Religious Affiliation
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.
Dorian is Divine
Dorian Palumbo, whose play, Carnegie Hill, was optioned for Broadway by Tony-winning producer, John O’Boyle (A Catered Affair, LaCage Aux Folles-2010), premieres her latest work, Divination, as a staged reading at The Dramatists Guild’s Mary Rogers Room at 1501 Broadway, on Thursday, July 19 at 6:30 p.m. JMAE.events@gmail.com for reservations. Ken Coughlin directs.
The all-female cast centers on Asian-American, Tara Cornfeld, and her attempt to decrease her job-related stress by delving into spiritualism. Divination – through Palumbo’s trademark intellectual humor and clever plot twists – examines the individual crossroads in each of the women’s lives. Their individual journeys all beginning at a ritual at an old crystal shop and continuing to that point in their lives when they must leave the past behind and not care about the future. They must enjoy – even worship – the present.
Dorian is a writer here at Five Star so we’re extra thrilled to sit with her and discuss her many talents.
We know you’re a journalist, now, tell us about yourself as an artist
The stuff I write is always pretty character driven. Characters navigating an emotional landscape, trying to find their place in the picture. To contribute a verse to the universal poem, if I can paraphrase Walt Whitman for a hot second.
I started out writing for film mostly, but I got so tired of almost making the film, almost selling the script, almost almost almost, you know? And the words would never be said by an actor, and the actor would never bring the story to the audience, and the work would never come to fruition – it would just sit in a drawer and cry its little ass to sleep every night. So I started back doing what I did in college, which was writing for theatre. The work we do in theatre might only reach a few hundred folks, but a story gets told, and people respond, so everyone gets a complete experience. Hopefully a meaningful one.
Share with us a little something about your play that we WON’T see in the press release.
That I wrote the character of Geri with Scottish Actress Michelle Gomez in mind. Michelle is an amazing Scottish actress who recently guest-starred on Doctor Who as a Time Lord called “Missy” and I would totally nerd out to infinity if she actually played the role someday.
Considering the trajectory of organized religion as opposed to spirituality, how does your play resonate today? Feel free to be blunt.
People are feeling very dis-empowered. They really yearn to connect with each other, and sometimes that leads them all the way back to occult studies and psychic phenomenon – because they want the world to make sense. They want to find some kind of rhythm of life they can dance to again. Maybe they think traditional organized religion is nonsense and the patriarchy is a horror show, so, hell, let’s get together in each other’s basements and try to cast some spells or tune into that collective unconscious that Mr. Jung was always jazzing about, or just watch the Long Island Medium together and eat Twix bars and cry. The world sucks right now, man – but we’ve got each other.
What influenced your choice of director? Did you have a strong say as to the casting?
I’ve been insanely lucky in my career so far working with some really talented directors. I even got to work with Rebecca Taichman years ago on my play “Carnegie Hill” when it was being work-shopped. Rebecca’s a real force of nature. I was so sad that the project couldn’t get funded.
I brought “Divination” to Ken Coughlin because I so admired Ken’s work as an actor and director, and he had a lot of experience in the world of independent theatre as actor, director and as producer. He’s got this very pragmatic vibe about him that’s really valuable when you’re working in the arts. He understands that the creative imagination has to be a balloon, it has to fly, but the balloon needs a string, and the string needs to be held, or else the experience of the balloon isn’t going to really happen.
Where do you see it going in the future? What’s the next step?
This staged reading of “Divination” at the Dramatists Guild is so industry folks will be coming over to give it a listen, and then after that we start raising some money to get it on its feet here in New York. It’s a small cast of six women, takes place in the present day, and has just the one set, so thank God the budget on this one isn’t going to kill anybody.
Final thoughts?
Well, you don’t have to believe in psychic phenomena, or mediums, or energy work, or anything like that to come by and enjoy a little comedy/drama that explores that subject. But I’d really like for people to come away from “Divination” wondering if there really is much, much more to a human being than what surgeons can remove. Yes, I’m quoting “On a Clear Day” now. But, seriously, I’ve yet to meet someone who has never in their lives had any kind of a psychic experience of some sort or other. If we’re all having those experiences, then isn’t it natural to ask why?
