Meet Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld and Marry Me a Little

Name: Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld

What is your current project?

Marry Me A Little (in rep with You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown)

Where are you performing it and why is it the right fit for your piece?

We are performing at The Gallery Players. The space has the kind of intimacy that the piece requires. It is just two actors and a piano on stage for 70 minutes. That’s it! It wouldn’t work as well in a larger house. In this theatre, we can create the kind of safe space that is necessary for the actors and the audience to really dive in emotionally.

What’s next for you?

I am also a voice actor and my newest cartoon called “Nella the Princess Knight” premieres on Nick Jr. on February 6th. You can also hear me on your TV every Saturday morning on Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Regal Academy.

Who is your biggest inspiration right at this moment and why?

I would have to say my collaborators on this piece are my biggest inspiration right now. Building these characters has truly been a team effort among the three rotating casts, and it has been an incredible experience to see how the exact same given circumstances and blocking can create wildly different characters and moments on stage. Everyone has shown up with extreme generosity, lack of ego, and a readiness to play, and I feel so grateful to be in the room where it’s happening.

Want More?

Website: alysonleighrosenfeld.com

Twitter: @AlysonRosenfeld

Instagram: @alysonleighrosenfeld

Alyson was last seen in Seussical, The Baker’s Wife, Emma (TGP), Fish in a Tree (MMAC), The Last Cyclist (West End Theatre), Opa! The Musical (dir. Dan Knechtges), All The Rats and Rags (Joe’s Pub). Last heard: “Pokémon” (Disney XD), “Yu-Gi-Oh!”, “Regal Academy” (Nickelodeon). BFA: NYU Tisch. Proud member of AEA & SAG-AFTRA.


Show information (venue, dates, ticket info)

The Gallery Players

199 14th St. Brooklyn, NY 11215

January 26th – February 18th

Tickets can be purchased at www.galleryplayers.com

Join Ghostlight Project TONIGHT!

IMG_8693.PNGTONIGHT, January 19 at 5:30 PM

On January 19, 2017 at 5:30 pm in each time zone across the country, members of the theatre community (from Broadway to regional theatres to high schools and colleges and community theatres) will gather in front of theatres and art spaces to launch The Ghostlight Project. This collective action will signify an ongoing commitment to social justice in the coming years, taking a variety of forms and actions for individual artists and institutions.

Inspired by the tradition of leaving a “ghost light” on in a darkened theater, artists and communities will make or renew a pledge to stand for and protect the values of inclusion, participation, and compassion for everyone—regardless of race, class, religion, country of origin, immigration status, (dis)ability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

Many of you already serve as models for people newer to community engagement. We need not be uniform, but should be united as a field in championing our values. Continue to work daily/weekly/monthly for social justice in your world.

CLICK HERE to see Ghostlight Project’s website for host theaters around the country.

Here’s an incomplete list of New York City “hubs” you are welcome to join tonight at 5:30pm:

Midtown Manhattan
Times Square (on the red steps) and the ART/New York Theatres, 53rd Street/10th Avenue

Downtown Manhattan
The Public Theater and HERE Arts Center

Uptown Manhattan
The National Black Theatre

Downtown Brooklyn
The steps of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)

Bushwick, Brooklyn
Bushwick Starr

The Ghostlight Project is: Claudia Alick, Saheem Ali, Daniel Beaty, Alexandra Billings, Sammi Cannold, P. Carl, Rachel Chavkin, Lear deBessonet, Sarah Flamm, Rachel Hauck, David Henry Hwang, Christine Jones, Moisés Kaufman, Mia Katigbak, Jenny Koons, Lisa Kron, Tina Landau, Lorin Latarro, Zhailon Livingston, Rebecca Martinez, Jennifer McGrath, Okieriete Onaodowan, Lisa Peterson, Sam Pinkleton, Clint Ramos, Randy Reyes, Leigh Silverman, Kristyn Smith, Jeanine Tesori, Liesl Tommy, Stephanie Ybarra, David Zinn, and YOU.

