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Anna and the Arts
Anna Cherkezishvili approaches her eighth year here in the United States. From the moment she landed she began auditioning and – almost as immediately – began performing.
In an extensive interview on the program “In The PassionPit” Anna shared how her family lived through the Civil War in Georgia This was the foundation of two defining parts of her life. The first – due to power-outages and curfews, much of Anna’s childhood was spent in doors and in the dark. “I used to imagine my room was a vast castle when I played with my dolls” she said, “allowing me to cultivate new realities in my mind with my imagination.” One can see how an artist’s imagination might grow rapidly – even in such a dark and forbidding atmosphere. The second is her choice of work once she arrived. She was part of two companies: Dramatic Adventures, which told immigrant stories, and Identity Theatre, which opens its casting doors to differently abled artists.
“I want to give back,” Anna said with a smile.
ArtsIndependent interviewed Anna recently about her mission as an actress in America.
Tell us about yourself as an artist
I am a Georgian born actress, currently living in New York. I am a recent graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Since childhood, I had interest in art and music and my parents would take me to the theater to watch plays for that reason. Since then, I had developed strong liking of theatre and was willing to become an actress. When I graduated from school, my only dream was to become an artist. I entered college in the Georgian University of Theater and Film. Since then I never looked back and kept following the path of the creative artistic journey. I am primarily a theatre actoress but would be happy to work in film industry one day. I am also very enthusiastic about devising theatre work and do enjoy creative writing. I constantly work on my craft and have strong interest into creating the kind of work that gives voice to Immigrant actors who have stories to share and have their artistic vision that is unique to them.
What inspired you to come to the United States?
It is not easy for me to put this into words, I wish I could express every enthusiasm and will I have for working as an artists in US, as it was always my lifelong dream to come here. I grew up watching American movies and cartoons on TV. Growing up as a kid of post-soviet era, which was tough for a young person to live in, I was always amazed by the freedom of the individualistic expression of American artists. It was the beauty and grand of how bold and vivid the American musicals and films were that inspired me. Great musicals such as Singing in the Rain or Hello Dolly or movies such as Steven Spielberg’s ET or Star Wars, it all fascinated me and encouraged my imagination. I treasure every single opportunity of growth I’m given here. My mother never stopped believing in me and in my love of acting which always encouraged me to go after my dreams. Georgia is a country with long- time tradition of theatre and film but with completely struggling economy. Due to many years of war and complications of post-soviet era of living it is hard to maintain the industry there. The reason why I came to America, is because this country is the land of opportunities for people like me who are hard working and willing to contribute to the society. I know that in this country professional artists can achieve the best of their potential. The culture of theatre and film in US is absolutely magnificent and one of the most famous in the world.
What have you been doing since you arrived?
In 2013-2014, I was lucky to audition and join the New York theater company Dramatic Adventure Theatre. I traveled in Slovakia with the company to create the play, “Ako David.” Which we presented in New York at the Abingdon Theatre. Following this, I traveled in Ecuador and acted in a play “La Maldicion de la Tunda” which we presented in New York as well, at the IATI Theatre. Within the same time period, I was honored to be invited by Identity Theatre director Nick Linnehan to join the play “True Colors of Weddle” a children’s musical. I had another great opportunity of joining the legendary Heights Players for the production of Christmas Carol at the John Bourne Theatre. After this production, I was part of the Fun Fest Feb Fest festival produced by TeamTheatre company, portraying role of an immigrant woman in the play “No Friends”. I am proud for the fact that the play’s director Chrysi Sylaidi garnered Director of the Play of the Decade by Broadway World 2020.
How has the pandemic affected you in terms of your career?
I was very sad about seeing how it affected not only theatre and my career, but the entire country. It is a very challenging time that everyone went through. I think most people are still recovering from the stress that pandemic caused and it is still an ongoing issue. Seeing all the theatres closing it’s doors was definitely a sad experience. But I must say community of actors and theatre makers I have been honored to know, did not give up and stopped working even from their own homes. For example, I attended the sessions of Global Gab: Cross Cultural Conversations by Rattlestick Theatre. Which was a program created for international artists in US discussing the challenges they faced during pandemic and beyond. I volunteered as well for the wonderful theatre project created by Marialana Ardolino called Quarantine Theatre where actors read plays via Zoom. I participated as Fanny for the play reading of “As It Is In Heaven” by Ariene Hutton. I volunteered for the reading of “Othello” by Shakespeare, for the same project as well, this time portraying man’s roles of Lodovico and The Duke of Venice.
What are your ultimate goals?
I am looking forward to work towards sharing the stories I have been long willing to share through my creative process. My goal is to raise the awareness of the Immigrant Artists. I am looking to bring my understanding of humanity into the theatre and accept others understanding of humanity. I am looking to work with talented actors and theatre makers who serve our craft. I have great appreciation of the high level of professionalism in America and I am willing to create characters that moves people and is memorable to them. I would like to create work that ethnically diverse audience can relate to as well as American.
What’s happening for you next year?
Next year and the following year, I have several projects I am planning to work on. I am looking forward to work on the project “A Mirror Returns Image with No face” with Ms. Suzi Takahashi. And the play “Hanna” about a Georgian Immigrant Woman, which I am working on with Rusudan Tchubabria a Georgian American writer. I am very excited to be recently invited to join the new play project at the TeamTheatre called “Censored” as well as their festival Fun Fast Feb Fest 2021. As well as I am honored to be invited to join the Rattelstick Playwrights Theatre for their Global Forms Theatre festival 2021, where they only invite the top international artists to participate. I will work on the project “Inside the Artists Mind” with Dorothea Gloria and Myrna Davonne.
