Planet Connections Interview - Allison Plamondon of "See Bob Run"

By Byrne Harrison
Photos by Cameron Northey

Allison Plamondon is a NY based actress, choreographer and teacher. Recent theatre; Prometheus Within with Skysaver Productions (La MaMa ETC), Angels of Swedenborg with Ping Chong & Company (La MaMa ETC/62 Center for Theatre and Dance) and The Old House at HB Playwrights Foundation. Other theatre favorites include Fire, Anne of Green Gables (Canada’s prestigious Charlottetown Festival), Dames at Sea (Jubilee Auditorium), Aladdin (Elgin Theatre) and West Side Story (Stage West).

Highlights in dance include Tap City -the Main Event (Symphony Space), the national tour of Tap/percussion show RhythMatix and Phish (New Year’s Eve) at Madison Square Garden.

Allison is a graduate of the Theatre program at Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Other notable training includes The Second City (Toronto) and the Broadway Theater Project with Ann Reinking. Allison is also an accomplished choreographer. Recent favorites include Make Mine Manhattan (Associate/Off-Broadway at the Connelly Theatre), Freckleface Strawberry the musical (Associate/Off-Broadway at New World Stages), the Canadian premiere of Hello Again (Tarragon Theatre, Toronto) and an SDC Observership with Kathleen Marshall on Bells Are Ringing (City Center Encores).

How did you first get involved in theatre?

I started studying dance when I was 5 years old so have been performing since I was very young.

Who are your biggest influences?

I have had (and still have) some incredible teachers who inspire and encourage me. I’d say they are the biggest influences.

What is your show about?

See Bob Run is a dark and edgy dramedy about a young woman hitchhiking across the Canadian prairies. Determined to meet her estranged father at the water, Bob is talkative, paranoid and full of secrets. Told through direct address, monologues to unsuspecting drivers and twisted fairytales.

What inspired you to perform in it?

See Bob Run is a popular play in Canada but is rarely produced in New York. Plus, the role of Bob is a fantastically complex and challenging character.

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

David Gautschy (the director) and I started working on See Bob Run in early 2011. We wanted to be able to take our time exploring it without feeling pressure to put it up. We finally presented a workshop of the play in the fall of 2011.

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

I am proud to be surrounded by like-minded artists who are doing what they love while giving something back.

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

RAINN  is a natural choice since the play deals with the effects of abuse. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE and the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline at rainn.org, and publicizes the hotlines' free, confidential services; educates the public about sexual violence; and leads national efforts to prevent sexual violence, improve services to victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.

Educating yet extremely compelling, See Bob Run portrays an edgy, complicated, three-dimensional character who still inspires compassion. 

What's next for you after Planet Connections?

Danny and the Deep Blue Sea by John Patrick Shanley at the Nuyorican Poets Café.

And finally, if a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish for?

28 hours in a day.

For more information about See Bob Run, visit allisonplamondon.com or http://planetconnections.org/see-bob-run/.

Planet Connections Interview - Ashley Marinaccio of "Trafficked"

By Byrne Harrison

Ashley Marinaccio is an activist and artist dedicated to creating theatre that challenges the status quo. Though a New Yorker at heart, she was born and raised in New Jersey and has traveled extensively throughout the world, most notably in the Middle East, where she lived in Beirut, Lebanon while studying Arabic and Middle Eastern theatre performance. Her interests include utilizing theatre for peace building, healing and empowerment in conflict zones and in marginalized communities both home and abroad. She has countless directing, performing and playwriting credits., most recently she was a featured speaker at TED. Ashley's directing work has been seen at the White House, United Nations, regionally, twice at TED and on tour. Ashley co-founder and Artistic Director of Co-Op Theatre East (www.cooptheatreeast.org) and Project Girl Performance Collective (http://www.projectgirlperformancecollective.org/). She is alumna of the Hemispheric Institute for Performance and Politics' EMERGENYC and American Theatre Wing's SpringboardNYC programs and member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. Ashley holds her M.A. in Performance Studies from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and BA in theatre directing and sociology/anthropology with minors in women/gender and Middle Eastern from Pace University. She is a member of SAG-AFTRA. Visit www.ashley-marinaccio.com for more information.

How did you first get involved in theatre?

Some of my first memories are of writing scripts and directing the neighborhood kids in shows during summer vacation when I was 7 years old. When I run into the kids that I use to do this with and they ask what I’m up to now I tell them it’s the same thing I was doing back then.

Who are your biggest influences?

I have a number of influences in all fields, including theatre practitioners, journalists, academics and activists. To name a few -- Eve Ensler Nicholas Kristof, Rachel Maddow, Tony Kushner, Amy Goodman, Jane Fonda, Susan Sontag, Moises Kaufman, Judith Malina, Bertolt Brecht, Susan Sarandon, Rachel Corrie, Christiane Amanpour, Anderson Cooper, Noam Chomsky, Howard Zinn. The list goes on…

What is your show about?