Trans Theatre Festival: Sandy Gooen and Pass/Fail
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.
EV A-OK!
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.
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: BROADWAY PRODUCER, JIM KIERSTEAD
Why are we interviewing Jim Kierstead?
Because he’s a two-time 2013 Tony® Award-winning producer of the Broadway productions of Kinky Boots (book by Harvey Fierstein and music & lyrics by Cyndi Lauper) and the critically acclaimed revival of Pippin?
NO
He also is involved with the international hit musical Matilda on Broadway?
NOPE
Because he is a co-producer of the 2016 Broadway musicals Waitress, Natasha & Pierre, and The Great Comet of 1812?
The Natasha part was groovy but that’s not it.
Because Jim Kierstead is STILL a powerful supporter of independent theatre. It all began for him with the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway premiere of Thrill Me – The Leopold & Loeb Story (nominated for Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical in 2005) and produced its original New York production in 2003 at the Midtown International Theatre Festival. Mr. Kierstead supports and respects the work of the independent artist in laudable ways. He is currently producing DEAD BRAINS, a play by Erik Champney at this season’s Planet Connections Theatre Festivity.
Additionally, Jim is in the process of developing a new musical entitled Unexpected Joy with book & lyrics by Bill Russell (two-time Tony® nominated for Side Show) and music by Janet Hood. Jim is on the Board of Directors of The York Theatre Company.
And that ain’t all:
So it’s not like he isn’t busy.
Sir, it’s an honor.
A couple of questions….
Tell us about yourself as an artist and a theater professional.
I began my career as a theatre producer near 20 years ago after seeing the original production of Side Show in 1998. Although it didn’t last long, it made a lasting impression on me and I realized that I needed to be a part of this world. From that day, opportunities began to present themselves and I knew that my destiny was to do a few things… the first was to bring my business experience and my love of theatre together to present important material that would entertain people while, at the same time, pass along important messages that as an individual I would never be able to get across on my own. I also wanted to help the voices of artists who I respected who may or may not have gotten attention to have their work heard and seen. And, most importantly, I wanted to treat my theatre collaborators as I was taught to do in the business world… with kindness and respect. Giving people a safe place to work and to create is the best gift I could give anyone.Priase to you for supporting indie theater, what keeps you coming back?
What do you look for in a property? On and off Broadway?
I have one piece of criteria that I look for when presenting material. I have to LOVE it. Whether my love of a piece translates to Broadway, Off Broadway, or something else only relies on how much I believe others will love it as well (and how much they are willing to pay…sadly, that is the reality of commercial theatre). Each piece is unique and, since commerciality is a reality of our business and the world, I think and hope that I can find the proper place for a piece based on that. At this point in time, all I know is that I only want to be part of projects that I love. The few times I have gone against that rule I have regretted it. Choose to be a part of a show you love and, win or lose, you WIN! 
#TenthPlanet: Lynda Crawford
We were honored to chat with distinguished playwright, Lynda Crawford about Planet Connections special presentation of her latest work.Thrilled to have you. Tell us about yourself as an artist I have been writing plays for the last 40 years, with a 15-year hiatus in there while I worked as a journalist. I supported my habit for writing working as a secretary for many years at the UN International School. I was very influenced by that environment and many of my plays have an international feel. This play, STARS OUT OF BALANCE, feels very European to me, and I hope it resonates with what is going on there now with the plight of refugees.
Share with us a little something about your play that we WON’T see in the press release. STARS OUT OF BALANCE was actually inspired initially by a line in another play of mine, Strange Rain (FringeNYC 2013), where a psychic character is talking about a vision he had of a family of acrobats who had become unbalanced by a year of unusual weather, the year without a summer. A friend remarked that they, the acrobats, deserved their own play and I liked that idea. Then a little later I read An Acrobat of the Heart: A Physical Approach to Acting by Stephen Wangh, and was influenced there as well. The play originally had many more characters and, after a couple of readings, I shelved it, but in the last year (after seeing The Showman, which brought to mind my acrobats), I was re-inspired to work on it and rewrote it (now for 5 actors) and refocused it to the situation of a family fleeing war and weather crises—something happening in various parts of the world right now.
Sadly, recent world events make me think i know the answer to this already but tell us why play resonates today? Feel free to be blunt. Well, it is happening. Families are displaced all over the world because of war and climate change. They live in frightening conditions. How do these men and women survive? And if they are trying to practice art or a craft, how do they keep doing it? And what of the children? Will they have a chance at a future? The protagonist in STARS OUT OF BALANCE is a young girl.
Why did you choose Planet Connections for your work? Have you worked with them before? I like the festival and the people involved. I have participated in Planet Connections in 2016 and 2017 as well. The aspect of finding a charity connected to the work appeals to me. I chose the International Rescue Committee for STARS OUT OF BALANCE, as they help people upended by war and natural disaster.
Where do you see it going in the future? What’s the next step? I’m very excited to work with Terry Greiss (the director) on this piece in the festival. Working with him helps me to realize the play more fully. After this staged reading, well, I’ll be sending it out to all the usual places, hoping for a production…
Final thoughts? The challenge for me is to write a play connected to a social issue without it being a diatribe, a mouthpiece, a platform for that issue…where it is a play that stands on its own as a drama, but maybe underneath it we feel the tug of the social issue playing out in front of us. And it opens our hearts a little more. |
#TenthPlanet: THIS STRETCH OF MONTPELIER
The Fire This Time Festival & Frigid NYC present a play by Kelley Nicole Girod directed by Andrew Block
In this South Louisiana neighborhood, just past the intersection where Ghosts from the Past cross Hopes for the Future, lies …
THIS STRETCH OF MONTPELIER
Part of the 10th anniversary season of Planet Connections Theatre Festivity at the Theaters at the Clemente, 107 Suffolk Street, New York City, running Thursday 7/19 @5:45pm-7:15pm; Saturday 7/21 @8:30pm-10pm; Wednesday 7/25 @7:15pm-8:45pm; Sunday 7/29 @ 7pm-8:30pm; Saturday 8/4 @9:30pm-11pm; and Sunday 8/5 @2pm-3:30pm
Obie winner, Kelley Nicole Girod and Ovation winner, Andrew Block forge a play about a place out of time.
Evolution doesn’t have to take millions of years. It can happen right in front of our eyes. Spend a hot summer day along a stretch of Southeastern Louisiana road, where tradition now clashes with change. Old neighbors intertwine with those newcomers, bringing about gentrification… and integration. Before the new world can breathe on its own, racism, homophobia, and colliding generations must fight for survival. Ghosts from the past dance with the uncertain music of the future creating an imperfect but vibrant culture seeking to understand how to live together in a changing society. This is what happens when yesterday meets tomorrow.
This summer, Planet Connections Theatre Festivity (PCTF), the brainchild of arts professional Glory Kadigan, turns 10 years old. In that decade, PCTF has successfully changed the landscape of the theatre festival and all of New York independent theatre. The multi-award-winning theatre festival will celebrate in a big way by premiering more than 50 timely and topical plays and musicals written by the next generation of playwrights. Each play contains a powerful message serving as a parable of various world themes. The Tenth Planet: Planet Connections Theatre Festivity will run fromJuly 9 through August 5, 2018 at The Clemente, 107 Suffolk Street, NYC.www.planetconnections.org. Artists presenting works from all across America, including Denver, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Providence and New York City; and from all over the planet, including Japan, Yugoslavia, Russia, Peru, France, Belarus, & Haiti are part of this years festivity.
Ai caught up with playwright, Kelley Nicole Girod, who shared her many artistic adventures.
As a producer, I am committed to presenting stories by artists of color. As a playwright, I love to write about the Black Cajun/Creole world of Louisiana that I grew up in. I love hearing all those voices every time I write, and smelling the backyard on a hot summer day, or the scent of gumbo on a Fall breeze. It’s my favorite place to escape to, both in my head as a writer, and in real life.
