Rachel Cohen, Heather Cornell, Lynn Wright, & Jon Harper of “Tilt”

Racoco Productions presents TILT, written, directed, and choreographed by Rachel Cohen, at the Abrons Arts CenterListen in as TILT creator, choreographer, director, & performer Rachel Cohen, along with tap dancer Heather Cornell, composer Lynn Wright, and lighting designer Jon Harper discuss constructing your reality, creating a feast for the senses, a tight structure overlain with chaos, scaling your show, the sound of sandpaper and wood, pinball, and brilliant, delusional minds.

“…when you start to work on Don Quixote, and…you think about it, you realize, ‘oh my God, this is me’…as artists, too, you just keep trying to fight these windmills, and no matter how many times you get knocked down, you get back up, and you keep going…”

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Nicola Korzenko, Cesar J. Rosado, Sheila Vand, Maggie Bofill, Brian Miskell, Knud Adams, Claire Siebers, & Anand Wilder of “Nylon”

Theaterlab presents Blockchain Theater Project’s production of NYLON, written by Sofia Alvarez, directed by Knud AdamsListen in as Nylon director Knud Adams, along with producer Nicola Korzenko, composer Anand Wilder, and cast members Maggie Bofill, Brian Miskell, Cesar J. Rosado, Claire Siebers, & Sheila Vand, speak with GSAS! correspondent Alex Randrup to discuss how best to tease your show, the cages we build for ourselves, “coming up from beneath the role,” the audience as an invisible character, making art on an indie theatre budget, jedi director tricks, demanding a response, making messy decisions and messing up, and balancing *you* with your character.

“…I loved when I first read this play, this idea that, we do create a narrative for our lives, and what happens when you start to confront the cracks in that narrative…?”

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Mark Levy & Sarah Detrik of “CC: You in Hell!”

FRIGID New York and Hub Theatricals present CC: YOU IN HELL!, written by Mark Levy, directed by Janet Bentley, in the 2019 FRIGID Festival at The Kraine TheaterListen in as CC: You in Hell! playwright/producer/actor Mark Levy, along with fellow performer Sarah Detrik, discuss a love for 90s horror, uniting the theatre and comedy scenes, ensemble work, creating your style, putting horror onstage, finding collaborators with a different view of the world from your own, warm hugs, and the magic of the indie theatre community coming together.

“…it is a horror comedy set very much now, but it feels like it’s from the late ’90s…it’s a very nerdy, theatre-movie-nerd play…”

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Kelsey Hercs & Drew Bolander of “Romeo & Juliet”

William Shakespeare's ROMEO & JULIET, directed by Drew Bowlander, at The Kraine TheaterListen in as co-producers of Romeo & Juliet, Kelsey Hercs (“Juliet”) and Drew Bolander (adaptor/director) discuss undermining romanticism, logic-ing your way through your feelings, finding the kernel of the play we all think we know so well, making limitations into opportunities, love overflowing into hysteria and violence, and what we’re willing to do for the people and things we care about.

“…all of the violence comes from a place of love…it’s coming from a place of trying to protect what’s ‘theirs’…I think it’s interesting, because then we can apply that to ourselves, and our own groups, and kind of see where other people are coming from, even if their actions are wrong, and bad…”

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Liba Vaynberg and Emily Louise Perkins of “The Russian and The Jew”

Anna & Kitty, Inc. and The Tank present Liba Vaynberg at The TankListen in as the co-creators & performers of The Russian and The Jew, Liba Vaynberg and Emily Louise Perkins, discuss adapting Anna Karenina, their development process, sell-out fake-outs, varying audience reactions, drinking thimble-fuls of wine, & devising while co-writing with a large cast.

“…it’s all about female friendship, and betrayal, and love, and lust, and how dreams are politicized. And it’s sexy, and strange…and there’s free vodka…”

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Leah Abrams, Gabriel Grilli, Trish Lindstrom, Eric Rice, Dave Sikula, Matthew Van Oss, & Andrea Gallo of “Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother Night”

The Custom Made Theatre Company presents Kurt Vonnegut's MOTHER NIGHT, Adapted and directed by Brian Katz, at 59E59Listen in as producer Leah Abrams, along with most of the cast of Custom Made Theatre Company‘s production of Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother NightGabriel Grilli, Trish Lindstrom, Eric Rice, Dave Sikula, Matthew Van Oss, & Andrea Gallo—discuss why you should take the chance and just ask, the hearty challenge of leaping through time, the beauty of adaptation, searching for a Schenectady accent, what we relate to and what we don’t, and the timeliness of this story written in 1961.

“…it’s a really specific sensibility. There’s a drollness, and a darkness to it, that I hope we’ve captured…”

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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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Jaclyn Biskup & Braeson Herold of “Worse Than Tigers”

The Mill Theatre presents WORSE THAN TIGERS, written by Mark Chrisler, directed by Jaclyn Biskup, at The New OhioListen in as Worse Than Tigers producer/director Jaclyn Biskup and actor Braeson Herold discuss collegiate connections, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia’s Rhinoceros?,” using your space, how to play an insufferable drip (hint: kindness & generosity), unexpected journeys, the importance of openness & trust in your rehearsal room, and “sausage casing” as metaphor.

“…I really like to direct absurdism the same way that one would direct realism, because I feel like it’s a really fine line. And I think today, our lives are very fu**ing absurd…”

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David De Almo, Susanna Wolk, & Kelly McCready of “Sex Object”

Penal Colony presents SEX OBJECT, written by Charlie Falkner, directed by Susanna Wolk, at The PIT LoftListen in as the co-producers & performers of the U.S. premiere of Charlie Falkner’s Sex Object, David De Almo & Kelly McCready, along with director Susanna Wolk, discuss bringing this Australian play to the States, embracing the space, “how you perceive yourself and how you’re presenting yourself to the world,” having the audience on your side, sibling relationships, sex-shop sponsorship, and what a Black Mirror episode might look like in real life.

“…marrying all the different comedic elements to the heartfelt core was something that was really exciting to me about this play…”

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Jonathan Hopkins & Beth Ann Hopkins of Smith Street Stage’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Smith Street Stage presents A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, directed by Jonathan HopkinsListen in as Smith Street Stage‘s Executive Director (and director of this show) Jonathan Hopkins, and Beth Ann Hopkins, Artistic Director (& “Titania”), discuss their new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Carroll Park, why this was the right year for the company to produce this comedy, playing to a large & diverse audience, going beyond actor voice for the outdoor stage, the overlap of personal/professional partnerships, making original music & sound, advice for producing in public places, and why it’s important to be an active part of the community you’d like to perform in.

“…I think last year, we tried to afflict the comfortable, and this year we’re trying to comfort the afflicted…”
“…although this is not a ‘Midsummer’ of just clowns and fools, there’s a lot of deeper ground that we’re digging…”
“…it’s a play about the power of art to change people, and bring people outside of the normal boundaries, and it’s a play about how people change themselves, and the circumstances in which people are changed…”

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