This Stretch of Montpelier: In this South Louisiana neighborhood, just past the intersection where Ghosts from the Past cross Hopes for the Future, lies This Stretch of Montpelier. Written by Kelley Nicole Girod and directed by Andrew Block, this engrossing piece is presented by The Fire This Time Festival & Frigid NYC, benefiting Gulf Restoration Network.

There are many things that make this a a special night in the theater. One is one of its actresses. Tandy Cronyn continues a great tradition started by her famed father, Hume Cronyn and mother, Jessica Tandy.

It was a pleasure to speak with her about her current production and what lies ahead.

Tell us about yourself as an artist

I had my head turned by The Guthrie Theater in it’s inaugural season under Tyrone Guthrie.  I was still in high school but spent the summer in Minneapolis and hung around rehearsals.  I actually got to watch Guthrie direct. They were doing rotating classical repertory: Shakespeare one night, Moliere or Chekhov the next, a contemporary classic the next.  The company was extraordinarily versatile, stepping not only into contrasting roles but also different styles from night to night. And they were doing great plays.  I always wanted to do that kind of work, and occasionally I’ve had the privilege.  Not many companies in America do rotating rep – it requires a large company and is very expensive – so I’ve grabbed the chance whenever it presented itself: Denver Center Theater Company in it’s first couple of seasons, Stratford Festival of Canada, The Old Globe in San Diego, Illinois Shakespeare Festival.

A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY

A truly illustrious start! Now, tell us something interesting about your character in the show. Maybe something we wouldn’t necessarily notice.

Kacky is something quite different for me, although I have never had a “type” in the roles I’ve played over the years.  While she appears to be completely dominated by her best friend, there is something a bit passive-aggressive going on beneath the surface. It’s been quite fascinating for me, digging into this role.

That’s great. In terms of digging into a character, festivals have a very particular way of working. How did it feel to work in a festival atmosphere?

This is my third Festival experience and I’ve had an interesting time with all of them – The NY Fringe, The United Solo Festival and now Planet Connections.  Short rehearsal time and tech restrictions as well as odd rehearsal spaces are challenging, but it’s a great way to get new work out there.  And in part because of the tech and time limitations, actors, directors and designers are thrown back on their own creativity which can be quite an adventure.  The focus goes to the bare bones of the writing, directing and performing – not a bad trade-off.

THE LITTLE FOXES

Did you grow up in the theater or was it something separate from your daily life?

I was deeply immersed in theater from my teens on – early childhood I stayed home with a nanny.  Once I was bitten by the theater bug, around twelve or thirteen, I paid great attention, seeing landmark productions, meeting and listening to wonderful theater professionals, soaking up everything around me.  I was very fortunate.

What’s next for you?

I want to get back to my solo show, THE TALL BOY (see my website www.tandycronyn.com)

And I have a very interesting book to record as soon as THIS STRETCH OF MONTPELIER is finished.

And that happens in just a few short weeks …

TICKETS
Flamboyán Theater @ The Clemente
Thursday 7/19 @5:45pm-7:15pm
Saturday 7/21 @8:30pm-10:00pm
Wednesday 7/25 @7:15pm-8:45pm
Sunday 7/29 @ 7:00pm-8:30pm
Saturday 8/4 @9:30pm-11:00pm
Sunday 8/5 @2:00pm-3:30pm

Spend a hot summer day along a stretch of South Eastern Louisiana road, where tradition clashes with change, and neighbors intertwine. Facing gentrification, integration, racism, homophobia, and colliding generations, ghosts from the past dance with uncertainties of the future for an imperfect and vibrant culture who seek to understand how to live together in a changing society, in a place that has always moved at its own pace.

Dead Brains
Art is Dangerous

By Erik Champney
Directed by Adam Chisnall

Benefiting Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
Presented by Jim Kierstead & Erik Champney

Contains explicit violence and strong sexual content. Audience discretion is advised.

