These women of the arts hail from different disciplines, but they all have an indomitable spirit and a luminescent spark that makes them amazing human beings who are out there every day, doing amazing work.

Today we continue our series with Heidi G. Grumelot.

Heidi Grumelot is the Artistic Director of Horse Trade Theater Group.  Horse Trade is comprised of three theatres that are like second homes to me: UNDER St. Marks, The Kraine and The Red Room.  I had the pleasure of getting to know her after we sat on a panel together during FRIGID NewYork 2011 discussing Self Producing Artists. Honestly, I”m surpirsed it took me this long to actually meet her considering what a fan I am of Horse Trade and how much of my time is spent there.

Heidi is also a talented director; she was responsible for the extremely enjoyable Donnie and the Monsters which was held over last year.  I’m happy to see someone so cool, so together and so strong being responsible for so much of the NYC downtown theatre scene.  I can’t wait to continue working with her in the years to come.  Now here’s Heidi’s story …

Talk to me about being a woman who does what you do- just overall.

I love what I do. Not only do I work with the nicest bunch of people around, I get to meet amazing artists each day and glean inspiration. I can’t imagine being a man doing this job…mainly because I’m not a man. Male or female, I do think being an ‘open’ person is a valuable quality in this business. I’m not sure if some of the bedlam we allow in our spaces would have found a home without a bit of openness – BTK Band I am talking about you.

Are there days it makes a difference – good or bad?

The combination of looking a bit younger than I am and being a woman often provokes surprise in those I meet. I generally try and take their surprise as a complement because forty is not thaaat far away… But, I’m not afraid to call people on it if they can’t do business with a woman.

Are there barriers you fought against in the past that are now becoming easier? Was it always easy? Is it still hard?

I think the biggest obstacle of being a woman in this job is facing the under-estimation of others. But any artist who takes chances faces this type of challenge….all the more reason to prove them wrong.

The men that you come across / work with / interact with – do they treat you as an equal?

I am treated very well by all the gents I work with right now. I really appreciate them because they totally have my back. They also work really hard, are generous, and just plain smart.

I have had situations in the past in other places where a man has tried to bully me on the job, so I suppose it has gotten better for me. Actually, I think it has gotten better because I am much better at standing up for myself now. Not to say I think bullying is gender specific, I have had similar situations with female bullies too.

Are there some resources you’d like to share that you find particularly helpful as a woman?

I think everyone should become friends with the Wreckio Ensemble - those ladies know what’s up. Oh, and take a trip to the Russian/Turkish bath house with the ladies on your staff after you finish the FRIGID Festival, I highly recommend that. Definitely take advantage of the happy hour offerings on your block with your favorite NJ playwright. Do whiskey shots with your crazy Israeli bookkeeper if you stay at work late. And do order stew fries with all the ladies in the office at lunch time….

You’re adorable, Heidi.  Plain and simple.  What’s up next for you?

I would love for more folks to meet The Drafts Ensemble at our Drafts Fest May 5th-15th. This year’s theme: ‘Accidental Discharge Impossible.’ We are very excited to be hosting a South African Theater Festival July 24th-August 2nd. And I am directing a play called Lines written by Terence Hughes in association with the UK Company Ice & Fire August 11th-27th. And before that we have so much more going on with our Horse Trade Residents – check out our website at  www.horsetrade.info. And apply for a Residency at Horse Trade, over ¾ of all the playwrights, directors, and producers we worked with this season were women!

Now that’s what I like to hear!  Thanks so much, Heidi, for sharing your stories with us … can’t wait to see you at the next show!

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More about Heidi Grumelot

Heidi Grumelot is co-creator and producer of the monthly storytelling show TOLD. She is the founding director of The Drafts, an acting ensemble responsible for development of over forty original plays to date as part of a monthly reading series. She is the Resident Coordinator for Horse Trade’s six resident companies.

New York directing credits include punkrock/lovesong at The Brick Theater, Dido and Aeneas with The New York Collective of Performing Arts at The West End Theater and The Boston Early Music Festival, Donnie and the Monsters at UNDER St Marks Theater, and Accidents Do Happen, Tom’s Things, and Turning the Glass Around in The Red Room. New York staged reading credits include The Flower Thief in The Red Room , A River Pure for Healing, and An Absolutely Perfect Life at UNDER St Marks Theater. Assistant director credits include Antony and Cleopatra, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and A Christmas Carol for the American Shakespeare Center. She has directed productions in Michigan, Virginia, and Mexico.

