Category Archives: Producers

Olivia Webb, Garrett Miller, & Albrim Gjonbalaj of “Twelfth Night”

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Twelfth Night, written by William Shakespeare, directed by Pete McElligott, at the Court Square Theater, Long Island City, QueensListen in as producer/performer Olivia Webb, along with fellow actors Garrett Miller & Albrim Gjonbalaj from their new production of Twelfth Night, discuss finding freedom on the stage, overcoming the fear of Shakespeare, making a play come to life by “just saying it,” love for your director and cast, Queens bakery recommendations, last-minute genius discoveries, and why you should always be up for seeing a Shakespeare, again.

“I thought, ‘I really wanna do this…it kept on being moments of, ‘oh, this is actually happening’…and then it was truly real. […] You can set it at any time, any place, anywhere. You don’t need a massive budget. When they’re a huge budget, fun, great. But it doesn’t need it, so why have it? Just enjoy the process…”

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Garrett Miller, Olivia Hewitt, Sabrina Gómez, Phanie Cherres, & Michael James Duran of “The Motherf**ker With the Hat”

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Hats Off Productions presents THE MOTHERFUCKER WITH THE HAT by Stephen Adly Guirgis, directed by Luis-Daniel Morales, at The Chain TheatreListen in as The Motherf**ker With the Hat executive producers Garrett Miller (who also plays “Jackie”) and Olivia Hewitt (who also stage manages the show), along with performers Sabrina Gómez (“Veronica”), Phanie Cherres (“Victoria”), and Michael James Duran (“Ralph D”), discuss self-producing, considering your audience, growth between iterations, seat-filling strategies & guerrilla marketing, taking over postcard stands, and the utmost importance of making sure you’ve got a great show.

“…I think if you’re doing independent theatre, you’re doing it because you really want to do it, and that shows…like, this isn’t as far away as you think. It is accessible. It’s a lot of work…a f*ckton of work. But it’s doable…”

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Jess Wood, Lisa Graham Parson, Henry Temple, & Laura Fois Bosley of “The Best Punk Band in Conway, Missouri”

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UP Theater Company presents THE BEST PUNK BAND IN CONWAY, MISSOURI by Kirby Fields, directed by Rachael MurrayListen in as performers Jess Wood, Lisa Graham Parson, and Henry Temple of The Best Punk Band in Conway, Missouri: An Oral History of Presley Cox and the Fallout Five, along with UP Theater Company’s Managing Director Laura Fois Bosley, discuss old punks looking back on impetuous youth, casting unique actors & discovering your multiple characters, growing up where you don’t fit in, playing in indie theatre “punk rock camp,” calling your cast-mates poseurs, and “being the person you want to be where you are.”

“…I don’t think you have to be from a small town to feel like you don’t fit in.”

“It’s never too late to enjoy yourself, to follow your dreams, to have fun: to find your tribe.”

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Amy Michelle & Zaven Ovian of “Emilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight”

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Duende Productions presents Emilie written by Lauren Gunderson directed by Kathy Gail MacGowan Listen in as Emilie: La Marquise du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight actor/producer Amy Michelle, along with fellow cast member Zaven Ovian, discuss physics, inviting the audience in, those plays that follow you around until you put them up, staging opportunities, deep research, love for stage managers, differentiating your multiple character assignments, and exploring “purpose & passion.”

“…the question that Emilie asks at the top of the play, ‘What do we mean?,’ I think is much more existential than ‘what do you mean by that?’ I think it’s actually, ‘what do WE mean? What is our meaning? What does our existence mean?’…I think a lot of people are asking that question since the pandemic…”

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Heather E. Cunningham & Sara Thigpen of “On the Verge”

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Retro Productions presents Eric Overmyer's ON THE VERGE at The Gene Frankel Theater, directed by Sara ThigpenListen in as Retro Productions Artistic Director Heather E. Cunningham, who also plays Fanny in the cast, along with director Sara Thigpen, discuss looking at the past through the lens of theatre and theatre through the lens of history, enthusiasm to jump in and play, suggestions vs. specificity, getting back to the live space post-COVID, and how it seems like everything comes back around again, in their production of Eric Overmyer’s On the Verge.

