Boo Killebrew & Geoffrey Decas O’Donnell, playwrights/performers of “Family Play (1979 to present)”

Collaboration Town presents Family Play (1979 to present)Over the past several decades, the fundamental definition of “family” has changed — and the collaborators of Collaboration Town have come of age through some 30-odd of those years.

In their new show Family Play (1979 to present), previously titled Help Me to Make It and part of their two-year participation in The Archive Alliance Residency, CTown co-artistic directors, actors, and playwrights on the project Boo Killebrew and Geoffrey Decas O’Donnell (fellow playwright Jordan Seavey spoke about the project on an earlier episode of the podcast, during the show’s workshop last summer) explore the changing nature of the family through a series of 116 moments — many of which will be familiar to…well, anyone who’s grown up.

Listen in as Boo and Geoffrey discuss what makes a family, “a lot of Google Docs,” the deconstruction of the traditional nuclear family in traditional American drama, and how you define a person based on moments.

“…if we’re going to explore how family is changing, then we need to explore traditional structure in plays…we wanted to just break everything down as much as possible…take away definitions of people…everyone is everyone is everyone…”

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Sean Patrick Monahan, James Presson, Charlie Polinger, and Tom Sanchez of “Little Mac, Little Mac, You’re the Very Man!”

Less Than Rent presents Little Mac, Little Mac, You're the Very Man!It’s been a good few seasons for Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera, his adaptation of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera — Martha Clarke’s version is currently running at The Atlantic, Marvel Rep’s production of Feingold’s translation was up for a Drama Desk in 2012, Robert Wilson’s stylized take was at BAM not long ago…now, add to that a truly American adaptation — Less Than Rent’s Little Mac, Little Mac, You’re the Very Man!

In LTR’s freewheeling musical, the infamous Macheath chases the American dream through time and space, encountering everyone from Richard Nixon & Ronald Reagan, to Joe DiMaggio and Michael Jordan, to Bugs Bunny & Jessica Rabbit. It’s as wild as you think it is, and a lot of fun.

Listen in as playwrights Sean Patrick Monahan and James Presson, director Charlie Polinger, and Mac himself, Tom Sanchez, discuss free-association & post-it notes to write your play, how to make it in America, and what happens when your American History book throws up all over The Beggar’s Opera.

“They were sort of taking the audience on a ride and then kicking them out of the car…and so we started trying to find a way that we could do that…”

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Emily Schwend, Jay Stull, and Boo Killebrew of “Take Me Back”

The Kindling Theatre Company presents Take Me BackWe all make terrible decisions at some point. With any luck, those terrible decisions only lead to some heartache, or maybe just some slight lingering shame, perhaps a small scar or two.

But for some terrible decisions, the consequences are a bit more dire — like a four-year stint in federal prison, which is what happens to the character of Bill in Emily Schwend‘s excellent new play directed by Jay Stull for The Kindling Theatre Company, Take Me Back. A short time after Bill’s release, he’s back living with his Mom, trying to help her take care of herself, trying to get his life back on track, trying to settle his relationship with old flame Julie (played by Boo Killebrew), and trying to get his truck running again. But opportunities don’t come easy for an ex-con in Muskogee, OK (yes, that Muskogee).

This play succeeds, as I point out in the interview, in marrying the political and personal — it’s one that kept me thinking after I left the room, which is one of the best compliments I can pay to a theatrical production. Go see this show.

Listen in as Emily, Jay, Boo, and I discuss writing close to home, systematic inequality vs. flawed character, paying for bad decisions, and why this very American play is important for New York City right now.

“Is it possible to be good as a person in places where there is no opportunity for improvement, or employment…?”

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Katharine McLeod, writer/performer of “My High-Heeled Life: Or, How I Learned to Keep Worrying and Love My Stilettos”

Katharine McLeod in "My High-Heeled Life: Or, How I Learned to Keep Worrying and Love My Stilettos"You probably remember that old saying, “The clothes make the man.”

