Daria Miyeko Marinelli and Elana McKelahan of “Untamable”

Posted on November 19, 2015 by robby

Ever wanted to watch as a major heist unfolds in front of your eyes? Not on film, but actually happening right in front of you?

Thanks to the magic of immersive theatre, you can. Daria Miyeko Marinelli and Elana McKelahan, the playwright and directors of Untameable, respectively, give you that opportunity in a Brooklyn church they’ve converted for the occasion.

Plus, you can see it from both sides: those trying to steal the diamond, and those trying to protect it from the thieves. And while those multiple angles come with an opportunity cost—you’re definitely going to miss some action at some point—that just gives you a great reason to meet and compare notes with your fellow theatre-goers after the show.

Listen in as Daria and Elana discuss fascination with “illegal teamwork movies,” what it takes to act in an immersive show, the opportunities for connection that this style of theatre can provide, and how to invite the audience in by breaking all the rules.

“When people leave a show and they want to talk about it, and they’re really excited about it, it is exciting to me as a creator of the show…”

“…and I love theatre that makes people talk to each other. And it’s kind of impossible to see this show with someone else, and not talk about the experience you have, because you create your own experience…”

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Jason Sofge, Serrana Gay, and Christian De Gré of “Fatty Fatty No Friends”

Posted on November 13, 2015 by robby

Opera tends to be pretty tragic.

And even though Mind the Art Entertainment‘s operetta Fatty Fatty No Friends is about a group of kids, it doesn’t shy away from the dark and grisly themes and action that usually goes along with the form.

But the show also grapples with some very deep, and even distressing issues that our society has been dealing with for a long time. Composer and director Christian De Gré and author Serrana Gay have done the magic of put those themes into a gorgeous, entertaining show—and Jason Sofge, who plays Tommy, leads a brilliant cast that sings and plays it to life.

Listen in as Jason, Serrana, and Christian discuss why the show was set up like a kid’s book, entertaining work with social messages, inspiration from a late-night meal, and choosing between venue-director money or actor money (please note, neither is a good get-rich-quick scheme).

“…I think it’s really interesting that it can have such a stark, different perspective: are we watching a monster piece, or are we watching a piece about a fallen hero that never was understood? Maybe it’s one and the same. I think it’s very important that people see this piece of theatre…I really think this is a conversation that we need to have right now…”

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Jake Lipman and Molly Ballerstein of “The Inn at Lake Devine”

Posted on October 23, 2015 by robby

At the age of 14, if someone told me I couldn’t do something, I might get pretty righteously indignant, but likely would have felt powerless to do something about it, and then moved on to the next thing to be righteously indignant about.

In Tongue in Cheek Theater Productions‘ The Inn at Lake Devine, at age 14, protagonist Natalie is so affronted when her mother receives a letter suggesting, essentially, that there are “no Jews allowed” at the titular inn…well, she finagles a way to get there herself, to see just what’s up with that. That’s the inciting incident for a pretty epic memory play of love, loss, discrimination, and acceptance between three families through the ’60s and ’70s.

Listen in as Jake Lipman, TIC Producing Artistic Director/adaptor of the play/”Natalie” and fellow metaphorical multi-hat-wearer (but literally often sporting a fedora) Associate Producer/Assistant Director/Stage Manager Molly Ballerstein discuss how personal experiences helped to bring TIC to adapting this play, what it’s like to adapt a novel to a play, teaching/practicing space work, the importance of great designers, and what’s next for Tongue in Cheek.

“…there’s that element of my experiencing something [like this] at a similar age to Natalie, and then I just love her chutzpah and her moxie…she has a flair for the dramatic which I really enjoy.”

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Dara Silverman and Ren Dodge of Agile Rascal Traveling Bike Theatre

Posted on September 14, 2015 by robby

Touring an independent theatre production can be challenging, but also really rewarding—and really fun.

Maybe you’ve been out on the road with a show; if you have had the pleasure of touring, now imagine you’re doing it on your bicycle. All the props and sets and costumes and your camping gear and your personal living essentials are in your panniers. Everything you need for the show, and for yourself, is on that bike.

For three months.