“…I love what it says about America, what it says about our history. The language is beautiful…”

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Sean Williams, Jordana Williams, & Mac Rogers of Gideon Media

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Gideon MediaListen in as producer/actor Sean Williams, director Jordana Williams, and playwright/actor Mac Rogers of Gideon Media/Gideon Productions discuss how they connected with legendary playwright Wallace Shawn to bring two of his stage plays to the radio drama realm, the outgrowth of Gideon Media from Gideon Productions, adapting Mac’s indie plays for audio podcasts, using short-hand with your long-time collaborators, getting through (and out of) the pandemic, how to get that “indie theatre” feel on the mic, the benefits of creating in a new medium, and why, come what may, we’ll all be back in those tiny dark spaces telling stories together, soon.

“…at any second, the whole thing might fall apart, and at any second, something magical might happen…”

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Johnny G. Lloyd & William Steinberger of “Or, An Astronaut Play”

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Inversion Theatre presents OR, AN ASTRONAUT PLAY, written by Johnny G. Lloyd, directed by William Steinberger, at The TankListen in as playwright Johnny G. Lloyd and director William Steinberger of Or, An Astronaut Play discuss capitalism, Emerson, childlike wonder, designing to your space, stealing kids’ artwork, and why the play goes to space school (as well as literal space).

“…it’s a play about race, and privilege, and access, but also, still, about finding access to that inner child, and finding a way to negotiate that…”

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Kylie M. Brown & Leigh Honigman of “Of the Woman Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die”

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Normal Ave and Leigh Honigman present the World Premiere of Of the Woman Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die, written by Lily Houghton and directed by Kylie M. Brown at the Medicine Show TheatreListen in as GSAS! correspondent Alex Randrup meets with Of the Woman Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die director Kylie M. Brown, along with producer Leigh Honigman, to discuss basement cults, Biblical inspiration & imagery, the marketability of femininity, ushering a new text to maturity, ritual & retail, accepting the weirdness to find the grounded truth, & living under late capitalism while femme.

“…what I see this show as, is femmes living in boxes, and trying their best to get out of said boxes. And we burn the boxes down. Simple enough.”

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Akia Squitieri, Matthew Weitz, Adeyinka Adebola, Desiree Pinol, Kyle Porter, Johnny Blaze Leavitt, & Ita Korenzecher of “Friendly’s Fire”

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Rising Sun Performance Company, co-presented by the 14th Street Y, presents FRIENDLY'S FIRE, by John Patrick Bray, directed by Anna HoganListen in as the cast of Friendly’s Fire—Matthew Weitz, Adeyinka Adebola, Desiree Pinol, Kyle Porter, Johnny Blaze Leavitt, & Ita Korenzecher—along with Artistic Director Akia Squitieri (with a quick note from Production Stage Manager Callie Stribling) discuss non-toxic male friendships, the sad timelessness of plays about trauma from war, the difference between cheerleading into war vs. receiving the warriors back into society, and how we use stories to make myths and to heal.

“…the same way kids believe in ghosts, and Santa Claus…and then you’re taught years later that these things are pretend, and made up, and that you need to get a job. So you’re pulled away from storytelling…and the healing powers that it has for people…”

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Suzanne Tufan & Lindsey Hope Pearlman of “Whore”

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WHORE, written and performed by Suzanne Tufan, directed by Lindsey Hope Pearlman, at Paradise FactoryListen in as Whore writer/producer/performer Suzanne Tufan and director Lindsey Hope Pearlman discuss “showing the emotion of little moments,” the various masks we create, working as a director with the writer/performer, the roller-coaster of baring one’s soul in a public setting, playfulness within serious personal material, and transformation, survival, and hope.

“I thought it was an important story to share, because I think we have so many misconceptions about women and sexuality. The word ‘whore’ is this dirty word, and women get these dirty words thrown at them from such a young age, for no reason…”

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