Arts Independent

The New York New Works Theatre Festival in association with Quill Productions are proud to present Granville Wyche Burgess’ musical play about the first time our nation faced a civil war.

Based on fact, COMMON GROUND concerns a meeting between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln regarding his responsibility toward a belief in political and social equality for African-Americans.

COMMON GROUND, a musical presentation, also features a disgruntled John Wilkes Booth likening his current political issues and values as “Playing Brutus to His Caesar.” It dramatizes the question that still haunts a nation founded on both slavery AND equality – for all: what is the answer to injustice? Vengeance or Common Ground?

COMMON GROUND will run at the Acorn theatre on Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, NYC. Its limited run is September 6 & 13 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets available at www.nynwtheatrefestival.com

OK, that’s the press release, now let’s have the real story. We were fortunate enough to get some time with thoughtful and thought-provoking author, Granville Wyche Burgess.

MR. BURGESS, WELCOME. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF AS AN ARTIST

I’ve always been struck by the phrase “Art is the movement toward hope.” It captures the essence of my belief as an artist and as a person. Cynicism and negativity won’t be found in my work. There is plenty of drama, plenty of conflict, plenty of anguish and remorse and sorrow, but there is always, if not a happy ending, at least a positive one, an ending that points towards a better tomorrow. In my life, I have walked in a gentle rain of blessings with occasional lightning strikes, and I write from those blessings. Frankly, I have to watch myself, because I can sometimes be overly sentimental and too simplistic. I am constantly challenging myself to look for more nuance in my characters, to say less in order to say more, to not always spell out so clearly what a character thinks and wants. Perhaps that is why, after beginning my career writing serious American drama, I have been drawn to write musicals, which usually can’t delve as deeply as drama and, when they do, have the emotion of music to heighten the feeling. But I also like writing musicals because I have discovered a latent joy in writing lyrics and, I’ve been told, some talent for doing so. I love the challenge of saying something clever or meaningful or funny or poignant in a very few words and in rhyme. I’m a long way from the wit of Cole Porter or the intellectual sophistication of Stephen Sondheim, but I am enjoying the journey immensely. And it’s just plain fun to go around singing songs I’ve written! While many people grew up knowing they would be in theatre, I had no idea. My artistic journey unfolded as a complete surprise, and that has been one of its delights. And I try to be more than just a theatre artist. I try to be an artist at love, an artist at patience, an artist at understanding. If I’ve learned one thing from all these years as an artist, it’s that you’ve got to be who you are. And this is who I am: an artist of hope.

WHAT GAVE YOU THE IDEA FOR THIS PIECE AND HOW MUCH IS BASED ON HISTORY?

I majored in American history and founded a nonprofit, Quill Entertainment Company, whose mission is “Teaching America’s Heritage Through Story and Song,” so I have long been drawn to dramatizing American history. After completing a musical, Battlecry, about the Battle of Gettysburg and musicalizing “The Gettysburg Address,” I felt an urge to write about Abraham Lincoln, who has always been one of my favorite Americans. And so I began reading about Lincoln and discovered, to my amazement, his relationship with Frederick Douglass. How could I have never known about this?! What an overlooked American. The more I read about Douglass, the more I admired him. And the more drafts I wrote (eleven to date), the more Douglass began to take over the story. About the sixth draft, I discovered my theme: Common Ground. And finally, in the last draft, I figured out a way to have Douglass be the protagonist. I have known that this would be the story of a friendship from the moment I read that Douglass crashed Lincoln’s Inaugural Ball, was barred at the door, and Lincoln insisted that he be allowed in. And then he introduced him to everyone as “My friend, Douglass.” To me, that signaled that Lincoln was acknowledging Douglass as his equal—a startling fact since he had said that he had never met a black man who was equal to a white. That much, and more, is based on history, but writing this musical has been a constant struggle for me to let go of the history and just write the drama. In the beginning, I tried to write the Lincoln/Douglass scenes based on what they actually wrote about their meetings, but that didn’t produce the drama I needed. Fortunately, my collaborator, Stan Wietrzychowski, kept reminding me that our job was to write entertainment first and history second. I have read dozens of books in the writing of this musical, so there is a great deal of history in it, but not so much that the storyline was hampered. Historians will have plenty to argue about in this piece, but I hope they and everybody else will have plenty to enjoy.

WHAT WAS YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS?

