by Karen Tortora-Lee on May 8, 2012
There’s a reason that the second rule of Fight Club is the same as the first rule of Fight Club. Because Tyler Durden (and by extension, author Chuck Palahniuk) understood that it’s human nature to break rules. First rule of Fight Club – don’t talk about Fight Club. Second Rule of Fight Club: DO NOT talk about Fight Club. So what did people do?
What does this have to do with August Schulenberg’s new play DEINDE? Simple. DEINDE – a sci-fi story of quantum biologists who use a Dineural Entangled Intelligence Network DEvice [a "clumsy acronym, really, not even a real E at the end"] to “loop in” in order to juice their brains so that they can be smart enough to cure a virus that has been killing the world’s population – begins with four simple rules:
- When using DEINDE do not think of anything other than work.
- Do not keep the connection to DEINDE live outside of work.
- Do not use DEINDE to communicate with each other.
- Do not use DEINDE to accss the world online.
Sounds so easy to follow, right? So did “Don’t talk about Fight Club” and we all know how that turned out.
Continue Reading…
Related Posts:
by Karen Tortora-Lee on May 3, 2012
There is a very telling moment which comes two thirds of the way into Mariah MacCarthy’s play The Foreplay Play which is currently being produced by CAPS LOCK THEATRE at a site-specific location (WAY off-off Broadway) in Williamsburg. This dramedy about the tension which builds between two couples as they tentatively (and sometimes not so tentatively) lay the foundation for a night of orgiastic bliss has many titillating moments, but the one which encapsulated this show for me was probably the least sexual of the night.
Continue Reading…
Related Posts:
by Karen Tortora-Lee on May 2, 2012
In 2010 The Happiest Medium was thrilled to be able to be one of the media sponsors for the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity – “a place that shelters new and experienced artists who want to use their art to make a difference”.
We’re excited to be able to sponsor the festivity once again this year! Planet Connections runs from May 30 – June 24 at The Bleecker Street Theater located at45 Bleecker Street, New York, NY.
The Planet Connections Festivity is New York’s premiere eco-friendly/socially-conscious arts festival. Fostering a diverse cross-section of performances, the Festivity seeks to inspire artists and audiences both creatively and fundamentally, in a festive atmosphere. At the heart of the Festivity are like-minded individuals striving to create professional, meaningful theatre, film, music and art while supporting organizations, which give back to the community at large.
In the month leading up to the festivity we’ll be bringing you our fun feature “5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go” – a chance for every one of the shows to give you a taste of what they have in store for you! We’ll also be reviewing a selection of the offerings so check back daily to see what we thought!
Just follow this link to get to the Planet Connections site. There you’ll be able to see all the great things that are being offered … the free staged readings, the full scale productions, the special events … and don’t forget to check out what’s going on in the Festivity Lounge where there will be free entertainment such as singers, comedians, readings and art exhibits benefiting local charities. You can also buy some refreshments! And if you join on FOURSQUARE you may win a prize!
So come be a part of the great work that’s being done by the amazing team at Planet Connections!
We’ll see you there!
Related Posts:
by Karen Tortora-Lee on April 18, 2012
While there’s nothing to indicate that Sondheim influenced Larry Kunfosky’s Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary in any way (in fact, extensive interviews with Larry Kunofsky beforehand never once included references to The Man or the the musical I’m about to cite) we all have our own personal archives. To me, there was an undeniable Company element (albeit an updated one) which manifested early on and lingered for most of the play. Perhaps unintentionally Kunofsky has, in Your Boyfriend, offered up the city which Another Hundred People paid (somewhat contemptuous) homage to – the “city of strangers” with the people who “meet at parties through the friends of friends who they never know”. And as main character Marci spends the night living out the line: “I looked in vain”, another hundred people just got off of the train.
Continue Reading…
Related Posts:
by Karen Tortora-Lee on April 13, 2012
HA! is a trio of Rich Orloff’s most popular and acclaimed one-act comedies: Oedi, a parody of Oedipus Rex, The News From St. Petersburg, a Chekhovian spoof set in 1905 Russia, and The Whole Shebang which portrays the entire universe as just a college student’s masters thesis on another dimension. What they all have in common is a talented cast, and a base-note of comedy which ranges from the absurdly silly to the thoughtfully facetious giving audiences an opportunity to indulge in every kind of laugh from the titter to the snort to the guffaw. Coincidentally all three plays just happen to take place at 4:00 in the afternoon.
Each member of the talented cast has an opportunity to play multiple roles throughout the evening as they traverse from ancient Rome to the well appointed living room of the Russian Aristocracy, to, ultimately, some nebulous region that sits high above the universe we call home.
Continue Reading…
Related Posts:
by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 26, 2012
You’ve read part one. You clamored for another round! What could be more fun that sitting in on a conversation between me and brilliant playwright Larry Kunofsky as we discuss the road that led to his upcoming production of Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary?
Last time Larry explained how everyone has an imaginary component (in a way) … and he explained how his main character, Marci, spends a Saturday evening running from party to party in New York City looking for the man she’s dating — only to discover she possibly didn’t know him as well as she thought she did. We also got into what lies at the heart of Larry’s writing. Good stuff!
Today we’re talking about how Larry and The Management came to partner up for Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary, Larry references Tolstoy AND Voltaire (in the same answer!) and gives us a little taste of what your dinner conversation will be like after you see his play. So, grab your drink, settle in, and enjoy … Larry Kunofsky, Part 2:
Let’s talk for a minute about finding the right company to produce your work. Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary is being produced by The Management. What are some of the great things about having another company produce your work as opposed to doing it through your own company, Purple Rep?
