Theater in the Now

Name: Xavier Toby

Hometown: Melbourne, Australia

Education: Bachelor Degrees in Arts & Mechanical Engineer, Masters in Creative Writing

Tell us about ‘Mining’ My Own Business?: It's a one man show based around my experiences on a mining site in Australia. It's funny first, insightful second, and you don't need any previous knowledge of mining or Australia.

What inspired you to create‘Mining’ My Own Business?: Working on a mining site in Australia for six months to pay off some art incurred debts, I realised that it was a truly and surreal and often hilarious place, as well as being an important moment in Australian history that nobody else was discussing.

Tell us about 2014 - When We Were Idiots?: It's a comedy walking tour including local history, thinking about the future and yelling at strangers, led by a penguin with a megaphone. I don't think any further explanation is necessary, do you?

What inspired you to create 2014 - When We Were Idiots?: After going on a few walking tours, I thought how good would it be if this thing included some jokes?
After going to the zoo, I realised that penguins can't fly, but they can walk and are awesome.
By setting the walking tour in the future, everyone on the tour has permission to laugh at themselves.
Then after yelling at strangers, I realised that become far more fun if I had a megaphone and was dressed as a penguin.
Please note: I don't yell at anyone who's already on the tour. They were intelligent enough to buy tickets so are not picked on at all.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I think that the role of humour is often underrated, if somebody makes you laugh, you'll definitely listen to the next thing they say. Still, I do adore serious pieces as well.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: A wealthy producer.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: They're all in Australia, so I've just recommended New York in general. So far, zero takers.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: "Point Break" era Keanu Reeves and it'd be called, "Point Break"

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Puns.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: "Nail it Down" by The Drones

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Wealthy and extremely depressed

What’s up next?: Working on my second book, a sequel to 'Mining My Business' - the non-fiction comedy memoir on which this show is based.

For more on Xavier, visit http://www.xaviertoby.com/

Name: Sam French

Hometown: Saint Petersburg, Florida.

Education: I just graduated a few months ago with my BFA in directing from the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama.

Favorite Credits: Co-directing and co-writing The Beatles present: the Lord of the Rings the Musical and co-devising an audience interactive dance-party called Interrobang?!

Why theater?: Because I wasn't any good at baseball? Because I love narrative and I love being a part of a crowd and theater is the best hybrid of the two.

Tell us about Freaks: a legend about growing up?:Freaks is at it's surface a pretty simple story about four friends in their early twenties reuniting for the first time in a long time-- to discover the different people they've become and to determine what future they have together. But it's inspired by magical realism and by that awesome sense of imagination that college kids are just beginning to develop out of ("growing up"). So there's mythical thunderstorms and a belief in time travel and the fear/excitement/belief that MAYBE the world is not yet set in stone for them.

What inspired you to write Freaks: a legend about growing up?: I actually started it as a writing exercise where you write your least favorite kind of play-- which for me was the college kids sitting around drinking play. I had never read or seen one that was really accurate about the factual circumstances of that age while also being accurate about sort of the intangible circumstances. And when I was writing Freaks I was also so aware of the plethora of articles being published about the "me" generation. So Freaks was written out of a desire to capture the awkward magic between growing up and grown up, and to sort of put the voice of criticism/celebration into our generation's hands.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love theater that plays with language, that plays with the audience, that invites interpretation, or that looks at the mundane parts of life with a flair of the mythological. There are a lot of theater artists who inspire me, of course, through their work and/or mentorship... but the people who most inspire me are outside of theater-- Bruce Springsteen, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Cormac McCarthy. Oh, and-- and I'm completely serious about this-- the upper management team of the Tampa Bay Rays.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Anyone? Woof. If I could get in a room with Bruce Springsteen and a committee of Major League Baseball executives to just pick their brains about developing a play that had the same depth of energy and narrative that a concert/game had, I'd be pretty stoked.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Fuerza Bruta, many times. Battlestar Galactica.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I've been told I look like Ethan Hawke or the rat from "Flushed Away" so my prospects are pretty sweet. I don't know what it'd be called but I would want Wes Anderson to direct it.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: I'm not guilty of any of my pleasures. I feel like there are some things that people expect me to justify-- like that I think "South Park" is one of the smartest written shows of our time-- but I'm proud of it.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?:"The Promise" by Bruce Springsteen.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Absolutely working for a baseball team.

What’s up next?: At the same time as Freaks, I'm co-directing a musical called Jimmy! for the National Theater of Student Artists. It's about Jimmy Carter and space aliens, so if you're around Brooklyn you should absolutely check it out.

Name: Matthew Brown

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Education: Undergraduate BFA degree in Theater Performance

Select Credits:Early Shaker Spirituals by The Wooster Group, The Record by 600 HIGHWAYMEN

Why theater?: Nothing beats experiencing some good theater. Theater can be really powerful and transport an audience if done right, I kind of chase after that.

Who do you play in The 8th Fold?: Russ

Tell us about The 8th Fold:The 8th Fold centers around four boys after losing loved ones due to the war in Afghanistan. The show follows them as they learn to accept and let go of the people they lost.

What is it like being a part of The 8th Fold?: It's been great! The 8th Fold marks my first time playing a main role in a musical. At first it was pretty overwhelming but I've been surrounded by such positive energy that I have forgotten many of my worries. I've actually been learning a lot about music as well as my voice from the incredible singers and the music director in the show. The process has been pretty awesome.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I guess a lot of different kinds of theater speak to me. Recently I've been really drawn to movement based work as well as large concept pieces and immersive theater. Works from Diqui James such as Fuerza Bruta, London based company Punch Drunk, as well as Kneehigh and The Wooster Group.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Moritz in Spring Awakening or anything in Sleep No More

What’s your favorite showtune?: I have no idea, I currently can't stop listening to "The Long Grift" from Hedwig and The Angry Inch

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Dave Malloy, Stew

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I don't know, probably some Disney Channel star

What show have you recommended to your friends?:Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: Huh, maybe something from Lorde or Sia

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Nutella

What’s up next?: Next year I am fortunate to travel with The Wooster Group's production of Early Shaker Spirituals. The tour will be playing in the United States as well as Europe.

Name: Billy Hutto

Hometown: As a Navy brat, I lack a "hometown," but I usually say I'm from Fredericksburg, Virginia because I lived there the longest.

Education: NYU Tisch School of the Arts, BFA

Select Credits: Cloud Nine (Betty/Gerry, NYU), As You Like It (Orlando, RADA, London),World premiere of Jeremy And (Trevor, The Wild Project).