Prior to working at Horse Trade, Heidi worked for Laura Stanzyck Casting and The Public Theater’s Casting Department. Casting Assistant credits include Impressionism on Broadway, The Cripple of Inishman at Atlantic Theater Company, The Shawshank Redemption at The Gaiety Theater in Dublin, Holiday Garland at The Westport Country Playhouse, and Hamlet and Hair at Shakespeare in the Park.

Related Posts:

• Early Risers / Night Owls … Come With Me – Help Save UNDER St. Marks
• FRIGID Hangovers – I’ll Have Another Round! (FRIGID New York 2011)
• The Flower Thief – A Bittersweet Bloom
• Starting Tonight! Frigid Hangovers Begin At The Kraine Theater
• Yippie! – Revolution On Demand (FRIGID New York 2011)

These women of the arts hail from different disciplines, but they all have an indomitable spirit and a luminescent spark that makes them amazing human beings who are out there every day, doing amazing work.

Today we continue our series with Emily Owens. Without exaggeration I can say that Emily paved the way for making The Happiest Medium what it is today.  Way back in 2008 when I was a fledgling reviewer and still trying to figure out how to fill a weekly column quota (for another site) publicist Emily Owens contacted me about some shows she was representing.  I was new to it all and eagerly accepted every show that she sent my way.  ”Just you wait,” my husband (and the co-founder of The Happiest Medium) said, “One day you’ll be getting so many offers from so many publicists that you’ll be turning them away!”   I couldn’t imagine what that would feel like.

Well, here we are, two and a half years later and I’m proud to say that Emily Owens and I continue to enjoy a very successful business relationship to this very day.   And, Stephen was right – these days THM gets so many offers to review shows that we have to be very choosy with what we follow up on.   I’m grateful … but overworked and overwhelmed at times by the amount of shows that are happening in Manhattan.  Having a relationship with a someone like Emily —  a publicist I can trust – ensures that The Happiest Medium is always covering the best, newest, and greatest of what’s out there. Emily has been critical in getting me together with some of my very favorite people in this industry, and – I’ll say it again – I wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t begun reviewing shows repped by Emily Owens.  Most recently, as the publicist for the Frigid New York Festival 2011, she made it possible for The Happiest Medium to become a Media Sponsor and the relationships we were able to build during that festival were invaluable.  Never mind just plain fun!

I’m in awe of her energy, her intuition and her connections.  And I thank her from the bottom of my heart for what she does not only for me, but for all the talented people who count on her to publicise them the right way, every day.  Now let’s hear her story  …

Talk to me about being a woman who does what you do- just overall.

When you own your own business the business IS you, so everything I do or say reflects on my company in one way or another. From the clothes I wear to what I post on my Facebook status, it all affects how people perceive my company. To that end I’m sure the fact that I’m a woman does play a factor, but its not something I think about as it relates to my job. When I first started out I was more concerned about my age, as I started my company fairly young (I’m 25 now and Emily Owens PR was founded in 2006, you do the math!) I felt for a long time like I had to keep my age a secret, for fear that people wouldn’t take me seriously.

The favorite part of my job is seeing my clients succeed. I know that probably sounds cheesy but its true! The reason I do what I do is to get artists and their work exposure that they otherwise might not get without me. There is so much amazing work going on downtown that people don’t necessarily know about, and I love helping to get that work the acknowledgement it deserves.

Tells us about some of the barriers you’ve encountered.

I knew pretty early on that indie theatre was where I wanted to be, but I ran into a lot of attitude against it. The feedback I received was that press wouldn’t cover off-off Broadway shows and that I’d never be able to make a living at it.

Its still difficult to get the larger media outlets to cover shows being produced off-off Broadway and there are still people I run into from time to time who honestly have no idea what independent theatre is, but I’m much more fulfilled pounding the pavement everyday trying to get my “unknown” clients exposure then I would be if I was working for some big Broadway press agent publicizing “Die Hard: The Musical!” starring Johnny Depp.