For more information and to sign up
to participate, please visit:
http://www.theghostlightproject.com  

 

Meet Cassandra Dupler (Marry Me a Little & You’re a Good Man…)

Name: Cassandra Dupler

What is your current project?

I am currently playing Woman in MARRY ME A LITTLE, as well as the female swing in YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN.

Where are you performing it and why is it the right fit for your piece?

The Gallery Players theatre is a wonderful, intimate setting which allows the actors to connect with the audience in an extraordinary way. This is ideal for the material we’re singing in “Marry Me a Little”. Our show is about the personal lives of two ordinary people, home alone on a Saturday night. Gallery’s theatre gives the audience an opportunity to get a personal, almost one-on-one glimpse into their private moments.

What’s next for you?

I’m back to auditioning, searching and hoping to do a piece as meaningful as this one.
Who is your biggest inspiration right at this moment and why?
My great aunt, Carol Sawyer, (the original Fruma-Sarah in the 1964 Broadway production of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF) has had an incredible impact on my life. As long as I can remember, we’ve talked about theatre, preparing for auditions and roles, and so much more. She has shared her personal insights about her Broadway and summer stock experiences at Tamiment. I grew up hearing anecdotes about such legends as Jerome Robbins, Zero Mostel, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Leonard Bernstein, Neil Simon, Hal Prince and George Abbott, to name a few. She helped give me a deep foundation and a unique perspective on the world of theatre.

Want More?

Website: www.cassandradupler.com

NYC credits: MARRY ME A LITTLE (Woman), YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN (female swing) at The Gallery Players (upcoming!), FIRST COMMUNION (Barefoot Theatre, starring Anna Chlumsky)

Regional credits: SISTER ACT (Sister Mary Patrick) at The Fireside Theatre, THE NOTEWORTHY LIFE OF HOWARD BARNES (Maggie-lead) in Kooman & Dimond’s musical at the Goodspeed Opera House, GYPSY (Electra) at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, starring Leslie Uggams.

Other favorite roles: THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE (Mrs. Meers), ON THE TOWN (Hildy Esterhazy), CAROUSEL (Carrie Pipperidge), LES MISERABLES (Madame Thenardier), SMILE (Maria Gonzales), THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (Katherine), MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (Beatrice), TWELFTH NIGHT (Olivia), YOU OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES (Libby Tucker), THE GINGERBREAD LADY (Polly Meara), THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT (Doris W.), THE TIN WOMAN (Sammy), BERMUDA AVENUE TRIANGLE (Rita), WEST SIDE STORY (Rosalia), WORKING (Rose Hoffman), BOOK OF DAYS (Ruth Hoch), SCAPIN (Zerbinette)

Proud graduate of the Hartt School, BFA in Music Theatre


Show information (venue, dates, ticket info)

The Gallery Players
http://galleryplayers.com/news/marry-me-a-little-youre-a-good-man-charlie-brown/

Review: Fringe of Humanity

As I got out of my seat, putting my sweater back on, it hit me that I just came off a roller coaster that just kept going up and doing spirals for 106 minutes. The play opens with high energy salsa in the background and a charged opening monologue by Calderon himself. That can at times be worrisome because the only place to go is higher and sometimes  a script doesn’t work out that way. That doesn’t happen here. The talented and giving ensemble pulls the audience into the hotel room and continues  to build the energy to a fever pitch as the story unfolds. Paul Calderon’s Fringe of Humanity is a high- octane, cocaine-fueled explosion of storytelling that keeps you glued to the next word, action, moment.

Fringe of Humanity tells the story of a director, Nick Valdez (played by Paul Calderon), finalizing his script before filming begins and the unredeemable  characters that contribute to the hour and forty-six minutes of mayhem. As they sort out their own defects of characters through the seven deadly sins,  the world outside is also violently crumbling.

