Andrew Agress, Theo McKenna, Becky Ho, and Stephanie Litchfield of “The Fantastical Fellowship: Final Quest for the Crisis Crystal XXVII!”

FRIGID New York presents "The Fantastical Fellowship: Final Quest for the Crisis Crystal XXVII!" written by Andrew Agress, directed by Phoebe Brooks, at Under St. Mark'sListen in as The Fantastical Fellowship: Final Quest for the Crisis Crystal XXVII!
playwright Andrew Agress, along with performers Theo McKenna, Becky Ho, & Stephanie Litchfield, discuss full-double-cringe, inspiration from COVID boredom, alternate endings, “pleasant hell,” rolling with the (sometimes literal) punches, and where theatre & video games meet.

“…that cross-section of theatre-people discovering games, game-people discovering theatre…”

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Duncan Pflaster, Clinton Powell, and Wyn Delano of “Harmony Hall”

Cross-Eyed Bear Productions presents HARMONY HALL, written and directed by Duncan Pflaster, starring Clinton Powell and Wyn Delano, part of the 2023 FRIGID Fringe Festival at UNDER St. Marks, photo by Duncan Pflaster PhotographyListen in as Harmony Hall playwright & director Duncan Pflaster, along with the cast of Wyn Delano and Clinton Powell, discuss inspiration from terrible/wonderful Tennessee Williams adaptations, what is and is not a “pandemic play,” personal connections to the material, grounding your characters, the challenges of putting a show up in a festival, religious trauma, and the joy of working on poetic new work.

“…this is one of those things where we put our hearts and soul into it, all of us, it’s a very meaningful show…something where I think people will get a lot out of it if they see it, but to see it, you gotta do the old-school theatre thing and put your butt in the seat.”

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Alex Randrup, Conrad Kluck, Gavin Myers, Cayenne Douglass, & Daniella Caggiano from “FEAST: A Performance Series”

Conrad Kluck, Alex Randrup, and Horse Trade Theatre Group present FEAST: A Performance Series at UNDER St. Marks TheaterListen in as the co-producers & curators of FEAST: A Performance Series, Conrad Kluck & Alex Randrup, along with several artists from the January 2019 edition of the series, playwright Cayenne Douglass, director Daniella Caggiano, and choreographer Gavin Myers, discuss encouraging cross-discipline collaborations, hearing from your high school bully, the excitement of eclectic evenings, finding creative partners, the art of the everyday, and growing community through art.

“…one of the things we wanted to put a high priority on is trying to create some kind of community base, for our artists to be able come back, and continue developing a project, or develop something new, or just have a home base…but also, art can’t exist without art-lovers, and the people in the audience. Both of those spaces are just as important…”

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Andrea Alton, Mark Finley, & Allen Warnock of “Molly’s World”

MOLLY'S WORLD at FRIGID 2018, written and performed by Andrea Alton, directed by Mark FinleyListen in as Molly “Equality” Dykeman herself, Andrea Alton, along with her director, Mark Finley, & “Jerry from Task Rabbit,” Allen Warnock, of the new Molly show in FRIGID 2018, Molly’s World, discuss responding to the moment, working with a director when the show is grounded in improvisation, finding the gold between the islands, allowing for audience engagement, internal logic, “Molly-heads,” and having the freedom to say whatever you want, however you want.

“…I like that Molly can say whatever she wants, and she always comes from a lovable place. She’s this total misfit, and I like that she has the freedom, and she’s just trying to get through the day as best she can. I kind of enjoy her freedom, and her cluelessness…”

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Tessa Flannery & Rebecca Cunningham of “Tentacles”

Voyage Theater Company presents TENTACLES, written by Tessa Flannery, directed by Rebecca Cunningham, at the 2018 FRIGID FestivalListen in as Tessa Flannery, playwright/performer of the new play Tentacles in the 2018 FRIGID Festival, along with her director, Rebecca Cunningham, discuss naming your characters after your actors, keeping calm in the face of technical difficulties, “on-brand failure,” and how to layer difficult social issues into your show about hentai.

