Spotlight On...Mary Hynes

Name: Mary Hynes

Hometown: Hagerstown, MD

Education: BA Theatre from Butler University (minor in Vocal Performance) University College Cork, Ireland and the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg Russia. Improvisational Education with Gotham City Improv and Improvisation News.

Select Credits: Off The Top of Our Heads, improv show (Gotham City Improv),  He Loves Me Not, sketch comedy, (Improvisations News), The Philosopher Cycle at The Producers Club and Times Square Art Center, and most recently a National Geographic series, "Ape Man".
 
Why theater?: When I am performing and storytelling, I am my happiest.

Tell us about Human Resources: It is an experimental piece of modern theatre that marries scripted and improvised work, presented by Artistic New Directions. Five separate theatre companies have rehearsed the play with their own team of actors. The actors have worked separately on our roles and then we meet on stage for the first time in performance. It is exciting and invigorating to have organic human reactions on stage. I feel like it is as close to a natural slice of life as you can get with scripted work.

What is it like being a part of Human Resources?: The experience has been both thrilling and invigorating! It has been a great opportunity to challenge myself as an artist. I am grateful for the opportunity to marry my recent improvisational training with Dave Razowsky (The Second City, LA.) and Gary Austin (the founder of The Groundlings.)  I've done my best to be brave and vulnerable every time that I walk out on stage. It is a gift to be able to go onto the stage and blindly trust your fellow performers and the audience is with us for the discoveries that unfold.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: My college education focused on experimental theatre. I love working with an ensemble and revisiting a classic work, or staging a new piece of social commentary. Artists and actors who bravely commit themselves to their characters inspire me. My mission statement as an artist is to inspire, explore, and unite through light love and laughter. I do my best to keep that mantra in mind for any work that I do.

 Any roles you’re dying to play?: I have always wanted to play one of the step sisters in Roger and Hammerstein's Cinderella. As far as film goes, I love the character that Gweynth Paltrow plays in "Iron Man" and would enjoy a "Pepper Pots" type of role. Another goal is to be in a movie where I get to wear a cat suit.

What’s your favorite showtune?: I love all of the music from My Fair Lady. I played Eliza Dolittle in high school and it was a dream come true! I also adore Rent and relate to it immensely as a young artist in the concrete jungle of NYC.
 
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I would love to work with Carol Burnett, as she is a comedienne I have always admired. My comedic style has often been compared to her.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: My mother has often referred to me as "the brunette Cameron Diaz" so I would like to say it would be her!

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I recommend that everyone see the great shows at Gotham City Improv & Improvisation News.
 
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Nachos and Naps, in that order! (the queso from Qdoba is irresistible)

What’s up next?: I will be doing some short form ("Whose Line is it Anyway") style improvisation every Friday night at Gotham City Improv. I am also writing and producing some live and filmed sketches with Improvisation News. You can catch some of the sketches I have done on my profile at www.ImprovisationNews.com.

For more on Artistic New Directions, visit http://www.artisticnewdirections.org/

Spotlight On...Nathaniel Kent

Name: Nathaniel Kent

Hometown: Morgan Hill, CA

Education: BFA: NYU Tisch

Select Credits: Bea Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (Arthur, Ars Nova); Three Seagulls or, MASHAMASHAMASHA! (Andrey - HERE Arts Center); The Sister (Bob, The Brick); The Land Whale Murders (Henry B. Lubbins III, Sergeant Fitz, Blow Hole Gang Member #2, Shelby Company)

Why theater?: I've been in theatre since I was a kid. It makes sense. Couldn't imagine NOT doing it. For the past few years I've been involved in mainly original work, which has certainly become a passion. Working with playwrights and putting together productions that help keep theatre alive and meaningful is always rewarding, challenging, and fun.

Tell us about Trevor: It's a great play. Nick has written a funny, tender, and sometimes scary portrait of a 200-pound chimpanzee you can't help but relate to. The story is pretty simple: Trevor was a show chimp, but now he's bigger and older and isn't getting hired. He can't really figure out why, but he has a resolve to make a big comeback. He has fantasies of being back on the air with Morgan Fairchild, doing things that humans do - like roller skating or smoking cigarettes - but ultimately Trevor is an animal living in a world in which he can't quite fit. Seeing Trevor 's struggle to feel part of the human world is at once beautiful and tragic, and it makes for a really great play.

What is it like being a part of Trevor?: Thrilling. Working with the team Lesser America has assembled is really a dream. The rehearsal period has been short but sweet. Design looks beautiful. Being in the room with Nick, Moritz and the rest of the cast has been amazing. It's a really talented bunch of people, and everybody loves the play and really wants to make it a great thing.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love a lot of types of theatre. From Shakespeare to musicals and everything in between. But I think what's most exciting for me is a playwright's work. If you get me going on the best stuff I've ever seen, some of it is because of the spectacle or the design, some of it certainly is due to performances or direction, but more often than not it has a whole lot to do with the writing. Theatre has always been a writers' medium, and a lot of contemporary work is more interested in other aspects of the work. So I really get jazzed when the script is incredible.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Ron Swanson at 25. I was him for Halloween two years ago and I can't tell you how many strangers asked me to take pictures with them. Felt real famous. People say I look like Orson Welles sometimes, so it'd be pretty killer to play him in a play or a biopic or something like that. And then of course, there's some Shakespeare I'd love to play around with.

What’s your favorite showtune?: Specific songs are tough, but I love Sweeney Todd and Ragtime.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Tony Kushner.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Daniel Day-Lewis, cause he can play anyone, I'm sure I wouldn't be a stretch. My life would certainly be in capable hands. It'd be called "Gift Of God" (that's what "Nathaniel" means...)

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Play: Tribes by Nina Raines. It played here at Barrow Street all last year, and now it's at the Mark Taper Forum. I've been telling all my friends in LA to check it out. TV Show: "Ben and Kate" (even though its off the air now, boo). It's real sweet. Very funny and original.Podcast: "Comedy Bang! Bang!" Every week something hilarious to listen to on the subway.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Every summer I watch "So You Think You Can Dance", weekly. I don't vote, but I watch.

What’s up next?: I do a monthly sketch show called Ephemerama at the Magnet Theatre, so that's always in the mix. Next show is March 18 at 7pm. We're working on making some web videos to complement the live show very soon as well. My theatre company, Shelby Company, got into the Minnesota Fringe Festival for the 5th straight year, so we'll be doing that over the summer. And we're narrowing down a project to produce this winter, most likely December, maybe first thing 2014. So keep an eye out for that!

Shameless Plug: Rhapsody Collective Indiegogo Campaign

Rhapsody Collective, a group of young actors, directors, dramaturgs, and writers, has launched an Indiegogo Campaign to fund their upcoming Dream Projects of new plays and they need YOUR help! Devised from the ground up, this May Rhapsody Collective will present the six plays in one harmonious rhapsody. But this can't happen without help and support from you. Click here to check out the campaign and please consider helping out these emerging artists! Thank you!
-Michael Block

Smash Report: The V-Mo Show

And we begin with a musical montage! Why? Because the episode is appropriately called “The Song.” Our friends are getting their day kicked off as V-Mo sings a song, fresh from her killer Oscar performance, oh wait that was J-Hud, for her little show. McSleazy asks Linda the Stage Manager a dumb question, prompting her to role her eyes. Go girl! V-Mo’s mom, played by Sheryl Lee Ralph, pops in at rehearsal to be the ultimate momager. McSleazy is grumpy because things aren’t going his way after Tom doesn’t help his image but V-Mo’s instead. Julia calls Tom telling him that she’s at NYU to talk to Peter the Dramaturg’s acting class. Is Peter playing nice? Well, Julia ain't! She’s got a list of digs at Peter to share! Kyle and Jimmy can’t get a concert of their music until their little angel calls, giving their dreams life. Could their song debut at V-Mo's show? At NYU, Julia discovers she’s not there to talk to the students, oh no, but instead to hear her little Bombshell out loud. Peter is not playing nice! Peter has changed the names of all the characters so she can hear it for what it truly is. Nice move! At V-Mo’s rehearsal, Ivy pops in to be a replacement dancer while Kyle and Jimmy are ready to present their music for V-Mo to sing. V-Mo’s mom got Bravo to film the concert, which would give Kyle and Jimmy the recognition they need. Will it work out in their favor? We’ll found out after that dreaded opening sequence. Sorry. I still don’t like it. Maybe by week five I’ll come around.
Karen performs a Jimle (Kyle and Jimmy…do we like it?) song for Tom for consideration to be a part of the concert. Tom shoots them down and gets bitchy when one half of Jimle snaps at him. Can you guess which one? Tom tries to level with them when he’s summoned by McSleazy over PA system. The other half of Jimle says he can write a song by the end of the night. Can you guess which one? At the NYU reading, the kids offer their suggestions about Marilyn, I mean Mary. They offer good criticism but Julia is still so attached that she can’t let go. Segue to Jimle’s song session of a song called "Can't Let Go"! They’re not have the best of luck, so Kyle gives Jimmy space, until Karen comes in to offer her suggestion. Of course it’s magical and what Jimmy needed. Jimmy explains he’s never written a song for anyone before so Karen says write it for you. Jimmy likes this profound idea and asks her to stay with him. Someone’s coming around! I smell love. Julia calls Tom about sociopath Peter and says she’s spending the night reading his one and only play. She opens the play up and her mouth drops. Why! Why! Could it be a play about Marilyn too? Well, we can’t know yet because Eileen just got surprised by her criminal boyfriend Nick! Uh oh…
J-Hud, I mean V-Mo has lunch with Ivy talking about life and McSleazy. Ivy calls him a genius. Fo real? V-Mo decides to give McSleazy’s ideas a shot. Don't play it safe. His version turns into a sensual version of “I Got Love.” Apparently V-Mo has never felt sexy before in her life. McSleazy gets in her face until Cynthia the Show Mom stops the show. Cynthia lays the smack down! She blackmails him by saying she’ll give Tom the director spot and spread the gospel of his continual sleazy ways. From sleazy to the sleazed. Eileen loves Nick who announces he’s about to turn himself in. To bed before jail! McSleazy finds Ivy outside of the theater who lets Ivy give him advice. Give them (the audience and Cynthia) what they want. V-Mo’s traditional way. So when Jimmy brings out his new song, he gets shut down by McSleazy who says he just has to wait his turn. Jimmy likes giving a bad boy impression so he gets right in McSleazy’s face. Unfortunately for him, he ain’t backin’ down! He looks for support from Karen but she can’t leave with him. Show must go on.
Karen calls Kyle looking for Jimmy, learning that Jimmy has a trigger that makes him wander for days. Someone’s got a dark side! Julia finds Peter and throws his play in his face. Literally. We learn that The Singing Bird is not about Marilyn but in fact about a singing bird. Oh boy. And I can't get my works published??? Julia doesn’t want to play games anymore, finally succumbing to Peter’s requests. In V-Mo’s dressing room, Stage Mom tries to sway her in a direction that she doesn’t think is right. Broadway and beyond. V-Mo tells her mom that she doesn’t know what she wants anymore. Tom and McSleazy try to go over the set list until Tom pulls out Jimmy’s music saying he’s the real thing. Will McSleazy bit after being told he sucks when he's a pushover? Yep! But McSleazy is forbidden from telling anyone Tom likes Jimle's music. In a montage moment of searching for Jimmy, Kyle is rudely interrupted by a plug for “Smash” Season 1. C’mon! But as the song continues, it’s actually a pretty good song. Definitely has a Billy Joel vibe with a key change giving V-Mo a non J-Hud moment on “Smash”! FINALLY! Separation! It’s subtle yet she gets to exclaim her glory note. Ivy hears her and thinks she should sing the song at the concert. Will she? Meanwhile Karen didn’t call the cops, instead stumbles upon a drunk missing Jimmy.
Jimmy shares he’s on drugs to deal with his life. He’s sick of letting everyone down and doesn’t want to show his face. But the real reason he was at the theater was because he was waiting for Karen. And they share their first kiss. It’s not perfect (ie the drugs) but it is sweet. Peter and Julia meet at Tom’s apartment, an odd meeting place, and drink at noon (which is so a theater thing) to attempt to work or something. Julia discovers that she writes better men than women (dig at TR!) and realizes that Marilyn is defined by the women she was with. Upon her epiphany, Julia rushes to her books to get back to research! Eileen reveals to her skeezy ex, Jerry, that Nick turned himself in and that she can’t really keep Bombshell. Backstage at V-Mo’s show, with Linda the only Stage Manager in the “Smash world (hey I need a job!) calling places, Cynthia the Stage Mom sees that V-Mo is a changed women and will do things her way for once. Buckle your seat belt momma, you’re not gonna wanna miss this!
V-Mo’s show has the McSleazy stamp of sensual on it. Her backup dancers are all touchy feely, including Ivy and Karen on each other. Subtext or just weird? But has V-Mo got her groove back? In the wings, Jimle pines over the fact their music isn’t being used. Or is it. V-Mo's got an announcement. A new song? It’s Jimle’s! The backdrop of roses, that eerily resembles the recent Follies revival, sets the stage for V-Mo’s final performance with Ivy and Karen singing back up. As we saw in this episode, there are three visions of what this song was going to be. McSleazy’s, Jimle’s, and V-Mo’s. Surprisingly, “I Can’t Let Go” is a perfect blend of all three. Everyone watches in amazement, including tear-filled Cynthia and happily shocked Jimmy. As rose pedals drop, Jimle can’t help but smile. The song ends and V-Mo invites Jimle on stage to take credit for their star moment. How sweet! If only everyone in theater was that honest and humble. Meanwhile at Julia and Peter’s work session, twelve hours later, Peter invites Julia to the Berkshires to work. She gets interrupted by Eileen to meet at headquarters. She announces that Bombshell is free to go to Broadway as long as Eileen steps down and Jerry taking the helm. Tom and Julia aren’t thrilled with the idea but they can’t pass it up. Jerry sits at his desk on the phone creepily revealing that he’s finally beaten Eileen at her game. He says to the person on the other line that he’ll pay him for his work as long as he never contacts him again. Jerry signs the check. Who is he addressing it to? Oh. My. God. No. Way........Ellis Boyd! SNOOPY! Snoopy was in on it! BEST ENDING EVER (on "Smash")!
“Smash”, it may have been a lackluster episode but you ended on the biggest shocker the show has ever seen. I mean, we should’ve seen it coming, right? But three episodes in and no mention of Snoopy, I thought he was gone without a trace. Oh no! Snoopy was the cause of the downfall of Eileen and Bombshell version one. Revenge is a bitch! So what do you think about Ellis’s involvement and the rest of the V-Mo-centric episode?

Spotlight On...Yanomi

Name: Yanomi

Hometown: Oita, Japan

Education: Hiroshima University, English and American Literature

Why theater?: Because performer and audience can share the real time and space filled with our voice and physical expression with our limitless imagination. Theatre is the miracle magic world!

Tell us about A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup: The mysterious Miss Hiccup lives alone, but is definitely not lonely. She is forever accompanied by a raucous cast of sounds and music that make her life an absurd adventure.

What inspired you to create A Day in the Life of Miss Hiccup?: I often hiccup in my real life and it seems to be funny and embarrassing as an adult. I love the sounds from my body and the world.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love theatre in general, comedy of course, especially Japanese traditional comedy Kyogen is my favorite.  I love reading books as well, Michael Ende is one of my most favorites. And music always inspires me.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Andrew Connor

What show have you recommended to your friends?: The Cody Rivers Show is the best ever.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: "The Troublesome" starring Yanomi, myself!

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Drinking beer all night long.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: An English teacher in Japan

What’s up next?: I'm going to perform in Czech Republic for the first time!

Spotlight On...Karim Muasher

Name: Karim Muasher

Hometown: Norfolk, Virginia

Education: BFA Acting, Ithaca College / MFA Lecoq Based Theater, London International School of Performing Arts

Favorite Credits: Definitely my role as Zombie in The Vindlevoss Family Circus Spectacular!

Why theater?: As a child, I really loved watching TV.  I was also very solitary (in other words, I had no friends).  These two things gave me a lot of imagination, and so I think theater was a perfect fit.

Tell us about The Vindlevoss Family Circus Spectacular: It's about a mustachioed professor (Penelope Vindlevoss) and her domesticated zombie (Edvard) putting on an entire circus by themselves.  The circus is a test for whether Edvard has truly reformed and become human.  It's got physical comedy, absurd characters, and a lot of heart.  After being developed at different variety nights, it toured to fringe festivals, and now makes its NYC premiere in Frigid Festival.  Tickets available at frigidnewyork.info

What inspired you to write The Vindlevoss Family Circus Spectacular?: My fiancee (Carrie Brown) and I met in graduate school.  When we first moved to New York, we weren't sure if we wanted to make theater together.  We created Penelope and Edvard for a cabaret, just to test the waters and see how we collaborated.  They were such a hit, and we loved playing them so much, that we decided to make a full show.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love theater that really makes use of the live experience.  Anything with minimal sets and props, anything that breaks the fourth wall, anything that requires the audience to take an active part in the experience (whether through imagination or action). My work usually involves creating some kind of absurd or fantastical world.  I'm always inspired by the people I see every day.  The streets are full of characters that can be the seeds for something hilarious, tragic, poetic...

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I'd think it would be great to work with the writer-director-actor Gyda Arber.  We first met when I performed at the Brick's Game play Festival, and now we're both a part of Graffiti, the Brick's writing group.  We seem to be interested in similar types of theater, and have a mutual appreciation of each other's writing.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I don't really see a lot of theater.  I love the American Museum of Natural History, and would consistently recommend that to friends.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: The amazing local indie theater actor Timothy McCown Reynolds.  It would be called "Karim."

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: I don't think I have any guilty pleasures.  I love baking bread and playing video games, but have absolutely no guilt about them.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A teacher, maybe.  Or a visual artist.  It would be really cool to have a rock band.

What’s up next?: After our Frigid Festival run, we go on tour this summer with our new two person show: Petunia And Chicken.  It's a prairie love story that occurs in a Willa Cather inspired world of cornfields and Czech accents.

Spotlight On...Lucas Brooks

Name: Lucas Brooks

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY

Education: Bachelor of Arts in The Arts with an Emphasis in Theatre from Eugene Lang College: The New School for Liberal Arts. Mhmm.

Favorite Credits: I'm very proud of my one-man shows VGL 5'4" Top and Fame Whore. I'm also having a great time with my burlesque career, which has been blossoming over the last year or so. I have some fond memories of playing Silvius in As You Like It and a mute jester dressed in purple lycra in The Glass Slipper back home in Michigan.

Why theater?: I love the give-and-take relationship that the stage offers with an audience. I love sharing my thoughts and feelings with various forms of media, but on stage you can actually feel the responses you're evoking and that makes the experience so much more valuable. If I tell a joke, I like to hear the laughter. If I share something very emotional, I like to see the reaction. It's fuel for me to keep doing what I do.

Tell us about VGL 5’4” Top: VGL is the story of one young man's struggle with his own body image and how it's affected by online dating. When we try sell ourselves online as potential mates, we have to place ourselves into a bunch of different categories, and not all of us are so easily boxed in. Mine is just one voice out of thousands of people who would make perfectly handsome mates if people could just abandon their obsession with "type."

What inspired you to create VGL 5’4” Top?: When I moved to New York and began to experience life as an adult, I started using the internet to meet potential partners. Over the course of several years, I found myself being criticized and rejected on a regular basis because I didn't meet all the expectations that guys had of me based on my appearance. Because I'm small, I must be a power bottom. Because I'm young (and look even younger) I must be dumb or naive. I decided to create a one-man show about these experiences for my senior thesis and the resulting product was VGL.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I have high respect for all theatre, but I generally respond best to the kind of stuff that makes you feel good… comedies, musicals… If I'm going to get really immersed in a hardcore tearjerker, it usually has to be something I closely relate with, like The Normal Heart. Mainly, though, I am most intrigued by theatre that breaks the mold and shows me something I haven't seen before. Patterns are so easy to fall into, and I am just as guilty of that as most people, but I believe that the most interesting art is created because the artist wants to, not because they think it's what somebody else wants to see.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Since most of my work is self-driven, this list is quite long. One of my longtime idols is John Tartaglia (Avenue Q) and I'd love to work with him on…well, anything. Alan Cumming is another one. He's an incredible actor…his range blows my mind. The list goes on, as they say.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I usually encourage people to look for theatre in unlikely places. New York's nightlife has some simply astounding entertainment available. I've had some wonderful theatrical experiences at the Broadway theaters, but I've also seen a drag show at a bar just a few blocks away that was even more entertaining, and FREE. I highly suggest investigating New York's burlesque scene as well. It includes some of the best performers I've ever met, that way too many people haven't even heard of!

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: The working title is "LOL: Lucas Out Loud". For the starring role it's a toss-up between Elijah Wood and Daniel Radcliffe. Elijah has the look down pretty well, but I think Daniel would have more fun with it. He's also already used to taking his clothes off on stage, so there's that.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Old TV shows from my youth on Netflix and Hulu… Power Rangers, Young Hercules, Beast Wars, Reboot, etc.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: My day job is a sex educator in an adult toy shop. If I weren't performing, I'd probably get a bit more deeply involved in human sexuality. Teaching about it, I mean. I'm already pretty deeply involved in the usual way.

What’s up next?: I'll be taking VGL on the road a bit later this year… First for a campus gig in Illinois in April, then to the Toronto Fringe Festival in July. Once that's all over, I'll probably try to get my second show Fame Whore on stage again, and maybe even start working on a third show. I'd also like to work in film a bit, and try to get back involved with some bigger theatrical productions. My burlesque will fill in the gaps as I go along.

Spotlight On...Nikhil Tilwalli

Name: Nikhil Tilwalli

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Education: B.S. in Mathematics, M.S. in Electrical Engineering

Favorite Credits: Performing stand-up at Comic Strip Live, Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater and People's Improv Theater

Why theater?: Theater is so expressive.  I come from the world of stand-up comedy, where emotional vulnerability is usually parodied, so exploring sincerity in those venues can be intimidating.  In theater it's the opposite, performers and audience members value emotional vulnerability on-stage. They see it as a strength instead of weakness. Not surprisingly, after I started doing theatrical venues for performances instead of just ones for stand-up, I starting feeling more freedom to explore different parts of my character, which made it easier for me to be myself on-stage, which definitely made me more funny.  It's not a coincidence that five years ago, the thought of being myself on-stage would have horrified me, since, at that time, I was trying with all my might to be Woody Allen instead, which I should have realized was a bad idea for an aspiring comedian, since, as we all know from his movies, anyone who's ever tried to act like Woody Allen, other than Woody Allen, comes across as not funny.

Tell us about A Panda Suit, Pythagoras, and Plenty of Puns: It's a stand-up comedy show, with some significant theatrical elements.  There's a costume (a panda suit), jokes that are based on video elements, and I play characters to give body to certain stories, but there's also a lot of just straight-up joke-telling.  That being said, the stand-up that I do is non-traditional, in the sense that it's non-observational.  It's very wordplay-driven and I'm very interested in puns, and generating surprising narrative arcs between two different takes on the same word.  I also have jokes about Pythagoras, and Einstein and Gandhi.  A lot of my jokes have references to historical figures, but it's really goofy.  It's super-fun.

What inspired you to create A Panda Suit, Pythagoras, and Plenty of Puns?: The panda suit. I find that once you own a panda suit, putting on a show is the obvious next step. I'd also have to say Penny's Open Mic. Penny's Open Mic, which is run by the beautiful actress Penny Pollak, is an open-mike that happens every Tuesday night in the East Village, and you get to see musicians, actors, playwrights, poets, comedians all under one roof trying out old and new ways of expressing themselves.  The vibe of that environment is just so encouraging and the people are all working to help each other get better. That's where I first tested a lot of this material. That's where I first learned about FRIGID Fest. That's where I first met people, personally, that had previously done their own show.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: A talking theater, unless you mean that question metaphorically?  I guess, right now I'm really into the idea of making a character out of the audience, like I really loved One Man, Two Guvnors last year with James Corden.  It had good writing, but it also relied deeply on the actors to make decisions in the moment on stage in a way that was so engaging for the people who were watching. That real-time interplay between the audience and the story, the breaking and then rebuilding of the fourth wall, I found very entertaining and a bit thought-provoking. Woody Allen's and Steve Martin's stand-up material continues blow my mind and keeps me challenged, and the structure of Demetri Martin's stand-up act has also influenced me a lot. I'd be lying if I didn't also say, beautiful women (I'm just like Picasso that way, and that may be the only way) and of course my mom and dad.  Oh, and my nine-year-old cousin whom I remember once asked me, "Is there a such thing as a peanut butter and jellyfish?"  She's why I keep my nose to the grindstone.  She's my most feared competition.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Steve Martin, for sure.  My nine-year-old cousin, definitely not.  She'd steal all my scenes.  So would Steve Martin, but he's not my nemesis.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: One Man, Two Guvnors was my big go-to recommendation.  It's not playing anymore, but if you can go see it last year, do.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I'd love to have Leonardo DiCaprio play me, but since I'm Indian, just for skin-color reason, I'm pretty much obligated to say Kal Penn, which would be fine.  He's good.  The movie would be called, "A Panda Suit, Pythagoras and Plenty of Puns." Is that cheating? I hope not, because if the stage show is any indication, the movie will be great.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: I've been known to derive pleasure from listening to Justin Bieber's music, which society has forced me to feel guilty about, in a big way.  Alas.
 
If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A programmer. If there is anywhere in the theater-scene it's safe to admit to liking computers, it has to be a theater-oriented blog, right? Computers are my friend.

What’s up next?: TBD, but I'd love to take this show to the Edinburgh Fringe.  That would be fun.

For more on Nikhil, follow him at https://twitter.com/NikhilTilwalli

Review: A Box for All

Telling a story is easy. Capturing the heart while doing it? That’s the hard part. Luckily for Antonia Lassar, writer and performer of The God Box, she’s excelled at both. Playing an assortment of characters, Lassar’s story follows Gloria Adelman, the epitome of Jewish Mothers, as she packs up her daughter Rebecca’s apartment after her untimely death in a car accident. As Gloria packs, she discovers a box labeled “God” filled with mementos on her journey of faith. Initially Gloria is brokenhearted that her daughter that has seemingly abandoned her Judaism, but Gloria is soon taken on a journey by her late daughter and discovers the harmonies that all faiths share. 
Lassar does a sublime job transforming herself to play the assortment of characters. From mother to daughter and all those in between, Lassar breaths life into each personality that graces the stage. The beauty of Lassar’s performance is her ability to share stories with ease. Her storytelling is engaging and sincere capturing the audiences hearts from the tale of Chelm to Gloria’s reading of Rebecca’s poem. Lassar’s physicality and vocal treatments for each character are effortless, signifying a clear change. Helping greatly is director Nikki DiLoreto. DiLoreto is able to give Lassar the guidance to seamlessly move from beat to beat.
The God Box is a triumph of a total solo piece. Antonia Lassar is a wonderful performer who makes you smile and think about life, spirituality, and internal happiness. The God Box is the complete package, leaving your mind at peace.

Review: JonBenet's Back!

About 17 years ago in the town of Boulder, Colorado, one of America’s most tragic crimes occurred: the murder of six year old JonBenet Ramsey. It was a case that got America in a stir. Who could ever do such a thing to an innocent little girl? It’s been 17 years, is it still too soon to talk about JonBenet? Not according to MediumFace Productions! And they’re not just talking. They’re singing and dancing and poking fun at the Ramsey clan.
In JonBenet Ramsey: Murder Mystery Theater, we get an outrageously comical inside glimpse of what actually happened inside the Ramsey home on the evening of December 25th, 1996. Just who exactly are the Ramseys? Well, you have boozed up, cancer-laden, jealous drunk Patsy, or Mom Benet, inappropriate, pedophilic, daughter-loving John, or Dad Benet, and awkwardly revolting, forgotten child Burke. Could one of these people be the murderer? Well, they all certainly have a motive, singing and joking through the sixty-minute romp. The Ramseys are joined onstage by the zany roving local reporter Cougar Jones, who wants nothing but to break the story wide open however she can. The ensemble of four do a nice job keeping the comedy lively though it occasionally drags on like one of the more recent “Saturday Night Live” sketches. April Kidwell, with her over the top accent, and Tobly McSmith offer standout performances as Cougar Jones and Burke respectively. It’s McSmith’s Burke that you wish would get his own spin-off because of his beyond outrageous behavior and retorts, constantly begging for attention in all the wrong ways.
The real trouble with JBR:MMT is it lacked clear direction. The comedy was there but the story telling was severely lacking. The transitions between scenes were longing for music or sound effects or something to cover for the silence in the blackouts.
JonBenet Ramsey: Murder Mystery Theater is a caricature-filled spoof that is not afraid to push the boundaries for a hearty laugh, bringing the dark into the light. If you’re cringing already, it’s probably too soon for you to experience JonBenet Ramsey: Murder Mystery Theater.

Spotlight On...Jennifer Harder

Name: Jennifer Harder

Hometown: Durand, MI

Education: BFA, NYU Tisch

Favorite Credits: MilkMilkLemonade (Linda (the chicken)); You Blew It! (Dianna Valkman)

Why theater?: My colleagues and I do theater because we enjoy playing with the audience and the space. And the props. And each other. We enjoy the immediate laughs and screams and squirms.

Tell us about Bathtub Jen and the Henchmen: A steampunk collaboration of prohibitionistic proportions, this show sneaks you into a world of slapstick, stand-up, and vaudeville with Jersey's finest speakeasy entrepreneur and her curmudgeonly ex-con husband as they embark on poorly judged money-making schemes, erotic escapades gone awry, run-ins with a keystone cop, and vignettes that include accordion, ukulele, clarinet, spoons, and trumpet.

What inspired you to create Bathtub Jen and the Henchmen?: I wanted to start working in the nightlife scene and needed a persona to host shows with.  I thought of the most fun I'd ever had onstage and it was a monologue from Chris Van Strander from his play Breuckelen of a character named Bathtub Gin.  I spoke with Chris and he gave me his blessings to take the character and give her new life as Bathtub Jen.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Comedy speaks to me because laughing (or at least grinning) makes tragedy bearable.  I'm inspired by all the funny women in NYC.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Clay McLeod Chapman and Mac Rogers

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Buffoon Glass Menajoree

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Anna Faris as Jennifer Harder in "Farting and Crying"

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Reading the gossip site Perez Hilton.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Well, I spend my free time playing trumpet in a marching band.  If I had any more free time I'd be playing tennis.

What’s up next?: Bathtub Jen and the Henchmen would like to take our shenanigans to a nightlife venue and set up shop with regular shows.

Spotlight On...Amy E. Witting and Bricken Sparacino

Name: Amy E. Witting and Bricken Sparacino.

Hometown:
Amy: Maplewood, New Jersey.
Bricken: Santa Clara, California.

Education:
Amy: Currently enrolled in Hunter College's MFA program.
Bricken: Santa Clara University, National Shakespeare Conservatory and RADA

Favorite Credits:
Amy: Being an Aunt to two amazing nephews.  That role is far more incredible than anything else I've experienced.
Bricken: After Amy's answer anything I said would sound selfish.

Why theater?:
Amy: I'm a natural born Drama Queen so putting that internal drama on the stage is thrilling.  I also love the conversation good theatre creates which is so important.  Seeing live performances and being able to discuss with each other after is a true gift.
Bricken: There was no stopping it. My mom says when I was born I lifted my head up and posed for the cameras. My dad was a photographer and artist so I was born with a Paparazzi.

Tell us about Sisters Grimm: Fables of the Stage:
Bricken: It is a comedy in two "fables". Both with one foot in children's "grimm" like story telling and one foot in the theater world. Plus, music. So it is a musical comedy extravaganza.

What inspired you to create Sisters Grimm: Fables of the Stage?:
Amy: Bricken and I both had these quirky little short plays that we've talked about putting together for an evening of shorts.  She came up with the idea to submit to the Frigid Festival which I was very grateful for.  My work has become a bit darker over the years, and Jack and the Giant shows my lighter fun side which might surprise some people.  Bricken's piece, Pointy the Starfish, is a hilarious look at what goes on behind the scenes of a children's theatre production.  The plays complement each other and make a really solid evening of theatre.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: 
Amy: I'm inspired by other artists I've had the good fortune of collaborating with throughout the years.  I'm always in awe of the wonderful theatre that grows in the Indie Theatre Scene and the true passion behind it.  My fellow MFA classmates keep me on my toes and help me grow on a daily basis.  All theatre speaks to me in one way or another.  I respect the work behind any production because I can totally relate to the blood sweat and tears of self-producing.   It's hard work, but oh so worth it when you can just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Bricken: I love good political or social satire. I love that theater can be a tool to change how people thing about things. I'm also a big believer in following the yes and see where it leads you. It has taken me all over from Shakespeare to solo work to collaboration. I always find it a worth while journey.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: 
Amy: I would love to work with Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Company.  A girl can dream.
Bricken: French and Saunders. Tina Fey and Amy Poehlar

What show have you recommended to your friends?:
Amy:  I really loved Tribes at the Barrow Street Theatre.
Bricken: I really liked Dispatches from (A)mended America by the Epic Theater Ensemble. A fantastic look into America's reaction to electing Obama using interviews taken by the actors of real people and folding it into a terrific narrative and exploration.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?:
Amy: I'm not sure who would play me in a movie but when I first started working at my day job in 2002- I was the receptionist and the move "Secretary" had just come out.  Candidates would come into the office and tell me I looked like Maggie Gyllenhall from that movie.   I would politely say, thank you, until I watched the movie and discovered she was having a sadomasochistic relationship with her employer.  Ha.
Bricken: Hands down Laura Linney! Though I wish I had Claire Danes Hair. So Laura Linney with Claire's hair in Home Land.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?:
Amy: People Magazine.  Or as I like to call it "The People".
Bricken: "America's Next Top Model". Thought the last season was very weird. I love smizing.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be ____?:
Amy: working in an Ice Cream Store on a remote beach somewhere.  Hmm.  Actually that doesn't sound like such a bad plan.
Bricken: Retire to a condo on the beach and work on my tan.

What’s up next?:
Amy:  I have a reading of my new play victor at the end of February at Hunter College.  It involves a Giant Mouse. Should be interesting.
Bricken: I will be directing Gregor Of Berlin. "A tragicomedy, both with absurdly big laughs and heart-breaking poignance, arrogance and sorrow, as various segments come together to spin the tale of his journey from Berlin to Paris to NYC." The title is a a bit longer. But I dont' want to give everything away now. It is a new piece from Gregory Levine.

Spotlight On...Virginia Bryan

Name: Virginia Bryan

Hometown: Jefferson, Georgia

Education: The Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute; The Actor's Center and The Williamstown Theatre Festival's acting apprentice program.

Favorite Credits: Crimes of the Heart; Game Show; Marisol (in Berlin, Germany); and writer and performer in My Three Moms.

Why theater?: I find that there is nothing more fulfilling as an artist than going out on stage nightly to tell a story and stir an audience's soul.  You can feel the energy from the audience members as they witness collectively something funny, tragic or even mundane.  It brings humanity together in a magical way.

Tell us about My Three Moms: The show is about the three different caregivers in my life growing up in a small town in Georgia:  my birth mother, my so-called "mammy,"  and my step-mother.  These women all died over the course of 9 years and the bulk of the play takes place at their funerals.  I play myself (the daughter) and the different characters who attend the funerals, which includes family members and local towns people.  It's a quirky comedy, with touching moments, as each of these women shaped who I am today.  It played in the NY International Fringe Festival in 2010 and United Solo Festival in 2011.  This past summer, I took it on the road to the Orlando Fringe and up to the Winnipeg and Edmonton Fringe Festivals.

What inspired you to create My Three Moms?: It all started in Jen Nails' DIY class at the Peoples Improv Theatre that I took in 2007, only a few months after my step-mother (the mother who raised me) died.  Writing was very cathartic.  At first I was just writing monologues of characters based on people I knew back home.  But I found that It was a distraction from what was really happening with me at the time - grieving the loss of my mama.  So, Jen encouraged me to just write "my story."  As I wrote, I saw that there was a story in there about the loss of not only the mama who raised me, but of the two mothers before her, the one who birthed me and the one who nursed me.  So, the show evolved out of this process.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love theater that takes the characters on an emotional roller coaster ride.  I'm a big Theresa Rebeck fan (I especially enjoyed Mauritius) and I'm constantly inspired by Christopher Durang.  His sense of the ridiculous keeps a grin on my face!  Daily, I am inspired by Pema Chodron, the American Buddhist nun, to keep being an artist.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Yikes - just one?!  Well, I'd have to say Alan Cumming.  He has always caught my attention as a heavy hitter who takes you by surprise in everything he does.  I would relish working with him in any medium.  He would keep me on my toes!

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Michael Frayn's Noises Off.  I laughed so hard, my stomach was sore for days.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Rooney Mara in "Up the Hill, Down the Hill."

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Sleeping

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A track and field coach for boys and girls.

What’s up next?: I'll be performing with ENACT.org, a not-for-profit, that takes theme-based plays to inner city schools in the metro area.  I'm also writing my next play called Legally Dead, a comedy about being a trusts and estates paralegal handling dead people's affairs.  And of course, taking My Three Moms on the road again.

For more on Virginia, visit http://www.virginiahbryan.com/. For more on My Three Moms, visit http://www.mythreemomstheshow.com/

Shia LaBeouf No Longer an Orphan

So I guess there's one less Broadway debut this Spring. The producers of the upcoming Lyle Kessler play Orphans have announced that movie star Shia LaBeouf has departed the drama. Stated as "creative differences," a replacement actor will be announced shortly. So, what do you think the "creative differences" were?

Spotlight On...Kerry Fitzgibbons

Name: Kerry Fitzgibbons

Hometown: Wilton, CT

Education: NYU Tisch School of the Arts (Stella Adler and Experimental Theater Wing)

Select Credits: Falling (Mildred, The Connelly Theatre); GI Joe Jared (Julie, 59E59 Theatre); Fiction (Abby Drake, Gene Grankel Theatre)
                                            
Why theater?: I have loved theater since I could comprehend what it was. My mother brought me to see The Wizard of OZ at Wilton Children’s Theater when I was like 5 years old and the actors were gods to me. Keep in mind they were 4th thru 8th graders. I had to wait 4 long years to be eligible. My first show was a spoken version of Wagner’s "The Ring" (I kid you not) and I played a wave, a slave and a bird.

Tell us about 36 Hours: 36 Hours is a 40 minute roller coaster of emotion- its sexy, funny, dark, sad, dangerous. Annie and Patrick meet up in an airport hotel room after having a brief fling 4 years earlier. Neither has comprehended the profound impression they have made on each other’s lives.

What is it like being a part of 36 Hours?: Honestly Annie is one of the most terrifying, nerve wrecking, soul purging, and, ultimately, most wonderful and rewarding parts I have ever played. I am so lucky to live inside her skin and ever so thankful that the amazingly talented, Amy E. Witting and Bricken Sparacino believe I can do it. Amy wrote an actor’s dream of a play; she gives both the performers and the audience a work-out. She’s fearless and so in turn we must be. Bricken is very intuitive with the material and actors. I feel like I clap a lot when she directs, because I’m so excited by the discoveries she helps us make. And I am blessed acting opposite Michael Birch. This play demands a deep trust between the two of us, he makes it easy. He definitely catches me when I fall.

What kind of theater speaks to you? Who or what inspires you as an artist?: Good theater? I am open to any and all of it. I love Shakespeare and I love experimental and I love kitchen sink dramas. I do kind of veer towards the dark and twisted. What or who inspires you as an artist? Speaking of dark and twisted, I recently saw Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Traci Letts and Amy Morton. Those two are very inspiring.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: When I think of roles I’d love to play, they are always period pieces- Mary in Mary Stuart, Queen Margaret in Henry VI parts 2 and 3, Sally Bowles

What’s your favorite showtune?: This is truly one of the best and most difficult questions I have ever been asked. I think, at least right now, “Tell Me on a Sunday” from Song and Dance. Such a sad song, I love a sad song.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Matthew Weiner, because hopefully that would mean I was on "Mad Men"

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I surveyed people for this and we came up with Jane Fonda from the Barbarella years. The movie would be called “Dress Up”

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? without a doubt I recommend that

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Food- noodles with loads of butter and dill, TV- vocal competitions, "The Voice", "X-Factor", "American Idol". I even love "The Glee Project". Movie- anything starring Milla Jovavich, I love her.

What’s up next?: I have no idea.

Smash Report: A New Eye

With a week off because of Mr. President, “Smash” is back, again. Tonight’s episode is called “The Dramaturg.” Don’t know what a dramaturg is? Well according to “Smash”, they’re a parasite. We’ll have more on that soon enough. Let’s get into the episode first. We start with a giant party with Karen crowd surfing. This is not our everyday Karen. This is sexy Karen with pink hair extensions. Wait, are we watching “American Idol”? Nope. We’re seeing what would happen if our new boys’ musical existed. According to Karen, the non-existent musical is about an aspiring pop star. Very close to home Ms. McPhee! Meanwhile, Derek is still unemployed for being a super playa and agrees to meet Jimmy and Kyle about their show. At headquarters, Eileen brings in Tom and Julia to talk about how to fix Bombshell. How you ask? Peter Gillman. A professional dramaturg. Tom and Julia scoff. How rude! “It’s a pretty common practice these days.” Eileen! C’mon! Be nice to dramaturgs. We move onto Ivy’s audition for Mr. Bernie Telsey himself. Cameo! Ivy begs to read for the lead role and Telsey caves. Is that common practice too? And then we move to our third music snippet in a row! This time for V-Mo. Girl got pipes. I mean, we know that already. She did win an Oscar. But did we need to hear her sing “Home”? Nah. McSleazy visits V-Mo in order to con her into bringing him back into The Wiz. They decide to set up an audition for him. Déjà vu. Julia and Tom sneak into their meeting with Peter, played by Daniel Sunjata as the hottest dramaturg in the history of musical theater. Julia believes he’s a parasite because why would anyone not take any credit. Anyway, well Mr. Peter claims he’s a fan of the duo and will be their midwife for their baby, Bombshell. He gives them a list of shows and writers he’s worked with. I’m dying to know who’s on that list! At the bar, Karen announces she got Kyle and Jimmy their meeting with McSleazy. One shot and that’s all they need. And we jump into our title sequence before commercial. I still am not a fan…I miss the simplicity of the old. But remember friends, this is a new “Smash.”

Julia visits the script doctor Peter in his beyond swanky apartment. Damn! I want to live there! Julia sees the notes he made in the script and starts to get snippy. Peter is just trying to help! He starts off with a bang. “Bombshell is not a Broadway musical, it’s a biopic.” Of course Julia gets defensive. “It should live on the page,” Peter says. Oh Julia got ambushed! Julia vents to Tom on the phone on her way to Eileen while Tom concocts an idea. Kyle begins to reorganize the plot of their musical when Jimmy comes in a saves the day. Apparently these two writers are very unorganized. Maybe THEY need a dramaturg (and a stage manager). They're looking for a missing piece but realize Jimmy’s song is in his notebook in some mysterious, forbidden place. Ooooh. Where! Where can’t we go back to! McSleazy brings Karen into work on a song from Bombshell which suddenly turns into Ivy singing the same song on Tom’s tv. He needs to be reminded of the good parts of the baby. Ivy comes over to share her audition news and that she’s competing with Jen Damiano and Jessie Mueller. Name drop! Tom encourages her because that’s who he is. Julia barges into Eileen’s office hours after she said was going to barge in. Julia learns that she had been set up by Peter and Eileen because she’s ready to find someone who will do the work if Julia's not willing to.
At rehearsal, McSleazy bitches to Karen about her performance and then Ivy waltzes in. McSleazy asks Ivy to watch because she’s got a great eye. Oh boy. Peter is at dinner with friends when Julia barges in again. She confronts him on his lie that he never saw the show. Peter begins to lay in on Julia when she begins to defend her work. Peter retorts that her show is not sellable or relatable to a Broadway audience. Dig to Ms. Rebeck again? He continues to critique her, offering her the Michael Swift slap in the face, and gives her the chance to prove it with a pen tucked away somewhere on his body. She tells him to go to hell. I bet they’re gonna do it. Back at rehearsal, Ivy watches Karen and company of a bunch of familiar faces and then breaks into a dream song where she strolls through the action. Karen and McSleazy get into a tiff, Ivy decides to leave but of course, offers her opinion. Instead of knocking down Karen, she gives a piece of advice to McSleazy. He’s doubting himself. How very true. Jimmy breaks into a house where is music is stashed and suddenly gets ambushed by a mysterious person. Who is it!
Well before we know who attacked Jimmy, we see him meet Kyle with a busted lip in a restaurant with the missing music. Karen calls the boys to cancel because her and McSleazy are stuck in rehearsal. Jimmy is pissed. Intent Julia comes home and forces Tom’s butt to the studio to work on their plan. At Ivy’s rehearsal prep with Tom, he yawns through the dull audition. Who is Cecile, the character Ivy wants more than Bombshell? Innocent and nice but then able to manipulate. Karen Cartwright? No, Marilyn! How convenient. At the Bombshell presentation, Julia and Tom drop their own bombshell of a new song for McSleazy to win his audition. JFK and Marilyn’s first time. How enticing! V-Mo and her producer friend come to see the new number which McSleazy wants her to pass up on because he knows it’s not going to be good. McSleazy is sweating! This is a first!
McSleazy sets up the scene. Bing Crosby’s house. JFK and Marilyn are about to meet for the first time. Their eyes lock. The small talk of the scene, is well, short because it breaks right into song and foreplay. Mr. President is a sleaze! Jackie O would be so disappointed. The parallels between JFK and McSleazy are uncanny! As the song ends, the only applause comes from Jimmy who just ambushed a closed and private presentation. But how! McSleazy, despite hearing his music, has no idea who the kid is. Eileen likes the scene. Peter likes the scene. Julia digs it and wants Peter to step out after she’s proved that she can do it without him, but he’s in it to win it. Ivy calls Tom to announce that she got the part of Cecile. Ivy’s gonna be on Broadway as a lead! It happened! Take taht Cartwright! Karen rushes after Jimmy in full costume, wig in hand. Karen tries to defend McSleazy but Jimmy is too stubborn to know that despite the action, he has an amazing opportunity in front of him!
Julia, Tom, and Peter walk through TKTS and vent to each other. Why three Broadway names would do that and not get noticed is wild! Anyway, they banter on actually discussing plot and how to improve it, a wonderful change to our beloved show. Tom tries to play mediator but it’s no use. V-Mo waits in her town car waiting for McSleazy to share that she has announced she’s dropping out to do a one-night only show. Am I the only one who suddenly got “Dreamgirls” in their head? At Jimmy and Kyle’s, Karen and McSleazy surprise the duo to finally discuss their musical. McSleazy is so mean to Jimmy but apologizes for his earlier actions and tries to play nice. They begin their meeting with beer and a run-through of the plot. It’s a musical about an aspiring musician from nowhere who meets a girl he can’t have. As Jimmy reveals the plot, it becomes strikingly clear that we’re receiving some foreshadow on what’s to come on “Smash.” And surprisingly, it’s intriguing. McSleazy agrees to start helping them with Karen as their muse.
So what do you think? Liking Daniel Sunjata’s character? Digging the fact we’ll soon have three musicals, plus a one-night only concert to keep track of? And who the hell was the mysterious guy that jumped Jimmy! And I’ll keep asking, what happened to Ellis!

Spotlight On...Talie Melnyk

Name: Talie Melnyk

Hometown: Calgary, AB, Canada

Education: MFA Binghamton University  After I graduated from Binghamton I attended the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, UK for a summer.

Favorite Credits: For some reason I've played quite a few prostitutes on stage, including in Maison des Reves.  However, I also enjoyed the following:  A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant & A Prayer (3 Crazy Ladies V-Day), Julius Caesar (Calphurnia, Oasis Theater), The Miser (Frosine, Oasis Theater), The Front Page (Molly, Theatre Albany), Waiting For the Parade (Janet, Cidermill Playhouse), Geeks In Love (Belinda, Loose Moose Theater)

Why theater?: Theater is an experience like no other for both the actor and audience.  It's something shared intimately yet is so fleeting, like life itself.  You have this time together and then it's gone.

Tell us about Maison des Reves: Maison des Reves is based on the true story of Alexe Popova, who confessed to killing over 300 men in Samara, Russia over a 30 year period from 1879 to 1909.  She provided a way to free or "liberate" those women of her community who were being horribly abused by the men in their lives. 

What inspired you to create Maison des Reves?:  I've always been attracted to true crime and to women's stories and was looking for the subject for a solo show that was not autobiographical.  I was reading a book on female serial killers called "Murder Most Rare" by Michael D. Kelleher & C. L. Kelleher, when I came across a tiny paragraph on Alexe Popova.  I began to ask a ton of questions which is always a good sign for a writer.  My father is Ukrainian and my mother is part Estonian so I already understood Alexe's culture and sensibility.  It soon became a story I had to tell. 

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I want to go to the theater and be moved, be changed, and to definitely have an experience of some kind.  I want to feel something whether it's to laugh out loud and/or cry my makeup off. I really love when I get lost in something whether it's a book, someone's performance, a sporting event, or out in nature.  Just suck me into the moment and I'm yours! 

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Hands down, Kathryn Bigelow.  Since I'm also a huge fan of writer/comediennes, it would be a riot to work with Jennifer Saunders and Tina Fey.

What show have you recommended to your friends?:  I love solo performance and at last year's All For One Theater Festival I saw some wonderful shows but was particularly knocked out by The Purpose Project by Elizabeth Van Meter, Speak Up Connie by Cindy Cheung, and Fruit Fly by Leslie Jordan. 

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: It would be awesome to see Laura Linney play me in "Can-American."

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: I love good wine and listening to the blues.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Actually I already have another life that I love in the fitness/wellness industry helping women and special populations reach optimum health and mobility.  To fill in your blank though, I would be living in Hawaii and working as a marine biologist.

What’s up next?: I'm currently working on the screenplay for "Maison des Reves."

For more on Talie, visit http://taliemelnyk.com

Spotlight On...Seth Lepore

Name: Seth Lepore

Hometown: Westampton, MA

Education: Interdisciplinary from Naropa University

Favorite Credits: I write all my own stuff so all of it.

Why theater?: The energy between an audience and the stage cannot be beat.

Tell us about Losing My Religion: It's a hysterical romp through America's spiritual enterprise exposing the blurry line between self-help and faith.

What inspired you to create Losing My Religion?: I had been involved and subsequently disenchanted with the self-help and new age movements. I saw it as just another dogma but a very very funny one so I decided to write a show. Three hours of material later I found myself editing down the best parts into a solid show.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Fringe theater, risky theater, theater that pushes boundaries, that isn't afraid to fail, that's the theater that I feel a kinship with.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Reggie Watts.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Radio Star by Tanya O'Debra. Soooooo good, sooooo dirty.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: "Who, That Guy?" starring Adrian Brody.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Watching rom coms, lots and lots of them.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Working in the arts regardless.

What’s up next?: Losing My Religion is part of a trilogy of shows. I writing the last one right now and it's set to hit the stage in March 2014. It's called Kicking Ass and Taking Names.

Review: A Slice of Life in Jackson Heights

Ever wonder what it would be like to see an entire community come to life on stage in a two hour span? (Or six hours if you see the trilogy.) The folks at Theatre 167 tasked a group of playwrights to do just that in Jackson Heights, Queens. The Jackson Heights Trilogy is a series of three plays that evoke the life and spirits of the titular neighborhood. Each piece focuses on a different aspect of the community. The first part, 167 Tongues, follows the various cultures of Jackson Heights in their daily life, through hardship and perseverance. The second part, You Are Now the Owner of This Suitcase, is more of a fantastical look at Jackson Heights told through folklore and stories in a fun little fairy tale. The final part, Jackson Heights 3AM, watches the denizens of Jackson Heights on one particular night from 11:00pm to 3:00am. Each part of the trilogy is written by a different group of writers and acted by a different group of actors, though some of the company appears in two or three of the pieces.
It’s a mammoth undertaking to put up a three part trilogy and the company of actors, especially those who do take a role in multiple stories, should be commended for this feat. The courageous ensemble had some wonderful performances led by Samuel T. Gaines, Indika Senanayake, Flor De Liz Perez, Andrew Guilarte, Kevin Hoffman, Orlando Rios, and J. Stephen Brantley, who also doubles as a writer. The 18 writers of the three projects did a wonderful job at making their unique voices heard yet being able to live cohesively as a single piece. Their individual characters they created were present but were able to live in the same world. This was aided by director Ari Laura Kreith’s ability to wonderfully curate the assortment of characters and writers. Though it would have been clearer and cleaner if the stories were able to intertwine a bit more, a stranger to this piece may not have been able to know that there were multiple voices in each play.
As far as the design world of the play, there was not much to be said positively. With that being said, the real highlight of the design was Carlo Nieva’s graffiti design. Unfortunately, it was positioned on the walls so you only saw the beauty when you walked into the theater and if you were able to catch a glimpse peripherally during the performance. James McSweeney’s set design was simple except for the giant wall unit in the back. For the first piece, 167 Tongues, it served it’s use as a masking that looked like a structure but for the other two plays, there were odd designs thrown on it that were more just a distraction. For these plays to actually live in the same world, a cohesive design would have been much stronger. This single design choice also had me wondering if these plays actually were a trilogy or three stand-alone plays. The other design that greatly suffered was Diana Duecker’s lights. It was clear that her system was limited, possibly due to the restraints of the theater, but she made the horrendously unfortunate choice to use fluorescents for certain scenes. Fluorescents and theater are generally not a good mix, especially when it completely washed out Max Ward’s projections.
Where design lacked, the trilogy was made up for in the epicness of the event. While you can see the plays as a whole, you could pick one and still get the sliver of Jackson Heights.

Spotlight On...Gillian English

Name: Gillian English

Hometown: Sutherland's River, Nova Scotia

Education: BA Dalhousie University, Theatre; Post-Grad Diploma in Classical Acting, LAMDA

Select Credits: A Woman of No Importance (Lady Caroline, Alumnae Theatre); Antony and Cleopatra (Cleopatra, The Theatre Elusive); Matt and Ben (Ben Affleck, The Theatre Elusive)

Why theatre?: It's the only thing I ever really wanted to do; when I was younger I convinced myself I wanted to go into law, but that only lasted until I had to choose between Intro to Law and Intro to Acting. I love the capacity the theatre has to tell a story, provoke thought, plant seeds of ideas and generally entertain. I love being able to entertain people, to give them an hour or three where they exist in a suspended world, where anything could happen; they could laugh or cry, or both. I'd say it's modern magic if it weren't such an ancient art form. I also really like the attention.

Tell us about Love in the Time of Time Machines: Love in the Time of Time Machines is the brain child of Dave Tichauer and Ned Petrie, two incredible writers and friends of mine from Toronto. It's a time travelling romantic comedy. It's witty, funny and heartbreaking with a healthy dose of karaoke. We did our best to make the characters as realistic as possible. (One night Ned quizzed me about all my past relationships and, god love him, he took notes.) We want the situations to be relatable, except for the time travelling. The time-space continuum is not a toy you guys.

What is it like being a part of Love in the Time of Time Machines?: This production is a blast, we have Chris Gibbs directing, so every rehearsal is funnier than the last; Dave and Ned are always bringing new ideas to make the show even more nuanced and exciting. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to work with such funny people that I also get to call my friends. Y'all should be seriously jealous.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?:  Theatre that consumes me is what speaks to me most. I want to forget whether it's day or night outside. I want to see characters with fully formed personalities; people with talents and flaws. I want to see theatre that examines issues that exist in our society without glossing over the harder to stomach parts. That being said, give me a good pun and I'm gone. Basically, tell me a good story and tell it well. I am inspired by hard working, intelligent and independent women. People like my mother, Eileen English and Rosanna Saracino, an incredible director I recently had the pleasure of working with. I draw inspiration from their confidence. I make sure to put a little bit of badass into every character I play, because strong women should not be the exception to the rule. I know an awful lot of strong women, and I'm pretty sure that can't be some sort of statistical anomaly.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: I would love to play Strindberg's Miss Julie and Shakespeare's Queen Margaret through all 3 parts of King Henry VI and Richard III

What’s your favorite show tune?: “Rock Me Sexy Jesus” from "Hamlet 2", but pure stage favourite is “Super Boy and the Invisible Girl” from Next to Normal
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Anyone? Anyone at all? Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and Rebel Wilson are my idols, so I'd like to work with them please.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I would be played by Alison Brie and it would be called "Modern English: The Gillian English Story"

What show have you recommended to your friends?: The Normal Heart, Next to Normal, Hypnogogic Logic by Uncalled For

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Goldfish Crackers and Netflix

What’s up next?: We're taking Love in the Time of Time Machines to the Montreal and Chicago Fringe Festivals this summer. It'll be a raucous romp of elephantine proportions, or you know, a good time or whatever.

For more on Gillian, visit http://www.gillianenglish.com/

Spotlight On...Killy Dwyer

Name: Killy Dwyer

Hometown: Toledo, Ohio (NYC for 18 years, tho!)

Education: School Of Hard Knocks

Favorite Credits: Won "Most Magical Moment Of The Festival" NY Funny Songs Festival, Named "Top 10 Women Who Rock Comedy" on www.funnynotslutty.com

Why theater?: Though I perform in bars, art salons, galleries, rock clubs, comedy clubs, restaurants, subway cars, house parties, bathrooms, online and in line, an audience cannot fully experience what I do, and I cannot wrangle their full attention unless they experience my work in a theater. The lyrics to my songs, the layers and weaving of loops of music and sound, the audience interaction and improvisation, the subtle silly or serious moments work best with a Stockholm Syndrome having, captive audience.

Tell us about My BoX: My BoX is dark musical comedy that incorporates non-traditional instruments, toys and modern sound technology combined with performance art and video submitted from artists around the world. The show has the structure and recall of my manic, moody memory so it has no walls, no rules and is constantly changing it's mind. It is being created and will continue to be created up to and right through the run of the show. In My BoX, I try to personalize the pop culture shock that I think we all feel, earnestly exploring themes like reality tv, botox, the female orgasm and God, hypochondria, gender identity pressure, money, fear and robots!!! It's an engaging, wild ride of a show.  I refuse to believe that "it's all been done" and with My BoX, I think I've reinvented the way a story can be experienced.

What inspired you to create My BoX?: I was fed up yet inspired by the trending “love to hate” mentality of our increasingly cynical society - hell, with my OWN cynicism.  Ha!  I was inspired by my cynicism.  Now THAT is comedy.  And COMEDY!  Ugh.  I have done it.  All kinds of it. I love it, but I want to provoke something more than just laughter.  I feel that we are disconnected and connected at the same time and I feel it…or don't feel it…I feel…wait…WHAT DO I FEEL?!!  I don't think we yet have a word for it, but isolated seems like closest definition, I guess. I think we are lost in a technology coma - a community communicating our life stories in carefully edited tweets and meaningless memes. We have lost  the experience of being in the moment.  I want to shape the moment with the audience so we can transcend the isolation and connect to create a unique experience every night.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Penny's Open Mic, Black box/underground theater, alternative clowning, outsider music, puppets, reality, imagination, the subway, anxiety, fear, robots.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Wes Anderson, Christopher Guest, Tina Fey.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I'd recommend any other show in the Frigid Festival, but especially M.L. Godin's The Spectator & the Blind Man: Stories of Seeing & Not-Seeing

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Miss Piggy in “Phat Bitch”

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: I sleep-eat tubs of Ben and Jerry's ice cream.  I don't even get to really enjoy it because I'm sleeping!  I wake up and find a empty pint of ice cream in the bathroom with no memory of it.  Skip the pleasure, straight to the guilt.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A brain surgeon or a rocket scientist

What’s up next?: More mock rocking with my band KILL THE BAND.  Check out our album Mock Bottom at www.KILLYTHEKID.com or on ITunes/Amazon/Spotify/Pandora

Spotlight On...JD Cerna

Name:  JD Cerna

Hometown: Manhattan

Education: Catholic University of America and New York University

Favorite Credits: Found A Peanut (Scott, Greenwich Theatre Company)

Why theater?: Because if not theater, then boring office job.  Without theater, dysfunction and chaos left to be controlled by corporate America and commercial consumerism.  Without theater, no safe place to explore all that unsafe stuff, like who the hell are we?  And why are we here?  And why do I feel hate and why do I feel love and I’m gay but that’s okay.  When I was 12, I saw A Chorus Line and when Paul makes that speech at the end I was like, “Thank you God.  Thank you.  I am not alone.”  Theater helps remind us that we’re not alone, any of us, not really.  It tells us it’s okay to FEEL.  It’s okay to ask questions.  It’s okay to explode.

What inspired you to create Not as Cute as Picture?: I had performed this play I wrote called Flight of the Goddamned Butterfly that played at Rose’s Turn (RIP!) for seven months.  Backstage had raved about it, and a talented man named Michael Rupert came and fell in love with it. He asked me what else I had up my sleeve.  I showed him these letters I wrote while I was stuck on this horrible gambling barge performing Chorus Line medleys.  Michael read the letters and said “you have something here”.  While I was stuck on that miserable boat, I saw the picture I had submitted at my audition.  The “cast leader” wrote “not as cute as picture” on the back of my picture.  I was horrified.  Michael said, “That’s your title, you know.”  And so it was.  I explored that theme, that nothing is really like its picture.  It’s just a picture.  What TRUTH is behind that picture?  And it grew from there. 

What kind of theater speaks to you?: What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theater that isn’t afraid to speak its mind without regard for politics or “political correctness” or the like.  Theater that has a distinct voice, but doesn’t have to scream its voice to be heard.  I like theater that mirrors my life, and who doesn’t?  I like plays that “catch the conscious of the king”.  That’s what theater ought to do.  Hamlet realized that the ONLY way to find out if the king had killed his Dad was to do a play.  Because theater is magical that way, or it should be. It can cause our conscience to overtake our denial and our lies.  It’s revolutionary at times, and that’s why I love it. Carrie Fisher, because she refuses to take her despair seriously (her words).  She throws all her despair into her work, but then her work makes us laugh.  How brilliant is that.  Lanford Wilson, because he simply took for granted that straights and gays could co-exist in life... and that characters are not defined by sexuality but rather by their humanity.  Tennessee Williams, because he insisted on the poetry that life is, no matter how brutal life is.  What inspires me as an artist is seeing life AS art.  I am like Carrie Fisher.  I don’t want life to imitate art. I want life to BE art. 

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Oh wow.  This is a fun interview.  Well, Chrissie Hynde is not a theater person, but she is my poetry rock goddess, so I would love to work with her.  In any capacity.  I would love to work with John Cameron Mitchell.  I hung out with him at this cool thing called “Rock and Roll Fag Bar” which is where he was developing Hedwig.  I love John’s sensitivity and his fearlessness in showing vulnerability.  And my fantasy?  Is to do a play with Sigourney Weaver.  I mean, come on, how cool would that be?  I fell in love with her when I saw “Aliens” in Times Square twice in a row.  Just some meaty scenes with Sigourney Weaver.  She screams at me and I scream back, that kind of thing.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: When Hair was brought back to Broadway, I was screaming to everyone I knew: Go see this NOW.  PLEASE. 

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Oh wow.  Can I say Sigourney Weaver?  Just kidding.  I think Stephen Dorff would do a good job.  Geez, I hope I spelled his name right.  That would be awful, me spelling his name wrong.  But he is just so underused and so brilliant and I would be very happy to have him play me.  The movie would be called “Hits, Misses and Fits: The Story of JD Cerna”.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Watching those old TOHO monster movies, IE Godzilla, Mothra, etc.  They bring me back to that safe childhood place.  And they’re so much fun to watch, and they had those great orchestral scores! 

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Ranting and raving in Union Square Park, with a tin can at my feet. 

What’s up next?: I have another solo show called Problem Cat.  It’s all about one day in 2001 when I witnessed a neighbor leap to her death.  Tried to save her, failed, ended up with PTSD.  Went and got a cat to help soothe the nerves, but the cat was illegal in  my building, and thus began a Herculean effort to keep the cat despite lawyers and board meetings and screaming neighbors.  It’s actually pretty funny.  Did a showcase of it back in 2009 and the audience loved it.  Oh, the cat was also obese and couldn’t clean herself.  I think you can see the potential there.