Spotlight On...Wi-Moto Nyoka

Name: Wi-Moto Nyoka

Hometown: Cuernavaca, Morelos/ Portland, OR

Education: UArts, Tanzhaus NRW, Life

Favorite Credits: www.duskydiana.com

Why theater?: It's my first love.

Tell us about Hero How To: It is the live installment to the online graphic musical series The Last Days of Kartika. Hero How To is a graphic musical prequel to a webseries that uses Funk, Soul, and Hip Hop music to tell the stories of the citizen of Kartika. It serves as the origins story of the would-be hero Dusky Diana, newest recruit to the on-going rebellion in Kartika, and is told live in a concert reading at The Brick's Comic Book Theater Festival. Check us out.

What inspired you to write Hero How To?: Many things, but mainly a need to create and to see diversity of representation and storytelling, in theater and other media.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: What speaks to me is theater that works to tell new stories and create new archetypes. What inspires me is travel, collaboration, friendship, struggle, and at times, frustration. I also get inspired by laughing really hard and sunshine.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Janelle Monae, Cee-Lo Green, Bryan Cranston, Dael Orlandersmith, the entire cast of "American Horror Story: Coven", the creators of "Game of Thrones", my friend Ayo, I could go on. I like making work basically.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Whatever shows my friends and colleagues are doing/producing/writing. Yea..it's like that :)

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I'd rather make a eight other movies and plays about something else, and cast artists who aren't always getting opportunities based on discriminatory guidelines.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: "Teen Wolf"

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: "Hit Me" by Mystikal

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Someone else

What’s up next?: Finding/conjuring the funds to finish season one of "The Last Days of Kartika", writing a musical for young audiences, finding an adequate survival job, sunbathing.

Spotlight On...Brendan Spieth

Name: Brendan Spieth

Hometown: San Antonio, Texas

Education: The Juilliard School

Select Credits: Winter's Tale (Old Globe), American River (Lesser America), R + J: Star Cross'd Death Match (3 Day Hangover), Balm in Gilead (Brian Mertes, Beau Willimon, Alex Harvey), I choreographed some dances for The Humans are in Trouble (NYU Grad Acting Program), and I was a prep cook at Egg Restaurant in Brooklyn (Heard!)

Why theater?: Theatre has infinite possibility, it reflects our hidden desires and our childish terrors. 

Tell us about Short Life of Trouble: Short Life of Trouble is a wandering of sorts from different writers.  It's pulled text from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, selected William Faulkner, and music that dates from the 1930's and before.  The different mediums blend together to create this unique southern landscape that reverberates a familiar tale. 

What is it like being a part of Short Life of Trouble?: Being a native Texan... this world feels like home.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: New playwrights have always been the way.  I have so many heroes in this world among them are: Laura Ramadei, Nate Miller, Jared P. Nathan, Orlando Pabotoy, and the San Antonio Spurs.  But my biggest heroes have always been my Mother (Suzanne) and Father (Donald).

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Cyrano de Bergerac, Fool (Lear), Treplev.

What’s your favorite showtune?: "Telly" from Matilda

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I would love to be in a play directed by Christopher Bayes

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I would have Cate Blanchett play me.  And it would be called "Two - One - Oh"

What show have you recommended to your friends?: An Octaroon (Soho Rep.), Casa Valentina (MTC), Carnival Kids (Lesser America), and "Looking" (HBO)

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: "Sampson and the Warden" by Loudon Wainwright, "Take Me Back Babe" by: Mance Lipscomb, and "Ax to Grind" by: Damon Daunno.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: "Frasier."  I have watched every single episode of Frasier... three times. (judge away... its amazing)

What’s up next?: I've  been part of the writing team for a new musical about an indie band from 2001. It is called "Those Lost Boys". We are putting four performances  up at Ars Nova July 25th & 26th and August 1st & 2nd!  Check us out! www.thoselostboys.com

Review: Exploring the Balance in Venice

The Merchant of Venice is one of those Shakespeare "comedies" that has the polarizing blend of comedy and drama. In Shakespeare Forum’s production of The Merchant of Venice, those polar ends are explored to the extreme in the classic play about love, faith, honor, and revenge.
For those needing a plot summary, The Merchant of Venice follows the intertwining stories of Bassanio, a suitor of the rich heiress Portia, who approaches his friend, the titular Antonio, to subsidize his pursuit. Bassanio and Antonio approach Shylock to be a lender, who in turn strikes a deal that if he cannot return the fee by the specified date, he may take a pound of Antonio’s flesh. Of course, like any Shakespeare play, there are an assortment of colorful characters to meet along the way. Like the divide of styles, the company was divided as well. The cast was lead by the wonderful performances of Bill Coyne, Dominic Comperatore, and Sarah Hankins. Bill Coyne effortlessly embodies Bassanio, bringing the right amount of charm and heart. Comperatore was a natural with the text. Both Coyne and Compertore found the way to bring contemporary to the classic text. Sarah Hankins as Nerissa was a natural when it came to the comedic timing, knowing exactly when to pander for laughs. Hanna Rose Goalstone and Imani Jade Powers took the understated route as Portia and Jessica, handing over their scenes to Sarah Hankins’ colorful Nerissa and Zach Libresco’s goofy Lorenzo. Though Goalstone’s performance did take off greatly in the second half, delivering Portia’s infamous monologue with passion. Joseph J. Menino as Shylock offered quite a unique performance. As possibly the most iconic character of the play, Menino put his stamp on the role, yet he seemed to play up the “woe is me” card, allowing the audience to potentially dislike his revenge and honor plot, seeing him as a villain.
As far as conceptualizing the play, it appeared to be a blend of modern with a classic throwback including an elegant set design by Marie Yokoyama. With the explanation from the Directors’ Note about the story being about class, facades, and preconceptions, Brittany Merola’s costume design was a bit confusing. There appeared to be very little difference in the way of class types. Perhaps the façade card was played up a little more than the class card.
Overall, Shakespeare Forum’s The Merchant of Venice was mediocre and underwhelming. Despite some wonderful performances, there was just something lacking.

Spotlight On...Nicola McEldowney

Name: Nicola McEldowney

Hometown: Riverdale, NY

Education: Columbia University (B.A., French) and the Universite Sorbonne-Nouvelle in Paris (M1 - French masters program - in theatre studies).

Favorite Credits: As an actress: Estelle in No Exit, Queen Marguerite in Exit the King, Melody Elbow in my own musical Aisle Six (produced last year at FringeNYC)  As a director: Seussical, featuring one of the best casts I've ever seen, every single actor under age 11.

Why theater?: Working the crowd.

Tell us about White Space: White Space is a play by my friend, playwright  Brett Ackerman. It's a funny but dark and tense play about comic book characters trapped in their panels.

What inspired you to direct White Space?: I got asked. As a director, I find that to be excellent inspiration. :-)

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theater that's  character-centric, driven by strong emotions and ideally  also funny. Anything that has a sense of humor about itself speaks to me. Inspiration might be anything from a visit to the Cloisters to a good comic book (I'm thinking here of the works of Hergé and Tove Jansson) to a piece of music so good it punches you in the stomach, in the best possible sense. I recently wrote a screenplay inspired by the first movement of Poulenc's piano concerto. The final product has very little to do with the concerto. It was just the spark. 

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Wes Anderson. I came late to his films, having fallen hard for "Moonrise Kingdom" two years ago.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I've been rehearsing for multiple shows these past months so haven't gotten to as much theatre as I would like. My current recommending energies are all channeled into getting people to come to the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, where I'm in one play (Slam Team by Gina Inzunza) and directing another (Barber from Outer Space, which I co-authored with Rachel Gambiza).

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Audrey Tautou - I will accept no substitutes -   and the movie would be called "Heart of Snarkness" (French: "Coeur de Snarkness"), a nod to my blog, The Snark Ascending.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: I live in Riverdale, home of multiple excellent Jewish bakeries, so porn. Uh - I mean cookies.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: Apparently a Danish folksong arrangement by Percy Grainger.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Wealthier but disgruntled.

What’s up next?: A show I wrote is coming to a wonderful venue, The Tank, in the fall. More on that as it develops!


For more on Nicola, visit http://nicolatheatre.webs.com

Review: Two Distant Hearts

One-night stands usually allow for a story the morning after. But what happens when a intimate encounter by two unlikely parties spirals out of control? In Shannon Murdoch’s Virus Attacks Heart, part of the 2014 Planet Connections Festival, we watch the aging Beatrice and youthful Jamie as they weave through a passionate night together. When the encounter leads to one in the hospital, lives are changed and hearts are shattered.
Murdoch’s play is filled with poetry. Her words are rich with imagery, allowing for some beautiful moments and monologues. In the world of the play that borders between natural and poetic, the majority of these monologues occur while Jamie or Beatrice is alone on stage, while the other is in another room. It’s an interesting concept to explore. Are the words you speak with a barrier between entirely truthful or does the fact that the other’s presence is missing alter what you say? In a play about intimacy, lacking a scene partner is a big challenge.  From an exploration standpoint, watching two strangers engage in this was fascinating to watch, however from an acting vantage, both actors seemed to struggle and get lost in making it work. With the monologues pretty much front-loaded in the script, the pacing started off gradual. Additionally, the play is told non-linearly. Attempting to figure out the timeline of the play was quite difficult which truly affected the arcs of the characters. These two strangers are “whiney” in their own respect, but caring about Beatrice’s story is hard to do, especially when her vulnerability comes out toward the end. Since the structure is set up the way it is, as we move toward the end, there are many false endings, or moments that would make for a beautiful ending. With that in mind, the additional scenes after these false endings truly don’t propel the characters forward any further.

As Beatrice and Jamie respectively, Gina LeMoine and Luke Wise ease into their parts. LeMoine’s Beatrice is sensible yet yearns for any connection, especially from Wise’s smart beyond his years Jamie. Jamie’s naivety shines through in his moments of pain. However, for a play about connection, or lack there of, their moments together were often erratic, partially due to the nature of the non-linear format. 
Director Brian Gillespie used simplicity to his advantage. In his staging, the multi-locational play was suggested by pieces, including the clever removable lampshade turned IV drip bringing us to bedroom to hospital room. One of the most beautiful moments of the play was Beatrice’s bus monologue. Combined with Murdoch’s gorgeous words and Gillespie’s ingenious staging, LeMoine recreated a bus and its passengers with liquor bottles, highlighting Murdoch’s imagery.
For a play that explores the connection of humans, Virus Attacks Heart is just another play, but what sets this script apart is Shannon Murdoch’s words. With a fine-tuning of the timeline, Virus Attacks Heart will be an even more beautiful piece.

Spotlight On...Dean Haspiel

Name: Dean Haspiel

Hometown: Manhattan, NY cum Brooklyn!

Education: Music & Art cum La Guardia High School. SUNY Purchase.

Favorite Credits: Billy Dogma, The Fox, The Quitter, American Splendor, The Alcoholic, Cuba: My Revolution, HBO's "Bored To Death"

Why theater?: This is my first foray into theater but I've always loved the stage. The raw immediacy of live action and reaction is unparalleled. I'm a fan of William Shakespeare, David Mamet, Harold Pinter, David Rabe, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, and Tracy Letts.

Tell us about Switch to Kill: In a world where no one knows anyone’s true identity, professional hit men, Dallas Twilite and Buck Dangerzone, engage in a psychological duel that triggers cold–blooded acts of murder. Through a series of harried gun play and emotional tests, a trust is reinstated and ghosts are lifted from the psyche of grief-stricken killers.

What inspired you to write Switch to Kill?: I wrote Switch to Kill approximately 25-years ago when I was attempting to write my first screenplay. I believe I'd just seen Mike Nichols' adaptation of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Quentin Tarantino's "Reservoir Dogs" and the combination spooked me into writing a story about two hit men who engage in an emotionally arrested word game that triggers murder while confronting the power of a deep, dark secret. I was inspired to dust off Switch to Kill when I had a conversation with playwright Crystal Skillman who alerted me to the Comic Book Festival at The Brick. Skillman recommended me to organizer Jeff Lewonczyk who liked my play enough to secure director Ian W. Hill's interest in directing and producing it.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love classic productions of betrayal and heartbreak, unrequited love made manifest and good old fashioned revenge, but nothing has yet to beat Rev Jen's Anti-slam. Rev Jen hosts a broken fun house mirror of humanity that skates the abstract equator of the the honest and the absurd. Wrong never felt so right.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I've always been a fan of actor Eric Roberts. I'd kill to write something for him that would get him performing like he did in "The Pope of Greenwich Village" and "Runaway Train." I'd also like to write a galactic Frankenstein story starring Michael Shannon.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't seen nearly as much theater as I would like to. The art table keeps me chained. The last show I recommended was a stage musical called Forever Dusty, starring Kirsten Holly Smith and co-written by Jonathan Vankin. It was amazing. I hope to see a bunch of shows at The Comic Book Festival.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Martin Lawrence would play me and the movie would be called "Post-Disaster Adventure Chronicles."

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Entenmann's Thick Fudge Iced Golden Cake

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: "Backseat Freestyle" by Kendrick Lamar

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Making movies. I have a screenplay called "The Big Red Mess", which is an expanded version of Switch to Kill that also tells the story of "Luke Tuna," a character that is only spoken about in hushed yet revered tones in the Brick version of STK directed and designed by Ian W. Hill.

What’s up next?: Besides writing a novel and other plays, I'm currently drawing some of the interior art for Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four, and writing/drawing a second The Fox mini-series for Archie/Red Circle Comics debuting around Xmas time. My graphic novel Fear My Dear: A Billy Dogma Experience (published by Z2) will be available mid-June, and I'm curating/hosting a monthly psychotronic salon at Union Hall called Enter to Win, starting June 21st: https://www.facebook.com/events/502980726490680/

For more on Dean, visit http://deanhaspiel.com/

Blog Hijack: A Preview of Short Life of Trouble

In today's Blog Hijack, Valerie Redd (Creator, Writer/Adapter, Producer, Cast Member) and Eric Powell Holm (Director) talk about their upcoming production of Short Life of Trouble!

Eric Powell Holm, Valerie Redd, Brendan Spieth

    
How would you describe the development process of Short Life of Trouble?

Valerie Redd: How would we describe the development process?

Eric Powell Holm: It was… thoughtful.

VR: It was long!

EPH: It was long!

VR: A year of workshops with actors, after a year of literary research and dramaturgy.

EPH: It was considered. Developing this piece has been really interesting to watch.

VR: I do remember very clearly having a set list of hypotheses and then testing them out in the workshops. I mean, the very first one we were trying to find out if we could get away with doing Shakespeare with a Southern accent. We had to test that out. Every foundational piece had to be tested out. Those kinds of validations and discoveries, finding our footing every time and getting deeper and deeper into it…

EPH: Yeah, yeah what’s that phrase people use…”proof of concept.”

VR: Right, this thing has been tested, you know? Every time we met, another risk was being taken… First, it was the Southern dialect with the Shakespeare text, next it was the songs, “What’s it like to mix bluegrass with Shakespeare? Does that work? Can we get away with it?” and then the next time it was original text and Faulkner and the question of whether or not we could get away with adding that! “Will they blend together? Can we go seamlessly between these things?”

EPH: Right, or “What do the seams feel like?”

VR: Yeah! “Is it bumpy? If it’s bumpy is that good?”

EPH: Right, exactly.

VR: That’s what the development process was like…kind of baby steps along the way…but also, jumping off cliffs every time!

EPH: Baby cliff jumps.

VR: Baby cliff jumps. Every time.

EPH: I remember your wall, or sometimes floor, of notecards that you would move around. “What if this goes here?”

VR: My “Beautiful Mind” notecards! They were color-coded – it was a whole language,  “Here’s a song, and here’s an original speech, and here’s Shakespeare” and I kept an eye on making sure it hadn’t been too long before we had another puzzle piece. After I’d set up that system, I found great comfort in this treasure trove of interview archives of Faulkner, where someone asked him about his process in writing As I Lay Dying—which is a huge influence on this piece because of its multiple narrators—and they asked him “How did you know when to switch to a different character’s perspective, how did you know how to order them?” and he likened it to arranging a shop window, thinking about what would look best next to each other.  So that’s what the cards were about!

What is it like to rehearse a play that is still a work in progress?

EPH: It’s freeing…it’s like “Oh, let’s make a proposal here…” But, I also feel that in my past work, by some playwrights’ standards, I’ve played faster and looser with the script than I have in this process, since the creator/ writer/ adapter is there in the room.

VR: I have certainly felt that moment where I was in the room and I thought “Shakespeare and Faulkner are dead…but I’m a live person….in the room...I  have a say.” I like being open to changes…this team has had proposals of “Let’s move this speech, let’s move this line, cut this line” and what I have found, so I don’t go crazy, is that I know I put it on the page the way it is for a reason, but I’m willing to be convinced otherwise. That’s my way of working. I’m willing to be convinced otherwise. I’m thrilled when I am…because they just made it better.

EPH: On the whole what makes it interesting has to do with collective ownership…communal creation.

VR: Yeah, people bringing what they do to the piece – actors living through the text, whether I wrote it or adapted it or spliced it or whatever. I tried to live through it as a playwright as much as I could just to check and make sure that I was making sense.

EPH: Of course.

VR: But, I can’t live through it the way each actor is, and I can’t bring to it who and what they are. Their approach to it and their reaction to it is changing it, and potentially rearranging it and editing or altering it in a very good way.

How does Short Life of Trouble differ from the source material?

VR: I’d say that the Southern Gothic inspired text, while keeping its natural tempo, can have a slightly stronger undercurrent when working in tandem with Shakespeare.  As for the Hamlet source, Short Life of Trouble turns it into a group experience.

EPH: Yes. Our play gives everyone in the story the permission to pause and think things through in a way that is very Hamlet-ish, but it invites everyone into that process.

VR: I think the original Hamlet relies on the fact that everybody’s going to identify with Hamlet. They have to, because he’s asking those universal questions that everybody asks—but in our play everybody gets to ponder in their own way.

EPH: And the point-of-view is different for each person, letting everyone have that secret power of turning to the audience and asking them a question. It’s not only the special brilliant princes that have these thoughts.

VR: It’s generous, giving everybody their chance.

EPH: I don’t know where I first fell in love with that phrase “spirit of generosity” but to me it’s a phrase that really speaks to what I want the theatre I make to have. Spirit is such an amazing word in the way that it speaks to ghosts but it also speaks to whiskey, it also speaks to breath and inspiration…

VR: The Holy Spirit…

EPH: Exactly… so the idea that the Holy Spirit of Generosity is flowing through our play…  well, it makes me happy to invite people to come into our circle.