Why theater?: Because it's the one thing that makes me feel alive.

Who do you play in The Mormon Bird Play?: I play Pipa, a chatty little Mormon girl with an overactive imagination and a suppressed inner darkness. She makes a crucial decision that brings the play to a thrilling climax.

Tell us about The Mormon Bird Play:The Mormon Bird Play explores what happens when a nearly mute girl named Ivona forces a group of Mormon children to face their sinful natures. The story unfurls with deceptive simplicity and billows into intense dreamlike sequences of heightened theatricality. It’s bizarre, funny, mythic, and raw. I think the play packs an emotional punch that all audience members will feel whether they're well-versed in Mormonism or not.

What is it like being a part of The Mormon Bird Play?: It’s been such a thrilling experience to allow this huge play to sink deeper into my bones with each rehearsal. There are six actors--all of us young men and recent college/conservatory graduates. We've developed a bond while exercising our craft, and I can sense each of us growing into the play as it grows into us. Our work as actors becomes simpler as the dramatic impact of the play expands, and I attribute this magical process to the detailed guidance of our writer and director, Roger. It’s also such fun to play children—to exist inside a simpler state of being—which is something my artistic soul craves. There’s a silent moment near the end of the play when the children close their eyes and feel the sun shining on their faces. In that moment, I am 11 years old again. The whole process is also healthily challenging as the play necessitates constant action in order for the story to make sense.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love theater that feels epic in scope--visually or emotionally, so that I leave the theater feeling like I've taken a journey. I don't want to be a passive observer--I want to feel immersed in whatever I'm watching regardless of style or time period. I want connection and catharsis, and I believe this can be achieved on any budget and in any genre. Music, nature, and childhood inspire me most as an artist. Orchestral film scores transport me into the realm of imagination; nature connects me to the universe; and memories of childhood connect me to my soul.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: I want to play Billy Flynn in Chicago when I'm old enough, and now I want to play Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part I.

What’s your favorite showtune?:"Do-Re-Mi" from Sound of Music.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Alex Timbers, director of Peter and the Starcatcher.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I would have to cast a young unknown actor that I connected with, and the film would be called "What It Means To Be Happy". It would be a slow-moving, intimate character study with gorgeous cinematography.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I always recommend Here Lies Love, the immersive disco musical about Imelda Marcos at the Public Theater. The music is amazing, the cast rocks, and it's educational.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: "Main Title (Nemo Egg)," which is from the Finding Nemo score by Thomas Newman.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: The one and only Christina Aguilera.

What’s up next?: Looking forward to the premiere of a new webseries I'm in called "The Grey Matter Archives", and more auditions for some exciting projects. The journey continues!

Name: Matthew Newton 

Hometown: Born in Melbourne, live in New York City.  

Education: Graduated from the National Institute Of Dramatic Art in Sydney. Trained with Austin Pendleton at the HB Studio in New York. 

Favorite Credits: "Three Blind Mice" (film), "Underbelly" (TV), Rock N Roll (theater).

Why theater?: Theater is such an alive and present art form; visual, aural and visceral, occurring and unfolding in front of your eyes, breathing the same air as you.

Tell us about No On Asked Me: The play tells the story of three undocumented teenagers about to graduate high school while trying to get their immigration papers.

What inspired you to direct No On Asked Me?:  Every year over 65,000 undocumented teenagers graduate from American high schools and face an uncertain future with savagely limited options. Although the issue of illegal immigration is shaded in grey it has black and white consequences for those directly touched by it; their entire existence is a living secret. ‘No One Asked Me’ is about the survival of those people and about others' willingness to help them survive.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love watching human beings on stage struggling with what it is to live; falling down, getting back up again, maybe even triumphing. That really excites me. I love theater that reminds us our experiences are both utterly unique and completely universal. The people I'm working with on any given project always inspire me. I've come to believe over the last few years that everybody is connected, often in very different and sometimes hidden ways. I love the process of finding those connections and through them building relationships with each other and with the story that we're telling.

If you could work with anyone you've yet to work with, who would it be?:  I’d say Jean Renoir, Jack Lemmon, John Cassavetes, Barbara Stanwyck and Spencer Tracy but that seems unlikely. It’s actually an endless and eclectic list; Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jason Bateman, Woody Allen, Amy Ryan, Christopher Guest, Stephen Rea, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Joan Allen, David Morse, Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Sullivan, Nathan Lane, Jon Favreau, Anna Kendrick, Mandy Patinkin, Edward Norton, Mike Nichols, Jack Black, Sean Penn, Paul Giamatti, Jim Norton, Jeff Bridges, you have to stop me or I'll go on...

What show have you recommended to your friends?: The Globe's production of Twelfth Night with Mark Rylance.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called? : I would be the least qualified person to cast that movie.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?:  These days my pleasure is all guilt free...although a love of 90s pop songs is not something I necessarily shout from the rooftops.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: Well the one about to finish right now is Frank Sinatra "Learnin The Blues" and it just changed to The Beatles "I Got A Feelin".

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?:  Probably not filling out the theaterinthenow.com questionnaire!

What’s up next?: I'm about to make a film and then do another play.

For more on No One Asked Me, visit http://www.nooneaskedme.com/

Name: Brennan Pickman-Thoon

Hometown: San Rafael, California

Education: Drama BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Stella Adler Studio of Acting

Select Credits:The Lion in Winter (Prince John) with the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, Project Unspeakable (Nikita Khrushchev) with Convergences Theatre Collective, King John (Louis the Dauphin) at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, and Stalled (Doug) - 2014 Winner of The Unchained Theatre Festival Best Play, Best Director, and Best Ensemble.

Why theater?: There is an electricity to theatre that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. A sensation that draws an audience and an ensemble together and leaves both of them breathless. I'm addicted to it.

Who do you play in The Mormon Bird Play?: I play three oddballs: Yvette, a goofy tomboy from Gooding, Idaho who might be a prophetess, Brother Finch, a warmly authoritarian member of the Ornithological Priesthood, and Sister Fantail, a pioneer woman who has just given birth on the hard road to Utah.

Tell us about The Mormon Bird Play: This play challenges us to think about childhood, faith, and the myths we create to make sense of our lives. What would it be like if an impressionable group of Mormon kids suddenly had a mysterious, unspeaking stranger in their midst? Where would they place her among their beliefs and the stories they tell each other? And then throw in a forbidden romance, a temple ceremony, and boys dressed as girls dressed as birds dressed as pioneer women.