Review by Justin Cheang

Dead Brains leaves a mark on you from the onset: its unique name, its compelling performances; its razor-sharp direction; and surely, it’s psycho-drama. Dead Brains is a tale of a successful artist attempting to discover (or maybe re-discover) himself (with the aid of his significant other) through an experiment in order to create a masterpiece that he can keep for himself.

Main character, Henry, explores and experiments with the world around him for his “unique” and “iconic” art, he seeks out his target. Dead Brains is a show that will snatch your attention until the very end.

Richard Wingert’s interpretation of Champney’s convoluted Henry, was both protagonist and antagonist. Wingert was phenomenal as the seemingly innocent artist who’s living in the now and wanting to make the next big thing while hiding a psychotic and deranged side which he must employ for his masterpiece.

His lover, Philly, played with perfection by Ellie Gossage, with every line, builds the tension and Henry’s dark side.

The cast of three were both a tight ensemble and group of stars. The chemistry between the actors, whether they clashed together or intertwined themselves with one another, was chilling and remarkable. Matt Maretz, who plays Corey, ran the gamut of emotions to serve up vulnerability, fear, and simply survival.

Erik Champney wrote about an artist wanting to create a masterpiece. I guess it was Champney who actually did that.

This show is absolutely a work of art.

The title “Dead Brains,” has a strong significance. Once finished with the show, you’re left with a dead brain; you’re speechless, you’re in utter awe, and you’re even starstruck. This show was a fantastic performance, and gives you a taste of how an artists mind can wander almost anywhere, especially when in the dark.

Half Me, Half You by Liane Grant
The Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street

Review by Robert Viagas

The Wild Project’s Fresh Fruit Festival explores the complications of recent advances in gay life with Half Me, Half You, a drama that looks at what happens when a married interracial gay couple splits over the issue of having a child.

Jess (Jennifer Fouché) wants a baby more than anything; the problem is, Meredith (played by playwright Liane Grant) doesn’t. It’s clear that while their marriage is based on love, and  they try to come to terms on the issue, they simply can’t.

Act I, with the breakup, is set in 2017. A lot happens in the decade-plus leap into the future of Act II. Jess moves to Europe, has the child, sickens, and dies, leaving the teen-aged Maya motherless. Meredith survives what is described as the Second American Civil War, presumably between Red and Blue states. The fact that the out lesbian Meredith isn’t dead or in a concentration camp gives a pretty good idea of who won. But not much is done with this provocative premise—which alone could provide material for several seasons of a Netflix series.

Despite the dramatic sci-fi developments, the world of the 2030s appears to be pretty much status quo for Meredith—at least until the arrival of Maya (Kalea Williams) on her doorstep. Despite Meredith’s stated determination that she does not want children, the late Jess has designated Meredith as her daughter’s guardian in her will. Meredith, who got a rigorous browbeating for her “selfishness” in Act I, now comes in for a second verbal clobbering for the same sin from Maya, who smolders with anger over the bad hand life has dealt her.

Directed by Leah Fogo, this deeply earnest and sober drama attempts to deal with real issues of our time in an uncompromising way. A little humor and forgiveness would have helped.

The play was presented as part of the Fresh Fruit Festival at The Wild Project, the Off-Off Broadway theatre.

The Song of Bernadette Jones

By Maura Campbell

The 2018 Fresh Fruit Festival

The Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street

Review by Justin Cheang

The Song of Bernadette Jones is a mythical tale of about a journey of magical experiences ranging from meeting people from the distant past, to summoning spirits with a Ouija board! A comical story of a young girl named Carolyn trying to right her wrongs for what she had done in her past. Carolyn and her sister originate from Alaska and move away to continue their lives elsewhere. There, they meet Robert, a Jewish young boy who helps Carolyn to rewrite the past and to help change history as they know it.