The men that you come across / work with / interact with – do they treat you as an equal?

I’m sure my male counterparts are never referred to as the “PR girl” but I’ve always kind of liked being the PR girl! I never want to be treated differently because I’m a woman. In some cases I think people are more likely to hire me because I’m a woman (as opposed to NOT hiring me because of it) but I think that’s almost just as bad. You should hire somebody because they’re the best person for the job, not because of their gender, skin color, or sexual orientation. We’re never really going to be equals until our differences stop being a factor entirely.

You’re so busy!  What are some of your upcoming projects?

• Purple Rep’s Gay Plays for Straight People (and also gay people), April 8-30 @ The Paradise Factory
• Iron Jaw’s Narrator 1, May 11-29 @ The Lion
• The Comic Book Theater Festival, June 2-25 @ The Brick

Emily Owens is a press agent for independent theatre. Her clients include Horse Trade Theater Group, terraNOVA Collective, Flux Theatre Ensemble, Nosedive Productions, The Brick, Rachel Klein Productions, and Purple Rep. Visit her site Emily Owens PR.

Related Posts:

• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Heidi Grumelot
• Yippie! – Revolution On Demand (FRIGID New York 2011)
• There is No Good News – Laughing Until Your Sides Hurt (FRIGID New York 2011)
• FRIGID Hangovers – I’ll Have Another Round! (FRIGID New York 2011)
• Year Of The Slut – It Was A Very Long Year (FRIGID New York 2011)

When you were growing up, did you ever have characters from TV or film that you looked up to and felt that if you could be like them, you could do anything? Cyndi Freeman sure did, and she didn’t pick any run-of-the-mill hero…she picked THE woman…you know…the awesome chick in the invisible jet who could tie up any creep with her golden lasso and bounce bullets off of her groovy bracelets…all while wearing practically nothing in red, white, & blue. Wonder Woman: A How To Guide for Little Jewish Girls is part feminist hero worship and trivia; part life story of growing up more geek than hero with family dysfunction; and part tale of using the strength within to battle some of the scariest nemeses of all: life’s curve-balls.

Freeman, no stranger to one-woman shows and a regular performer on the theatre festival and burlesque circuit (the latter under the name of Cherry Pitz), opens up about everything from a gun-toting father going after an AWOL son – to the realization that our human mentors can be disappointingly human.

Insightful and heart-wrenching as well as hilarious, Freeman has a knack for making a connection with her audience and making them feel as if they’re having a private conversation with her. With each section of the show, you feel more and more intimate with Freeman; what starts out as an interesting history of one of the most iconic female figures of the 20th century slowly becomes a more introverted perspective on how Freeman’s life was shaped. Her flair for comedy and the outrageous intersperses with moments when she reveals current personal battles that can only be dealt with by sheer will, inner strength and the confidence in yourself that you learned from your TV heroes…or maybe a rejuvenating jaunt on Paradise Island of the Amazons.

If you didn’t have an opportunity to catch this wonderful show, you’re in luck! Picked as a Frigid Hangover, there is one more performance left.