What is it like being a part of The Mormon Bird Play?: Roger Benington, our director and playwright, has a crystal clear vision of the show. Our process has been exacting as we attempt realize this vision through our performances. The cast has a wonderful sense of camaraderie and play, which frees us up to explore.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I saw The Mysteries at The Flea earlier this summer and it reminded me why I love theatre. That kind of enrapturing theatre, the kind that grabs you and holds you and sticks with you, that is what drives me. It also inspires me to be working with my peers, these energetic young artists just starting to show the world the depth of their talent.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: I’d probably chop off a limb or two to play Prince Hal. Definitely two limbs if it could be throughout the full Henry cycle. Besides Shakespeare, I’d like to take a crack at playing Jared in Annie Baker’s play Body Awareness.

What’s your favorite showtune?: "The Confrontation" from Les Miz. They mangled it in the movie and I was very upset.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Several of my friends have had the pleasure of working with director Laura Braza, who runs the Attic Theatre company. Hearing about their experiences and seeing the resulting shows, I’d love a shot to work on one of her productions.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I bet a young, dopey Tobey Maguire would be fun to see in my biopic, "I’ll Be Fine Without An Air Conditioner, And Other Mistakes."

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I’m involved with a big ol' rumpus of a production called The Brawl Crawl. It’s a bar crawl through 5 bars in the Village, and at each bar there’s a different Shakespearian fight scene. It’s a punchy, drunky kinda evening.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?:“Islands,” by The XX.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Eating cheese. Chunks of it in various sizes.

What’s up next?: I’m finishing up writing a one-act play which I plan to submit to festivals here in the city. Keep an ear to the ground for more about that!

Name: James Leach

Hometown: Mechanicsville, Virginia

Education: BA Foreign Affairs & Drama from the University of Virginia; British American Drama Academy; Upright Citizens Brigade; 1 Year BFA Acting Program at New York University (Stella Adler Studio of Acting)

Select Credits: Sir James Tyrrell in Richard III, Clov in Endgame, Jeremy in The Ducks Migration

Why theater?: Theater forces me to understand things specifically and make sense of it all. When the whole world destroys itself and there are only a few of us left, we will have nothing left to do but carve a stage into a mountain like the Greeks and reinact the whole thing and listen to everyone tell their story to even know what happened.

Who do you play in The Mormon Bird Play?: I play Clifford. He is a young Mormon boy in Salt Lake City, Utah who must confront doubts about his sense of worth.

Tell us about The Mormon Bird Play:The Mormon Bird Play takes place in an allegoric dream-world where an ugly and mute 10 year-old named Ivona arrives from Gooding, Idaho to live with her Mormon cousins in Salt Lake City. These children in the play have been left to figure out the world using their understanding that Mormon theology is truth, but Ivona begins to reflect the ills of the culture that surrounds her. The work explores the Mormon faith, the children born into it and all of the good and bad that comes with growing up with the expectation that you abide by strict theology.

What is it like being a part of The Mormon Bird Play?: This is my first time acting on stage in a few years and I am very excited to have the opportunity to tackle a play with such a specific vision and voice. Our director, Roger Benington, has a breadth of knowledge about the ideas and practices specific to Mormonism that underpin the play. I grew up in a very conservative small town in Virginia and I understand a lot of what makes people tick who are born and bread on tradition and authority. One learns early to be skeptical and have a good sense of humor. It was great to explore characters living in that kind of environment. The ensemble of actors are all fresh out of school and were a pleasure to work with the last month and a half.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theater that can take big ideas and universal emotions and put them simply is really beautiful to me. Theater that can tell a single story that captures the empathy of the entire audience and makes them face those emotions when they least expect it and take that out into the real world with them. Theater that makes audiences face the humanity of the most inhuman and misunderstood people in society. It has to make someone angry if it's telling any kind of truth! That's the kind of theater that keeps me alive!

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Tom Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie, Prior in Angels in America, Teddy in The Homecoming. These are all playwrights that I respect very much!

What’s your favorite showtune?:"You Gotta Have a Gimmick" from Gypsy!

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I ran lights for a play by Richard Foreman at NYU where people were dropping suitcases full of boxes and sitting on pianos. I still think about that play and I would love to act under his direction!

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: The film about my life would be a gutter mondo film directed and produced by John Waters. It would be called 'Uppity Faggot' and it would only be shown in the last seedy movie theater in Times Square. I would be played by Divine because she's so committed to her craft that she would eat dog poop off the street. I love that!

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Recently I told all of my friends to see Raisin in the Sun before it ended its run.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?:"Love of My Life" - Queen

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Whenever I am back in the South I have to get a big greasy Cookout tray from Cookout where they give you a mountain of greasy food and a jumbo soda for $5!

What’s up next?: I have just moved to New York City and I plan to stay here for the people and culture for as long as possible! I have a scholarship to take classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade and I am very excited about that!

Name: Carl Lundstedt

Hometown: Libertyville, Illinois

Education: Carnegie Mellon University

Select Credits: At CMU: The Glass Menagerie (Gentleman Caller), As You Like It (Orlando), Murder of Crows (Andy)

Why theater?: I sort of stumbled into acting from an athletic heavy adolescence. It's fun!

Who do you play in Freaks: a legend about growing up?: Danny

Tell us about Freaks: a legend about growing up: It's a reunion of 3 close friends after four years without contact, with one new friend. Lots has changed but there's a hopefulness of getting the gang back together again.

What is it like being a part of Freaks: a legend about growing up?: The writer and director are two close friends of mine who I've been lucky enough to work with quite a bit. The other three members of the cast are also CMU schoolmates I know very well, so it feels very much like being at home.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I'm from Chicago so Tracy Letts is a big one, as an actor and writer. I also love Martin McDonagh's plays.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Anything Martin McDonagh, one of the brothers in the Lonesome West.

What’s your favorite showtune?: Probably something from Into the Woods.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Idris Elba.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Me and it'd be called "Lumpy".

What show have you recommended to your friends?:Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: Any live DMB.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: "Doctor Who"

What’s up next?: Auditioning and getting settled in NYC.

Name: Jake Shore

Hometown: Barrington, Rhode Island

Education: Goddard College

Favorite Credits: FringeNYC’13 Overall Excellence in Playwriting Award for DOWN THE MOUNTAIN AND ACROSS THE STREAM. On State Line published by Litro.

Why theater?: I can sit in the audience.

Tell us about Sick City Blues?: It’s an organized crime drama about the lengths people go to for schemes, love and cracking a joke.