Trafficked tells the story sex slavery and child exploitation through the eyes of fifteen young women. In an ensemble devised performance inspired by interviews, research and media, the cast puts a name and face to the thousands of undocumented girls and boys who are trafficked into the billion dollar sex industry each year.

What inspired you to bring it to the stage?

Project Girl Performance Collective is dedicated to empowering young women (between the ages of 8 and 21) to write and perform their own work. We have two components to our programming at Project Girl – personal development, where girls explore issues that are close to them in their lives, families and communities and the global component – where we teach girls about human rights issues affecting women globally through readings, film, guest speakers, field trips and partnering organizations. Trafficked came out of our global curriculum on sex trafficking that we’ve been working on since November 2011. The girls were so moved by what they had been learning in their workshops that they wanted to write a full length play about sex trafficking with the hopes that Trafficked will raise awareness and encouraging audiences to take a stand in ending child exploitation and human trafficking.

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

Jessica Greer Morris, the Executive Director of Project Girl Performance Collective and producer of Trafficked and myself have been working together since 2009. A few of the Trafficked cast members including Dominique Fishback and Deanna Alexandra are original Project Girls who have been part of the collective since 2008.

All of the artists who’ve written and will be performing Trafficked are members of Project Girl Performance Collective and the majority have been working on Trafficked since November, 2011. The cast is comprised of our senior girls, who are between the ages of 14 and 21. Trafficked has taken on various forms over the past months. We were originally commissioned to develop this work from ECPAT (Ending Child Prostitution and Trafficking). We debuted a workshop of Trafficked in November, 2011 for ECPAT’s 20^th Anniversary Gala. We have been experimenting with form over the past few months and what the most powerful way to present this work would be - so, this will be our first time debuting it as a full length play.

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

I have been part of Planet Connections in the past and have had wonderful experiences across the board with this festival. I thought it would be a great opportunity to expose our girls to a variety of high caliber performance that can be done while staying “green”. We have used this as a learning experience for our girls and a chance to teach them more about socially and environmentally responsible theatre. The staff at Planet Connections has been incredibly supportive and hands on with our production. We’ve had Festivity representatives attend readings and rehearsals to talk with our cast/crew.

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

We are splitting our funds between GEMS and ECPAT, two of our partners that inspired this piece. Over the past nine months while developing this piece we have had the opportunity to partner with some incredible organizations including ECPAT (Ending Child Prostitution and Trafficking) who originally commissioned this piece, GEMS (Girls Education Mentoring Services), United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, WITNESS, survivors and elected officials who have donated their time to help our girls understand sex trafficking. We wish we could support all of these amazing organizations and individuals.

What's next for you after Planet Connections?

Project Girls will be performing in the NY International Fringe Festival in August. We are planning on continuing to develop Trafficked into a site specific piece at a hotel this fall. We also have a number of planned performances scheduled throughout the summer. Visit http://www.projectgirlperformancecollective.org/ for the most updated schedule.

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

Raise the status of women. Help to empower all women to empower themselves.

For more information about Trafficked, visit http://www.projectgirlperformancecollective.org/ or http://planetconnections.org/trafficked/.

Planet Connections Interview - James Behr of "The Count of Monte Cristo"

By Byrne Harrison

James Behr was hailed as a “genius composer” by InTheFray Magazine and “a demon pianist” by The Boston Globe. A Juilliard graduate, Behr wrote four musicals, including Cristo, Dreamquest, The Jungle Island, and E-Date. He has performed as soloist throughout the U.S., appearing on TV and radio; at Lincoln Center; Ravinia, Tanglewood and Chautauqua festivals; and with many orchestras. His music features his Blue-Age style reflecting this modern-day artist's exposure to Classical, R&B, and rock. Behr’s works include four musicals (The Count of Monte Cristo, Dreamquest, E-Love, The Jungle Island), piano concerto Europa, Rhapsody Tableaux, Suite Memoirs (Blue-Age piano), Kaleidoscope Suite (fusion Rock/Classical), and Prisms (Nu-Jazz). A Northwestern University graduate with a B.A., Behr also has a B.M. and M.M. from The Juilliard School. He resides in Manhattan and is a Steinway Artist. http://www.jamesbehr.com/

How did you first get involved in theatre?

I grew up enjoying it and hearing Mom sing Rodgers & Hammerstein songs in the kitchen.  Of course, I have been playing piano since I was eight and playing show music was always something I adored, from childhood to my days at Juilliard to now.

Who are your biggest influences?

Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Sondheim, Lloyd Webber, Romberg, Gilbert & Sullivan, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein.

What is your show about?

It is based upon the famous Alexandre Dumas novel by the same name.

What inspired you to write it?

 It is simply a marvelous, exciting and powerful story with meaning to all people, especially now with the sense of the common man being ever more playing the role of the oppressed underdog.

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

I am the sole writer of the musical.