I so enjoy watching actors enjoy their craft. Paul Calderon wears three hats as playwright, director and actor. Calderon’s strong and passionate writing lays the groundwork for his ensemble actors to embody his words.  His direction freed the ensemble to raise the stakes of their characters. The energy put forth by  David Zayas (Ross Gausmann), William Rothlein (Ken “Patch” Kelly), Rebecca Nyahay (Liz Gausmann), Luke Smith (Pierce), Alex Emanuel (Ryan), Jakob Von Eichel (Steve), Jessica Damouni (Vicky), and Feliz Ramirez (Crissy) is palpable in the space.

FRINGE OF HUMANITY stars David Zayas, Paul Calderon, William Rothlein, Rebecca Nyahay, Luke Smith, Alex Emanuel, Jakob Von Eichel, Jessica Damouni, Feliz Ramirez, Greg Prosser (understudy) and Nixon Cesar (understudy).  The production team includes Catherine Calderon (co-director, associate producer), Montgomery Mauro (lighting), Sebastian Mitre (assistant to the director, associate producer), Lindsey Hurly (stage manager), and Sarah Norris (producer).

FRINGE OF HUMANITY runs January 11 – 28, Wednesday – Saturday at 8pm with an additional 3pm matinee on Saturday, Jan. 21.  Access Theater is located at 380 Broadway on the 4th floor (at White Street) — accessible from the A/C/E/N/Q/R/6 trains at Canal Street or the 1 train at Franklin. Tickets are $18 at http://www.BrownPaperTickets.com.

 

Luck Be A Lady…This Lady

There was a moment during my end of year vacation when I realized that I really threw myself into creating theatre in different ways and didn’t even realize I was doing that. I worked on various projects that touched on commercial theatre, independent theatre and community theatre. I worked on cabarets, readings, festivals. All unique in their structures but with the same passion.

I was asked “why theatre?” in an interview with Theater in the Now. I answered that I ask myself this all the time because I do wonder. How did I get lucky to fall in love with this art form? How did I lucky to meet so many wonderful artists creating around the world? How did I get lucky to be able to do this as a career? Well, here’s an interesting thing about me. I don’t actually believe in luck. Luck to me is preparation plus opportunity. As it is for the many artists out in the world sharing their stories. It looks easy but the level of hard work, sweat and tears to put on a show is often not known.

I know. I enjoy interviewing the artists for this column. I know what they’ve done to get to where they are. So as we kick off 2017, let’s continue to create and share and support.

If you would like to share your current project being produced beyond Broadway, comment below or tweet me.

See you at the show!
Malini

Meet Jason Lasky & Last Exit Before You’re Off The Grid

jasonName: Jason Lasky

What is your current project? 

Last Exit Before You’re Off The Grid. This started out as a play about America in the future, but I conceived of it way before this past November. After the 8th, it seemed rather funny I’d had these thoughts, and then I went ahead and made some more specific references.

Where are you performing it and why is it the right fit for your piece?

The Secret Theatre’s Act One: One Act 2017 A Short Play Festival. ST thinks it’s a good fit with the other plays they’re showcasing each night.

What’s next for you?

I am currently in Nairobi, Kenya working as the Head of Drama at an international school and am actively working on several theater projects: my full-length drama 40 Days of Night (supported by a grant from Theatre Communications Group and the Moscow chapter of the International Theatre Institute) for a premiere in Russia; a full-length tragicomedy co-written with my wife that ties Kenya and China together; a one-woman show; a one-man show; a physical theatre, Butoh-inspired piece for the ITI’s 35th World Congress in Spain this coming summer; I am leading drama teacher training for a group of LAMDA teachers in Nairobi; and I am talking with the the national coordinator of the Zimbabwe Centre of the ITI to lead movement workshops for the next generation of theatre artists in the spring- all this while finishing up my dual IB Teacher Certification and Masters of Education, for which I’ve maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout the last four semesters, and raising my son and daughter with the most supportive woman in my world.

Who is your biggest inspiration right at this moment and why?

It’s a toss-up between my wife and me. It’s her because she’s got a million and one complete plays in her head. It’s me because I’m the one figuring out how to bring those to life while also breathing life into mine.

Want More?