Share with us a little something about your play that we WON’T see in the press release.
You will hear a Cajun “call” Aieeeeeeee!!! at some point during the play.
LOVE THAT! OK, This shows us that this a very specific location and thought-process. Is it identifiable on a wider range? How does your play resonate today? Feel free to be blunt.
The reality of our present day is pushing up against our past in big ways lately in this country. My play addresses our history with racism in America and the structures it has built that are now being dismantled. Spilling out of this is generational divides, racial tensions, the strains of gentrification, and a literal changing landscape as Louisjana’s coastline (and culture) disappears.
We’ve gotten a ton of varied answers on this … why did you choose Planet Connections for your work?
I love that Planet Connections is committed to plays that both present timely social issues, as well as present actual foundations that audiences can give to that are linked to the causes brought up in the piece. It allows the artists and the audiences to take that extra step to be proactive once they leave the performance.
Where do you see it going in the future?
If no dream is too big, let’s say Broadway!
FINALLY! I’ve been waiting for someone with THE dream! What’s the next step?
Fill the theatre for Planet Connections run!
Another Pro Answer! Final thoughts?
Thank you for this opportunity.
#TenthPlanet: Anthony P. Pennino
| Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, the brainchild of arts professional Glory Kadigan, turns 10 years old. In that decade, PCTF has successfully changed the landscape of the theatre festival and all of New York independent theatre. The multi-award-winning theatre festival will celebrate in a big way by premiering more than 50 timely and topical plays and musicals written by the next generation of playwrights. Each play contains a powerful message serving as a parable of various world themes.
Premiering more than 50 original plays & musicals The Tenth Planet: Planet Connections Theatre Festivity will run from July 9 through August 5, 2018 at The Clemente, 107 Suffolk Street, NYC. http://www.planetconnections.org Across our sites, Five-Star Arts Journals will spotlight this special season with interviews, articles, and reviews.
TICKETS A nuclear device explodes at Madison Square Park. Six college students, rehearsing at The Clemente Center, must grapple with the terror of what for them is an unknown horror. Told in a series of short pieces that mix tragic, comedic, and documentary styles, The Nuclear Plays tells, from the perspective of those just staring out on life, the sobering consequences of nuclear war and its aftermath in a world that has largely forgotten the dangers of the ultimate conflict. A project commissioned by the Reinventing Civil Defense Project to educate the public about nuclear risk. OK, let’s start with you… tell us about yourself as an artist My whole self – left brain and right brain – is devoted to theatre. As a playwright, I believe that theatre exists to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, to put the spotlight on the marginalized, to give voice to the voiceless, to tell the narrative and stories that the dominant culture may not want to hear. My plays tackles controversial subjects such as police shootings in the African-American community, attacks on immigrants, and our seemingly endless wars. I have been awarded two fellowships from the New Jersey Council on the Arts, had numerous plays published, and seen my work produced across the world. Additionally, I teach literature and theatre at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. My book Staging the Past in the Age of Thatcher: “The History We Haven’t Had will be published by Palgrave Macmillan UK later this year, and I have written articles on William Shakespeare and August Wilson. I hold an MFA in Playwriting from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Drama from the University of London. You are a Renaissance Man for sure! OK, let’s dig deeper… share with us a little something about your play that we WON’T see in the press release. This play emerged from an investigation launched by the Reinventing Civil Defense Project, which is exploring different ways we think (or don’t think) about nuclear risk in the present moment. In the past, there was a great deal of education – faulty though it may be – about what to do in case there was a nuclear attack (think “Duck and Cover”). And so the Project is exploring ways to talk about nuclear risk and trying to answer such questions as: how do we educate the populace – particularly the young – about nuclear war? how much is too much? when does information become panic? And so, this is one part of that project. They are also looking at graphic novels, computer games, and art