The Lambs ® Marks its 146th Founding Anniversary
The Lambs ® — America’s first professional theatrical club and oldest professional theatrical organization — celebrates its 146th founding anniversary this month with festive online gatherings replacing in-person social events at our clubhouse in Midtown Manhattan amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Lambs was founded in Christmas Week 1874 in New York City, taking its name from an earlier theatrical club in London, England, that honored the essayist Charles Lamb and his sister, Mary, who during the early 1800s hosted actors and literati at their famed salon. The Lambs has occupied 14 clubhouses in New York over the years, with the current clubhouse at 3 West 51st Street offering performance and rehearsal space, meeting rooms, recreational activities, and access to a private pub and restaurant.
The Lambs Foundation, a related organization, is a 501(c)(3) charity that supports education in the arts and non-profit theater. Supported by bequests and donations, and manned by all volunteers, it has disbursed more than $500,000 in grants over the last nine years.
The Lambs Foundation also controls the Club’s valuable collection of theater memorabilia and artwork, including paintings and drawings by the likes of Lamb Howard Chandler Christy and Lamb James Montgomery Flagg, and a theater broadside from the Theatre Royal in London dating to 1773. Over the past year, the Foundation has embarked on a conservation program to restore these historic works to their former glory.
With the Club’s 146th anniversary fast approaching, and our 150th anniversary waiting in the wings, The Lambs has left an indelible mark in America’s theatrical history, arts, and entertainment. A cursory look at the Club’s history reveals:
— Lambs were among the founders of the Actors Fund of America (1882) and include J. Lester Wallack, A.M. Palmer, and Daniel Frohman. Of the charity’s first 12 chairmen, eight were Lambs. The Fund’s current president and chief executive, Joseph Benincasa, celebrates 30 years as a Lamb next year.
[continued]
— Lambs were among the founders of Actors’ Equity Association (1913). Of the 23 founding Equity council members, 22 were Lambs, as were its top three officers. The union name was coined by William Courtleigh, who served as a Lambs’ Shepherd (president). During the Actors Strike of 1919, the Club became a hotbed of union activity and was known as “Local One.” Lamb Augustus Thomas, a popular Shepherd, was credited with bringing the warring sides together to end the strike.
— The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) began with meetings at The Lambs (1914). Six of the nine founders were Lambs, including Irving Berlin, Victor Herbert, and Gustave Kerker. The ASCAP Foundation was founded in 1975 by a bequest from Lamb Jack Norworth.
— Ten founders of the Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG, 1933) were Lambs. Of the original 21 directors and officers, 10 were Lambs. Five have served as its president – and of the first 75 members, 36 were Lambs. The first president of the American Federation of Radio Artists (AFRA, 1937) was a Lamb, and five served as its president. When these unions merged into SAG-AFTRA (2012), three Lambs were board members and one served as national president. Two Lambs currently serve on the board.
— Paramount Pictures (1912) and United Artists (1919) were founded by Lambs.
— In recent years, The Lambs has been recognized by actor Ken Howard while president of SAG-AFTRA and by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Congressman Jerold Nadler, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and even Pope John Paul II.
– – – – –
http://www.the-lambs.org
http://www.TheLambsFoundation.org
The Lambs ® is a registered trademark of The Lambs Inc., and not related to The Lambs Club Restaurant owned by Jeffrey Zakarian. The Lambs Foundation is not related to any religious organization or similar sounding charity.
She’s Got Friends
Article by Jay Michaels
On Thursday July 9, in the early evening, Federica Borlenghi, an actress in several indie theatre companies, suffered severe head trauma during an accident in Mason, Ohio. She hit the top right portion of her head on a concrete bicycle path and was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. She was placed on sedatives and a ventilator to keep her airways clear and flown by helicopter to Cincinnati, Ohio to receive additional treatment.
On the morning of July 10, she was taken off the ventilator and has been breathing well on her own since. For the majority of July 10 and July 11 Federica was mostly non-verbal and had difficulty following instructions from hospital staff. She was not eating or drinking until July 12th.
In the hospital she has received a variety of tests including 3 CT-scans and has been monitored for seizures. As of today, July 13, Federica is still in the hospital. She has been issued speech and physical therapy exercises to help combat mental-fog and help her body strengthen.
Her full recovery is of paramount concern; however, the cost of these life-saving services is staggering. As an Italian international on a student visa living within the United States, Federica is not covered by typical insurance plans and must pay for medical bills upfront. This is a daunting task for anyone – especially for a young 24-year-old graduate like Federica (for Italian and international donors: in the U.S. healthcare is mostly privatized and requires patients and families to adopt policies that would help pay for medical expenses. The U.S. does not have holistic public healthcare programs that would aid effected patients).
Her friends – headed by the leaders of Here We Go, Dirty Laundry Theatre, and Rising Star Performance Company – created their own telethon to help their fellow artist pay for the live-saving procedures and other medical needs. The total is almost unimaginable – over $100,000. Absolving this monstrous bill will help Federica continue her dream of directing and producing theater within the United States and assure a bright future unencumbered by medical debt.
When one imagines a fundraiser for such an amount one can hope that there are a few “wealthy” colleagues out there. Or maybe a connection to an affluent source. But these are three off-off Broadway companies – each suffering at this time with all theaters dark until the spring … or maybe fall of 2021. Regardless of their own station, these three intrepid companies banded together its members and created A CELEBRATION OF POSITIVITY- A Fundraiser for Federica Borlenghi’s Recovery.
The vast array of performances ranged from new works, comedic pieces, Broadway musical numbers and so much more. One particular entry was of international performers Chrysi Sylaidi and Gwendolyn Snow doing Randy Newman’s You Got a Friend in Me. Both in Greek and English, the two combined their lovely voices into a sweet uplifting piece. But the layers of this piece don’t stop with language. Edited together (undoubtedly with help from Sylaidi, now an experienced film director as well as performer) with a collage of short videos of children. As just a performance piece you might call it sweet but when you look at it a spart of this event at which all the artists have forgotten their troubles and gave selflessly their time and money and talent to their friend; when you consider the fact that so many of the children in the videos seem instinctually to know how to hug and kiss; considering the song – sweet normally but deeply moving under this situation; and you put together the lovely voices of the two artists – this is a moment to choke back tears and pull out your wallet.