I have spoken a little about this above. What drew me to writing this story was the knowledge that no one had dramatized the Douglass/Lincoln relationship before—it’s always exciting to do something first. And I saw in their friendship a chance for me to address a subject that has always spoken deeply to me: the injustice done to our African-American sisters and brothers. The horrible aspects of racism, our country’s original sin, are obviously still with us today. I care so much that we treat each other with dignity and respect, regardless of skin color. So an important part of my thought process was: I want to speak as eloquently as I can about the need for racial healing in our country, the need for us all to live up to our founding ideals. As to why a musical? Because I love writing lyrics and I enjoy the challenge of structuring a story that allows room for song to advance the plot. But I also believe that our story becomes more powerful when set to music. It never occurred to me to write it any other way than as a musical.

FIRST FESTIVAL? HOW’S IT GOING?

Yes, this is my first festival ever. It has been a delight to work with my wonderful company in bringing our excerpt to life. And I have really appreciated the support I have received from Gene Fisch and all the NYNW staff. This is a professional, class-act all the way and I am proud— and grateful—to be a part of it.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED FROM THE EXPERIENCE?

I haven’t really had the experience yet because we have had our time onstage. But in meeting just a few of the artists involved, I have learned yet again that artists are incredibly inventive in what excites their imagination. We all live in the same world, but it sure does strike us all differently. Thank God!

WHAT’S NEXT?

I have been commissioned to write a play based on a book about Maine. The second in my trilogy of Amish Romances, published by Chickadee Prince Books, comes out this September and then I will embark on writing the third book! Another novel, The Last At-Bat of Shoeless Joe, comes out next October. And how’s this for an audacious dream?: I would like to get Batttlecry revived so that one day, along with COMMON GROUND, I can have two musicals about the Civil War running in repertory on Broadway! A guy’s gotta dream…

SUICIDAL LIFE COACH: A SERIOUS COMEDY, BY R.K. RICH; DIRECTED BY JOE LANGWORTH, premiering in New York, MONDAY, AUGUST 27, AT 9:00 PM; WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, AT 9:00 PM; SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, AT 6:00 PM at the HUDSON GUILD THEATER, 441 W. 26TH STREET, NYC.

Personal Safety, Inc. (PSI) is proud to continue the conversation aimed to de-stigmatize mental health issues such as depression and suicidal ideation though over-the-top humor of Suicidal Life Coach  by R. K. Rich.

It’s life coach Fred Sigman’s wedding day. His fiancée is histrionic, mercurial, and already planning their annulment! No wonder he’s depressed! Believing that laughter is, indeed, the best medicine, this play employs over-the-top humor to address the serious realities of depression while offering strategies to help loosen the grips of despair, hopelessness, and helplessness.

Mr. Rich recently shared, “everyone has always said, ‘write about what you know,” so I did.  While it seems to be under control now or for now, I’ve battled depression for several years. The more I was willing to share my struggles, the more I found others who were suffering in silence and in shame. I felt compelled to be a part of the solution or at least to try to be! That is what underlies this play.  I’ve created a world that allows me to share the best parts of my life coaching practice and my quirky sense of humor. I know that laughter has been the only thing that saved me from the deepest levels of darkness.”

Suicidal Life Coach is part of the New York Theater Festival – Summerfest, an ongoing series of new works at the Hudson Guild Theatre.

The playwright took some time to chat with Ai about his challenging work.

Tell Us About Yourself as an Artist.

I believe that it’s better left to audiences to truly define the art of another. The words that people use most often in response to my work are quirky, hysterical, clever, heartfelt and vulnerable. The one common thread sewn throughout all of my professional endeavors is that I do my best to help people get from where they are to where they want to be.

Tell us about what was the inspiration of the play.

The original inspiration for the play was borne out of a harsh reality – I was (and am) a highly-paid life coach who alternated from helping clients at a high level to laying on the floor in a deep depression. My phone alarm would go off five minutes before a session, and I would jump up, pull myself together for the hour-long session, listen, focus, and help my clients, then right back to the floor. While I have never been suicidal, and this line is mirrored in the show, there were many nights where I hoped not to wake up the next morning. As I used (and use) humor as a coping mechanism, it was obvious to me that there was a story to be told with such an extreme juxtaposition of behaviors.

So your coping mechanism is humor. What does that look-like in a play? What’s your thought process?

