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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 13, 2011
Yes, we may have Fringe on the brain, but that doesn’t mean that other things aren’t going on this weekend. And, quite fittingly one of those other things is something called The OTHERS Project. Paul Bedard, co artistic director for Theater in Asylum, took a moment to chat with me about a very exciting evening of theater, music, dance, poetry and drinks that will be going on this Sunday night. Read on as Paul explains their particular definition of “asylum”, how they’re using their themes, and what their version of Frankenstein will look like …
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on February 9, 2011
I’m always happy when I have an excuse to talk to Eric Sanders – he’s one of the most talented people I’ve run across and I love that doing what I do allows me to periodically get him to update me on what he’s doing. A quick brush up: I first met Eric when he was re-imaging Algernon Blackwood’s The Wendigo (which scared the heck out of me) and then got to see his punchier side during Fight Fest with his crowd favorite: Last Life which was resurrected more times than (wait … I think I made this joke already. Cher’s career? Well, it writes itself so you fill in the blank).
Now, Eric Sanders has teamed up with Dave Nuss to bring forth Original Innocence – a Rock Opera and they’re hosting a “Symposium on Creation Mythology” on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 7 PM at the Anthroposophical Society of New York (138 West 15th Street btwn. 6th/7th Ave.).
This symposium will feature practitioners and scholars from an array of religious traditions discussing how the creation mythology of a religion creates or reflects the context for its ethical structure.
Several songs from the show will be performed, and food from the Holy Land will be served. BYOB.
Admission will be on a sliding scale (‘pay what you wish’) from $5-$50. All proceeds from the Symposium will go towards the first workshop presentation of “Original Innocence” on Friday, March 25, 2011 at 8 PM at the Issue Project Room in Brooklyn.
I asked Eric a few questions to find out a little more about what I (and you) can expect from this symposium.
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by Antonio Miniño on February 1, 2011
Tessa LaNeve
Tessa LaNeve is the Literary Manager and Director of The Primary Stages and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts. She was kind enough to answer some questions in the middle of auditions for their next semester and planning DETENTION, a new performance series she will speak more of.
What is ESPA? When was it formed and with what goal?
The Primary Stages Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA) developed organically from a collection of in-house playwriting classes at Primary Stages to a formalized multidisciplinary institution with fully formed departments in acting, writing, and directing. Since its 2007 inception, the school has housed over 1100 students and boasted a faculty of award-winning professional artists. The school has refined actors who have been seen on and off-Broadway, developed writers whose work has won awards and received workshops and productions, and ultimately crafted emerging artists on their road to professional success. With the naming of the school in 2010, ESPA emerged as a leading educational institution, offering an extensive array of opportunities for students to collaborate and showcase themselves on the New York stage.
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by Diánna Martin on January 28, 2011
The National Newborn Festival has become, over the last four years, one of the premiere playwriting festivals in the country for emerging playwrights. A flagship program created and produced by MTWorks, an ever-growing, non-profit theatre company, Newborn allows playwrights to have a work never produced in New York be read in a festival setting.
Free and open to the public, this year’s festival is being sponsored by The City College of New York’s Psychology Club & Department and begins Thursday, February 3rd, and runs through Sunday, February 6th. This year we are showcasing the works of Duncan Pflaster, Rich Rubin, Marilynn Barner Anselmi, Riti Sachdeva, and Jacqueline Goldfinger.
David Stallings
The festival will kick off the first night with the reading of The ReEducation of Arizona by MTWorks’ Artistic Director and resident playwright David Stallings, and end the final evening with the Audience Favorite Award ceremony and a raffle, as well as an extra reading of the winning play. For 2011, in addition to the Audience Favorite Award which is selected by those who attend the readings, the MTWorks Board of Directors is presenting the first annual Excellence in Playwriting Award, to be announced prior to the festival.
I have directed a reading in the last two Newborn Festivals, and will be acting in this year’s, so I’m very excited about this brainchild that MTWorks has created…one that encourages playwrights, directors, and actors to come together and celebrate the artistic process. I asked the playwrights to talk a little bit about their work and their thoughts on said process.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on December 27, 2010
Wondering what to do with the last week of the year? Maybe 2010 hasn’t been steamy enough for you and you need a little more sexiness before counting down to 2011? If that sounds like your kinda heat – especially in this snowy weather, then get yourself to the 2010 BURLESQUE BLITZ! For Four Nights Only (December 27th through the 30th) at the Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery) you can catch the hottest Burlesque in New York City.
I’ll be getting my fill of all things glamorous, glittery and gorgeous while being seduced by sweet sirens, beautiful boys and delicious drag queens. Come to some or come to all – but don’t miss what promises to be the hottest week of December!