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

I respect the hard and ethical work of PCF, its concern for noble values and support for good causes.

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

UJA

What's next for you after Planet Connections?

Continued promotion and development of The Count of Monte Cristo.

And finally, if a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish for?

To be altruistic, a far more noble government than what we now have.  To be personal, to have my show seen extensively, enjoyed, appreciated, and to have a family who will grow up respecting the arts as I did.  I would go into politics and try to change conditions, from environment to political corruption, that now frustrate me (and countless millions of people).

For more about The Count of Monte Cristo, visit http://planetconnections.org/the-count-of-monte-cristo/ or http://www.countofmontecristomusical.org/.

Planet Connections Interview - Alicia Barnatchez and Erin Leigh Schmoyer of "Ye Elizabeths"

By Byrne Harrison

Alicia Barnatchez is an Actress/Writer/Improv-Comedian living in Brooklyn.  Select credits include Five Women Wearing the Same Dress (Wow Cafe), Work: A Play (where she was also a contributing writer), The Kentucky Goblin Siege (both with No Tea Productions), and the Eliot Norton Award winning P.S. Page Me Later (Boston Center for the Arts).  As an improvisor she has performed with ImprovBoston, The Tribe, and she is a performing company member of the improv group, ComedySportz New York and can be seen performing with them on Saturday nights. She recieved her MA from NYU in Educational Theatre and works as a Teaching Artist.

Erin Leigh Schmoyer is an actor/writer/voice-over artist/comedienne, living in Brooklyn.  Post-graduation from Sarah Lawrence College and The British American Drama Academy, she has been featured in Off and Off-Off Broadway productions at over a dozen theatres, including The Milagro, The Producers' Club, The Workshop Theatre, La Mama, The Algonquin and Theatre for the New City.  Erin Leigh was seen most recently in From Rags to Riches, at the Metropolitan Playhouse, a performance the New York Times called "especially skillful".  She has also been honored to originate characters in many new works, including Fatlinda Paloka in The Resistible Rise of Fatlinda Paloka and Ruth in 1918: A House Divided, for which she is featured on the 2009 release of the Original Cast Recording. Erin Leigh can also be seen performing weekly with ComedySportz New York, at the Broadway Comedy Club. She is a freelance Creative Thinker and a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.   

How did you first get involved in theatre?

Alicia first started in theatre creating live performances of Chuck Norris films with her twin sister.  She can do a mean Louis Gosset, Jr. impression.  Erin Leigh got hooked on theatre after multiple ankle injuries from dance persuaded her to try a creative expression that would result in less plaster casts.

Who are your biggest influences?

Lady pioneers of comedy, like Lucille Ball, Gracie Allen, Gilda Radner and Lady Elaine from Mister Rodgers. 

What is Ye Elizabeths about?

It is the story of two girls, who happen to be historical re-enactors, coming of age in a modern world. 

What inspired you to write it?

Inspired by how we make each other laugh and wanting to create silly, real and joyful characters, in order to reveal story, we started to collaborate on this writing project, exploring many many different scenarios, finally settling on a narrative about girls who were inspired by our American settlers. 

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

Our director, Leah Bonvisutto, our videographer, Jeremy Mather and our musical arrangers, Evan and Sarah Gregory are all dear friends of ours we are excited to be collaborating with on this project.  They are super talented people we have worked and played with for many years. 

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

You gotta be the change you wanna see!

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

Girls, Inc., because we believe in the power of girls helping girls. 

What's next for you after Planet Connections?

We are in the ideas stage of a future collaboration, exploring older American theatre and film traditions, like Vaudeville and Silent Film. 

And finally, if a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish for?

Teleportation – So that we can meet actual Pilgrims and never have to endure morning rush hour on the subway ever again.

For more information about Ye Elizabeths, visit http://planetconnections.org/ye-elizabeths/.

Planet Connections Interview - Stephan Davis of "A Dance for Rylie"

By Byrne Harrison

Name: Stephan Davis

Show: A Dance for Rylie

Relationship to production: Writer and Composer

How did you first get involved in theatre?

I first became involved with theatre in Junior High. Although I was primarily a musician, I was always quite enamored with theatre as well.

Who are your biggest influences?

Musically, I feel that my biggest influences are probably John Coltrane’s ballads album and Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston’s music from the 90’s.

What is your show about?

A Dance for Rylie is a gay love story inspired by a true case of discrimination against a gay couple at a hospital.

What inspired you to write it?

I learned about the case of discrimination during my first graduate class. As a nurse and as a gay man, I was moved to create a story that combined my greatest passions: music, healthcare and the pursuit of equality.

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

Bob Cline is the director of the show and I have only been working with him since March, but we immediately clicked. He brings such fantastic experience and passion to this project.

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

I believe that it is important to ensure sustainability in every sector.