What inspired you to write Sick City Blues?: Seeing DOWN THE MOUNTAIN AND ACROSS THE STREAM come to life, The Sopranos, Quentin Tarantino and David Foster Wallace.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theater speaks to me when it works so well I can feel in my nerve endings. Art that’s fulfilled and clear inspires me.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Jennifer Lawrence.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: The Link to the Missing Link.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Christopher Walken and it’d be called Negotiating Providence

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Doritos

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: "The End" by The Doors

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Playing guitar

What’s up next?: Traveling to South Carolina with my oldest friend before he gets married

Name: Joel Creasey

Hometown: Perth, Australia (the most isolated city in the world)

Education: I went to a private boys school in Perth called Wesley College. It has a patchy history. Google it. Hours of entertainment there.

Favorite Credits: Loads of Australian TV shows, my mum's annual Christmas letter and Serena William's favourite comedian.

Why theater?: Well I'm a narcissist. So I like to have a room full of people paying me money to watch me for an hour. Makes a change from forcing people to laugh and clap at me on the street.

Tell us about Joel Creasey: ROCK GOD?: This show is basically all about my attempts to get famous - and to be honest it's not going so well. It's also about the people who inspire us... our personal rock gods. I also tell a story about going to a Zumba class with my mother which MIGHT* involve lycra - very sexy.
*Definitely involves lycra

What inspired you to create Joel Creasey: ROCK GOD?: Well an Australian magazine once described me as an Australian comedy rock god and I thought that was so hilarious and so incorrect that I ironically titled the show that.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Anything ridiculously camp that involves some tight choreography and a dramatic power ballad. As a comedian the other "artists" that inspire me would be Joan Rivers, Rowan Atkinson and Australian comedian Fiona O'Loughlin.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Don Rickles. I did just perform at Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal which Don Rickles was also a part of. So although I didn't meet him I do feel like I'm 1-degree of separation away.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Meryl Streep. Or Dakota Fanning. And the movie would be called "Who?"

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Googling myself. Honestly. It's all I do. All day long. If you've written about me on the net... I know about it.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: "Let It Go" from "Frozen". Because some stereotypes are correct.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Probably still working in theatre. But as an usher. Just ripping ticket stubs with a bitter smile.

What’s up next?: Today? A coffee. Career wise? World domination.

Name: Noah Himmelstein

Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland

Education: Emerson College

Favorite Credits:Positions 1956: a new opera by Michael Korie (lyricist of Grey Gardens) and composer Conrad Cummings. I directed the premiere in DC two years ago. It's a remarkable piece using found text from 1950's marriage, fitness and dance manuals with chamber ensemble: strings, saxophone and synth! I assisted Bart Sher on the Lincoln Center production of Golden Boy; that was a transformative experience.

Why theater?: I like the room and coming in with say the color orange and someone else says how about we make it red and then we have...orange-red which is totally different. There's a lot of work I do on my own to prepare but I basically do it so I can throw it all away on the 1st day and be spontaneous. I kind of know where it's going go, but just dimly.

Tell us about Things I Left in Long Island?: It's about rituals and experiences with your family. The nonsense, the fights, and inside jokes, the minutiae, the chromosomes and the stories. Sara pulls a lot from judaic mythology which become part of our lives without out realizing; great mythical stories from the old testament we never talk about which directly influence how parents and children connect. It's about naming those things and then forgetting them to see your parents as children.

What inspired you to direct Things I Left in Long Island?: I've worked with Sara on a series of chamber operas and a musical (Loving Leo which premiered at the Weston Playhouse in Vermont last summer), with our other collaborator, Zach Redler. Sara writes vivid, flawed people who speak fast and don't care who they offend. That's a lot of fun; but there's often a deep melancholy that goes somewhere else, too. We've developed a short hand and it's rare to find a collaborator where we're really on the same page even though our lives are completely different. It's a kind of alchemy I don't share with too many. She asked me to do two readings of the play last year, which featured much of this cast. I prefer new work.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I've learned a lot from Robert Wilson; slowing down time and thinking about pieces as moving experiences and objects in space and using light. That sounds kinda pretentious but there's a lot there. De Kooning, Matisse and Kandinsky. I wish I had seen the early productions of the Berliner Ensemble.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Stephen Karam, and he knows it!

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I loved Act One.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: "One And Only", Adele

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A butcher.

What’s up next?: I'm directing an oratorio called I Am Harvey Milk by Andrew Lippa at Lincoln Center in October. I did the premiere in San Francisco last year with Laura Benanti and just came back from doing a different production of it in LA at Disney Hall. It's a truly extraordinary theatrical work for a large chorus, soloists and orchestra. The NY production will use elements of both of the previous stagings and several new aspects. It will feature Kristin Chenoweth. I've been developing it with Andrew since fall of 2012. It's combines all I love about theatre and opera and it's about moving our lives forward with compassion and awareness.

Name: Jeremy Weiss

Hometown: Charlottesville, VA

Education: Senior at Yale University - Majors in Humanities and Theater Studies with a concentration in Energy Studies

Select Credits:My Fair Lady (Freddy), Into the Woods (Prince/Wolf), Phantom of the Opera (Phantom), Bed Play - also with Common Room - (Benny)

Why theater?: Theater reminds us how to love and how to live with love, how to give ourselves to other people, how to move forward when we can't communicate or refuse to, theater is the language of humanity, of the soul. (I know I'm a cheese ball)

Who do you play in Fortuna Fantasia?: I play the Ringmaster. He is a character who...well "he" is a pretty strong word since "he's" not really a human. The Ringmaster represents fate, and he manipulates the characters in his play to break them out of the monotony of everyday life. In doing so, he takes them on journey that leaves them with a new understanding of each other.

Tell us about Fortuna Fantasia: Two young lovebirds are stuck together after a failed proposal, so they take revenge on the other by going on dates with really crazy people. And the whole thing is orchestrated by a wacky narrator (me), who loves his subjects so much, but mostly loves bringing them pain. Guys, you should see this play because it's hilarious! Yeah, you'll think about things, free-will, an Alchemist-like idea of circular journeys and necessary obstacles, love, friendship, and other awesome things. But mostly you'll laugh so much! Jesse has written a comedy of all comedies!

What is it like being a part of Fortuna Fantasia?: It's awesome! I get to put up a crazy, beautiful, and hilarious show with some of my best friends. Does it get any better than that?

