Welcome back to another installment of FRIGID New York Festival 2011 Q&A! We’ll be running these throughout February, so be sure to check back to read all about the great shows that will be taking part in the festival. Also – don’t miss the winner-take-all game of Rock Paper Scissors! Today’s Q&A is with Jayson McDonald, Writer/Performer of Boat Load.

Gary is a brilliant actor who needs a thousand dollars to participate in a high-profile performer showcase. Also, his cat needs a thousand dollar operation, but that’s too much money to spend on a cat.

answers by Jayson McDonald, Writer/Performer

Antonio Asks: What makes FRIGID such a warm and welcoming experience for your production?

FRIGID is run by a very lovely group of people who go out of their way to make sure you have a good time, and that your show runs as smoothly as possible. It’s a smaller festival, so every performing company has a chance to shine. And The East Village is my favourite part of the island, it has a great neighbourhood feel. You get to feel connected to the community with FRIGID, like you’re contributing something valuable.

Diánna Asks: What about this play do you feel most drawn to personally, and because of that, what message do you hope the audience walks away with?

I wrote this piece at a time when I was feeling very uninspired. Living and working for a very long time in a relatively small town, feeling insulated and unappreciated, I started to withdraw from my peers. I turned into a complaining bitch, jaded, boring and absolutely no fun to be around. Then one day I realized the reason I wasn’t getting anything out of my life is because I wasn’t putting much into it. It hit my like a fist to the face (which hurt my nose more than my pride, actually). So I started writing Boat Load to make better sense of what was happening and to describe the rewards of the inevitable introspection that I’d backed myself into. In the end, the show is about taking responsibility for your own happiness, appreciating what you have, waking up to the beauty that’s already in your life. I’m hoping the audience will see some of their own blocks and outdated programming in the protagonist, and be buoyed by the fact that at some point at least, everybody is their own worst enemy.

Karen Asks: That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Gary, my protagonist, describes his creative muse as a cruise ship piloted by a drunken captain who doesn’t know where he’s going. The boat is full of Gary’s friends, family, and contemporaries. The structure of the piece is a bit meta-fiction – the show turns in on itself, revealing itself to itself now and again – and the title is meant to illustrate the boatload of characters, themes and metaphors that Gary uses to tell his tale.

Stephen Asks: You must have a favorite part of your show. What makes it your favorite?

That’s a very difficult question! I enjoy performing every bit of this show – it never gets tired for me. The characters are all so much fun to play, all based on archetypes or amalgamations of people in my own life…but after having played them so many times, they have developed lives of their own. Sometimes they surprise me by doing something or saying something new in performance (that sounds crazy, doesn’t it). I think my favourite part of this show is its continuing development.

Lina Asks: How much of your show was inspired by true events?
Ehrm…this and that. There are tiny little bits of me throughout, but the show itself is total fiction.

THM Bonus Question: If you could play a virtual game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with another FRIGID Show which show would you take on? And what would you throw?

How dare you, The Happiest Medium. How dare you pit us all against one another in a deadly contest of wills, where the victor is crowned with eternal glory and the losers are unceremoniously dumped into a watery grave. I’m gonna be a gentleman and throw Tired Wave Stop a life preserver.

Thanks Boat Load - for participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2011 Q&A. And for damning me in public about pitting you all against each other in this Tournament of (mwah-hah-hah) Death. You’re absolutely right. I’ve been treating it like my own personal Thunderdome. Oh, wow. I see now. I see so very clearly now. I hang my head in shame. Still, officially I have to call the ref in on this one. I’ll get back to you.

This is how it works in the crazy world of the VIRTUAL ROCK PAPER SCISSORS TOURNAMENT!

Meanwhile, for the rest of you – don’t forget to check out Boat Load!

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:

• 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)
• Boat Load – Come On Board (FRIGID New York 2011)
• The Shorebound Swim With A One Click Kick – It’s A Tough Swim, But Worth It (FRIGID New York 2011)

Welcome back to another installment of FRIGID New York Festival 2011 Q&A!  We’ll be running these throughout February, so be sure to check back to read all about the great shows that will be taking part in the festival.  Also – don’t miss the winner-take-all game of Rock Paper Scissors! Today’s Q&A is withBen Thompson, Playwright of F*#king Girls.

A hilarious and misguided romantic fantasy about a young man “sleeping” his way through his ex-girlfriends en route to find true love, with a couple of major speed bumps along the way.

F*#king Girls featuring Carolyn Gilliam & Ben Thompson (Photo by Andrew Bisdale)

answers by Ben Thompson, Playwright

Antonio Asks: What makes FRIGID such a warm and welcoming experience for your production?
The Frigid Festival offers me my very first opportunity to have a full production of my play mounted, and for that Frigid will always hold a very warm place in my heart. I’m very excited and eager to be a part of this festival and be given such an opportunity to share my artistic voice, especially here in New York City.

