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.

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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.

Fear Factor: Canine Edition

Hangover: Mon 3/5 @ 8:30pm

The peculiar and misguided true adventures of a man and his very trusting, very forgiving, therapy dog. An award-winning tale of true love and overcoming obstacles, while staring fear in the face.

What we said: In Fear Factor: Canine Edition Grady tells the hilarious and heartbreaking story of his life with Abby, and Abby’s last days before she had to be put down. Grady’s stories are beautiful and impassioned, but told simply, with ease and humor.

Little Lady

Hangover: Tue 3/6 @ 7pm

A physical theatre solo show that peers into the fantastical life of Little Lady.

What we said: Little Lady, is happy to hold you in a spell of fascination as she pricks away at your comfort levels, never allowing you to lapse into a passive, carefree enjoyment of her performance.

LOL: The End

Hangover: Tue 3/6 @ 8:30pm

Come to a place where tragedy meets comedy meets stupid. A funny and physical look at natural and human-made disasters through the eyes of three clowns.

What we said: By the end of the show the audience is shown a postapocalyptic world where humankind is reduced back to their primal state by a believable set of circumstances.

The Terrible Manpain of Umberto MacDougal

Hangover: Thu 3/8 @ 7pm

Umberto MacDougal allows you to look through the window of his tragic manpain. With a beard full of tears and a melancholy guitarist playing a sorrowful tune, Umberto reveals the pain that men feel.

What we said: Instead of Umberto simply being a character who is parading his troubles, he has trouble with that parade and it becomes overwhelming to him at times, adding a greater dimension to the work as a whole.

Daughters of Lot

Hangover: Thu 3/8 @ 10pm

The evening’s entertainment is a sexy and silly retelling of an ancient story, until the performers do a trick that requires more than flexibility. Arousing and agitating in Biblical proportions, this is not your daddy’s burlesque club.

What we said: Welcome to Daughters of Lot where the Bible Belt meets the Garter Belt, where Feminism has as many meanings as Eskimos have words for snow and where women run the gamut from young and innocent to young and jaded.

The Rope in Your Hands

Hangover: Fri 3/9 @ 7pm

A solo show based on the true stories of thirteen different survivors of Hurricane Katrina

What we said: O’Loughlin’s interviews span race, class, and age to bring a fully realized account of the storm and its aftermath. Morphing gracefully into each character, with specific physicality and well-practiced speech patterns, O’Loughlin is a joy to watch.

Missed Connections

Hangover: Fri 3/9 @ 8:30pm

Drawing from the sometimes touching, oftentimes torrid (and almost always grammatically incorrect) postings on craigslist’s most notorious section, Missed Connections is a collection of the best and brightest.

What we said: Whether you’re M4W, W4M, M4M, or W4W, there is something for everyone in Missed Connections: An Exploration Into The Online Postings Of Desperate Romantics.

Coosje

Hangover: Sat 3/10 @ 7pm

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.

What we said: Coosje allows for intimate interaction with the elements of the creative process. This play highlights the notion that every piece of art is the completion of a journey for an object (real or imagined, sentient or inanimate) to get to the place where its inclusion in the art creates the context and meaning of the art itself.

Rabbit Island

Hangover: Sat 3/10 @ 8:30pm

Alex zigzags irregular relationships with an erratic therapist, his on-again off-again girlfriend, an untamed burlesque dancer and The Cleanse. But what more will it take for this verbose Canadian mime to become a Real New Yorker?

What we said: The cast of four is powerful; each embodying complex characters and finding the dualities so that the audience is able to both identify with them as well as inwardly breathe a sigh of relief at how different we are (one would hope).

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“How long does it take to become a true New Yorker?”

Obviously playwright Chris Harcum goes right for the tough questions in his play, Rabbit Island, currently playing in the Kraine Theatre as part of the 2012 Frigid Festival.

When we first meet Alex (Ethan Angelica) he is nervously pinging around his therapist’s office, a desperate Canadian transplant who simply wants to  feel like he belongs in this town.  “Some say it’s when you have your first private moment in public …” he goes on to explain, but I would offer that simply unleashing this tirade of neuroses to a therapist qualifies him for at least one click on his “True New Yorker” Punch-card.

