Theater in the Now

Name: Scott M. Lilly.

Hometown: Asheboro, NC (no, not hipster-trendy-college town AsheVILLE; AsheBORO: we have the Zoo and a Walmart).

Education: The Music Academy of North Carolina, AMDA(NYC), and Life’s School of Hard Knocks.

Who do you play in The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer: Boyg

Describe your character(s) in three words: The. Great. Boyg! :-D

Tell us about The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer: It’s my first trip down the rabbit hole that is the Fringe Festival; and it’s been amazing. As for the show itself: it’s a story of Boy meets Boy, Boy meets Boyg, Boy goes on epically fantastical journey of self-discovery…ya know, tale as old as time.

Describe The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer in three words: Fun, Laughs, Good-Times! (does it count if it’s hyphenated?)

Who is the biggest liar?: We’re actors…we’re ALL liars!

Who is the biggest troll?: Our Troll King, Austin, obviously!

Who is the sexiest?: Geovanny…you should see the dance he’s choreographed. ;)

Who is the most mischievous?: Nick. There’s something behind those eyes…I don’t trust that man. ;)

Most likely to go on an adventure?: Corinne; pack a lunch!

Most likely to get caught up in a cult?: Probably me, I’m very easil- - oh look, a Pokemon!

Which bandana best describes you?: I have quite the collection, myself…my rainbow tie-dyed one seems an appropriate answer.

Favorite (gay) bar in NYC: Marie’s Crisis will always hold a special place in my heart. <3

Fun, laughs, or good time?: I’ll take ‘em all!

Do you talk to yourself in a mirror?: All the time. “Get it together” and “Well, this is the best it’s gonna get today” are frequent salutations. :-P

What is your favorite moment in The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer: Well, there is this one very demure dance number...

What is the most rewarding thing about being a part of the Dreamer team?: It’s such a brave, talented (and GORGEOUS) troupe of trolls; I’m both honored and humbled to be a part of it.

Why should we come see The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer?: I guarantee it won’t be like anything else you’ll see this year. If you’re a fan of Ibsen, or a fan of riding crops, this is a show for you.

The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer is part of the 20th Annual New York International Fringe Festival! Performances dates are Saturday, August 13th at 9:30pm, Tuesday, August 16th at 5:00pm, Monday, August 22nd at 4:45pm, Wednesday, August 24th at 7:00pm, and Saturday, August 27th at 1:30pm. All performances will be at Venue #1: Teatro SEA (107 Suffolk Street). For tickets, visit fringenyc.org

For more on The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer, visit dreamerplay.com. To support and donate to the project, please visit gofundme.com/dreamerplay

Name: Pooya Mohseni

Hometown: Tehran, Iran

Education: BFA in Textiles from FIT, Licensed Massage therapist, Graduate from Maggie Flanigan Studio (2 year Meisner conservatory)

Select Credits: Recurring Guest star on USA network drama “Falling Water” , Madame in Outlier’s production of Jean Genet’s “The Maids” , Samantha in Dewey Moss’s “ Death of The Persian Prince” and Co-star on season 1 of “Madam Secretary”

Why theater?: A one of kind experience with your costars and the audience….a full emotional experience that touches every person who watches it

Who do you play in The Maids?: I play Madam, the much talked about “hero/villain” of The Maids

Tell us about The Maids: To put the story in a nutshell: we all, high and low, play roles, different roles for different people, but we all play, and we judge others based on our view of life, which inevitably leaves us open for judgement and misunderstanding to a point

What is it like being a part of The Maids?: Ben Gunderson, the director, has been an incredible director in guiding all of us to find who we are in the play and we are to each other…. All 3 of us, James, William and myself have found our characters in relation to each other and with each other’s help. It has been a magical experience that shall be greatly missed.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I like theatre with a conscience, a social message and truth. I like theater that makes you think, long after you have left the theater…as to who inspires me, the list is too long to even start, but in a general way: any actor who is bold, truthful and daring is someone I look up to.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: I would love to play Regina in Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes” and Martha in Edward Albee’s “who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

What’s your favorite showtune?: "My Man" from Funny Girl…what can I say. I’m a softie at heart

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Maggie Smith
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I don’t know who would play me, in a parallel universe maybe Penelope Cruz, and I like it to be called “The Bitch is Right”

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: American Psycho…I love 80s music!!!

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Again, I’m an 80s child at heart and forever, so it would have to be the soap de soir "Knots Landing"… I mean So. Cal. Tan before Baywatch!!

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Evening Soaps of the 80s, on my couch

What’s up next?: Auditions for TV, films and theatre for more juicy, strong “bitch” roles

For more on Pooya, visit www.pooyaland.com

Name: Jon Spano

Hometown: Ravenna, OH

Education: NYU

Favorite Credits: As dancer, tours of West Side Story and HAIR! As actor, the indie’s Le Fleur de Vie and Picking Up The Pieces. As playwright the short plays 8th Wonder, Ripple Effect, and The Sweat.

Why theater?: Luck. In the dinky hometown I grew up in, there was oddly an Equity dinner theatre called The Carousel that hired New York performers and celebrities past their prime. I just turned 17 and there was a spot for a local stage extra for their production of Brigadoon. I auditioned and got the job. Then in quick order I did No, No, Nanette; Funny Girl; and Carousel, and was the prop boy for Barefoot in the Park, which featured Dorothy Lamour, and I was her assistant for the run. This theatre was a reprieve from the redneck mentality of the town I grew up in. When I graduated from high school I was still 17 and moved immediately to New York. Had no job, no apartment, no friends, no financial support except the money in my pocket. But I was determined to become a good dancer and I achieved that goal.

Tell us about Joey Variations: Joey is one of those pieces I worked on, on-and-off, over about ten years. It’s had many variations. I kept going back to it because I felt there was a story there about human struggle, grief, sliding into addiction, and emerging out of it. It had to be a tale of survival and hope and a long walk through darkness.