Charlie Chaplin has been quoted as saying, “Pain plus time equals comedy.” That has always resonated with me. The goal, therefore, is to have the amount of time between the pain and the comedy be as little as possible. I also think that if we can look at the darkest experiences through a filter of light or humor, it becomes accessible in ways that dealing with a serious topic super seriously does not. While I don’t put Suicidal Life Coach in the same category as Life is Beautiful — I can only hope to write something so brilliantly well – I aspired to tackle depression in a way similar to the way Life is Beautiful found a way to be comedic against the backdrop of the Holocaust. There’s such a stigma attached to mental health issues that I wanted to start or continue the conversation, hopefully create work that is good enough to give me just enough of a voice to say, “I’ve struggled with depression, too. It’s okay. Ask for help. There are answers. I made it through, so can you!”

I see this a lot but never asked the question. What’s it like handing over your show to entire group of people and won’t see it until almost showtime?

Knowing that the funding for this play was coming from the non-profit (Personal Safety, Inc.) that I head, I couldn’t justify spending a ton of money on hotels for myself in or near Manhattan. So it was a given that I would work remotely with the director and the team from the beginning. That said, I have, according to some, been a bit of a control freak in the past. I can neither confirm nor deny such rumors except to say, “they’re true!” Luckily or by design, I studied the art of collaboration as part of my coursework in grad school. I had the opportunity to interview Broadway people like actors Lisa Brescia, composer-lyricists Stephen Schwartz and Andrew Lippa, music directors Stephen Oremus and Alex Lacamoire (should I bend down to pick up those names I just dropped?). One of the common themes was you have to believe that everyone in the room has a reason to be there and to let them do what they are there to do. Fortunately for me, I found a director, Joe Langworth, who is so amazingly talented and such a wonderful person that it made the process seamless. We worked remotely for a couple of months; he also served as the dramaturg. I trust and trusted him completely from day one. As a result, it was surprisingly easy to hand off everything but the writing (and producing) to him and the team he assembled.

I’m told you’re a 3X newbie: Your first play in your first festival and your first production in New York!! What’s going through your head.

While I have written screenplays for years, Suicidal Life Coach is the first play I have ever written. On top of that, the New York Theater Festival is my first festival and my first production in New York City. It’s everything you’d imagine – the entire spectrum of emotions from “OMG, I have a show in an Off-Off-Broadway theater” to “what if it’s horrible?” to “what if it’s horrible and no one attends?”  Okay, the last one might not be as bad as “what if it’s horrible and sold out?!”  Kidding aside for 15 seconds, it’s been a wonderful few months since learning of its inclusion in the festival.  The collaboration with Joe has been such a gift.  It’s very exciting!!

What made you want to write a play and what have you learned from the experience?

There is nothing more powerful, in terms of entertainment, to me that live theater. There is a magic that happens when people are engaging with people that doesn’t happen in television or film. If something goes wrong in TV or film, you re-shoot and save the outtake for a gag reel. If something goes wrong on stage, you have to deal with it and make it work. That energy and those connections are magical to me as an audience member. I hope that holds true as a playwright!

What’s next?

I’m working as a librettist-lyricist on two musical projects one of which is top secret; the other is a modern day Cyrano inspired story! But, with a little luck, more of my work and collaborations will grace other stages in New York City, regional and community theaters. Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to move Suicidal Life Coach Off-Broadway!

IN REHEARSAL: SUICIDAL LIFE COACH (Photo credit: Lia-Shea Tillett)

The Cherry Orchard By Anton Chekhov
Classic Summer Series and Female Voices in Theatre
The American Theatre Of Actors, John Cullum Theatre
314 West 54th St, New York, NY 10019

Review by Alexa Garcia

The Cherry Orchard is the last play written by Anton Chekhov, produced by the Moscow Art Theatre before his death in 1904.  It’s considered to most people as Chekhov’s greatest play. The story takes places in a provincial estate in Russia at the turn of the twentieth century dealing with society and class, memories/past, love, home, and change. Now, see a more modern turn of this beautiful play at the American Theatre of Actors as part of its Classic Summer Series.

Director Jessica Jennings Puentevella set the play in 1965 putting a fresh variation of the classic tragicomedy. The play begins with Luba (Madame Ranevsky) just coming home from Paris to find out that she has a heavy debt and if unsolved her estate will be auctioned off.  Emrol (aka Lopakhin), repeatedly warns her about the issues they will encounter if they fail to pay off the mortgage. Yet Luba, doesn’t listen at all and continues to keep spending money they do not have. The rest of the family is caught up in the past wanting to relive all the good times.

The play was excellently done, creating an even and compelling blend of the drama and comedy. The use of props made the production more modern and a bit odd at times. The actors dressed in costumes befitting America in the 60s contributed an interpretation that both worked well theatrically and easy for all audiences to comprehend.

