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by Karen Tortora-Lee on February 22, 2010
Playwright Lucy Gillespie
I recently got a chance to chat with the very charming young playwright, Lucy Gillespie, who has penned the upcoming play Hangman School for Girls which is being produced by Vagabond Theatre Ensemble. As the title of this post implies, this is a story involving the students at an all-girl’s school, although any resemblance to that Tootie-Blairefest of your youth (or, for the Millennials in the crowd, from hulu.com then) is purely coincidental. This ain’t your momma’s Eastland … schoolgirls don’t roll that way anymore. Rather, Hangman School for Girls was presented to me as “Alice in Wonderland meets Lolita with a little Mean Girls thrown in”. Ahhh, three very unlikely pairings, but three very guilty pleasures of mine.
Lucy Gillespie and I spent some time talking about all-girls schools, the challenges of acting in your own work … and what it takes to feel like you’ve “made it” in this big city.
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by Antonio Miniño on February 17, 2010
©Matthew Murphy
“Bad shit in life makes for good art. Things that challenge us emotionally, politically and socially propel us to create. Having this terrible thing in my life has motivated me in a way. I have sort of resolved to not only not let it get me down but use it as a way to improve myself. And don’t get me wrong, I have very dark days. I have days where I sit around and mope ‘why me’ and wish I could travel back in time and change things. But ya know, that only gets you so far. So yeah, the old adage ‘what doesn’t kill you…’“
This is how being HIV positive has changed Dan Horrigan’s life as an artist, and has propelled him to debut as a solo performer with his show MY AiDS now playing at Urban Stages. “What started out as an exercise in trying to put together a sort of comedy act really evolved,” says Horrigan.”I decided that I would accept the encouragement of those around me who think I’m funny and try to create a sort of comedy act but I thought it would be a greater challenge to wrap all of my humor around something that is really difficult for me… which is being HIV positive.”
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by Antonio Miniño on January 28, 2010
The final bow for The 2010 National NewBorn Festival was Sunday, and it was anything but uneventful. After reservations soared, the last two days of the festival were hosted in a different venue, giving the staff including myself extra work to schlep everything from one place to the other. The recipient of The Audience Favorite Award that received a second reading on Sunday was Carol Carpenter’s Good Lonely People. For those of you that don’t know about “NewBorn” it is the flagship program of the Off-Off Broadway theatre company MTWorks, showcasing new plays taking place and/or inspired by other regions of the US. I was honored to perform and be under the direction of The Happiest Medium collaborator Diánna Martin in A Home Across the Ocean, by Louisiana playwright Cody Daigle.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on November 24, 2009
Life isn’t all fun and games – every now and then you’ve gotta take a swing at someone … even if it’s only in your mind. And face it, once you’re off the playground, it usually is all in your mind. (Take THAT Mister Tourist with your 3 kids and your huge knapsack blocking the subway door! YES, you CAN transfer for the #2 train at 14th. Now quit asking everyone and get outta my way!) So what’s a gal to do? Sure, you can go lose yourself in a movie with a multi-million dollar budget, but when you know all that punching and kicking and brawling is probably being handled by stunt doubles who know how to play to the right camera angles, it’s hard to really feel that emotional satisfaction. You want to put yourself in a story where you can not only imagine yourself as the hero, sucker punching and bitch slapping your way through Act One, but where you can actually see guys falling to the ground and feel the vibration of it in your seat. You want to go to a festival that fills the pow-wham-socko void that I know I’ve been feeling.
Well, you’re not the only one. The Brick Theater, Inc. in association with Art Meets Commerce has heard your silent plea and starting December 1st they will be presenting Fight Fest – a rock ‘em sock ‘em good time that, in some opinions, gives this cheery holiday season exactly what it needs – a place where you can vicariously shake out that punch that’s been rolling up your fist all day.
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by Diánna Martin on November 8, 2009
Peter Sabri
Ah, New York is not as big a place as one would think. At least not when it comes to theatre – sometimes, you can meet interesting actors, directors, and producers by walking across the hall in your building.
My neighbor and dear friend asked me to join him for an evening of theatre sometime last year. “My nephew is in this great play – you should meet him, he’s into theatre like you!” he said happily. Little did I know that my friend (who’s name is also Peter – I wonder how many of them are in the clan) was taking me to a wonderful staged reading of Visiting Mr. Green starring Eli Wallach and Peter Sabri…his nephew. As I watched this young man share the stage with one of the most legendary actors of the 20th century, I was impressed with his work and his craft; he made interesting choices, was a joy to watch and the reading was beautiful, heartfelt and heartbreaking.
Upon hearing he was in Penang, a war drama by James L. Larocca, I was thrilled to see him working again, amused by the “Wow, it’s a small world” thought that went through my head, and eager to talk to Peter about his experiences working on this show that earned him a nomination at the 2008 Midtown International Theatre Festival, one of five that the show received. Now, brought back by Madison Street and Boo-Arts Productions, he has a chance to work again on a piece that is an intense drama whose tagline is: In war the only thing that matters is the guy next to you.