installations. Wow. Things don’t change. I was going to ask if your play resonates today? I guess it does, Tell us about it. Feel free to be blunt. We are careening toward nuclear crises with Iran and North Korea, and, if you are younger than, say 40, you really have no idea what that means. There was an article in The Weekly Standard recently that claimed we could easily shake off a nuclear attack. So, the job of the play is to put the issue front and center (sometimes in humorous ways, sometimes in dramatic ways).The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has a mission to eliminate the risk of nuclear war by eliminating nuclear weapons. This play ultimately shares that mission. Theatre is best when its a cautionary tale. Why did you choose Planet Connections to get the word out? I have worked with Planet Connections before. They are always jonesing for political theatre, and I am more than happy to feed that addiction. They – and you – are to be commended. PC doesn’t mean politically correct in your case. Where do you see it going in the future? What’s the next step? What I am doing at Planet Connections is kind of a beta test for the project. I hope to learn a lot about the play myself. The ultimate goal is that it is something that can be performed at high schools and colleges, and I want to see what works and what doesn’t. I am working with the Reinventing Civil Defense folks to get that ball rolling, and I have some nibbles. Final thoughts? I’ve never done something quite like this before, so I am flying without a net. But it is exciting, and I think important to put this issue – which paradoxically everyone agrees is important but also no one thinks about – front and center in a way that makes sense dramatically and theatrically. |
Ai talks to ANTHONY P. PENNINO about The Nuclear Plays
Adam Seely is Sax-y!
Photo: Kim Guerriero (KimmyG Photography)
In 2002, a group of celebrated professional musicians – veterans of the New York music scene – came together to form Beginnings.
While Beginnings was designed as a tribute to the 70s/80s classic band Chiacago, the musicians are certainly not mimics. These formidable players infuse the classic – and highly memorable tunes of Chacgo with their own spoecial style, adding musical commentary and 21st Century touches allowing them to stabnd nbext to the biogrtaphical showings along Broadway like Jerrsey Boys, Mama Mia, American idiot, and so many more. Now, Town Hall will contribute to the Broadway skyline by hosting a special one-night-only concert featuring the phenomenal band, Beginnings, and their tribute to the legendary 70/80s band, Chicago; and That Motown Band – celebrating the 60s record label that fostered powerful, definite and historic music.
Preemo Productions in association with Town Hall hosts a concert honoring the American rock band, Chicago, and the timeless music of Motown
Across our five arts sites, we will cover this once-in-a-lifetime event.
We’ll start with Adam Seely, on Alto, Tenor & Soprano saxophones, and on-the-spot.
Adam, tell us about yourself as an artist. What’s happening with you?
As a saxophone player and arranger, I have always gravitated towards music that has horn sections at their core. I love arranging for horns, and the power it can and energy they can bring to a song. My favorite bands have always been ones with that horn section signature sound like Tower of Power, Earth Wind & Fire and of course, Chicago. As a musician, I love taking a nice sax solo on something and expressing myself that way, but my true love is playing in a horn section. Just being a part of a voiced-out arrangement and playing as one with other horn players, it still thrills me to this day, and Chicago is a perfect example on what that lends to their hits and songwriting.
My other musical endeavors are really based around lending my horn parts to original artists’ material and giving something to a song they might not have thought about much. I love the collaboration in that. Sometimes it’s deciding where NOT to have horns, and then they come in for the best effect.
Cool. So, fees-up! Share with us a little something about the bands or the show that we WON’T see in the press release.
This band, “Beginnings” is a true labor of love on and off stage. We are constantly revisiting the show to give that live Chicago experience, but also give our energy and enthusiasm to it. Crafting the set list is always top of mind. We try to fit in over 3 decades of hits into a 90-minute show, so we’re immensely proud of the medleys we’ve arranged to give as many choruses to hits so people feel like they’ve heard their favorite song.
Labor of Love? OK, you sort answered this question already. You are keeping great musical works alive and sharing them with new generations. How does that feel? Do you have a greater sense of responsibility because of it?
