The House of Ash

Why Children's Theater Matters...

2012-01-27T09:26:00.001-05:00

http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Why_Childrens_Theater_Matters/

Great article.

Building the all inclusive movement (and theatre company)

2012-01-12T11:50:00.007-05:00

As we continue to grow and gain more visibility, here's what's been on my mind the last week and I have no answer for what needs to be done so I want to throw it out to the artists out there.

PGPC (and COTE) receive tons of submissions from artists of all types, anywhere from visual artists and photographers to directors, musicians, filmmakers, etc. I believe there is a place for everyone in the movement we're trying to build but because of the large volume of submissions we get and how stretched thin the companies are, it's often impossible to utilize everyones talents and skills in the way they want to be utilized (isn't this the age old problem?). We LOVE meeting new people and continue striving to build our community of like minded artists. We are always in need of people who want to help with data entry, social media, outreach, administrative and organizational work but have a harder time finding a place for those who only want to do the creative stuff. Lately, I've been bringing artists in for meetings, "getting to know you" type things (because that's the least I can do) and have been finishing meetings with "where do you see yourself fitting in to this company and the work we do?", "How do you propose we move forward?" Often times we wait until the right opportunity comes up to ask them to work with us, which could be months. However, I would love to come up with something that engages everybody right away if they have the burning desire to work with us.

So, my question(s):

- How do we continue to move forward utilizing everyones talents to their fullest immediately so that artists feel included, welcomed and part of a community?

- What are sustainable models for this?

Interested in hearing ideas.

Opening Night of Lady Macbeth

2012-01-12T11:47:00.002-05:00

Still Needed:

- Eye Lashes

- Large Hair Pins

- Tan Character Shoes

Happy Opening to Macbeth at ATA!

Photos on the way.

Double Down Productions presents:

Macbeth
By William Shakespeare
Directed and Produced by Tony White

Featuring
Ian Richard Barnes
Jacqueline Chambers
Jennifer Desmarais
Lawrence Frank
John Freeman
Laura Grayson
Will Harmon
Yan Kirichenko
Sam Lopresti
Ashley Marinaccio
David Nash
Bradley J Sumner
Tony Travostino
Dylan Digel

Shakespeare's classic tale of prophecy, murder, and madness comes alive again in New York City

The Beckman at the American Theater of Actors
314 W 54 St, 2nd Floor

Wednesday, January 11 8 PM
Thursday, January 12 8 PM
Friday January 13 8 PM
Saturday, January 14 8 PM
Sunday, January 15 2 PM

Tickets $18

2011 Resolution Tally

2012-01-03T10:31:00.001-05:00

Bold means it’s complete

Orange means I no longer care or want it

Blue means it’s started and in process

Purple means it just didn’t happen

********************************

listen more/see more/write more

continue to watch COTE take on a life of its own and flourish

continue to watch PGPC take on a life of its own and flourish

get smart(er) about finances

start learning an instrument (piano and guitar)

exhibit photography

read the classics

read more fiction

read EVEN more nonfiction

voice lessons

book Law and Order: SVU

do an arts and theatre rehabilitation program with incarcerated people

create work that encourages thoughtful dialogue

get back in touch with good friends from yonder years

rid myself of unhealthy and dead relationships

create my own "1000 places to see before you die"- blog it

finish a collection of short plays

once and for all - do something with this blog

work off broadway and regionally

stop being afraid to ask for more $$$

attempt to see all of the work and shows my friends are doing

workshop new pieces

study psychoanalysis

finish all my sentences

challenge myself

associate with people who challenge me

work with the Culture Project

finish reading all of the books in my current library

host a "dinner party" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dinner_Party)

do my part to see more women empowered and more positively represented in the theatre world

have a vegetable garden

study Arabic and Italian

be more present

post 1 blog entry per week

Stop cussing... use more colorful vocabulary (though the occasional "fuck" is totally fine)

find and join political group that's actually doing something - be active

work on my relationship with food and my body

assign specific times in the day to do e-mail and phone business so it doesn't take over my life