What inspired you to create Joey Variations?: There had been so much loss, struggle, and pain in New York. I moved here in ’79. Before the AIDS epidemic. As a young wide-eyed hopeful, I never imagined something like AIDS could even exist. Then it hit and the backlash against gay people was huge. The lack of empathy, but for the saving graces of those who were not constrained by society’s limited constructions. Joey Variations isn’t about the pandemic at all, but it is about a dancer who’s been involved in a horrifying hate crime that has impacted him psychologically. And while this may all sound depressing, it’s not. The play has a powerful message of acceptance, hope, survival, moving on… with the help of compassionate, empathetic people who believe in us sometimes more strongly than we believe in ourselves.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I like three-dimensional characters with strong world-views and drive who on the surface may seem like unlikeable people. People who’ve been through the mill. I could give a shit about teen angst except for Romeo and Juliet; I didn’t care about it when I was a teenager. I like postmodernism but hate being hit over the head with it: “Okay, I get it: You’re doing a play and we know you know we know.” I enjoy a little bit of immersive theatre, like Sleep No More, but sometimes I just want to sit back and watch. Immersive theatre is a weird but understandable trend, what with stupid, untalented people becoming famous and everybody interacting with everyone and everything because of devices and social media. Ivo van Hove inspires me. I love that he has breathed life into Arthur Miller’s plays. Miller has had a lot of scholarly shit kicked in his face by hacks and wannabes who’ve labeled him an overrated playwright. Students, and mostly students’ parents, pay a lot of money to be taught a lot of crap. So I’m thrilled some of the shit’s been thrown back by van Hove’s brilliance and that the power of Miller’s work is alive for contemporary audiences. The best plays, even those traditional in format, never leave me feeling like a passive audience member. There is no fourth wall because my emotions are right up there onstage with the characters. Powerful plays do that to us subconsciously. Forget the gimmicks, bells, whistles, and trends. Not interested. If you need all that, your play’s missing substance, like an HBO series with a bunch of naked women.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: David Cromer or Cher. I like dichotomy.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Bright Star, but it closed. Got lost in the whirlwind of Hamilton-mania. It was a beautiful piece of theatre.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: JK Simmons or Ben Kingsley. The title is He Died Trying, which will be my epitaph.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: That’s not fair. Opening nights of Oedipus Rex. Richard III. Waiting For Godot. A Streetcar Named Desire.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: That’s hard. Probably watching youtube clips of Valley of the Dolls ephemera. Like Judy Garland’s vocal track of “I’ll Plant My Own Tree,” synced to Susan Hayward’s performance.

If you weren't working in theater, you would be _____?: I’d be an historian of architecture. Understanding the engineering part would be a challenge, but I love the design of houses and buildings, old and new. Mostly old.

What’s up next?: Developing a new full-length play Dennis and the screenplay adaptations of Muskego Lake and Joey Variations. And maybe Germany.

For more on Jon, visit www.jonspano.com. For more on Joey Variations, visit www.joeyvariations.com and www.facebook.com/jonspano

Name: Rory Lance

Hometown: Brooklyn NY

Education: MFA Brooklyn College, Stella Adler Studio

Favorite Credits: Death In Venice In First Person: United Solo Festival Award Winner

Why theater?: Theatre teaches us what we need to know to be human.

Tell us about Still Not: Still Not is a beautifully written play about our connections to others and the chances we are willing to take to make those connections.

What inspired you to direct Still Not?: I was very eager to direct the play when I read it because it is such a theatrically pure work that looks no further than the words of the playwrights and the craft of the actor to engage its audience. No special effects, nothing blows up.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: A theatre piece that is character driven and explores what it means to be human has always been more interesting to me than plot driven narratives. A former student, Javier Munoz, has just taken over the lead in the Broadway musical Hamilton. He has a personal story that is just as engaging as the character he plays each night, and has already inspired many.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I love working with young people who are eager and bold and inventive, just like Harrison Bryan the author of Still Not. I hope I get to meet and work with many other new and exciting young artists in the future.

What show have you recommended to your friends?:Hamilton is such an easy answer to this question because it is such a brilliant phenomenon.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: They already made it; "Goodbye Mr. Chips" with Peter O’Toole.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: I would love to have been in the audience watching my parents watch Oklahoma! together after my father came back from WWII.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Perry Mason reruns. Talk about someone who never loses.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be____?: I worked for twenty-six years as a NYC high school drama teacher- been there/done that.

What’s up next?: I’m writing a play on a great American entertainer who is becoming less and less remembered, so I think it is time to revive interest in him. But I will keep the name private for now; good ideas in the theatre are very valuable commodities.

For more on Rory, visit http://rorylance.weebly.com/

Name: Allen Warnock

Hometown: Warner Robins, GA

Education: BFA, Boston University

Favorite Credits: Recently, my favorite credits would be performing in David Koteles’ After the Chairs, directed by Jason Jacobs, and also Jason Grossman’s Doubles Crossed, directed by Amber Gallery.

Why theater?: The Navy wasn’t for me.

Tell us about A Microwaved Burrito Filled With E. coli: It's a comedy I co-wrote with Andrea Alton. A lesbian security guard/poet comes to a Mexican restaurant for a wedding reception, where her waitress ends up revealing way way too much about herself. The two characters work to find common ground and also fend off a virus outbreak. Lots of info and dirty pictures can be found at www.amicrowavedburrito.com

What inspired you to write A Microwaved Burrito Filled With E. coli:?: Andrea has a wonderfully unique character, Molly “Equality” Dykeman, that is very in-your-face and unapologetic, if slightly unfocused. We thought it would be fun to match her up with my new character, Angie Angelone, who is optimistic and finds joy in places where there probably isn’t any. Andrea and I have worked together several times and it's inspiring for me to continue finding new levels to our lunacy.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love it when, as an audience member, I truly feel the writer’s need to share this story with me. As opposed to “I wrote a play because I needed to do something." I’ve seen those plays, too.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Lucy Lawless and Jason Statham. Together. As a pair.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Last Winter, I saw In the Soundless Awe produced by New Light Theater Project. It had a wonderful dream-like quality and was ultimately very powerful. Proof that you don’t need a huge budget to be affecting. I’m a fan of New Light Theater Project. They probably think I’m stalking them. …I feel dirty now.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Ed Asner would play me and it would be called “Star Crunch.”

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Suzanne Somers' one-person show The Blonde in the Thunderbird

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?:“Reign” on the CW

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

What’s up next?: Well, “Reign” returns in 2017. So I have that to look forward to.

Name: Michael Bradley

Hometown: Mahwah, NJ

Education: BFA from Boston University

Who do you play in The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer: #playwright

Describe your character(s) in three words: Who Am I?

Tell us about The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer: The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer is my riff on Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt! It’s a modern take on a story of a young man searching for himself through the lens of sexuality.

Describe The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer in three words: Dark, Seductive, Unpredictable

Who is the biggest liar?: I feel like you gotta be a liar to play a liar? So by default, let’s go with our Peer, Taylor Turner.