Not one to miss!

~~~

Related Posts:

• FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: Wonder Woman: A How To Guide For Little Jewish Girls
• FRIGID Hangovers – I’ll Have Another Round! (FRIGID New York 2011)
• Scratch & Pitz Burlesque and Variety Hour – Seven Act Scratch (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Scratch & Pitz Burlesque And Variety Hour: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Heidi Grumelot

A energetic and fascinating ensemble piece, Yippie! blends fact and fiction to create a behind-the-scenes look at the rise of Jerry Rubin’s Youth International Party of the 1960s. In a “what if?” take on the Chicago 1968 riots, writers/directors Randy Anderson and Harrison Williams look at the darker side of what happens when even flower children can take a life in the name of revolution, albeit perhaps unintentionally.

The play is segmented in scenes that go back and forth in time to before and after the riots, from when the freewheeling energetic men and women get stoned and talk of bringing down The Man; and afterwards, when they are all brought in for questioning/trials for the accidental death of one of their own, who the police want to blame on leader Jerry Rubin. In between there are group musical numbers, and plenty of physicality by the ensemble, who work well together.

The staging was great, as were the use of the actors in a myriad of roles including simply holding the flashlight on another and becoming the interrogator. It was these moments that stuck with me the most; Morgan Lindsey Tacho as Nancy, Jerry’s girlfriend, was most memorable and her work was simply executed and exciting to watch. TJ Roberts in the lead role made some fine choices, but the actor’s continued grabbing of his crotch became, for me, more of a distraction than a character impulse. All in all the actors took the work and had a lot of fun on stage, and that’s always a joy to see, because the enthusiasm spills over into the audience.

One of the more memorable moments involved Jane and John Doe being confronted by their aunt; who is nothing more than a dress, shoes, hat and gloves that are moved/voiced by the ensemble. It was a great device as well as a metaphor for the perceived emptiness of the minds of the previous generation by the youth of the time whose mantra of “never trust anyone over 30” was uttered by the characters in the same breath of the play’s mantra “a movement that isn’t willing to risk death isn’t for shit!”. It’s small moments like that that add up to a solid piece.

Yippie!, while pushing the envelope on provoking thought as well as audience reaction, manages to, for the most part, deliver the goods on turning history on its ear and making what could have been “just another hippie play about revolution” into a really entertaining evening.

~~~

FRIGID New York Festival 2011 will run February 23-March 6 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1sr Ave and Ave A). Tickets ($10-$16) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444. All shows will run 60 minutes long or less.

Related Posts:

• FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: Yippie!
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Heidi Grumelot
• FRIGID Hangovers – I’ll Have Another Round! (FRIGID New York 2011)
• Scarlet Woman, Noirtastic Femmes (FRIGID New York 2011)
• The Mysterious Mystery of Mystery Street – A Little Too Much Mystery (FRIGID New York 2011)

There Is No Good News featuring David Mogolov (Photo by Daniel Van Ackere)

From the moment you hear David Mogolov utter the words: “When I was seven years old my parents bought me a bullwhip,” the ice is broken, the walls immediately come down, and you are brought into a world of a hilarious, yet serious, one-man show that is There Is No Good News. I found myself laughing – no, guffawing, loudly – many, many times as we were presented with a glorious diatribe on everything from maniacal boys gone wild to Katrina victims; meth addicts with a purpose to job interviewers that have odd ways of selecting their candidates. But it’s not just a comedic piece; it’s razor sharp in its wit and cynicism in a manner reminiscent of David Sedaris, Dennis Miller, Brian Unger, and Bill Mahr.

Mogolov enters the stage with a script, coffee, and water. He sits at a small table and chair, and I half expected him to begin a news broadcast, a la Saturday Night Live or The Daily Show. Instead, this idealist “Liberal NPR Subscriber” who felt that he could make a difference in the world despite his addiction to consumerism like any other American, weaves a tapestry of how he ended up where he is now: a new father who is questioning everything he ever thought and did because now what he’s doing really does make a difference.

The only issues I had with the show were that at times Mogolov talks so quickly that I couldn’t understand him – and I was sitting in the front row. I actually have to look to director Steve Kleinedler for this (although he’s done an overall fine job with the show) because I wondered if he used said bullwhip on Mogolov to talk as quickly as possible.

For the most part I was fully engrossed with the production and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m so glad I got to see this show; it was a ray of light in a dark tunnel. But, owing to the title and nature of the piece, one of the things that makes it so enjoyable is that the ray of light is actually an oncoming train – with Mogolov as the conductor.

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THIS SHOW HAS NOW CLOSED

FRIGID New York Festival 2011 will run February 23-March 6 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Ave and Ave A). Tickets ($10-$16) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444. All shows will run 60 minutes long or less.

Related Posts:

• FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: There Is No Good News
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Heidi Grumelot
• FRIGID Hangovers – I’ll Have Another Round! (FRIGID New York 2011)
• The Shorebound Swim With A One Click Kick – It’s A Tough Swim, But Worth It (FRIGID New York 2011)
• Goodnight Lovin’ Trail – What We’ll Leave Behind When We Go (FRIGID New York 2011)

So, what exactly is a FRIGID Hangover?  Well, if you’re me, it’s the pounding headache you woke up with this morning after celebrating at the FRIGID Closing Ceremonies last night.

