Aaron Wigdor Levy is the writer of Monroe, Illinois: Over Here/Townie premiering this week at the  Flea Theater, produced by On The Square Productions.

Aaron Wigdor Levy

Tell us a bit about your body of work?

My work usually is pretty naturalistic. Some people have said my plays are political, but I don’t think they’re overtly political. I think most of my plays simply deal with people trying to figure out their place in the world. I know that kind of sounds general, but that’s what I’m trying to do so I don’t see why my characters should be any different.

Monroe, Illinois: Over Here/Townie are actually two separate one acts. What will the audience gain from seeing them produced together?

Rachel McPhee, Doug Roland & Cyrilla Baer | photo by Ghenet Pinderhughes

I wrote Townie and Over Here around the same time so they’re connected in that way. They both deal with loss. Over Here deals with a loss that has just taken place while Townie deals with the losses that happen over a person’s life. Over Here actually takes place in real time over fifty minutes while Townie takes place over forty years or so. I think it will be very interesting to see the brief amount of time that’s covered in Over Here compared to the life span that happens in Townie.

What is a recurring theme in your plays?

Theme is always tough. I try not to have an overt theme, but looking over my plays I really think a lot of them deal with where we find ourselves in America today. I’ve always been a bit obsessed about what the American Dream is so I find that creeping into most of my work.

When auditioning for Monroe, Illinois what qualities where you and the director looking for in your actors?

We knew all the actors going into it, so there wasn’t much of an auditioning process. Usually though, I just look for actors that understand what I’m trying to write, understand the material, and can really bring a part of themselves to it.

You are a member of the 2010 Emerging Writers Group at The Public Theater, how has that experienced been for you? Has it already been opening doors for you as a playwright?

The Emerging Writers Group at the Public is truly an amazing experience. I can’t say enough good things about it. I really can’t. I could go on and on saying how lucky I am to be apart of it, but I fear it would get a bit obnoxious.

What is the one question you really hope experiencing Monroe, Illinois inspires?

I’m not sure what the question I’d like people to come away with after seeing Monroe, Illinois. I just really hope that people empathize with the characters. I’d like them just to observe people they may not observe otherwise.

——–

The Flea Theater | 41 White Street | Manhattan

Related Posts:

• Rotten Apple: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Dev Bondarin
• IT Awards 2010: Off-Off Broadway Celebrates Its Achievements At Their Nominee Announcement Party
• Entrevista: Shakespeare In The Garden (A MidSummer Night’s Dream)
• Two Turns Adaptation Of Henry James’ Novella Successfully Merges Theatre & Philanthropy

On July 19, 2010, The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation, the organization dedicated to celebrating Off-Off-Broadway, announced the 2010 nominees at its annual sold-out event.

The Happiest Medium salutes all the nominees this year, as well as all the other fantastic actors and ensembles whose names are not on this list but whose hard work and amazing ability makes it easy for me to get out there, week after week, and do my job.  Off-Off Broadway has given me some of the riches theatre experiences I’ve ever had – voices of new playwrights have been illuminated for me, brilliant actors have been showcased for me, and innovated directors have taken dusty chestnuts and held them up in a new way for me.  There’s nothing like Off-Off Broadway – I’m proud to call myself a member of its ranks.

An so, without further delay, I give you this year’s nominees.   To read any of the THM reviews (where applicable) click the appropriate show links.  No links means (sadly) no review.  I have also included The Fab Marquee reviews where applicable.