Well don’t get me wrong, I am committed to Purple Rep and have grown to love producing, even though I know that I’m not anywhere near the kind of producer that I want to become just yet. But having someone else produce my play – which is something that hasn’t happened in a while on my own home turf here in NYC – that ROCKS!
I feels so decadent! I can be Just The Playwright! I feel like a Roman Emperor! Where are the slave girls to dangle grapes over my gaping mouth?!
And if you knew The Management’s budget, you’d be laughing at me here, not with me (which you might have been doing already). This is not a decadent company. They are workers, and they have a guerrilla approach to doing more with less (in terms of budget, at least), and this is inspiring to me. When Purple Rep grows up, I want it to be just like The Management. But also different.
Continue Reading…
Related Posts:
by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 21, 2012
The Real Thing featuring Synge Maher & David Nelson
Art imitates life. Life imitates art. Often times -for the life of a playwright- the lines are so blurred that it’s almost impossible to distinguish realism from hyper-realism or acting from genuine feeling and emotion. When fact and fiction can no longer be untangled it isn’t always easy to recognize if the words you’re hearing are being spoken from the heart or simply being recreated from a scene plucked from the past. Somewhere amid all this, one would hope to find The Real Thing.
Continue Reading…
Related Posts:
by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 14, 2012
You may think my life is all about going to shows, sitting in the dark, absorbing — going back home … writing reviews. It is NOT. My life is about highlighting, showcasing and celebrating the talented people of the independent entertainment world that I am lucky enough to experience. I only know how to do that one way: by knowing their work first, and then – if it works out – by meeting them for interviews, then seeing them socially … then interviewing them again. It helps when I can know the artist from the inside out – Know Them: Know Their Work. In turn: Know Their Work … Understand How To Distill It To An Audience. Voila - suddenly it’s all second nature.
Larry Kunofsky and I started out like any playwright/reviewer. But we soon learned that we had a lot to say to each other. A LOT. Larry is many things: a playwright, a thinker, a brilliant man. He’s as much an interviewer as an interviewee, and that’s what makes for a good give and take. In a few weeks The Management Theater Company will be doing his play Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary. I had a lot to ask him. He had a lot to tell me. As a result I ended up with a two parter – and so did you, lucky reader. So, grab a drink and get ready to find out why New York City on a Saturday Night can be like falling down the rabbit hole, read why every relationship has an imaginary component to it, and, if Feist gets mentioned, play some of her music as you read. That’s what the link is for.
Love the title: Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary.
Larry Kunofsky: Thanks, Karen. I won’t deny it, some of my titles are pretty nifty. I’ll let people like you speak to the merits of the plays themselves, but I hope that you and your readers will indulge me my little self-back-patting when it comes to Title-Pride.
If a play is sex, then a good title is foreplay. And if giving good foreplay is my legacy, I’ll accept my lot in life.
And we’re off!
Continue Reading…
Related Posts:
by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 8, 2012
Even casual readers of The Happiest Medium know that when it comes to Company XIV and Austin McCormick I am reduced to a screaming fan-girl. I am older, of course -not a girl, so my screaming is done on the inside (most of the time), but when it comes to this neo-baroque dance ensemble everything about them makes my heart race, my temperature elevate and my eyes tear up. Every time I walk through the doors of the theatre at Bond Street I shiver with antici ————————-pation about what will greet me – for here I have seen the most dazzling pieces of multi-media theatre I have ever experienced. EVER.
This week Company XIV has been holding a workshop where Austin McCormick, Laura Careless and guest instructors have been showing gifted dancers the Company XIV way. I will be moderating a discussion with Austin from 1.15pm-3pm tomorrow, Friday, March 9 at the Company XIV studio at 303 Bond Street, Brooklyn. If you’re free, come on down. If you’re busy – break your plans. Because after you read this, you’ll want to see this man in person.
I was lucky enough to be able to sit in on the workshop Tuesday afternoon and even though I was there for hours the time flew and my mind raced as I was captivated by what I saw unfold before me. This opportunity was like a dream come true – akin to (I can only imagine) being able to go to spring training if you love baseball. It’s watching your idol, your hero, behind the curtain, in the process of creating magic in a way that few ever get to experience.
Continue Reading…
Related Posts:
by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 5, 2012
Every year the Frigid Festival gives us a hangover – of shows, that is! A Frigid Hangover has nothing to do with alcohol but it has everything to do with shots! As in — these shows get one more shot at entertaining audiences.
HORSE TRADE THEATER GROUP
PRESENTS THE
2012 FRIGID HANGOVERS
THE BEST & BRIGHTEST FROM
THIS YEARS FESTIVAL
Horse Trade Theater Group (Erez Ziv, Managing Director, Heidi Grumelot, Artistic Director) is proud to present the third annual FRIGID Hangovers, March 5-10 at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery). They’re bringing back the best and the brightest from this years festival, so don’t miss your second chance to catch standout performances of the shows below:
FRIGID Hangovers will run March 5-10 at The Kraine Theater. Tickets ($18-$20) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.
* * *
Stripper Lesbians
Hangover: Mon 3/5 @ 7pm
Evan, a woman’s studies major, is writing a killer senior thesis– by becoming a stripper at her favorite strip club. In between her current girlfriend, a stripper-lesbian, and her ex boyfriend, an unemployed Tisch graduate, Evan dances the line between love and betrayal. A comedy about what it really means to be ‘in love with a stripper’ and what it means to become one.
What we said: Sure, the show is sexy, shows a lot of skin, and has no problem exploring the more intimate moments of the relationship, but Rising Sun’s inherent intelligence as an ensemble ensures that your skin is served up with a side of thoughtful, though-provoking drama which explores the title rather than exploits it.
Continue Reading…
Related Posts:
