The Happiest Medium » No. 11 Productions

Coosje: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

The Happiest Medium — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:05:26 +0000

Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?

Coosje

Company: No.11 Productions

Coosje is the story of two artists, husband and wife, finding their playful aesthetic together and attempting to escape death. Meanwhile, the singing Pear embarks on a heroic quest to achieve immortality. Their journeys intertwine in this fantastical love story.

Show Times:

Thu 2/23 @ 7:30pm
Sat 2/25 @ 10:00pm
Wed 2/29 @ 9:00pm
Fri 3/2 @ 6:00pm
Sat 3/3 @ 7:00pm

Answers by Ryan Emmons

(Co-Artistic Director of No.11 Productions)

Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Ryan: Coosje refers to the Dutch artist, art historian and critic, Coosje van Bruggen. The play is inspired by (and a celebration of) the relationship she had with her husband/collaborator Claes Oldenburg. She influences everything in Claes’ life…so it seemed appropriate that the title be influenced by her.

Diánna Martin’s Question
If you were going to invite five people, anyone from past and present, to see your FRIGID show – who would you invite and why?
Ryan: Claes Oldenburg because this is an artistic representation of his partnership with Coosje and I would love to hear his thoughts and develop the piece further based on his own musings of his work with Coosje. In developing the show we only had research, but no first hand interaction with Oldenburg.
Allan Kaprow because he developed some of the first “happenings” and I would love to see what he thought about the happening we have created to start the show and then make a new one with him.
All FRIGID New York participants because they are some of the best artists I meet every year and the community element of FRIGID New York is what makes it so special.
My family, because I love them and like to show them what I’m doing with my life.
Coosje van Bruggen because her work inspired this and I have a feeling her criticism would have me look at the play in a whole new way.

Antonio Minino’s Question
What is the biggest sacrifice you’ve ever made for your Art and was it worth it?
Ryan: I have been lucky enough (or perhaps I’m young enough) not to have made any major sacrifices for my art. Everything I have done has been a step towards developing No.11 Productions and I have met the most amazing artists and friends along the way. I feel grateful and lucky that I have been able to pursue theatre as fully as I have and I hope to continue growing and learning.

Geoffrey Paddy Johnson’s Question
Was there any unexpected discovery made during the development of this production and, if so, can you share it?
Ryan: We thought a singing Pear was going to be a simple and funny character. We discovered that a singing Pear is a complex and layered element with much more bite than we imagined. I feel proud of the Pear because we pushed ourselves past what started as a gimmick and into juicy territory that interested all of us.

Michelle Augello-Page’s Question
What do you hope the audience receives from the experience of seeing this show?
Ryan: We are all in relationships with our friends, our families our co-workers. We all collaborate and share ourselves with other people. I hope this show inspires audiences to look at the relationships they have all around them and be grateful. I hope Coosje gives people the strength to live more wholeheartedly and to connect with people and the world around them in new ways.

Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH

THM Bonus Question – We’re serious this year!
In the THM virtual Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH which FRIGID Show do you take on? And what do you throw?

Ryan: We take on Missed Connections and throw PAPER!!!!

Ooof, Ryan, that’s gonna leave a mark! In your RPS challenge with Missed Connections they threw SCISSORS leaving them victorious over your Paper.

However in your second battle with Love in the Time of Chlamydia you’re up against Rock and YOU WIN! Congratulations!

A win and a loss, that puts you right back where you started … but in some people’s book that’s ahead of the game!

Thanks Coosje for participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2012 Q&A. And for playing our game! You’re officially PAPER in any and all challenges. You may win, you may not – who knows! This is how it works in the crazy world of the Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament of DEAAAAATH!

For the rest of you don’t forget to check out Coosje!

~~~

Coosje

Company: No. 11 Productions

Directed by: Ryan Emmons

Feb 23, 7:30PM

Feb 25, 10:00PM

Feb 29, 9:00PM

Mar 02, 6:00PM

Mar 03, 7:00PM

$15.00

UNDER St.Marks

~~~

The 2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL will run February 22-March 4 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 to all shows may be purchased online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.

Oregon Trails : The Quest For The West! But Which Quest Is Best? (FRIGID New York 2011)

Stephen Tortora-Lee — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 21:50:53 +0000

Way, way back before the dawn of the internet, in the days when Microsoft was DOS (not Windows) and PCs were called by their full name (Personal Computers) and learning institutions were oufitted with Apple IIe’s, there was a game that infiltrated homes and schools across America. A game that put you in the role of the leader of a group of interpid pioneers trudging across more than 2,000 miles from Independence, Missouri to the fabled land of Oregon in the year 1848 along the Oregon Trail. The game of Oregon Trail was one of the few educational games true to the claim of being “fun as well as educational” (at least in my school in the 1980′s), and has become extremely popular over the years. So popular that it has insprired a a great new musical by No.11 Productions for the Frigid Festival called Oregon Trail: The Quest For the West!