be more physically active

let her go

let them go

lose iphone addiction

be more present

learn about astronomy

learn about astrology and what the hell "birth signs" actually mean

travel to 3 new places I've never been before

and the longer reaching stuff:

own a feminist-progressive book store and cupcake shop

direct and-or write a play that starts a revolution (or at least a riot)

get a cedar tree tattoo

run a groundbreaking cultural organization

have an art or photography installation at a gallery or museum

visit the "1000 places to see before you die" (according to the 2007 edition of the book...apparently there is a new edition every few years)

grow my hair super long and then shave it all off and allow it to grow back in its natural color without ever dying it again

foster cats

adopt a child

be part of the movement that ends violence against women

Quote of the Day

2011-12-26T20:39:00.000-05:00

"We're dead as a species if we don't tell stories, because then we don't know who we are." - Alan Rickman

Life with Ryan

2011-12-22T09:41:00.003-05:00

As winter approaches, Occupy can use theater to maintain protest

2011-12-12T23:50:00.002-05:00

This was forwarded to me from Melissa at The Anthropologists (http://www.theanthropologists.org/). Check out their amazing theatre and join their mailing list so you can receive awesome e-mails that contain passages such as what you will read below.

Related reading via You've Cott Mail:

Commentary: As winter approaches, Occupy can use theater to maintain protest
Benjamin Kabialis, The Berkeley Beacon [Emerson College newspaper] 11/10/11
During the Great Depression, a burgeoning population of workers' theater groups stamped on posters and playbills a common and empowering phrase: "Theater is a weapon." Theater welcomed the exuberance of material forged from the passions of deeply personal battles for workers' rights, and workers cultivated theater as a tool to raise class-consciousness. As American theater looks for the spark of revolution and Occupy Wall Street receives criticism for lack of direction, participants in both camps must take hold of this powerful partnership. Why does American theater dissolve while Occupy Wall Street bolsters its ranks? The latter is held together by a shared and deeply personal connection to the cause, while the former has become an institution completely out of touch with reality. Rather than an exploration of humanity, theater has become an exploration of theater. In colleges and universities actors study the craft of acting and playwrights study the writing of plays. The art form has become a sort of members-only party with no guiding principles outside those of economics. In several ways, Broadway's grandiose theaters, movie star performers, and steep ticket prices mirror the 1% of America's Wall Street. The Worker's Laboratory Theater, the Group Theater, and the Labor Stage were only a few of hundreds of troupes during the 1930s that proved theater could thrive without the resources or splendor of Broadway. Throughout the 1930s workers' movement, theater proved strongest when used as a tool for holding protest groups together. With winter approaching and harsh media criticism growing, Occupy Wall Street can use theater as a way of building community and maintaining a sense of passion in their own ranks.

Favorite Photos of 2011 (Part 1)

2011-12-06T21:37:00.008-05:00

Each year I sift through my collection of photos (I take a lot) and pull out my favorites. I posted 2010's album on facebook. This year I'm throwing them up on here. Special thanks to the people who appear in many of these photos: Project Girl Performance Collective, Co-Op Theatre East, Robert A. K. Gonyo, Ryan Victor Pierce, Dominique Fishback, Karen Vigo, Danielle Walker, Mariah MacCarthy, Michael Rehse, Anna Savant, Hannah Rose Barfoot, Lillian Rodriguez and many many more. I am aiming to get some more paid photo gigs in 2012, so if you like what you see here (or on my site) drop me a line.

Check out my photography website here: http://ashley-marinaccio.com/photographer/

OCTOBER: Peace Builders event at the United Nations where Project Girl performed. project Girls led conference participants in creating a banner where everybody wrote what they were going to do to be the "change" we wish to see in the world.

JULY: Summer flower.

SEPTEMBER: Fall flowers.

MAY: Written on an abandoned restaurant in the West Village of NYC. I identified with this statement.

JULY: Ryan (who you'll meet in Part 2) took me to the Bronx Zoo on the hottest day of the year. It was 104 degrees and we only got halfway through the zoo until we couldn't take the heat anymore.

