiculous oppression can be, how delicious the third world has become and how hard it is to keep a chador on. www.neginfarsad.com
Kharaji/Foreigner
Written & performed by Jaleh Stoltz
Foreigner is a personal exploration of faith, identity, and culture in an increasingly complicated world. Jaleh Stoltz uses dance and theater to reenact her religious upbringing in the Baha'i Faith and a solo-journey to the Islamic Republic of Iran to find the roots of her religious convictions.
In Medias Res
Written & performed by Sade Namei
This is a piece about identity of an Iranian born and raised actor and the history of her nation rooted in her and how it gives purpose to her art and propels her forward. www.sadenamei.com
White Rabbit, Red Rabbit
Written by Nassim Soleimanpour
Playwright Nassim Soleimanpour's postmodern theatrical happening receives its New York premiere replete with murders, suicides and rabbits.
Nowruz
The Iranian New Year will be commemorated at The Brick with traditional celebration including Iranian food and music.
THE BRICK was founded in 2002 by Robert Honeywell and Michael Gardner. Formerly an auto-body shop, a yoga center, and various storage spaces, this brick-walled garage in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was completely refurbished as a state-of-the-art performance space. Since then, The Brick has launched, produced and presented hundreds of world-premiere stage works from New York emerging artists and theater-makers from around the globe. The theater company is a proud member of New York’s burgeoning Indie Theater community and informal home to an ever-expanding family of artists and avid theatergoers. The Brick received a 2009 New York Innovative Theatre Foundation Caffe Cino Fellowship Award for being “an Off-Off Broadway theatre company that consistently produces outstanding work.”
PRESENTS
THE IRANIAN THEATER FESTIVAL
MARCH 3-26 @ THE BRICK
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Iran is one of the oldest civilizations in history. Persian theater, influenced by Arab, Assyrian and other cultures of the Middle East, has created many rich traditions of performance from ancient times through the modern day. Yet this vibrant heritage remains woefully underrepresented on American stages.
The Brick proposes to expand the boundaries of this cultural moment, and collaborate with Iranian theater artists in the U.S. and abroad, by hosting and producing the first festival in New York devoted solely to Iranian Theater.
The festival will include new works, in Persian and English, such as Something Something Über Alles written by Iranian exile and Hellman/Hammett Grant–winner Assurbanipal Babilla, Two Stories That End in Suicide by Piehole (inspired by Sadegh Hedayet’s The Blind Owl), a preview excerpt from Brendan Regimbal and Samara Naeymi’s Aviary, Leila Ghaznavi’s Silken Veils, newly-commissioned contemporary works from Iranian-based playwrights and participants of the Fadjr International Theatre Festival, and a special celebration of the traditional Iranian New Year’s holiday, Nowruz.
A special celebration of the late theater legend Reza Abdoh will include exclusive screenings of complete films of his original productions "The Hip-Hop Waltz of Eurydice" and "Quotations from a Ruined City" with special panel discussions by Dar a Luz company members, including Sabrina Artel, Juliana Francis-Kelly, and Tony Torn.
The Iranian Theater Festival will run March 3-26 at The Brick (575 Metropolitan Avenue between Union and Lorimer, Brooklyn). Tickets ($15) may be purchased online at www.bricktheater.com or by calling Theatermania at 212-352-3101.
Something Something Uber Ales
Written by Assurbanipal Babilla & Directed by Michael Yawney.
Performed by Matthew Glass
A bizarre and dramatic journey of epic proportions, as our lonely actor recalls the life of a man whose only noticeable feature is that he is Hitler's doppelganger. Listen as he is discovered by two gay pastry chefs and inducted into a Hitler worshipping cult located miles and miles below the F Train in Midtown Manhattan.
Silken Veils
Written & directed by Leila Ghaznavi
Presented by Pantea Productions
An elegant hybdrization of Rumi poetry, marionettes, shadow puppets, live performance, animation, and contemporary Iranian history, Silken Veilsin an original work showing the turbulence and passion of family during the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Told through the eyes of Darya, the daughter character in this piece, we see how the Revolution pulled down her family as she recounts her memories to her fiancée on their wedding day. Fringe First Nominee at the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. www.silkenveils.net
2 Stories That End in Suicide
Presented by Piehole
2 Stories That End in Suicide uses video, puppetry, and live actors to tell the story of contemporary youth in Iran, and the limitations of Western media representations. We draw from two seemingly disparate novels (Cesare Pavese’s Among Women Only and Sadegh Hedayet’s The Blind Owl),as well as the censorship laws required by the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance and the blogging habits of young Iranians. Tying these threads together with our distinctive brand of strangeness and humor, we probe ideas of private and public suffering and examine the repressed and complex conditions in Iranian society. www.pieholed.com
Aviary, A preview excerpt
Created by Brendan Regimbal & Samara Naeymi
In a lush world of dense media-scapes, dance and traditional storytelling are used to collide the story of Scheherazade and her sister with the Victorian era’s Isabel Burton and Jane Digby. The full-length production of Aviary will premiere at the Incubator Arts Project in June 2011. www.snaeymi.com/sn/Current
Pen Pals Meet: A Conversation Between Eliza and Salar
Presented by Thinking Persons Theatre
In 2008 Eliza Bent received an email from Salar Sardary, an Iranian university student, who asked about how to view American Theatre Magazine online. From that interaction, an unlikely sporadic pen pal friendship formed. Two years later the pen pals meet officially over Skype and have a conversation, live on stage.
Ka
Written by Siavash Pakrah & Directed by Gyda Arber
Three slaves, entombed in their Master's crypt, search for faith, meaning and a way out of their prison. Before their air is gone. And before The Master arrives. Join us in a world of double and triple meanings that sheds light on contemporary Iran, where one thing always stands for another. Translated into English for the first time.
Three Eternal Days
Written by Mohammad Ebrahimian
University students in war-torn Iran wrestle with Rumi, The Quran and The Book of Revelations as their families struggle to survive. But when the air-raid sirens sing out, whose ethos will truly matter? A cultural, historical, religious, mythical tour de force set during the time of the Iraq missile attacks on Iran, Three Eternal Days is a contemporary work by Iranian playwright Mohammad Ebrahimian. Translated into English for the first time, the play is steeped in the traditional Ta'ziyah and the devotions of Saint Reza.
Bootleg Islam
Written & performed by Negin Farsad
Presented by Vaguely Qualified Productions
Bootleg Islamis a one-woman comedy about a California-raised Iranian-American girl gallivanting around the streets of Tehran, Iran. She travels to this Middle-Eastern hotbed for a cousin’s wedding and discovers how ridiculous oppression can be, how delicious the third world has become and how hard it is to keep a chador on. www.neginfarsad.com
Kharaji/Foreigner
Written & performed by Jaleh Stoltz
Foreigner is a personal exploration of faith, identity, and culture in an increasingly complicated world. Jaleh Stoltz uses dance and theater to reenact her religious upbringing in the Baha'i Faith and a solo-journey to the Islamic Republic of Iran to find the roots of her religious convictions.
In Medias Res
Written & performed by Sade Namei
This is a piece about identity of an Iranian born and raised actor and the history of her nation rooted in her and how it gives purpose to her art and propels her forward. www.sadenamei.com
White Rabbit, Red Rabbit
Written by Nassim Soleimanpour
Playwright Nassim Soleimanpour's postmodern theatrical happening receives its New York premiere replete with murders, suicides and rabbits.
Nowruz
The Iranian New Year will be commemorated at The Brick with traditional celebration including Iranian food and music.
THE BRICK was founded in 2002 by Robert Honeywell and Michael Gardner. Formerly an auto-body shop, a yoga center, and various storage spaces, this brick-walled garage in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was completely refurbished as a state-of-the-art performance space. Since then, The Brick has launched, produced and presented hundreds of world-premiere stage works from New York emerging artists and theater-makers from around the globe. The theater company is a proud member of New York’s burgeoning Indie Theater community and informal home to an ever-expanding family of artists and avid theatergoers. The Brick received a 2009 New York Innovative Theatre Foundation Caffe Cino Fellowship Award for being “an Off-Off Broadway theatre company that consistently produces outstanding work.”