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by Antonio Miniño on November 3, 2009
If I said to you I was an old time fan of Heather and Retro Productions I would be lying … and why start off with a lie? Who would I be! Despicable me … so lets start with the truth and nothing but! I first became acquainted with their work about a year ago as a matter of … chance. I reviewed their production of Mill Fire for The Fab Marquee and was taken in by their attention to detail, something that made me think they had been around for – oh, I don’t know – 10 years. To my surprise they are only a couple of years old, but seasoned in talent and determined to bring back quality pieces – and as I learned after interviewing their Artistic Director Heather Cunningham – new works as well.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 1, 2009
New York Fringe Festival 2009
Unless you’ve been living outside of New York City for the last decade or so, chances are you’ve either attended a Fringe show yourself, or you’ve at least heard about the festival. ”Fringe”, of course, means The New York International Fringe Festival and it is the largest multi-arts festival in North America, with more than 200 companies from all over the world performing for 16 days in more than 20 venues. It kicks off in just two weeks on August 14th, so right now everyone involved is getting their act together, so to speak, and preparing for Opening Night.
One very special show which will be featured this year at the Fringe Festival is Eli and Cheryl Jump, a poetic, haunting play written by Daniel McCoy. I got a chance to chat with Daniel and find out what it’s like to be part of the Fringe, what sparked him to write this play, and what he hopes it will mean to the audience.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on April 15, 2009
It was shocking, that first time in high school English class when my very Catholic, very quick-to-giggle sophomore class was taken through a reading of William Butler Yeats’ Leda and the Swan: A sudden blow: the great wings beating still // Above the staggering girl, her thighs caressed // By the dark webs, her nape caught in his bill, // He holds her helpless breast upon his breast.
Greek myth or not, there was something very evocative and real about it all, the idea of Leda being seduced by Zeus in feathered drag … it was a little naughty … a little worldly. A little grown-up. I don’t think we ever understood why it was necessary for the all-powerful King of the Gods to take on the form of a bird in order to convince a woman to sleep with him, but regardless it left an impression on me, and apparently I wasn’t the only one; the myth obviously left an impression on Playwright Dorothy Fortenberry as well for when her writing teacher at the Yale School of Drama assigned her students to write a swan-themed play, Dorothy penned Caitlin and The Swan. The play that started its journey there now continues its voyage as it take wing at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st and A) starting April 16th.
I got a chance to sit down with Dorothy, as well as with Director Joshua Conkel, to chat about how this production got started; what they both enjoy about collaborating on this girl-meets-bird story; and the skills needed to produce large-themed theatre in small spaces.
It all began on a Youngblood writing retreat in the Poconos, of all places, where Josh and Dorothy first met. Josh, who is also the co-artistic director of THE MANAGEMENT, asked Dorothy to submit her play to the group and everyone agreed that it was exactly they were looking to do …
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 5, 2009
Ballet Verite
You know you’re standing next to a writer when: their stance is unassuming, their posture is hunched, and when they move it’s only after hours of being in one spot either typing furiously, day dreaming earnestly, or working out that writer’s block by playing yet another game of computer solitaire. (Hey … don’t put it on the computer it you don’t want me to play it!)
You know you’re standing next to a dancer when: their stance is elegant, their posture is perfect, and when they move it’s by way of a grand jeté, or pas de bourrée. Even when they’re waiting to move, they somehow seem to be shimmering.
Sigh. By definition if you’re reading this then I must be writing it … so I fall into the first category. I was born with a writer’s build: short and squat; good for hunkering down for hours (days if necessary) crammed into a small spot, moving as little as possible and living off my own God-given insulation … goodness knows I could hole myself away and write the great American novel and never starve, just give me some chilled beverages (caffeinated if possible, please) and I’m good to go. Maybe that’s why dancers fascinate me. To see what a body can be when it’s in its most perfect state, and then to further that … to see that perfect body used for artistic expression is to see glory magnified one hundred fold.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on February 23, 2009
When it comes to the theatre, Carl Andress was practically weaned First Row, Center; he’s been writing, acting, and directing for as long as he can remember, and it’s always been his passion. He got his start years ago when … well, I’ll let him tell you all about that. His latest directorial offering The Third Story stars Kathleen Turner and Charles Busch and is currently running through March 15th at the The Lucille Lortel Theatre. Carl took some time to chat with me about the play, what it’s been like collaborating with Charles Busch over the years, and how his career in theatre began.
KT: Hi Carl, thanks so much for taking some time to talk with me. I’m really excited to be able to chat with you about The Third Story … it sounds like a wild ride – “Gangster flicks, fairy tales, and B-movie sci-fi collide in this epic comic fable from the imagination of Charles Busch“. PLUS it also stars the amazing Kathleen Turner. How did it all happen?
CA: I guess it was around 2007 when Charles Busch was commissioned to write a play for the La Jolla Playhouse (LJP). He gave it to me to read first and I fell in love with it immediately. The La Jolla Playhouse is a very successfully non-profit theatre out in San Diego … a lot of great theatre has come out of there; it’s been in existence since the 50s. More recently, shows like Big River and the revival of How to Succeed in Business …, Tommy, and Jersey Boys started there. They do a lot of new work, new plays and big musicals. And they sometimes commission works, just like they commissioned Charles.
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