Who is the biggest troll?: Nick. Just go to our Instagram @dreamerplay2016 and watch his rendition of “Memory” from Cats!

Who is the sexiest?: There’s nothing sexier than intelligence so I’m gonna go with our brilliant director Chris Goodrich. Kid’s got brains!

Who is the most mischievous?: Every. Single. Boy. In. This. Cast.

Most likely to go on an adventure?: I feel like Austin’s life is an adventure

Most likely to get caught up in a cult?: Chris gets this one too. He’s just so nice and sweet and unassuming and he’s just a girl who can’t say no!

Which bandana best describes you?: I mean black and grey go with everything

Favorite (gay) bar in NYC: Well I usually need Therapy after I go to any so…

Fun, laughs, or good time?: Imma BIG SPENDER so all three

Do you talk to yourself in a mirror?: Yes. I do. I’m a great conversationalist.

What is your favorite moment in The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer?: I wish I could remember my process when I initially wrote the play. I wrote this play almost four years ago. Returning to it so many years removed, I’m happily surprised by what I wrote! But my favorite moment is something I didn’t even write and that’s the dance to a fantastic new version of Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King”. It’s sexy as hell and this cast can MOVE!

What is the most rewarding thing about being a part of the Dreamer team?: It’s been a dream to be a part of FringeNYC as a playwright so being able to have this experience with some of the most beautiful artists and friends. Watching your work come to life is a reward in itself. When it’s in such capable hands, watching it become fully realized will make you just sit back and smile.

Why should we come see The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer?: If you’re a friend and have never seen anything I’ve written before, this is a GREAT one to start with. If you’re a friend and have seen something of mine, this one is like nothing you’ve seen before. And if I don’t know you, YET, I absolutely want you there because this story is incredibly important.

The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer is part of the 20th Annual New York International Fringe Festival! Performances dates are Saturday, August 13th at 9:30pm, Tuesday, August 16th at 5:00pm, Monday, August 22nd at 4:45pm, Wednesday, August 24th at 7:00pm, and Saturday, August 27th at 1:30pm. All performances will be at Venue #1: Teatro SEA (107 Suffolk Street). For tickets, visit fringenyc.org

For more on The Illusory Adventures of a Dreamer, visit dreamerplay.com. To support and donate to the project, please visit gofundme.com/dreamerplay

Name: Adam Roberts

Hometown: Myrtle Beach, SC

Education: BFA in Musical Theatre from Coastal Carolina University

Select Credits:Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Pippin on Broadway, Dirty Dancing (Tour)

Why theater?: Being born into a musical family, I knew from a very young age that theatre was inevitably my destiny. There was no other option.

Who do you play in Cyrano?: Christian

Tell us about Cyrano: The show is a modern-day adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac that is a funny and poignant commentary on gay life in NYC. It questions values, what motivates us, and the lengths we go to for love, even if it means the potential of ruining a friendship.

What is it like being a part of Cyrano?: Personally, it is an emotional roller-coaster. You get on, buckle in, and take the journey with the character, which covers a lot of ground and enters into some tricky territory. It's challenging to strike the balance between relating to Christian while also being able to remove myself enough to take on a new personae. I'm looking forward to continuing to work with Eamon and the rest of this talented cast in adding movement, nuance, and really giving this piece a voice.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theatre that takes risks interests me. Story-driven choreo, actors that give themselves fully and bravely, directors with a vision and a way to catch my eye as well as make the book interesting.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys. Someone call Tara Rubin please.

What’s your favorite show tune?: My favorite one to belt out is Gethsemane from JCC. Epic!

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I just wanna play opposite of and sing a duet with Tituss Burgess.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Jake Gyllenhaal and it would be called, "Put That In Your Pipe and Smoke It"

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Babs in Funny Girl or Jennifer Holiday bring the house down in Dreamgirls.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Curious Incident floored me. I think everyone should run and see it before it closes.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Copious amounts of coffee and just all the pastries.

What’s up next?: I'm working on my own little record.

By Michael Block

Remember the Sony hack a few years ago? You know the one. When “The Interview,” the satirical stoner comedy about Kim Jong-un, was set to be released and the e-mails of Sony Pictures Entertainment were hacked along with a threat if the film was released. In Zach Stephens’ Tailspin!, a fictionalized version of the events are brought to the stage in an absurdly fast-paced comedic satire. Stephens’ script is funny and energetic but be warned: everyone should get ready to be offended. Stephens places race, gender, and religious jokes all over the place to hammer home his comedy. If you can get past that then you’re in store for fun. Tailspin! follows the intensely high-strung Henry as he and his compadres at Babylon Pictures attempt to defuse the aftermath of a company-wide hack ahead of the release of “The Girlish Tendencies of Kim Jong-un.” Ranging from slapstick comedy to vaudevillian clowning, the team must stop Kim Jung-un before he sets a rocket straight for LA. Even though it runs about an hour and a half, Tailspin! feels a bit too long. Some of the jokes go on longer than they should. Stephens has material ripe for the axing. The rest of the material? There’s some good stuff! Littered with pop culture references and infamous movie quotes, Tailspin! is an homage to Hollywood comedies we know and love. From “Clue” to “Airplane” to Charlie Chaplin, Stephens clearly has a passion for the genre. Whether the references hit you or go over your head, they’re present. Henry was the strongest written character. The rest? They filled stereotypical roles.

It’s evident that Tailspin! oozes potential. It just needs to be reigned in. And fast. To give credit where credit is due, director Kelly Webb was able to have her company amp up the tempo and keep it up. The stamina is undeniable. Despite the thrown together feel, the company didn’t let physical flubs stand in their way. Webb navigated the Kraine stage with ease, even with three large folding tables at center stage. Beyond that, Webb seemed to run into some trouble. At times, the direction felt unfocused. Stylistically, Stephens and Webb offered a plethora of comedic styling that didn’t always mesh together. You have pretty slapstick physical comedy from Henry and then suddenly the lawyers arrive, bringing some clowning. Not all the characters, or the actors, were on the same page and thus the same play. Where writing ends and direction begins is a giant question. Nevertheless, honing in and creating a cohesive world will be of much aid to Tailspin!.
It’s no secret, Zach Stephens wrote a great vehicle for himself. Stephens was head over heels the strongest comedian on stage. He’s a pristine comedic performer. From the start, Stephens maintained a high-strung character in Henry, offering variations in each situation. Kelsey Lea Jones as Mia was tough as nails. The combo of Stephens and Jones were strong duo. They bounced off one another with ease. Playing the slightly racist but overly naughty Olivia, Elizabeth Zephryine McDonough captured everything that is wrong with Hollywood bigwigs. Despite Duran Duran and Samm Hamm not quite fitting in this world properly, the rest of Stephens’ characters have a better shot at existing in this world. Unfortunately Dick Ward as janitor Bernard and Jacob Presson as intern Isaac seemed out of place. Chalk it up to casting, but Ward and Presson seemed lost in Tailspin!.
It’s hard to imagine this play without Zach Stephens not playing Henry but once he steps out and sits solely in the playwright’s chair, Tailspin! can reach the next level. Changes are inevitable. Once they happen, Tailspin! is ready to play again. If anything, this was a strong outing to present the animated comedic talents of Zach Stephens.

