Category: TBB Interviews

TBB Interviews

NYNW Theatre Festival: Meet Robert Cooperman & The Flower Stand

LOGO_BUG+TYPE-resized-2-1_blkbg (1)The play is the story of Elisa, a street flower vendor, who tries to determine why octogenarian Mr. Goldberg buys a bouquet each and every day. Elisa’s various and sundry notions as to Mr. Goldberg’s motivations serve as the catalyst for the action as she puts her theories to the test throughout the piece.

Originally from Queens, New York, Cooperman now resides in Columbus, Ohio where he is an Adjunct Professor of English and Theatre at Ohio University, Lancaster. He is also the host of the weekly Blog Talk Radio show “Stage Right,” which seeks underrepresented voices in theatre. As a playwright he has had productions of his work in New York and Ohio; most recently his full-length play, Kate ‘n’ Spence, was produced by the Evolution Theatre Company in Columbus, Ohio. In addition to playwriting, Cooperman has served as the director of the ETC Local Playwright’s Festival and was a previous winner of that festival with his play “Shut Up, Mr. Mandelbaum.” He is proud to feature the work of his children in this production.

Where is your hometown? My hometown is Columbus, Ohio (but I am originally from Queens, NY).

What was the last show that you worked on and where? I directed a play entitled “Sea Change” for the ETC Local Playwright’s Festival in Columbus.

Why submit to a festival like this? The NYNW Festival is prestigious and full of possibilities, so any playwright who wants to get noticed would be foolish not to submit a play. The mere chance of even one performance in Manhattan should be enough to motivate playwrights—and I was so motivated!

PERFORMANCE:  August 17th at 7:00 PM

LOCATION: The Times Square Arts Center, 300 W 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036.

TICKETS: Click HERE to purchase tickets.

The NYNW Theatre Festival is located in the world’s premier theater district at The Elektra Theatre in the Times Square Arts Center, and is a short play competition where the audience casts their votes to select the best play of the season.

Playwrights from all over the country will present their shows and have the chance to move from the First Round to the Semi-Finals, and then the Finals, where a winner will be selected.

The First Round of the NYNW Festival shows will be presented August 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th. The Semi-Final rounds will be August 31st and September 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The Finals will be held September 16th.

http://www.nynwtheatrefestival.com/

by Categories: New York New Works Theatre Festival, NYC Theatre, TBB Interviews 1 Comment

NYNW Theatre Festival: Meet Davis Alianiello & Make Your Acquaintance

LOGO_BUG+TYPE-resized-2-1_blkbg (1)Davis Alianiello is from Providence, RI. His plays have been performed by schools and colleges in nineteen states, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, and Jordan.

Make Your Acquaintance is about terrible people having lunch. Some of them die; others fall in love, one with a pair of pants. It’s about following your dreams, meaning both your goals and the thought-vomit that runs through your head while you sleep. More so the latter.

I’m excited for Make Your Acquaintance to have its New York debut, and it’s especially exciting to be one of many new works in a festival devoted to new work. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to have my work seen.
PERFORMANCE:  August 17th at 7:00 PM

LOCATION: The Times Square Arts Center, 300 W 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036.

TICKETS: Click HERE to purchase tickets.

The NYNW Theatre Festival is located in the world’s premier theater district at The Elektra Theatre in the Times Square Arts Center, and is a short play competition where the audience casts their votes to select the best play of the season.

Playwrights from all over the country will present their shows and have the chance to move from the First Round to the Semi-Finals, and then the Finals, where a winner will be selected.

