Jolie Curtsinger, Zachary Clark, Jake Robards, and Kim Wong of “Promising”

InProximity Theatre presents Promising, written by Michelle ElliottThe Republican presidential primary is a clown-car with the lead clown espousing fascism, Sheldon Silver’s just been found guilty of corruption, Rahm Emmanuel’s currently in hot water with the stove turned to “high”…

I wouldn’t blame anyone for being disgusted with politics at the moment.

But the mess of the political world can certainly be excellent fodder for drama in the theatre. In Michelle Elliott’s Promising, we see a City Councilperson on the edge of re-election, who is suddenly accused of sexual assault. As he’s holed up in his fancy Manhattan apartment with his campaign manager, his speechwriter/best friend, and his half-sister against the media scrum outside, truths are revealed that shake their perceptions and relationships with the “Golden Boy” they’ve all admired for years.

Listen in as the show’s four actors—Jolie Curtsinger, Zachary Clark, Jake Robards, and Kim Wong—discuss checking your judgment, drones in the theatre, rationalizing, and just what is the right thing when your loved ones are involved.

“Everyone’s got that person who’s been kryptonite to them in their past that they can’t get away from…”
“…when you’ve made a bad choice, how does it affect others?…”

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Don Nguyen, Kim Wong, Nancy Sun, and Criena House of “Red Flamboyant”

Firebone Theatre presents Red Flamboyant, written by Don NguyenFirebone Theatre wants to tell you a story.

Weaving the tale of the Trung Sisters, who led the first national uprising of the Vietnamese against the Chinese in 40 A.D., and the modern history of Pham Thi Hue, who started the first support group for people with HIV/AIDS in Vietnam, playwright Don Nguyen‘s Red Flamboyant is a play about struggle and defiance in the face of terrible circumstances, beautifully performed and produced.

Plus: they fly.

Listen in as Don, along with actors Kim Wong, Nancy Sun, and Criena House discuss epic stage directions, playing real people onstage, and working through the pain to look awesome while flying.

“…so Don has the most epic stage direction I have ever read in my life…it’s like this living room drama…you’re going along, realism, realism…then all of a sudden it says,
‘…the ceiling cracks open and the mountains of Vietnam appear. The Trung Sisters fly down the mountain. Enter. Yes, they fly…’
…I read that and I was just like, “ok, yeah, let’s do this.”

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