Sounds like quite an adventure to me. And that’s just what Agile Rascal Traveling Bike Theatre did with their play Sunlight on the Brink. Beginning from their home-base in Oakland, CA, the Rascals finally landed in New York City a couple weeks ago for shows in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and celebrated reaching the Atlantic with a trip to Coney Island.

Though sadly I missed their show, I sat down with Rascals Dara Silverman and Ren Dodge for a coffee and an interview; listen in as we discuss the leap from bicycle touring to bicycle touring with a play, logistics, preparation & adaptation for an epic journey, finding venues across the country, and the kindness of (quirky) strangers who become new friends.

“…there was an intention to write a play where the themes of the play would hypothetically sync up to the themes of the biking as well…so that as we rode across the country, the play would deepen and change based on what we were experiencing…” Continue reading →

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The Playwright, Director, and Cast of “Poor People”

Posted on August 26, 2015 by robby

Even being as into independent theatre as I am, I always seem to miss most of Fringe each year.

Thankfully, I was able to get out to The Kraine with a microphone for just one show in this year’s festival, and had the pleasure of talking with some of the creative people behind this heartbreaking theatrical adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novel Poor Folk, here entitled Poor People.

Listen in as the playwright Lavinia Roberts, creator/director Irene Kapustina, and actors Alan Altschuler, Jarrod Zayas, Jennifer Stepanyk, and Eric Doss discuss adaptation, perception, killer mustaches, the difference between “bad guys” and “guys who make terrible choices,” the challenges of putting up a show in a festival, and the relationship between Dostoyevsky’s 1845 St. Petersburg and our 2015 New York City.

“…I really fell in love with Dostoyevsky’s humanist lens, and how perceptive he is about people, and able to really appreciate them for who they are, even when they behave in dubious ways. He has such a beautiful understanding of humanity…it was just such a really exciting world to dive in to…” Continue reading →

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The Cast and Playwright/Director of “Shakespeare’s Presidential Primary”

Posted on August 22, 2015 by robby

No robo-calls.

No obnoxious, omnipresent ads.

No idealistic young campaign workers knocking at your door, interrupting dinner.

Just a good, ol’ fashioned, wholesome (and of course, often antagonistic) debate between some of your favorite Shakespearean characters—Phoebe, Bottom, Malvolio, and Lady Macbeth—as they try to win your vote as candidates in Shakespeare’s Presidential Primary.

On this episode, listen in as the show’s writer/director Alexa Kelly, along with co-conceptualist Brian Richardson (who plays Malvolio), and the rest of the cast of Karim Sekou, Marcia A. Berry, Denise Marie Whalen, Samantha Osborne, Celine Havard, Colleen McGloin, Camille Mazurek, and Michael Gilpin, discuss writing your free summer Shakespeare piece to your convention-hall-like setting, how the audience affects their participatory show, the friendly competition between the candidates/actors, and Chris Christie as an actual ass.

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J. Alphonse Nicholson, Howard L. Craft, and Joseph Megel of “Freight: The Five Incarnations of Abel Green”

Posted on August 7, 2015 by robby

Playwright Howard L. Craft was tasked with creating a 10-minute play based on a work of art from the Ackland Art Museum’s permanent collection, and he chose Slow Down Freight Train, a painting by Rose Piper.

Actor J. Alphonse Nicholson tore into the script with the help of director Joseph Megel—and when it was over, they all wanted more.

So Craft when back to the page, and expanded a short play about a minstrel into an epic of the African American male across the 20th Century in America. That’s all I can really say to describe it: you’ve just got to see it. Seriously, you really should go see this one. It’s powerful, original theatre, and incredibly performed.

And before you go, listen in to this episode of the podcast as Alphonse, Howard, and Joseph discuss finding connections with characters across a century, old souls, chemistry with your collaborators, basketball metaphors for your team, and finding new things with every new incarnation of your production.

“…you live them. You don’t act them. You live them. And this is a piece that allows me to do that. I tell people all the time, ‘I hate acting. But I love living.'”

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Marina Tempelsman and Niccolo Aeed of “MURDER!”

Posted on July 17, 2015 by robby

This podcast’s affection for all things “radio drama” has been well-documented (see past episodes on All That Fall, three episodes on RadioTheatre’s Lovecraft series, and The Offering for a few examples).

But what we haven’t yet heard on the podcast is a show in that most classic of classic radio genres: the murder-mystery.