The First Round of the NYNW Festival shows will be presented August 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th. The Semi-Final rounds will be August 31st and September 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The Finals will be held September 16th.

http://www.nynwtheatrefestival.com/

by Categories: Random Musings, TBB Interviews 1 Comment

NYNW Theatre Festival: Meet Christopher Travlos & Two Princes

LOGO_BUG+TYPE-resized-2-1_blkbg (1)Two Princes by Christopher Travlos

What is the real difference between gay and straight? Do we decide who we love? Where does friendship end and romance begin? Secondhand Theatre Company presents a new play by Christopher Travlos—“Two Princes”: the story of two young men navigating their way through their sexual desires. Watch the friendship of Reid and Mitchell reach the breaking point as orientation is challenged, friendships are broken around them, and lies are told to each other and to themselves. Is their bond strong enough to survive sexual need? Or will it crumble in front of them, unable to withstand the fluidity of sexuality?

Where is your hometown?  Berkeley, California

What was the last show that you worked on and where? Writing wise–workshopped this very piece in Montreal at McGill University. Acting–last piece was Slaughterhouse-5 at the Fringe Festival 2013.

Why submit to a festival like this? Festivals like this keep new and fresh playwrights and plays happening! Without emerging and smaller festivals (with big support) there would be no outlets for those of us who need a hand making connections and meeting new faces.

PERFORMANCE:  August 17th at 7:00 PM

LOCATION: The Times Square Arts Center, 300 W 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036.

TICKETS: Click HERE to purchase tickets.

The NYNW Theatre Festival is located in the world’s premier theater district at The Elektra Theatre in the Times Square Arts Center, and is a short play competition where the audience casts their votes to select the best play of the season.

Playwrights from all over the country will present their shows and have the chance to move from the First Round to the Semi-Finals, and then the Finals, where a winner will be selected.

The First Round of the NYNW Festival shows will be presented August 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th. The Semi-Final rounds will be August 31st and September 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. The Finals will be held September 16th.

http://www.nynwtheatrefestival.com/

by Categories: New York New Works Theatre Festival, NYC Theatre, TBB Interviews 1 Comment

Meet the Ushers (Part 2): Two Viewpoints on Attending the Theatre

Yesterday was about the experience of going to the theatre. Today we’ll meet two characters, Queen Gwendolyn and Rona Do Ya Wanna, who have very clear viewpoints on being a patron. Meet them and 9 others in Jessica Elkin’s Rise of the Usher.

 

photo (13)Queen Gwendolyn on her preparation for going to the theater.

Frankly, before I prepare myself to even enter a theater, I make sure that I am dressed properly. To me the theater is a sacred place and I rise to the occasion by wearing my pearls, mink stole, gloves, and a veiled hat. A visit to the performing arts library is also a necessity as part of my preparation if the show happens to be a revival. Every review, book, and film that I can get a hold of before I see the show has been carefully viewed in order for me to have some feeling of competency for what I am preparing myself to see. When I go to the theater I need at least a month of preparation for such endeavors, now if someone wants to provide me with comps, then I may make an exception.

 

photo (12)

Rona Do Ya Wanna  on going to the theater.

Well, some of my questions for going to the theater are:

  1. Who’s paying?
  2. Are drinks included?
  3. What about dinner and desert?
  4. And the most important thing is: are there any hot men in the show? Any nudity?

If all or at least a few of these elements are included then I’m game.

Come see what one usher will do to rise to the top of an ant hill.

July 14th – July 26th

Davenport Theatre, Black Box at 354 West 45th Street

Click HERE for more info.

by Categories: Independent Theatre, New York City, NYC Theatre, TBB InterviewsTags: , , Leave a comment

Meet the Ushers (Part 1)

photo (14)In light of the latest Patti Lupone‘s stand against blatant use of cell phones in the theatre, I thought about my own experiences in the theatre. Now it is absolutely true that my upcoming project, Rise of the Usher written and performed by Jessica Elkin, is about the theatre experience. I have had many wonderful and awful experiences.

I’ll start with one of the worst. I purchased seats for a weekday matinee performance of a play on Broadway. The leads were A-List actors and I was super excited to see the play with my friend. Throughout the entire performance, audience members were whispering, eating, and texting throughout the performance. The ushers did NOTHING. I was just in shock because how often does one get to see this caliber of actors on stage. And the closing monologues was breathtaking!