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

A Dance for Rylie will be benefiting Ali Forney, an organization that provides housing to homeless LGBT youth. I chose Ali Forney because my parents were not supportive of me when I came out at 16 and I had to go to Christian correction therapy for two years. I know what it is like to be in an unsupportive environment and how important it is that we create safe spaces for our youth.  Ali Forney is doing exactly that.

What's next for you after Planet Connections?

I hope to do a concert of my music in the very near future. This would showcase music from A Dance for Rylie as well as other pop, jazz, country, R&B and jazz songs I have written.  

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

I would love to help create change by continuing to advance social issues I am passionate about through music and theatre.

For more information about "A Dance for Rylie," visit ADANCEforRYLIE.com or http://planetconnections.org/a-dance-for-rylie-a-new-musical/.

Planet Connections Interview - Mark-Eugene Garcia of "(un)missed connections"

By Byrne Harrison

Mark-Eugene Garcia is the author of several plays and musicals.  He is happy to be represented twice in the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. He can also be seen as "Javier" in Duncan Pflaster’s The Taint of Equality. His written theatrical work includes Facing East, One Night at the Golden Boot, (un)missed connections, Inscriptions, and The Holy Cows of Credence South Dakota. Next up is Standby: The Musical as part of the New York Fringe Festival.

How did you first get involved in theatre?

My first foray into the theatre was playing my dream role of “The Baker” in Into the Woods. But when it comes to writing, the musicals Ragtime and Once on this Island  primarily inspired me. I’ve spent the majority of my theatrical writing devoted to writing musicals. So much of my playwriting is influenced by music.

Who are your biggest influences?

Aside from musicals, I’m influenced by many gay writers. Armistead Maupin, Marc Acito, William Mann. Each of these writers has something in common, other than the characters being gay. They all write wordy, opinionated characters that have something to say and the nerve to say it.

 What is your show about?

(un)missed connections  is an experimental piece, inspired by Craigslist ads. This is my first “gay show.” But in a sense, it’s not that either. The play isn’t about being gay. It’s about people searching the void for connections who happen to be gay.
 

What inspired you to write  it?

I may or may not have been hit on at an STD clinic. I may or may not have come home and found that a boyfriend had moved out without my knowledge. I have no comment about tricking over a massage table…but what I will say is that it’s a story about connections. One night, reading missed connections on Craigslist, I noticed something similar. Everyone was searching for something. Yes, some were searching for sex. But the one thing everyone was searching for was connection. These were people reaching out into the void and hoping that someone out there, who may or may not have shared a moment with them that day, would read this and contact them. It was taking a chance. I think everyone has had a moment in their life where they wondered: “is anyone really listening?” I know I have.

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

Our director, Rodrigo E. Bolanos, and I worked together a couple times these past couple of years.  He was the set designer on my musical The Holy Cows of Credence, South Dakota as well the director of my short play Inscriptions. He has this amazing ability to read between the lines of a script and pull out the secrets of my characters. I trust him with my work. Trust is important.

As for the actors, we have a very special cast. We really lucked out at auditions and were blessed with a talented turnout.  Derek Allen Watson brings a certain abandoned darkness to the character of Daniel. Evan Enslow easily shows the caring side of the young, but jaded, “Caleb.” Kyle James Johnson brings a simple vulnerability to “Jamie.” Edmond J. Cody III is a fantastic “Erik,” bringing a delightful comic presence to a very serious situation. Jere Williams easily balances comic aggravation and sensitivity in the role of “Bruce.” They fit the roles so perfectly there was no question about casting. Jaspal Binning was an interesting casting decision though. He was so good at auditions that I definitely wanted him in the show and ended up rewriting a character around him, changing the brooding “Carlos” to the intense “Simran”. It pays to have the writer in the room at auditions. The characters of “Man 1” and “Man 2,” who bookend the piece are portrayed by Israel Bocel and Marco Romeo Leduc who are wonderful at creating lonely characters worth rooting for.

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

We all share this planet. We all are connected. Seeing that my play is about connections, it seemed only natural that we should try and participate in a festival that emphasizes that. Aside from being eco-friendly, the festival emphasizes so much good. The group is all about community. Seeing how devoted they are to each other  as well as their cause, I was very eager to be involved with them. 
 
Planet Connections donates a portion of the box office for each show to a charity.  What charity has your production chosen and why?

For our charity we chose GLAAD. The reason we chose this is because our play is about the connections of eight gay men. When I tell people this, often their reactions and thoughts immediately go to sex. It’s interesting that so often the L.G.B.T. community is connected with sex. Looking in the media, L.G.B.T. lifestyles are put in a specific bracket because we have sex with people of the same gender. There are many people who think L.G.B.T.  equals sex. We are seen not as people, but as a sexual act. Because of this, people don’t understand what being L.G.B.T. is.  This is because they have not heard the right stories. 

