Kayla Jackmon, Meredith Owens, Kara Ayn Napolitano, and Rosie Kolbo of “Rubbermatch”

Red Caravan presents Paz Pardo's RUBBERMATCH, directed by Andrew Willis-WoodwardWhen an old friend from college arrives to visit after so many years apart, what do you want to do? Maybe get drunk, have a dance party to records you both used to love, reminisce about friends and that crazy party…

That’s just what happens for Nina and Ceci in Red Caravan‘s Rubbermatch—but through those moments of reconnection, wounds from the past are re-opened, and new truths behind a tragedy are revealed.

Listen in as actors Kayla Jackmon (Ceci) and Meredith Owens (Nina), along with producers/Red Caravan company members Kara Ayn Napolitano and Rosie Kolbo, discuss trusting the awkward pauses, how to name your new company, gauging how drunk you should be through your show, and how you can do more stuff with your run (and do it for a good cause).

“Our tag line is, ‘when can a friend’s help become an act of violence?’…it’s hard to describe what the show is, because there is a story that is told, but it’s more feelings, experience and feelings…”

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Stephen Brackett, Laura Ramadei, Jake Choi, Danelle Eliav, Max Jenkins, and Randall Newsome of “Carnival Kids”

Lesser America presents Carnival KidsTimes is tough all over. If you listen to NPR regularly (as this radio nerd does), you’ve probably caught a story or two just in the past week about young adults living with their parents because of economic pressures.

In Lucas Kavner’s new play Carnival Kids, directed by Stephen Brackett, Mark is living with his dad Dale again; but, the situation is reversed, and it’s broke, former rockstar Dale who’s crashing Mark’s New York law-student bachelor pad. As Dale befriends Mark’s illegal-smartphone-app mogul roommate, and attempts to profit from courting a woman seeking a green-card marriage, Mark attempts to open up to an old friend from high school — and his porcelain-smooth existence begins to crack.

My description can’t do it justice, so don’t let my ham-fisted-ness scare you off — this is a really interesting play in a production that deserves your attention.

Listen in as Stephen and the wonderful cast of Laura Ramadei, Jake Choi, Danelle Eliav, Max Jenkins, and Randall Newsome discuss hiding, breaking expectations, when casting director suggestions go wonderfully right, casting yourself (graciously), and how to invite the audience into the intense, bizarrely-close moments of the play.

“…we’re just naked up here on this stark white, thin set…I feel like I’m working on my poker face, trying not to lose it…”

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