In the end, this cober6t of sorts is a powerful learning lesson. Love is what comes naturally as we see from the children and the artists. Anything else must be taught.
Please donate to this cause and support these companies.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/federica-borlenghi039s-recovery-fund
ELEGIES FOR ANGELS, PUNKS AND RAGING QUEENS benefitting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, presented December 1
More Broadway, television and film stars have been added to the celebrated series of songs and monologues Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, set to stream on World AIDS Day – Tuesday, December 1, 2020. The virtual production, featuring 51 performers, will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens honors the lives lost to AIDS through free-verse monologues with a blues, jazz and rock score.
The newest additions to the stream include Paul Castree (Disaster!), Richard Chamberlain (TV’s The Thorn Birds), Charity Angél Dawson (Waitress), Fran Drescher (TV’s The Nanny), J. Harrison Ghee (Kinky Boots), Gideon Glick (To Kill a Mockingbird), Lisa Howard (It Shoulda Been You), James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin), Cherry Jones (The Glass Menagerie), Francis Jue (Cambodian Rock Band, TV’s Madam Secretary), Vicki Lewis (Anastasia), Telly Leung (Aladdin), Stanley Wayne Mathis (Nice Work If You Can Get It), Eric William Morris (King Kong), Michael Notardonato (Romeo & Bernadette), Okieriete Onaodowan (Hamilton, TV’s Station 19), Kirsten Scott (Rock of Ages), Matthew Scott (An American in Paris), Michael James Scott (Aladdin), Evan Todd (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Mariand Torres (Wicked) and Michael Xavier (Sunset Boulevard).
There also will be special appearances by longtime Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS friends Danny Burstein, Judith Light, Billy Porter (who’s also a member of the Broadway Cares Board of Trustees) and Michael Urie.
They join the previously announced lineup of Brooks Ashmanskas (The Prom), Laura Bell Bundy (Legally Blonde), Robin de Jesús (The Boys in the Band), Stephanie Gibson (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Lana Gordon (Chicago), Alan H. Green (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Lena Hall (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Tony winner Jayne Houdyshell (The Music Man), Famke Janssen (X-Men), Jay Armstrong Johnson (The Phantom of the Opera), Joaquina Kalukango (Slave Play), Tari Kelly (Groundhog Day), Nathan Lane (The Producers), Norm Lewis (Once on This Island), Alyse Alan Louis (Amélie), Andrea Macasaet (Six the Musical), Kevin McHale (TV’s Glee), Varla Jean Merman (Chicago), Jessie Mueller (Carousel), Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Royina Patel , Anthony Rapp (Rent), Krysta Rodriguez (Spring Awakening), SiriusXM host Seth Rudetsky , JK Simmons (Whiplash, TV’s Law & Order), Robin Lord Taylor (TV’s Gotham), Alysha Umphress (On the Town), Anna Uzele (Six the Musical) and Marisha Wallace (West End’s Dreamgirls).
Watch the free stream at broadwaycares.org/elegies beginning at 5 pm Eastern on World AIDS Day, December 1. The stream also will premiere at 5 pm and 8 pm Eastern on Broadway on Demand. The show will be available through Saturday, December 5.
Created in the face of one pandemic and revived in another, Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens features a book and lyrics by Bill Russell and music by Janet Hood . It premiered in 1989 as the AIDS crisis ravaged the country. Each monologue is written from the perspective of a character who died from AIDS. The songs represent the feelings of friends and family members dealing with the loss. It’s a show where “joy and hope and love seeps from its every pore,” as one reviewed noted. This stirring piece of theater history, shared this year on World AIDS Day, takes on new meaning amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The streaming of Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens is being directed by Bill Russell and Justin Ross Cohen and produced by Jim Kierstead and Broadway Virtual, Jim Head, Sainty & Eric Nelsen, Rusty & Molly Reid, The Worx Productions LTD, Linda Karn, Daniel Mitura/Jill Steinberg, Ann Moore/Jane Furse, and Justin Ross Cohen, in association with The Abingdon Theatre Company (Chad Austin, Artistic Director).
The stream is free and donations will be accepted for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS at broadwaycares.org/elegies2020. Every dollar donated will help those across the country affected by HIV/AIDS, COVID-19 and other critical illnesses receive healthy meals, lifesaving medication, emergency financial assistance, housing, counseling and more. The donations also support and champion organizations focused on social justice and anti-racism.
Center of GRAVITY
Return with us to the wondrous days of Famous Monsters, the science vs. fiction of Omni and Starlog, the satirical humor of Mad Magazine, and the brilliant short stories of the legendary pulp magazines.
Gravity City Digital Magazine — a stunning amalgam of these great periodicals will burst upon the genre by Halloween!
Filled with Mad Magazine lampoon-style ads and spoof gadgets and products, the magazine — aside from its humor — serves as a platform for emerging authors of science fiction, fantasy, and Horror, as well as illuminating interviews and articles about new films, books, and other genre events.
Gravity City is a media partner with Phoenix FearCon Online. FearCon will run until December 31. Gravity City will provide coverage of the film festival’s events. Gravity City is also offering Issues 1 & 2 (now out of print) to all ticket buyers of Phoenix FearCon (https://phoenixfearcon.festivee.com/)
Joining Artie Cabrera and editorial collaborator Christopher J. Valin is Margarita Mendoza, a veteran of marketing and advertising, and Jay Michaels, a prominent personality in the genre community as well as producer and host of In the PassionPit, an ongoing podcast, and video program that spotlights indie artists and their creations — just like Artie and Gravity City — as well as appearances at PhantasmCon, Boston Sci-Fi, and others.