Name: Zoe Kamil

Hometown: San Francisco born and raised, NYC now

Education: Marymount Manhattan College

Favorite Credits: Most recently, We Go Together at The Kraine Theatre (Semicolon Theatre Company), dramaturgy for Ian Campbell's Ratcatcher at Marymount Manhattan College

Why theater?: Theatre, at its best, gets all up in your face. It's magnetic and immediate. It can't and won't be ignored. I genuinely believe that it's one of the most powerful tools humanity has for generating empathy.

Tell us about #Blessed: The simplest way to describe the play would be that it explores the events and relationships surrounding the rape of a religious freshman girl in a small-town high school. In some ways it's based in what I hope will feel like a familiar contemporary realism but there are elements of the spiritual and fantastical incorporated into the story. The play is narrated by a Greek chorus and Jesus may or may not make an appearance.

What inspired you to write #Blessed?: I started writing #Blessed at the tail end of my own experience as a student at a religious high school in a very liberal city. It began as a way for me to make sense of what I saw at the time as simply religious hypocrisy. What remains from the earliest drafts are the big questions about faith and growing up. As I've gained some distance from high school though, the play has as well. It's now a far more nuanced take on religion and sexuality -- more sympathetic, more complex, and more open-minded.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love complicated stories presented simply. I love hearing really specific, colloquial language onstage. I also really like verse, rap, and musical storytelling.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Currently obsessed with the directorial work of Rachel Chavkin. It would be a dream to create something with her.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Recently, Small Mouth Sounds. Holy shit, it's mind-blowing.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Ha! Probably Ilana Glazer from "Broad City". The movie would be called, "Why, Anxiety? I Was Just Sitting There!"

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: I can't pick just one! Definitely The original Broadway production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Also, Ruby Rae Spiegel's Dry Land at Colt Coeur, Topdog/Underdog at the Public, Hedwig and the Angry Inch at the Jane Hotel in the 90s, and the original Eureka Theatre production of Angels in America.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Law & Order: SVU.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A lot more financially stable! No, no, I kid. Um, probably a high school English teacher or an advocate for reproductive healthcare and education, maybe through Planned Parenthood.

What’s up next?: Finishing my BA, and then maybe grad school. I'm also finishing up the first drafts of two new plays with the intention of doing some initial workshopping/readings by the end of the year.

Name: Ali Kennedy Scott

Hometown: Sydney, Australia

Education: Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (UK), SITI Company Conservatory, Sydney University (Economics)

Favorite Credits: Gertrude Stein in A Serious Banquet at Judson Church & New York Theatre Workshop, Blanche in Thank You For Being A Friend– an Avenue Q styled play based on the Golden Girls! (Darlinghurst Theatre Sydney); An Olympic Swimmer in Pool Play (set & performed in a NYC pool, this play required dialogue intermingled with freestyle strokes – it was a lot of fun!); Writer-Director in Residence of Parramatta Now (a production involving 120 teenagers in Western Sydney); & my solo show The Day the Sky Turned Black which has taken me around the world including two seasons in Edinburgh and its most recent performance at Theatre Row in NYC.

Why theater?: It’s magical! I remember watching a production of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe at school when I was 8. Seeing an entirely new world created in a hall that usually housed assembly or gym was transformative. I knew that’s what I wanted to do…. So of course I went on to study economics at Sydney University and began a career as a management consultant. A little while later I watched a production of Joan Dideon’s solo play The Year of Magical Thinking. The piece charts the year Joan lost both her daughter and husband. Her struggle to carry-on in the face of such adversity so beautifully illustrated our universal struggle. It reminded me that we are each connected to all who came before and all who will come after by this universal experience of love & loss. And in that there is comfort, solidarity and hope. I knew then that I had to return to my first love with the hope of creating art that inspired, moved and brought a little magic into people’s lives. I auditioned for Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, was gratefully accepted and set forth to do just that.

Tell us about Let Them Eat Cake: An American Love Story: It’s an immersive version of the Greek Tragedy Oedipus. Using spectacle and black humor, we’ll be exploring the blindness of King Oedipus & Queen Jocasta (his mom/wife) to their illicit actions and their impact on the world around them. Expect magic, intrigue, revelation & fun and.. (alas)… tragedy.

What inspired you to write Let Them Eat Cake: An American Love Story?: I’m collaborating with Daniel Leeman Smith, & Marshall Experimental Theatre Company to write & create this play. We’re particularly interested in how the 2400 year old world of Oedipus finds parallels with our experience today. This can be seen particular clearly in the context of the GFC where the actions of a few infected the financial system of an entire interconnected world. We also love theatre that takes the audience out of the proscenium and places them squarely in the action. We want to create experiences that are not easily forgotten, that delight and challenge, provoke & entertain.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love all theatre - comedy, drama, classics, new work, documentary, improvised, solo work. It’s such an incredible art form. Why this play? & why now? are two questions at the heart of everything I do. Theatre that speaks to me is theatre that answers those questions. Also theatre that takes care of the audience and has them at the heart of its mission. I’ve trained extensively with Anne Bogart’s SITI Company and am now on the board of SITI Company and I’m tremendously inspired by the ways in which Anne & the company push the boundaries of artistic endeavor while holding the audience at the center of everything they do.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: There are so many amazing incredible artists I’d love to work & collaborate with! Foremost in my mind is Moises Kaufman & Tectonic Theatre Project. They are such a bold, game changing company of incredible artistic & social merit. Their work the Laramie Project was so important for the world, for the LGBTQ community & for theatre. It showed the power of theatre to help shape our world, to heal, to wake people up and to make lives better. And they’ve kept on creating scintillating, rigorous & important work. It would be a dream come true to work with them and to be part of an organization that has had such a positive impact on the world.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: The Public’s Taming of the Shrew in the Park was amazing! The all-female cast was the perfect way to tackle a script that is rather misogynistic. I also loved Peter and the Starcatcher – it was magical! The Object Lesson& Nilaja Sun’s No Child are two of my all-time favorite solo plays. And Constellations for its exquisite writing! Two shows that are on now that I’d highly recommend Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night Time& Men on Boats (at Playwrights Horizons). There is a lot of wonderful theatre in this town!