And while you might want to dispute it, or actively fight it (my stint as a goody-two-shoes honors student male with long hair in high school was my small form of personal resistance), it wouldn’t be an idiom if a good number of people along the way didn’t find some ring of truth to it.

The performativity of what we prefer to wear—in her case, specifically, stilettos—intrigued actress Katherine McLeod to the point she had to write a show about it, appropriately titled My High-Heeled Life: Or, How I Learned to Keep Worrying and Love My Stilettos, which is currently running as part of the Frigid New York festival at Under St. Marks.

Listen in as Katharine and I discuss shoes as battleground, the long (and proper) title of her piece, and not having to apologize for those things that bring you joy.

“…what assumptions do you make about me based on what I wear? And, should I stop because you’re making those assumptions? Or, should I push back, and show my true colors, should I show all parts of me…”

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Clay Edmonds, Janet Jenness, and Aurora Heimbach of “OCD: or, The Trouble with Mrs. Henderson”

Gobsmacked Productions presents "OCD: The Trouble with Mrs. Henderson"I think of Hedda Gabler as one of those Mount Everest sort of shows; “exciting and daunting,” as one of the guests on today’s episode puts it.

The ideas and challenges of Ibsen’s classic are brought smack-dab between the play’s original 1890 setting and the modern day, in Gobsmacked! Productions’ 1950s-set re-telling entitled OCD: or, The Trouble with Mrs. Henderson. Gobsmacked producers Clay Edmonds and Janet Jenness share directing duties with Clay’s original script, and the (fabulous) actress Aurora Heimbach takes on the tragic heroine, known here as Henrietta Henderson; that’s her with the rifle in the photos below.

Listen in as Clay, Janet, Aurora and I discuss setting Clay’s favorite play in the 1950s, their personal relationships with that archetypical era in their choice of location (the American South), and what it’s like to take on the challenge of one of theatre’s most iconic roles.

“…I thought translating this piece into the ’50s was totally genius…that veneer of the ’50s, that painted on, plastic, ‘everything’s great’ was this even more concrete obstacle that I think helped with the claustrophobia of this woman who is trying to reconcile her own aspirations with the reality of the hand that she’s dealt…”

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Tara Gadomski, playwright, Illana Stein, director, and Robert A. K. Gonyo, actor, of “The Offering”

Tara Gadomski, Illana Stein, and Robert A. K. Gonyo of The Offering

I make this podcast because I love sound, and I love theatre; Go See a Show! is a great way to unite the two.

And I’m an amateur sound-designer, and make radio dramas, for much the same reason.

For this episode of the podcast, those two worlds—sound about theatre, and sound in the theatre—collide. My guests are playwright Tara Gadomski and director Illana Stein, with whom I have a conversation about our production of The Offering.

For a bit of context: the play was originally written & recorded for Radio COTE, the radio-play festival I produce with my company Co-Op Theatre East—you can check out the original performance on iTunes. We all loved the play so much that Tara adapted it into a stage version, which is currently running in The Network One-Act Festival (with your humble GSAS! narrator doing live foley onstage). And in this shameless-self-promotion episode, we talk about this great little one-act, which to me is about the power of art, that we’d all love for you to come see.

Listen in as Tara, Illana, and I discuss making a radio play into a stage play, the beauty of language, “the question,” and getting (and keeping) power.

“…you just got compared to Shakespeare…”
“…let’s not go so far…”

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Elly Smokler, Emilie Soffe, actors, and director Lisa Szolovits of “We Were Nothing!”

We Were Nothing! featuring Elly Smokler & Emilie Soffe Photo by Crystal ArnetteIf you’ve seen any press about We Were Nothing!, the first thing you probably noticed was that you don’t know where you can see it. The play, written by Will Arbery, is being performed in an undisclosed location of a private home.