Margarita Mendoza has already begun spearheading a far-reaching marketing campaign and soliciting [real] advertising while Jay Michaels is the communications director.
The Third Issue of Gravity City Digital Magazine is currently in production and it features exclusive interviews with Star Trek: Discovery writers Bo Yeon Kim and Erika Lippoldt, as well as television writer Larry Brody (The Six Million Dollar Man, Hawaii 5–0, Automan, Todd McFarlane’s Spawn animated series (HBO) conducted and written by Christopher J. Valin.
Also — Gravity City Digital Magazine is more than a magazine and an adjoining website. It endeavors to act as a compendium for the Gravity City fictional universe it’s based on. Readers and fans have dubbed Gravity City as Star Wars meets the best of ’70s crime dramas.
Synopsis: “In the far reaches of space, the celestial body known as Nebuna is the home to a metropolis with a bad attitude and an expansive wasteland filled with legends and mystery. The tales you are about to read will give you an unflinching ride through the crime-infested gutters and corruption of GRAVITY CITY and the wondrous world that lies beyond city limits,” expounds Artie Cabrera, founder, and publisher of the magazine and creator of the universe and website.
“Gravity City is filled with dark stories, Noir stories, science fiction stories, gumshoe stories, war stories, alien stories, and smuggler stories. In this city, imagination is bursting at the seams, the sky’s the limit and the tales to tell here are numerous and filled with variety.” — an Amazon review.
A series of Gravity City novels written by Artie Cabrera and Christopher J. Valin will be released sometime in 2021.
Ai had a chance to chat with Artie about his far-flung creation.
Tell us about you as an artist?
I was fortunate to have grown up in the era that I did and with a family who were so vastly different from one another that we basically had a wealth of music, movies, and literature lying around the house. I witnessed the golden age of Spielberg and Lucas, Kenner, Hasbro, and Mattel toys, sugary, neon-dyed cereal, and Saturday Morning Cartoons in real time. There wasn’t any shortage of inspiration for me because we were a three-generation home, so I had access to a myriad of content spanning back to the 40s and 50s. A lot of it I consumed by sneaking off into the bathroom with magazines or books I perceived to be off-limits to me – i.e. Playboy, Robert Crumb and Ralph Bakshi pictures, LIFE magazine, National Geographic, and various lifestyle or Pulp periodicals. Sometimes I feel like I was raised by the strangest menagerie of characters. I owe most of my earliest impressions to Tony Montana, Bruce Lee, Prince, and G.I. Joe. All that brought me here to this point today, and is essentially the well that I draw from for Gravity City.
Why a Magazine and Book Series?
The magazine was a happy accident and a way to promote the various elements and the Gravity City novels. Initially, I think it was only intended to be a twenty-five page compendium to go with our website or Facebook group. But I eventually had different plans, and I lost many nights staying awake brainstorming ideas and concepts for what I wanted the magazine to look like and represent. With a magazine, I felt like we could do so much more and just go wild. We’re not where I want to be aesthetically-speaking yet but the ideas are there, and they’ll continuously evolve.
How do you find artists and writers?
I wish the process was a lot simpler and fluid, but I’ll spend days sifting through artist-based sites, like Artstation, Adobe’s Behance, sometimes Pinterest. Sometimes I’ll see something on Facebook and set it aside. When I find something I think is suitable for the magazine—in that I mean, if the imagery is telling me a story or is so striking that it leaps off the page, and is within the tone of our magazine—I’ll reach out to the artist and ask them if the image is available to be featured. Most of them are gracious and are generous with their work and will give us their blessings.
Were you an avid Sci-Fi reader when you were younger?
As I mentioned earlier, there was an abundance of reading and visual materials in our home. Sadly, reading wasn’t what I gravitated to as much as I did when it came to visuals and music. Out of the three, music won out and I became an active musician for roughly twenty-five years. It wasn’t really until 2010 where I changed course and put my focus on writing. Even then, I still feel a stronger tug towards the visual realm. That hasn’t changed.
What makes Gravity City different or special?
Gravity City was born out of my need to approach science fiction in a way that was palatable for me. That’s not me saying that I attempted to fix science fiction or that science fiction was lacking in any shape or form. God knows that I’m not qualified to revise any genre. I’m quite envious of writers who are disciplined enough to sit down, be prolific, and write multiple books in a year. I’m not sure if that is part of my genetic makeup. But what I saw happening was that the hard science trend was permeating science fiction mainstream literature and there was a focal shift towards machine learning, artificial intelligence, time travel, and how potatoes grew on Mars. I guess it gained enough traction that it felt like storytellers were suddenly more conscious and inclined to be super-accurate and grounded in their stories than just going at it all willy-nilly. Which is all fine by me, but I don’t always need to know how the sausage is made. I can suspend my belief with most entertainment because I’m there to be entertained and not to read a thesis on time dilation or quantum theory. I don’t have a shot in competing in that arena. And I sure as hell am not going to write something that is going to hold a candle against someone who actually knows what they’re talking about and have studied a subject their entire career. So, I ran in the other direction, to the ridiculous and quirky side of things.
I naturally asked myself all the necessary questions to get me going and writing science fiction. What did I like? What do I want to see? What will I tolerate writing for the next ten years? I came to the conclusion that I was a fan of Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma films and space opera. I knew more about mob movies than I did science fiction, but I loved space opera, and so out of that, Gravity City was born. I gave it the tagline – Star Wars meets Taxi Driver because people like taglines, apparently. They’re easier to digest, I suppose.
