Sara Fellini, Adam Belvo, & Nicholas Thomas of “A Man Among Ye”

Spit & Vigor presents A MAN AMONG YE by Sara Fellini, directed by Sara Fellini and Nicholas Thomas, at The Players TheatreListen in as writer/director/performer Sara Fellini, along with fellow actors Nicholas Thomas (co-director) and Adam Belvo (fight choreographer), discuss adding more balloons, doing the research, breast reveals, rowing in the same direction with your crew, the light with all the knowledge, lambs with faces, interesting translations, Tarantino’ing it, earning your rail jump, leaning into the “mistakes,” awesome wigs, and, of course, lady pirates.

“There’s so much value to it…if you’ve made the set yourself, if you’ve sewn your costume, you’re gonna care about it, you’re gonna know it more. You’re gonna love it. There’s nothing better, as an actor, than saying, ‘I made this’…”

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Kenneth Keng, Annaporva Green, & Chisom Awachie of “Brought Up”

University Settlement presents BROUGHT UP, written by Kenneth Keng, directed by Annaporva Green, at Speyer HallListen in as playwright Kenneth Keng, director Annaporva Green, and actor & projection designer Chisom Awachie of Brought Up discuss lobotomized flesh puppets, encouraging participation and not “screaming and running away,” gratitude for designers, complicity and unthinking loyalty, Capri Suns, finding “a different way to do this shit,” and survival (with kindness) into the future.

“…it is about the visceral appeal of warfare, and all the equipment…the whiz-bang fighters, the big ships, the guns…things which I, for a long time, loved, and loved learning about, and loved imagining. It is also about the urgent, and near-impossible task of ending warfare. Recently, a lot of those things I loved have lost a lot of their appeal to me…”

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Melissa Ingle, Emily Conlon, and Sevrin Willinder of “Shakespeare Translate: The Complete Works”

Devon Loves ME! productions presents SHAKESPEARE TRANSLATE THE COMPLETE WORKS as part of the Down to Clown Festival at The Vino Theater, BrooklynListen in as performers Sevrin Willinder and Emily Conlon and director Melissa Ingle, of Shakespeare Translate: The Complete Works, discuss translation order, opening up and exploring the box, post-COVID theatre, playing with the audience, the show’s resident ShakesPEER expert, connecting, and why liveness is so integral to being human.

“…it’s such a funny idea…but it proves the fallacy of technology, how it’s letting us down in some ways. But we still get to bring it into the room, and engage with it, and have fun with the miscommunications, which is very Shakespearean…”

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Coral Cohen, Cosette Pin, Sam Hood Adrian, & James Clements of “Third Law”

What Will the Neighbors Say? presents THIRD LAW at Culture Lab LICListen in as members of the team that devised What Will the Neighbors Say?‘s Third Law—director Coral Cohen, designer Cosette Pin, and performers Sam Hood Adrian and James Clements—discuss their devising process, exploring audience agency, Kandinsky, testing your show with live participants, taking risks, and where theatre meets gaming.

“…it’s unlike any game that you have played. You are controlling physical bodies all around you, like real life VR…like reality, but you’re making a play right in front of you.”

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Madelyn Chapman, Jesse Castellanos, Michelle Feza Kuchuk, Fernando Mateo, Jr., Haneen Arafat Murphy, Maria Peyramaure, & Yasmin Ranz-Lind of “Lost Sock Laundry”

UP Theater Company presents LOST SOCK LAUNDRY, written by Ivan Faute, directed by Madelyn ChapmanListen in as the director of Lost Sock Laundry, Madelyn Chapman, along with the full cast—Jesse Castellanos, Michelle Feza Kuchuk, Fernando Mateo, Jr., Haneen Arafat Murphy, Maria Peyramaure, & Yasmin Ranz-Lind—discuss variations on the immigrant experience, finding the political in the quotidian, theatre in/of/for the community, laundry jokes, cast bonding, actual lost socks, and the freedom to play.

“…it’s a very human play. It’s looking at the day-to-day life of folks who are struggling with different aspects of the immigrant experience…The sort of ordinary heroism that is in the play…people just do that in life, and it’s not sung very much, the ways that people stand up for each other.”