Tom Hayes who plays Robert in the play absolutely nails the quirky and nerdy characteristics that Robert is supposed to truly have. Robert is an absolute wreck in most scenarios and makes this lovely play incredibly hilarious with his clumsy and awkward personality. His vast intelligence was made useful throughout the journey and him and Carolyn embarked on and evolve throughout the entire journey. With his comedic twist to the show, it was incredible, and was a genuine delight to watch due to his quirky twists to the character.

However, with the constant switching of characters between Mary, Bernadette, and Jennifer Jones, it gets a tad confusing. With the only difference between characters being wardrobe, it was hard to follow which character was being portrayed by what when history was being “re-written” by Carolyn and Robert while tampering with the Ouija board and putting the spirit of Bernadette at ease. While the show was incredibly heartwarming and enjoyable to watch, the constant swapping of characters doesn’t exactly pull you in when watching.

Overall, this production has had its ups and downs, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is enjoyable to watch.

All My Love, Kate
by Joe Breen
The Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street

Review by Robert Viagas

Joe Breen’s drama, All My Love, Kate, cracks the closet door on an important neglected chapter of homosexual history: gay servicemen who had to slog through the hell of World War II with a photo of the “wrong kind” of sweetheart stashed in the pocket over their hearts. The play focuses on Jack and Danny (Brendan Cataldo and Matt W. Cody), lovers forced to separate when macho Jack marches off to war. Left behind, gentle Danny sends steamy love letters that he signs “Kate,” after their mutual obsession, actress Katharine Hepburn.

The play, which runs a little over two hours, needs tightening, especially in its second half, when a big reveal about a Japanese prison guard comes long after the audience has figured it out. Kazuhiro Imafuku is touching as a seemingly stereotyped cruel “Jap” who has a secret of his own. But his extended all-Japanese dialog passages are too long for an audience that may not know that language.

The play dramatizes the injustices Jack and Danny had to face, both at the battle front and the home front, respectively, but never becomes a polemic. Sarah Matteucci, Chris McFarland and Jill Melanie Wirth help dramatize the kinds of non-combatant allies and enemies they faced on both battlefields. The recurring period ballad, “I’m Confessin’ That I Love You,”  haunts the action.

All My Love, Kate  is being presented as part of the Fresh Fruit Festival at The Wild Project, the Off-Off Broadway theatre in Alphabet City.

M. McDevitt REVIEW: An Uncommon Core

“Meet Abigail Swetz, shepherding her 8th grade students safely through a heartbreaking year. Racism, police brutality, homophobic violence: all processed and exorcised by the magic and power of her students’ in-class poetry.”

Abigail Swetz is the kind of teacher most of wish we had in the eighth grade: smart, funny, energetic, supportive, strong, and she pulls no punches, just like her one-woman show An Uncommon Core, which she recently performed at the 16^th Fresh Fruit Festival in New York City.

After years of teaching in the public-school system, Ms. Swetz is angry, and she’s tired, and she has every right to be. However, she uses her outrage to elicit extraordinary work from her students; their essays become poems, and the poetry is alternately heartbreaking, enraging, hilarious, touching, and most of all, a clear window into the minds of adolescents trying to make sense of a world the grown-ups they should be able to count on have fucked up. Her anger is well placed and focused where she can do the most good, and if she’s tired, she doesn’t let it stop her. As I suspect she is in the classroom, she is a warm, engaging presence on stage, and she drives her show forward with wit, grace, charm and unflagging energy. And anger. The wonderful, thought-provoking, intelligent kind of anger that makes for brilliant theater both on the stage and in the classroom. One imagines, and hopes, that however tired she is, Ms. Swetz will help change the world for the better, not just with this show (as important as it is), but  through the students whose lives she has touched so deeply.