2010 Nominees:

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE

Christine Rebecca Herzog, Itsuko Higashi, Jubil Khan, Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

Kaela Crawford, Julia Giolzetti, Caitlin Mehner, Alison Scaramella, Stephanie Strohm, Pink!, Down Payment Productions

Marc Bovino, Joe Curnutte, Michael Dalto, Stephanie Wright Thompson, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones
Jenny Bennett, Melissa D. Brown, John Graham, John J. Isgro, Courtney Kochuba, Kyle Minshew, Amanda Nichols, Katherine Nolan Brown, Jed Peterson, Sean Reidy, Miranda Shields, Douglas Taurel, Nate Washburn, The Disorder Plays, Milk Can Theatre Company

Joie Bauer, David Bishins, Gina Nagy Burns, James Patterson, Chris Skeries, Harris Yulin, Janet Zarish, The Glass House, Resonance Ensemble

Daniel Abeles, Craig Jorczak, Jacob Murphy, Anna O’Donoghue, Laura Ramadei, Claire Siebers, Too Little Too Late, Red Elevator Productions

OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE

Dan Berkey, Remission, terraNOVA Collectives soloNOVA Arts Festival

Michael Graves, The Report of My Death, One Armed Man, Inc. in association with Oracle Theatre, Inc. and Faux-Real Theatre Company

David Harrell, A Little Potato and Hard to Peel, ADH Enterprises

Erin Markey, Puppy Love: A Stripper’s Tail, terraNOVA Collectives soloNOVA Arts Festival

Brian McManamon, It or Her, terraNOVA Collectives soloNOVA Arts Festival

Avery Pearson, Monster, Really Sketchy and terraNOVA Collectives soloNOVA Arts Festival

Jesse Zaritt, Binding, Theatre C and terraNOVA Collectives soloNOVA Arts Festival

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A FEATURED ROLE

Michael Cyril Creighton, MilkMilkLemonade, The Management & Horse Trade Theater Group

Amir Darvish, Psych, Cake Productions

Kyle Haggerty, The Hypochondriac, the cell theatre company

Douglas Scott Sorenson, The Hypochondriac, the cell theatre company

Evan Thompson, Loyalties, Unity Stage Company

Paco Tolson, The Brokenhearteds, I Mean! Productions

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A FEATURED ROLE

Jess Barbagallo, MilkMilkLemonade, The Management & Horse Trade Theater Group

Nikole Beckwith, MilkMilkLemonade, The Management & Horse Trade Theater Group

Jessica Crandall, Agamemnon, LaMaMa Experimental Theater Club

Jennifer Harder, MilkMilkLemonade, The Management & Horse Trade Theater Group

Elaine O’Brien, Granada, Polybe + Seats

Anna O’Donoghue, Too Little Too Late, Red Elevator Productions

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE

Frank Anderson, The Return of Peter Grimm, Metropolitan Playhouse

Marc Bovino, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones

Joe Curnutte, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones

Christopher Domig, A Mysterious Way, Firebone Theatre
John Halbach, Children At Play, CollaborationTown

Harris Yulin, The Glass House, Resonance Ensemble

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE

Elizabeth A. Davis, Emily, An Amethyst Remembrance, Firebone Theatre

Elyse Mirto, Next Year in Jerusalem, WorkShop Theater Company

Susan Louise O’Connor, Children At Play, CollaborationTown

Tanya O’Debra, Radio Star, Horse Trade Theater Group and Tanya O’Debra

Kristen Vaughan, The Desk Set, Retro Productions

Stephanie Wright Thompson, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones

OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY/MOVEMENT

Nina Ashe, Manhattanpotamia IV, The Hyperion Theatre Project

Jonothon Lyons, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Austin McCormick, Le Serpent Rouge, Company XIV

Christine O’Grady, Children of Eden, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Kim Weild, Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

Jesse Zaritt, Binding, terraNOVA Collectives soloNOVA Arts Festival

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR

Daniel Brodie and Jonothon Lyons, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Heather Cohn, The Lesser Seductions of History, Flux Theatre Ensemble