Personally, I really enjoyed playing the game as well as seeing the musical, but a question I was asked, adds an interesting texture to this discussion, “Do you have to have played the game before in order to enjoy the play?” It definitely helped that by being in the audience I got to relive the joy of playing Oregon Trail in more ways than one, but the play is entertaining and even moving at times in ways that take this now age-old story to whole new heights. Besides, if you wanted to try your hand at the original game it is available to play just like it was back in 1985 …

Thanks to the people at virtualapple.com for putting this up so we can play it via a virtual Apple IIe right in our browser. Try it out!

Anyway, hopefully you’ve had a chance to have either refreshed your memory of this piece of your childhood, or see what you were missing, and now I can get to the meat of my review.

Sitting down before the play I was asked if I wanted to name one of the characters (just like in the game!). As the play begins, the audience is prompted as to whether the leader of the party would be a banker, a carpenter, a lamplighter or a farmer (just like in the game!). Later on, if you sit in the first three rows you will get a chance to hunt for food (just like in the game!). All leading up to an audience clap -off to be the virtual arrow keys from days of yore.

In other words a whole lot of interactive fun.

Like the original game, many things are going on in the musical of Oregon Trails: The Quest For the West! Like in the game, the cast works hard to make the show educational as well as entertaining. And like the game, the format of the show strives to be as interactive as possible yet not to overwelm the the audience with too many choices. Finally, like the game, the musical endeavors to make the trip of the covered wagons along the Oregon Trail a human one with colorful characters (now with personality and enjoyable musical numbers instead of 8-bit color versus the original black and white).

There are many things going on in this new musical. It has a great set of production numbers (both ensemble as well as solos and duets), and I’d just love it if No.11 Productions came out with a cast album for this amazing soundtrack. It has interesting characters: a farmer/lamplighter/carpenter/banker named Jebediah (John Bambery) who is our expeditions leader, but with a tragic past that sometimes fuels his Darkness. His sister Hope (Haley Greenstein) is always confident that God will provide and therefore cheers on the crew. The character hilariously named for a finger-roll down the computer keyboard: Asdfjkl; (Brian Walters) is what you would expect – a bit afraid yet willing to pitch in or follow along, to get shot in the leg, whatever is needed to fill in whatever gaps might appear in the expedition. [Character 2] (Julie Congress)who is a draw from a hat became “Funnel Cake”. She is a rootin’ tootin’ cowgirl who thought she wanted to go to New York, but joined her crew to go down the Oregon Trail because it had more Danger. Which she craves continuously. [Character 1] (Roger Mulligan) who our audience dubbed “Dingo” is a farmer who lives in the moment and works hard, becomes a love interest and is always a strong, gentle soul looking forward to “manifest his destiny”.

Speaking of Manifest Destiny, this is a central pillar of the plot arcs of Oregon Trails: The Quest For the West! In the 1840s the phrase meant the idea that “Americans” would extend from one coast to the other in a societal sense. This was facilitated by government programs such as the Donation Land Act of 1850 (which gave government endorsement to the Organic Laws of Oregon which said the same thing on the state level in 1843) which gave settlers 320 acres per married couple or 160 acres per unmarried settler to anyone who made their way out there and then showed improvement to that land they had claimed. What is cleverly done in the play is to change the tense so that each character sings of their own personal quests so they “manifest my destiny” and use the experience of riding the trail as their own Hero’s journey transform themselves, instead of just the aspirations to succeed economically.

The story is simple and so are the rules, the choices make a difference but so does dumb luck (or as Hope would say, God’s Will). So, 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 – specifically by connecting us back to the spirit of adventure and progress that the original trail gave those pioneers crossing the country despite hardships and dangers. Ultimately Oregon Trails: The Quest For the West! teaches the lesson that if we persevere the experiences of our journey will help mold us into the people we want to be.

~~~

The Oregon Trail: Quest for the West!
Presented by No. 11 Productions New York, NY

The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street) $13

Wed 2/23 @ 7:30pm, Sat 2/26 @ 7pm, Mon 2/28 @ 6pm, Thu 3/3 @ 10:30pm, & Sun 3/6 @ 1pm

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.