But if you’re one of the lucky ones a FRIGID Hangover means that – by popular demand – yours was picked as one of the shows to have an encore presentation.  We’re thrilled that these wonderful performers get another chance to show off their stuff:

• Fate, Fury and Musical Theatre: A Kind of Cabaret
• Goodnight Lovin’ Trail
• Mendacity
• Paradise Lost
• Saving Tania’s Privates
• The Oregon Trail: Quest for the West!
• We Might Be Experimenting On You
• Wonder Woman: A How-to Guide for Little Jewish Girls

CONGRATULATIONS to all the shows!

FRIGID Hangovers will run March 7-13 at The Kraine & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery).

Tickets ($18/$15 students & seniors) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.

For more details about the shows, keep reading  -

MARCH 7-13 at THE KRAINE and THE RED ROOM

I could say SO MUCH about We Might Be Experimenting On You – but I’ve been sworn to secrecy. Seriously.

Click here for full review . . .

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“More than 350 years ago John Milton created the work Paradise Lost to investigate this timeless question in a timeless way. Paul Van Dyck now brings this gem to us infusing this classic with modern artistic techniques as well as with time-honored ones.”

Click here for full review . . .

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“If you only have a chance to see one show at the FRIGID this year, make Saving Tania’s Privates the one – you won’t regret it.”

Click here for full review . . .

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“Walk into Fate, Fury and Musical Theatre: A Kind of Cabaret expecting to be drunk on talent and damn – you’ll get your elixir and more. Much more. Written and performed by front-woman Liz Wasser, Fate, Fury is Fabulous, Fun and Fantastic.”

Click  here for full review . . .

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“…though experience with the game may help you enjoy the many inside jokes regarding the original game mechanics, this play succeeds in ways the game couldn’t….”

Click here for full review . . .

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Goodnight Lovin’ Trail

“A perfect gem found along a dusty trail; Goodnight Lovin’ Trail will leave you remembering the things you’ve lost along that road that stretches out behind you.”

Click here for full review . . .

Related Posts:

• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Heidi Grumelot
• We Might Be Experimenting On You – Get Ready (FRIGID New York 2011)
• FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: The Oregon Trail: Quest For The West!
• FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: We Might Be Experimenting On You
• Yippie! – Revolution On Demand (FRIGID New York 2011)

Year of the Slut featuring Jen Lieberman (Photo by Lindsay Goldman)

Jennifer Lieberman’s one-woman show, Year of the Slut, is an odyssey through the life of a young Canadian getting her feet wet in the bright lights and big city of New York. The main things on her mind besides getting her acting career in high gear is to successfully 1) lose her virginity 2) survive the land mines of available yet dysfunctional bachelors who she finds herself involved with and 3) meet Mr. Right while opening up her horizons to channeling her sexuality through her creativity.

Playing the role of nearly ten different parts as she narrates her tale, the hour is interspersed with moments where she quotes poetry she has written throughout her life. As a whole, the show did not really work for me as much as I’d hoped it would; this started from the very top of the play when one of these poems is read aloud in complete darkness. Later, when the lighting came down to a spotlight on the actress and she quoted her writing again, it worked so much better. That said, I was sometimes thrown by the poetry, and felt it was too much at times.

Lieberman exhibits a lot of talent, but only certain characters seemed to really come to life (particularly when she plays her mother) and only certain moments seemed to really have much depth (such as her best friend who is hospital-bound back in her hometown and their relationship). I find it interesting that these moments are the ones that have the most at stake, despite the turbulent relationship with a flake Brit ex-boyfriend (taker of said virginity) or her gay cousin, who seems more of a cliché that could have gone deeper. I never really got much of a picture of these people.

Solo Performer shows are tremendously difficult to pull off, and I applaud Lieberman for sharing her story with us. Jeff Murray’s staging is more often than not, fluid. I just feel that the piece slightly overstays its welcome and at times was more of someone telling a very, very long story instead of a theatrical event; and one which didn’t quite allow me to see all the characters as vividly as I would have liked.

