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

Posted on February 15, 2014 by robby

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”

Posted on February 7, 2014 by robby

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!”

Posted on February 4, 2014 by robby

If 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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Chris Van Strander and David Koteles, playwrights of “Edison’s Elephant”

Posted on January 24, 2014 by robby

In 1903, Thomas Edison publicly electrocuted Topsy the elephant at Coney Island, in a demonstration of the “dangers” of alternating current. The event was filmed by Edison, later becoming a huge hit as the new ‘moving pictures’ were shown across the country.

So, how does one dramatize such a sad, momentous, and gruesome story from last century for the modern stage? In the case of Edison’s Elephant, playing as part of the Gilded Stage Festival at the Metropolitan Playhouse, you start with not one, but two talented playwrights — Chris Van Strander, and David Koteles.

Listen in as Chris and David discuss the circumstances that led them to join forces to write the play, the tension between exploitation and enjoying the fruits of that exploitation, and the similarities between Gilded Age and modern-day America.

“…everybody for the past few months has been asking me, ‘what’s your new play about?’ and I said, ‘it’s about Thomas Edison executing an elephant,’ and everybody sort of looks at me like, ‘what in the name of God are you talking about?’ And so if that piques your curiosity at all, you should definitely come down and see the show…”

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

Posted on January 24, 2014 by robby

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”

Posted on January 23, 2014 by robby

How 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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TALKBACK: Jennifer Conley Darling, Martin Denton, J. Julian Christopher, and Leah Nanako Winkler

Posted on January 10, 2014 by robby

For this special episode, a little something different — instead of hearing your regular host, Go See a Show! is proud to host on the podcast a talkback conducted by Indie Theatre Now‘s Martin Denton with playwrights J. Julian Christopher, Leah Nanako Winkler, and terraNOVA‘s Producing Artistic Director Jennifer Conley Darling, after the company’s recent workshop series at IRT Theater (you can hear GSAS!’s interview with Julian about his show, Animals Commit Suicide, here — and check out his other plays on IndieTheatreNow!).

Though it’s not the usual podcast fare, I enjoyed listening to these artists in conversation, and I think you will, too. This is an especially great episode for anyone interested in new play development — terraNOVA has what seems to be a sustainable and effective process for shepherding new work to the stage (and if Animals Commit Suicide is any indication, it’s proving to be a successful one).

Here’s to more great new off-off-Broadway theatre in 2014 — happy new year!

“How did I know it was for me? It scared the shit out of me. That’s pretty much how I gauge the work that we like…”

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

Posted on December 18, 2013 by robby

A 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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J. Julian Christopher and Jose Zayas, playwright & director of “Animals Commit Suicide”

Posted on December 13, 2013 by robby

terraNOVA Collective presents J. Julian Christopher's "Animals Commit Suicide," directed by Jose Zayas Whenever we walk into that dark room for a work of theatre, I think it’s safe to say that most of us are, at the least, looking to be entertained. But the theatre that excites me most is that which is not only enjoyable, but also provokes.

It’s not common, but it’s a great trick when it works. This episode is about a show that succeeds in this way.

terraNOVAcollective presents J. Julian Christopher‘s Animals Commit Suicide, directed by Jose Zayas, as part of their terraNOVA Rx development series, and while the show’s subject sounds (and is) incredibly dark—a young man actively seeking to get infected with HIV—the play works as a play rather than a moralizing, bash-you-over-the-head screed. It makes for a provocative, yet enjoyable night of theatre.

Listen in as Julian & Jose discuss how to wrap scary material into a love story, writing like an actor, addressing dangerous questions through theatre, and “truth.”

“…the people who I like being with are the ones who are willing to take that journey, who are willing to go, ‘I may not approve of this, but I’m willing to go there with it, and stretch my humanity, and think about why someone would do something that I don’t understand.'”

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RJ Vaillancourt, Jenna Grossano, James Presson, and Patrick Dooley of “How Less Than Rent Stole Christmas!”

Posted on December 7, 2013 by robby

Less Than Rent was last on the podcast with a provocative take on a theatre company’s provocative take on Beckett’s Endgame (listen to it here).

Now, the company sets their sights on the holidays, with three distinct evenings of theatrical cheer. The podcast was there on night one, when RJ Vaillancourt hosted a Christmas variety show a la his hero, Bing Crosby (see the photo below), under the direction of Jenna Grossano.

Listen in as Jenna & RJ, along with LTR members (and the masterminds of the series) James Presson and Patrick Dooley, discuss reflecting reality back from the stage, how you find the glue to hold a variety show together, and why the company would do not one, but three different holiday shows over three weeks. Continue reading →

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