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Working in international development to address issues of systemic inequality.

What’s up next?: In between the development & seasons of Let Them Eat Cake: An American Love Story, I’ll be playing the Prince of Darkness in Calderon’s Two Dreams at La Mama in early 2017. I’m also writing my next solo piece examining women in leadership.

For on Ali, visit www.alikennedyscott.com and http://www.marshallexperimental.org/

Name: Alex Van Handel

Hometown: Hartford, Wisconsin

Education: BFA in Musical Theatre from Univeristy of Wisconsin – Stevens Point

Select Credits: Rocky Horror -The Rocky Horror Show (Mercury Players Theatre), Giuseppe Naccarelli – The Light in the Piazza (Four Seasons Theatre), Frog – A Year with Frog and Toad and Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf – Into the Woods (Crane River Theatre)

Why theater?: Theater gives me the perfect outlet to express my extroverted, artistic, and collaborative personality all in one setting.

Who do you play in HELD: A Musical Fantasy?: Bardo.

Tell us about HELD: A Musical Fantasy: I’ve been describing it as a Game of Thrones-y-esque musical. I suppose it might help to elaborate on that. It’s a musical about three friends that live in a fantastical world and how their friendship changes over time.

What is it like being a part of HELD: A Musical Fantasy?: It’s been a wonderful experience. It makes my job as an actor ten times more exciting and relaxing when I get the opportunity to work with professional artists as talented as the ones that are present in this production.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I like classic shows and contemporary stuff that is straight-forward and engaging. I’m completely inspired by fellow artists who I know are up there on stage doing it for the love of the art. They don’t care if they spend their whole lives doing shows at a small community theater or on Broadway, as long as they are on stage giving 100% of themselves every time the lights are on.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: Dr. Frankenfurter. Please God, let me do it someday.

What’s your favorite showtune?: Ah, too many to list just one. I do like performing “Let Me Drown” from The Wild Party.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Bryan Cranston. That man can do it all. Walter White to Zordon. I mean, come on.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself, and what would it be called?: Well, I’ve been told I look like Jake Gyllenhaal, and he’s a great actor, so him. It would be called "Damnit, Van Handel!" I’ll let you glean what you’d like from that.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: I’d love to see the original production of My Fair Lady. I played Col. Pickering back in 7th grade (painted in white hair and eyebrows and all). It’s such a whimsical and fun show to perform and watch.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: I juuuuust moved back to NYC after spending a few years back home in Wisconsin. So, if anybody has recommendations for me I’d be happy to take them.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Buying Batman comic books and collectibles. I have a bit of a problem.

What’s up next?: Get back into the swing of things with auditioning and working on my craft now that I’m back in the game here in NYC!!

Name: Elizabeth Ostler

Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah

Education: BA in liberal arts from Sarah Lawrence College; MFA in theater directing from Brooklyn College

Favorite Credits: The Yellow Wallpaper at St. Ann’s Warehouse Puppet Lab (director/adaptor/designer); The Triangle Factory Fire Project at Brooklyn College (director); Gorey at Life Jacket Theater Company (puppet designer); Jasper in Deadland at Prospect Theater Company (puppet designer)

Why theater?: I want to foster connection through storytelling. At its best, theater allows for a metaphysical communion between the theater event and audience like no other art form. Grotowski described that communion as, “crossing the distance between you and me.” I love that. Theater allows me to do that.

Tell us about Memoriam: Memoriam is an answer to Euripides’ ALCESTIS. It explores the aftermath of getting the thing you want when you have experienced the horror of losing someone you love - getting them back. What are the consequences? What if they’re back but their memories aren’t? Do are memories define us and our relationships?

What inspired you to direct Memoriam?: The playwright, Stephen Kaliski and I were in grad school together when he started working on Memoriam. I participated in the early devising of the script as an ensemble member. It’s a rewarding experience to direct a play that I was involved in from the very beginning. The given circumstances of the play mirror where I’m at personally. I lost my grandmother last month and my sister in April. I’m very much in grief. Working on this play with the generous ensemble, designers and playwright is giving me a place to work through some of my grief through creativity. This has been a gift during a very difficult time.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theater that addresses social issues. I’m an advocate and theater is a primary medium that I use to bring awareness to women’s issues, domestic violence, and human trafficking. I also love a great family drama. Long Days… and August: Osage County are some of my favorite plays. I’m an avid reader and am often inspired by what I’m reading. I also find some of my greatest inspiration comes from actively living my life and pursuing interests other than theater. Specific artists - the poet David Whyte, painter Joan Mitchell, and David Cromer’s production of Our Town. Whenever I start doubting being a theater artist, I read a bit of And Then, You Act by Anne Bogart - works everytime.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: This was a hard one. Steve Kazee

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Annie Baker’s John at Signature Theater

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Claire Danes. "It’s All Just an Experiment"

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: A Chorus Line before it transferred to Broadway.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Binge watching TV. I love TV. Currently, it’s watching Bachelorette. Who will JoJo give the final rose to? No spoilers!!

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Hmm...well when I’m not working in theater I’m a creativity coach and I teach writing. If I was doing something completely different...maybe a photographer, or work in social justice, or an entrepreneur...

What’s up next?: I’m working on putting together a workshop to help actors be more vulnerable. I’m also writing a play.

For more on Elizabeth, visit www.elizabethostler.com and www.lifesechoes.com

By Michael Block

Imagine Miss Bliss from "Good Morning Miss Bliss" and any of the "Law and Order" detectives coming together for a romance then a chat on morals. How do they work together? The answer is they really don't. In John Doble’s To Protect the Poets, a meet-cute between a GED literature teacher and a lonely detective leads to a romance where morality is put to the test. With a murder investigation as the backdrop, Doble examines rape culture and police brutality through varying lenses. Doble's text is interesting. It's part police procedural and part 90s sitcom that never really intertwines. It causes tonal confusion on the part of Doble and director Alberto Bonilla.