Purple Rep To Present "Gay Plays for Straight People (And Also Gay People)" in April
PURPLE REP PRESENTS
GAY PLAYS FOR STRAIGHT PEOPLE (AND ALSO GAY PEOPLE)
TWO PLAYS IN REP
APRIL 8-30 @ THE PARADISE FACTORY
FEATURING
THE ALL-AMERICAN GENDERF*CK CABARET & THE UN-MARRYING PROJECT
Purple Rep, a new theatre company founded by playwrights Larry Kunofsky (What To Do When You Hate All Your Friends at Theater Row; A Guy Adrift in the Universe) and Mariah MacCarthy (Ampersand: A Romeo & Juliet Story with Looking Glass Theatre; The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret at UNDER St. Marks), will present their inaugural project Gay Plays for Straight People (and also gay people), April 8-30 at The Paradise Factory (64 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery). The project will feature the world premiere of Kunofsky’s play, The Un-Marrying Project and the revival of Ms. MacCarthy’s play The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret (sold-out run at UNDER St. Marks in 2009), both of which deal with issues of gender identity and sexual equality
The Un-Marrying Project
Written by Larry Kunofsky
Directed by Rachel Eckerling
Welcome to The Un-Marrying Project, a documentary film where legally (and "happily") married couples will divorce! In the name of gay marriage! And not re-marry until marriage is legal for everyone! An act of civil disobedience that becomes a hard lesson: When you try to change the world, the world changes you.
The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret
Written by Mariah MacCarthy
Directed by Heidi Handelsman
Eight gender stereotypes, countless dance breaks, one intimately outrageous cabaret, and one androgynous omnipotent emcee to guide them all. A story about back-alley fights, The Pussies of America, sexting, acquaintance rape, infidelity, and the ass-backwards ways we seek affection. Welcome to the Genderf*ck.
“A great artist provokes without malice, evokes feeling and understanding, and perhaps plants the seeds of change. MacCarthy succeeds… one of the best off-off-Broadway productions I've see.”
Le-Ann Garland, Theatre is Easy (Genderf*ck)
“Genderf*ck for the Y Generation is what Reality Bites was for the X Generation”
Grace Moon, Velvet Park
The project, presented by Purple Rep will play at The Paradise Factory (64 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery), April 8-30. Performance schedule and cast TBA.
PURPLE REP was founded by playwrights Larry Kunofsky and Mariah MacCarthy in order to produce their work in rep, so that when their plays are presented together, a larger story can be told. Over time, Purple Rep will expand in order to include other playwrights in our repertory model. We are committed to plays that provoke, plays that crack you up and crack you apart so that you can put yourself together again, plays that make you see red and hear the blues…until it all mixes in your mind’s eye into a purple rush.
LARRY KUNOFSKY (Playwright, The Un-Marrying Project) is a New York-based playwright whose work includes My Therapist, a monologue play for forty-five actors; The Cat Person, a two-hander, with live cats; “Oh, Magic Bag…” about a bag of porn possessed by demons; Vicky Victim, about vicious office friendships among women; So Retarded – A Play For Idiots, a kind of Vagina Monologues-takeoff on the mentally challenged; bender/gender/straight/&neutered, a play-cycle on the ever-changing nature of sexuality; Death and The Pizza Man, a satire on developmental theatre; Thanks For Having Me, about a well-educated homeless guy who couch-surfs a lot; The Lunch Anxieties, which is kind of like the movie Groundhog Day, but with lunch, and without Bill Murray, and much scarier; Social Work (a nightmare), about health care, race, and Internet dating; and The Worst Person In The Whole Entire World Of All Time Ever, which is about everybody’s mom. His current, ongoing project is THE GENESIS TAPESTRIES; a cycle of plays inspired by stories or themes from the Book of Genesis. The three plays completed so far in this project are The Myths We Need – or – How to Begin; ‘think-yer-better-than-me?!; and The Big Ear. He has been a three-time winner of the John Golden Award for Drama and a resident at the Edward Albee Foundation. His work has been excerpted in the 2009 editions of “The Best Men’s and Best Women’s Stage Monologues and Scenes,” published by Smith & Kraus, and his full-length play What To Do When You Hate All Your Friends – an anti-social comedy, will be published by Playscripts in early 2011. He is a member of The Dramatists Guild.
“Kunofsky's voice is original and quirky.” Martin Denton, nytheatre.com
“Friendships, we all know, can be awkward; social lives can be nonexistent. Playwright Larry Kunofsky satirizes these sad truths with deft skill… When we chuckle here, we’re truly laughing at ourselves.”
Amanda Cooper, Time Out NY (What To Do When You Hate All Your Friends)
“Kunofsky has an intensely theatrical gift for comedy, and his cast and crew have risen to the challenge of his smart, heartfelt play.” Sam Theilman, Variety (What to Do When You Hate All Your Friends)
MARIAH MACCARTHY (Playwright, The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret) is a playwright and sometimes director/dramaturg/producer/blogger. She writes plays about the intersection of sex, gender expression, and the Kinsey scale, among other things. Her plays include A Man of His Word (San Diego Old Globe with Playwrights Project), a neo-noir about sexual obsession; Ampersand: A Romeo & Juliet Story (Looking Glass Theatre, winner of 20 Looking Glass Forum Awards), a modern, cynical Romeo & Juliet with a girl as Romeo; Detained (Left Hip’s “From the Hip” Festival), which is sort of like Deathwatch with lesbians; Bachelor/Bachelorette (a radio play with Co-Op Theatre East), which is about androgyny and bachelorette parties; Dismemberment (Player’s Theatre), about a skeleton marionette’s friendship with a lovestruck actor; The Foreplay Play (FullStop Theatre Collective), about a straight couple and a lesbian couple trying to all have sex with each other; and The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret (sold-out run with Rapscallion Theatre Collective). She’s also working on a new play, Magic Trick, in which a hot 20-something paraplegic leaves her boyfriend and becomes a burlesque dancer. She has a blog, A Rehearsal Room of One’s Own, and contributes to 2amtheatre.com on occasion. She is also a member of the Dramatists Guild.
GAY PLAYS FOR STRAIGHT PEOPLE (AND ALSO GAY PEOPLE)
TWO PLAYS IN REP
APRIL 8-30 @ THE PARADISE FACTORY
FEATURING
THE ALL-AMERICAN GENDERF*CK CABARET & THE UN-MARRYING PROJECT
Purple Rep, a new theatre company founded by playwrights Larry Kunofsky (What To Do When You Hate All Your Friends at Theater Row; A Guy Adrift in the Universe) and Mariah MacCarthy (Ampersand: A Romeo & Juliet Story with Looking Glass Theatre; The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret at UNDER St. Marks), will present their inaugural project Gay Plays for Straight People (and also gay people), April 8-30 at The Paradise Factory (64 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery). The project will feature the world premiere of Kunofsky’s play, The Un-Marrying Project and the revival of Ms. MacCarthy’s play The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret (sold-out run at UNDER St. Marks in 2009), both of which deal with issues of gender identity and sexual equality
The Un-Marrying Project
Written by Larry Kunofsky
Directed by Rachel Eckerling
Welcome to The Un-Marrying Project, a documentary film where legally (and "happily") married couples will divorce! In the name of gay marriage! And not re-marry until marriage is legal for everyone! An act of civil disobedience that becomes a hard lesson: When you try to change the world, the world changes you.
The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret
Written by Mariah MacCarthy
Directed by Heidi Handelsman
Eight gender stereotypes, countless dance breaks, one intimately outrageous cabaret, and one androgynous omnipotent emcee to guide them all. A story about back-alley fights, The Pussies of America, sexting, acquaintance rape, infidelity, and the ass-backwards ways we seek affection. Welcome to the Genderf*ck.
“A great artist provokes without malice, evokes feeling and understanding, and perhaps plants the seeds of change. MacCarthy succeeds… one of the best off-off-Broadway productions I've see.”
Le-Ann Garland, Theatre is Easy (Genderf*ck)
“Genderf*ck for the Y Generation is what Reality Bites was for the X Generation”
Grace Moon, Velvet Park
The project, presented by Purple Rep will play at The Paradise Factory (64 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery), April 8-30. Performance schedule and cast TBA.