JULY: I took a site specific directing class in Central Park with ESPA (highly recommended all around). Here is a still shot from a scene I did with Dominique Fishback and Karen Vigo from Mariah MacCarthy's "Ampersand: Romeo and Juliet", which was one of the hottest shows in the 2011 Fringe Festival. I made a post about it over the summer.

JULY: Another Ampersand shot.

DECEMBER: Occupy Broadway.

DECEMBER: Occupy Broadway. Danielle Walker performs as she's watched by members of the NYPD.

NOVEMBER: From Project Girl Performance Collective's fall photo shoot.

NOVEMBER: Another from Project Girl's fall photo shoot.

NOVEMBER: My all time favorite Project Girl photo.

SEPTEMBER: Central Park.

NOVEMBER: My "other" all time favorite Project Girl shot. I think I say this a lot. This was a good photo day.

AUGUST: Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, NY.

OCTOBER: Production shot from Muzungu by David Myers at the Fourth Street Theatre.

OCTOBER: Catskills in New York.

OCTOBER: Pumpkins in the Catskills, New York.

SEPTEMBER: Project Girl photo shoot.

SEPTEMBER: Project Girls are active 24 hours a day!

Year in Review - Favorite Photos of 2011 (Part 2)

2011-12-06T20:55:00.008-05:00

Here's Part 2:

OCTOBER: Project Girl Performance Collective's photo shoot. Project Girls are active 24 hours a day.

OCTOBER: My personal favorite from the Project Girl photo shoot.

OCTOBER: Yet another Project Girl shot. This was a good day. DUMBO is a great place to shoot. We got a ton of interesting photos. The rain had us sort of bummed out but it didn't stop us from having a good time.

SEPTEMBER: Ryan Victor Pierce. Focused. Hardworking. and Talented. I shot this during a rehearsal for Co-Op Theatre East (COTE) and Mixed Phoenix Theatre Group's production of "Muzungu". This night also happened to be a good photo night (some are better than others). I got some great shots of the actors and production crew but my favorite photos all just happened to be of Ryan. Coincidence? Methinks not.

SEPTEMBER: Ryan also has a goofy side. See above.

SEPTEMBER: Robert A. K. Gonyo - my fearless COTE partner in crime. Here he is directing the NY Premiere of "Muzungu" by David Myers.

AUGUST: Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry

AUGUST: Dominique Fishback. Hands down one of the most brilliant writers and spoken word artists I know. She is a Project Girl and proud to be one of the original collective members. Dominique has been with Project Girl since 2008. She is currently a student at Pace University and getting ready to graduate next year. She will be taking the world by storm. I'll always be proud to say "I took her headshots way back when..."

AUGUST: More Dominique. We took these in East New York (Dom's hood).

AUGUST: Is she photogenic or what?

AUGUST: Book this girl for print work right now!

AUGUST: Hurricane Irene comes (and goes). I walked through Harlem trying to get some interesting "hurricane" shots and came up with a more iconic image.

AUGUST: That's my street!

SEPTEMBER: Co-Op Theatre East debuts a performance workshop series at the Looking Glass Theatre free of charge for participants as part of our mission to make theatre training accessible.

AUGUST: Eve of Irene. Two fishermen in Battery Park City attempt to catch fish before the mandatory evacuation of the area due to storm surge.

OCTOBER: "Muzungu" poster art. This was the "money shot" from COTE and MPTG's production of "Muzungu" by David Myers. This was reproduced on hundreds of posters and thousands of postcards.

FEBRUARY: Co-Op Theatre East's production of Trojan Women Redux at Looking Glass Theatre, adapted and directed by Casey Cleverly. This features another brilliant talent, Lillian Rodriguez. Should I mention she is also Project Girl alum?

FEBRUARY: Anna and Hannah (as Hecuba and Cassandra). I seem to think I have another photo of them in a similar hold from another COTE show a year back...

FEBRUARY: Anna and Hannah in Trojan Women Redux. One of my favorite elements of this show was the use of the video projections on the broken brick wall screen (you can see it in the back).

TIME Magazine

2011-12-06T20:54:00.002-05:00

Buy Nothing Day!