That’s where GLAAD steps in. With this mission statement…

“The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) amplifies the voice of the LGBT community by empowering real people to share their stories, holding the media accountable for the words and images they present, and helping grassroots organizations communicate effectively. By ensuring that the stories of LGBT people are heard through the media, GLAAD promotes understanding, increases acceptance, and advances equality.”

GLAAD fights for us. They shield us. They defend us. Most importantly…they humanize us. They show that we are not an act. We are a community. We are stories. We are people, just like them, seeking connection.

So to raise support, (un)missed connections is presenting an evening benefiting GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). The fantastic John Raymond Barker will be MCing. Performers include comedians, Vicky Kuperman, Mike Cotayo, Jason Barker and half-naked accordionist/singer, Dustin James, plus appearances by the cast and creative team of (un)missed connections. We will be raffling off some great prizes too. Please come join us.

What's next for you after Planet Connections?

A little bit of a break. I’m coming off the run of a few big projects. I’m actually in Planet Connections twice, being part of the cast of Duncan Pflaster’s The Taint of Equality. So, I’m pretty tired. But, I have a few things. A short play I wrote, Inscriptions is going to be part of The Puzzle: Marbles Festival of New Works and I am also co-writing Standby: The Musical which is part of this year’s NY Fringe Festival. As for (un)missed connections, I am anxious to see who it connects with next.

And finally, if a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish for?

I would wish for everyone to have the opportunity to find the creative outlet that makes them happy. So many people forget that we all have the creative ability within us to make art. Art gets put on the back burner so many times for jobs, obligations, and other less fulfilling things. It doesn’t get the respect it deserves. That’s so unfortunate. Creativity and art are integral. We need to remember that. That’s my wish.

For more information about (un)missed connections, visit http://planetconnections.org/unmissed-connections/ or https://www.facebook.com/UnMissedConnections.

Planet Connections Interview - Gabrielle Fox and Mark Jason Williams of "Acts of Love"

By Byrne Harrison

Gabrielle Fox is a New York-based playwright. Recent works include: Blackout (The Barrow Group Theatre), Independents Day (Richmond Shepard Theatre), Gin Joint (Roy Arias Theatre, Looking Glass Theatre), The Talk (Where Eagles Dare Studios), and Fox Tales: An Evening of One Act Plays (Planet Connections Theatre Festivity). For more, please visit www.gabriellefoxwrites.com.

Mark Jason Williams is an award-winning playwright whose work has been produced in New York, Chicago, and Minneapolis. His play, Recovery, was recently seen in the 15th Annual New York International Fringe Festival, 2011 Minnesota Fringe Festival and 2010 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. His play, The Other Day, was staged in the 2011 Chicago Fringe Festival and the 2011 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, for which it received the award for Outstanding Playwriting of a New Script. For more, please visit www.markjasonwilliams.com.

How did you first get involved in theatre?

Gabrielle: Running lines for my mother as a child and sitting in on rehearsals.

Mark: I chose “Dramatic Writing” as a major when applying to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. I didn’t even know what that meant, nor did I have any idea I’d be setting my future in stone.

Who are your biggest influences?

Gabrielle: My mother and father…and Eugene O’Neill…in that order!

Mark: Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, the Muppets.

What is your show about?

Love! All five shows explore the joys, heartbreaks and hilarity of personal relationships. Finding kindness in the face of loneliness and grief is a big theme that runs throughout.

What inspired you to write?

For years, we’ve been tossing around the idea of doing an evening of one act plays together. Both of us have a great history with Planet Connections so it seemed like the perfect fit to choose the festivity as the place to do it.

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

Many of us involved in this production have worked together in theater groups, and in several productions, over the years, so this production feels like a big reunion and is a lot of fun. The production features many returning Planet Connections artists including: Elena Zazanis, who directs Smiles to Saturn; Misti Tindiglia and Jess Erick, who appear in The Reincarnation of Doe Doe; Amadeo Fusca, who appears in Smiles to Saturn, and Margie Ferris, who appears in Midnight Musings. New faces this year include: Danny Hilt, Suzanne Lenz and Kat Ross (Smiles to Saturn), Kathleen Boddington (Darcy & Duke), David Berman (Darcy and Duke and The Reincarnation of Doe Doe), Mary Roberts and Jenny McCray (Goodbye Party) and Anthony Valbiro, who directs Darcy & Duke, Goodbye Party, The Reincarnation of Doe Doe.

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

If we don’t do something soon, we can look forward to more blizzards on Halloween, and other climate problems.

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

The Arc of Westchester, which empowers children and adults with developmental disabilities to achieve their potential based on personal choices, abilities and interests. Both of us have a history of working with the population, and Smiles to Saturn features a character with aspergers syndrome, so once again it seemed like a perfect fit.

What's next for you after Planet Connections?

The Tony Awards!

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

Elaine Stritch

For more information about "Acts of Love," visit http://planetconnections.org/acts-of-love/.