PURPLE REP was founded by playwrights Larry Kunofsky and Mariah MacCarthy in order to produce their work in rep, so that when their plays are presented together, a larger story can be told. Over time, Purple Rep will expand in order to include other playwrights in our repertory model. We are committed to plays that provoke, plays that crack you up and crack you apart so that you can put yourself together again, plays that make you see red and hear the blues…until it all mixes in your mind’s eye into a purple rush.
LARRY KUNOFSKY (Playwright, The Un-Marrying Project) is a New York-based playwright whose work includes My Therapist, a monologue play for forty-five actors; The Cat Person, a two-hander, with live cats; “Oh, Magic Bag…” about a bag of porn possessed by demons; Vicky Victim, about vicious office friendships among women; So Retarded – A Play For Idiots, a kind of Vagina Monologues-takeoff on the mentally challenged; bender/gender/straight/&neutered, a play-cycle on the ever-changing nature of sexuality; Death and The Pizza Man, a satire on developmental theatre; Thanks For Having Me, about a well-educated homeless guy who couch-surfs a lot; The Lunch Anxieties, which is kind of like the movie Groundhog Day, but with lunch, and without Bill Murray, and much scarier; Social Work (a nightmare), about health care, race, and Internet dating; and The Worst Person In The Whole Entire World Of All Time Ever, which is about everybody’s mom. His current, ongoing project is THE GENESIS TAPESTRIES; a cycle of plays inspired by stories or themes from the Book of Genesis. The three plays completed so far in this project are The Myths We Need – or – How to Begin; ‘think-yer-better-than-me?!; and The Big Ear. He has been a three-time winner of the John Golden Award for Drama and a resident at the Edward Albee Foundation. His work has been excerpted in the 2009 editions of “The Best Men’s and Best Women’s Stage Monologues and Scenes,” published by Smith & Kraus, and his full-length play What To Do When You Hate All Your Friends – an anti-social comedy, will be published by Playscripts in early 2011. He is a member of The Dramatists Guild.
“Kunofsky's voice is original and quirky.” Martin Denton, nytheatre.com
“Friendships, we all know, can be awkward; social lives can be nonexistent. Playwright Larry Kunofsky satirizes these sad truths with deft skill… When we chuckle here, we’re truly laughing at ourselves.”
Amanda Cooper, Time Out NY (What To Do When You Hate All Your Friends)
“Kunofsky has an intensely theatrical gift for comedy, and his cast and crew have risen to the challenge of his smart, heartfelt play.” Sam Theilman, Variety (What to Do When You Hate All Your Friends)
MARIAH MACCARTHY (Playwright, The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret) is a playwright and sometimes director/dramaturg/producer/blogger. She writes plays about the intersection of sex, gender expression, and the Kinsey scale, among other things. Her plays include A Man of His Word (San Diego Old Globe with Playwrights Project), a neo-noir about sexual obsession; Ampersand: A Romeo & Juliet Story (Looking Glass Theatre, winner of 20 Looking Glass Forum Awards), a modern, cynical Romeo & Juliet with a girl as Romeo; Detained (Left Hip’s “From the Hip” Festival), which is sort of like Deathwatch with lesbians; Bachelor/Bachelorette (a radio play with Co-Op Theatre East), which is about androgyny and bachelorette parties; Dismemberment (Player’s Theatre), about a skeleton marionette’s friendship with a lovestruck actor; The Foreplay Play (FullStop Theatre Collective), about a straight couple and a lesbian couple trying to all have sex with each other; and The All-American Genderf*ck Cabaret (sold-out run with Rapscallion Theatre Collective). She’s also working on a new play, Magic Trick, in which a hot 20-something paraplegic leaves her boyfriend and becomes a burlesque dancer. She has a blog, A Rehearsal Room of One’s Own, and contributes to 2amtheatre.com on occasion. She is also a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Monday, February 28, 2011
"Freud's Last Session" Questions and more questions - Brilliantly played
Review by Judd Hollander
Photos by Kevin Sprague
Does God exist? Such a question has confounded man since at least the time he was capable of rational thought, and such is the question playwright Mark St. Germain takes on in his brilliantly involving and provocative play Freud's Last Session at The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, making it one of the surprise hits of the season.
Set in the outskirts of London in Hampstead on September 3, 1939 when war is all but assuredly on the way, Oxford professor and author C.S. Lewis (Mark H. Dold) is summoned to the home of renowned physiatrist Sigmund Freud (Martin Rayner). Lewis expects to be called to task for satirizing Freud in his latest book. However Freud has a completely different reason for the meeting, wanting to know why Lewis, a formerly devout atheist, as Freud is, has suddenly embraced the existence of God.
The answer, Lewis says, is quite simple: at the beginning of a trip he took he did not believe, and by the end of the journey he did. Of course it is not that simple at all, as during the course of the play, Lewis lays out the step-by-step process he went through which led him to this leap of faith. It's an explanation countered at every turn by Freud, who offers questions and arguments to the contrary showing why, in his view, God simply cannot exist.
One of the reasons the play is so interesting is that the playwright, to his credit, doesn't really try to take sides regarding who is in the right; instead offering examples and possibilities in this age-old argument of logic versus faith. This argument also begins to show an insight into both men, which is explored through their conversations as they debate the issue.
Freud was forced to flee his native Vienna when the Nazis came to power, though not before having a close encounter with them. He is also now suffering terribly from oral cancer, the pain of which will soon cause him to end his life. As for the younger Lewis, he is carrying his own scars from his combat experience in the First World War; "the war to end all wars," he notes bitterly. Both men have a strong sense of dignity, yet at the same time both carry secrets they want kept hidden. Freud is tremendously dependent on his daughter, the only one he trusts to take care of him, while Lewis has a relationship with the mother of his best friend who was killed in World War One. As Freud observes, one can learn more not from what someone says, but what they chose not to say.
These insights into their personal histories, as well as continuing interruptions from the outside world (in the form of a ringing telephone, a radio announcement and an air raid warning) are constant yet realistic reminders of what's going on around them as they continue their debate each trying to make their points with fervent belief, sardonic comments and occasional humor and insight (such as Lewis remarking on the figurines on Freud's desk, or Freud explaining about an insurance salesman).
Tyler Marchant's direction is perfectly handled here, showing Freud and Lewis as wary opponents and possible colleagues, both seekers of truth in their own way. Rayner is wonderful as the aged and ailing, but still mentally clear Freud, giving no quarter in the discussion, yet with enough vulnerability to allow the audience to see behind his professional demeanor. It's a testament to the actor's work that he is able to rise above the stereotypical and much parodied version of Freud to make him instead seem quite compelling and real. It's an added bonus that the character is imbued with just enough of a sense of humor that he doesn't take himself too seriously at times.
Dold is very good as Lewis, combining earnestness coupled with experience, as well as fear of drying in the war that is to come. It is a fear that Freud, who has resigned himself to the fact that he will die one day soon, no longer has. Lewis also carries with him a quiet calmness when he talks about his faith, an interesting change from the stereotypical fire and brimstone believer - also a frequent subject of parody (Lewis even hates hymns!).
Brian Prather's set of Freud's study is very nice, with its large glass windows and shelves filled with files, books and other brick-a-brac one would expect to find in a psychiatrist's office. Mark Mariani's costumes work well, sound design by Beth Lake is excellent and the lighting by Clifton Taylor is good.
As someone once said, it's not about finding the prize at the end of the quest, but rather it's the journey that's important; and Freud's Last Session has quite the interesting journey indeed. Good work by all involved and very highly recommended.
Freud's Last Session
By Mark St. Germain
Suggested by "The Question of God" by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr.
Directed by Tyler Merchant
Set Design: Brian Prather
Costume Design: Mark Mariani
Lighting Design: Clifton Taylor
Sound Design: Beth Lake
Production Stage Manager: Kate J. Cudworth
Featuring: Mark H. Dold (C.S. Lewis), Martin Rayner (Sigmund Freud)
The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater
West Side YMCA
10 West 64th Street (between Central Park West and Broadway)
Tickets: 866-811-4111 or www.freudslastsession.com
Running time: 85 minutes, no intermission
Open Run
Photos by Kevin Sprague
Does God exist? Such a question has confounded man since at least the time he was capable of rational thought, and such is the question playwright Mark St. Germain takes on in his brilliantly involving and provocative play Freud's Last Session at The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, making it one of the surprise hits of the season.
