Nick Mecikalski of “Really Really Gorgeous”

Posted on January 30, 2020 by robby

Listen in as Really Really Gorgeous playwright Nick Mecikalski discusses what happens when the media is filtered through only one lens, trust in personal relationships, the journey from digging a script out of a drawer to getting on the stage, the power of celebrity, and “what happens when climate change gets personal.”

“We know this is already happening for people around the world…the really scary questions that I think creep in the back of our minds…will it change whether I can follow my dreams? Will it change my career? Will it change where I have to live? Will it change my relationships?…”

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Johnny G. Lloyd & William Steinberger of “Or, An Astronaut Play”

Posted on January 10, 2020 by robby

Listen in as playwright Johnny G. Lloyd and director William Steinberger of Or, An Astronaut Play discuss capitalism, Emerson, childlike wonder, designing to your space, stealing kids’ artwork, and why the play goes to space school (as well as literal space).

“…it’s a play about race, and privilege, and access, but also, still, about finding access to that inner child, and finding a way to negotiate that…”

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Richard Thieriot & Therese Plaehn of “Monsoon Season”

Posted on November 8, 2019 by robby

Listen in as the performers of Lizzie Vieh’s new play Monsoon Season, Richard Thieriot & Therese Plaehn, discuss the development of this play from a 7-minute one-night-only solo piece to a set of solos, making something horrifying but also incredibly funny, how your performance changes when a play’s world expands, the benefit of working with smart, generous, welcoming people, and what can can happen when the seed of a piece is tossed into fertile ground.

“…so it’s dark, and the emotional terrain is dark, but there’s also, hopefully, occasionally, laughs […]”
“…I remember being disturbed…and sure enough, it’s funny as hell…”

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Kylie M. Brown & Leigh Honigman of “Of the Woman Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die”

Posted on October 23, 2019 by robby

Listen in as GSAS! correspondent Alex Randrup meets with Of the Woman Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die director Kylie M. Brown, along with producer Leigh Honigman, to discuss basement cults, Biblical inspiration & imagery, the marketability of femininity, ushering a new text to maturity, ritual & retail, accepting the weirdness to find the grounded truth, & living under late capitalism while femme.

“…what I see this show as, is femmes living in boxes, and trying their best to get out of said boxes. And we burn the boxes down. Simple enough.”

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Patricia Lynn, Philip Estrera, & Natalie Hegg of “Strangers in the Night”

Posted on October 18, 2019 by robby

Listen in as “Strangers in the Night” contributing playwrights Patricia Lynn (writer of Screwed, portrayer of “Molly”, director of Frank) & Philip Estrera (writer of the Frank monologues, who also performs “Stranger” in Bottling Dreams of the Tearful Don’t-Knower), along with fellow Bottling… actor Natalie Hegg (“Other Half”), discuss creating a complete theatrical experience out of one act plays, sketches in rehearsal, provocative nocturnal stories, doing that one thing well, collaboration, different extremes of theatricality, & the intimacy that can develop between total strangers.

“…one little thing would totally change the way the scene would go…a creative, supportive battleground…”

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Alexander V. Thompson of “Cryptids”

Posted on October 10, 2019 by robby

Listen in as writer (and performer) Alexander V. Thompson of the podcast Cryptids discusses late-night conspiracy shows, moving from the stage to a podcast, performing on mic, letting the audience fill in the blanks, adjusting images to audio, and the love of radio.

“I’m in love with radio…and I really wanted to play in that space…taking all of these visual elements that I had created as a playwright, and all the theatre magic and stage magic that I kind of envisioned in it, and then totally repurposing those into an audio medium…”

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Matthew Freeman, Robert Honeywell, & David Cote of “The Sea The Mountains The Forest The City The Plain”

Posted on October 9, 2019 by robby

Listen in as The Sea The Mountains The Forest The City The Plain playwright Matthew Freeman, along with director David Cote & performer Robert Honeywell, discuss how to discover your character, propulsive changes & musicality, abstract simplicity, friendship and aging, moving through the words, finding your collaborators, embracing your influences, and moving on to the next thing on your journey.

“…change is a constant, and change can come with a sense of loss…you hit this sort of middle part of your life, and you look around, and you miss the things that came before, even if you love the life that you have. So I think that feeling is inspiring the piece a little bit…”

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Lauren Hlubny & Thomas Giles of “Thoughts & Prayers”

Posted on September 26, 2019 by robby

Listen in as the director/creator of Thoughts & Prayers, Lauren Hlubny, along with composer/”Felix” Thomas Giles, discuss the meaning of “dance-theatre concerto,” encouraging presence, developing a process to combine artistic disciplines, starting conversations, and not only reacting but taking action.

“…I think it’s very easy to become numb to it, and not know how to take action…creating this piece came, for me, as a point of wanting to do something, or at least wanting to be involved with other people, and start conversations…”

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Max Hunter of “See You”

Posted on September 12, 2019 by robby

The Bridge Production Group presents the US Premiere of SEE YOU by Guillaume Corbeil, translated to English by Steven McCarthy, directed by Max Hunter, at The New Ohio Theater Listen in as See You director Max Hunter discusses the show’s rehearsal process, making your play resonant to its local culture, unifying tone, how to make a list interesting in the theatre, play, honesty/vulnerability supplanted by signifiers, directing as conducting, and relaxing into a difficult piece.

“…in a world where you ask someone to put the phone away, and pay attention in a shared space for two hours—I think that really asks something, and there’s a weight to that…”

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David Barlow & Danielle Skraastad of “Havel: The Passion of Thought”

Posted on July 25, 2019 by robby

Listen in as actors David Barlow & Danielle Skraastad of PTP/NYC‘s production of Havel: The Passion of Thought—three short plays from Vaclav Havel, bookended by Harold Pinter’s The New World Order and Samuel Beckett’s Catastrophe—discuss why these plays work so well in conversation, the difference between performing them together in 1991 vs. in 2019, “On Tyranny,” the power of making theatre, “the politics of kindness,” and the importance of living the truth.

“…they felt so current, and felt so hopeful, in a galvanizing way…that art matters. Words matter. What do you want to do?…”

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Go See a Show!

The off-off-Broadway podcast

Nick Mecikalski of “Really Really Gorgeous”

Johnny G. Lloyd & William Steinberger of “Or, An Astronaut Play”

Richard Thieriot & Therese Plaehn of “Monsoon Season”

Kylie M. Brown & Leigh Honigman of “Of the Woman Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die”

Patricia Lynn, Philip Estrera, & Natalie Hegg of “Strangers in the Night”

Alexander V. Thompson of “Cryptids”

Matthew Freeman, Robert Honeywell, & David Cote of “The Sea The Mountains The Forest The City The Plain”

Lauren Hlubny & Thomas Giles of “Thoughts & Prayers”

Max Hunter of “See You”

David Barlow & Danielle Skraastad of “Havel: The Passion of Thought”