Heather Cohn, John Lenartz, Alisha Speilmann, Emily Hartford, Greg Oliver Bodine, Corey Allen, & Morgan McGuire of “The Sea Concerto”

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents THE SEA CONCERTO, written by August Schulenburg, directed by Heather Cohn and Kelly O'DonnellListen in as the cast & one of the directors of Flux Theatre Ensemble’s world premiere production of August Schulenburg’s The Sea Concerto—performers Morgan McGuire, Corey Allen, Greg Oliver Bodine, John Lenartz, Emily Hartford, and John Lenartz, with co-director Heather Cohn—discuss the importance of ensemble work, working from the outside in, familial and artistic legacies, finding a way into some very different & difficult characters, returning to past works, what can happen when your “scene partner” doesn’t show up until opening night, and why we make art.

“…I think what’s really interesting about this play…is that it asks the question, and answers the question, at the same time…and they’re constantly resonating throughout the play…”

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Alisha Spielmann, August Schulenburg, and Nina Fry of “World Builders”

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents WORLD BUILDERS by Johnna Adams, directed by Kelly O'DonnellListen in as the cast of Flux Theatre Ensemble‘s world premiere production of Johnna Adams’s World Builders, Alisha Spielmann and August Schulenburg, along with Assistant Director Nina Fry, discuss ways of connecting, theatricalizing medical conditions, director-actor conversations, how to have a bi-coastal ensemble, stakes, perspectives on mental illness, and “what is lost, what is gained, and who gets to decide what that is.”

“…it’s a tragedy as much as it is a comedy, in the sense that if the play is working, you should feel that it is a great loss…”

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Heather Cohn, Kia Rogers, Rachael Hip-Flores, Isaiah Tanenbaum, and Jodi M. Witherell of “Salvage”

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents Salvage, written by August Schulenburg and directed by Heather Cohn“What lives on…what’s left when someone is gone?”

The kinds of things that remain can run the gamut—music boxes, stories, ephemera, bottles of booze, memories—but they can all mean something. And exploring that meaning is at the heart of August Schulenburg’s excellent new play Salvage, presented by Flux Theatre Ensemble.

Listen in as the show’s director Heather Cohn, actors Isaiah Tanenbaum and Rachael Hip-Flores, lighting designer Kia Rogers, and stage manager Jodi M. Witherell discuss Flux’s innovative Living Ticket model, tumblr-blogging for your show, working in a non-traditional space, putting audience submissions into your set, and what we save.

“…really, it’s this love-letter to New York that Gus has written…and I love being in it.”

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TOWN HALL: Crisis to Creation

Martin E. Segal Theater Center hosts the Crisis to Creation Town HallTo celebrate this 150th Episode of the podcast—something a little different for Go See a Show!

Instead of interviewing theatre-makers about their work, the mic is in front of the advocates who are behind various independent theatre community initiatives to make the process of making things in this city a little bit easier.

The episode was recorded at Crisis to Creation, a Town Hall hosted by the Martin E. Segal Theater Center and co-curated by Brad Burgess in collaboration with Frank Hentschker. The event brought together representatives from some of the city’s most active & innovative arts advocacy organizations, as well as the Department of Cultural Affairs Chairman Tom Finkelpearl, and the City Council Majority Leader (and this podcaster’s local councilman!), arts-champion Jimmy Van Bramer, who was presented with a special award for Civic Engagement in the Arts.

I was able to catch Councilmember Van Bramer on the mic to talk about just what civic engagement in the arts means to him, as well as several others advocating on behalf of artists in New York; he closes the podcast, but in addition to his comments, listen in to hear from:

Chris Harcum, past podcast guest, the inspiration for this episode of GSAS!, former Managing Director of the League of Independent Theater, and fierce arts advocate

August Schulenburg, Vice President of the Network of Ensemble Theaters, an organization for companies that work and create as an ensemble (and, another multiple past podcast guest!)

Laura Caparrotti, head of the League of Independent Theater’s Foreign Language Working Group, working to enhance the visibility and overcome the unique challenges of producing foreign-language theatre in New York

Heather Woodfield, Executive Director of One Percent for Culture, who are advocating the city to make city funding for culture 1% of the city’s municipal expense budget (currently, it’s .21%)

Monica Valenzuela, Deputy Director of Staten Island Arts, the organization supporting the island’s independent artists

Tamara Greenfield, Executive Director of Fourth Arts Block, the organization advancing the East 4th Street Cultural District (where a lot of shows covered on this podcast take place!)

Listen in to all these great folks discuss the incredible work they’re doing on behalf of New York’s independent arts community; and, I would encourage you (as Chris does there at the start of the episode) to join the League of Independent Theater, our community’s political advocacy organization. Membership is free, and you’ll be adding your voice to a chorus of artists advocating for the interests of independent theatre; those would be your interests, too. Come join us—we are the 99 seats (or less!).

“I love this work, I love these people…the truth is, it’s a little bit of self-interest, in the sense that politics is a difficult business to be in, and it can wear you down…but I get a lot of energy when I am around people in the arts community, and I love the vibe and I love the energy…I get stronger every time I come to something like this…” —New York City Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer

August Schulenburg, Kelly O’Donnell, Will Lowry, & the cast of “Jane the Plain”

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents "Jane the Plain"The great folks of Flux Theatre Ensemble are no strangers to the podcast (see their three past episodes for more great stuff), with each unique production linked by the ensemble’s players and production team, and the high quality that marks a Flux show.

That said, I was a bit surprised when I heard the company’s latest offering would be set in high school, and feature characters with names like “Scotty the Hotty” and “Betty the Pretty” — but, of course, this isn’t your typical high school dramedy. It’s like John Hughes meets…well, you should listen to the interview. Gus tells that joke way better than I could.

Listen in as director Kelly O’Donnell, scenic designer Will Lowry, playwright August Schulenburg, and the cast discuss tightening your aesthetic vocabulary, transformation, and getting in touch with your teenage emotions, where moments of magnitude are ever-present.

“We didn’t quite know what the genre was completely, but in the rehearsal room we really worked as a team to develop it together, really devising a lot of the movement and a lot of the rules and the vocabulary of the stage…”

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August Schulenburg, playwright, and Kelly O’Donnell, director, of “Honey Fist”

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents "Honey Fist"I love seeing people I recognize onstage.

And though I’m not from Marble Head, outside of Boston (pronounced “Mahble Head, outside of Bahston”), playwright August Schulenburg has written some beautifully complex, and very familiar, characters in his funny, tragic, compelling new play, Honey Fist.

Listen in as Gus and director Kelly O’Donnell discuss where Gus’s “most autobiographical play” (that’s not autobiographical) came from, the late-night last-minute carving of bongs, and why Honey Fist is running in rep with Sans Merci (hear the Sans Merci podcast here — and, listen to Gus & Kelly’s first outing on the podcast, about Adam Szymkowicz’s play Hearts Like Fists, here).

“Wha, you think you’re bettah than me?”

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