Website: www.jasonlasky.com; www.40daysofnight.strikingly.com
Twitter: @j_lasky_writer

Jason Lasky is a playwright, actor, director and teacher. He is an alumnus of the Actors Studio Drama School MFA Playwriting program. He is the co-founder of Shanghai’s 5th Wall Theater and J. Lasky Productions, an international theatre company dedicated. His play Rendezvous: A Tragicomedy, co-authored with his wife Svetlana and presented at Shanghai LGBT’s Pride 6, was the first English-language play addressing transgendered identity in mainland China. His plays have been performed on three continents and translated into Chinese and Russian, and his one act play Mend the Envelope was published in QU Literary Journal in January 2016. His latest collaboration in Murmansk, Russia, 40 Days of Night, has been made possible through Theatre Communication Group’s On the Road grant. He has been publicized internationally, most recently in ITI-info magazine. Jason is currently the Head of Drama at Hillcrest International School in Nairobi, Kenya.


Show information (venue, dates, ticket info)
The Secret Theatre
44-02 23rd Street
Long Island City, NY 11101
E, M, G or 7 train to Courthouse SQ/23rd St.
ONLY ONE SUBWAY STOP FROM MANHATTAN

Thursday 1/ 12 @ 7:30pm
Sunday 1/ 15 @ 5pm
Friday 1/ 20 @ 7:30pm
Sunday 1/ 22 @ 2pm
Tuesday 1/ 24 @ 7:30pm
Finals 1/28 @7:30 pm

TICKETS: http://aooa2017.bpt.me/
AT-DOOR: $18
ADVANCED: $15
Use Promo Code ‘early bird’ by January 7th
ANY (4) PERFORMANCES: $55 (must purchase 4 individual tickets….write to box@secrettheatre.com to select your dates)

2017: Desire, Ask, Believe, Receive + 1 More

My personal mantra for a long time. There’s also this:

Be in action.

If there is something that’s calling to you and you have yet to do it, then place an intention (desire), give it to the universe (ask), know that it will come to be (believe) and then wait for it to manifest (receive). It’s not magical thinking. Sometimes they come to fruition fast and sometimes they take a while. I set an intention in June and it manifested this week. I had to take a step back to absorb the reality of the situation. It was pretty cool.

The main part of this though is being in action around that intention. The Theatre Beyond Broadway Community continues to grow as more artists are stepping into their own and producing beautiful work. I thank each of you who have contributed to my site and continue to share your art. It doesn’t have to be magnanimous. It can be. If Broadway is your dream, go for it. If indie theatre is your scene, then yes! If you want to do one show a year at your local community theatre, do it. Yours truly spent 2016 in all those worlds. More to follow on that on my Beyond Broadway column for The Write Teacher(s).

So what’s in your heart? And how can I support you?  Or better yet, how can you stand by you!

Happy 2017! See you at the show.

 

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Meet Walk Up Arts & A Play About Drew Carey

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What is your current project? A PLAY ABOUT DREW CAREY

Where are you performing it and why is it the right fit for your piece?

We’re performing in Speyer Hall at University Settlement, in the Lower East Side. Having seen and performed in this space before, we was very excited to work there again. We like working in spaces that feel like one big room, which Speyer Hall is, as opposed to formal theatre spaces, which we feel emphasize the separation between audience and performer. A PLAY ABOUT DREW CAREY is all about facilitating connection, and this space allows us to do so on a level that is more approachable than in a theatre where the audience sits many feet away from the stage, lights obscuring them from the performers’ gaze, hidden in plain sight.

What’s next for you?

We’re not sure what’s next after A PLAY ABOUT DREW CAREY, largely because we haven’t even charted the full life of this play yet – just this first production. If the production really works in the way that we’re all anticipating it will, then we’re going to make plans to prolong the life of the show. Because A PLAY ABOUT DREW CAREY is heavily improvised, and uses a lot of audience participation, we believe that it would be possible to continue performing it for a long time without the play stagnating. Hopefully we’ll get to see if that’s true!

Other projects we’re developing include our first musical, workshops for a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and a two person Orestia. But right now we’re focusing on what calls to us, and reveling in the joy of not needing to plan too far ahead just yet.