Planet Connections Interview - Casey Cleverly of "Twelfth Night: Wall Street"

By Byrne Harrison

As an artist, Casey Cleverly creates new works of theatre that ask bold questions about contemporary society and pushes theatrical boundaries. Favorite directing credits include: Trojan Women Redux (adapter); Smooth Criminal (premiere), There is No Dash (premiere); A Memory, a Monologue, a Rant and a Prayer (co-director), Rumors, and The Butler Did It.  Casey curates the monthly play reading series COTE Tales, showcasing emerging playwrights work. She holds an MA in Performance Studies from NYU, Tisch School of the Arts, and studied script development at both The College of William and Mary, and Cambridge University.

How did you first get involved in theatre?

I first got involved in theater when I saw an open casting call for the role of Mary in The Secret Garden.  I was age 12 at the time, and my heart skipped a beat at the chance of playing a role in my favorite childhood book. When I got the role, I was mentored by a wonderful Washington DC director who fostered my love for theater.  In high school I directed the main stage play senior year, and that's when I found that directing was my true calling. I loved having the responsibility for the artistic vision of a piece, rather than just focusing on one role.
 

Who are your biggest influences?

One of my biggest influences were Julie Taymore, as I saw her as really influential woman in the world of theater directing -  an occupation I perceived to be mostly male when I was growing up. My mother took me to see an exhibit about her work, and it changed the way I viewed theater.  I loved what she does through puppet work and breaking the laws of realism.  I'm also heavily influenced by the director Ivo Van Hove.  He takes classic works, breaks them down, so that they are more visceral and raw.  In my directing, I'm very into taking a classic play that people are already familiar with and doing something strange and different with it to really change the perception of the piece.

What is your show about?
When the young Viola takes a job at the financial firm Horsing and Partners, she quickly finds that in order to move up the corporate ladder, she needs to dress as a man. Meanwhile her tough boss Orsino is intent on wooing the business of a major fashion client, Olivia and Co., at whatever cost. Their world turns topsy-turvy as the fashion heiress, Olivia, falls in love with the young analyst in disguise, and Olivia's pesky relatives come to Occupy Wall Street. Twelfth Night: Wall Street is a play full of camp, satire, and serious money.

What inspired you to direct it?

Twelfth Night has always been one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, ever since I first encountered it in 6^th Grade.  However, I'm a firm believer that if you are going to do a play that has been done thousands of times already (such as Shakespeare), you need to do something different with it.  Therefore I brainstormed how I could make Twelfth Night a modern parable. Why would a woman need to dress like a man this day in age?  That's when I ran across the recently published exposé, “Suits: A Woman on Wall Street.” The author, Nina Godiwalla, tells with alarming clarity her time as a banking analyst in Morgan Stanley’s Financial Services division. As a Persian-American woman, Nina found out the hard way that America corporate culture is still an old boys club for white, wealthy males.  This book became my basis for turning twelfth night into a gender commentary on modern corporate culture.

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

My producers are my colleagues (Ashley Marinaccio and Robert Gonyo) in our theater company, Co-Op Theater East.  We all went to grad school together back in 2007 at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. We formed this company 4 years ago, and focus our work around social issues.  We take turns producing each other's shows.  We also have an ensemble of resident actors.  Two are in this production – Kerrie Bond playing Fabian, and Mike Rhese playing Sir Toby.

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

I was really drawn to the concept of an Eco-friendly festival because protecting the environment has always been a really big concern to me. My father was a research scientist at the Environmental Protection Agency, so it was honed in to me at a young age the importance of protecting this beautiful planet we are on.  Planet Connections is the only theater festival I'm aware of that makes environmental awareness such a big part of the festival. Its great to connect the arts with Eco-awareness.

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

We chose Women In Need as the charity. I found it was good fit for the play, as they encourage women to be self-sufficient in the working world.  They provide the tools for women to complete their education and find solutions for child-care.
 

And finally, if a genie were to grant you one wish, what would you wish for?

I would wish for a theater building in New York where Co-Op Theatre East can make their permanent home.

For more about "Twelfth Night: Wall Street," visit http://www.cooptheatreeast.org/ or http://planetconnections.org/twelfth-night-wall-street/.

Planet Connections Intervew - Yvette Heyliger of "Bridge to Baraka"

By Byrne Harrison

Yvette Heyliger is a playwright, a director and a producing artist.  She has written her first one-woman show, Bridge to Baraka, which will be presented in Planet Connections Theatre Festivity 2012.  The one-act version of her play, White House Wives: Operation Lysistrata! was presented in Planet Connections Theatre Festivity 2011 and won the award for Outstanding Music, Book, Lyrics or Play With Music.  It has been published in the online digital theatre library, Indie Theatre Now! and included in Best in Fest: Planet Connections - The Founding Years Compilation.  Her play, What Would Jesus Do?, swept the 2010 AUDELCO Recognition Awards for Excellence in Black Theatre winning seven awards, including Dramatic Production of the Year, and the August Wilson Playwright Award for Heyliger.  She was nominated for an NAACP Award for “Best Play” for Autobiography of A Homegirl.  Her new book, a collection of her plays entitled, What A Piece of Work Is Man!: Plays for Leading Women, is due out in 2012.  Heyliger is partner in Twinbiz, a production company whose mission it is to produce work for the American theatre that educates, entertains and serves.  She and partner, Yvonne Farrow, were awarded the first-ever Emerging Producer Award at 2011 National Black Theatre Festival.  She has many professional memberships including the Dramatists Guild, AEA, AFTRA-SAG, SDC and she is an adjunct member of the Broadway League.  Heyliger is an advocate for parity for women artists in the American Theatre.