Whether it was stylistically different actors or the text itself, Doble put Bonilla in a tough spot. The focus of the play was on Jab the cop and Mac the poet played by John Isgro and Elizabeth Alice Murray respectively. Isgro and Murray are two very different actors. With their chemistry lacking, To Protect the Poets never was really ever able to take off. Isgro brings a naturalistic approach while Murray has a heightened aura. Together, it was a mash-up that didn't pan out. With varying styles, it highlighted Doble's dialogue in an unfortunate way. Some of the actors had difficulty navigating his choppy text. The conviction wasn't always quite there. Just look at the "bully" exchange. Despite the graphic nature of the scene, Doble's strongest writing was through the interrogation at the end of Act I. Angel Dillemuth had a spark of vivacity as the suspect. But ending the act with this scene was problematic. The audience didn't want to applaud. It was not something to cheer for. To Protect the Poets easily could be a single act play. Just cut the following scene where Mac's GED students perform Romeo and Juliet. It didn't further the plot at all. We don't need to be hammered over the head that these two are star-crossed lovers. It’s already quite evident. Sure, it's nice to see Jab and Mac at work, but the story is the pair, not the job.
Though minimal, deciphering where in time Doble's text was played was a bit of a question. With talk of the electric chair and then a boom box as the source of music, was this play a modern commentary or one from the past? Cementing this is essential for the perspective and overall objective. None of the costumes helped to define this either so it’s really up to interpretation.
To Protect the Poets has a message we have heard far too often. But the execution of said message was a bit a miss. In a sea of politically-driven pieces, To Protect the Poets sadly sinks.

Name: Kevin R. Free

Hometown: Greensboro, NC

Education: Duke University

Favorite Credits:Boys From Syracuse at Baltimore CenterStage, Clybourne Park at Portland Center Stage, DOT at The Humana Festival, Are You Not Entertained? at Bring a Weasel and A Pint of Your Own Blood Festival, FluxForward Playwrights Commission that led me to write my play AM I DEAD?

Why theater?: Why not? I do other things that I love, but theater is my favorite language.

Tell us about Night of the Living N-Word!!: It is a comedy - A slasher comedy - about a family's struggle with that word, even after the word is "buried" by its matriarch.

What inspired you to write Night of the Living N-Word!!?: In 2007, the NAACP buried the N-Word, and I wrote a short play for Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind that was basically a horror movie trailer. I always knew I wanted to expand that play into a full-length play, but it took me 7 years to figure out what the story of it would be. And when I picked up the script again to submit it to the Fringe, it seemed even more timely.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love dangerous theater. I love non-linear storyteling. I am inspired by my former Neo-Futurist colleagues Joey Rizzolo, Rob Neill, and Jacquelyn Landgraf. I am inspired by Bill T. Jones. I am inspired by passionate storytelling, even if it pisses me off, or I don't understand it.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: There are a number of artists that I'd love to work with again, including all the people involved with my play this summer; Meredith McDonough; Keith Josef Adkins. On my list of people I cannot wait to work with though are Les Waters, Jeff Augustin, MJ Kaufman, Maybe Burke, Lyons & Pakchar, Rose Riordan, Stacey Rose, Kwame Kwei-Armah - and all of the students I have directed or taught who have now become professional theater artists.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: In FringeNYC, I've recommended the following: My White Wife, or So I Married a Black Man, That's MISS FITS, to YOU!, Let the Devil Take the Hindmost, Black and Blue, In the Master's House There are Many Mansions, The Further Adventures Of..., A Microwaved Burrito Filled with E. Coli, The Troubadour Struck By Lightning

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: The movie would be called "Accordion," because it would be about my ups-and-downs with money, weight, and career. I would be played by several different actors, corresponding to my degree of abundance: Cedric The Entertainer, Anthony Anderson, Larenz Tate, and me, of course.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: RAISIN the musical, starring Joe Morton and Virginia Capers.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Watching the first few episodes of NETFLIX TV shows and then not watching the rest of the series. I don't do it on purpose, but it happens that way. Sorry, NETFLIX.

 If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: I would probably work in FOOD: Restaurant management, cooking, etc. Or maybe I'd be a life coach. Thank God I work in Theater, though.

What’s up next?: I am going to The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis to act in a play called The Parchman Hour. In NYC, MyCarl will produce No! I'M the worst, a monthly storytelling competition. A show for terrible people, No I'M the worst features three storytellers telling true stories about times when they were less-than-gracious, more-than-shameless or just-the-right-amount-of-awful. They battle it out in three rounds and the audience decides which horrible person is the worst.

By Michael Block

The heat of summer enters Teatro SEA, which is fitting as the characters of Tasha Nicole Partee's Mrs. Schrodinger's Cat are trying to beat the heat in this mystery of sorts. This dramedy tackles betrayal and how you combat it. To begin, the set up is Myrna is filming a video. We watch her film it throughout the play, offering a bit more information through each "clip." This is interspersed through scenes with landlady Judith, her dry daughter, and her crazy tenants. As the play unfolds, we learn that a peeping Tom has been roaming the neighborhood with a camera and the ladies are worried they may be the subject. The two-act play is quirky yet balanced with truth and heart. Partee's script is snappy, even if the tempo occasionally faltered. Her characters feel as if they can live in a serial world, existing through weekly hijinks. It's a play with a plethora of promise. Which means there's plenty of room to improve and finesse. Should Partee remove the fluff, she can add in a much desired scene between rivals Myrna and Flannery as well as add another moment of health woe earlier for Judith. The power of threes! With a sitcom feel, some of the plot holes and forced moments can be excused, though patching those holes would only be a benefit.
In addition to writing, Partee took a seat in the director's chair. She ran into some staging struggles by placing Myrna on stage right. Had she kept the camera hugging the column and set her off stage when she's not talking, Judith and friends would have had more room to play, avoiding some harsh angles like Rachel being forced to talk backwards to Judith. It also would have assisted in spreading out the already cluttered stage. Though the furniture selected was spot on. Colorful and whimsical.