Who is your biggest inspiration right at this moment and why?
Philip Santos Schaffer (Playwright) : I’ve been thinking a lot recently about El Gueguense, a play from Nicaragua that is considered to be one of the first forms of street theatre in the Americas. My mother is from Nicaragua, and I’ve been lucky to spend time there recently. Their political situation has gone through many different phases of corruption (from the Spanish occupation to the US occupation, from dictator to dictator), and one of their major modes of response in the arts is through humor. El Gueguense is a play that combines dance and humor with a cutting political core. The play uses laughter as a tool for unification – in which the action of laughing at one’s oppressor creates a sense of community. In our current political climate and heading into the next few years, I think we are going to be looking for many modes of expressing political thought. And, I think it is going to be important to explore every option. El Gueguense is political and humorous without falling into camp or satire, which I think can be rare in American theatre. So, I look forward to continuing to attempt this exploration, which I believe we’ve begun in A PLAY ABOUT DREW CAREY.

Want More?

Website: www.walkuparts.org
Instagram: @walkuparts

Mission Statement
WalkUpArts creates living works. We explore the audience-artist relationship through multi-disciplinary, intimate, and communal experiences. With an intent towards maintaining a social-consciousness, we engage with audiences through new works and original adaptations of classics.

In pursuit of our mission, WalkUpArts is determined to:

Experiment with form and content
Build a theater from questions
Create a space for people to make eye contact
Affect real change in the audience, ourselves, and the world

WalkUpArts: Follow Your What-Ifs


Show information (venue, dates, ticket info)
December 13 and 14 at 8pm at Speyer Hall at University Settlement – 184 Eldridge Street (Corner of Rivington), NY, NY 10002, Tickets at https://www.artful.ly/store/events/10672

Meet Kim Weston-Moran & The Diary of an Afro Goddess, REMEMBRIN’ ME!

Name:  Kim Weston-Moran

What is your current project?

The Diary of an Afro Goddess, REMEMBERIN’ ME! a healing journey back to self & Day of Absence!

Where are you performing it and why is it the right fit for your piece?

Producing The Diary of an Afro Goddess and REMEMBERIN’ ME! and performing in NEC’s 50th Anniversary performance of Day of Absence. Afro Goddess is presented at the World Famous Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe and the space is ideal because through out it’s history, the Nuyorican has presented on edge spoken word and avant-garde theatre. REMEMBERIN’ ME! is premiering in our new event, RA Pop-Up Family Theatre & Dinner at The Paul Robeson Freedom School, housed at St Luke’s and St. Matthews Church in Brooklyn. An ideal location for RM because our goal is to reach the community. Day of Abscence is being presented at Theatre 80 St. Marks, an historical space that was around when the Negro Ensemble Co. was founded down the block, 50 years ago.

What’s next for you?

After the above 3 projects, which end Dec 15th, RHYTHMCOLOR Associates will be presenting POTPOURRI! Part II – Work In Process, featuring a Backer’s Staged Reading of new play by Maryam Myika Day and directed by Elain Graham on January 10, 2017 at the National Black Theatre in Harlem, NY and directly after, RA will present our 2nd Annual Evening of Appreciation of Trailblazing Women & Institutions, January 29, 2017 at ART-NY South Oxford Space. For more information on all these projects:

Who is your biggest inspiration right at this moment and why?

My parents, always. The are both artists and taught me so many important cultural history and the importance of family.

Want More?

Website: www.rhythmcolorassociates.com
Twitter: @RHYTHMCOLOR21 and @KimWestonMoran1