2011-11-25T10:13:00.000-05:00

Shame on the folks who are camped out in front of Target...

Top 10 George Carlin Quotes

2011-11-16T17:13:00.002-05:00

http://www.alternativereel.com/includes/top-ten/display_review.php?id=00106

7 Reasons Why Theatre Makes Our Lives Better

2011-11-16T17:12:00.000-05:00

7 Reasons Why Theatre Makes Our Lives Better

OCTOBER 27, 2011 | BY HOWARD SHALWITZ 11 COMMENTS

A regular feature of theatrewashington.org, Why Theatre Matters owes its inspiration toHoward Shalwitz, the Artistic Director at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and remarks
(a portion of which appear below) that he so eloquently delivered on September 17, 2011 at Woolly’s Dinner on Stage event. These words so perfectly capture the core of why we at theatreWashington are inspired by Washington area theatres, artists, and audiences of all ages. In future pieces, we will share many other perspectives on this important topic. We also would love to hear why theatre matters to you!

Manny Strauss, Managing Editor
mstrauss@theatrewashington.org

As someone who came from a family of doctors, started out pre-med in college, detoured to philosophy, then teaching, and finally to theatre — not only did my career choices slide steadily downhill from my mother's perspective, but I was left with a moral conundrum: does my chosen profession, theatre, make a valuable contribution to the world when compared with the other professions I left behind? I guess this conundrum has stuck with me, because as recently as this past winter I made a list of seven reasons why theatre matters and I'd like to share them with you briefly tonight.

First, theatre does no harm. Theatre is one of those human activities that doesn't really hurt anyone or anything (except for its carbon footprint -- but let's ignore that for now). While we're engaged in making or attending theatre, or any of the arts for that matter, we are not engaged in war, persecution, crime, wife-beating, drinking, pornography, or any of the social or personal vices we could be engaged in instead. For this reason alone, the more time and energy we as a society devote to theatre and the arts, the better off we will be.

Second, theatre is a sophisticated expression of a basic human need -- one might call it an instinct -- to mimic, to project stories onto ourselves and others, and to create meaning through narrative and metaphor.. We see this instinct expressed in children when they act out real or imagined characters and events. We have evidence of theatre-like rituals in some of the oldest human societies, long before the foundations of Western theatre in Ancient Greece. So theatre matters, in essence, because we can't help it. It's part of what makes us human.

Third, theatre brings people together. For a performance to happen, anywhere from a hundred to a thousand or more people need to gather in one place for a couple of hours, and share together in witnessing and contemplating an event that may be beautiful, funny, moving, thought-provoking, or hopefully at least diverting. And in an age when most of our communication happens in front of a screen, I think that this gathering function of theatre is, in and of itself, something that matters.

Fourth, theatre models for us a kind of public discourse that lies at the heart of democratic life, and builds our skills for listening to different sides of a conversation or argument, and empathizing with the struggles of our fellow human beings whatever their views may be. When we watch a play, we learn what happens when conflicts don't get resolved, and what happens when they do. We develop our faculty for imagining the outcomes of various choices we might make in our personal lives and our political lives. It's not surprising that, in repressive societies, theatre has often been aligned with the movement toward openness and freedom. In South Africa theatre played a role in the struggle against apartheid; in Czechoslovakia, a playwright became the leader of a new democracy. If our own representatives and senators in Washington went to the theatre more often, I suspect we'd all be better off.

Fifth, both the making of theatre and attending of theatre contribute to education and literacy. Watching the characters talk back and forth in the theatre is tricky; it requires sharp attention, quick mental shifts, and nimble language skills. It teaches us about human motivation and psychology. In historical plays we get lessons in leadership and government. In contemporary plays, we learn about people and cultures in different parts or our own country or in other countries. Studies have shown that students who participate in theatre do better in school. Making plays together also draws kids out of their shells and helps them learn to socialize in a productive and healthy way.