The expert cast included Jane Culley (Charlotte), Alexander Chilton (Peter), Cait Kiley (Velma aka. Varya), Eli Douglas LaCroix (Simon aka. Epikhodov), Joy Foster (Flor aka. Fiers), Joyce Lao (Deloris Pischin), Shanya Lawson (Anna), Johnny Blaze Leavitt (Leonard aka. Gaev), Susan Ly (Francesca aka. Dunyasha), Laris Macario (Emrol aka. Yermoli Lophakin), Monica Blaze (Luba aka Mdm. Ranevsky), and Elizabeth Chappel (Frankie aka. Yasha). Each actor, the concept and staging … fantastic.

I think I’ll go read the original.

4 $tages By Anthony J. Piccione
Planet Connections Theatre
The Clemente, The Flamboyán
107 Suffolk St, New York, NY 10002
Review by Alexa Garcia

Anthony J. Piccione adeptly reveals how society looks today – and you ain’t gonna like it!

Society that is; the play was marvelous.

A tale of greed, corruption, and revolution done with abstract movement that uncovers some of the biggest issues facing American society in this century. In its brief time on stage, this one-act play explores the issues plaguing America and our political and economic systems – from wealth inequality to runaway imperialism. This play reveals all and, through 4 stages, you’ll see how America got to where it is today as well as the possibility of what could come next.

4 $tages is running as a double bill with Arabella but this production is benefiting Our Revolution. Our Revolution is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to electing candidates who are fully committed to promoting social equality, and economic justice.  4 $tages is written by Anthony J. Piccione and directed by Jami Chokachi. Ensemble-driven pieces seen to take a front seat at this year’s Planet Connections Fest and 4 $tages is a shining example of it done well. The superior cast included Shana Danielle Casey, Mikaeli Cruz, Silvia Dionicio, Elena Du Pisanie, Monica Howe, Jessica Lee, Finty McBain, Rita McCann, Niamh Ryan, Victor Steel, and Shane Zimmerman.

The cast did an amazing job with visualization of expression, dance/movement, and projection. Piccione – like the sparse dialogue in The Handmaid’s Tale – gave us so much to think about with just a few words and he and Chokachi molded foreboding scenarios beautifully. The unapologetic message of the production was to inform the audience of all the corruption, greed and ugliness society tries to hide and ignore. Personally, I was enthralled with their inference of change – or there will be a revolution coming.

Piccione is a surely prophetic playwright.

Twelfth Night Review

Free Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte Theater

By Robert Viagas

The Public Theatre’s free Shakespeare in Central Park series delivers a joyous, fun-and-games musical adaption of Twelfth Night with a cast of dozens, representing multiple ages, ethnicities and genders.

Shakespeare’s story of romance, cross-dressing, and mistaken identities on the shore of Illyria has been stripped down to a 90-minute intermissionless playdate that includes only the most famous speeches and scenes from the Bard’s original, intercut with swirling color and heartfelt melody.

Those melodies (and lyrics) are supplied by Shaina Taub, who serves sextuple duty, also playing the piano and accordion, co-conducting the orchestra, and still finding time to perform the role of Feste the jester.

Andrew Kober steals the show as the fussy, bossy servant Malvolio. His song “Count Malvolio” captures his flight of ego-driven fantasy. The idea of imprisoning him in a port-a-potty instead of a cell provides the production with a funny visual.

Nikki M. James brings a sweetness that ripens into toughness as Viola/Cesario. She sings the soul-flavored ballad “Is This Not Love?” as a duet with Ato Blankton-Wood as Orsino.

“You’re the Worst,” a comedy number for Sir Toby Belch (Shuler Hensley), Maria (Lori Brown-Noang) and Sir Andrew (Daniel Hall), is full of funny twists and turns.

Staged by Public Theatre Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, the production packs the Delacorte Theater stage with as diverse a cast as ever seen there, including mobs of children, a Malvolio who winds up in a couple with Antonio, and the whole production signed for the deaf throughout by the cast members themselves.

In keeping with the production’s playful concept, the audience invited on stage before the show starts, to skip rope, work a giant checkerboard, play instruments with the cast, etc.

Twelfth Night is scheduled to run through August 19 at the outdoor Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

CAST ANNOUNCEMENT: 
PLAYWRIGHTS FOR A CAUSE 
TO BENEFIT FOR THE ALI FORNEY CENTER:

“my sexuality is __________”

PLANET CONNECTIONS’ 2018 PLAYWRIGHTS FOR A CAUSE EVENT.