How did you first get involved in theatre?

My mother took my sisters and me to the theatre, museums, and to the ballet as children.  We also grew up at a time when students had visual arts and music in school as an integral part of the curriculum. When Duke Ellington School of the Arts, a high school, opened up in Washington, DC, we three auditioned.  I originally wanted to be a dancer, but my twin wanted it more so I went into the theatre—turns out this was for the best!

Who are your biggest influences?

I believe in the power of art to enlighten and bring about social change while still entertaining, so my biggest influences are Athol Fugard, especially his play, Master Harold and the Boys which I saw it on Broadway with Zakes Mokai and Danny Glover; Mahatma Ghandi (I loved Ben Kingsley’s portrayal in the movie Ghandi); and President Barak Obama for many reasons, but I was so impressed when he took the First Lady on a date-night to see a Broadway show, the Tony Award winning revival of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson, after winning the election the first time around.  This single date said so much about the importance of arts and culture in our country.

What is your show about?

Against all odds and emboldened by the 1960′s Black Arts Movement, Yvette X stakes her claim as a dramatist in the American Theatre.  Bridge to Baraka is my first solo performance piece and marks my coming of age as a playwright and an advocate for parity for women theatre artists, as well as my return to performing since appearing on the NBC hit, Cosby Show, as “Aunt Sarah.” 

What inspired you to write it?

I discovered the Black Arts Movement of the 1960’s when I went back to school to get a third degree, an MFA in Creative Writing—Playwriting from Queens College.  I was a little girl during this volatile period in American history and lived a pretty bourgeois lifestyle growing up.  Fast forward to today, it is no secret that women theatre artists get less than 20% of production opportunities nationwide.  Women of color get even less than half of that.  I started to wonder, what the heck keeps me, an African American playwright, going?  What keeps me trying to make a life in the theatre?  When I learned about the Black Arts Movement, a movement that empowered artists to write for themselves, by themselves and about themselves and to get those stories to the masses by any means necessary, I realized that I was standing on the shoulders of artistic warriors.  This knowledge gave me a renewed strength and resolve.  If African Americans facing relentless racism in the 60’s could do it, then surely we women facing an on-going lack of parity in theatrical opportunities and equal pay can do it in the new millennium.

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

Bridge to Baraka was first developed in 2010 in the Uptown/Downtown Performing Artist Program administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, The Field and the Harlem Arts Alliance.  In this program, multi-disciplinary works-in-progress are guided in development through a process called “Field Work” sessions in which artists show work and share non-directorial feedback with a moderator present.  Playwright and performing artist, James Scruggs, was the moderator.  At that time, the piece was fresh and raw and I was on the fence about what I was putting out there as an artist.  James encouraged me to trust my artistic voice, insisting that I was on to something with this piece!  

After the workshop was over, I continued to work on the play and presented an excerpt of it under the direction of Mario Giacalone in Tribecca Performing Arts Center’s Writers in Performance where I am an alumna.  Mario was excited by the 1960’s militancy of the piece and encouraged me to “go for it” right from the top of the show!  He also told me to not be afraid to take on the speaking voices of the different characters in the play—something that was not easy for me to do and a little out of my comfort zone both politically and artistically for someone who was just returning to the stage. 

My collaboration with Los Angeles based composer, Larry Farrow, has spanned a number of years.  He has brought the gift of music into my straight plays.  Together last year we won the Planet Connections award, Outstanding Book, Music, Lyrics, or Play With Music for my play, White House Wives: Operation Lysistrata!  He was also a big part of the success of my play with music, What Would Jesus Do?, which won multiple AUDELCO Recognition Awards for Excellence in Black Theatre, including Dramatic Production of the Year in 2010.  Larry has two original compositions suggestive of the mid 60’s – early 70’s in Bridge to Baraka. 

When Bridge to Baraka was accepted for Manhattan Repertory Theatre’s 2011 Winter One-Act Play Competition I teamed up with director, Elizabeth Flax.  Elizabeth and I have continued our collaborative relationship with this current Planet Connections Theatre Festivity production. 

