Category Archives: Artistic Directors

Ryan Victor ‘Little Eagle’ Pierce, of “Uncle Abram”

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The Eagle Project presents UNCLE ABRAM, a Reconstructed Uncle Vanya, adapted and directed by Ryan Victor "Little Eagle" PierceListen in as The Eagle Project‘s Artistic Director Ryan Victor “Little Eagle” Pierce, adapter/director of Uncle Abram: A Reconstructed Uncle Vanya, discusses moving Chekhov from Russia to Reconstruction-era Missouri, finding the relevance of American history to current events, “ghosts of the past,” and why we can’t take our foot off the gas.

“…even after this very progressive period…somehow, in society, the more things change, the more they stay the same…”

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Tim Errickson, Chase Burnett, Brian Morvant, Trace Pope, and Amanda Tudor of “The Reckless Season”

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Boomerang Theatre Company presents THE RECKLESS SEASON, written by Lauren Ferebee, directed by Dominic D'AndreaListen in as Boomerang Artistic Director Tim Errickson, along with the full cast of their current production of The Reckless Season—Chase Burnett, Brian Morvant, Trace Pope, and Amanda Tudor—discuss balancing the heavy with the comedic, what the room was like putting this show together, researching what it’s like to be on some crazy drugs, when a character won’t leave a play alone, finding salvation in a video game, and trying to create a family with the very different, very broken people around you.

“…if The Deer Hunter met, like, Silver Linings Playbook…there’s a lot of dark humor in it, there’s an undercurrent of sexuality to it, there’s relationship stuff, there’s brothers against brothers, there’s a lot of comedy…”

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Christopher Diercksen and Daniel John Kelley of “That True Phoenix”

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Team Awesome Robot presents THAT TRUE PHOENIX, written by Daniel John KelleyListen in as playwright Daniel John Kelley and director Christopher Diercksen of That True Phoenix discuss opera nerdiness, self-mythologizing, producing (and living) with limited resources, repeatedly turning down your future collaborator (then, working in the same office with your collaborator), cutting down your 290-page autobiographical play, “why we do any of this,” taking the time to do it right, and the most interesting man you’ve (probably) never heard of: Lorenzo Da Ponte.

“…they were like, ‘Daniel, you’ve written crazy plays before; I trust that you will write a crazy play again, let’s do this play.’ And I was like, ‘ok, sure, 10 years of this idea, maybe it’ll do…’ But they were 100% committed, even if I didn’t believe it, from the beginning, to say, ‘we trust you, we’re going to build this play…we’re going to figure out why we do this as we go along’…”

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Matthew Roi Berger & Jonathan A. Goldberg of “The Fall of the House of Sunshine”

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The Fall of the House of SunshineListen in as Matthew Roi Berger and Jonathan A. Goldberg, co-creators of The Fall of the House of Sunshine, discuss the show’s roots in Serials at The Flea, who gets to edit this epic, how to describe your multi-hyphenate-project, the importance of having a plan, and the freedom of doing a musical serial as a podcast.

“Do you like comedy? Do you like musicals? Do you like mysteries? Two outta three ain’t bad…”

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Veronique Ory, Tom Block, & Hunter Bird of “Sub-Basement”

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Athena Theatre presents SUB-BASEMENT at IRT TheaterListen in as Athena Theatre Artistic Director (and actor in the show) Veronique Ory, along with Sub-Basement writer Tom Block and director Hunter Bird, discuss eschewing the Mad Men path, writing to a company’s mission statement, the importance of absurdity in the theatre at the present moment, where to find the best poutine in the city, and the “absurdist odyssey to find your life’s purpose.”

“The entry point was really wanting to address the homeless in our city, and to find a way…[to] address it in a way that wasn’t stereotypical…in other cultures, this idea of how homeless people are thought to be mystics, they’ve come to an enlightened point in their life…that if they can have peace and clarity in their mind, then that’s all that they need. And part of representing them in this way is hopefully taking a small step to giving face and voice to our homeless population…”

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

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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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Hondo Weiss-Richmond, J. C. Ernst, Emily Kitchens, Natalie Hegg, Dan Morrison, and Patricia Lynn of “Messenger #1”

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Hunger and Thirst Collective presents MESSENGER #1, written by Mark Jackson, directed by Hondo Weiss-RichmondListen in as Messenger #1 director Hondo Weiss-Richmond, Hunger & Thirst Collective Artistic Director Patricia Lynn, and actors J. C. Ernst, Emily Kitchens, Natalie Hegg, and Dan Morrison discuss class, intimate space (and the fun audience reactions it can provoke), “the swells,” the flow of information, telling the truth, and how this 17-year-old play feels like it was written for our present moment in the United States.

“…sometimes at the very end, you feel like…we’ve all been a part of this together. It’s like this shared experience that we’ve all had, and you feel that very palpably because it’s an intimate experience…”

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Ken Urban, Benjamin Kamine, James Kautz, and Sean Patrick Monahan of “Nibbler”

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The Amoralists present NIBBLER, written by Ken Urban, directed by Benjamin KamineListen in as Nibbler playwright Ken Urban, director Benjamin Kamine, Artistic Director of The Amoralists (and actor in the show) James Kautz, and fellow actor Sean Patrick Monahan discuss expanding your one-act, vulnerability, meeting the challenges of a show, looking for hope in dark times, getting “nauseatingly close” with your collaborators, songwriting for your script, just how autobiographical this dark comedy gets, and “pulling it off.”

No spoilers.

“…I’m going to paraphrase you, but I think it was something like, ‘can’t they just sit there and sing?'”
“I think that is what I said, ‘Can’t they just be still?’…”

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Tony Torn, Will Dagger, and Alley Scott of “Latter Days”

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Dutch Kills Theater Company presents LATTER DAYS by Ben BeckleyListen in as actors Tony Torn and Will Dagger of Ben Beckley’s Latter Days, along with Artistic Director of Dutch Kills Theater Company Alley Scott, discuss makeup mishaps, referencing Beckett & Don Quixote, finding the perfect prop toilet when you’re out with friends, creating an original theology for your show, and belief, expectation, fantasy, reality, and father figures.

“…finding yourself somebody who’s desperate to believe in transcendence of sorts, and also, coming up against your own inherent skepticism…”

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Ross Williams of NYSX’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” plus talkback with Shane Breaux and Dr. Jaime Wright

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New York Shakespeare Exchange presents MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHINGListen in as New York Shakespeare Exchange Artistic Director and director of Much Ado About Nothing, Ross Williams, discusses finding resonance with the “fake news” of today in Shakespeare, getting rid of unnecessary jokes, blending characters (and why you might want to), achieving a sense of inclusion with your audience, and getting around having all those pesky messengers in Much Ado.

…and, after the brief interview with Ross, stay tuned for a recording of the post-show talkback between him, Dr. Jaime Wright, Associate Professor at St. Johns University, and the show’s dramaturg Shane Breaux.

“…Shakespeare was all about the exchange between the audience and the players, and I think all too often, Shakespeare done contemporarily is done with our contemporary understanding of the fourth wall…what I really like to encourage is a sense of exchange between the audience and the actors…”

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