Lucie Pohl & Kenneth Ferrone of “Hi, Hitler”

Posted on July 26, 2017 by robby

Listen 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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Ashley J. Jacobson, Elizabeth Sarkady, Faith Sandberg, Jenna D’Angelo, & Brandon Ferraro of “How to Be Safe”

Posted on June 14, 2017 by robby

Listen in as The Dirty Blondes, Elizabeth Sarkady and Ashley J. Jacobson (whom you’ll remember from past podcasts on The Miracle Play and The Tunnel Play), along with the full cast—Faith Sandberg, Jenna D’Angelo, and Brandon Ferraro—discuss the company’s new play How to Be Safe, finding relevance in the present moment, the “low hum of anxiety,” the draw of terrible true crime shows, the incredible experience of having a theatrical home-base, being a sponge (then wringing yourself out), and finding safety & solace in the theater.

“…the election happened, and that made me question what I was going to be putting out into the world. It needed to be relevant, it needed to speak to something. And so I figured, ‘let me just create the most honest, emotional show that I could, because that felt like my own personal safety, and that felt like my own personal contribution, to talk about how afraid I feel, and how afraid I think other people feel…”

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Richard C. Aven, James L. Menzies, & Christopher Halladay of “Go Get the Axe”

Posted on June 13, 2017 by robby

Listen in as playwright James L. Menzies and director Richard C. Aven of Go Get the Axe, along with co-producer/actor Christopher Halladay, discuss the process that brought two short Shotz pieces by Jamie into the full-length FIG Productions is currently presenting, fever-dreams from a bathroom floor, the benefits of a desk day-job, collaborator love, killing your darlings, and how to give good pod.

“…people have been so imaginative, and so creative, and everybody’s had input. And that makes me really really proud, because it’s been phenomenal, the individual pride and energy that’s gone into this…and I get to sit and watch it, and people make me look good.”

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James Scruggs of “3/Fifths”

Posted on May 17, 2017 by robby

Listen in as playwright James Scruggs, creator of the sprawling, detailed, provocative, disturbing, and vital show 3/Fifths, discusses where the idea for SupremacyLand came from, why it took a space like 3LD to make it work, the magic and opportunity of having an artistic director asking you to “dream bigger,” what happens when you invite audiences to participate in a carnival of atrocities, the incredible bravery of the actors in this piece (and how they take care of themselves performing such heavy material), and why we have to talk about this terrible history so it never happens again.

“…it’s still happening, there are these loops. So what I’m really interested in doing is talking about it, showing it, in visceral detail, with the hope of ending the loops…”

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Matthew Roi Berger & Jonathan A. Goldberg of “The Fall of the House of Sunshine”

Posted on March 31, 2017 by robby

Listen in as Matthew Roi Berger and Jonathan A. Goldberg, co-creators of The Fall of the House of Sunshine, discuss the show’s roots in Serials at The Flea, who gets to edit this epic, how to describe your multi-hyphenate-project, the importance of having a plan, and the freedom of doing a musical serial as a podcast.

“Do you like comedy? Do you like musicals? Do you like mysteries? Two outta three ain’t bad…”

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Erin B. Mee of “Pool Play 2.0”

Posted on March 23, 2017 by robby

Listen in as Erin B. Mee, who conceived and directed Pool Play 2.0, discusses our nation’s complicated history with public water, inspiration from your exercise routine, choreography in water, getting onlookers intrigued, rehearsing with lap-swimmers, audience reactions to truly “immersive” theatre, and how (& why) to hook up a deal with a unique performance space.

“…so I was reading that book…and I was swimming back and forth, and doing laps, and thinking, ‘we should a play in a pool…we should do a play in this pool…let’s do a play in this pool!'”

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Emily Owens, Hollis James, & Nat Cassidy of “Kyle”

Posted on March 17, 2017 by robby

Listen in as Kyle playwright Hollis James and director Emily Owens—who are, combined, the newly-formed Hot Tramp Productions—along with actor Nat Cassidy discuss how a play can sneak up on you, overcoming the little demon inside of yourself, how to pronounce “publicist,” getting coaxed into the director’s chair, playing your playwright in his play (while he’s acting opposite you), and why you shouldn’t get a “Nat-Cassidy-type”—you should get Nat Cassidy.

“…I didn’t set out to write this story. I just sat down to try and write something, my writing partner and I…we were in a holding pattern, and we were sick of pitching, and going through all the rigamarole. So I just sat down to try to write something just for me, and I wrote this scene…and then I realized, ‘that’s me, back then…'”

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Hondo Weiss-Richmond, J. C. Ernst, Emily Kitchens, Natalie Hegg, Dan Morrison, and Patricia Lynn of “Messenger #1”

Posted on March 14, 2017 by robby

Listen in as Messenger #1 director Hondo Weiss-Richmond, Hunger & Thirst Collective Artistic Director Patricia Lynn, and actors J. C. Ernst, Emily Kitchens, Natalie Hegg, and Dan Morrison discuss class, intimate space (and the fun audience reactions it can provoke), “the swells,” the flow of information, telling the truth, and how this 17-year-old play feels like it was written for our present moment in the United States.

“…sometimes at the very end, you feel like…we’ve all been a part of this together. It’s like this shared experience that we’ve all had, and you feel that very palpably because it’s an intimate experience…”

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Greg Kotis and Ayun Halliday of “Lunchtime” & “Zamboni Godot”

Posted on March 13, 2017 by robby

Listen in as Lunchtime writer/director Greg Kotis and Zamboni Godot writer/director Ayun Halliday discuss what it’s like to direct your own writing, physical transformations, adventures in parenting, “director” as “general contractor,” casting drinking buddies, getting outside your comfort zone, and what it’s like making theatre when you have—and then later, with—a family.

“To me, the ideal artist life is that you can do something like this, this residency, where you do whatever you want…just for fun, it’s why we came to it in the first place…Of course you want to have those projects and those opportunities that make money, and that can reach broader audiences, and that can have a life beyond. To have a variety, a diversity of work that you do, in a diversity of spaces, is really the ideal, I think…”

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Skylar Fox & Simon Henriques of “Providence, RI”

Posted on January 27, 2017 by robby

Listen in as the co-creators of Providence, RI, Skylar Fox (who directs) and Simon Henriques (who performs in the show) discuss their company Nightdrive‘s process, why they used Providence as their subject (and what it was like to explain the place to someone who’s never been there), misdirecting your audience, and where their piece fits in the world in January 2017.

“…we’re actually trying to do new things to communicate in uniquely effective ways with an audience…”

“Yeah, we’re trying to do experimental theatre that’s FUN…” Continue reading →

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Category Archives: Producers

Lucie Pohl & Kenneth Ferrone of “Hi, Hitler”

Ashley J. Jacobson, Elizabeth Sarkady, Faith Sandberg, Jenna D’Angelo, & Brandon Ferraro of “How to Be Safe”

Richard C. Aven, James L. Menzies, & Christopher Halladay of “Go Get the Axe”

James Scruggs of “3/Fifths”

Matthew Roi Berger & Jonathan A. Goldberg of “The Fall of the House of Sunshine”

Erin B. Mee of “Pool Play 2.0”

Emily Owens, Hollis James, & Nat Cassidy of “Kyle”

Hondo Weiss-Richmond, J. C. Ernst, Emily Kitchens, Natalie Hegg, Dan Morrison, and Patricia Lynn of “Messenger #1”

Greg Kotis and Ayun Halliday of “Lunchtime” & “Zamboni Godot”

Skylar Fox & Simon Henriques of “Providence, RI”