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I like theater that doesn't lie and I like artists that don't lie, I also like people who don't lie.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Marius in Les Miserables, Billy Bigelow in Carousel, Tony in West Side Story

What’s your favorite showtune?:"America" from West Side Story - who can sit still during this song? Not me!

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I could pick some famous person, but honestly there is this person at Yale, Jessica Miller, who I think is an astounding actor and an amazing person who I would die to work with. I'm gonna make it happen! Let's do something, Jessica!

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: My younger brother, Justin (one of the most talented people I know (he's a composer) and just an all around great guy) would probably play me, because we look a lot alike and he knows me really well. The movie would be called, "Jeremy Weiss: The Biography" - original, right?

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I thought the revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf on broadway a few years ago was out of this world. Tracy Letts was so truthful, vulnerable, strong, and everything else George should be.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: The first movement of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: "Breaking Bad"...I watched it way too much at the end of last semester, which would explain my grades.

What’s up next?: Finishing a play I'm writing about Tchaikovsky's love affair with Iosif Kotek, learning how to dance, and trying to survive my senior year.

Name: Joe Boover

Hometown: Worcester, Massachusetts

Education: American Musical & Dramatic Academy, Upright Citizens Brigade, The Pearl Conservatory

Select Credits: Most recently appeared in Full Frontal a new play at The Workshop Theatre Company. Regionally: I appeared in Godspell (as myself), You're a Good Man Charlie Brown (Schroeder), Annie Get Your Gun (Charlie Davenport) and Little Women (Assistant Director) at the Crown Uptown Theatre in Wichita Ks. I've also appeared Off Broadway In New George's production of Alice-Grace-Anon and their Workshop production of Goldor$Mythika

Why theater?: I do theatre because when I applied to law school I was rejected... Also this is way more fun and I find myself surrounded by the best and most creative people on Earth. Communicating comedy or poignancy through Theatre and Music makes me very happy, I compare it to having my heart and brain surgically opened in front of alot of people and then hearing them say "Wow! Fantastic! I like what's in there!".

Who do you play in The Doormen?: I play Danny Leviticus Pinkerton, a young and promising doorman prodigy.

Tell us about The Doormen: The Doormen is a larger than life tale that takes place between 'The Abdumon' and 'The Whiffenpoof' two adjacent luxury buildings (Both owned by Bryce Dallas Howard). It follows the riveting journey of the buildings two doormen. Brock Tanner Kurosawa, (Played by Victor Verhaeghe of Boardwalk Empire) A veteran who has many years of experience and holds six prized "Doorman of the Year" awards, and Danny Pinkerton, the young blood who is looking to prove himself "The Better of The Best" by claiming this years "Doorman of the Year" award at all costs... Until the unthinkable happens. I don't want to give anything away... So let's just say things get pretty interesting.

What is it like being a part of The Doormen?: This show has come a long way. It started out as a 5 minute sketch with just myself and Victor and was a lot of fun, and because the audience responded so well to it we decided to turn it into a full length musical. Also In the cast are Federico Mallet and Claire Hsu playing the wildly diverse ensemble and Castor Pepper who portrays the infamous Bryce Dallas Howard, everyone is so full of energy, diversity, and comedic chops! But another thing I've been really excited about is our discovery of the back stories and emotional truth behind the silliness. We owe a great deal of this discovery to our wonderful, hilarious and SMART director, Rachael Harrington. Having her on-board for this was a heaven-sent. In rehearsal, we often find ourselves (without much luck) trying to maintain a straight face while discovering or creating new ideas, characters, scenes or songs. Overall It's been a bizarre and completely wonderful experience.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theatre that really speaks to me is the kind that can transport you through a unique story and bring you in through artists that aren't afraid to take big risks. For example, I went to see Jerusalem on Broadway and remember feeling like I was no longer on the same planet when I left the theatre. I had never seen anything like it and I think they really nailed what they were going for. Since I just mentioned his, Mark Rylance is definitely an inspiration to me. He is capable of making me laugh my ugliest most absurd laugh and then, on a dime, leave me crying like a child using nothing but his unquestionable honesty onstage. I absolutely aspire to that.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: I've always really wanted to play Ken in Red, Anything in The 39 Steps, Matt in The Fantasticks, Pierrepont Finch in How To Succeed, Moritz in Spring Awakening, Henry in Next to Normal, or Danny in BABY!

What’s your favorite showtune?:"Lucky to be Me" from On The Town

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I would love work with Steve Martin. He's a big inspiration and hero of mine... I think we could write/ perform a killer song together.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: The "Boover Maneuver" Starring: Robert Sean Leonard... It would make sense somehow

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I will always recommend Shakespeare in The Park... The stuff is timeless and always really wonderful... Also FREE!

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: "One in The Same"- Fort Vine

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Oreos... Also chess and video games.

What’s up next?: Next up I'll be working on a Film called "Sing to the Stars" And Minnesota Moon a play by John Olive to be performed late September.

For more on Joe, visit http://www.joeboover.com/

Name: Anna Fox

Hometown: Amherst, MA. (Hometown of playwrights Annie Baker and Madeline George, who are super cool!)

Education: BS Skidmore College and graduate of the Eugene O Neill Theatre Center’s NTI Advanced Playwriting Program.

Favorite Credits: Two 10 minute plays. Ginny which was the Jury Prize winner at Fusion Theatre Company’s “The Seven” Short play Festival this past June in Albuquerque, NM, and Alaska in the Summertime which was performed outdoors in a tree at the Williamstown Theater Festival last summer.

Why theater?: I have always been fascinated with language. As a kid each year I would make up a new word and hold a symposium where I’d announce it to my mom and three cats. The only word I can actually remember is 1998's “Mapadoinga!”, which I’m pretty sure was synonymous with “Duh”,“Eureka” and pretty much any other exclamatory phrase. For example, “Mapadoinga! I found my favorite Rubix cube key chain that I thought I lost at the state fair”. (My mom still tries to use “Mapadoinga” in everyday language today. It’s kind of embarrassing.) I also used to try and trick my neighbor is thinking I spoke fluent Japanese just by making up words which I thought sounded vaguely similar to what I heard when people spoke actual Japanese. This was probably slightly offensive, but she believed me for a little while because I was so convincing in the false translation of my made up Asiatic language.