Set in the outskirts of London in Hampstead on September 3, 1939 when war is all but assuredly on the way, Oxford professor and author C.S. Lewis (Mark H. Dold) is summoned to the home of renowned physiatrist Sigmund Freud (Martin Rayner). Lewis expects to be called to task for satirizing Freud in his latest book. However Freud has a completely different reason for the meeting, wanting to know why Lewis, a formerly devout atheist, as Freud is, has suddenly embraced the existence of God.
The answer, Lewis says, is quite simple: at the beginning of a trip he took he did not believe, and by the end of the journey he did. Of course it is not that simple at all, as during the course of the play, Lewis lays out the step-by-step process he went through which led him to this leap of faith. It's an explanation countered at every turn by Freud, who offers questions and arguments to the contrary showing why, in his view, God simply cannot exist.
One of the reasons the play is so interesting is that the playwright, to his credit, doesn't really try to take sides regarding who is in the right; instead offering examples and possibilities in this age-old argument of logic versus faith. This argument also begins to show an insight into both men, which is explored through their conversations as they debate the issue.
These insights into their personal histories, as well as continuing interruptions from the outside world (in the form of a ringing telephone, a radio announcement and an air raid warning) are constant yet realistic reminders of what's going on around them as they continue their debate each trying to make their points with fervent belief, sardonic comments and occasional humor and insight (such as Lewis remarking on the figurines on Freud's desk, or Freud explaining about an insurance salesman).
Dold is very good as Lewis, combining earnestness coupled with experience, as well as fear of drying in the war that is to come. It is a fear that Freud, who has resigned himself to the fact that he will die one day soon, no longer has. Lewis also carries with him a quiet calmness when he talks about his faith, an interesting change from the stereotypical fire and brimstone believer - also a frequent subject of parody (Lewis even hates hymns!).
Brian Prather's set of Freud's study is very nice, with its large glass windows and shelves filled with files, books and other brick-a-brac one would expect to find in a psychiatrist's office. Mark Mariani's costumes work well, sound design by Beth Lake is excellent and the lighting by Clifton Taylor is good.
As someone once said, it's not about finding the prize at the end of the quest, but rather it's the journey that's important; and Freud's Last Session has quite the interesting journey indeed. Good work by all involved and very highly recommended.
Freud's Last Session
By Mark St. Germain
Suggested by "The Question of God" by Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr.
Directed by Tyler Merchant
Set Design: Brian Prather
Costume Design: Mark Mariani
Lighting Design: Clifton Taylor
Sound Design: Beth Lake
Production Stage Manager: Kate J. Cudworth
Featuring: Mark H. Dold (C.S. Lewis), Martin Rayner (Sigmund Freud)
The Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater
West Side YMCA
10 West 64th Street (between Central Park West and Broadway)
Tickets: 866-811-4111 or www.freudslastsession.com
Running time: 85 minutes, no intermission
Open Run
"Things To Ruin: The Songs of Joe Iconis" Comes to Le Poisson Rouge Tonight
Things To Ruin: The Songs of Joe Iconis is having a return engagement this Spring.
The four upcoming performances at Le Poisson Rouge will celebrate the recent release of the Things To Ruin cast album by Sh-K-Boom/ Ghostlight Records, and will feature many of the original cast members. Performances are on Monday February 28 at 10pm, Monday March 7 at 7:30pm, Sunday March 20 at 10:30pm and Monday March 28 at 10:30pm.
Things To Ruin is an incendiary collection of songs by Kleban and Larson Award Winner Joe Iconis (The Black Suits, ReWrite, The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks, The Rock and Roll Jamboree, Bloodsong of Love). It is a theatrical rock concert about human beings who are messy, emotional, drugged up, knocked down, inspired, electric and who don't have nearly enough time to cause the kind of commotion they so desperately need to. Performed by a cast of viciously talented young singers and a highly flammable four-piece band led by Joe himself, Things To Ruin rocks with an occasionally profane and always heartfelt explosion of music and high drama.
Things To Ruin has previously been seen at the Second Stage Theatre, The Zipper Factory, Joe’s Pub and Ars Nova. The Le Poisson Rouge run will reunite much of the original cast. The show's stars include Nick Blaemire (Glory Days), Carrie Manolakos (Wicked), Eric William Morris (Mamma Mia), Lance Rubin (The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks), Jason SweetTooth Williams (The Trouble With Doug), Starr Busby (Caroline or Change), and Katrina Rose Dideriksen (Hairpsray). Things To Ruin is directed by John Simpkins (Bloodsong of Love) with musical supervision by Matt Hinkley (Rooms). The show is produced by Sh-K-Boom/ Ghostlight Records and Sara Katz (Rock of Ages).
The show features the songs: “I Was Born This Morning (The Cicada Song),” “Mamma, Cut Me Deeper!” “Nerd Love,” “The War Song,” “Good For You,” “Asleep On My Arm,” “Everybody’s At The Bar (Without Me),” “The Guide To Success,” “Head Shot,” “The Whiskey Song,” “Son Of A Gun,” “Dodge Ball,” “Albuquerque Anyway,” “Just Means,” “Helen,” “Honey,” “The Bar Song,” “Almost There,”, and “Never Heard Nothing”.
“Humorous, vital music that kicks 1960’s-style pop tunefulness with hard post-punk beats. Joe Iconis recalls the excitement that that surrounded Marc Shaiman, Jonathan Larson and Jason Robert Brown. I would call Things To Ruin the beginning of something, except that it is already well underway.” - The New York Times
The four upcoming performances at Le Poisson Rouge will celebrate the recent release of the Things To Ruin cast album by Sh-K-Boom/ Ghostlight Records, and will feature many of the original cast members. Performances are on Monday February 28 at 10pm, Monday March 7 at 7:30pm, Sunday March 20 at 10:30pm and Monday March 28 at 10:30pm.
Things To Ruin is an incendiary collection of songs by Kleban and Larson Award Winner Joe Iconis (The Black Suits, ReWrite, The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks, The Rock and Roll Jamboree, Bloodsong of Love). It is a theatrical rock concert about human beings who are messy, emotional, drugged up, knocked down, inspired, electric and who don't have nearly enough time to cause the kind of commotion they so desperately need to. Performed by a cast of viciously talented young singers and a highly flammable four-piece band led by Joe himself, Things To Ruin rocks with an occasionally profane and always heartfelt explosion of music and high drama.
Things To Ruin has previously been seen at the Second Stage Theatre, The Zipper Factory, Joe’s Pub and Ars Nova. The Le Poisson Rouge run will reunite much of the original cast. The show's stars include Nick Blaemire (Glory Days), Carrie Manolakos (Wicked), Eric William Morris (Mamma Mia), Lance Rubin (The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks), Jason SweetTooth Williams (The Trouble With Doug), Starr Busby (Caroline or Change), and Katrina Rose Dideriksen (Hairpsray). Things To Ruin is directed by John Simpkins (Bloodsong of Love) with musical supervision by Matt Hinkley (Rooms). The show is produced by Sh-K-Boom/ Ghostlight Records and Sara Katz (Rock of Ages).
The show features the songs: “I Was Born This Morning (The Cicada Song),” “Mamma, Cut Me Deeper!” “Nerd Love,” “The War Song,” “Good For You,” “Asleep On My Arm,” “Everybody’s At The Bar (Without Me),” “The Guide To Success,” “Head Shot,” “The Whiskey Song,” “Son Of A Gun,” “Dodge Ball,” “Albuquerque Anyway,” “Just Means,” “Helen,” “Honey,” “The Bar Song,” “Almost There,”, and “Never Heard Nothing”.
“Humorous, vital music that kicks 1960’s-style pop tunefulness with hard post-punk beats. Joe Iconis recalls the excitement that that surrounded Marc Shaiman, Jonathan Larson and Jason Robert Brown. I would call Things To Ruin the beginning of something, except that it is already well underway.” - The New York Times
Sunday, February 27, 2011
FRIGID New York Interview - George Ridgeway of "Inside Straight"
By Byrne Harrison
Name: George Ridgeway (writer/performer)
Show: INSIDE STRAIGHT
How did you first get involved in theater?
Originally, I was in media work, then film-making, which led to stage acting.
Who are your biggest influences?
For solo work, Mike Daisy and Anna Deavere Smith.
Tell me a little bit about your show.