Not all of Partee's characters had big personalities but those who did got to play. Landlady Judith is the strongest of the bunch. She's quirky, lovely, and someone you'd want to sit in the heat with. Eileen Howard had an immeasurable heart to give. As well as the innate ability to make you blush. The Talbot sisters are wonderfully eccentric. They're so eccentric and kooky that there is a desire to see them go further with the whimsy. Amelia Huckel-Bauer, Madigan Mayberry, and JC Sullivan as Flannery, Delphine, and Tia respectively each brought a different shade of color that made them the three headed hydra of hilarity. In just a bit part, Emily Moody dominates. Attached to her cell phone and detached from her job, Moody's Caitlin Copely was the flash of fun that was desired so much sooner.
At the end of the day, Mrs. Schrodinger's Cat is a lovely dramedy. It's sugary in all the right ways. This is a play that could use an outside eye to guide through the wavering tones to bring each out properly. Don't be surprised when you see this show again.

Name: Jenna Langbaum

Hometown: Rye, NY

Education: BA in Theater and Creative Writing from Hamilton College

Favorite Credits:Grease (Sandy), The Marriage of Bette and Boo (Margaret),

Why theater?: Theater offers poignant insight into human nature and emotions that only exist with a live audience. There is a certain thrill to the live theater experience over other mediums of art.

Tell us about The Night of Blue and Salt: The Night of Blue and Salt follows WIFE and MAN, a couple whose young love rusts into a seemingly hopeless fate. WIFE, full of magic and manic, longs to be a writer, often speaking in lines of Sylvia Plath and Virginia Woolf. MAN, full of knowledge and numbers becomes a surgeon, speaking mostly in medical jargon and statistics. When WIFE and MAN endure the tragedy of losing their baby girl, their lack of communication is ultimately their greatest downfall. Written in the style of Theatre of the Absurd and riddled with dark humor, WIFE gradually dismantles the shackles of domesticity and a loveless marriage to be the dramatic feminist ingenue she always longed to be.

What inspired you to write The Night of Blue and Salt: At the time, I was reading a lot of Theatre of the Absurd for my classes and was acting in A Dream Play by Caryl Churchill. I started with this vision of a woman in a fur coat smoking outside her pool who lost her child. I knew the tragedy of losing of her child would provoke mental illness. From there, I began researching mental illness, and I found it difficult understanding the medical jargon. Through this research, I discovered her husband. He would speak in medical jargon and she would speak in poetry and they would just barely communicate.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love absurdist theater. I think that’s why I love reality TV (see below) because it is a sort of hyperbolic version of daily life. I love love stories. Also, I am always reading and seeking poetry – Richard Siken, Billy Collins, Sylvia Plath, Elise Cowen, etc.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I would love to work with Caryl Churchill on theater.

What show have you recommended to your friends?:Old Times by Harold Pinter

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I would choose Emmy Rossum. The movie would be called The girl in the pink coat. I have an amazing hot pink wool coat that seems to exemplify me well.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: I would love to see the original Spring Awakening performed for the first time in the early 1900’s.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Reality shows (Real Housewives of Everywhere)

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be ____?: Writing cheesy romantic novels

What’s up next?: Hopefully something great!!

By Michael Block

In Tyler Andrew Jones’ The Marks You Leave, estranged siblings are reunited in New York only to have their familiar bond put to the test. The Marks You Leave is a new kind of queer family drama. Georgette left her family almost a decade ago after coming out. She now lives in the big city with her girlfriend, Maggie. When Georgette's brother Ashler suddenly arrives after an alleged family scuffle, Asher and Maggie try to patch up the past while handling a litany of new problems and discoveries. The Marks You Leave tackles race and sexuality in biting fashion. Though he drops the occasional forced plot point, Jones has a strong foundation. The characters are engaging. The story is relatable. Jones has room to build up. Whether intentionally written for himself or not, Jones plays the role of Asher, the fragile sibling battling family ties and himself. Asher is by far the most captivating of the bunch. How much of a pawn is he? Does his infatuation with Clark make him gay or is he simply going on a journey of discovery? Jones can undoubtedly expand Asher, as he is the fulcrum of this story. The play is broken into two acts with a lot of information. Jones has some fluff that can be eliminate in order to build some of the other characters and relationships. Especially Maggie. Jones encapsulates a fantastic discussion on labels in sexuality and Maggie is a prime source. Simply inserting a line or two early on about Maggie and her sexual history and preferences will allow the shock value to be earned and not be as puzzling. The other question Jones’ script poses is time. Was year important to the story? Jones drops a reference to the 2011 New York Philharmonic production of Company. It's a very specific reference and if it's not essential, perhaps he can find a less pointed reference.

Bringing this play to life, director Mia Crivello found some brilliance within. She allowed the story to speak for itself, opting for a barebones feel. Scenic designer Tanner Cosgrove taped out Georgette and Maggie's apartment to give the idea of a structure. With no actual furniture, cubes formed everything. With the focus on the text, the subtleties were highlighted. This is a play that lives in pauses yet the silences aren't quite earned when the tempo is consultant and slow. Overall, Crivello needed to amp up the pacing. Even though the timeline of the play takes place over the course of a couple days, costume designer Allison Dawe kept the actors in one single look. They all worked, though the workout attire for Maggie did seem like an accident.
This was a cast of fighters and lovers. Rebecca Teran was genuine and sweet as Maggie. Even in her bout of betrayal, you understood her, giving her a little pass. Kristina King was a spitfire living in constant turmoil. King's Georgette may have been a lost soul, but her strength came out by the end. Daniel Rowan made Clark a soft sided queer character. Even though sex was a key characteristic, there was more to Rowan's Clark.
The Marks You Leave is a great story. Tyler Andrew Jones has crafted a play worth telling. Over time and revisions, The Marks You Leave can reach the next level.

Name: Kelly Maxwell

Hometown: Muscatine, Iowa

Education: University of Iowa - Iowa City and University of Wisconsin - Madison (Art); East-West College of the Healing Arts, Portland, Oregon (Massage Therapy)

Favorite Credits: Monkey Business Institute improv comedy troupe member

Why theater?: It lets me use all my best powers such as my listening powers, my creativity powers, my pretending powers, and my cooperation powers. Theater is where I feel most comfortable using my voice, both the one that comes from my throat and the one that comes from my heart. Every show is a new life.

Tell us about HELD: A Musical Fantasy: I think HELD had been building in my subconscious for about 20 years. For me, it's about emotional repression and release. It's visceral and personal and I'm so glad I got it out of myself and into the world. I'm proud of myself and proud of this show. It was my first full-length script.