Lila Neugebauer, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones

Alex Roe, The Return of Peter Grimm, Metropolitan Playhouse

Brian Smith, Pink!, Down Payment Productions

Kim Weild, Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

OUTSTANDING LIGHTING DESIGN

Tim Cryan, Welcome to the Woods, The International Theatre Laboratory Workshop

Charles Foster, Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

Gina Scherr, Le Serpent Rouge, Company XIV

Joel Silver, Pink!, Down Payment Productions

John Tees III, Down Range, Delano Celli Productions

Christopher Weston, The Return of Peter Grimm, Metropolitan Playhouse

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN

Stephanie Alexander, Pink!, Down Payment Productions

Brooke Berry and Mark Mears, Psych, Cake Productions

Olivera Gajic, Le Serpent Rouge, Company XIV

Viviane Galloway, The Desk Set, Retro Productions

Julianne Kroboth, Craven Monkey and The Mountain of Fury, Piper McKenzie

Lisa Zinni, Killing Women, kef theatrical productions

OUTSTANDING SET DESIGN

Daniel Brodie, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Rebecca Cunningham, The Desk Set, Retro Productions

Michael P. Kramer, Children of Eden, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Zane Pihlstrom, Snow White, Company XIV

Brian Scott, Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

Amanda Stephens, Pink!, Down Payment Productions

OUTSTANDING SOUND DESIGN

The Broken Chord Collective, Thunder Above, Deeps Below, Second Generation Productions, Inc.

Stowe Nelson, Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones

Shane Rettig, Alice in Slasherland, Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company

Philip Rothman, Proof, Tongue in Cheek Theater Productions

Jeanne Travis, The Desk Set, Retro Productions

Mark Valadez, Caucasian Chalk Circle, Performance Lab 115

OUTSTANDING INNOVATIVE DESIGN

C. Andrew Bauer, Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

Daniel Brodie, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Heather E. Cunningham and Casandera M.J. Lollar, The Desk Set, Retro Productions

Daniel Heffernan, The Glass House, Resonance Ensemble

Jonothon Lyons, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Zane Pihlstrom, Snow White, Company XIV

Matt Tennie, Alice in Slasherland, Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company

David Valentine, Alice in Slasherland, Vampire Cowboys Theatre Company

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSIC

Michael Kosch, The Return of Peter Grimm, Metropolitan Playhouse

Jonothon Lyons, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Andrew Mauriello, Radio Star, Horse Trade Theater Group and Tanya O’Debra

Carl Riehl, Laika Dog in Space, New York Neo-Futurists

Colonna Sonora, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, Toy Box Theatre Company

Mark Valadez, Caucasian Chalk Circle, Performance Lab 115

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SHORT SCRIPT

Lorraine Cink, Emilias Wish in The Disorder Plays, Milk Can Theatre Company

Cheryl L. Davis, BMW in The Disorder Plays, Milk Can Theatre Company

Amy Herzog, Christmas Present in Too Little Too Late, Red Elevator Productions

ML Kinney, What If… in The Disorder Plays, Milk Can Theatre Company

Bethany Larsen, The Third Date in The Disorder Plays, Milk Can Theatre Company

Jonothon Lyons, The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL FULL-LENGTH SCRIPT

James Comtois, Infectious Opportunity, Nosedive Productions

Stacy Davidowitz, Pink!, Down Payment Productions

Ashlin Halfnight, Balaton, Electric Pear Productions

Adam Kraar, Empire of the Trees, Wizard Oil Productions

Tanya O’Debra, Radio Star, Horse Trade Theater Group and Tanya O’Debra

Crystal Skillman, The Vigil or The Guided Cradle, Impetuous Theater Group & The Brick Theater

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE ART PRODUCTION

Binding, terraNOVA Collectives soloNOVA Arts Festival

Craven Monkey and The Mountain of Fury, Piper McKenzie

Diagnosis of a Faun, LaMaMa Experimental Theater Club

Haunted House, Vortex Theater Company

Manhattanpotamia IV, The Hyperion Theatre Project

Remission, terraNOVA Collectives soloNOVA Arts Festival

The Soup Show, New York Neo-Futurists

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL

Caroline, or Change The Gallery Players

Children of Eden, Astoria Performing Arts Center

Romance, Romance, The Active Theater

Rootless: La No-Nostalgia, terraNOVA Collectives soloNOVA Arts Featival

The Cradle Will Rock, Theater Ten Ten

Top of the Heap, The Gallery Players

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION OF A PLAY

Fêtes de la Nuit, WeildWorks

Pink!, Down Payment Productios

Samuel and Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Mad Ones

The Desk Set, Retro Productions

The Return of Peter Grimm, Metropolitan Playhouse

The Tenement, The Associated Mask Ensemble

Related Posts:

• Cabaretion! The Innovative Theatre Foundation’s Gala Benefit Honors Christopher Durang
• Entrevista: Aaron Wigdor Levy Writer Of “Monroe, Illinois: Over Here/Townie”
• Two Turns Adaptation Of Henry James’ Novella Successfully Merges Theatre & Philanthropy
• The Duchess Of Malfi: Beauty & Horror With The Barest Essentials
• Entrevista: Heather Cunningham Of Retro Productions

Christina LaFortune and Vince Gatton

Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw is one of my favorite works committed to paper, being a wonderful macabre pastime that my Grandmother and I used to share together, acting out the roles as we read along. I feel it is truly one of the most important staples of Gothic Literature. With every read or artistic version (such as the film The Innocents) a new strata of possibility can be found in the characters, who are as fascinating now as ever. Two Turns Theatre Company’s amazing adaptation of this piece has put their finger on the pulse of these characters, and found an innovative way to share a classic tale.

The story centers around a young Governess (a riveting Christina LaFortune) who is hired to care for two young children by their wealthy uncle (a brilliant Vince Gatton, in one of his several roles of the evening) who lives in London. While captivating the young woman with his charms (“There. I’ve seduced you!” he exclaims when she agrees), he makes it clear that he does not want to be disturbed or informed about anything to do with the children, and the young governess is sent off to Essex where the niece, Flora, is being cared for by the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose. Flora’s brother Miles, arrives home soon thereafter, apparently from being kicked out of school. Soon, the governess begins to see a mysterious man and woman on the grounds of the estate and in the windows, staring at the children – and begins to believe that the ghosts of the former governess and her lover have come back to steal the children away from her.

Vince Gatton

When I was informed that the play was only two actors (one of whom would be playing at least four roles) and only 70 minutes, I was curious how they were going to pull it off, mostly in relation to the time frame. This whole novella, as a play, in so little time? I didn’t have worries about the multiple roles. Vince Gatton, one of my favorite actors, is very familiar with playing multiple roles in a show (having played 35 separate characters on stage in two different plays before). His ability to use physicality is remarkable.  In this production he plays male and female roles, including Mrs. Grose and Miles.

Let me just go on the record and state that this production WORKS, and all in just over an hour. Two Turns and director Ken Cerniglia totally sell this – and playwright Jeffrey Hatcher’s one-act adaptation is thrilling to watch and experience. LaFortune ‘s  slow descent that blurs the line between her sanity (or lack thereof) and the supernatural is a joy to watch. Critics of the original novella were always divided on whether the governess was mad or the ghosts were real; I very much enjoyed Hatcher’s version, which gave the character a new dimension and asked even stronger questions about the bizarre relationship between the children and their previous caretakers. Gatton’s portrayal of the 10-year-old Miles was profoundly eerie, and the show overall was very suspenseful, even after having been very familiar with the original story.

Instead of a theatre, the play is performed in the Merchant House Museum on East 4th Street, a 178-year-old home that is a preserved landmark that maintains its 19th century integrity inside and out. Proceeds from the production go to help generate income for the non-profit Victorian home. From the moment you enter the building, you are greeted by the quiet hush that comes from incredibly old homes. The fact that the historic dwelling is rumored to be haunted only adds to the luscious ambiance. Upon being seated in an upstairs parlor surrounded by the ornate furniture, drapes, gorgeous mirrors and gaslights, one realizes that the home is also an actor in the piece – it’s more than just a set. When you think about it, if this story was being told back in the 19th century, people would have acted out the roles by candle light or oil lamps, in much the same manner. The way the show is deftly staged in the space by Cerniglia, allowing the actors use of both ends of a narrow playing area so that all the audience can see them and effectively tell the story, was a learning experience for me.