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on December 21, 2010
Don’t forget, boys and girls, that there is so much fun to be had at A VERY YOGA CHRISTMAS (3rd annual) you may not want to keep going for REAL CHRISTMAS. Does REAL CHRISTMAS have Coach (the greatest rock band in the world?) Mine doesn’t! Does REAL CHRISTMAS have comedy and music and dark weirdness? Mine doesn’t! Does REAL CHRISTMAS have A Holiday Man-Pain poem by Umberto MacDougal and a Steely Dan dance party from 8-9pm? MINE SURE DOESN’T! What about FREE CUPCAKES? No? Or Killy Dwyer’s world premier video Christmas Card “Getting Clean For Jesus’ Birthday”? No? NO?? What kinda sad REAL CHRISTMAS is that? Forget that! Instead, just make sure to be around for A VERY YOGA CHRISTMAS (3rd annual) where you’ll get all this and MORE.
Just head on down to UNDER St. Mark’s Theater (94 St. Mark’s Place [between 1st and Ave A]) this Thursday, December 23 at 8:00pm – 11:00pm
What? You don’t live in New York??? FIRST of all, there is NO hope for you. NONE. SECOND of all, there is a teensy tiny beam of YOGA CHRISTMAS HOPE for you – because A VERY YOGA CHRISTMAS (3rd annual) will be live-streamed on the Internet at www.neuralimprints.com. So – I’ll either see you there, or you’ll see me there through the magic of the interwebs. I’ll be the cute one having the time of my life. Click Here for more info.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on December 13, 2010
Okay, so – yeah . . . maybe Alter Ego is actually not usually appropriate for children. But you can be there, thinking of them! Because this Sunday – December 19th Alter Ego is having a very special Toys for Tots benefit performance party – at Fontana’s which is exactly the place you wanna be thinking of wee Tots as you knock back your fifth tequila of the night and watch exotic belly dancing, alternative underground comedy, twisted freak folk music, avant garde antics, sultry modern dance, break-dancing straight from the streets, bawdy burlesque and Santa Elvis!
Entrance is free HOWEVER you MUST bring an *unwrapped* gift for a child. Cash donations are also accepted but not as fun.
Doors open at 7:30pm. Show starts downstairs at 8pm. Holiday fun party is upstairs in the main bar directly after the show until the wee wee hours!
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on October 20, 2010
Happiest Party
Come on, you know you’ve been waiting for it! Ever since that save-the-date you’ve been waiting for this link so that you could RSVP for the fizziest, blingy-est party of the season that will be glossy, glitzy, and glittery, filled with confection of every kind!
Sweet party people in their addictive party clothes sending out their seductive champagne party vibe. There will be so much talent, so much lusciousness, so much excitement in this one room on this one night that you’re almost intoxicated already just reading about it.
Click here to purchase your tickets for THE HAPPIEST MEDIUM (In 3-D) First Year Anniversary Party hosted by Fringe Darling FRANCA VERCELLONI.
We’ll see you there!
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 19, 2010
1001 Nights
Sometimes you just need a break from all the Fringe going on all around you. Alternately, maybe you’re just looking for some good guacamole and chips with a side of laughs. Or you just want to hang out with your friends at the bar downing some beers with the cozy feeling of a room full of happy people laughing their butts off in the next room at something you can’t quite hear. Whatever you’re into, I suggest you find the answer at The Creek and The Cave – a surprising find (for me, at least) in the shadow of the Pulaski Bridge in Long Island City, Queens.
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by Karen Tortora-Lee on August 11, 2010
If the name Mae West means nothing to you, then you should come up and see me some time . . . and I’ll fill you in. My knowledge of this woman – her life, her career, her philosophy – is so encyclopedic that a friend once suggested I teach a college course on her.
It’s been thirty years since her death but I can remember the details as if it were yesterday. True, I was just a child, but the effect she’d had on my short life at that point was already indelible and I morned her death on Nov 22, 1980 with as much grief as the rest of the world morned John Lennon just a few weeks later.
But like so many iconic celebrities, Mae West continues to live on and on . . . as evidenced by the stronghold her image still has on pop culture. In fact, there’s going to be a Mae West Birthday Bash happening this upcoming weekend, hosted by The Gaudy Girls! I got a chance to chat about Mae, Sophie Tucker, the joys of celebrating strong women, and the importance of keeping the torch going when I caught up with Maggie Worsdale who embodies Sophie Tucker (“The Last of the Red Hot Mamas!”) and Anne Marie Finnie who channels Mae West. Together, they are The Gaudy Girls.
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