Tell us about The Elephant in the Room: The Elephant in the Room is about PTSD in the form of a group hallucination. The story follows the lives of three girls living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, all dealing with trauma after some experience with sexual assault. These experiences are never definitively laid out, but this is what makes the play a very literal exploration of the term often thrown around in cases of sexual assault, “blurred lines”. The literal “elephant in the room” is their shared hallucination of a man, who can morph into the specific man or men that fits what’s going on in each of the girls’ minds in the specific moments he triggers them, but it is clear that each of these girls has had experience(s) with real men in the past that crossed a line. A thing I wanted to explore in this piece is how sexual assault effects people differently, since every case is so personal to the people involved. There is something worth exploring in the gray area of sexual assault and how that translates to stage, which to me immediately says heightened realism. I am also interested in exploring the language surrounding sexual assault and how the perpetrator can try to twist the victim’s mind into believing he/she actually wants it. Also, how others blame the victim or tell them they should have been more cautious.

What inspired you to write The Elephant in the Room?: I was inspired to write this play because recently sexual assault is a big issue in the news. I think it’s always been a big, important issue, but right now it’s like multiple people are shining giant flashlights directly at it and calling for greater awareness from society at large. I write a lot of plays about dark and not publically talked about topics, and I think we are living in an age where everything is coming out out in the open. Suddenly, discussing mental health and sexual assault don't seem so taboo, which feels exciting and important. I definitely think this play is relevant to the current dialogue about sexual assault, mental wellbeing and how young women and men present themselves in society.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I tend to like experimental theater, in the sense that the artist is finding a new and interesting way of doing something on a stage. I especially like theater pieces that manage to do something interesting with language, while at the same time look visually appealing, have interesting characters and plot. This can sometimes be a hard balance to strike, especially with the language and visual elements, which I oft find are not as enhanced as the characters and story elements. My tastes are varied because in order to do something new and interesting myself, I feel it is important for me to be experience as many different kinds of theater as possible. I am inspired by tall men who are balding but also have ponytails, precocious children, the way groups of women function, and people that just don’t quite fit in.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Salvador Dali’s Ocelot Babou.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I may be answering this question incorrectly because I’m not sure if you mean a show currently playing or just one in general, but if we are just going with any show, I would recommend seeing something by Nature Theater of Oklahoma or The Debate Society. Also, because I am a big fan of playwrights using language in new and interesting ways, I highly recommend God’s Ear by Jenny Schwartz and Valparaiso by Don Delillo.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Fred Armisen and the movie would be called “The Hinjew of Western Mass”

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Taro bubble tea. It tastes like Easter.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: I don’t play Itunes enough on my computer to get an accurate answer, so I will go with a current favorite song which is “Master Pretender” by First Aid Kit.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A dance/fitness instructor, chef or working with kids with special needs. I actually plan on being all of those things in addition to working in theater. My goal is to have a theater company where I also make food to serve to the audience before the show, teach workshops to kids and hold dance parties on weekends.

What’s up next?: I am in the process of developing a queer adaptation of Cinderella I wrote set at a cotillion ball in Georgia entitled Anna Something, and to beginning to develop a piece called Dangermoth's Revenge about an avid gamer named Dangermoth, a pick-up artist named El Lobo, a manga-enthusiast named Kitty and a Hotmom911, a lonely “MILF” with a webcam and how their lives intertwine on and off of the world wide web. I am also working on a short play about talkbacks after shows and a musical about being stuck in traffic in LA.

No one said being a mom was easy. Especially a mom in the concrete jungle where children's dreams are prescribed. In Urban Momfare, a group of city mothers journey over seventeen years as we watch them fight and claw their way to the top of the supermom ladder.
With music and lyrics by Pamela Weiler Grayson and book by Weiler Grayson and Alice Jankell, Urban Momfare highlights the cutthroat women who are solely defined by the success of their children. Young mom Kate finds herself in a battle of mother supremacy in the one-up world of parenthood alongside allies Ellen and Debbie. We watch as Kate and her comrades deal with the enemies, jealousy, and the hardships of parenting all while singing and dancing, poking fun at the elite culture in the concrete jungle. While fun and games, the story has moments of triteness. Overall, the book is a little thin, lacking some important moments to create a complete story and character arc. Spanning seventeen years is a tough feat, especially when the libretto is clogged with more set ups than dialogue. Weiler Grayson's score has some great numbers but as a full cohesive work, many of the numbers felt like standalone songs clumped together for a single piece of theater. One of the strongest songs of the evening came from Christine Toy Johnson's Debbie. The song, about dealing with a child with a problem, is a true tear-jearker but when placed alongside the entire score, the number is the most serious and ends up becoming a more jarring moment than it should be.

As Kate, Christiana Little plays the young mom with ease, slowly getting the hang of her new job. Though the focal point of the ensemble, she often gets trumped by Toy Johnson as Debbie and Tiffan Borelli as Ellen, the latter being the humorous comic relief. Sarah Rosenthal as Charlotte, Kate’s daughter, does a nice job with her material, but as the only extension character of the main cast, the character’s presence does little to progress the story and could be eliminated completely.
Director Alice Jankell does a fine job bringing her ensemble to the funny level. She discovers the balance between comedy and heart. Though as the play takes a turn to the less funny, Jankell still manages to work out any laughs possible. The set by Tim McMath was a sextet of gold chairs with camo cushions that recycled into every location of the play. The costumes by Nicole Wee were simple and highlighted the bold characters for the trio of ladies playing various roles. Projection designer David Bengali helped define the passage of time during the show but the accompanying music attached to the slide show felt like the music actually attached to the program and not the production.
For the most part, Urban Momfare is a witty musical geared and pandering toward a very specific audience. It's endearing and filled with heart, but may not land with an entire audience. For a musical about a group of women who are defined by their children's success, Urban Momfare is campy fun that punches with comedic jabs to the outrageous lengths mommies will go.

Name: Lauren Hayes

Hometown: Walnut Creek, CA

Education: BS in Chemistry, Stanford University

Select Credits: Here're are some of my favorites: THE MYSTERIES (The Flea Theater, Dir. Ed Iskandar); ONE HEART FOR TWO (Winkel & Balktick’s Laboratory, Dir. Simón Hanukai); THESE SEVEN SICKNESSES (The Flea Theater, Dir. Ed Iskandar); STOP THE VIRGENS (St. Ann’s Warehouse, Dir. Adam Rapp); #SERIALS@THEFLEA (The Flea Theater); THE WILD PARTY (Dir. Merritt Forrest Baer)

Why theater?: Acting has always fascinated me and fed my imagination. Simply by playing pretend, I get to challenge, to touch, and to entertain people; and I find that extremely fun and gratifying. Not to mention, the community that theater builds is unique and wonderful.