Ah, They've Seduced Us.

The fact that the company has made it its mission to give back to the community by donating the majority of the proceeds from their productions to non-profits such as the Merchant House (while showing off the home in such a delightful fashion) is wonderful. The idea is becoming more prevalent nowadays, thankfully: create theatre in ways that can help the community while maintaining artistic integrity. I only hope that Turn of the Screw, which only ran for six performances, returns soon for a longer run.

Related Posts:

• The Duchess Of Malfi: Beauty & Horror With The Barest Essentials
• Delving Into DARK WATER With Diánna Martin
• Coyote On A Fence – FREE Staged Reading – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• Ye Elizabeths: Living Vicariously Because … (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Diánna Martin

Gowan Campbell, Stewart Walker, & Lisa Blankenship

In a time when one goes to theatre and dramatic sets are used to make up for mediocre acting so that something kind will at least be said in the review, the first thought that I had when taking my seat at Folding Chair Classical Theatre’s production of The Duchess of Malfi was one of confusion. Were they really set up? Where was the set? A bare stage with minimal spotlights?

Boy, was I in for a treat. Let me say up front that this was a great production – but I had to first get into the mindset, because I honestly was not prepared for what I actually consider to be the true test for actors: can you do the show and move the audience just being up there with nothing but yourselves? And I was very happy to find out that with this company, the answer is YES.

As the time drew nearer for the production to actually “begin”, actors began to enter the stage area, talking amongst themselves, sipping glasses of wine  that were mimed (or, depending on one’s craft, truly created) and eating hors d’oeuvres out of the air.

Due to the lights set up the way they were, there was also the knowledge (having been on stage myself) that the actors, though somewhat blinded of the audience by the lights, would still be able to see us – which explains why I was busy talking to a fellow actor/friend in the audience on the other side of the room before I got back to my seat – and the show promptly started; silly me – I thought the lights were going to go down. I was holding up the show.

Tony Travostino, Gowan Campbell, and J Paul Nicholas

And as this play by John Webster, originally published and performed in the early 1600′s and loosely based on events that occurred in the 1500′s, began to unfold, I realized that the play was really starting! No costumes, no set, nothing but a folding chair in the corner. Had I read the last little blurb in the program, I would have seen that this was the main manifesto of this company: “…(to) tell stories using nothing  but actor bodies and voices – and the writer’s words.”

My thoughts?  “This is going to be a train wreck or amazing – there will be no in-between.”

Because my opinion, actually,  is that most theatre can be done, if necessary, with the most minimal of sets – if the acting is good enough. If it is, then the audience will be focusing on the work – and the set will disappear and nothing will be important but the actors really dealing with each other and taking each moment with each other (in all due respect to the many wonderful set designers out there who make many a show look FABulous).

Lisa Blankenship and Stewart Walker

In this play that has often been not put up since the 1600′s to even now due to the sexual undertones and dramatic violence that occurs, The Duchess (played with a beauty and strength by Lisa Blankenship) is recently widowed. Her two brothers Ferdinand (a powerful and mesmerizing Stewart Walker) and The Cardinal (Larry Giantonio) make her swear to not marry again because they want her share of the inheritance. But Ferdinand also has other reasons; there is very much an incestuous desire for his twin sister that makes the mere thought of her with another man fly into a rage. He asks Bosola (an amazing Gowan Campbell), a family servant who has no issues committing murder for hire, to keep his eye on the Duchess in case she strays and takes a lover.

Her servant, Antonio (J Paul Nicholas), becomes her lover and husband secretly, for she knows that his life would be in peril, and has three children by him, all in secret; by use of loose clothing, etc. At their side are their only other friends:  her maid Cariola (Gillian Riley, who also well-plays the seductive mistress to The Cardinal in another role), and Delio (Tony Travostino), Antonio’s friend, both of whom help keep their secrets.

As one can guess, the truth is found out, and Ferdinand is none too happy – enough to slay both his sister, her two youngest children, and Cariola before he goes completely mad as the knowledge of what he has done tears him apart.