After all, isn’t every New Yorker seeing a therapist?  Well, apparently not. “Therapy is for suckers!” declares Karen (Carrie Heitman), Alex’s straight-forward, fast-talking, fast-moving girlfriend.  Karen does not have a therapist, she has a Life Coach – some one to help her zero in on her mission and attain her objectives. “You need to set goals or else you drift and die!” she rails at Alex who is kind, “nice” but a bit too laid-back for his own good.  Or make that HER own good.  She sets out to bend Alex – an actor and mime by trade – to her will, first by insisting that after 9 weeks of dating he should move in with her, then insisting they do the Master Cleanse together (If we can survive all our stuff coming out together, we can survive anything!).  Alex doesn’t so much agree as get carried along on Karen’s tidal wave of Goals and Lemon Juice.

At an audition he meets Barbara (Mel House) who’s another aggressive woman, but seems to focus less of her aggression on him in particular, which is a subtle but welcome change.  A strange but intense relationship with Barbara ensues, but not without moments where he still explores his feelings for Karen.

Joel Nagle (as Dr. Bob) puts Ethan Angelica (as Alex) in a headlock. Photo by Cathryn Lynne

In between juggling the women in his life Alex continues to visit his somewhat unconventional therapist, Dr. Bob (Joel Nagle) whose methods of treatment include taking Alex to a bar (to instruct him on how to pick up women), and assigning public defecation as homework (see “first private moment in public” for context).  Throughout it all Alex continues to struggle with feeling out of place, misunderstood, left out, undervalued, and unappreciated.  Ultimately, however, Alex finds himself on Rabbit Island – literally and then figuratively – and while some things still continue to confound him he begins to realize that there’s a place for him in this life he’s creating for himself.

Rabbit Island is first and foremost a comedy … there is no way to mistake this as you file into the theatre and are greeted by the pre-show performers (Phineas T. Haricot and Mariko Iwasa) who have either hailed you warmly as they directed you to your seat, or (if you’re a little late) have already taken the stage and are performing a physical comedy routine that is almost too beautifully executed to be called clowning, but is too funny to be anything else.

The duo later become an inside-out, more colorful version of Kuroko; rather than attempting to blend in, they purposely stand out.  They do all the heavy lifting in terms of re-configuring the set, pinch-hitting as extras when needed, and adding a bit of up-stage comedy by turning themselves into props such as framed certificates and lamps.  It’s both a light touch as well as a constant reminder that this is all in good fun.

That’s an important reminder, for there are moments when Rabbit Island tackles weighty issues.  Director Aimee Todoroff understands this; by continually framing each scene with the purest of human emotions she allows elements of humor to reach a level of absurdity that never topples over into senseless  foolishness.

The cast of four is powerful; each embodying complex characters and finding the dualities so that the audience is able to both identify with them as well as inwardly breathe a sigh of relief at how different we are (one would hope).  Ethan Angelica’s Alex is hapless and malleable  but his core of inner strength is never far from reach.  When Angelica finally shares a display of his talents as a mime with the audience there’s no doubt that he has a gift for this unspoken medium and it is one of the most touching moments of the play.

From left: Joel Nagle (as Dr. Bob), Carrie Heitman (as Karen), Mel House (as Barbara), and Ethan Angelica (as Alex). Photo by Cathryn Lynne

Carrie Heitman’s Karen is a beautiful swirl of strong and weak, needy and independent, dominant and submissive.  That Heitman can play it all so convincingly is astonishing – she truly reaches a place of raw emotion and lays bare the soul of this character.  Rather than playing Karen as an overbearing harping shrew who then deflates when challenged she finds the inner core of her and elevates Karen to a much richer, complex individual.

Similarly, Mel House gives us a Barbara who is more than simply an in-your-face performance artist slash burlesque dancer slash impetuous crazy girlfriend.  House gives Barbara the depth of a woman who has lived in a city that invites softer spirits to be squashed, so she has toughed up on the outside to protect what she has to offer on the inside.

And finally Dr. Bob – unethical, yes.  Narcissistic?  Absolutely.  Duplicitous?  Without a doubt.  But in the hands of Joel Nagle he’s got that bad-boy charm that came with the ’70s version of Warren Beatty.  Of course you know he’s bad news, but for a moment, don’t you want to try and be his headline?  Nagle plays Bob without a scrap of self-doubt or apology.  If you can find some room to squeeze in next to all that self-love you might get the chance to love him too.  Just be ready to debase yourself.

