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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Heather Cohn, Corey Allen, Alisha Spielmann, & Isaiah Tanenbaum of “Am I Dead? The Untrue Narrative of Anatomical Lewis, The Slave”

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents AM I DEAD? THE UNTRUE NARRATIVE OF ANATOMICAL LEWIS, THE SLAVE written by Kevin R. Free, directed by Heather Cohn, at The 14th Street Y

Listen in as director Heather Cohn of Am I Dead? The Untrue Narrative of Anatomical Lewis, The Slave, along with actors Corey Allen, Alisha Spielmann, and Isaiah Tanenbaum, discuss feeling free to laugh through a very dark comedy, learning your Egyptian myths, the history and legacy of violence against black bodies, developing a play with the playwright, what we can learn as people through the artistic process, first noticing the costume changes of your cast-mates during a performance (“subtle, yet effective!”), the effects of an individual audience’s energy, and the necessity of having sticky, difficult conversations in the theatre.

“…I think what Kevin gives us the canvas to discuss is the ways that denial functions for a variety of people…how they choose to view their own reality, accept it or deny it […] and I think the audience is forced to decide, ‘which approach do I take?’…”

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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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Kevin R. Free, Matthew Trumbull, and Rocío Mendez of “Marian, or, The True Tale of Robin Hood”

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents MARIAN, OR, THE TRUE TALE OF ROBIN HOOD by Adam Szymkowicz, directed by Kelly O'Donnell, at The New OhioListen in as actors Kevin R. Free and Matthew Trumbull, along with fight choreographer Rocío Mendez of Flux Theatre Ensemble‘s new show, Marian, or, The True Tale of Robin Hood discuss exploring the binary, realizing you’re on the wrong team, conformity vs. finding your tribe, cuckoo-birds in power, not working so hard to make yourself irresistible, and being in a room together through the dark times.

“Even joy these days seems somewhat defiant…the joy of the show is a statement, too. We live in times where allowing yourself to laugh is a political act, because it feels like we’re not supposed to…it feels like a bit of a revelation when people come here, and realize, ‘oh, I forgot about comedy…I forgot about what it’s like to release in that way…'”

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

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents RIZING by Jason Tseng, directed by Emily HartfordPodcast 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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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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Heather Cohn, Rachel Hip-Flores, and Brian Silliman of “Once Upon a Bride There Was a Forest”

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents Once Upon a Bride There Was a ForestRegular listeners to the podcast have probably noticed that, if Flux Theatre Ensemble is presenting a show, GSAS! is going to be there. Great people, great productions, and great conversation always ensues.

In this episode, about Flux’s new show Once Upon a Bride There Was a Forest, the conversation isn’t just about the work onstage; it takes a turn toward how the artists were able to get that work onstage.

See, the show’s director (and Flux Producing Director) Heather Cohn, and Flux Artistic Director August Schulenburg, are partners in life as well as in art—and they recently welcomed a daughter into the world, which is certainly a big (and wonderful!) change in their lives. It doesn’t, however, have to keep them from making theatre; in fact, it can inform the process in a lovely way, as it sounds like it did here.

Listen in as Heather, along with actors Rachel Hip-Flores and Brian Silliman, discuss balancing parenthood with your theatre career, how you get both a house and a forest onstage at the same time, and when you know the play is the right one.

 “…those are the only two things you ever, ever need to do: look at babies and learn the lines.”

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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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Johnna Adams, playwright, and Heather Cohn, director, of “Sans Merci”

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents "Sans Merci," by Johnna Adams, directed by Heather Cohn

When the mother of your lover shows up unannounced on your doorstep, it’s kind of shocking.

When she’s looking for answers about her daughter’s final days, which she shared with you, the shock is much more dramatic.

That’s the situation in which the characters in Johnna Adams‘s Sans Merci find themselves. Directed in its world premiere by Heather Cohn and produced by Flux Theatre Ensemble (in rep with another new play, Honey Fist — watch for a GSAS! podcast on that one soon), Sans Merci is a play about poetry, activism, and, as Flux asks, “who owns the stories of the dead?”

Listen in as Johnna and Heather discuss grief, haunting, activism, and theatre that can make everybody feel something.

“A lot of chocolate, and a lot of kleenex.”

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