Johnny Ace is a street-smart surveillance expert. He is everybody’s Big Brother in a world with cameras everywhere, where bosses watch their employees on their computers, landlords have cameras in the walls, people track each other on the Internet, and your doctor may even put a camera up your ass. Johnny tells it like it is as he tracks, with pulsating humor and then deep anguish, the life-and-death story of a girl on the run in our world with a thousand eyes.
What inspired you to write it?
Through my narrator (Johnny Ace), I probe a central issue in the way we live: how much privacy (and sanity) can we hang onto as high technology pushes ahead all around us. Are we losing our “inner life” (and happiness) for the sake of high-tech gadgets?
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
Letty Cruz (my director) and I have worked on different variations of this show for several years.
What’s next for you after FRIGID?
Possibly expand and develop this show further. I also have other stage and film interests that I’m eager to pursue.
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience, what would it be?
That in a high-tech world, we need some privacy to enjoy life. And that through the laughs and story of this show, people will realize that life without a creative inner life is a real drag and a hell of a lot less fun.
Inside Straight
Written by George Ridgeway & Directed by Letty Cruz
Presented by Thousand Eyes Productions, New York, NY
UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place)
$15
Fri 2/25 @ 6pm, Sat 2/26 @ 10pm, Wed 3/2 @ 6pm, Sat 3/5 @ 5:30pm, & Sun 3/6 @ 2:30pm
Name: George Ridgeway (writer/performer)
Show: INSIDE STRAIGHT
How did you first get involved in theater?
Originally, I was in media work, then film-making, which led to stage acting.
Who are your biggest influences?
For solo work, Mike Daisy and Anna Deavere Smith.
Johnny Ace is a street-smart surveillance expert. He is everybody’s Big Brother in a world with cameras everywhere, where bosses watch their employees on their computers, landlords have cameras in the walls, people track each other on the Internet, and your doctor may even put a camera up your ass. Johnny tells it like it is as he tracks, with pulsating humor and then deep anguish, the life-and-death story of a girl on the run in our world with a thousand eyes.
What inspired you to write it?
Through my narrator (Johnny Ace), I probe a central issue in the way we live: how much privacy (and sanity) can we hang onto as high technology pushes ahead all around us. Are we losing our “inner life” (and happiness) for the sake of high-tech gadgets?
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
Letty Cruz (my director) and I have worked on different variations of this show for several years.
What’s next for you after FRIGID?
Possibly expand and develop this show further. I also have other stage and film interests that I’m eager to pursue.
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience, what would it be?
That in a high-tech world, we need some privacy to enjoy life. And that through the laughs and story of this show, people will realize that life without a creative inner life is a real drag and a hell of a lot less fun.
Inside Straight
Written by George Ridgeway & Directed by Letty Cruz
Presented by Thousand Eyes Productions, New York, NY
UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place)
$15
Fri 2/25 @ 6pm, Sat 2/26 @ 10pm, Wed 3/2 @ 6pm, Sat 3/5 @ 5:30pm, & Sun 3/6 @ 2:30pm
FRIGID New York Interview - The Bitter Poet
By Byrne Harrison
Photo by Luis Cubillos
Name: The Bitter Poet
Show: Looking For Love In All The Wrong Black Box Performance Spaces
Website: thebitterpoet.com
How did you first get involved in theatre?
When I was seven, I played a Lost Boy in a community theatre production of Peter Pan.
Who are your biggest influences?
Lou Reed, Jonathon Richman, Jim Morrison, Nick Cave, William Shatner, Jackie Gleason
Tell me a little bit about your show.
A poetry reading that mixes red shoes, black leather pants, a gold tux jacket, angst and an electric guitar. A high-energy, irreverent presentation of poems concerning the search for True Love and the contortionists you meet along the way. Poetry has never been this hot, angry, desperate, loud, sweet or true.
What inspired you to write it?
A broken heart and a fascination with charismatic sideshow performers.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
This show is nothing more than a poet, his poems, his guitar, his amp, and of course, his costume.
What's next for you after FRIGID?
I'm scheduled to spend the spring recording and releasing a CD.
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience, what would it be?
As you listen to my poems, if you know the words, sing along...
The Bitter Poet: Looking for Love in All the Wrong Black Box Performance Spaces
Presented by The Bitter Poet, New York, NY
UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place)
$10
Fri 2/25 @ 10:30pm, Sat 2/26 @ 8:30pm, Thu 3/3 @ 9pm, Sat 3/5 @ 4pm, & Sun 3/6 @ 5:30pm
Photo by Luis Cubillos
Name: The Bitter Poet
Show: Looking For Love In All The Wrong Black Box Performance Spaces
Website: thebitterpoet.com
When I was seven, I played a Lost Boy in a community theatre production of Peter Pan.
Who are your biggest influences?
Lou Reed, Jonathon Richman, Jim Morrison, Nick Cave, William Shatner, Jackie Gleason
Tell me a little bit about your show.
A poetry reading that mixes red shoes, black leather pants, a gold tux jacket, angst and an electric guitar. A high-energy, irreverent presentation of poems concerning the search for True Love and the contortionists you meet along the way. Poetry has never been this hot, angry, desperate, loud, sweet or true.
What inspired you to write it?
A broken heart and a fascination with charismatic sideshow performers.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
This show is nothing more than a poet, his poems, his guitar, his amp, and of course, his costume.
What's next for you after FRIGID?
I'm scheduled to spend the spring recording and releasing a CD.
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience, what would it be?
As you listen to my poems, if you know the words, sing along...
The Bitter Poet: Looking for Love in All the Wrong Black Box Performance Spaces
Presented by The Bitter Poet, New York, NY
UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place)
$10
Fri 2/25 @ 10:30pm, Sat 2/26 @ 8:30pm, Thu 3/3 @ 9pm, Sat 3/5 @ 4pm, & Sun 3/6 @ 5:30pm
Saturday, February 26, 2011
FRIGID New York Interview - Akia of "Goodnight Lovin' Trail"
By Byrne Harrison
Name: Akia, Director/Producer
Show: Goodnight Lovin’ Trail
Website: http://www.risingsunnyc.com/
How did you first get involved in theatre?
My mom was a jack of all trade, dancer, writer, teacher and my father was a musician. My mom made sure to expose me to as much culture and options as possible. I first started out as a dancer, and then found my way into theatre. I really started becoming serious about theatre around the age of 15, and I directed my first student piece at 16. I haven’t stopped creating some sort of theatre since then.
Who are your biggest influences?
So many people, I try really hard to surround myself with creative people in my everyday life. I’m really fortunate to be a part of an amazing ensemble of artists in Rising Sun Performance Company and a part of the Off-Off-Broadway community at large. I’m inspired by my collaborators on this project and my surroundings of New York City. I try to soak it all in Music, Dance, Theatre, Art, New York City culture, the list goes on and on. I think as a director you really need to know be a potpourri of styles, influences. Open to anything that comes your way.
Tell me a little bit about your show.
Goodnight Lovin’ Trail is a subtle and touching drama that takes place at a truck stop diner in West Texas, where two desperate and lonely strangers find redemption in each other's eyes while discussing a stolen guitar. The play explores raw human emotions and consequences while these two desperate characters navigate and come to terms with the choices they've made on the road of life.
What led you to direct it?
Our 2004 production was originally directed by another company member, but she moved out of state, and we needed someone to direct our subsequent remount in 2009. Because of my long time relationship with Nic Mevoli and John Patrick Bray, I decided I wanted to take over directing so that I could work with the both of them again.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
I have a brilliant stage manager who is doing double duty as an understudy - Lindsay Beecher, she is an ensemble member of Rising Sun and our company’s production manager. She's been with the company since 2009.
Olivia Rorick is playing the role of “Lee” and has been performing the role since 2009. Nic Mevoli is playing the role of “Coffee & Cigarettes” and has been playing this role since 2004, he was worked with the company since 2003 and we’ve been long time collaborators on many projects. John Patrick Bray has been working with us as a playwright since 2003, and recently came on as staff as our Literary Manager.
What's next for you after FRIGID?
So many things! We are an ensemble company in residence at Horse Trade Theater Group on the Lower East Side. This is our 10th anniversary season and we have some really exciting things planned! February 28th we are having an Oscars Viewing Party/Fundraiser, March through May we are having
FREE monthly One-Act Readings that solicit audience feedback and help us select works for full production in July. June 22nd is our 10th Anniversary Party and Mash Up performance featuring a selection of works from our past seasons. July we are having our 5th Annual One-Act Performance Series, and we are have two long term mainstage productions that are so exciting I can’t talk about them yet! Whew, as you can see, a whole lot is coming up for us!
