Stanley Martin, Michael Blatt, Yhá Mourhia Wright, Ashley E. Matthews, Luis E. Mora, & Jayson Kerr of “Opportunity”

The Riant Theatre's Strawberry One-Act Festival 2019 presents OPPORTUNITY, written by Stanley Martin, directed by Michael BlattListen in as Opportunity playwright Stanley Martin, director Michael Blatt, and cast members Yhá Mourhia Wright, Ashley E. Matthews, Luis E. Mora, & Jayson Kerr discuss mirrors of performers’ reality, universality in specificity, challenging body type stereotypes, finding a shared history from the subtext of the script, mining your dialogue in real conversations, representation not just in the theatre but in the cast and in the play, the beauty of this particular “opportunity,” and why despite it all, we love this mad business of the theatre.

“…it was important that these people were real people that everyone could relate to…if you mix a group of people from work, anywhere, and add lots of alcohol, and have a past, trouble’s about to stir. It’s just theatre people are a little more theatrical with it…”

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Joseph Samuel Wright, playwright, and David Carl, composer, of “Rise”

Rise_logoWe all know the maxim: “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

It’s the dangers of unchecked power & blind ambition that unites the two narratives of Roots & Wings Theatrical‘s new play Rise.

In one thread: an operatic telling of the story of Elagabalus, the boy emperor of Rome who overturned gods, prostituted himself in the temple, and demanded a sex change operation—following the ego-maniac emperor, his naive formerly-chaste Vestal Virgin lover, his scheming grandmother, and his ambitious mother willfully ignoring her son’s flagrant (and dangerous) disregard for prudence.

In the other: a modern drama of an ego-maniac porn star, his naive young lover, his scheming agent, and the ambitious young lady blind to whom she hurts on her rise to the top.

…starting to see where this is going?

If you’re curious to see (and hear) more, listen in to this episode of the podcast with Rise playwright Joseph Samuel Wright and composer David Carl as they discuss empire-level intrigue, big voices in small spaces, and rising vs. rising above. Continue reading