KIM WESTON-MORAN (Actress/Producer/Director/Teacher). Kim is CEO of RA/RHYTHMCOLOR Associates and Founder/Producing Artistic Director of POTPOURRI! World Works Series, in it’s 8th year. She was Associate Prod. for the National Black Touring Circuit for 7 yrs. A veteran award-winning actress known for her character work. Kim has shared the stage with phenomenal artists, including: Minnie Gentry, Bill Gunn, Roxie Roker, Phyllcia Rashad, Gylan Kain, Patricia O’Connell, Anthony Chisholm, Ellen Dolan, S. Epatha Merkinson, Charles Weldon, Barbara Montgomery, Reggie Montgomery, Marjorie Johnson, Count Stovall, Bill Cobbs, Dominique Morisseau and Darnell Williams. Kim has been nominated for four AUDELCO Awards and won for Lead Actress in Don’t Explain with Ron Cephas Jones; directed by Rome Neal. Her most recent acting credits include: Negro Ensemble Company’s Workshop Production of SWING at La MaMa Theatre, and Crossroads Theatre Company’s’ premiere of AUTUMN by Richard Wesley. Kim also, directs, coaches, is an Acting Teacher with a focus on Basics for new and returning actors, writes; and her new passion is dramaturgy. Over the years, between acting gigs, teaching and activism; she presented several projects and supported several playwrights, including PJ Gibson, Sabura Rashid and OWA, PhD. Projects include: The Second Black Theatre In America Conference (Medgar Evers College); Eclectic Tuesday Nites (Perk’s Supper Club), for which she Hosted and presented over 200 comedians, singers, actors, Jazz and R&B groups; WE IN HARLEM, BABY! a performance and visual arts salon; ANOTHER SIDE OF A KING – Films and Literature of Woodie King, Jr. (received ART-NY Award). Film & Television credits include title role in Ayoka Chenzira’s Feature, Alma’s Rainbow and CBS’s Divorce Court. Ms. Weston-Moran is currently working with The Paul Robeson Freedom School Afterschool Program as an Arts Consultant.. kimwestonmeoran@gmail.com


Show information (venue, dates, ticket info)

The Diary of an Afro Goddess/www.nuyorican.org & $18 at door.

REMEMBERIN’ ME! a healing journey back to self

@The Paul Robeson Freedom School

520 Clinton Ave in Bklyn.

December 2, 2016 11am & 6pm.

Tickets $10.

The Day of Absence by Douglas Turner Ward; 50th Anniversary of the Negro Ensemble Co. December 4-15, 2016 http://www.necinc.org

Review: Roughly Speaking

Homelessness is not an easy subject to discuss. There’s an assumption made about the homeless: they are lazy and they don’t want to work. This untruth unfolds through the 200 interviews collated to create Roughly Speaking. The play introduces the chaos that mental illness, addiction, loss, and economic hardship creates in the lives of people who don’t have a place to call their own as well as the means to access the right care

Set on vast stage with crates, planks and flats that allow for different looks, director Celine Rosenthal beautifully executes the touching and raw reality that we see day-to-day in New York City. The play breaks the fourth wall with narrator/rapper, Lightning.Bolt (Steven J. Michel) who keeps us in check between set changes. Alicia (Madeline McCray) and Tiny (Danny Bolero) passionately play the “parents” of the soup kitchen they run where the play is set. We see that through their own stories and their service to their community that also have hopes and dreams. The talented ensemble support the harrowing stories by playing multiple characters with difficult circumstances and weaknesses. Kudos to Christopher Michael McLamb who flawlessly transforms into two characters, Richie and W,   through his entrances and exit and at times right in front of the audience.

Roughly Speaking featured talk-backs with members of various entities includimg Coalition for the Homeless, Xavier Mission, New York Cares, Convenant House  and visual artist Willie Baronet who created the We Are All Homeless Art Installation. This is their closing weekend so do be sure to support the show and it’s worthy cause.

Roughly Speaking directed by Celine Rosenthal (Broadway’s Leap of Faith & Seminar)
with Franz Jones* (Broadway’s Big River), Danny Bolero* (Broadway’s In The Heights & Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat), Christopher Michael McLamb*, Steven J. Michel*, Michael Twaine*, Madeline McCray*, Troy Valjean Rucker*, Shara Ashley Zeiger*, Joanie Anderson

*members of Actors Equity Association

Through 11/20 Thurs-Sat 8pm,

Sundays 11/20, 2pm

Tada Theater 15 w. 28th st, NYC

Tickets on Smarttix through http://www.theplatformgroup.org