Collaboration in solo performance work is a special animal.  There are many ways to approach it.  Some solo performers write their show and hand it over to the director to direct as they see fit.  Others come to the table not only having written the piece, but with their own directing ideas and their own vision as playwrights for the work.  They know what they want and are pretty much only looking for a third eye to keep them on course.  My collaborative relationship with directors falls somewhere in the middle, perhaps leaning more towards the latter.  It is true, I do have my own ideas and vision for the piece, but I also feel I would be remiss to close myself off to whatever directorial inspiration a director may have, as well as whatever inspiration may result from our collaboration together.  With each production opportunity, the work is growing and standing on the shoulders of work that has before, with a living theatre artist as part of the package!  It is important to find a director who is not threatened by this.  The director and solo artist must have mutual respect for one another as theatre artists and as fellow human beings.  This is a deal-breaker for me as a first-time solo artist who is returning to the stage after nearly 30 years on the other side of the footlights as a writer/director.    

Last but not least, my Los Angeles based business partner, twin sister Yvonne Farrow, is not directly working on Bridge to Baraka here in New York, but we are in touch almost daily about the production by phone.  Our company, Twinbiz™, is proud to once again be presenting a play in Planet Connections Theatre Festivity.  We were thrilled to receive a nomination for Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical or a Play with Music for my show White House Wives: Operation Lysistrata! last year and Yvonne, who has appeared in nearly all of my plays, was also nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in A Musical or  Play With Music.  Of course, Yvonne, as a family member, is a special collaborator on this project.  I have called her on more than one occasion to clear up a cloudy family memory or to verify an incident or fact.  The stories I tell in the play of growing up with Yvonne, our younger sister Andrea, deceased mother Marcieta, and deceased biological father Farraquan Muhammad, are their stories too, even though the play is in large part what I like to call, a memoir-play.

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

Honestly, this year more than ever, being eco-friendly fits my budget.  Having said that, when the concept was introduced to me in the Festivity last year when I presented my play, White House Wives: Operation Lysistrata!, my whole cast embraced the challenge.  I was already recycling bottles and cans at my neighborhood grocery store and in an unexpected move I signed up to be an organ donor when my driver’s license renewal came up.  I was so proud when our prop, a Greek phallus made out of recyclable materials and designed by Bread and Puppet artist, Gabriel Harrell, had a cameo at the PCTF awards ceremony.

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

I have selected Frank Silvera Writers Workshop which was co-founded in 1973 by actor Morgan Freeman, playwright/director Garland Lee Thompson, director/actress Billie Allen and journalist Clayton Riley.  Morgan Freeman is one of the first of many actors, directors, producers, designers and playwrights who have emerged from the Workshop and gone on to gain national recognition for their work in the performing arts and film along with such actors as Angela Bassett, Charles Dutton and Danny Glover.  

The Workshop is a memorial to the late, great actor, director and teacher, Frank Silvera who was star of stage and screen and a forerunner of “color blind casting.”  Silvera worked with such giants as Marlon Brando, George C. Scott, and Ossie Davis, as well as directors such as Elia Kazan, Arthur Penn, and Lee Strasberg.  The mission of Frank Silvera Writer’s Workshop from its inception has been to read, develop and showcase emerging and established playwrights of all colors and backgrounds. 

The Workshop has built a reputation as a nationally and internationally renowned playwrights' development theatre but sadly, in recent years and due to heavy budget cuts in funding to the arts, Frank Silver Writers Workshop has been in danger of extinction.  At one time it had its own theatre space on Harlem’s famed 125^th Street, just a stone’s throw from the World Famous Apollo Theatre.  No longer with its own home, the Workshop has moved from place to place, finally settling at Dwyer Cultural Center.  What was once a thriving artistic haven has seen low attendance and participation by playwrights in recent years who have found other development opportunities for their work.

One would think that Frank Silvera Writers Workshop’s glorious heyday has passed, but Garland Lee Thompson, an institution himself in Harlem, is determined that Frank Silvera Writers Workshop will continute to serve Harlem's artistic community well past its 40^th birthday next year!  I want to assist in this effort by bringing visibility to Frank Silvera Writers Workshop during the run of my show and also by assisting in writing a grant.  This is my way of giving back because the Workshop has provided a place for me to have my plays read and critiqued within my own community.  This gift is inestimable and I am honored to be standing on the shoulders of the great playwrights like Pulitzer Prize winner, Charles Fuller, Drama Desk Award winner Richard Wesley and Obie Award winner Ntozake Shange, who have come before me and been through the same process of development which Frank Silvera Writers Workshop provides its playwrights today.

What's next for you after Planet Connections?

I will continue to move forward working on Bridge to Baraka and seeking production opportunities.  It is my hope to enter the solo performing artist circuit that I have been hearing so much about.

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

I would find a way to put pressure on those who could spearhead mandates which would ensure that women theatre artists get equal production opportunities from institutions that benefit from government arts funding.  It’s time to level the playing field, fellas!

To find out more about Bridge to Baraka, visit: http://planetconnections.org/bridge-to-baraka-and-naked-brazilian/ .