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience,what would it be?
First off, please support Off-Off Broadway! We aren’t just hobbyists, but artists taking risks, working hard and making really great theatre! Please come out and see Goodnight Lovin’ Trail! We would love to meet you in person and hear what you think of the show!
Goodnight Lovin’ Trail
Written by John Patrick Bray & Directed by Akia
Presented by Rising Sun Performance Company, New York, NY
The Red Room (85 East 4th Street)
$12
Wed 2/23 @ 11pm, Sat 2/26 @ 6:30pm, Mon 2/28 @ 6:30pm, Thu 3/3 @ 8pm, & Sat 3/5 @ 3:30pm
Name: Akia, Director/Producer
Show: Goodnight Lovin’ Trail
Website: http://www.risingsunnyc.com/
How did you first get involved in theatre?
My mom was a jack of all trade, dancer, writer, teacher and my father was a musician. My mom made sure to expose me to as much culture and options as possible. I first started out as a dancer, and then found my way into theatre. I really started becoming serious about theatre around the age of 15, and I directed my first student piece at 16. I haven’t stopped creating some sort of theatre since then.
Who are your biggest influences?
So many people, I try really hard to surround myself with creative people in my everyday life. I’m really fortunate to be a part of an amazing ensemble of artists in Rising Sun Performance Company and a part of the Off-Off-Broadway community at large. I’m inspired by my collaborators on this project and my surroundings of New York City. I try to soak it all in Music, Dance, Theatre, Art, New York City culture, the list goes on and on. I think as a director you really need to know be a potpourri of styles, influences. Open to anything that comes your way.
Goodnight Lovin’ Trail is a subtle and touching drama that takes place at a truck stop diner in West Texas, where two desperate and lonely strangers find redemption in each other's eyes while discussing a stolen guitar. The play explores raw human emotions and consequences while these two desperate characters navigate and come to terms with the choices they've made on the road of life.
What led you to direct it?
Our 2004 production was originally directed by another company member, but she moved out of state, and we needed someone to direct our subsequent remount in 2009. Because of my long time relationship with Nic Mevoli and John Patrick Bray, I decided I wanted to take over directing so that I could work with the both of them again.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
I have a brilliant stage manager who is doing double duty as an understudy - Lindsay Beecher, she is an ensemble member of Rising Sun and our company’s production manager. She's been with the company since 2009.
Olivia Rorick is playing the role of “Lee” and has been performing the role since 2009. Nic Mevoli is playing the role of “Coffee & Cigarettes” and has been playing this role since 2004, he was worked with the company since 2003 and we’ve been long time collaborators on many projects. John Patrick Bray has been working with us as a playwright since 2003, and recently came on as staff as our Literary Manager.
What's next for you after FRIGID?
So many things! We are an ensemble company in residence at Horse Trade Theater Group on the Lower East Side. This is our 10th anniversary season and we have some really exciting things planned! February 28th we are having an Oscars Viewing Party/Fundraiser, March through May we are having
FREE monthly One-Act Readings that solicit audience feedback and help us select works for full production in July. June 22nd is our 10th Anniversary Party and Mash Up performance featuring a selection of works from our past seasons. July we are having our 5th Annual One-Act Performance Series, and we are have two long term mainstage productions that are so exciting I can’t talk about them yet! Whew, as you can see, a whole lot is coming up for us!
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience,what would it be?
First off, please support Off-Off Broadway! We aren’t just hobbyists, but artists taking risks, working hard and making really great theatre! Please come out and see Goodnight Lovin’ Trail! We would love to meet you in person and hear what you think of the show!
Goodnight Lovin’ Trail
Written by John Patrick Bray & Directed by Akia
Presented by Rising Sun Performance Company, New York, NY
The Red Room (85 East 4th Street)
$12
Wed 2/23 @ 11pm, Sat 2/26 @ 6:30pm, Mon 2/28 @ 6:30pm, Thu 3/3 @ 8pm, & Sat 3/5 @ 3:30pm
FRIGID New York Interview - Denmo Ibrahim of "FUNNY a trunk show"
By Byrne Harrison
Photo by Wesley Cabral
Name: Denmo Ibrahim
Show: FUNNY a trunk show
Website: www.adenmoproject.com
How did you first get involved in theatre?
Well, I had wanted to be a US Olympic gymnast but was too pudgy. So I decided to be a famous doctor. But the site of blood made me sick. Then I realized what I really wanted to do was be a shopkeeper in Italy, but I don't speak Italian. So naturally theatre became my heartbeat -- it was the only way could I be everything and anything all at once.
Who are your biggest influences?
Carol Burnett, Jacques Lecoq, my mom, San Francisco bus drivers, Lucille Ball, Bill Cosby, the color orange, Nina Simone, Bugs Bunny, organic produce and you.
Tell me a little bit about your show.
FUNNY A TRUNK SHOW tells the ridiculous story of Mohamed who, after numerous denials at the immigration agency -- (not legible, not the proper forms of ID, used pencil instead of pen) -- returns and this time, brings a trunk full of life -- songs, dreams, memories. A hilarious portrait of the absurdities foreigners deal with in America on a day-to-day basis.
Inspired by a true story, FUNNY A TRUNK SHOW looks at what we leave behind in our search for the American dream -- from the perspective of the eternal foreigner living in the U.S. FUNNY A TRUNK SHOW smashes traditional clown, vaudeville, and bouffant with real life accounts of an incredibly heartbreaking tale -- a patriotic Egyptian immigrant, who will always be seen as an outsider despite his ability to vote. Funny, moving, and undeniably real.
What inspired you to write it?
The truth -- I so badly wanted to make something up that was clever, witty, insightful. In the end, it was the truth that won. You can't make this stuff up. I took a heartbreaking tale full of love, loss, paranoia, and a battle of custody and made it ridiculous.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
Christina Augello -- Artistic Director at EXIT Theatre in SF -- has supported my work for over 8 years. This year A Denmo Project is a proud resident at the EXIT. www.sffringe.org
Christian Cagigal is my collaborator for the piece. He basically says 'that's awesome', 'that's better', or 'what about this'? He helps make things happen. I love him to pieces. He's also a magician and a performer who makes awesome things happen. www.christiancagigal.com
Wesley Cabral - Road Crew - he schleps heavy things from here to there. He designed a simple set we can travel with and makes great pancakes. What more can you ask for? www.wesleycabral.com
Sean O'Leary - Graphic Designer -- He created a kick ass poster for FUNNY -- and consulted with me on the script through the process. Based in Minneapolis, Sean is a force to reckon with.
What's next for you after FRIGID?
FUNNY tours the U.S. ! We're going to Minneapolis, Chicago, Indianapolis, and San Francisco!
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience, what would it be?
With a revolution in Cairo occurring right now and the Middle East at the heart of such charge, FUNNY an excellent way to digest, process, and invite humor to parts of ourselves that we have always considered foreign or those we know of that never belonged. You have 6 shots to see this show.
FUNNY a trunk show
Presented by Denmo Ibrahim, San Francisco, CA
UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place)
$15
Thu 2/24 @ 9pm, Sat 2/26 @ 5:30pm, Sun 2/27 @ 5:30pm, Tue 3/1 @ 7:30pm, Sat 3/5 @ 1pm, & Sun 3/6 @ 4pm
Photo by Wesley Cabral
Name: Denmo Ibrahim
Show: FUNNY a trunk show
Website: www.adenmoproject.com
Well, I had wanted to be a US Olympic gymnast but was too pudgy. So I decided to be a famous doctor. But the site of blood made me sick. Then I realized what I really wanted to do was be a shopkeeper in Italy, but I don't speak Italian. So naturally theatre became my heartbeat -- it was the only way could I be everything and anything all at once.
Who are your biggest influences?
Carol Burnett, Jacques Lecoq, my mom, San Francisco bus drivers, Lucille Ball, Bill Cosby, the color orange, Nina Simone, Bugs Bunny, organic produce and you.
