by The Happiest Medium on February 16, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
The Traveling Musicians
Company: 3 Sticks
Music by Andrew Lynch
Inspired by the Grimm fairy tale, The Traveling Musicians chronicles the tumultuous career of the greatest animal rock band to ever break out of the cage and on the stage in this one of a kind theatrical rock show.
Show Times:
- Wed 2/22 @ 6pm
- Sat 2/25 @ 4pm
- Wed 2/29 @ 7:30pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 1pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 5:30pm
Answers by Andrew Lynch
(Composer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Andrew: Our show is inspired by the Grimm Brothers fairy tale The Musicians of Brementown, sometimes referred to as the Traveling Musicians. While the title is not terribly original, we hope our animal glam rock band interpretation is.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 15, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Scratch & Pitz Burlesque and Variety Hour
Company: Heroics in Hotpants
Directed by: Cyndi Freeman and Brad Lawrence
Cherry Pitz (Cyndi Freeman) and Scratch (Brad Lawrence) present a burlesque melodrama & variety show. Cherry wants to do a duet act like Sonny & Cher, Burns & Allen, or Captain & Tennille! In exchange Scratch wants Cherry’s soul.
Show Times:
- Thu 2/23 @ 10:30pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 7:00pm
- Wed 2/29 @ 10:30pm
- Fri 3/2 @ 4:00pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 8:30pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 2:30pm
Answers by Cyndi Freeman
(Writer/Performer/Director/Producer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Cyndi: The Scratch & Pitz Burlesque and Variety Hour is a show about how the Devll “Scratch” offers Cherry Pitz her wildest dream in exchange for her soul. Cherry’s dream is to have a Variety show Like Sonny and Cher, Captain & Tennille. And this is the show!
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by The Happiest Medium on February 7, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
The Stranger To Kindness
Company: D&A Productions
Directed by: Heather Cohn
Years of routine bind Lena and Nance, two lonely senior women from the Upper West Side. When Nance no longer answers her door, Lena takes it on herself to call the police and her friend’s family. What arrives is a strange dose of animosity and generousness from unlikely places.
Show Times:
- Thu 2/23 @ 6:00pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 2:30pm
- Wed 2/29 @ 9:00pm
- Thu 3/1 @ 7:30pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 4:00pm
Answers by Antonio Miniño
(Performer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Antonio: The title is a play on words from the famous final lines of A Streetcar Named Desire, “I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers”. The characters in The Stranger to Kindness are all figuring out what kindness means, how to give it and how to accept it from others, especially strangers.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 6, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Missed Connections – An Exploration into the Online Postings of Desperate Romantics
Company: Royanth Productions
Directed by: Ricky Dunlop
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.
Show Times:
- Wed 2/22 @ 7:30 pm
- Sat 2/25 @7:00 pm
- Mon 2/27 @ 6:00 pm
- Thu 3/1 @ 10:30 pm
- Sun 3/4 @ 1:00 pm
Answers by Ricky Dunlop
(Writer, Director, Performer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
Ricky: Missed Connections – An Exploration into the Online Postings of Desperate Romantics is directly inspired by the source of the material in our show. Check out Missed Connections on Craigslist.com if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 4, 2012
Five Questions. Five Answers. And One Big Decision: Rock, Paper, Or Scissors?
Fear Factor: Canine Edition
Written by: John Grady
Fear Factor: Canine Edition is about 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.
Show Times:
- Wed 2/22 @ 9:00pm
- Fri 2/24 @ 8:30pm
- Sun 2/26 @ 1:00pm
- Thu 3/1 @ 9:00pm
- Sat 3/3 @ 7:00pm
Answers by John Grady
(Writer, Performer)
Karen Tortora-Lee’s Question
That’s some title. How did you come up with it – and what does it mean?
John: Thanks. I watch too much television…clearly. Is life merely a game?…Where everything I thought I’ve wanted, wished, or fought for, is always on the line? Am I the clutch hitter, stepping up to the plate, attempting to knock it out of the park to claim the title of The Natural? Or do I maybe bunt, or possibly force an error, hoping for something else?…and now just add a dog, and a ticking time bomb to that little scenario. Come watch Fear Factor: Canine Edition to see how it all plays out.
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by The Happiest Medium on February 2, 2012
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.)
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 24, 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 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 …
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by Diánna Martin on March 9, 2011
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.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on March 7, 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 -
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by Antonio Miniño on March 6, 2011
Ali Kresch in Mendacity (Photo by Lauren Rayner)
Ali Kresch delivers a collage of expressions in Mendacity, (written & directed by Lauren Rayner) an experimental visually striking solo performance with a poignant and healing look into the uncomfortable yet significant and much needed subject of rape and the self destruction that could sadly ripple after. Ms. Rayner sharing her own personal stories of sexual assault for the stage is undeniably no small feat. She has also interviewed other women to develop this show that is described as a word-collage. This is a very accurate description for the show, as Ms. Kresch repeats certain words to reiterate their meanings in her story and the way different inflections create different emotions. Unfortunately this a compelling show does not make. There is no driving plot-line to keep us fully focused or to appreciate the important message Ms. Rayner is trying to convey.
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