PROPHESY

by Karl Hinze

2018 Fresh Fruit Festival

July 9 at 8:00pm

July 13 at 6:30pm

July 15 at 7:00pm

performances at The Wild Project (195 East 3rd Street)

Review by Amanda Kavaja

In a world where religion is sanctuary for many people, the modern thought-process can be a true obstacle. The setting of this play is The Holy Apostle High School. We watch a teenager struggling with his life.  A homosexual student, Mark, has a crush on his teacher, Mr. Teeson, but it goes much further.  Mark began to see religious visions which include harmful instances happening to innocent people. He turns to Mr.Teeson for help. In the beginning of every act, parts of Saint Magdalena’s story was told by Mr.Teeson, in order to compare her background with Mark’s. The actors gave us this parable complete with humor and fear. Connor Johnston who played Mark was truly funny and captivating while doing so. His own natural timing kept the audience with him all the way.  His feelings for his teacher were played with honesty as they grew. Ben Lorenz as Mr. Teeson gave us a warm and welcoming characterization. His character portrayal gave us the intelligence of an academic with the worry of a man afraid of losing his job because of a secret fling with one of his students.

I was amazed when watching this wonderful play. The sense of hope written into these characters makes us look at the millennial stereotype of seeing only black and gray. As the title of the play is called ‘Prophesy,” this drama represented the complete opposite. It was rather more unpredictable than predictable, which seemed more intriguing. Finn and Joe were two of Mark’s closest friends. Alton Alburo was the perfect person to play Finn, due to his enthusiasm and intelligence. He gave us the definition of a true friend who did not tell others Mark’s darkest secret (again a refreshing change), but Joe on the other hand, was a big mouth. Artem Kreimer personified the narcissistic nature of Joe with great aplomb. The actors’ own charm allowed for memorable puns. Eating on stage is always a fun bit and Joe and his snacks gave the audience something to chew on – maybe that’s one of Joe’s puns.

Every time there was a sad scene lovely melancholy music played in the background. The lights were usually set in a spotlight form whenever a character was talking I liked the use of this technique. In between the acts, I found the story of Saint Magdalena interesting, in that, a connection was made between love and the consequences of such a love. One quote I remember Mr.Teeson saying, was “I love less because I am less.” I started putting myself into his shoes and realized that sometimes, people must let go to respect someone else’s wishes. I am better for attending this play as I’ve enriched my history and was given a strong parable of love.  Thank you, Mr. Hinze, for creating Mr. Teeson to teach this class.

The Trans Theatre Festival 2018 at the Brick, 579 Metropolitan Ave in Brooklyn. Presents Pass/Fail

Pass/Fail is a new play by Sandy Gooen, whose Twitter is @featsandygooen. A play about friendship, belonging, and, well, passing. The story follows Johnny, who is a transmasculine student at a women’s college, and his best friend Noah, who is a cis gay man at the Ivy League across the street. Directed by Donnie Cianciotto, the rather large cast (for an indie theater production) includes Sydney Ronis, Marc David Wright, Hannah Roze, Rebecca Cianciotto, Emily Mervosh, Jane Marie Price, Jacob Michael, Jonathan Hernandez, Emily McNally.

The Brick is overjoyed to continue it’s annual trans theater festival to celebrate the stories, art, histories, and experiences of trans artists. Recognizing trans artists as an invaluable part of our arts community, both currently and historically, this festival is part of an ongoing commitment to elevating their work. For this and many other reasons, The Brick is proud to present a theater and arts festival curated by and featuring the work of Trans Artists.

So Sandy, tell us about yourself as an artist

I’m still very much a work in progress, as I’m only just about to finish my undergrad degree in music, but I have been involved in music and/or theatre for a majority of my life. My experiences inform my work, and with Pass/Fail in particular, I have had to look inward, but also deconstruct my experiences from other perspectives. Not all of my work is this personal. I consider myself a storyteller, and I do this through many media, but above all, I know that’s what I’m here to do. 

Share with us a little something about your play that we WON’T see in the press release.

In the script, I have a writer’s note that sums up the ideal experience of every person in the room, the actors, the audience, and myself included: “lean into the discomfort.” I call it a dark comedy. But the real genre is “it’s funny, because it’s awkward, because it’s true.” It covers heightened, complex truths. 