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FRIGID New York Festival 2011 will run February 23-March 6 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1sr Ave and Ave A). Tickets ($10-$16) may be purchased online atwww.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444. All shows will run 60 minutes long or less.

Related Posts:

• FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: Year Of The Slut
• Dandy Darkly’s Trigger Happy!: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• The BYU/Berkeley Plot: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Acute…Girl: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Eighth Grade: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

Candy Simmons in Scarlet Woman

Simple: if you love a good murder mystery and film noir you will enjoy Scarlet Woman. Matthew Well’s play has more twists and turns than a twizzler, and actresses Candy Simmons and Megan Hill love chewing on that licorice!

Carmine (one of the characters played by Candy Simmons), is a woman who can’t get a recent fire out of her mind, except she can’t really remember the details! Off she goes to find out who killed her father. Her clue? One of his former lovers who sends her off on a wild noir chase to another lover… and that lover to another… and another… you get it. Megan Hill does a great job at physically transforming into the different smokey ladies and even a couple of  dandies.

The play contains everything you would expect in a film noir movie: stylish costumes, cigarette smoke, campy dialogue, crazy plots, and the wrongly accused. Director Rob O’Neill has a wonderful grasp for comedy and shadows (great use of a white screen to project silhouettes  and bring other characters to life). The production succesfully captures a bleak tone within all the laughter and a lot of it has to do with Candy Simmons’ genuine portrayal of a perplexed woman in desperate need of answers.

The film noir style is captivating and the spoofing of it makes for a raving good time. The actors fully enjoy responding to the elements of the genre happening around them (was that an organ serving as a soundscape to my dramatic moment? oh it’s the church across the street). However, the play could use less questions and some trimming, some elements and jokes are repeated just one too many times (Carmine’s stylistic response to the word “fire” comes to mind); one less twist would keep us interested all the way through the end. For the most part playwright Matthew Wells is successful at keeping the audience guessing.

Very impressive in a festival setting is the lighting design by Philip W. Sandström, a very important element if you are trying to recreate film noir on stage. Kudos should go as well to costume consultants Emily Bradley & Sharon Nowlan.

If you aren’t a fan of film noir this Scarlet Woman still stands on its own as a funny stylized comedy. If you are completely oblivious to the genre, wouldn’t it be funny to learn a film style through the stage? Funny being the operative word.

~~~

FRIGID New York Festival 2011  runs February 23-March 6 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1sr Ave and Ave A). Tickets ($10-$16) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444. All shows will run 60 minutes long or less.

Related Posts:

• FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: Scarlet Woman
• All is Fine in Sunny Florida: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Lil’ Women: a rap musical: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Punk Grandpa: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• A Broad Abroad!: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

The Shorebound Swim with a One Click Kick

Have you ever had one of those dreams? Where you’re having one crazy twist after another, and you can’t wait to see what will happen next… and then you wake up confused not sure what it meant and it even might fade away soon after waking, but it leaves these potentialities of ideas buzzing in your head the rest of the day?  The Shorebound Swim With a One Click Kick: A Tragedy of Reason (Written by Markus Paminger & Directed by Alison Carroll) is an awful lot like that.  Very enticing, but left intentionally vague, I think, so that you can believe whichever ending you’d hope for.

Or maybe it’s just to leave the audience dazed and confused.  The work of director Alison Carroll, plawright Markus Paminger, and sound designer Renee Levine have worked well together to create an atmosphere that is full of many layers of context and texture that allow the actors to swim upstream all the more furiously.

The Shorebound Swim With a One Click Kick: A Tragedy of Reason has got a lot of things going for it, or against it, depending on your taste.  There is ritual electroshock, a fair amount of nudity, craziness (or genius depending on how you see it), possible past life regression, esoteric concepts and inter-generational relationships aplenty, and a good heaping helping of Men Are From Mars /Women Are From Venus.  Oh yeah, and everyone has their own doomed tragedy to fight against.

The fight against what seems like the inevitable is the most enjoyable part to watch.  The characters are made up of the underage boytoy/assistant  Victor (played by Nicko Libowitz) whose impulse to make his first love work -  no matter the costs.  He’s joined by the genius Nicholas (played by William Kozy, who gets naked for this by the way) starved for true significance who continues sliding down a slope of greater and greater lengths of eccentricity.  Added into the mix is the former lover Natalie (played by Emma Worth) who was wronged years ago who now lives a daily life of acceptable desperation.  Finally there is the central piece of the puzzle – the woman Edith (played by Robin Madel) who has cared for the professor for many years fueled by a desperate need to finally be loved by him.  She is is probably the wisest one of the bunch – but also the most insane.

There are a lot of good ideas buried in the madness inherent in this play, but as Emily Dickinson said,

So, if you have time and the stamina to handle all the lunacy, catch Shorebound Swim’s last performance this Sunday (12:30) and let your eye discern the divine.