Diánna Asks: What about this play do you feel most drawn to personally, and because of that, what message do you hope the audience walks away with?
This play is a lot of fun and I actually found myself laughing out loud while writing it. I suppose what drew me to write it is just how confusing and absurd love can be… and how seriously we tend to take it. I can be particularly guilty of taking myself too seriously and that’s usually when I get myself into the biggest messes. It’s not until I step back and look at my actions that I realize how much of a total fool I’ve been. I’ve made some of the biggest mistakes in my life when I’ve tried to fight or deny an answer that is right in front of me, staring me in the face. That being said, I’d like audiences to walk away from this play knowing that when you’re happy, be happy and don’t worry about how happy you could be.

Karen Asks: That’s some title.  How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
The title is most often your first encounter with a play and I wanted mine to make a statement. We’re not pulling our punches in this production.

Stephen Asks: You must have a favorite part of your show.  What makes it your favorite?
I’d say Soriah (one of James’ girlfriends). I’ve never dated anyone with an entourage of hippie midgets. But I think I’ve come dangerously close.

Lina Asks: How much of your show was inspired by true events?
I’d say about 20 percent. All of the women are based on real people, although in most cases their personalities have been greatly enlarged. I took the essence of girls I’ve known and ran from there.

THM Bonus Question: If you could play a virtual game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with another FRIGID Show which show would you take on?  And what would you throw?

I’d take on I Love you (We’re F*#cked) for obvious reasons. I’d throw the scissors. I always throw scissors.

Thanks F*#king Girls - for participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2011 Q&A.  And for playing our game!  You’re officially SCISSORS. Here’s how you’ve stacked up so far:

Challenger Year of the Slut threw SCISSORS = TIE
Challenger Yippie threw PAPER = YOU CUT THEM TO RIBBONS!!! WINNER!!
You Challenge I Love You (We’re F*#cked) and they DIDN’T THROW! = YOU WIN AGAIN!!!

You emerge the champion – two (and a half) out of three times!!!! DING DING DING!

This is how it works in the crazy world of the VIRTUAL ROCK PAPER SCISSORS TOURNAMENT!

Meanwhile, for the rest of you – don’t forget to check out F*#king Girls!

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:

• F*#king Girls – Isn’t It Bromantic? (FRIGID New York 2011)
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Heidi Grumelot
• Yippie! – Revolution On Demand (FRIGID New York 2011)
• FRIGID Hangovers – I’ll Have Another Round! (FRIGID New York 2011)
• Scarlet Woman, Noirtastic Femmes (FRIGID New York 2011)

Welcome back to another installment of FRIGID New York Festival 2011 Q&A!  We’ll be running these throughout February until the Festival starts, so be sure to check back to read all about the great shows that will be taking part in the festival.  Also – don’t miss the winner-take-all game of Rock Paper Scissors! Today’s Q&A is with George Ridgeway who is the Actor-Writer of Inside Straight.

Johnny Ace is a street-smart surveillance expert. He plays poker with our lives and tells us like it is. A “New Age Noir” detective, he tracks a life-and-death story about the invasion of privacy in our high-tech world.

George Ridgeway as Johnny Ace, the narrator of Inside Straight (Photo by Ivan Farkas)

answers by George Ridgeway, Actor-Writer

Antonio Asks: What makes FRIGID such a warm and welcoming experience for your production?

Frigid Fest has a great spirit – open, innovative and enthusiastic.

Diánna Asks: What about this play do you feel most drawn to personally, and because of that, what message do you hope the audience walks away with?

I hope people get some good laughs out of this show, but afterwards they realize that we all deserve our privacy in this high-tech world.

Karen Asks: That’s some title.  How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?

An Inside Straight is a Poker hand that may not be as good as it seems.

Stephen Asks: You must have a favorite part of your show.  What makes it your favorite?

My favorite part is when the Narrator (Johnny Ace) challenges the audience to find the real truth in their lives. With high-tech gadgets all around us, it’s something we all need to do.

Lina Asks: How much of your show was inspired by true events?

My show has its roots in reality, and I continually update it according to current events.

THM Bonus Question: If you could play a virtual game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with another FRIGID Show which show would you take on?  And what would you throw?

You got me. I haven’t seen the other shows so I just don’t know where to start.

Thanks Inside Straight – for participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2011 Q&A.  And for playing our game!  You’re officially showing us your POKER FACE. Clever! Of course, it keeps you from winning this round. Still – you’re keeping with your theme, which is admirable. This is how it works in the crazy world of the VIRTUAL ROCK PAPER SCISSORS TOURNAMENT!

Meanwhile, for the rest of you – don’t forget to check out Inside Straight!

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:

• Inside Straight: The Twisty Path Of Personal Investigation In A Modern Age (FRIGID New York 2011)
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Heidi Grumelot
• FUNNY A Trunk Show – Filled With Heart (FRIGID New York 2011)
• A Kind Kind Man, So He Says (FRIGID New York 2011)
• FRIGID New York Festival 2011 – Five Questions For: Boat Load