Now, if you’re thinking cyberpunk or Blade Runner, it’s not really that, either. I think of it in terms of taking all the classic, gritty police, crime, and urban dramas and applying them to sci-fi. I will venture and say that it is an aspect I don’t often find in science fiction these days. Maybe I’m just not looking hard enough.
Who is your audience?
Hopefully, fans of science fiction and humor. I tend to get along with smartasses and goofballs, so maybe that’s our audience, I’m not sure. On a personal level, I don’t know where I’d be today if I couldn’t laugh my way out of tough spots, so I’d love to share a laugh with like-minded people who can embrace the silliness of life. If we can provide them with a good time with our magazine, that’s all I can ask for.
What’s your ultimate goal?
I think most artists’ goals are to see their creations come to life one way or another and see how others respond or are affected by their work. Personally, I’d love to hold a Gravity City action figure in my hand, maybe write a script and see our characters in motion on the big screen. But overall, it’s just to really deliver big, quality work that will resonate with the sci-fi community.
What’s next?
Issue 3 of the Gravity City magazine will be out before Christmas, and 2021 will see more of Gravity City in three novels that I have written with my collaborator Christopher Valin. Then maybe we’ll finally get those action figures.
Visit https://www.gravitycitynews.com/ for more details
Stage Artists to Screen: Madcap Mystery Mansion
Review by Evan Meena
So imagine if the Three Stooges got really stoned with HP Lovecraft and Maurice Sendak and then asked Sam Raimi to film the whole thing?
Mystery Mansion, the brainchild of three stand-up comics (and horror film lovers), Mike Handelman, Isaiah Mueller, and Hunter West, is now alive and screaming online on YouTube and on the Phoenix FearCon Film Festival site.
The premise is simple and familiar, an ancient portal leading to an unimaginable underworld of chaos and darkness must be guarded. Of course, and by some logic that seems to be prevalent in so many comedic horror movies, this portal is placed in a haunted house and guarded by three idiots.
Before you switch channels exclaiming that you’ve seen it all before, Mystery Mansion distinctifies itself with clever writing, top-notch special effects depicting an ’80s feel, and, dare I say it, some very good acting.
Mike Handelman, the “Moe” of these stooges, affects an old Hollywood actor twang in his voice that’s a perfect counterpoint to his ever frustrated countenance. Handelman is like that pair of symbols in a marching band whose presence always comes with immense high energy and fun;
Hunter West, seemingly the “Curly” of the three, it’s surely the punching bag in this as the original Curly was. What makes us laugh (a lot) is that he’s the punching bag of every kind of demon that happens to mansion. It’s not easy being a straight man to a demonic feline, an ancient hell beast, and his own eye, but West does this beautifully.
The third character, Isaiah Mueller, while seemingly the “Larry”, becomes the Moe quite quickly. It is his performance — a fine mixture of slapstick comedy and old-fashioned horror movie acting — holds the three loonies — and the plot — together. He glides between straightman and comic with ease and gives us enough mugging to the camera to keep us part of the gag. He also peppers his performance with just enough maturity to give the 30+ minute sitcom a foundation stopping it from just being funny.
The 80s style special effects are also a cut-above. The Jim Henson-from-Hell puppetry provided by Rocco George were equal parts Saturday morning cartoon and Weird Science; and the high production values via special effects and well-made set pieces by Dylan Mars Greenberg gave us Land of the Lost marinated in Beetlejuice.
Lumped into brief blackout sketches, Mystery Mansion capitalized on the 21st century attention span by handing us a full episode before any of us even know it’s happening. Commercially speaking, it opens the door for them to be part of larger events, as well as being an excellent sitcom pilot when combining all the episodes into a little over 30 minute event.
If one has to be critical in any manner, director Joe Whelski would be well-advised to pick-up the pace of the show. Boasting stand-up comedy cred, the three stars played it like a stand-up routine: a little slower than normal, allowing for the audience to get the joke. Not necessary considering everything. If they can increase their speed by just a little bit then they would be perfectly timed in a perfectly funny send up of the genre.
Toward the end, their trip to the shadow realm, for instance, is worth the price of admission alone.
Kudos to the team of Handelman, Mueller, and West, and here’s hoping there are many more outings in which they must protect the Mystery Mansion from the forces of frightfully funny.
Episodes 1 & 2 are currently running on YouTube ands on the Phoenix FearCon Film Festival site.
https://www.mysterymansionshow.com/
Nine NYC-Based Theatre Companies Join Forces to Present “It Can’t Happen Here” October 28, 2020Based on the Sinclair Lewis NovelAbout the Rise of Fascism in America
Playful Substance joins
National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, Israeli Artists Project, Kairos Italy Theater, New Heritage Theatre Group/Impact Repertory Theatre, New York Classical Theatre, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Repertorio Español, and Turkish American Repertory Theater & Entertainment
A historic reading of Sinclair Lewis’ 1936 classic “It Can’t Happen Here,” adapted for the stage by John C. Moffitt and Sinclair Lewis; unprecedented collaboration in Yiddish, English, Spanish, Italian, Turkish and Hebrew. Viewable at 1 PM at https://nytf.org/live and only available until November 1.
Initiated and hosted by National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, nine prestigious theatre companies will come together on Wednesday, October 28 to present an unprecedented virtual play reading – in Yiddish, English, Spanish, Italian, Turkish and Hebrew – of “It Can’t Happen Here”, a dramatization of the 1935 novel by Sinclair Lewis imagining the rise of fascism in America. More than 60 actors with Israeli Artists Project, Kairos Italy Theater, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, New Heritage Theatre Group/Impact Repertory Theatre, New York Classical Theatre, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Playful Substance, Repertorio Español and Turkish American Repertory Theater & Entertainment will participate in this one-time event.