…well, maybe that’s the second thing you noticed. According to the interviewees of this episode, actors Elly Smokler and Emilie Soffe and director Lisa Szolovits, the title has been the first thing that’s caught most people’s attention, because of its embarrassment factor. Maybe it speaks to my awkwardness that I didn’t think anything of the title until they brought it up…

Regardless, the unique qualities of the show don’t end there. For example, the two characters spend most of the show occupying the same physical space during the show, but not in the world of the play. They also don’t really talk about much of anything; however, that doesn’t mean their relationship isn’t lovingly fleshed out by the excellent actors portraying them.

What else? Listen to the episode to find out, as Elly, Emilie, Lisa and I discuss how to pronounce the title of your show when it ends in an exclamation point, vapid language as masking among intelligent people, why you should make theatre in a home, and pilfering actors’ real-life dialogue to create a script.

“…really what we’ve done in this space is we’ve created a theatre space in a home…I always really like when I go to see a play and I feel like I’ve been part of a community of some kind…there’s sort of a sense of, ‘we’re here to share this experience…'”

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Liz Muller, Collin Simon, and the cast of “Columbia: The Life and Death of Rospo D. Oro”

Pipe Dream Theatre presents "Columbia: The Life & Death of Rospo D. Oro"I’ll admit, I’m not much of a musical guy.

But if anyone’s going to convince me otherwise, Pipe Dream Theatre has got a great shot at it.

After two new Christmas musicals based on classic tales — The Nutcracker in 2012, and 3 Ghosts in 2011 (listen to the company’s first GSAS! appearance here) — the steam-punk geniuses behind Pipe Dream, Liz Muller (lyrics & direction) and Collin Simon (book and music) return with a new musical based on Kenneth Grahame’s classic The Wind in the Willows called Columbia: The Life and Death of Rospo D. Oro.

Listen in as Liz, Colin, and the cast discuss playing in a dentist’s chair, in a driveway, in 40-degree weather; drawing inspiration from Pink Floyd’s The Wall; and what it’s like putting together an original musical on such a large scale.

“…what she created was so much better than what I had in my brain…I love when they come with ideas…”

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Barbara Kahn and Noelle LuSane, writers of “Island Girls”

"Island Girls" by Barbara Kahn and Noelle LuSaneHow does one go from writing contemporary comedies to writing historically-based musicals, reintroducing certain figures who popular culture have largely forgotten?

As Island Girls director/co-author Barbara Kahn notes in our conversation, she made that transition out of a desire to make social change. And although this play is set in 1927 at the women’s prison on Welfare Island, it’s surprising (and, I’m this case, sad) just how much things stay the same, no matter how much they change — the social change needed in the 1920’s is pretty similar to change we need now, in 2014.

Listen in as Barbara and co-author/composer Noelle LuSane discuss their “fluid, organic process,” why you should speak up for your artistic talents, and how you turn the history of a women’s prison into a musical.

“I think artistic talent is transferable….when somebody offers something like that, I usually jump on it.”

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Matt Opatrny, Damen Scranton, and Jessi Blue Gormezano of Blessed Unrest’s “A Christmas Carol”

Blessed Unrest's "A Christmas Carol" photo by Alan RocheA Christmas Carol is produced everywhere, every year; so often that most of us in the theatre world could recite the lines along with the actors. We know exactly what we’re going to see, and willingly submit to having our heartstrings plucked by the familiar story of one man’s awakening to the Christmas spirit.

Blessed Unrest‘s A Christmas Carol is not one of those productions — though the story is familiar, the way of telling it is not. And this Scrooge’s awakening…well, let’s just say it doesn’t end the way you’re used to. It’s emotional, and beautiful, in a way you probably haven’t seen.

Listen in as adaptor/playwright Matt Opatrny, multi-character actress Jessi Blue Gormezano, and the show’s Ebenezer, Damen Scranton, discuss how easy it is to change, building trust within the cast, bringing in a Lady Gaga dance number, why Blessed Unrest would do a play most of the company didn’t like, and what happens when Scrooge goes home, alone.

“I’m really glad I came. It’s always a risk with A Christmas Carol…”

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