This year, Planet Connections’ signature event, designed to address a powerful social and topical issue facing our society today through engaging stage works, will explore the distinctions between gender and sexuality. The event will benefit THE ALI FORNEY CENTER, whose mission is to protect LGBTQ youths from the dangers of homelessness and empower them with the tools needed to live independently.

The event will be the evening of August 27 at 7:00 p.m. at the Theater at the 14th Street Y, 344 E 14th St, New York City.

“We decided to put the event at the Theatre at the 14th Street Y as their mission is one of social awareness and change and is Inspired by the immense diversity the East Village has to offer,” said Glory Kadigan, founder and artistic director of Playwrights for a Cause. “In this way, the venue and the subject matter meld into a collaboration of art and education,” concluded Shaun Peknic, Planet Connections’ producing artistic director.

World Premieres by Lucy Boyle, Migdalia Cruz, Gabrielle Fox, Catherine Filloux,
Regina Taylor, and Lucy Thurber will be presented that evening.

Performers include Tony nominee, Elizabeth A. Davis; Drama Desk Nominee and Obie Winner, Eddie Korbich; along with Broadway notables, Maria-Christina Oliveras and Donna Vivino.  Other renowned artists appearing that night include David Anzuelo, Kim Blanck, Lucy DeVito, John DiMino, John Fico, McKenzie Frye, Esco Jouléy, James B. Kennedy, Bethlehem Million, Susannah Perkins, Bradley James Tejeda, Christina Toth and Kita Updike.

The event will be emceed by Planet Connections artists Laura Sisskin-Fernandez and Mateo Moreno. Tickets are now on sale at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe.c/10308796

ACCEPTING APPLAUSE by Catherine Filloux
Directed by Susan Tenney

featuring

ANNA: Kim Blanck
RUDOLPH: John Fico
KENYON NOBLE: John DiMino

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ANY OTHER NAME by Regina Taylor
Director – Shira-Lee Shalit

featuring

SERENA: Christina Toth
CYNTHIA: McKenzie Frye
ONE: Bethlehem Million

——————————————————————-

BANK by Lucy Thurber

featuring

DENISE: Lucy DeVito
CHARLIE: David Anzuelo

GENDER FLUIDS AND OTHER DANGEROUS LIQUIDS by Migdalia Cruz

featuring

TAR: Esco Jouléy
CADI: Kita Updike
BLISS: Maria-Christina Oliveras

Both directed by Glory Kadigan

——————————————————————-

HOOTERS by Gabrielle Fox
Directed by Antonio Miniño

featuring

BECCA: Donna Vivino
SAMMY: James B Kennedy

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MANUEL OR THE SOLDIER THAT WASN’T by Lucy Boyle
Directed by Shaun Peknic

featuring

ANNE/MANUEL: Elizabeth A. Davis
KINGSLEY: Eddie Korbich
LYDIA WATTS: Susannah Perkins
JAMES KNOX: Bradley James Tejeda

——————————————————————-

Understudies for all plays include Planet Connections Award winners Ramiro Batista, Carlotta Brenton, Mle Chester, Molly Collier, Isra Elsalihie, Michael Gnat, Gina LeMoine, Vinny Eden Ortega and Sarah Grace Sanders.

—————————— —————————— ——-

THE ACTING COMPANY

DAVID ANZUELO (Charlie, Bank) – Theater acting credits: Fish Men (Intar); The Surgeon & Her Daughters (Cherry Lane Mentor Project);12 Angry Men (Northern Stage); The Motherf#cker With the Hat (Kitchen Theater); Oedipus El Rey (Woolly Mammoth). Film: A Walk Among the Tombstones; Remember Me; Prime. TV: The Americans; Elementary; Blue Bloods; White Collar; Mercy; Deadbeat. 

KIM BLANCK (Anna, Accepting Applause) – NYC credits include this summer’s Shakespeare in the Park production of TWELFTH NIGHT and FOLK WANDERING with Pipeline Theatre Company. Regional fare includes La Jolla Playhouse and Tantrum Theater; usual suspect at The Back Room Shakespeare Project and co-creator of “Basic Witch” (JASH/Amazon Prime). MFA, UC San Diego.

ELIZABETH A. DAVIS (Anne/Manuel, Manuel Or The Soldier Who Wasn’t)  – Elizabeth is a Tony Award & Drama Desk Award Nominee, & a NYMF & Innovative Theatre Award winner. BFA, MFA in Theatre Performance. Visit www.elizabethadavis.com for extensive theatre, tv, film & writing credits. www.RevealUnseen.com / www.IndianJoeMusical.com

LUCY DEVITO (Denise, Bank) Theatre: Bump, Hot Mess, How My Grandparents Fell in Love, Love, Loss & What I Wore, The Shoemaker, In Quietness, Lucy, Steel Magnolias (BCP), Bureau of Missing Persons, The Electric Baby (Two River), Any Given Monday (DTC), Miracle at Naples (Huntington), The Diary of Anne Frank.Film: The Comedian, Dumbo, Curmudgeons, Sleepwalk With Me, Leaves of Grass. TV: “Deadbeat”, “Girls”, “Alpha House”, “Melissa & Joey”.

JOHN DIMINO (Kenyon Noble, Accepting Applause) received his BFA in Drama from NYU Tisch and has been performing in NYC since. He was in last year’s festivities in Alex Riad’s The Floor is Lava and can be seen in November at Theater for the New City in Frank J. Avella’s daring, dangerous and beyond relevant play; Lured. www.johndimino.net

JOHN FICO (Rudolph, Accepting Applause) Planet Connections: Monica Bauer’s MADE FOR EACH OTHER and ANNE FRANK IN THE GAZA STRIP (Outstanding Featured Actor – Comedy).  Also AS I LAY DYING (Live Source) A.R. Gurney’s SCREEN PLAY (Flea Theater), IRON CURTAIN (Prospect Theatre), THE MOST RIDICULOUS THING YOU EVER HOID ( NYMF – Outstanding Ensemble). TV/Web: THE BLACKLIST, I LOVE YOU BUT I LIED, THE OUTS.

MCKENZIE FRYE (Cynthia, Any Other Name)  is a multi-disciplined artist & songwriter from Detroit, MI and a Howard University alum. Off Broadway/ Regional Credits include: Syncing Ink, Wig Out!, Damn Yankees! River Deep and Harriet’s Return. Film and TV credits include: wishing…, The Stronger and Law & Order. Workshops include: The Lady Killer’s Love Story, Girl Shakes Loose and Pussy Valley.

ESCO JOULÉY (Tar, Gender Fluids and Other Dangerous Liquids) is an actor, singer, dancer and movement artist originally from Washington DC. NYC Credits: Interstate (Carly), Runaways (Esco), Soft Butter (Soft Butter/ Cold Butter), Galatea (Chorus), The Demise (Magic Theater Player), Beowolf (Warrior), Marisol (Angel), Girl Shakes Loose (Luc), Room For Cream (Sidney). Regional Credits: Man of LaMancha (Sancho Panza), Unnecessary Farce (Bille Dwyer), The Three Musketeers (Porthos), The Marvelous Wonderrettes (Betty Jean), Legally Blonde (Pilar), Anything Goes (Purity). escojouley.com

JAMES B KENNEDY (Sammy, Hooters)  is a Brooklyn based actor. Recent theatre credits; “The Hunting Season”(Teatro Latea, Planet Connections), “All is Bright”(I.R.T., NYC), “Clover” (LaMama, NYC), & “Sousepaw : A Baseball Story” (NYC, MN, INDY, SF Fringe Festivals). Recent film credits; THE Z LIST (web series), MY DINNER WITH SCHWARTZEY (short), SEEKING SUBLET (web series), JACK AND DODGE (web series). Outstanding Actor Award from Planet Connections on their inaugural season.

EDDIE KORBICH (Kingsley, Manuel Or The Soldier Who Wasn’t) Broadway: A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, A Christmas Story (Santa), The Little Mermaid (Scuttle), The Drowsy Chaperone (George-Drama Desk nomination), Wicked, Seussical, Carousel (Mr. Snow-LCT) and Sweeney Todd (Tobias-Circle In The Square). Off-Broadway: Assassins, Godspell, A Little Night Music, and Taking a Chance on Love (Obie Award). Film/TV: “Blue Bloods”, “Elementary”, “Law & Order”, “The Deuce”, “Doug” and “Quiz Show.”

BETHLEHEM MILLION (ONE, Any Other Name) Of Ethiopian descent and growing up in Switzerland her recent projects have been “Onward: a concert to benefit good chance theatre”, Celebration! and the NYU Reality Show.