Who do you play in Quiet Peninsula?: Lauraine, a Detroit police officer, who is waiting for the fallout from a big mistake.

Tell us about Quiet Peninsula: It tells three stories that focus on power and it's abuse. On a deeper level, I'd say it gives nuance to characters who tend to be pigeonholed by society.

What is it like being a part of Quiet Peninsula?: I am tickled pink to dive into a show that asks hard questions and demands so much of my acting skills. Not to mention, the production team and cast are amazingly talented and lovely to work with. It's really a pleasure.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: As an actor, I am always inspired by honesty and vulnerability on stage. I really love the work of Andrew Scott, Richard McCabe, and Dawn French. And I'm drawn to shows that tackle tough subjects (like Ruined) and that juxtapose comedy and tragedy (like August Osage County or any Chekhov play). I also love the TV show Slings and Arrows, which never fails to encourage and inspire me as an artist.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Before I die, I'd love to tackle the mom in Next to Normal, Lady MacBeth, and Mary Tyrone from Long Day's Journey into the Night. And Sevan Greene (www.sevangreene.com), who is one of my favorite up-and-coming playwrights, has written several characters that I would love to play.

What’s your favorite showtune?:"There's a World" from Next to Normal... or "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dream Girls.... or "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd".... or "Make me Happy" from Lippa's The Wild Party...

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: In my wildest dreams: Ian McKellen, or Martin Freeman, or Maggie Smith

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I'm gonna go with Dawn French to play me and it'd be called "Will Work For Chocolate"

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I always recommend anything at The Public. So, King Lear right now!

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: Don't judge me: it's usually the score to either "The Avengers", "Thor", "Chronicles of Narnia", "Dark Knight", or "X-Men: First Class". (I listen to action movie soundtracks when I workout ...and sometimes I imagine I'm a superhero on a treadmill.)

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: DARK CHOCOLATE! Or spending hours at the gym when I should being doing more important things.

What’s up next?: After The Fringe, I'll be performing in #Serials@TheFlea, which is a popular late night show, involving hot new NYC writers and directors. And then in September, I have my annual family reunion at the Monterey Jazz Festival, where I get to relax for a weekend, stuff my face with soul food, and listen to amazing jazz.

For more on Lauren, visit http://www.laurenhayes.info/

In today's edition of Blog Hijack, Unsex Me Here creators Annalisa Ledson, Lori Parquet, and Jamie Watkins share a little about their latest project about the wicked ladies of Shakespeare!

Art always comes from some place. The inspiration sometimes plays a heavy hand into what the ultimate product will be. And sometimes the inspiration is so important to the artist that the execution suffers. In theater, audiences like to be entertained, but they also like to think on their own. When they’re told what the work is about, either through the program or not so subtly through the piece, it takes away the fun. In the musical Behind Closed Doors, we see a world where the government regulates sexual acts forcing the deviants to express themselves privately in a burlesque club. As a direct reaction to Prop 8, Behind Closed Doors is a mix of fun and propaganda that relies too heavily on it’s inspiration as a backbone.
With a book by Peter Berube and a score by Aaron Beaumont, Behind Closed Doors follows the second-class citizens forced to live and express themselves through the sex-filled art of burlesque. Among the lot include Noah, the man with the straight person marital problems, Andrew, his new young questioning protégé, Justine, the belle and main attraction, and the emcees of the club, M and Miles. As the story progresses, we see the struggle of living a life of secrecy and the revolution that brews inside. Unfortunately, Berube’s book is filled with contrived plot points that allow some of the characters to exist in this world and laughable rules within the world of the play. Berube’s book leaves many unanswered questions and plot holes that greatly desired outside help as Berube also served as director. Two of the big questions included if when we meet Andrew who is looking for a job, why does he enter this specific world if he doesn’t necessary agree with their lifestyle and when M has her big reveal that comes out of left field in Act II, why was there never any mention earlier? For the majority of Act I, the burlesque world is present, allowing for Beaumont’s score to shine. The best numbers in the show were the burlesque numbers including “Love’s the Only Thing”, “Sex Ed”, and “I Like Men.” While the songs are more of a commentary than plot progression, they are crowd pleasures. By the time the revolution rises and the burlesque world is gone, the play takes a drastic turn almost mirroring the plot of the previous Fringe smash hit Urinetown. It follows the plot so much so that the finale, “One Small Choice” almost sounds identical to “I See a River.”

Despite the distractions of the story, the burlesque ensemble does a stellar job bringing this world to life. Aly French as buxom blonde Justine was phenomenal with her pure vocals. Her number “Love’s the Only Thing” was a knockout number of the production. Luis Selgas as Miles offered an outstanding layered performance. His timing was impeccable, bringing a beautiful blend of pain, bitterness, and humor. Amanda Wallace as M has a sensational voice, owning her songs, but until she is revealed as a someone else, her presence in the story is lost, giving Wallace very little to do besides belt her face off. John E. Elliott as Noah had the very difficult task of living in both worlds. His character felt very bipolar and incomplete. Noah’s intentions changed quite often but as the self-proclaimed leader, he often fell to the background. Sam Heidt played up the naivety and youthful nature of Andrew but projection and connection was his downfall.
With a script so challenging, not having a someone else direct the piece was an unfortunate choice. The clarity of the world was muddled and Berube seemed to rely on the program to tell the audience about the play rather than the script. Additionally, Berube’s staging allowed for some severe sight line issues while using Dennis Berube’s four column set. There were moments that action was set behind the columns forcing some of the audience to not see actors for entire scenes. The columns, all uniform in appearance, had an interesting artwork on all sides that seemed like an arbitrary design. In a world that was so mobile, forcing some of the high heeled ladies to move the columns like dollies was a hindrance. Jesse Sheldon’s lighting design may have suffered from some technical gaffs that truly disrupted the flow, but with handheld light effect during “Love’s the Only Thing” made up for the mistakes. On the positive side, Joey Bothwell’s choreography and Amanda Wallace’s costume design worked wonders to evoke the burlesque world.
Behind Closed Doors is clearly a passion project that suffered in execution. The burlesque world was the highlight of the show but the rest of the script may need a bit of an overhaul with a dramaturgical aide. While this production may not be ready, do yourself a favor and visit iTunes and download a couple of the songs.