Rabbit Island - the title – alludes to Coney Island.  Come to the Kraine during this Frigid Festival and spend an hour seeing a play that has as many twists, spins, highs and lows as any ride you’ll find at the amusement park.  And as you’re deposited safely on the ground later, you’ll understand why, in this town, no man is an island.

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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.

Related Posts:

• Rabbit Island: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Starting Tonight! Frigid Hangovers Begin At The Kraine Theater
• LOL:The End – Beginning And End (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Death: It Happens – Still Daddy’s Girl (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Love In The Time Of Chlamydia: Love And War Stories (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)

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

Rabbit Island

Company: Elephant Run District
Directed by: Aimee Todoroff

Alex zigzags irregular relationships with an erratic therapist, his off-again/on-again girlfriend, and an untamed burlesque dancer. What more will it take to become a Real New Yorker? “When life sucks as bad as your mental health, go to Rabbit Island.”

Show Times:

• Thur 2/23 @ 9:00pm
• Sat 2/25 @ 8:30pm
• Mon 2/27 @ 7:30pm
• Thur 3/01 @ 6:00pm
• Sat 3/03 @ 5:30pm

Answers by Chris Harcum

(Playwright)

Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Chris: Oh, I bet you say that to all the Frigid Festival shows.

My friend, and brilliant costume designer, Kathryn Rohe, suggested I develop a character named Alex from my solo show Gotham Standards for a full play. He’s a Canadian in New York City and always slightly out of place, which is my default setting. I was looking at a Not For Tourists Guide and saw that Coney Island came from the Dutch “Konijn Eiland.” In English, that’s “Rabbit Island.” I also found out that Coney Island isn’t actually an island, it’s a peninsula. Something about that is fitting for the characters in this play who are freakshows on the inside and not all they seem on the outside. Plus, come on, rabbits. (You should ask me sometime how we came up with the company’s name, Elephant Run District. It’s a far more entertaining answer.)

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?
Chris: After Diánna Martin, I’m not sure. Probably Karen Tortora-Lee, Antonio Minino, Michelle Augello-Page, and some dude named Paddy. I consistently ask thousands of people to come to my shows but I don’t think these 5 have seen any of my pieces. That’s a damn shame and I hope we can fix that with this one.

Antonio Minino’s QuestionWhat is the biggest sacrifice you’ve ever made for your Art and was it worth it?
Chris: There’s an alternate reality in which I’m a professor of something respectable somewhere with a little league team litter of my progeny living in various parts of my 16,000 square foot McMansion.

Geoffrey Paddy Johnson’s Question
Was there any unexpected discovery made during the development of this production and, if so, can you share it?
Chris: We had over 1700 actors submit for 5 roles. The role Carrie Heitman is playing was sought by over 650 actresses. The one Melissa House is doing, over 450. One of the next projects for Elephant Run District will be an evening of monologues I write for women. We had a difficult time deciding who to cast in this show and I will write pieces for some of the strong actresses we had read for Rabbit Island.

Michelle Augello-Page’s Question
What do you hope the audience receives from the experience of seeing this show?
Chris: I hope you get a more-than-sufficient quota of laughs, gasps, shocks, and that good kind of devastation. And maybe the world will seem a little less crazy and more bearable.

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?
Chris: In the words of Michael Jackson, “I’m a lover, not a fighter.” So whatever will make me lose to Bricken Sparacino’s show, Death, It Happens: A Girl’s Guide to Death. She directed me in my solo show American Badass the last time I was in the Frigid Festival. She’s been a big sister to me for nearly 7 years.

Well, Chris – first of all that has to be the sweetest answer I’ve ever heard.  SECONDLY, we haven’t run their Q&A yet but I have inside info (ahem — I AM the editor) so I happen to know that Death, It Happens: A Girl’s Guide to Death threw ROCK.  For you to lose to Bricken, you’ll have to throw scissors.  So!  Predictably, you LOSE there. You were also challenged by Love In The Time Of Chlamydia who threw a rock at everyone.  That’s 2 for 2, Chris.   Don’t worry, we still love you so!

Thanks Rabbit Island for participating in The Happiest Medium’s FRIGID New York Festival 2012 Q&A. And for playing our game! You’re officially SCISSORS 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 Rabbit Island!

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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.

Related Posts:

• Rabbit Island: No Man Is A Rabbit (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• LOL: The End. : 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Aerial Allusions: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Musical Pawns: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• The Traveling Musicians: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)