Erika Phoebus and Isaac Byrne of “Kiss It, Make It Better”

Posted on June 7, 2016 by robby

Who really gets you? How well do you actually know yourself? And when your innocence is shattered, what can you do, who can you turn to, and where can you go?

For the characters in actress Erika Phoebus‘s Kiss It, Make It Better, the place to run away to is an abandoned roller coaster—but the real world has a way of encroaching in on the planned utopia of two runaway kids.

Starting with a bit of old slam poetry, Erika worked with director Isaac Byrne (whom you might remember from the second go-round of The Other Mozart) to develop the play, currently receiving its world premiere as produced by Theatre 4the People at The New Ohio.

Listen in as Erika and Isaac discuss lost innocence, being both playwright and actor in the rehearsal room, creating your own Neverland, why you shouldn’t rely on your box office, and why you should go wait in Central Park for “Shakespeare in the Park” tickets (hint: you might start a collaboration with others in the queue).

“I just kind of came to the realization that…you can’t really make money off theatre until it reaches a certain level…”
“…and even then…”
“…and even then! So unless you’re really coming in with a lot of capital, what’s the point? […] I just wanted people to come. […] And it’s actually been great…”
“I think it’s also really important to respect the community of artists that we’re a part of…and recognize that it’s our job to see theatre, and it’s our job to be a part of the theatre. It’s an exchange…”

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Jason Tseng, Emily Hartford, Alisha Spielmann, and Kia Rogers of “Rizing”

Posted on June 1, 2016 by robby

Podcast regulars (and favorites) Flux Theatre Ensemble are back with a new show, from a new playwright, developed in-house and featuring a lot of ensemble regulars that you’ll recognize.

Rizing, by Jason Tseng, is a modern and unique take on the zombie trope. Here, however, those with a taste for brains live and work among the other remaining survivors of the zombie apocalypse, though those who are “Z-positive” are highly medicated, and de-facto segregated. But the old drugs are starting to lose the effect of keeping down the flesh-cravings, and a revolt is beginning to stir…

Flux is once again offering tickets with their incredible and brilliantly innovative Living Ticket model, so you can get to the show without a barrier to entry—but you can also have the chance to help the company out with a pay-what-you-will model. And they show you where that money’s going!

Listen in to this episode as Jason, along with director Emily Hartford, actor Alisha Spielmann, and lighting designer Kia Rogers discuss “The Walking Dead meets Octavia Butler,” class battles, thanking St. Judith Butler, how to make a world breathe, and how we are shaped by our reactions to the impossible decisions the world presents us with.

“…a big part of the play is memory, and what that does to a person when you don’t have a history, what that does for the Z-negative characters to have lived through this enormously violent and destructive history, and the choices that they’ve had to make. So there is this balance between who you are as your actions, and who you are as this past that sort of haunts you…”

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Yolanda K. Wilkinson and Joey Rizzolo of “Bible Study for Heathens”

Posted on May 17, 2016 by robby

It takes moxie to critique religion while performing in a church. But for Yolanda K. Wilkinson, Judson Memorial Church Loft is exactly the right place to premiere her new solo show: Bible Study for Heathens.

The show is presented by The New York Neo-Futurists and, like everything this ground-breaking theatre company does, Bible Studes for Heathens defies definition and pushes theatrical boundaries.

With hilarious visual aids, fantastically-produced videos, sock-puppets, graphics, and sometimes intense audience participation, Yolanda chronicles her personal life quest to find some kind of meaning, attachment or even divine inspiration in ten different religions she has taken part in, since her childhood. Along the way, she hones in on some disturbing truths about the American religious experience, but in the end, she—and the audience—find hope through basic, affirming, human communion.

Go See A Show! correspondent Tara Gadomski sat down after a recent performance—in the cavernous church—to speak to writer and performer Yolanda K. Wilkinson and director Joey Rizzolo. Listen in as they discuss avoiding “therapy” on stage, how to interact with audience members who may strongly disagree with you, and why religion and theatre intersect.

“We think about artistic media as having a relationship with one another, but theatre has a really close relationship with religion and it’s unique that way. And you can say that theatre has a closer relationship with religion than it does with any other storytelling medium. Because it’s the only one that requires people being in a room at the same time.”