I’d like to think of it that way for sure. Cover bands and tribute bands are simply spreading the word – the word is great music. Plays are revived on Broadway all the time, and re-interpreted and produced differently, but there’s a solid base of art that is being honored and re told to new generations. If there’s a 20-year-old singer / songwriter out there who hears us play “Saturday in the Park” live, and goes and checks out Chicago’s catalog, that’s a win / win for everyone. Inspiration can come from talented musicians playing and celebrating music they haven’t written but feel passionate about playing and dissecting and making it relevant for today’s audiences.
You brought up new singers hearing Chiacgo for the first time though you all. How does the music of Chicago and Motown resonate today? Feel free to be blunt.
As I’ve said, Chicago has over 3 decades of hits. Big hits. There’s a reason these guys have been so successful. Songwriting. Just amazing songs that meld classical music and rock and unforgettable hooks. We’re so fortunate to play with “That Motown Band” who just comes out and kills it with every Motown hit. They’re timeless melodies, and not disposable. They’re modern classics. I think those in the audience that are older live out their childhood with nostalgia in each bar of all of Chicago’s tunes as well as Motown. That’s the feedback we get consistently at our meet and greets. “I saw Chicago in 1971 and when you did that tune, it brought me back to that place when I first heard the song. Music can do that like no other art form. I love when people say we’re as much fun as Chicago to watch and listen to, and that feeling translates to today. The material isn’t dated and we’re honoring it because the songs have no expiration date in my opinion.
OK, you’re gonna be on BROADWAY! How does THAT feel?
Yeah, playing on Broadway. It doesn’t get any better than that! The heart of New York City and all the amazing acts that have graced the Town Hall stage, it’s truly an honor and a blessing. I will enjoy every second of being on that stage.
What’s next?
Key West, a return to Las Vegas, bigger venues, and more…as the chorus goes of the song we named the band after, “It’s Only the Beginning”…!
Look for articles on Beginnings members:
Mason Swearingen
Adam Seely
Dan Hendrix
Chris Milillo
… and producer, Ed Levine
Body [of work] SLAM
Michael D’Antoni at the Downtown Urban Arts
“Words Matter’ Poetry Slam
A Poetry Slam or Slam Poetry if you will, by definition is competitive art whereby the venue is the verbal performance of original poetry. This type of competition from all indications began in Chicago around 1986. Poetry Slams differ from more traditional poetry readings in that they stress performance as well as writing. Additionally, many like tonight’s slam adopt specific themes. This evenings subject matter encouraged poets to discuss contemporary social issues’ and socially conscious people.
However, mind you that the caveat is that performers and poets alike need to win over their audience, as judges vote favorably for the performance and piece that gets the biggest and loudest audience response. Audience approval is essential.
Poetry Slams are a particularly relaxed art form for they are most engaging as they surf a myriad of issues and topics, virtually minute by minute hence making them very entertaining and immediately gratifying.
All the while allowing audience members to voice their opinions almost immediately!
The standing room only space known as the “Nuyorican Poets Cafe” was charming, welcoming and a most comfortable. Aptly named, the word “Nuyorican” is a portmanteau of the designations “New York” and “Puerto Rican”. A melding of two languages and cultures. Appropriately, this evening was nothing less then just that, a very smooth and pleasant melding of different ideas, styles, formats and talents. The inherent juxtaposition of the cafes name versus the venues platform was well apparent to some if not subliminally appreciated by all.
Headlining this evenings events was Reg E. Gaines the acclaimed Tony & Grammy nominated lyricist and playwright of “Bring in ‘Da Noise Bring in ‘Da Funk” (which won 4 Tonys) who was the special guest host for this evenings reading. He artfully kicked off the slam.
The evening was billed as a “Words Matter” platform, which in life is very true. For once the words cross our lips and we actually give life to them, we own them (with all its positive and/or negative repercussions that may follow).
Hence, to use words in a positive way to (as the producers put it) repair, reform & transform is a lesson we all could be re-introduced at times.
Fresh, innovative and thought provoking was tonight’s slam and nothing less then splendid. An evening of peaceful consciousness in this often cold and lonely asphalt jungle known as New York City.
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