My best experience is whenever an unruly patron is asked to leave. I have seen that a few times and the ushers have never been rude about it. Just “you gotta go”.

Here are the experiences of the producer and director of Rise of the Usher:

Danielle Gautier, General Manager:

My best usher experience was actually at a Brooklyn Nets basketball game this past April. My 84-year old grandmother was standing up for the t-shirt toss that the Nets dance team does at each game. None of the t-shirts were tossed her way and one of the ushers nearby spotted the slight disappointment on her face about this. He went out of his way to find a Nets employee, who could grab a t-shirt for my grandmother and then handed the t-shirt to her. The smile on her face was priceless and he really made her game experience extra special by doing that.

My worst usher experience was at a Broadway show a few years ago as an audience member. There were many other audience members texting, talking, eating loudly and doing other distracting things during the performance. I had never seen such rude behavior. What was worse is that the ushers did nothing to silence anyone or anything. They just sat back and watched the show. It had to be distracting to the performers on-stage if it was that distracting me even as an audience member.
Mary Catherine Donnelly, Director:

My best experience with an usher was after I had waited out in the bitter cold to see the last performance of Waiting for Godot with Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart on March 29, 2014. I froze my *ss off waiting on line for hours, getting up at 3am for tickets since I never knew when I’d be able to see Ian McKellan onstage again.

Finally…after  hours of clock watching, holding places for other hopefuls’ coffee and  bathroom breaks and waiting for the sun to come up for some warmth, I  arrive to the box office with cash for me and my friend Ana who was at home with her kids in Jersey so she couldn’t wait with me this time. I make the cut off! I get TWO tickets!

I return to the theatre for the performance after napping and showering, meet Ana outside The Cort and soon a very handsome carmel skinned usher with big brown eyes in his 20’s takes Ana and I up to our seats….which turn out to be way up in the boxes. I thought “well that can’t be so bad it’s a balcony!” But it was bad. It was an obstructed view. I asked him if there were any other seats. He apologized and said that the show was sold out.

We had to lean over very far, practically on top of each other and did not see the scenes performed under this “overhang” (!).I froze for HOURS to have Ian McKellan performing underneath my butt! I don’t think so.

My strategy was to snag the 2 empty seats in the 2nd row that I spotted during the bits I couldn’t see. They were center on the aisle… Ana and I made a beeline at intermission to snag those seats.

We no sooner go to sit than the patron in the 3rd seat from the aisle  who would be next to us said we “couldn’t sit there because they weren’t  our seats.” I told her about our balcony bust and asked her if they were her seats because they had been empty during Act 1. She said “No, but you can’t sit here because they are not your seats.” I said “but if they’re not your seats why can’t we sit here?” She said again “you cannot sit here because they are not your seats.”

Now I had to have those seats. Her killjoy factor alone made me want to pimp out my friend Ana with her even post baby model body to seduce the hot usher who took us up to the box seats who was now in the orchestra seating people. But I decided to tell him the truth: “these 2 seats were empty during intermission and we can’t see a thing up there. So when we tired to sit in these seats this lady in the 3rd seat said “we couldn’t sit there because they were not our seats. Would you help us?”

The usher turns and escorts Ana and I down to the 2nd row center, looking fiercely at the woman who didn’t want us in the seats and proceeds to seat us, gave a quick smile and off he went.  I saw Act II of the last performance of Waiting for Godot in the 2nd row center!!! Ian was practically in our lap.  It was a thrill to see Ian McKellan’s specific physicality and expressions and his chemistry with Patrick Stewart. The handsome mystery usher gave me the best seats I’d ever had, a good story and being the recipient of a random act his kindness.

Come see what one usher will do to rise to the top of an ant hill.

July 14th – July 26th

Davenport Theatre, Black Box at 354 West 45th Street

Click HERE for more info.

by Categories: Independent Theatre, New York City, NYC Theatre, TBB Interviews, TheaterTags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment