Category Archives: Directors

Janet Bentley, Andy Evan Cohen, Alexandra Cohler, & Ian Campbell Dunn of “Basement”

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Roly Poly Productions presents BASEMENT, written by Michael Hagins, directed by Janet BentleyListen in as the director of Basement, Janet Bentley, along with actors Alexandra Cohler & Ian Campbell Dunn and sound designer Andy Evan Cohen, discuss radio-announcer-as-chorus, working in multiple languages in the same piece, sound as dramaturgy (and dramaturgy through sound), the benefit of having a medical professional in your production team, finding a place for a dance, and how to turn the traditional wartime romance narrative on its head.

“…theatre is always musical to me. There’s a rhythm to it…”

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Michael Hardart, Sidney Fortner, Michael LeBron, Marc LeVasseur, Erin Beirnard of “The Climbers”

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The Metropolitan Playhouse presents THE CLIMBERS by Clyde Fitch, directed by Michael HardartListen in as director Michael Hardart, designers Sidney Fortner (costumes) and Michael LeBron (sets), along with actors Marc LeVasseur and Erin Beirnard of The Metropolitan Playhouse‘s production of Clyde Fitch’s The Climbers, discuss finding opportunity in constriction, pacing, showing & reflecting the mechanics usually reserved for the background, hearing from the servants, being in tune with your audience in an intimate space, achieving elegance by suggesting elegance, and why this play from 1901 fits in our “new gilded age.”

“…what it’s driven me to…is an appreciation of what I enjoy, what I love: when a play can continue moving forward, even in a set change…you make it something that’s part of the story…”

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Erin B. Mee of “Subway Plays”

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This is Not a Theatre Company's SUBWAY PLAYS, conceived of and directed by Erin B. MeeListen in as Erin B. Mee, who conceived of and directed This is Not a Theatre Company‘s Subway Plays, discusses the origin of the term “podplays,” how variables can enter into the “performance,” practical considerations when you’re dealing with the MTA as your venue, mindfulness and the opportunity to mono-task, and making your theatre work even more accessible.

“…what we wanted to do was create a piece [where] the audience member mixes the live experience with the recorded experience, and creates an experience that is unique to them. So there’s something kind of John Cage about it…”

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Ran Xia and Charlotte Arnoux of The Arctic Group’s FRIDGE Festival

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The Arctic Group presents FRIDGE Fest 2017Listen in as Ran Xia and Charlotte Arnoux, co-Artistic Directors of The Arctic Group, presenting their Fridge Festival at IRT, discuss happy autocorrect errors, finding a fridge for your fridge festival, developing your climbing skills, the beauty of limitations, serendipitous curation, “figuring it out,” and what it means to “pick a snowflake out of an avalanche.”

“…it’s putting two different groups of people onto the same platform, so they can have a conversation…”
“…and just offering space to artists that we love, and ones that we have come to love…we wanted to create the theatre festival that we never had…”

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Julie Congress, Ryan Emmons, Steven Conroy, and Enrico de Trizio of “Friends Call Me Albert”

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No. 11 Productions presents FRIENDS CALL ME ALBERT, written by Zachary DesmondListen in as some of the team behind Friends Call Me Albert—performers Julie Congress and Steven Conroy, director Ryan Emmons, and musician Enrico de Trizio, all members of the ensemble of No. 11 Productions—discuss how and why puppets ended up in their play about Albert Einstein, the meaning of “bio-epic,” cross-continental collaboration, impossibility, how to integrate Einstein’s concepts into the presentation of your show, “fluidity,” using real math onstage, and how their ensemble plays together on the journey of creating their work.

“…it’s like playing with gravity…”

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Chesney Snow & Rebecca Arends of “The Unwritten Law”

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THE UNWRITTEN LAW, created and performed by Chesney Snow with direction and choreography by Rebecca Arends, at Dixon PlaceListen in as The Unwritten Law co-creator & performer Chesney Snow, along with co-creator, director, performer & choreographer Rebecca Arends, discuss working with collaborators who can help turn your story into art, making “something different,” microphones and music, “the magic that happens between people onstage,” American issues, and how sound and movement come together to tell this very personal story.

“…I tell people, they’re coming to see a story of America…we’re looking at black life, and I’m hoping they’ll be able to follow the journey of where we’ve come from…I don’t want to preach at people, but I would love for people to hear the story, and maybe they’ll have a different perspective on some of the things that are happening today…”

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Marina Tempelsman & Niccolo Aeed of “Unpacking”

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Marina and Nicco present UNPACKING, a Ghost Story Told in the Dark, at HERE Arts CenterListen in as the duo Marina & Nicco—Marina Tempelsman & Niccolo Aeed—discuss beginning their new show Unpacking from a design idea, introducing nostalgia via live music, ephemera, melancholia in comedy, what happens when you trust your audience with your lighting design, and the ghosts that imagining the future can summon.

“…this is a very literal answer to, ‘why is this live,’ but I think it checks out really beautifully. It’s really fun and interesting to see the collective personality of an audience having such a direct impact on what you’re seeing on the stage…”

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Maria Deasy & Rachel Dart of “Mine”

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MINE, written by Maria Deasy and directed by Rachel Dart, part of the Broadway Bound Theatre FestivalListen in as Mine playwright Maria Deasy and director Rachel Dart discuss making connections, inspiration from Maria’s paralegal background, the brand-new Broadway Bound Theatre Festival, discoveries in rehearsal, how to deal with a show inspired by real-life events, how to be “rich and spare,” and where we fit in as links on this human chain.

“…I didn’t want to make a polemic…I didn’t want to tell a story from event-to-event-to-event…I wanted to explore the idea that we’re all connected…”

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Patrick Vermillion and Emily Jackson of “Jessica”

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Sanguine Theatre Company presents JESSICA, written by Patrick Vermillion, directed by Emily JacksonListen in as two of the creators behind Sanguine Theatre Company‘s world-premiere production of Jessica—playwright Patrick Vermillion and director Emily Jackson—discuss justifying your narrative, Sanguine’s “Project Playwright” process, why their AI story focuses on the building process, confronting the truth, the morality of technology, and what makes us human.

“…I wanted to create a sci-fi piece for the stage mostly because I was watching these really old, kinda shitty…[but] super-relevant, very socially-interesting television shows, with virtually no budget. It’s so much your imagination…kind of like with theatre…”

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Lucie Pohl & Kenneth Ferrone of “Hi, Hitler”

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HI HITLER, written and performed by Lucie Pohl, directed by Kenneth Ferrone, at The Cherry Lane TheatreListen in as writer and performer Lucie Pohl and director Kenneth Ferrone of Lucie’s auto-biographical solo show Hi, Hitler, currently playing at The Cherry Lane Theatre, discuss post-show snacks, David Hasselhoff, inhabiting dozens of characters, what is (and what isn’t) very German about the show, the ease with which you can kill your darlings, why you won’t find props in this show, and how to trust the moments.

“…it’s a ‘fish-out-of-water story,’ it’s about finding your identity, and it’s about trying to fit in…”

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