Rachel Dart & Jenna Panther, directors of “There’s a Light on Yonder Mountain”

Posted on June 4, 2013 by robby

Ever wanted to create a brand-new piece of theatre, from the ground up? This is a good episode of the podcast for you.

aMios and Horse Trade present "There's a Light on Yonder Mountain" aMios has always embraced new work — their Shotz series is responsible for creating six brand new plays every month (!), and their past “longer-form” work has all consisted of brand-new plays from artists in the aMios circle of collaborators. Check out a great interview about Shotz on Episode 13.

For their latest full-length, There’s a Light on Yonder Mountain, the company wanted to bring in the creative energies of many of the wonderful people they’ve worked with since their inception in 2009. So instead of asking just one playwright to write a script, they asked five (one acted as a “literary manager”). And naturally, instead of one director, they got two.

Which led me, as a director myself, to ask the first question of this interview: how?!?!?

Listen in as those directors, Rachel Dart & Jenna Panther, discuss not only how they worked together as a team, but a whole lot more, including creating an ensemble-driven devised piece, tension, desert-island people, and the only resource you can’t get more of: time.

#whoisSteve? Continue reading →

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Neilson R. Jones, Lucy Breyer, and Vivian Hwang of Confetti Stage’s “The Lesson”

Posted on May 30, 2013 by robby

…and now for something a little different.

Summer’s coming on, and that generally means two things for off-off-Broadways theatre: breaks for some, and festivals for everyone else.

Your humble producer is taking a third path, and will be out on a regional theatre gig for five weeks. But never fear: Go See a Show! continues during my hiatus from the city, with a few episodes deviating from the podcast’s usual “here’s an off-off-Broadway show that’s happening, and an interview with the people behind said show” format. Here’s the first!

Confetti Stage presents Eugene Ionesco's "The Lesson" While we here in NYC might think of ourselves as the center of the theatre universe, there’s lots of great stuff happening outside of the five boroughs. When it’s not being done in a small house within the city limits, the kind of theatre that gets labelled “off-off-Broadway” here is often called “community theatre,” which all-too-often has negative connotations. An excellent example of why “community theatre” does not have to be deadly (in the Peter Brook sense) can be found just a short train ride from our fair city, in the state capital of Albany, with Confetti Stage.

Last year, Confetti produced one of Eugene Ionesco’s short plays, The Lesson, and on the merits of said production, Confetti has brought The Lesson to several festivals already, and are about to take the show to compete in the American Association of Community Theatre national conference. I spoke to the cast of Neilson R. Jones (also the director, and founder of Confetti), Lucy Breyer, and Vivian Hwang via Skype as they’re in the final days of their fundraising campaign to bring the show out to Indiana (help ’em out via IndieGoGo!).

Listen in as Neil, Lucy & Vivian discuss why they’re doing Ionesco’s 63-year-old play now, why Confetti’s tagline is “theatre without limits,” and what it’s like to live with a play for a year and bring it to festival competitions.

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Lawrence Lesher, director, and Todd Michael, playwright, of “Vice Girl Confidential”

Posted on May 15, 2013 by robby

Grayce Productions presents "Vice Girl Confidential," by Todd Michael, directed by Lawrence Lesher A powerful crime boss. A crusading District Attorney. A tough-as-nails madame. The corruption of a small-town girl. Stool pigeons. Vice. Drag. Dames.

With a play entitled Vice Girl Confidential, you should expect these elements.

Gracye Productions gives you the goods with the re-mounting of their Fringe Festival hit, now directed by Lawrence Lesher, with a revised script by Todd Michael (who also plays the aforementioned madame, Stella Fontaine).

Listen in as Lawrence & Todd discuss the importance of timing in physical humour, how Vice Girl Confidential changed over time, and the fun challenge of hiding the risque elements of a play (in a world where sex & violence are usually out in front). Continue reading →

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August Schulenburg, playwright, and Kelly O’Donnell, director, of “Honey Fist”

Posted on May 14, 2013 by robby

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents "Honey Fist" I love seeing people I recognize onstage.

And though I’m not from Marble Head, outside of Boston (pronounced “Mahble Head, outside of Bahston”), playwright August Schulenburg has written some beautifully complex, and very familiar, characters in his funny, tragic, compelling new play, Honey Fist.

Listen in as Gus and director Kelly O’Donnell discuss where Gus’s “most autobiographical play” (that’s not autobiographical) came from, the late-night last-minute carving of bongs, and why Honey Fist is running in rep with Sans Merci (hear the Sans Merci podcast here — and, listen to Gus & Kelly’s first outing on the podcast, about Adam Szymkowicz’s play Hearts Like Fists, here).

“Wha, you think you’re bettah than me?”

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Ming Peiffer, playwright, and Kat Yen, director, of “Advance Guard”

Posted on May 13, 2013 by robby

Spookfish Theatre Company presents "Advance Guard" The term “avant-garde” gets thrown around a lot, but as you’ll hear playwright Ming Peiffer recount in this episode, it started as a military term before it was used to describe the artists changing forms, and pushing art forward.

And as you’ll hear director Kat Yen discuss, the co-Artistic Directors of Spookfish Theatre Company felt that the plays they’ve been seeing of late aren’t original, or pushing theatre forward.

That frustration is where the play, and the central conflict of, Advance Guard comes from.

Listen in as Ming & Kat discuss rebelling against post-impressionism & what other people want to see, the madness leading up to opening night, and why be an artist.

“What the hell are we doing here?”

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Jeremy J. Kamps, playwright, Danny Sharron, director, and Lillian Rodriguez, actress, of “What It Means to Disappear Here”

Posted on May 8, 2013 by robby

Ugly Rhino's "What It Means to Disappear Here" For the second episode in a row, GSAS! heads to the nation of Colombia (via the magic of theatre, of course), this time with Ugly Rhino’s What It Means to Disappear Here.