Campbell, Walker, & Giantonio

Were there moments when it wasn’t always wonderful? Yes. I felt that it took the actors a little while to get cooking from the top of the play. But once the romance was developed between Nicholas and Blankenship, I believed it (despite some moments that felt rushed to me) and the rage/madness was allowed to slowly steep with Walker’s character, with Campbell narrating the irony of all the false pretense around him with such disgust, I was riveted. I felt the scene with the Cardinal and the mistress was unnecessary; but that is more, unfortunately, on Webster than the actors; they made some interesting choices that kept an unremarkable scene from being an intolerable diversion from the play.

I really felt that kudos should be given to director Marcus Geduld for taking a piece and doing something very different – yet very simple – with it and making us enjoy it so much. The combat swords, like the drinks, were all mimed, keeping with the consistency that had already been established. Even the murders of the children, their strangulations were mimed (no fake babies or child actors) – but it was enough to make one cringe, and be believable.

With performances especially from Blankenship, Walker, and Campbell, this show became so much larger than any set could have given it; and took it back to the roots of how it might have been performed back in the 1600′s…with nothing but the actors, their voices, and the words of the playwright…taking each moment and allowing it to spiral into chaos  – and bringing the audience with it, thrilled and horrified. Well done.

–

Related Posts:

• Two Turns Adaptation Of Henry James’ Novella Successfully Merges Theatre & Philanthropy
• Delving Into DARK WATER With Diánna Martin
• Coyote On A Fence – FREE Staged Reading – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• Women’s History Month: Celebrating Women In The Arts – Spotlight On Diánna Martin
• Entrevista: Aaron Wigdor Levy Writer Of “Monroe, Illinois: Over Here/Townie”

If I said to you I was an old time fan of Heather and Retro Productions I would be lying … and why start off with a lie? Who would I be! Despicable me … so lets start with the truth and nothing but! I first became acquainted with their work about a year ago as a matter of … chance.  I reviewed their production of Mill Fire for The Fab Marquee and was taken in by their attention to detail, something that made me think they had been around for  – oh, I don’t know – 10 years. To my surprise they are only a couple of years old, but seasoned in talent and determined to bring back quality pieces – and as I learned after interviewing their Artistic Director Heather Cunningham – new works as well.

Heather Cunningham Artistic Director Retro Productions

Their mission is to present works of “retro theatre”, and they so wisely include the American Heritage Dictionary definition of Retro (since everyone has different ideas of what that is), as “involving, relating to, or reminiscent of things past“; in their case with extra emphasis on the 20th Century.

They were nominated for 6 New York Innovative Theatre Awards last year (2 leading actress, costume, lighting, set and sound nominations for Mill Fire), meaning they left a lasting impression on more than this theatergoer.

Premiering this Friday, November 6th at The Spoon Theater, is their production of Holy Days, a play set in the Great Depression written by Sally Nemeth and directed by Peter Zinn.

I did say this was an interview right? enough blabbing about, lets ask Heather some questions…

AM: How did Retro come about? do you consider yourself a retro girl – stuck in the fashion and art trends of the 50′s and 60′s?
HC: I’ve been told I’m “retro”, certainly I have my share of vintage inspired fashions, but I’m really a jeans and sneakers kind of girl. Musically I’m a big fan of the swing and big band sounds of the 30′s through the 60′s, my favorite artist is Bobby Darin!  I don’t claim to know much about contemporary music.  I also happen to love old things, from 30′s kitchen gadgets to 50′s children books, to 70′s advertising.

As to contemporary theater, I like quite a bit of it, both as an actress and as an audience member.  I started producing out of frustration as an actress for the quality of work I was getting, and part of that had to do with the fact that everything was either new works that were simply not ready for production or Shakespeare.  There was no happy medium!  And I love the plays of the middle of the 20th century!  They are the plays I grew up with.

AM: In your quest to bring back these plays … do you ever produce (or will you ever produce) new work?