FUNNY A TRUNK SHOW tells the ridiculous story of Mohamed who, after numerous denials at the immigration agency -- (not legible, not the proper forms of ID, used pencil instead of pen) -- returns and this time, brings a trunk full of life -- songs, dreams, memories. A hilarious portrait of the absurdities foreigners deal with in America on a day-to-day basis.
Inspired by a true story, FUNNY A TRUNK SHOW looks at what we leave behind in our search for the American dream -- from the perspective of the eternal foreigner living in the U.S. FUNNY A TRUNK SHOW smashes traditional clown, vaudeville, and bouffant with real life accounts of an incredibly heartbreaking tale -- a patriotic Egyptian immigrant, who will always be seen as an outsider despite his ability to vote. Funny, moving, and undeniably real.
What inspired you to write it?
The truth -- I so badly wanted to make something up that was clever, witty, insightful. In the end, it was the truth that won. You can't make this stuff up. I took a heartbreaking tale full of love, loss, paranoia, and a battle of custody and made it ridiculous.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
Christina Augello -- Artistic Director at EXIT Theatre in SF -- has supported my work for over 8 years. This year A Denmo Project is a proud resident at the EXIT. www.sffringe.org
Christian Cagigal is my collaborator for the piece. He basically says 'that's awesome', 'that's better', or 'what about this'? He helps make things happen. I love him to pieces. He's also a magician and a performer who makes awesome things happen. www.christiancagigal.com
Wesley Cabral - Road Crew - he schleps heavy things from here to there. He designed a simple set we can travel with and makes great pancakes. What more can you ask for? www.wesleycabral.com
Sean O'Leary - Graphic Designer -- He created a kick ass poster for FUNNY -- and consulted with me on the script through the process. Based in Minneapolis, Sean is a force to reckon with.
What's next for you after FRIGID?
FUNNY tours the U.S. ! We're going to Minneapolis, Chicago, Indianapolis, and San Francisco!
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience, what would it be?
With a revolution in Cairo occurring right now and the Middle East at the heart of such charge, FUNNY an excellent way to digest, process, and invite humor to parts of ourselves that we have always considered foreign or those we know of that never belonged. You have 6 shots to see this show.
FUNNY a trunk show
Presented by Denmo Ibrahim, San Francisco, CA
UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place)
$15
Thu 2/24 @ 9pm, Sat 2/26 @ 5:30pm, Sun 2/27 @ 5:30pm, Tue 3/1 @ 7:30pm, Sat 3/5 @ 1pm, & Sun 3/6 @ 4pm
FRIGID New York Interview - Matthew Wells of "Scarlet Woman"
By Byrne Harrison
Photo by Anna Dvorak
Name: Matthew Wells, playwright
Show: Scarlet Woman
Website (can either be a personal one or one for the show, or nothing, if you'd prefer): Sunset Gun Productions and my Personal Blog
How did you first get involved in theatre?
I was acting in plays in high school. My senior year, we did a watered-down two-hour version of Tom Jones, and by ad-libbing all the sex and innuendo back into it, we turned it into a three-hour romp. During the show, I found myself suggesting ad-libs to the other actors, and when they got laughs, I said to myself, “How hard can it be to write a play, really?” I found out almost immediately that the answer was “Pretty damn hard, actually. But fun.”
Who are your biggest influences?
Shakespeare. Shaw. WH Auden. Henry Fielding. Howard Hawks. Buster Keaton. And (not surprisingly, given the style of Scarlet Woman) Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.
Tell me a little bit about your show.
Scarlet Woman was conceived as an homage to actresses like Marie Windsor and Anne Savage, and movies like "Out Of The Past" and "Murder My Sweet" -- a film noir fun ride with flashbacks and flashy patter where the femmes fatales take center stage. It’s a stylish embrace of all the conventions of the genre, and while it may comment on them now and then, it takes them very seriously.
What inspired you to write it?
Candy Simmons of SunsetGun contacted me with an idea she had about a two-actress noir piece. After talking about it and mapping out a proposal, I went away and wrote a first draft which wound up having nothing to do with our original idea. But Candy liked it, so we’ve been reworking it and finessing it ever since.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
I’ve known Candy Simmons (the producer and co-star) for 10 years and Rob O’Neill (the director) for 20. I met Rob when he was hired to direct my play The Mildred Piece, and Candy is a fabulous actress who has been in a couple of my shows, notably Donna Paradise in 2005. This is my first time working with Megan Hill, but she’s right up there with Candy as far as talent goes. And our stage manager, Jenn Tash, has been an anchor and a godsend all through the rehearsal period.
What's next for you after FRIGID?
My play Countrie Matters is being rewritten for a reading in LA this spring; I’m working on a novel that will be finished in March; and sometime in August, when I get back from a trip to Australia, I’ll be doing readings of two plays about corporate America, Business As Usual and Not For Hire.
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience, what would it be?
Film noir is ultimately about what a man really wants in a woman. There’s always something to be said for settling down with a dutiful, faithful, loving sweetheart; but there’s nothing like a double-crossing, faithless, self-serving predator to make a guy feel like life is worth dying for.
Scarlet Woman
Written by Matthew Wells & Directed by Rob O’Neil
Presented by SunsetGun Productions, Minneapolis, MN
The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street)
$16
Wed 2/23 @ 10:30pm, Sat 2/26 @ 1pm, Sun 2/27 @ 5:30pm, Tue 3/1 @ 7:30pm, Wed 3/2 @ 6pm, & Sat 3/5 @ 2:30pm
Photo by Anna Dvorak
Name: Matthew Wells, playwright
Show: Scarlet Woman
Website (can either be a personal one or one for the show, or nothing, if you'd prefer): Sunset Gun Productions and my Personal Blog
How did you first get involved in theatre?
I was acting in plays in high school. My senior year, we did a watered-down two-hour version of Tom Jones, and by ad-libbing all the sex and innuendo back into it, we turned it into a three-hour romp. During the show, I found myself suggesting ad-libs to the other actors, and when they got laughs, I said to myself, “How hard can it be to write a play, really?” I found out almost immediately that the answer was “Pretty damn hard, actually. But fun.”
Who are your biggest influences?
Shakespeare. Shaw. WH Auden. Henry Fielding. Howard Hawks. Buster Keaton. And (not surprisingly, given the style of Scarlet Woman) Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.
Scarlet Woman was conceived as an homage to actresses like Marie Windsor and Anne Savage, and movies like "Out Of The Past" and "Murder My Sweet" -- a film noir fun ride with flashbacks and flashy patter where the femmes fatales take center stage. It’s a stylish embrace of all the conventions of the genre, and while it may comment on them now and then, it takes them very seriously.
What inspired you to write it?
Candy Simmons of SunsetGun contacted me with an idea she had about a two-actress noir piece. After talking about it and mapping out a proposal, I went away and wrote a first draft which wound up having nothing to do with our original idea. But Candy liked it, so we’ve been reworking it and finessing it ever since.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
I’ve known Candy Simmons (the producer and co-star) for 10 years and Rob O’Neill (the director) for 20. I met Rob when he was hired to direct my play The Mildred Piece, and Candy is a fabulous actress who has been in a couple of my shows, notably Donna Paradise in 2005. This is my first time working with Megan Hill, but she’s right up there with Candy as far as talent goes. And our stage manager, Jenn Tash, has been an anchor and a godsend all through the rehearsal period.
What's next for you after FRIGID?
My play Countrie Matters is being rewritten for a reading in LA this spring; I’m working on a novel that will be finished in March; and sometime in August, when I get back from a trip to Australia, I’ll be doing readings of two plays about corporate America, Business As Usual and Not For Hire.
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience, what would it be?
Film noir is ultimately about what a man really wants in a woman. There’s always something to be said for settling down with a dutiful, faithful, loving sweetheart; but there’s nothing like a double-crossing, faithless, self-serving predator to make a guy feel like life is worth dying for.
Scarlet Woman
Written by Matthew Wells & Directed by Rob O’Neil
Presented by SunsetGun Productions, Minneapolis, MN
The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street)
$16
Wed 2/23 @ 10:30pm, Sat 2/26 @ 1pm, Sun 2/27 @ 5:30pm, Tue 3/1 @ 7:30pm, Wed 3/2 @ 6pm, & Sat 3/5 @ 2:30pm
Friday, February 25, 2011
FRIGID New York Interview - Olivia Lehrman of "Pretty & Papi"
By Byrne Harrison
Name: Olivia Lehrman of Awkward (At Best) Productions
Show: Pretty & Papi
How did you first get involved in theatre?