A stand up show during a theater festival? That doesn't sound right. As the star coyly says as he starts his set, think of it as story telling. In Joel Creasey in Rock God, the Australian comic star spends an hour entertaining a “foreign” audience with tales of from his own personal heroes to embarrassing stories of unrock god like antics.
Everyone wants to be a super star but seldom get to achieve it. In Joel Creasey's solo show, the comedic import shares anecdotes about his female celebrity crushes, fan encounters, being gay, and mommy and me Zumba classes. Creasey is a natural storyteller, engaging the audience and making them feel as they're a part of his stories. Creasey has an insane ability to land a joke even when the punch line can be seen a mile away. The baby-faced star is filled with crude language that makes it hilarious to hear come out of his seemingly innocent mouth. Creasey adopts a hysterical demonic voice that serves as the voice of the other characters in his bit, including his loveable mother, who happened to be in the audience. Throughout his act, Creasey downplays his star status but the real punch line comes at the end when he reveals his true moment of ultimate rock god. The ending was funny and sentimental, proving that Creasey is the full package.
Joel Creasey may not be a household name in the States but he should be. If you have an opportunity to see this true rock god before he explodes as a comic diva here, you should. You can always say remember when! And make sure you remind him of it when you make it big too.

Name: Thom Fogarty

Hometown: St. Augustine, Florida

Education: BFA, Dance Performance and History, The Ohio State University

Favorite Credits: EURYDICE by Sarah Ruhl, DESDEMONA: A PLAY ABOUT A HANDKERCHIEF by Paula Vogel and THE ARTIFACTS and THE MENTEE, both by Steven Fechter.

Why theater?: After years of dance, as the body gave out, it was time to branch out and theater is the logical next step. Dance is theatre is dance is theatre - now I honor the WORDS of the playwright.

Tell us about Lancelot: Lancelot zeroes in what it means to be an artist and a man in today's America. As if maintaining a roof over one's head isn't hard enough in an economically depressed part of the country, factor in what it means to be the outsider, whether real or imagined, to feel bullied by one's past, to hide your art and your light, to never know what it means to shine. How does Ryan, the protagonist, come to grips with what he has done and what he wants for himself? In Steven's inimitable way, the two antagonists are both strong women who will stop at nothing to get what they want and what they think is best for Ryan. Sex becomes both a hindrance and a necessity. It also touches on everyone's fear of what is truly appropriate when it comes to sex and when does the line get blurred between pedophilia and true love. These are all things that Steven is demanding we explore with this production. Hours after leaving the theater I want the audience to still be talking about the play. Days later I want them to still be wrestling with the choices the characters made. To stir passionate debate fits the kind of duality I seek: to be both profane and profound.

What inspired you to direct Lancelot?: The opportunity to work with a brand new script by the brilliant Steven Fechter - and it being something he has written since we have been working together was exciting. The previous two plays of his that I directed, THE MENTEE and THE ARTIFACTS, were both older plays, that had staged readings and then sat. After seeing our production of DESDEMONA: A PLAY ABOUT A HANDKERCHIEF by Paula Vogel, Steven contacted me with the script for THE ARTIFACTS and said that he had waited for a director who could make this piece 'sing' and he believed that I could. Both of those plays had strong women as the protagonists - this was a departure for me - the protagonist is a man searching for the meaning of his own life. So here we are three shows in and he encouraged me in starting our own theatre company - 360repco [www.360repco.org]. It also allows me to work with my daughter, Lulu Fogarty, again - I still get to go to the 'playground' with my kid, greatest feeling in the world.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Physical theatre in particular excites and intrigues me. When I read a script I am always thinking of the physical landscape of the piece, in other words where is the movement and what will the actions of the play be. I think that everyday movements, actions we all do daily and therefore are immediately recognizable to all, can go a long way to providing the audience with a frame of reference to their own daily existence. It draws me in and makes the words ring truer. We do it all the time, we rarely just speak with someone without any action. Now how broad or minute that action is depends on the emotional terrain the playwright has given us to play with. Music is a huge source of inspiration, and I oft times find myself needing to make that aural connection to the play before I see the movement. Also films are a source of keeping up with the triggers that the largest viewing population are taking in. I try to see as many small, off the grid films as possible to counter balance the big budget juggernauts that define to popular taste of the industry. Somewhere between these two antithetical forms of entertainment, I find the truth of the human condition and psyche.

If you could work with anyone you've yet to work with, who would it be?: In terms of NYC actors whose work I love and are still performing OFF-BROADWAY - Samantha Soule, Meghan McGeary, Didi O'Connell, Will Pullen, Tasha Lawrence, Daniel Abeles, and Johanna Day. As for the big wish list - Cherry Jones, Zachary Quinto, Marisa Tomei, Patricia Clarkson, Maria Tucci, Laurie Metcalf, Mary-Louise Parker and Estelle Parsons.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Any of THE HILLTOWN PLAYS by Lucy Thurber.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Divine, though he's long gone, and it would be called "I Am My Own Company".

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Cooking and entertaining friends.

What’s the most played song on your iTunes?: "Comeback Story" by Kings of Leon.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A CHEF.

What’s up next?: Well, it's a long term engagement, but I will be directing a production of LILLIAN SMITH'S STRANGE FRUIT by Lillian Smith with an updated adaptation by me, that was given the blessing of the Board of Directors for The Lillian Smith Center. The play had one and only production that traveled the classic out-of-town tryout circuit of Montreal, Toronto, Boston, and Philadelphia before opening on Broadway in Nov. of 1945. It ran for 60 performances and when it closed it was thought that Lillian said it was never to be performed again. What I discovered, through scouring Smith's archives at the University of Georgia, was that she meant the Broadway script as produced was never to be done again. I found enough notes in the margins of her copies, along with letters to her sister, that allowed to me make the changes she wanted to make. And October 2015 will find it being produced AGAIN - for the first time - at Piedmont College in Northeastern Georgia - minutes from where Lillian wrote her groundbreaking work.

Spotlight On...Xavier Toby

Spotlight On...Sam French

Spotlight On...Matthew Brown

Spotlight On...Billy Hutto

Spotlight On...Matthew Newton

Spotlight On...Brennan Pickman-Thoon

Spotlight On...James Leach

Spotlight On...Carl Lundstedt

Spotlight On...Jake Shore

Spotlight On...Joel Creasey

Spotlight On...Noah Himmelstein

Spotlight On...Jeremy Weiss

Spotlight On...Joe Boover

Spotlight On...Anna Fox

Review: Mommy Knows Best

Spotlight On...Lauren Hayes

Blog Hijack: Unsex Me Here

Review: A Mess Inside

Review: Australian Comic Gold

Spotlight On...Thom Fogarty