How does your play resonate today? Feel free to be blunt. 

For everyone, I think the play is a moment to feel empathy and awkward about the way that trans people are treated. We also touch on the gender dynamics that currently exist inside academia and the infighting in the LGBT community, as well as, friendship, love, and the struggle to own one’s  identity. Those are timeless topics! 

Why did you choose The Trans Theatre Festival for your work?  

While I recently debuted a song about tokenism, and I don’t really love feeling like I have to only do “trans” shows, I enjoy getting to work with my community and the opportunity to do my work. I hope that trans artists can continue to go beyond our transness, or rather bring it with us into a broader world. 

Where do you see it going in the future? What’s the next step?  

I hope that people are interested and it gets people talking. Pass/Fail is one of many of my projects, but I’d really love to see it get to a bigger space with a real budget, and a fuller production, because I want there to be a wider spread dialogue about these issues. So, I might keep talking to folks and submitting it elsewhere. 

Final thoughts? 

My director, Donnie, and my whole team are people without whom this couldn’t be happening. It’s really exciting to have more trans artists in the room besides myself, and to have cis artists who are willing to learn and listen onboard as well. One of biggest cis allies in theatre thus far has been my playwriting professor, Andy Bragen, who encouraged me to write Pass/Fail in the first place. 

The Trans Theatre Festival 2018

July 9 – 22, 2018

The Brick | 579 Metropolitan Ave | Brooklyn NY

Running virtually simultaneous with the celebrated Fresh Fruit Festival is the innovative Trans Theatre Festival July 9 – 22. The Caffe Cino Fellowship Award winning Brick Theatre, located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was founded in 2002 by Robert Honeywell and Michael Gardner and has been home to many critically acclaimed premieres. Winning such honors as NYIT and ITBA Awards and Time Out New York’s Top Ten Plays, The Brick hosted some of downtown theater’s most innovative artists, including Annie Baker, Young Jean Lee, The Debate Society, Thomas Bradshaw, and Nick Jones. The Brick is overjoyed to continue its annual Trans Theater Festival celebrating the power and the art of Trans artists. The best way to contact The Brick is by email:
info@bricktheater.com

One of the more accessible yet imaginative pieces at this year’s festival features EV and some fluffy co-stars: a mermaid, a ballerina, a very rambunctious 12 year old, and a bird. No need to call Equity … these are puppets!  Written and Directed By EV Fitzgerald. Modern thought and powerful words are located just a few blocks from Sesame Street and across from Avenue Q. In a more elevated section of town.

Late Night with EV and Puppets

ONE-NIGHT-ONLY: July 13, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.

How many late-night TV talk-shows feature a mermaid, a ballerina, a very rambunctious 12 year old, and a bird. Join the talk of dreams, desires, and good old fashion community love. It’s the show that’s sweeping the nation! (at least in the host’s mind). http://thefreekstheater.wixsite.com/freeks

The puppets were busy so we sat-down with EV Fitzgerald.  And we’re so glad. EV is one of the most articulate individuals we’ve had the please to interview. 

Tell us about yourself as an artist

Since I have been performing alone, my work often comes from a place of vulnerability and autobiography. Before I came out to my friends and family as trans, I performed in a variety of plays in school and college and with the Freeks, an immersive performance group that I helped found. In all of these plays I was cast as an ostensibly male figure: a wisecracking pedant in Blithe Spirit, the murdered drunk husband in Five Little Pigs, the old broken pawn shop owner in American Buffalo. These performances felt anything but honest. In fact I remember remarking to my sister, who is also a performer, about how acting to me felt a wholly outside-in process. This experience birthed a certain cerebral approach to performance that played well for clowns or alienated mad men. Accordingly I was a Brecht devotee and loved the work for its weighty and synthetic approach to the theater. When I saw a performance inspired by the work of Jerzy Grotowski, however, something within me began to crack open, an egg began to hatch. It struck me that I had never really ‘played myselves’ on the stage. In my personal life, I was beginning to have the same realization. I hope that by shedding my skin on the streets and on the stage, by showing the vast multiplicity of myselves, I may inspire the same journey inwards and then outwards in others.

