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

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”

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”

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”

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”

"Mass" by Robert Honeywell, photos by Joe KolbowVan 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”

Smoke, by Vickie Ramirez, directed by Richard C. Aven, presented by Mixed Phoenix Theatre Group

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

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

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

Joseph Samuel Wright, playwright, and David Carl, composer, of “Rise”

Rise_logoWe all know the maxim: “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

It’s the dangers of unchecked power & blind ambition that unites the two narratives of Roots & Wings Theatrical‘s new play Rise.

In one thread: an operatic telling of the story of Elagabalus, the boy emperor of Rome who overturned gods, prostituted himself in the temple, and demanded a sex change operation—following the ego-maniac emperor, his naive formerly-chaste Vestal Virgin lover, his scheming grandmother, and his ambitious mother willfully ignoring her son’s flagrant (and dangerous) disregard for prudence.

In the other: a modern drama of an ego-maniac porn star, his naive young lover, his scheming agent, and the ambitious young lady blind to whom she hurts on her rise to the top.

…starting to see where this is going?

If you’re curious to see (and hear) more, listen in to this episode of the podcast with Rise playwright Joseph Samuel Wright and composer David Carl as they discuss empire-level intrigue, big voices in small spaces, and rising vs. rising above. Continue reading

Blythe Duff and Andrew Scott-Ramsay of David Harrower’s “Good With People”

"Good With People"Many people try to avoid their hometown as much as possible. Maybe it doesn’t hold anything for you anymore; maybe it’s bad memories; or maybe it’s people you just don’t want to have to run into. For Evan, one of the two characters in David Harrower’s Good With People, it’s a combination of all three.

Set in Helensburgh, Scotland — once a thriving resort town, and now home to the British military’s nuclear defense program — Good With People depicts a chance encounter between Evan and Helen, the mother of one of his schoolmates, that forces them to face the personal and political histories they might both rather avoid.

Listen in as actors Blythe Duff and Andrew Scott-Ramsay discuss the growth and development of this two-hander, levels, dramaturgy, the relief that Americans laugh at the right bits, and commuting through Central Park to get to work. Continue reading

Anna Greenfield, playwright & actress, & Lee Sunday Evans, director, of “All Girls”

"All Girls," by Anna GreenfieldCollaboration Town was last on the podcast with the crazy epic The Deepest Play Ever: The Catharsis of Pathos. This time around, their show All Girls brings things to a much more personal level to great effect with this lovely, personal piece about three young girls on the verge of entering high school.

It may be “all girls,” but of course all are invited. And as you’ll hear in the interview, playwright/actress Anna Greenfield and director Lee Sunday Evans want to be sure this show is accessible to all (and they succeeded).

Listen in as Anna & Leigh talk about sensitivity to voices, “struggling with the process of becoming,” writing something so you can act in it, and being honest. Continue reading