Heather in Still Life ©Kristen Vaughan

HC: I would love to produce new work if it was “Retro”.  The plays we’ve done have not always been written in the time period they take place in, for example, Holy Days was written in the late 1980′s but it takes place in 1936.  A play doesn’t have to be old to be retro, it just needs to take place in another time period.

AM: You come from a theatrical family – your parents (Jack and Rebecca Cunningham) are a dynamic set design duo.  What’s it like working with them?  And do you always see eye to eye when those sketches are presented?
HC: I could not do what I do without my parents’ support, first and foremost.  Sometimes they think I’m nuts (Dad might still be in denial that we are doing The Desk Set in May!), and sometimes when I say “let’s do this bare bones” I get this incredible set!  I usually make my requests before the design is conceived, but on those rare occasions when I ask for something afterwards, they are great about incorporating my requests.  But above all, I am a huge fan of their work.  I think it is stunning.

AM: Six IT Award nominations for the same production is a great accomplishment!  What has it meant for the company? Have you sensed any  “drama” with colleagues because of it?
HC: It was absolutely thrilling.  I didn’t sense any jealousy at all.   In fact there seem to be a greater number of people from the Off Off Broadway community interested in Retro Productions now than before our nominations.

AM: What has been your most challenging work as an actress in or outside of Retro?
HC: There is no question… Still Life was the most challenging thing I have ever done as an actress.  The memorization alone was mind numbing.  I don’t think I have ever done a play before or since where the adrenaline of going on stage was as high from just fear of going up.  And the subject matter was not easy either … it was a play about a Vietnam vet and it was quite graphic and included pictures. And my character, the vet’s wife, was someone who was actually really far away from who I am, so playing her simply was an added challenge.

AM: What can we expect from your upcoming production of Holy Days?
HC: Holy Days is a beautiful play, and on surface quite simple.  But like some of Pinter’s best writing, people aren’t always saying what they are thinking.  These are stoic people and they don’t (or can’t) always express their feelings.  It makes for a lot of palpable tension between the characters.

The play takes place during the Great Depression in the Dust Bowl.  Our characters are farmers and their wives and they are struggling with the devastation around them.  There is dirt and dust piled up, there is loss everywhere they look; out in the fields, in their homes, in each other.

AM: It seems the Great Depression is a recurring theme in these recession times, a true testament that artists need to express what is going on in their surroundings. What connects you to your fellow cast members?

Heather in Mill Fire ©Kristen Vaughan

HC: Sure, we can all relate to the fear of losing our jobs, our homes, our livelihoods.  That it is reflective of the times we are in just makes it closer to the surface and therefore easier to tap in to.

AM: Is this your first time working with director Peter Zinn?
Peter and I go way back … more years than either of us probably wants to admit!  But seriously, we went to undergrad together (at Denison University) and I was in the first play he ever directed there.  The play was Betrayal by Harold Pinter and it was quite honestly one of the highlights of my University theater experience.  I hold that project close to my heart to this day.  Pete and I lost touch, but were reunited last year.  I told him how I felt about Betrayal and he admitted to me he felt the same way.  It’s been a joy to work with him again.  Not just because it has been wonderful to reconnect with my old friend, but also because he is such a passionate director and so perceptive.

AM: I enjoy the Spoon Theater, but if you could take over any existent theater space in New York City, which one would that be and why?
HC: Oh, I couldn’t possibly answer that!  There are so many wonderful spaces in New York … I will admit to playing a game whenever I’m in a theater, it’s called the “if this was my theater” game!  But I don’t see that happening any time soon, unless I start playing the lottery and actually manage to win!

—

You can catch Heather Cunningham in Holy Days from November 6-21 at The Spoon Theater. Be on the look out for our lovely managing director Karen Tortora-Lee‘s review of this production.

Ticket are only $18, available at www.retroproductions.org.

Related Posts:

• Celebrating “Holy Days”
• Desk Set: Back Then, The Future Was Now
• Scene/Unseen – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)
• The Stranger To Kindness: City Of Strangers (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• The Stranger To Kindness: 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)