That was inspiring and really brilliant. Let’s delve deeper. Share with us a little something about your play that we WON’T see in the press release.

 I think one of the hardest thing to capture about any artistic endeavour is how much it owes to the vast multitudes of others involved in the life of the artists. While we try our level best to include ‘thank yous’ and ‘acknowledgements’, there is no way that I can truly capture the multitude of individuals that emerge prismatically from my work. Every person from my closest friend to a stranger across from me on the subway to a show that evening comes out in my work. I can’t even begin to describe this process in a way that is not the work or the world itself.

I’m sure you thought of this already. How does your play resonate today? Feel free to be blunt.

There is a tendency in today’s media and art to reduce complex issues to single line issues. This is certainly beneficial in terms of political expediency and absolutely necessary in cases such as protecting marginalized folx from state violence or righting the legacy of injustices committed against them.

It is not as common, however, to lay bare the multiplicity (read intersection) of identities found in our world. As a white pansexual non-binary trans woman, I find myself at the intersection of a variety of contemporary issues: white supremacy, Queer politics, trans erasure, non-binary erasure, violence perpetrated by men, emotional disregard for males, hatred of femininity, and mistrust of trans women by some cis folks, just to name a few. In each of these issues I stand at different points and the act of telling my story and my perspective is one piece in understanding the complex fabric in which we live.

My work may not serve as politically expedient as Walter Benjamin or Bertolt Brecht would wish. It is not a single “What if…”. I hope it will serve as a multitude of “what ifs” and a prompt for questions, not a single answer.

Why did you choose the Trans Theater Festival ? 

My work is first for trans audiences specifically, but I also hope that it will be a place for cis and trans folx to begin conversations about their common struggles. It is not just trans women that face stereotypes about femininity for example. Cis men and women are often challenged by the oppressive binary lines upon which we lay gender. I hope that this production may be a stimulus for folks to reach across a certain metaphorical aisle. Not one divided by political ideals, but rather one divided by thousands of years of stereotype and enforced behaviors. I hope that my work can make these folx themselves in me and in turn each other.

Where do you see it going in the future? What’s the next step? 

I hope that my work could engage a wider audience and serve as a stimulus for a discussion about gender diversity within our culture. By employing a larger cast as well as technological tools, like projections and voice over, I would hope to increase the immersive quality of the show for larger audiences as well as provide other trans* and queer folx with opportunities to show their work in the context of the little dream world that I build.

I also hope to do further academic research on how puppets may influence perception about gender and identity in general. Building on work like Kenneth and Mamie Clark’s “doll test” as well as studies from developmental psychology about identification with objects perceived as agents, I propose that abstracted figures (i.e. puppets, cartoons, gesture drawings, and other ambiguous human figures) encourage the human mind to construct their own sense of identity rather than consume those ready-made by the culture around them.

Final thoughts?

I always carry this Walt Whitman quote around me and I want to share it with the world as frequently as I can. I first read “Song of Myself” in high school and remember how taken I was by the way in which Whitman truly understood the contradictory nature of human freedom. He endeavoured to describe, before modern psychology would even dare, the strange fact that while we are essentially analogous organisms we come in such a plethora of forms:  inextricably tied to one other and irrevocably individual.

At one point during his reflection on these themes he proclaims:

                                 Do I contradict myself?

                                Very well then I contradict myself,

                                (I am large, I contain multitudes.)

 Whitman’s words are a rallying cry for Queer folx everywhere, for folx who don’t fit the mold that politicians and pedants seek to craft and stuff us all in, and for folx that long to be closer than the orbits of atoms to their fellows.

                                Read them.