Long-time comedy-and-sketch-writing duo Marina & Nicco remedy that, as they bring their comedic sensibilities to the old “group of strangers meet at a strange house for a party, and bodies start to drop” setup—but they’ve got a lot of twists, turns, and laughs for you along the way that are anything but formulaic.

It’s written in a serial format, so there are four different nights of live radio fun, each with two episodes, but never fear if you can’t catch them all: they’re podcasting the episodes, so you can catch up on prior plot-points on your way to The PIT to see future episodes!

(and yes, you are hearing the Jurassic Park theme in the background of this episode—which means you’ve got more chances to catch Hold On to Your Butts, which is back at The PIT, so listen to the episode on that one here, and try to catch a Murder!/HOTYB double-header!)

Listen in to this episode as the Marina & Nicco themselves, Marina Tempelsman and Niccolo Aeed, discuss answering sketchy Craigslist ads, writing to the form, and exploring foley by hitting everything in the hardware store with a hammer.

“…it just lends itself so well to being serialized…”
“…it’s funny and screw-bally, but we also got excited about making people get that feeling of, ‘what comes next?!?'”

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Liz Thaler and Lauren Miller of “Happy”

Posted on June 19, 2015 by robby

Your ever-humble GSAS! producer is sound designing a great play that’s being produced as part of F*ckFest at The Brick in Williamsburg—and because I have editorial control over this here podcast, well, this is an episode about it.

Even if I weren’t working on the show, I’d still be excited to have playwright Liz Thaler and director Lauren Miller join me on the mic to talk about this “love story with a few kinks,” Happy. That’s because I’m extremely proud of the work everyone’s done on the show, and I think you’ll enjoy it, too. Go see this one, y’all.

Listen in as Liz and Lauren discuss how this “Shotz” piece proved itself to be the germ of a larger play, personal vs. professional BDSM, status, power, mystery, and what really makes us happy.

“…nobody’s left out of the story. Nobody has to come in and be, like, ‘oh, that’s not my kink,’ because some of the fantasies aren’t ever said out loud—so they get to fill it in with whatever’s scariest. Or whatever’s sexiest. So I think that allows the audience to identify with something that sometimes people are terrified to identify with, which is their own raw human sexuality.”

Quick point of order: the play and this podcast episode acknowledge the existence of sexual behavior among human beings, and some of that behavior might be outside the realm of what you’re used to seeing depicted in pop music videos and teen comedies; no discretion advised, but you’ve been notified.

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Jeremy Bloom, Brian Rady, & Catherine Brookman of “The Upper Room”

Posted on June 9, 2015 by robby

Start creating a new work of theatre from a classic fairy tale, and you might find yourself taking a detour through the “back to the land” movement, and wind up with a movement play full of original music, lovely light projections, and a manatee mask.

That’s an oversimplified way to describe Rady & Bloom‘s The Upper Room, currently playing at The New Ohio—but it’s a whole lot more than that.

Listen in as the Rady & Bloom, Brian Rady and Jeremy Bloom, along with composer/performer Catherine Brookman, discuss collaboration between song-writer and directors/creators, post-show parties, The Little Mermaid, working with your spouse, and the long haul.

“…there’s a thrust, there is a story, but we’re trying to express the inexpressible, we’re trying to express the feeling of, ‘what will happen next to me,’ or ‘what will happen to US…'”

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Tag Archives: Playwrights

Daria Miyeko Marinelli and Elana McKelahan of “Untamable”

Jason Sofge, Serrana Gay, and Christian De Gré of “Fatty Fatty No Friends”

Jake Lipman and Molly Ballerstein of “The Inn at Lake Devine”

Dara Silverman and Ren Dodge of Agile Rascal Traveling Bike Theatre

The Playwright, Director, and Cast of “Poor People”

The Cast and Playwright/Director of “Shakespeare’s Presidential Primary”

J. Alphonse Nicholson, Howard L. Craft, and Joseph Megel of “Freight: The Five Incarnations of Abel Green”

Marina Tempelsman and Niccolo Aeed of “MURDER!”

Liz Thaler and Lauren Miller of “Happy”

Jeremy Bloom, Brian Rady, & Catherine Brookman of “The Upper Room”