Awkward (At Best) was formed after Cirque Boom closed its doors in Brooklyn. We had done two full-length shows under the direction of Ruth Juliet Wikler, and since then we have been missing the outlet for social and psychological commentary that she was so good at highlighting through circus and theatre.
Who are your biggest influences?
For inspiration while creating this piece, we were procrastinating by watching Steven Colbert, Flight of the Conchords, The Smothers Brothers, & The WauWau Sisters.
Tell me a little bit about your show.
It's absurd! It's a lot of our biggest fears taken to their extremes, of what is expected of us in relationship, and how far we are willing (or not wiling) to go to have that sought-after love relationship. We watch the protagonist dream of her perfect man, and then go on a series of dates, and then daydreams about how their future would be if that first date led to a second, and then naturally to death do them part. This causes all kinds of problems for her psyche, as well as her relationship with online dating.
What inspired you to create it?
We actually began creating a reality show addressing all kinds of racial stereotypes, but when we started studying the drives and addictions to that genre, we realized that deep down, it was largely about how much is going on inside of our own heads during all these personal interactions we experience everyday.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
Cody Schreger is another member of Awkward (At Best) Productions. She was another member of Cirque Boom back in 2003, and we have created short duo & trio pieces with her since then. Cody was part of the table work discussing the style and themes, and then Rebecca Houlihan joined us for the creative process. Rebecca and Leah toured together with Imago Theatre. Saida Trujillo will be coming in to help reign us all in.
What's next for you after FRIGID?
Two of us have been invited to do aerial and clown work in Edinburgh this summer. One of us is planning world domination in the world of musical improv.
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience, what would it be?
YOU WILL NOT BE BORED if you come to SEE THIS SHOW!
Pretty & Papi
Written by Leah James Abel, Cody Schreger, and Olivia Lehrman
Presented by Awkward (At Best), Brooklyn, NY
UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place)
$14
Thu 2/24 @ 6pm, Sun 2/27 @ 7pm, Mon 2/28 @ 6pm, Fri 3/4 @ 7:30pm, & Sat 3/5 @ 2:30pm
Name: Olivia Lehrman of Awkward (At Best) Productions
Show: Pretty & Papi
How did you first get involved in theatre?
Awkward (At Best) was formed after Cirque Boom closed its doors in Brooklyn. We had done two full-length shows under the direction of Ruth Juliet Wikler, and since then we have been missing the outlet for social and psychological commentary that she was so good at highlighting through circus and theatre.
Who are your biggest influences?
For inspiration while creating this piece, we were procrastinating by watching Steven Colbert, Flight of the Conchords, The Smothers Brothers, & The WauWau Sisters.
Tell me a little bit about your show.
It's absurd! It's a lot of our biggest fears taken to their extremes, of what is expected of us in relationship, and how far we are willing (or not wiling) to go to have that sought-after love relationship. We watch the protagonist dream of her perfect man, and then go on a series of dates, and then daydreams about how their future would be if that first date led to a second, and then naturally to death do them part. This causes all kinds of problems for her psyche, as well as her relationship with online dating.
What inspired you to create it?
We actually began creating a reality show addressing all kinds of racial stereotypes, but when we started studying the drives and addictions to that genre, we realized that deep down, it was largely about how much is going on inside of our own heads during all these personal interactions we experience everyday.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
Cody Schreger is another member of Awkward (At Best) Productions. She was another member of Cirque Boom back in 2003, and we have created short duo & trio pieces with her since then. Cody was part of the table work discussing the style and themes, and then Rebecca Houlihan joined us for the creative process. Rebecca and Leah toured together with Imago Theatre. Saida Trujillo will be coming in to help reign us all in.
What's next for you after FRIGID?
Two of us have been invited to do aerial and clown work in Edinburgh this summer. One of us is planning world domination in the world of musical improv.
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience, what would it be?
YOU WILL NOT BE BORED if you come to SEE THIS SHOW!
Pretty & Papi
Written by Leah James Abel, Cody Schreger, and Olivia Lehrman
Presented by Awkward (At Best), Brooklyn, NY
UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place)
$14
Thu 2/24 @ 6pm, Sun 2/27 @ 7pm, Mon 2/28 @ 6pm, Fri 3/4 @ 7:30pm, & Sat 3/5 @ 2:30pm
FRIGID New York Interview - Ben Thompson of "Fucking Girls"
By Byrne Harrison
Name: Ben Thompson
Show: Fucking Girls
Website: www.FuckingGirlsShow.com
How did you first get involved in theatre?
My mom forced me to audition for a children’s theatre production in 3rd grade. I loved it and I’ve been doing it since.
Who are your biggest influences?
Shakespeare and Judd Apatow
Tell me a little bit about your show.
A guy who breaks up with his girlfriend and then tries to sleep with past girlfriends to get over her. It’s a classic tale.
What inspired you to write it?
This play is a lot of fun and I actually found myself laughing out loud while writing it. I suppose what drew me to write it is just how confusing and absurd love can be... and how seriously we tend to take it. I can be particularly guilty of taking myself too seriously and that's usually when I get myself into the biggest messes. It's not until I step back and look at my actions that I realize how much of a total fool I’ve been. I’ve made some of the biggest mistakes in my life when I’ve tried to fight or deny an answer that is right in front of me, staring me in the face. That being said, I’d like audiences to walk away from this play knowing that when you’re happy, be happy and don’t worry about how happy you could be.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
Everyone involved in this project is a classmate and friend from Boston University. We loved working together when were in school and now are making a point of continuing to collaborate in the professional realm.
What's next for you after FRIGID?
Hopefully, the show will grow legs and find itself in other festivals in New York or elsewhere. Other than that, I hope to be so lucky to continue to make new, meaningful theatre with my friends and collaborators and who knows where that will lead.
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience, what would it be?
I hope you enjoy the show and continue to support live theatre and the work of young artists!
Fucking Girls
Written by Ben Thompson & Directed by Paul Leopold
Presented by My Lieges, Brooklyn, NY
The Kraine Theater (95 East 4th Street)
$10
Wed 2/23 @ 6pm, Sat 2/26 @ 4pm, Wed 3/2 @ 7:30pm, Sat 3/5 @ 1pm, & Sun 3/6 @ 5:30pm
Name: Ben Thompson
Show: Fucking Girls
Website: www.FuckingGirlsShow.com
How did you first get involved in theatre?
My mom forced me to audition for a children’s theatre production in 3rd grade. I loved it and I’ve been doing it since.
Who are your biggest influences?
Shakespeare and Judd Apatow
A guy who breaks up with his girlfriend and then tries to sleep with past girlfriends to get over her. It’s a classic tale.
What inspired you to write it?
This play is a lot of fun and I actually found myself laughing out loud while writing it. I suppose what drew me to write it is just how confusing and absurd love can be... and how seriously we tend to take it. I can be particularly guilty of taking myself too seriously and that's usually when I get myself into the biggest messes. It's not until I step back and look at my actions that I realize how much of a total fool I’ve been. I’ve made some of the biggest mistakes in my life when I’ve tried to fight or deny an answer that is right in front of me, staring me in the face. That being said, I’d like audiences to walk away from this play knowing that when you’re happy, be happy and don’t worry about how happy you could be.
Who are your collaborators and how long have you been working with them?
Everyone involved in this project is a classmate and friend from Boston University. We loved working together when were in school and now are making a point of continuing to collaborate in the professional realm.
What's next for you after FRIGID?
Hopefully, the show will grow legs and find itself in other festivals in New York or elsewhere. Other than that, I hope to be so lucky to continue to make new, meaningful theatre with my friends and collaborators and who knows where that will lead.
And finally, if you could say anything to your potential audience, what would it be?
I hope you enjoy the show and continue to support live theatre and the work of young artists!
Fucking Girls
Written by Ben Thompson & Directed by Paul Leopold
Presented by My Lieges, Brooklyn, NY
The Kraine Theater (95 East 4th Street)
$10
Wed 2/23 @ 6pm, Sat 2/26 @ 4pm, Wed 3/2 @ 7:30pm, Sat 3/5 @ 1pm, & Sun 3/6 @ 5:30pm
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