MARIA-CHRISTINA OLIVERAS (Bliss, Gender Fluids and Other Dangerous Liquids)  Broadway: Amelie (cast album); Machinal; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. World Premieres: Soft Power (CTG/Ahmanson); Here Lies Love (The Public; cast album); Pretty Filthy (The Civilians; cast album); Taylor Mac’s 24 Decade…(St. Ann’s Warehouse); And Miles to Go (PCP); Reading Under the Influence (DR2); The Really Big Once (Target Margin); After (PCP). Other Off-Broadway: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (Public); Romeo and Juliet (NYSF/Public); Zorba! (Encores); Night Sky (BPAC). Regional: Yale Rep, Berkeley Rep, Williamstown, Long Wharf, Huntington, Baltimore Centerstage, Sundance, O’Neill, among others. Selected Film/TV: Manhattan Night, St. Vincent, “The Blacklist,” “Nurse Jackie”, “Law & Order:SVU”

SUSANNAH PERKINS (Lydia Watts, Manuel Or The Soldier That Wasn’t) Off-Broadway: The Low Road (The Public), The Wolves (Lincoln Center/Playwrights Realm), The Rape Of The Sabine Women… (Playwrights Realm). Other New York: Sisters On The Ground (PHTS/Clubbed Thumb), Every Angel Is Brutal (Clubbed Thumb). Regional: Night Of The Iguana (ART), The Wolves (NYSAF). TV: Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. BFA: NYU Tisch. Obie and Drama Desk awards.

BRADLEY JAMES TEJEDA (James Knox, Manuel Or The Soldier That Wasn’t) Recent graduate of the Yale School of Drama in 2016, recent projects include: Two River Theatre’s Productions, El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Nebraska Repertory Theatre’s The Lord of the Flies, and The Light Fantastic Mobile Theatre Co.’s A View From The Bridge. Born and raised in south San Antonio, TX, he works on playing guitar and writing poetry and plays.

CHRISTINA TOTH (Serena, Any Other Name) is a graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. Her latest credits include Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black Season 6 (Recurring: Annalisa), LAZARUS (New York Theatre Workshop) directed by Ivo van Hove and The Woolgatherer (LaTea Theatre) directed by Chazz Palminteri, for the which she won Best Actress at the Planet Connections Festivity Awards.  www.christinatoth.com

KITA UPDIKE (Cadi, Gender Fluids and Other Dangerous Liquids) Recent Theater Credits: Reckoning… (Public Theater, dir. Billy Porter), Click (Westport), The Village (Workshop) Film/TV: The Misandrists, Difficult People (Hulu).  Instagram @chippewajane

DONNA VIVINO (Becca, Hooters)  – Broadway: “Wicked” (Elphaba), “Les Miserables”, “Hairspray”, “Fame Becomes Me”, “Saturday Night Fever”. TV/Film: “Submissions Only”, “Sopranos”, “All My Children”. Most recent: “Finks” (Theatreworks Silicon Valley),  “Merrily We Roll Along” (Best Actress Los Angeles Ovation Nomination). Twitter/Instagram @donnavivino

Staff of PLAYWRIGHTS FOR A CAUSE

Founder & Producer: Glory Kadigan
Associate Producer: Shaun Peknic
Managing Director: Jenna Lazar
Assistant Managing: Director Ashley Nickas
Associate Artistic Director: Vinny Eden Ortega
Green/Charities Director: Akia Squitieri
Marketing Director: Ariel Estrada
Special Events Director: Ariel Francoeur
Technical Director: Mary Greene
Director of Public Relations: Jay Michaels
Lighting Designer: Benjamin Ehrenreich
Sound Designer: Jacob Subotnick
Costume Designer: Ariel Pellman
Casting Director: Robin Carus
Production Stage Manager: Katheryn Meister

2018 marks Planet Connections’ 10th year
and Playwrights for a Cause’s sixth year.

Shinka By Ren Gyo Soh
Planet Connections Theatre
The Clemente, The Flamboyán
107 Suffolk St, New York, NY 10002

Review by Alexa Garcia

The body can tell a story with as much vigor as the finest prose. Shinka explores the mystery of living beings. We are all human beings living in a society that has developed rapidly. Fear of death, hope for life. We live in an ecosystem evolving every moment together. Yet we struggle, create, and destroy. Using Butoh Dance and Physical Theatre, we are offered a chance to witness the exploration of life itself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually through Shinka.