Initially set in a café in Cartagena (where the audience sits, along with the actors), What It Means… is the story of Yulieth, a young Colombian woman who is meeting Mitch for the first time — the norteamericano man who wants to buy her as his wife. Through a series of flashbacks-and-forwards, along with some brilliant use of radio broadcasts, the audience follow the paths that brought Yulieth & Mitch to that initial meeting, and its aftermath.

Listen in as playwright Jeremy J. Kamps, director Danny Sharron, and actress Lillian Rodriguez discuss eavesdropping on a marriage deal and writing a play about it, focusing on the human story, and what makes somebody care.

“What is the role of theatre…in a drama bringing forth political issues…what is our role in the off-off-Broadway world, bringing a play like this?”

“To me, it is the role.”

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Johnna Adams, playwright, and Heather Cohn, director, of “Sans Merci”

Posted on May 2, 2013 by robby

Flux Theatre Ensemble presents "Sans Merci," by Johnna Adams, directed by Heather Cohn

When the mother of your lover shows up unannounced on your doorstep, it’s kind of shocking.

When she’s looking for answers about her daughter’s final days, which she shared with you, the shock is much more dramatic.

That’s the situation in which the characters in Johnna Adams‘s Sans Merci find themselves. Directed in its world premiere by Heather Cohn and produced by Flux Theatre Ensemble (in rep with another new play, Honey Fist — watch for a GSAS! podcast on that one soon), Sans Merci is a play about poetry, activism, and, as Flux asks, “who owns the stories of the dead?”

Listen in as Johnna and Heather discuss grief, haunting, activism, and theatre that can make everybody feel something.

“A lot of chocolate, and a lot of kleenex.”

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Robert Honeywell, playwright, and Leah Bonvissuto, director, of “Mass”

Posted on April 26, 2013 by robby

"Mass" by Robert Honeywell, photos by Joe Kolbow Van Gogh. Gauguin. Duchamp.

Add to that list Pablo. Not Picasso. Just Pablo.

If that makes no sense to you, then you need to travel from New York to Vancouver to Shanghai along with Robert Honeywell‘s new musical Mass, as it follows the story of the troubled young artist Mary, her girlfriend Françoise (who becomes the aforementioned Pablo, an internationally-celebrated artist), and Mary’s art-dealer sister Kate, exploring the limits of art, commerce, love, and family.

Listen in as Robert and director Leah Bonvissuto discuss breaking the boundaries of art, the arc of study needed to write a musical about the art-world, and the struggle between different visions of what art can be — including the art of theatre.

“Art, love, & blood.”

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Vickie Ramirez, playwright, and Richard C. Aven, director, of “Smoke”

Posted on April 15, 2013 by robby

Since its inception five years ago, Mixed Phoenix Theatre Group has been making a name for itself as a company exploring the American identity through theatre, championing new plays from up-and-coming playwrights.

In the company’s first solo, fully-produced play (outside of Muzungu, their collaboration with my company, Co-Op Theatre East), MPTG has brought Vickie Ramirez‘s Smoke to the Studio Theater at Pershing Square Signature Center, directed by the company’s associate artistic director, Richard C. Aven.

As you’ll hear in the interview, the plot of Smoke doesn’t distill down easily into a sound-byte, but suffice it to say that the play is an exploration of who belongs where, and how, and why, told through a tale of family and community tensions (along with a bit of mysticism) on a Haundenosaunee Reservation in upstate New York. And as with any good play, there are no easy answers; only big, complicated questions to wrestle with.

Listen in as Vickie & Richard discuss creating an inclusive cultural piece, identity, and “mystical native stuff.” Continue reading →

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Lynn Rosen, playwright, and Shana Gold, director, of “Goldor $ Mythyka: A Hero is Born”

Posted on April 15, 2013 by robby

Goldor $ Mythyka: A Hero is Born

…who’d have thought that, even with this being the 58th (!) episode of Go See a Show! (seriously, I think this is the longest commitment I’ve ever made, except to my girlfriend), I’d have two episodes that touch on Dungeons & Dragons?

Ripped from the headlines (seriously), Goldor $ Mythyka: A Hero is Born is playwright Lynn Rosen‘s reimagined story of two young lovers who bond over D&D, rob an armored car, and subsequently inspire a cult-like following among the working-poor. The production, directed by Shana Gold, uses a wonderfully-Brechtian emcee narrator character to guide the audience through the tale, and is a super-fun piece of theatre.

Listen in as Lynn & Shana, with some guest shouts from Assistant Director Casey Cleverly (no stranger to the podcast!), discuss building a script from a truly true story, solving the unexpected problems of a new play, and playing D&D for research. Continue reading →

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Category Archives: Directors

Rachel Dart & Jenna Panther, directors of “There’s a Light on Yonder Mountain”

Neilson R. Jones, Lucy Breyer, and Vivian Hwang of Confetti Stage’s “The Lesson”

Lawrence Lesher, director, and Todd Michael, playwright, of “Vice Girl Confidential”

August Schulenburg, playwright, and Kelly O’Donnell, director, of “Honey Fist”

Ming Peiffer, playwright, and Kat Yen, director, of “Advance Guard”

Jeremy J. Kamps, playwright, Danny Sharron, director, and Lillian Rodriguez, actress, of “What It Means to Disappear Here”

Johnna Adams, playwright, and Heather Cohn, director, of “Sans Merci”

Robert Honeywell, playwright, and Leah Bonvissuto, director, of “Mass”

Vickie Ramirez, playwright, and Richard C. Aven, director, of “Smoke”

Lynn Rosen, playwright, and Shana Gold, director, of “Goldor $ Mythyka: A Hero is Born”