Scott Aiello, Jordan Lage, Benjamin Rosloff, Stephanie Gould, & Forrest Malloy of “Bernie and Mikey’s Trip to the Moon”

Strangemen Theatre Company presents BERNIE AND MIKEY'S TRIP TO THE MOON, written by Scott Aiello, directed by Claire KarpenListen in as Bernie and Mikey’s Trip to the Moon playwright Scott Aiello, along with performers Jordan Lage, Benjamin Rosloff, Stephanie Gould, & Forrest Malloy, discuss getting personal, creating a theatre family to create an onstage family, relating to your character, backstage donuts, not pulling any punches, your favorite Elvis Presley song, keeping your artistic heart full, writing fan-fiction for the show you’re in, “typecasting,” and love & inspiration from your family.

“…it speaks to the fact that any human being, whatever disability they have, physical, intellectual, anything, wants love…”

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Elizabeth May, Lindsey Hope Pearlman, & Giverny Petitmermet of “Zodiac Math”

The New Collectives present ZODIAC MATH, written and performed by Elizabeth May, directed by Lindsey Hope PearlmanListen in as Zodiac Math creator & performer Elizabeth May, along with director Lindsey Hope Pearlman and producer Giverny Petitmermet, discuss crazy true family history, witchiness, telling personal stories with collaborators, midwifing the birth of an art baby, pre-forgiving mistakes, providing a space for healing, the power and magic of being in a room full of people, and “fate, compatibility, and things that are written in the stars vs. the things that we get to decide for ourselves.”

“…in the old versions of ‘I Dream of Jeannie’…the only part I ever really cared about is when you would go into Jeannie’s bottle, and you would see everything that was in there…basically, the making of the show is sort of me, making my own little Jeannie’s bottle that is the safe space that I need to make to tell all these stories…”

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Patricia Lynn, Patrick T. Horn, Emily Kitchens, & Elizabeth Anne Rimar of “Your Invisible Corset”

Hunger and Thirst Theatre presents YOUR INVISIBLE CORSET, written by Patricia LynnListen in as Hunger and Thirst Theatre artistic director, producer, actor & playwright of Your Invisible Corset, Patricia Lynn, along with her co-stars Patrick T. Horn, Emily Kitchens, and Elizabeth Anne Rimar, discuss getting away from sexy sparkly vampires, internal horror, jump scares & gore effects, seduction through feminism, walking into the fog, the human drama in a supernatural story, and the horror of strapping one’s self into a corset.

“…the parallels are very, very now…there are Draculas in this world that would like to see women be smaller, be more constricted, who think that is the shape that a woman should take. And that’s the horror of the story…”

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Jake Lipman & Jessica Ammirati of “Relentlessly Pleasant”

Tongue in Cheek Theater Productions presents RELENTLESSLY PLEASANT, written and directed by Jake LipmanGSAS! podcast correspondent Tara Gadomski attended the first performance of Tongue in Cheek Theater Productions‘ world premiere Relentlessly Pleasant, and hosted an interview/talkback with the audience, featuring writer/director Jake Lipman and dramaturg Jessica Ammirati. Listen in as they discuss “what it’s like to work in corporate America as a woman,” #MeToo, how sexuality is always at play, writing from real scenarios, working with a dramaturg to shape a script, hearing your script through different voices, and digging deeper below the surface.

“…nothing is black and white in this. It really is all these shades of gray…”

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Michelle Kholos Brooks, Sarah Norris, Hallie Griffin, MaryKathryn Kopp, Kaitlin Paige Longoria, & Hannah Sturges of “Hitler’s Tasters”

IRT presents New Light Theater Project's HITLER'S TASTERS, written by Michelle Kholos Brooks, directed by Sarah Norris, at IRT TheaterListen in as the playwright of Hitler’s Tasters, Michelle Kholos Brooks, along with director Sarah Norris and actors Hallie Griffin, MaryKathryn KoppKaitlin Paige Longoria, & Hannah Sturges, discuss the timeliness and relevance of this story in October 2018, relatability to “bad people” (who may be “good people in a bad situation”), social media, feeling valued, the difference between the women who served the Reich and the women who currently serve Trump, the role of theatre in this dangerous political moment, “feeling things” in the intimacy of the theater, and why it’s important to put young women’s stories on the stage.