Ren Gyo Soh’s Shinka has been developed under the Ume Group’s support since 2013. Shinka is both directed and choreographed by Yoshiko Usami assisted by Rui Dun. The inspired costuming was created by Deepsikha Chatterjee, and the alluring sound design by Ren Gyo Soh (creator). Bob Lyness, proeuced. Perfectly staged and mesmurizing charactersisation by dancers,  Miles Butler, Zak Ma (performer-understudy), Annie McCoy, Jennifer Marinelli, Dustin Maxwell, Efren Sanchez, and Yoshiko Usami hyponitzied the appreicatiuve crowd. This production benefits World Wildlife Foundation.

Shinka was unique and strange … and honest. This format gave us a purity that would not have been there with dialogue at the helm. I came away thinking we’re in a race … the human race … and we might not win.

Raft of the Medusa By Joe Pintauro
Planet Connections Theatre
The Clemente, The Flamboyán
107 Suffolk St, New York, NY 10002
Review by Alexa Garcia

An explosive AIDS support group session, where the members of the group discover the diseases they share can divide as effectively as it conquers. Each member differs from one another: homosexuals, heterosexuals, and bisexuals, conservatives and liberals, black, white and Hispanic, rich and poor. Together they discuss, discover and hope for what is happening in the present and future.

Raft of the Medusa sports powerful direction by Francisco Solorzano (PCTF director of a staged reading, 2017), assisted by Bianca Puorto. The electrically charged ensemble included Gil Ron (Jerry Rizzo); Jeremy Brena (Michael McDermott); Perri Yaniv (Donald Miller); Delissa Reynolds (Nairobi); Charles Everett (Doug Forester); Christopher Whalen (Larry Smith); Zac Porter (Tommy Carson); Czarina Mada (Cora Dobbs); Bobby Daniel Rodriguez (Alan Hernandez); Francisco Solorzano (Jimmy Horando); Michael Billingsley (Bob Garfield); Robert Montana (Alec Quinn); Raiane Cantisano (Felicia Fuentes); and Anthony Michael Irizarry (Alan Hernandez (U/S).

Dramatic and deeply, deeply moving; alarming, depressing, inspiring, painful, witty and the list goes on to describe this play – both as a play and as a production. The intensity and commitment was such that the play seemed to end and reality began. I felt like I was sitting in on a group session and not a theatre. Even after decades in the public consciousness, Pintauro’s words enlighten and create a renewed sense of empathy regarding this awful disease.

A successful piece makes you root for the characters. Here, we pray for their survival.

Raft of the Medusa is dedicated to the memory of longtime collaborator and Barefoot Theatre Company Advisory Board member (and playwright), Joe Pintauro.

A Hand Across the Bridge 
By Jonathan G. Galvez
Planet Connections Theatre
The Clemente, The Latea
107 Suffolk St, New York, NY 10002
Review by Alexa Garcia

Every young teen dreams of college. The stereotype implies all you do is party all the time and get drunk. But playwright Jonathan G. Galvez shows us, apologetically, that it’s not so easy! Ten years after their kick-off into the real world, six former friends are brought back together to reflect on their last year at Sycamore University. Not paying attention to lots of things back then, these friends discover the truth about that one night, that one choice, and how it affected them all.

A Hand Across the bridge is a story about what some don’t realize happens in college. Written by Jonathan G Galvez and directed by Kristen Keim, supporting the Cohen Esophageal Cancer Initiative, and dealing with issues such as rape and sexual assault, A Hand Across The Bridge is a production that must be seen by many. The cast was able to tell the story and perform well without revealing the shocking twist. Alex Andrews (Carrie), Alanna Dachille (Karla), James Johnston (Ross), Devonte McCray (Kurt), Kat Moreno (Dina), Josh Bartosch (Bradley), Lauren Gunn (Kimberely), Kate Elaine Jones (Catherine), Jordan Merimee (Mark), Canning Robb (Stacey), Cassandra Borgella (Mary), Alice Hale (Maggie), and Sam Lopresti (David) were exemplary in performance and in relating the play’s message.

I’m excited to hear that A Hand Across The Bridge is a part of Jonathan G Galvez’s Bridge Series meaning if anyone who has seen this production is curious about what happens to some these characters then see what happens this fall in Skylar. I would certainly love to see what happens. While watching this play i was absorbed in it, and appropriately surprised by the ending. This production breached a topic not oft-discussed. The aim, to me, of this production was to inform and persuade others about what may happen in college and to not stay silent about it. People choose to ignore whatever happens in college thinking it’ll all be over and forgotten soon enough. However that’s not true because the past will always haunt you unless its properly dealt with. Which is why silence is not an option it shouldn’t be.