~~~

FRIGID New York Festival 2011 will run February 23-March 6 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1sr Ave and Ave A). Tickets ($10-$16) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444. All shows will run 60 minutes long or less.

Related Posts:

• FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: The Shorebound Swim With A One Click Kick: A Tragedy Of Reason
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Heidi Grumelot
• There is No Good News – Laughing Until Your Sides Hurt (FRIGID New York 2011)
• FRIGID Hangovers – I’ll Have Another Round! (FRIGID New York 2011)
• Goodnight Lovin’ Trail – What We’ll Leave Behind When We Go (FRIGID New York 2011)

Goodnight Lovin' Trail Featuring Nic Mevoli & Olivia Rorick (Photo by David Anthony)

Have you ever stupidly misplaced something that was really important to you?  Just walked away from it, not realizing it was out of your hands until it was too late?  Remember that panic that gripped you to the very core?  How your blood turned to ice in your veins and your heart pounded so loud you could hear it in your ears?  In John Patrick Bray’s One-Act, Goodnight Lovin’ Trail, this is the moment we meet a traveler who’s just realized he’s left behind the most important thing he owns – Della: his guitar.  Without Della this stranger feels like  ”a wave of the ocean hung out to dry.”

It’s the middle of the night and Lee (Olivia Rorick) is the lone waitress working the diner when the stranger (Nic Mevoli) rushes in, desperate to find the guitar he somehow lost track of during the night.  He’s retracing his steps in the hopes that someone will recognize his rare guitar.  Lee hasn’t seen it, she tells him, but she has an idea where someone who came across it may want to unload it, and she give him the address of a pawn shop which is, of course, closed at this time of night. It becomes obvious soon enough that Lee knows exactly where Della is.  But she’s not telling.

With nothing much else  to do the two settle down and share stories of their lives – the kinds of stories that tip out so easily when two people are alone together in a diner in the middle of the night.  Late at night, we’ll tell strangers secrets.  The more the two talk the more the stranger is sure his guitar will turn up; “Anything that is lost usually wants to be found. She‟ll find her way back to me.”

What unfolds between these two people is a perfect moment suspended in time, an act that can only exist when anonymity fuels a relationship and all guards come down.  Lee and the stranger may never cross paths again, but their stories get written on top of one another’s for one night, and maybe that’s more important.

Goodnight Lovin’ Trail is about as perfect a one act play as I’ve ever come across; effectively comprised of all the parts that make a play work: characters who are brimming with contradiction, both hopeful and hopeless  and  a story line that  drops in on the surface of these lives like a perfect teardrop.  The arc is heartbreaking and real and, under the direction of Akia who uses a restrained hand, the actors play their parts straight-on neither tipping too far into needless brio or hopeless subjugation but just walking the line of solid truth.  This play will leave you with tears glistening in your eyes – no small feat for a show that clocks in at just over half an hour.

A perfect gem found along a dusty trail; Goodnight Lovin’ Trail will leave you remembering the things you’ve lost along that road that stretches out behind you.

~~~

FRIGID New York Festival 2011 will run February 23-March 6 at The Kraine Theater & The Red Room (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1sr Ave and Ave A). Tickets ($10-$16) may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444. All shows will run 60 minutes long or less.

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• FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: Goodnight Lovin’ Trail
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• FRIGID Hangovers – I’ll Have Another Round! (FRIGID New York 2011)
• The Shorebound Swim With A One Click Kick – It’s A Tough Swim, But Worth It (FRIGID New York 2011)