Adapted for the stage by John C. Moffitt and Sinclair Lewis in 1936, “It Can’t Happen Here” was presented simultaneously by 21 theater companies under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Theater Project as fascism was on the rise in Europe. The work chronicles the rise of a demagogue who is elected President of the United States after fomenting fear and promising sweeping economic and social reforms while promoting a return to patriotism and “traditional” values.
The organizations are presenting the multi-lingual reading of this landmark play to bring attention to the need for greater support of the theater industry, which has been impacted in a dramatic way during the COVID-19 pandemic (and on the heels of the announcement that Broadway will not raise its curtain again until after May 2021). “It Can’t Happen Here” is a benefit, through permission from Theatre Authority, Inc. for the nine participating theater companies.
The reading will take place on Wednesday, October 28 at 1:00 PM Eastern Time, and then only be available for viewing until Sunday, November 1 at 1:00 PM Eastern Time. The event will be presented on National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s website at https://nytf.org/live.
“We got hold of the script for ‘It Can’t Happen Here’ about a year ago, already knowing of its history with the Yiddish WPA theater. We had been planning to present a staged reading of this play before the pandemic struck,” said Motl Didner, Associate Director of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. “The idea to present this in several languages with many other theater companies came out of a conversation that we had with our friends at New Heritage Theatre Group / IMPACT Repertory Theatre about the need for a new Works Progress Administration to help artists and cultural organizations get through these times when we have seen the devastation of our entire industry. We are all in this together.”
“A powerful necessary voice from the 30s talking about today. It did happen in Italy, it can’t happen here?,” said Laura Caparrotti, President and Artistic Director of Kairos Italy Theater.
“The creation, history and significance of the 1930’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Theater Project, established during the great depression under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, placed a spotlight on the importance of the role of arts and culture in the United States,” said Voza Rivers, Executive Producer, and Jamal Joseph, Senior Artistic Director, at the New Heritage Theatre Group/ Impact Repertory Theatre. “Not only did the Federal Theatre Project program employ tens of thousands of workers in theater, music. arts, etc., it also supported racial integration of black and white Americans. Significant theatrical presentations were produced and presented. Because of the challenging times we are now living in today, COVID-19, systemic racism, and civil unrest, we applaud the National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene for selecting the 1936 play ‘It Can’t Happen Here’ by John C. Moffitt and Sinclair Lewis. A play that brings to light a message for today that “it can happen again” if our country and citizens can’t find a way of living together peacefully and in harmony. New Heritage Theatre Group believes that the positive power of theater, music, and art can break down any and all barriers of misunderstanding.”
“Since our inception in 1977, Pan Asian Rep has promoted stories seldom told and voices seldom heard. Our productions have focused on stories of probing social justice issues, making ‘It Can’t Happen Here’ a project that aligns directly with Pan Asian’s values. We are thrilled to join this roster of change-makers in the American Theater to tell this timely tale,” said Tisa Chang, Artistic Producing Director at Pan Asian Repertory Theater.
“The authoritarian playbook is neat, trim and oh so effective. It takes hold so quickly, so quietly, using predictable, repeatable steps that make it easy to just follow along. Stories can be disruptive. That’s part of their power,” said Bree O’Connor, Artistic Director at Playful Substance. “It may be disheartening to hear how familiar It Can’t Happen Here sounds to our 2020 ears, but what a gift it is to have voices from 1936 reach out to disrupt THIS moment. To disrupt us.”
“We are all in this thing together for sure. We want to move forward as a human race not backwards. We see a lot of similarities between now and then and we need to act smarter and be better and fix our mistakes. I am so happy to be a part of a multicultural, multinational project with my friends,” added Ayse Eldek Richardson, Turkish American Repertory Theater & Entertainment’s founder.
The event is part of National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s ongoing virtual programming, Folksbiene! LIVE, an online celebration of Yiddish culture, featuring live-streamed theater, American Jewish performers, concerts, lectures, talks, and other events. Programming provides inspirational and entertaining experiences as cultural and arts venues across the country and the world remain closed amid the coronavirus pandemic.
All Folksbiene! LIVE programs are presented at 1:00 PM. Stay in the loop and get reminders about new episodes by subscribing to Folksbiene’s newsletter, and catch up on past episodes on-demand, at nytf.org/live.
Prior to the presentation, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at New York University will hold a virtual discussion (in English) between Laura Caparrotti, Artistic Director at Kairos Italy Theater, and Motl Didner, Associate Artistic Director at National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, on Thursday, October 22 at 5:00 PM. The event is free, and will be aired on Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò’s Facebook page and website.
The special event features more than five dozen actors affiliated with participating theatrical organizations. You can view the full list of participants and directors on Folksbiene’s website here and at www.nytf.org/itcanthappenhere.
About the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene
Now entering its 106th season, Tony Award-nominated and Drama Desk Award-winning National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) is the longest consecutively producing theatre in the U.S. and the world’s oldest continuously operating Yiddish theatre company. NYTF, which presented the award-winning Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, directed by Joel Grey, to sold-out audiences before it moved to Off-Broadway uptown, is in residence at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Zalmen Mlotek and Executive Director Dominick Balletta, NYTF is dedicated to creating a living legacy through the arts, connecting generations, and bridging communities. NYTF aims to bring history to life by reviving and restoring lost and forgotten work, commissioning new work, and adapting pre-existing work for the 21st Century. Serving a diverse audience comprised of performing arts patrons, cultural enthusiasts, Yiddish-language aficionados, and the general public, the company presents plays, musicals, concerts, lectures, interactive educational workshops, and community-building activities in English and Yiddish, with English and Russian supertitles accompanying performances. NYTF provides access to a century-old cultural legacy and inspires the imaginations of the next generation to contribute to this valuable body of work. Learn more at www.nytf.org.