What inspired you to create HELD: A Musical Fantasy?: The collaborative energy between myself and my writing partner, Meghan Rose. Working with her is what inspired me to create this beautiful thing.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Shows that are honest, shows that make me feel things, shows that are surprising, performances that are true and present. I love it when I can tell everyone on the team is in love with their part. I like theater that shows me worlds that are different from mine. Going to see live, local music is almost always inspiring to me. Performing or watching improv does it for me, too, in a big way. Challenges inspire me.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: My son, Jonas. He's four years old now and when he's a little older, if he's into it, I would love to collaborate with him on some kind of performance project. He's the best there ever was.

What show have you recommended to your friends?:Here: The Improvised Musical by Tara DeFrancisco and Rance Rizzutto at iO Chicago

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Kristen Bell stars as Kelly Maxwell in "I'm a Grown-Up", the movie critics are calling "irritatingly delightful", "surprisingly dark", and "only one hour long".

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: I'm trying to think of one but I don't think I feel guilty about my pleasures.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Writing more songs, playing more music, being sad that I wasn't working in theater.

What’s up next?:Playscapes, written and directed by Kelly Maxwell (that's me!) at Broom Street Theatre, October-November 2016. Playscapes is a scripted show with a structure inspired by an improv form called the Harold. It is nine scenes about play, featuring seven of Madison's most excellent actresses.

By Michael Block

It's an age old story. Your car breaks down, the tow truck operator happens to be the brother of your high school sweetheart. Sparks fly. The brother appears. Drama ensues. Truths are revealed. And that's the story. Phoebe Farber's Jump It is a play that brings the past to the present for the past to be rehashed. To be blunt, the predictability factor was off the charts. A super desperate housewife named Wendy lusts over Stu, the brother of her old flame. She's lonely. He's depressed. They need each other in this moment. Meanwhile Ray has returned to Jersey from a life in LA where he just seems to cause problems for both Wendy and Stu. Finding the point of Jump It is a bit difficult. The story isn't refreshing or new. Every thing you think would happen does. Each character was dealing with so many things at once that none of it was fleshed out and meaningful. Finding one particular woe will help flesh out these individuals.

photo by Ze Castle

Gama Valle's direction was simple. With the situation naturally being dramatic, Valle helped the company find beats of comedy. Even though this was a work of theater, the theatrical moments felt out of place. The dance interludes didn't seem rationalized in this world. It's always nice to have transition music to cover up a scene shift. Except when it's the same, exact song. And one that song Valle picked sounded like bad 80's TV drama.
The trio of Jump It created characters that were familiar. With lust on her mind from start to finish, Bethany Geraghty's Wendy felt weak. She infused some wonderful flashes of humor but this character is not a strong character. As brothers Stu and Ray, Philip Cruise and Eli Ganias exposed just how different siblings can be.
It's important when taking a character on a journey that they experience some change or realization that makes the journey worth taking. Sadly the characters in Jump It ended exactly where they started. It was a blip in their lives that could easily be erased.

Name: Haley Sullivan

Hometown: Carrollton, VA

Education: The Governor’s School for the Arts, Theatre Department, and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Acting.

Favorite Credits: Viola in Twelfth Night, Ruth in The Matthew Portraits, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth: The Prophecies, and Jess in Canuck Downunder

Why theater?: There is no greater feeling than bringing people together through the most human moments and feelings in our lives, and unlike any other art-form, theatre does it live, right in front of you, and for a moment, you can believe that what is happening before you is real. It’s one thing to connect to a character and their journey through a page, it’s another thing entirely to see them breathing and living before you. It’s very special to see your favorite story told with you in the same room. And, selfishly, I love being able to bring that story to life for someone.

Who do you play in Canuck Downunder?: Jess

Tell us about Canuck Downunder: It’s a really special story. It’s based on something that really happened, which always gives the experience a lot of weight and heart. Inherently it means something different to be playing real people. It’s the story of a young woman who suddenly looses her brother to a drug overdose, and who’s forced to grieve that death almost entirely through the use of technology. Really, it’s about the way we are able to connect emotionally across the world thanks to social media, but also how there are no boundaries, no safe places, and how easy it is to exploit something like death these days. It’s about abandonment, the ways people cope with loss, and
It’s also about learning to let go - which is, I think, pretty universal.

What is it like being a part of Canuck Downunder?: Honestly, it is such an honor. Everyone involved is so committed, so professional and so full of heart. I don’t think we can ask for much more as artists than being involved in a project that tells an important story, which is written well, directed well, and acted well. It’s also just so much fun - everyone laughs a lot.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Any theatre that strives to start conversations about what’s really happening in our country and our world. I’m particularly drawn to theatre that tells the stories of minorities, women, the LGBTQ community.. people who’s stories sometimes get buried and should be brought to life. Generally new plays. My hero at the moment is Kate McKinnon, but always Viola Davis and Cate Blanchett. Just so much respect for their work.

Any roles you’re dying to play?: I’d love to play Kim in a play called The Other Thing written by Emily Schwend. It’s basically a feminist ghost story, which is about all I could ask for in a play.

What’s your favorite showtune?: If I had to pick? “Take Me or Leave me” from Rent. I couldn’t tell you why other than it’s just so much fun to sing.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I really want to work with Saoirse Ronan. She’s just someone I admire so much - but the list of people goes on and on.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: It’d probably be called something related to gender equality and I’d love to make a cameo like Peter Jackson did in The Fellowship. Just a creepy dude eating a carrot. Something really bizarre and hilarious.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Hamlet. There was a production of Hamlet I was dying to see and I didn’t - and I’m still heartbroken that I missed it.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Disney. As a whole.

What’s up next?: Next, I’m hoping to get my own play on it’s feet and read out loud. It’s something I’m very passionate about and it’ll be my first play worked on by anyone other than myself, so I’m very excited!

Trolling Time with...Scott Lilly

Spotlight On...Pooya Mohseni

Spotlight On...Jon Spano

Spotlight On...Rory Lance

Spotlight On...Allen Warnock

Trolling Time with...Michael Bradley

Spotlight On...Adam Roberts

Review: Launch The Comedy Rocket!

Spotlight On...Zoe Kamil

Spotlight On...Ali Kennedy Scott

Spotlight On...Alex Van Handel

Spotlight On...Elizabeth Ostler

Review: Law and Order and Romance

Spotlight On...Kevin R. Free

Review: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Spotlight On...Jenna Langbaum

Review: All in the Family Drama

Spotlight On...Kelly Maxwell

Review: Car (and Relationship) Failure

Spotlight On...Haley Sullivan