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Emily Claire Schmitt, Ria T. DiLullo, Miranda Poett, Claire Buckingham, Charlotte Pines, and Courtney McClellan of “Whatchamacallit: A Play About Jesus”

Posted on May 2, 2016 by robby

Nuns & prophets. Lost faith & lost love. A virgin conception & a horde of condoms.

And, observing it all, a bemused Jesus.

If that doesn’t intrigue you to check out Emily Claire Schmitt‘s excellent play Whatchamacallit: A Play About Jesus, then this interview certainly will.

Listen in as Emily, along with director Ria T. DiLullo, and cast members Miranda Poett, Claire Buckingham, Charlotte Pines, and Courtney McClellan, discuss the hero’s journey, embodying third wave feminism, Catholic education, a play and rehearsal process mostly free from the male gaze, and how songs can sometimes sing you.

“…when I wrote the script, one of the intentions was, ‘how are we going to deal with issues that people don’t like talking about, but in a way that’s fun and comfortable…can we talk about religion, and can we talk about women, without judging religion…can we actually deal with these things in a human way, without destroying ourselves…”

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Stephanie C. Cunningham, Madison Comerzan, Jenna D’Angelo, Kim Krane, and Leslie Marseglia of “Keep”

Posted on April 27, 2016 by robby

What do we hold on to? And why?

In Francesca Pazniokas’ play Keep, currently being co-produced by Wide Eyed Productions and Mastodon Theatre Company, Naomi is holding on to a lot of things—and her sisters Jane and Kara want to help her get rid of them. But as they dig through her hoarded possessions, they dredge up a lot more than just the artifacts Naomi’s hoarded in her home.

Listen in as the actors playing the four sisters of the play, Madison Comerzan, Jenna D’Angelo, Kim Krane, and Leslie Marseglia, along with director Stephanie C. Cunningham, discuss uncomfortable laughter, co-producing, getting kicked out of load-in, working with your chosen sisters, reading plays to your cat, and connecting with your audience’s hoarding tendencies.

“…together we thought, if our powers unite, awesome things exponentially will happen…”

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Heather Litteer and Elena Heyman of “Lemonade”

Posted on April 22, 2016 by robby

What to do when you’ve been typecast by the film and TV industry?

If you are actor, poet, writer and performance artist Heather Litteer, you embrace it, work it, and try to enjoy the process, no matter how difficult…AND you continue to make theatre that explores ALL the complex layers of your humanity—not just the ones that Hollywood knows you for.

This journey has culminated in Lemonade, a one-woman autobiographical show, by and about Heather Litteer, currently playing in The Club at La Mama. In the show, she explores her screen career, playing prostitutes, junkies and strippers, her real life in New York as an independent woman in the 1990’s downtown theatre scene and her relationship with her traditional, “Steel Magnolia” mother in the South.

GSAS! correspondent Tara Gadomski went downtown to see the show, which she called “a really cool party.” Listen in as she talks with Heather and director Elena Heyman about the conception of the show, how it became possible through a fellowship at La Mama from The William & Eva Fox Foundation and Theatre Communications Group, the current state of “downtown theatre,” the importance of wafting glitter on stage, and advice for young female actors.

“Work extremely hard. I think that young actresses could benefit from understanding how hard you have to work to make what you want happen.”

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Emily Louise Perkins, Ben Beckley, Jess Chayes, Stephen Aubrey, and Nick Benacerraf of “I Will Look Forward to This Later”

Posted on April 15, 2016 by robby

Episodes featuring The Assembly have been some of my favorite episodes of this podcast.

Add this one to that list.

The company’s new show, I Will Look Forward to This Later, is currently running at The New Ohio. Make sure you get over to check it out, and definitely take a listen to this episode either on your way there, or on your way back. And, even better, hang out and chat with the company after the show, and dig into these issues with them yourself. They’d like to chat with you.

But at the very least, listen in to this episode as several Assembly members—director Jess Chayes, actor Ben Beckley, actor/writer Emily Louise Perkins, dramaturg Stephen Aubrey, and production designer Nick Benacerraf—discuss the Assembly process, inspiration from kabuki, choices/actions/consequences, conversations with your collaborators, your audience, & Judith Malina, and loss, legacy, & time.

“I think it’s important that we are in the process of figuring things out, that we don’t know the answers…and we’re excited about that.” Continue reading →

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Cave Theatre Company’s “Gruesome Playground Injuries”

Posted on April 14, 2016 by robby

Love hurts.

In Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries, it hurts a whole lot. Like face-split-open, teeth-knocked-out, razor-blade-cut, horrible-fireworks-accident maims. And the scars it leaves aren’t only on the bodies of protagonists Doug & Kayleen.

Cave Theatre Company, rounding out their first year of productions, is staging Joseph’s dark relationship dramedy at Under St. Mark’s as part of their residency with Frigid New York; listen in as director James Masciovecchio, actors Kiley Caughey and Alex Etling, and their fellow Cave crew, co-producers Josh Triplett and Cassie Wood, discuss getting rights to your favorite play in a nail-biting photo-finish, inspiration from podcasts (really!), leaning into theatricality, making bad Tinder dating stories into theatre, and why you should just get your friends together and make something.

…we want to see real stories on stage. We want to see honest stories, and try not to sugar-coat things, and try not to show things for what they aren’t…

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Katie Palmer and Paul Bedard of “The Debates”

Posted on April 13, 2016 by robby

Theater = Politics = Theater = Politics

If you’ve seen that equation on a t-shirt around the independent theatre world in NYC of late, then you’ve seen someone who’s worked on or seen Theater in Asylum‘s ever-changing The Debates.

It’s the perfect slogan for a project theatricalizing the Democratic Presidential Primary debates, with the intent to bring theatre people to the political process, and political people into the theater—and it sounds like the project is doing its intended work.

GSAS! sat down with the show’s director, Paul Bedard, and choreographer, Katie Palmer, to discuss how they trained their team, how to balance a scene, how to handle material that’s moving so quickly, why they’re focusing on only the Democratic Party, the actual differences between Hillary and Bernie (and how to present them fairly), and “who am I, who are you, who are we.”

I think one of the reasons people stay out is that it seems like such a big thing, that if, “I’m not in it already, it’s just too much to learn, and I don’t want to get involved.” And I think people stay away from theaters for the same reason…”I couldn’t possibly understand what’s happening in this theater”…and I think we’ve tried to take the fear and the elitism out of both of those avenues, saying that, “you can engage in both things, here’s some helpful tools…”

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Recent Cutbacks’ “Fly, You Fools!”

Posted on April 7, 2016 by robby

The brilliant comedic team of Recent Cutbacks didn’t exist, at least not in name, when they were last on the podcast with their incredible Hold on to Your Butts.

But luckily for all of us, they’re back, and this time, instead of dinosaurs, they’re taking on elves, dwarves, orcs, wizards, eagles, and, of course, hobbits, with Fly, You Fools!

On the mic are the show’s producer Allyson Morgan, as well as returning guests, director Kristin McCarthy Parker and performers Nick Abeel and Kyle Schaefer; and now, added to the team are performer Matt Zambrano, and foley artist Blair Busbee, all of whom sat in for a chat about their wonderful new show.

Listen in as the Recent Cutbacks team discusses why they moved to The Fellowship of the Ring from Jurassic Park, dancey, movementy, mimey things, the danger of inciting a nerd riot, finding the sound of your show as it continues to change, and how to deal with prop mishaps in real time.

“…in the rehearsal process, we sort of found that the more epic the film was, the less props we needed. We could get away with more, with less…actually, we don’t need these hundred wigs, or these extra props, when we can tell the story just through physicality. Which I think is actually more joyful for the audience…” Continue reading →

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Go See a Show!

The off-off-Broadway podcast

Tag Archives: Directors

Erika Phoebus and Isaac Byrne of “Kiss It, Make It Better”

Jason Tseng, Emily Hartford, Alisha Spielmann, and Kia Rogers of “Rizing”

Yolanda K. Wilkinson and Joey Rizzolo of “Bible Study for Heathens”

Emily Claire Schmitt, Ria T. DiLullo, Miranda Poett, Claire Buckingham, Charlotte Pines, and Courtney McClellan of “Whatchamacallit: A Play About Jesus”

Stephanie C. Cunningham, Madison Comerzan, Jenna D’Angelo, Kim Krane, and Leslie Marseglia of “Keep”

Heather Litteer and Elena Heyman of “Lemonade”

Emily Louise Perkins, Ben Beckley, Jess Chayes, Stephen Aubrey, and Nick Benacerraf of “I Will Look Forward to This Later”

Cave Theatre Company’s “Gruesome Playground Injuries”

Katie Palmer and Paul Bedard of “The Debates”

Recent Cutbacks’ “Fly, You Fools!”