“…it’s just so very real. And I think it’s just so relatable, and that’s what’s kind of scary about it, because these are girls we see in our lives every day…”

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Sarah Shear, Aaron Mauck, Adrian Abel Amador, & Jay Cobian of “Scum”

SCUM, a new play by Sarah Shear, directed by Javan NelsonListen in as playwright & performer of Scum, Sarah Shear, along with fellow cast members Aaron Mauck, Adrian Abel Amador, & Jay Cobian, discuss nuclear overlay maps, Bartle’s Taxonomy of Players, playing against type and finding commonality with your character, emotional vs. physical labor, personal playwriting challenges, doomsday prep, healthy compromise, and just what scum is, both externally and internally.

“…the reason why I think Scum is a little bit more universal […] is because it’s really about personal politics, more than anything else. It’s about how do we operate, and how do we, essentially, love each other…”

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Vince Gatton, Jordana Williams, & Tyler M. Perry of “Alexandria”

Sanguine Theatre Company presents ALEXANDRIA, written by Vince Gatton, directed by Jordana Williams, at IRT TheaterListen in as Alexandria playwright Vince Gatton, along with director Jordana Williams and set/lighting designer Tyler M. Perry, discuss grabbing the audience with words, curating our modern campfire stories, how to keep your play’s young character off his phone, “eavesdropping on the internal arguments happening in Christian America,” the struggle between the analog and the digital, trying to give gifts of love between characters, and hooking audiences with the immediacy of indie theatre.

“…I feel like this play asks a really timely question, in a very compassionate, sensitive way […]. At a certain point what you’re tolerating is sort of what you’re permitting, and where do you draw the line and what’s ok and what stand should you take, and when should you shut somebody down? And I don’t know the answer, and it’s something that I struggle with, and I love how honestly the play grapples with that…”

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Daniel McCoy, Heidi Handelsman, & David Hilder of “Perfect Teeth” and “Dick Pix”

Richard Pictures presents and TLab Shares hosts, in association with Anne L. Bernstein, two plays by Daniel McCoy, PERFECT TEETH, directed by David Hilder, and DICK PIX, directed by Heidi HandelsmanListen in as playwright Daniel McCoy, and the directors of his plays Perfect Teeth, David Hilder, and Dick Pix, Heidi Handelsman, discuss running in rep two shows that are completely stylistically different, why these plays are right for the current moment, longtime collaborations, “gender spaghetti,” love for your design team, working in oddly perfect spaces, and solving issues with your creative collaborators.

“…there’s just a lot that isn’t talked about as readily or as publicly as it should be, and so that’s one of the things that I hope the play sort of cracks open a little bit…”

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Alex Randrup, Samantha Clark, & Bonita Jackson of “Corey and Vanessa Present an All-Female Educational Touring Production of Of Mice and Men”

The Tank and FEAST present Corey and Vanessa Present an All-Female Educational Touring Production of Of Mice and Men, a collaboratively devised work directed by Alex Randrup, at The Tank NYCListen in as performers Bonita Jackson and Samantha Clark, along with director Alex Randrup, of Corey and Vanessa Present an All-Female Educational Touring Production of Of Mice and Men, discuss how they devised the show (“putting wonderful, badass, creative ladies in a room together”), making your collaborators laugh, getting out of the way or your collaborative process, and “power, performance, learning to trust your scene partner, and learning to trust yourself.”

“…is there a way that we could dig into the fields of feminism, and womanhood, and humanity today, and the things that we know best—which is creating a production—and dealing with it. Could we dig up some kind of tool, or weapon, that an audience member could take out with them to smash the patriarchy, or to fix the democracy, or to do something really active…”

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Jenn Haltman, Becca Schneider, & Charise Greene of “Cannibal Galaxy: a love story”

Between Two Boroughs presents CANNIBAL GALAXY: A LOVE STORY, written by Charise Greene, directed by Jenn HaltmanListen in as Cannibal Galaxy: a love story playwright Charise Greene, along with the duo behind the producing company Between Two Boroughs—the show’s director, Jenn Haltman, and Becca Schneider, who plays “Claire”—discuss impossibility in the theater, finding communal experiences in the wake of trauma, “the relationship between violence, science, and spirituality in our country,” embracing the structural elements of a space, galactic cannibalism, magical realism, irrevocable change, and where creativity and violence collide.

“…I always ask the question, ‘why does this have to be a play?’…for me, impossible plays are an opportunity to welcome collaboration…Becca’s ‘Claire’ coughing up peach pits, or ash, is going to be very different than another actress, and I want Becca’s version of that, and Jenn’s version of the larger picture…to me, it’s a leap of exciting theatricality that is the reason why I go to the theater.”

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