“…I love working on shows that have strong women as the leads, but I also really love when they’re flawed, and the character Tessa is not perfect, and is certainly privileged and is coming at it from that perspective, and so we throw that at her…”

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Melissa Moschitto & Mariah Freda of “Artemisia’s Intent”

The Anthropologists present ARTEMISIA'S INTENT, devised by the company, performed by Mariah Freda, script and direction by Melissa Moschitto, presented as part of FRIGID NEW YORK 2018Listen in as performer Mariah Freda & director/”script assembler” Melissa Moschitto of The Anthropologists‘ new show Artemisia’s Intent discuss the company’s approach to devising, the well-meaning wish of “break a frame,” skirts from tablecloths, working from found texts, activating original art, and the resonance of 17th Century baroque painting with #MeToo.

“…pressing up these two points in time, with 400 years in between them, there’s actually still a lot with us, and we’re trying to point that out, and be, like, ‘now what?’ Let’s move forward from that…”

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David Carl & Michole Biancosino of “Trump Lear”

Horse Trade Theater Group and Project Y Theatre Company presents TRUMP LEAR at Under St. Marks, created by David Carl and Michole BiancosinoListen in as the co-creators of Trump Lear, writer/performer David Carl & director Michole Biancosino, discuss their collaboration to put this piece together, playing Trump (and finding a way around the fact that Trump is inherently not funny), complicity, how to avoid preachy political theatre, tearing yourself down in your own piece, the importance of an excellent technician at the board, and the benefit of doing solo shows.

“…yeah, Trump and Shakespeare don’t really go together, usually…”
“Well, it works really well, in this instance…”

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Emily Owens, Hollis James, & Nat Cassidy of “Kyle”

Hot Tramp Productions presents KYLE by Hollis James, directed by Emily OwensListen in as Kyle playwright Hollis James and director Emily Owens—who are, combined, the newly-formed Hot Tramp Productions—along with actor Nat Cassidy discuss how a play can sneak up on you, overcoming the little demon inside of yourself, how to pronounce “publicist,” getting coaxed into the director’s chair, playing your playwright in his play (while he’s acting opposite you), and why you shouldn’t get a “Nat-Cassidy-type”—you should get Nat Cassidy.

“…I didn’t set out to write this story. I just sat down to try and write something, my writing partner and I…we were in a holding pattern, and we were sick of pitching, and going through all the rigamarole. So I just sat down to try to write something just for me, and I wrote this scene…and then I realized, ‘that’s me, back then…'”

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Kilusan Bautista of “Transcend”

Kilusan Bautista of TRANSCENDListen in as Kilusan Bautista, the creator & performer of Transcend, discusses his transplant status, why his show mixes media & how it’s a conversation, the benefits of social media, creating a democracy with post-show discussions, and making art out of struggle.

“…hey, we’re here, and if we can connect, then so be it…but if we can’t connect, at least we can have some respect, and still be a part of this community, and…y’know, get through, get through this life.”

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Cave Theatre Company’s “Gruesome Playground Injuries”

Cave Theatre Company presents Rajiv Joseph's GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIESLove hurts.

In Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries, it hurts a whole lot. Like face-split-open, teeth-knocked-out, razor-blade-cut, horrible-fireworks-accident maims. And the scars it leaves aren’t only on the bodies of protagonists Doug & Kayleen.

Cave Theatre Company, rounding out their first year of productions, is staging Joseph’s dark relationship dramedy at Under St. Mark’s as part of their residency with Frigid New York; listen in as director James Masciovecchio, actors Kiley Caughey and Alex Etling, and their fellow Cave crew, co-producers Josh Triplett and Cassie Wood, discuss getting rights to your favorite play in a nail-biting photo-finish, inspiration from podcasts (really!), leaning into theatricality, making bad Tinder dating stories into theatre, and why you should just get your friends together and make something.

…we want to see real stories on stage. We want to see honest stories, and try not to sugar-coat things, and try not to show things for what they aren’t…

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