About Playful Substance
Playful Substance is a New York based theater company dedicated to fostering new works through our Writers Groups, developmental workshops, community events and fully staged productions. We believe that lifelong artist development, work-life balance, and the vitality of an inclusive creative space are integral to the artist’s practice. “Playful Substance” is the mission; substantive work approached with joy, cooperation, sensitivity and humor. We all deserve to be seen. We also have the responsibility to see. www.playfulsubstance.com
About the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is New York’s contribution to the global responsibility to never forget. The Museum is committed to the crucial mission of educating diverse visitors about Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust. The third-largest Holocaust museum in the world and the second largest in North America, the Museum of Jewish Heritage anchors the southernmost tip of Manhattan, completing the cultural and educational landscape it shares with the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage maintains a collection of more than 40,000 artifacts, photographs, documentary films, and survivor testimonies and contains classrooms, a 375-seat theater (Edmond J. Safra Hall), special exhibition galleries, a resource center for educators, and a memorial art installation, Garden of Stones, designed by internationally acclaimed sculptor Andy Goldsworthy. The Museum is the home of the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene.
Currently on view is the acclaimed exhibition Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. This is the most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the history of Auschwitz and its role in the Holocaust ever presented in North America, bringing together more than 700 original objects and 400 photographs from over 20 institutions and museums around the world. Also on view are Ordinary Treasures: Highlights from the Museum of Jewish Heritage Collection and Rendering Witness: Holocaust-Era Art as Testimony.
The Museum receives general operating support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts. The Museum has reopened to the public with timed ticketing and limited capacity. For more information on health and safety measures, visit mjhnyc.org.
About the Israeli Artists Project
The Israeli Artists Project is a NYC based organization that promotes and presents Israeli theater, music and art. www.israeliartistsproject.org
About the Kairos Italy Theater
Kairos Italy Theater is internationally recognized as the Italian Theater Company in New York. KIT’s mission is to spread Italian Culture and to create an Italian/International Culture Network in the United States (and abroad). KIT produces plays, events, lectures, and workshops. KIT is the co-creator of In Scena! Italian Theater Festival NY, that takes place in all five New York City boroughs and of OnStage!, the first American Theater Festival in Italy. KIT is the Theater Company in residence at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo’ at NYU. www.kitheater.com
About New Heritage Theatre Group/Impact Repertory Theatre
New Heritage Theatre Group (NHTG) is celebrating its 56th anniversary and is the oldest Black nonprofit theater company in New York (est. 1964). NHTG’s original mission was to present entertaining, informative, educational and first-class productions at affordable prices and preserve and institutionalize classic works by established and emerging black playwrights, authors, and artists of color. Our mission has expanded from local to global, placing an additional emphasis on international issues that impact on people of color. In 1997, playwright/director Jamal Joseph joined as Executive Artistic Director. In the same year Rivers, Joseph, Joyce Joseph, and Alice Arlen, created a NHTG youth division IMPACT Repertory Theatre a creative development leadership training program for young people that encourages members to create and marry activism with their artistic works. It combines a performing arts program, with training in the creative arts (spoken word, musical theater, dance, poetry, and songwriting) and youth leadership development, through the concept of “art-ivism”—using art and activism to change the world. www.newheritagetheatre.org and www.impactreptheatre.org
About New York Classical Theatre
New York Classical Theatre’s mission is to create and reinvigorate audiences by presenting free performances in open public spaces. Since 2000, we have produced over 40 interpretations, translations, and adaptations of timeless masterpieces for more than 250,000 people. By producing at no direct cost to our audiences, we engage neighbors from all walks of life. We activate beautiful, accessible places including: Central Park at West 103rd Street, Castle Clinton National Monument, Carl Schurz Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the Tata Innovation Center on Roosevelt Island. NY Classical offers audiences the opportunity to enjoy professional classical theatre together as a community. www.nyclassical.org
About Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
Pan Asian Repertory Theatre is the most veteran pioneer, award-winning Asian American theatre company on the East Coast. Founded by Tisa Chang and core artists in 1977 with the vision that Asian American artists can equally contribute to the excellence of American Theater with stories seldom told to promote social justice and access. Our live theatre will return with CAMBODIA AGONISTES in 2021. www.panasianrep.org
About Repertorio Español
Founded in 1968 by stage director René Buch and the late producer Gilberto Zaldívar, and joined by Robert Weber Federico in 1971, who now serves as Executive Producer, REPERTORIO has presented an unparalleled body of theater that promotes and divulges the rich heritage of Hispanic theater. Spanish masters like Calderón, Lope de Vega and García Lorca, renowned playwrights from Latin America and the growing body of American writers who capture the Latino experience in the U.S.—from New York City to Portland, and in Los Angeles, Washington DC, Texas, Denver and Chicago—are all at home in REPERTORIO’s programming. Also, the company has presented acclaimed translations of plays by Edward Albee, Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, Gian Carlo Menotti, Eduardo De Filippo and Noel Coward.
The Company presents a rotating repertory of 13 different plays, musicals and dance concerts with over 300 performances every year. Its productions are seen by over 50,000 people annually at its home, the historic Gramercy Arts Theatre and on tour. Every year, approximately 20,000 students are introduced to the heritage of Spanish language theatre through its education program, ¡DIGNIDAD! www.repertorio.nyc
About Turkish American Repertory Theater & Entertainment
Turkish American Repertory Theater & Entertainment—TARTE—is a unique performance institution established by Ayse Eldek-Richardson in May of 2010. The productions explore aspects of Turkish identity that may be unfamiliar or unknown to many in the United States. Turkish culture developed over many centuries and each work we produce has its own related signature and design reflecting a past or current aspect of that cultural development. We hope to broaden the perception of what Turkish culture is.