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Dorothea Gloria, Joe Staton, Natasha Jain, Francesca Bolam, Kevin Rios, Jandel Camilo, Mila Besson, Nicholas Bompart, and Pablo Gatto of The Immigrant Short Play Festival

RiffRaff NYC presents Immigrants in New York at The Court Square TheaterListen in as Dorothea Gloria, Joe Staton, Natasha Jain, Francesca Bolam, Kevin Rios, Jandel Camilo, Mila Besson, Nicholas Bompart, and Pablo Gatto of RiffRaff NYC‘s Immigrants in New York short play festival discuss mother-daughter relationships, unpacking baggage, why clowns, the superpowers bestowed by costumes, personifying statues, and wearing masks over masks.

“…I wanted to show their lives, their dreams, their feelings…for me, it was important to show these professions, also…sometimes we take for granted, there are people who do it for passion, and some of them, they do it because they need to bring in money…”

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Nancy Ma, Kim Wuan, David Lee Huynh, & Vin Kridakorn of “Warrior Sisters of Wu”

Pan Asian Repertory Theatre presents Warrior Sisters of Wu, written by Damon Chua, directed by Jeff LiuListen in as Warrior Sisters of Wu performers Nancy Ma, Kim Wuan, David Lee Huynh, & Vin Kridakorn discuss navigating and connecting times and traditions, how conflicts can grow relationships and solve problems, respect and love for the audience, the changing moment when you discover your character’s love for another, fighting as conversation, grounding your role in the personal, and the permission to be anything and everything.

“…a great deal of love should be able to hold conflict…”

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Marc Castle, Mark Finley, & Dani Marcus of “Deadly Stages”

Emerging Artists Theatre, in association with No Anita No Productions, presents DEADLY STAGES, written by Marc Castle and Mark Finley, directed by Mark Finley, at Theatre RowListen in Deadly Stages co-authors Mark Finley (who directs) and Marc Castle (who portrays the glamorous Veronica Traymore), along with fellow performer Dani Marcus (Phoebe/Connie), discuss love of old movies, where reality meets camp, red herrings, writing like directors, pulling in new company members, pre-determined tracks, and finally getting a chance to collaborate.

“…I love when theatre doesn’t apologize for itself…”

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Eliza Palter, Paul Rochford, Thammie Laine Quách, Eli Wassertzug, & Ana Prí of “Antigone”

New Relic Theatre presents ANTIGONE, written by Sophocles, adapted and directed by Eliza Palter, featuring composition by Paul RochfordListen in as the adapter/director of New Relic Theatre’s production of Sophocles, Eliza Palter, along with composer Paul Rochford and performers Thammie Laine Quách, Eli Wassertzug, & Ana Prí, discuss Swedish pop musical inspiration, creating otherworldly characters, deep research, discovering levity, and moving Antigone to Viking culture.

“I think there is something so beautiful about making theatre for young people, and showing them that centuries and centuries and centuries ago, humans were just as vivid and complex, queer, complicated, as shameful as we are now. And bringing, especially young audiences, into the theater, and see the sweat on people from times of yore, see them struggle, see them be embarrassed, see them grapple with big ideas…”

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Elijah Guo, Dylin Taylor, Marsha Yuan, Misako Yamagishi, & Anthony Naranjo of “Tourist Trap”

The 2024 Chain Theatre One-Act Festival presents TOURIST TRAP, written by Elijah Guo, directed by Dylin TaylorListen in as Tourist Trap writer Elijah Guo, director Dylin Taylor, and performers Marsha Yuan, Misako Yamagishi, & Anthony Naranjo discuss the absurdity of unbelonging, the universality of beans, the authority of tour/play guides, and where physical space meets the ephemeral.

“…we spoke about the idea of how definitions of ‘Asian-ness,’ we didn’t necessary relate to them, or like, resonate with them. But we still identified as Asians, and we’re seen as Asians…so it’s, creating work that we do resonate with, that is Asian. And I don’t know that it’s us trying to be different, we’re trying to expand…”
“I know what it is: we’re Asian. It’s not a non-Asian writing about Asian. So it’s not, like, [insert stereotypical music here]—you don’t hear that in the background. It’s real life stories, real personalities…”

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