While the company’s primary emphasis is on performing Turkish classics and original works by Turkish and American writers, plays and musical submissions with Turkish or Middle-Eastern themes are considered from American and international writers as well so as to present a repertoire of quality works to a wide range of Western audiences.
Turkish American Repertory Theater & Entertainment works on producing original plays, cabarets, and musicals by TARTE’s honorary writers and multi-ethnic writers group. TARTE also organizes educational workshops called “Drama Club” aimed at younger members every year. www.tarteusa.com
The BLAME Game
Review by Lew Antonie
Martin Basile has smacked us in the face with a film having very little dialogue and just a lot of walking around.
BLAME takes a concept you might find in a grade school project and turned it into a startling commentary about what shapes the tener of our world.
Marie Solimena stars as a young girl oppressed by her alcoholic father. This is all done through Marie’s stunning use of facial expression and body language. We see, not how her father ends up shaping the world around them, but how Marie’s reactions do. Without giving away the highly simplistic but truly imaginative plot point, we were handed a parable of how one person’s misery can truly erode an entire world. Again, without giving away the ending, the simplest move brought this reviewer to tears.
Strong characteriszation and transitions supplied by Basile and Solimena (her masterful inner dialogue sets us up for all that followed) as well as Hugo Santoro, Guiliana Sanchini, and Silvia Magnolo. The ensemble, which included Christian Mangione, Alberto Bologna, and Amedeo Pagella all delivered the message with subtle power.
One can imagine what Martin Basile could do with a bigger budget and more time.
Andrés Gallardo Bustillo gets Dystopian
July 4 marked the formal launch of an ongoing fundraising effort to bring One Empire, Under God, the new full-length drama by writer/producer Anthony J. Piccione – to the stage in 2021, with an announcement forthcoming for a staged reading this Fall, in advance of a full production. Monthly donations are now being accepted at www.patreon.com/oneempireundergod
Set in the far-distant future, One Empire, Under God tells the story of how an emotionally disturbed young man – with the help of virtual media technology – is able to rise to political power by inciting an uprising against America’s openly atheist president, and subverting democratic and military rule throughout Western civilization, paving the way for him and his descendants to rule for generations to come. Every step toward a more perfect union is followed by an enormous reactionary backlash. That historical trend remains very much alive in the future, as seen in this provocative critique of nationalism, imperialism, and religious extremism.
The production will be directed by Andrés Gallardo Bustillo, Associate Artistic Director of The Phoenix Theatre in Philadelphia, where he was the associate director and choreographer on their productions of The Tempest and The Glass Menagerie. He also has directing credits that include productions at the Davenport Theatre and the American Theatre of Actors. He met Piccione when he served as assistant director of Piccione’s full-length drama A Therapy Session with Myself as well as an actor in his short drama, What I Left Behind. Bustillo’s acting credits include West Side Story, (Indio) Peter/Wendy, (Peter Pan) & My Magical Chivita, (The Man) and he is the founder of Cumbres Musical, a pre-professional theatre program in Colombia.
Ai grabbed Andres for a few moments in-between fundraising
We hear the word “dystopian” a great deal. What’s a dystopian future to you and how can we change that? 
To learn more about One Empire, Under God, visit www.anthonyjpiccione.com/oneempireundergod, and follow along on Facebook and Instagram @oneempireundergod and Twitter @OneEmpirePlay.
Jelani Alladin and Claudia Acosta are having a SWELL time.
Refracted Theatre Company’s audio-immersive theatrical experience, The Swell, is currently running on multiple platforms.
With The Swell, RTC has transformed the space around us. Each Act of The Swell will feature plays in which the action can only happen by way of the dialogue or the soundscape. “The Swell” is a sound-dive into a play, where sound effects, music and dialogue take you deeper into the world. As a means of transcending space, RTC invites listeners to createg the “set” in their own homes. A location has been assigned at which to enjoy their play or an activity to do while enjoying their play. The audience has full reign over the depth of their submersion, deciding when, or if, to come up for air.
The Swell can be found on www.refractedco.com; Spotify; Apple Podcasts; Breaker; Castbox; Google Podcasts; Overcast; Pocket Casts; RadioPublic.
Part of this first episode or ACT, is the radio play, The Legend of Jim Gunderson and How I Wound Up In Your Ear, written by Dylan Guerra; directed by Graham Miller with sound design by Emma Wilk, featuring David Shih (“Hunters”, Amazon; “Billions”, Showtime; “City on a Hill”, Showtime) , Jelani Alladin (Frozen, Broadway; Public Works’ Musical Adaptation of Hercules, The Public Theater; “The Walking Dead: The World Beyond”, AMC), and Claudia Acosta (Seven Spots in The Sun, Rattlestick Playwright’s Theater; Architecture of Becoming, WP Theater; Don Cristóbal Billy Club Man, HERE Arts Center).
Jelani Alladin, who debuted on Broadway as Kristoff in Frozen (2018), said this about The Swell: “With every change in medium, there is a slight change to the approach. A great friend once said about Voice-Over work, “perform in the space you’re in.” In the Swell, we are inside the listeners ears, so everything about the performance becomes aural. Even the characters thought processes must be heard; that was the most fun in creating this experience.”
Bilingual actor/producer/director/writer/teaching artist, Claudia Acosta talked of her creative process: “I never know till I show up first read. I look for connections within writing to understand story, observe the actors and remain open to them through a screen, process what the director is wanting to HEAR and learn to adapt to new stage…in this case the mic with an audience I’ll never see.”
The creative process became a learning process for her as well. “Focusing on my voice to create within limitations of space and no physical presence of other actors was an exciting challenge, but this biggest reward was feeling the freedom of working outside my ethnicity. Didn’t have to think about being a Latinx character. Didn’t have to think how my body took shape on a stage. Never felt that liberation before on any stage in my 20 years performing.”
For details go to: www.refractedco.com.
Arts Independent 