Sixth, theatre as an industry contributes to our economy and plays a special role in the revitalization of neglected neighborhoods. We've seen this quite clearly in our own city. You can look at the role that the Studio Theatre played along the 14th Street corridor, or Shakespeare Theatre along Seventh Street, or Woolly in both these neighborhoods, or Gala Hispanic Theatre in Columbia Heights, the Atlas along H Street, or the new Arena Stage along the waterfront. As each of these theatres opened, new audiences started flooding in, new restaurants opened, jobs were created, the city improved the sidewalks, and neighborhoods that were once grim and forbidding became vibrant hubs of activity. And this pattern has been repeated in cities across the United States and around the world.

Finally, the seventh way that theatre matters -- and this one applies to some kinds of theatre more than others -- is that it influences the way we think and feel about our own lives and encourages us to take a hard look at ourselves, our values, and our behavior. The most vivid example of this I've ever experienced was during a post-show discussion at Woolly Mammoth when a woman said that one of our plays made her and her husband decide that they had a serious problem in their marriage and needed to go for counseling; and she was pleased to report that they were still together and much happier as a result. Now, I'll admit, I don't hear things like this every day. But speaking more generally isn't this one of the things we go to the theatre for, to measure our own lives against the lives we see depicted on the stage, to imagine what it would be like if we had those lives instead? And isn't it a very short step from there to saying, gee, maybe there's something I should change about my own life? And it may have nothing to do with the message that the playwright wanted to deliver! Maybe the play is about a fierce battle over a family dinner that breaks the family apart over irreconcilable political divisions -- but maybe you watch the play and say, gosh, wouldn't it be nice to at least have a family dinner once in a while, and so you decide to plan one for next month.

So, those are my seven ways that theatre matters: it does no harm, expresses a basic human instinct, brings people together, models democratic discourse, contributes to education and literary, sparks economic revitalization, and influences how we think and feel about our own lives.

How Sweet It Is!

2011-11-03T22:03:00.005-04:00

The People United Will Never Be Defeated.

A Letter from Troy Davis

2011-09-22T23:58:00.000-04:00

A letter from Troy Davis:

To All:

I want to thank all of you for your efforts and dedication to Human Rights and Human Kindness, in the past year I have experienced such emotion, joy, sadness and never ending faith. It is because of all of you that I am alive today, as I look at my sister Martina I am marveled by the love she has for me and of course I worry about her and her health, but as she tells me she is the eldest and she will not back down from this fight to save my life and prove to the world that I am innocent of this terrible crime.

As I look at my mail from across the globe, from places I have never ever dreamed I would know about and people speaking languages and expressing cultures and religions I could only hope to one day see first hand. I am humbled by the emotion that fills my heart with overwhelming, overflowing Joy. I can’t even explain the insurgence of emotion I feel when I try to express the strength I draw from you all, it compounds my faith and it shows me yet again that this is not a case about the death penalty, this is not a case about Troy Davis, this is a case about Justice and the Human Spirit to see Justice prevail.

I cannot answer all of your letters but I do read them all, I cannot see you all but I can imagine your faces, I cannot hear you speak but your letters take me to the far reaches of the world, I cannot touch you physically but I feel your warmth everyday I exist.

So Thank you and remember I am in a place where execution can only destroy your physical form but because of my faith in God, my family and all of you I have been spiritually free for some time and no matter what happens in the days, weeks to come, this Movement to end the death penalty, to seek true justice, to expose a system that fails to protect the innocent must be accelerated. There are so many more Troy Davis’. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this Unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country.

I can’t wait to Stand with you, no matter if that is in physical or spiritual form, I will one day be announcing,

“I AM TROY DAVIS, and I AM FREE!”

Never Stop Fighting for Justice and We will Win!

Quote of the Day

2011-09-22T23:57:00.000-04:00

Being a Kid After 9/11

2011-08-28T13:57:00.000-04:00

Being a Kid After 9/11

Young performers in New York City explore what it means to grow up after the world changed

By Tyrus Cukavac | August 22 , 2011

Cast members rehearse for their debut on September 10.

People around the country are preparing to observe the 10th anniversary of the tragedy known as 9/11. On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the United States and more than 3,000 people died. A group of young people in New York City, where the terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, are remembering the event in their own way. Together, they wrote a play to explore the impact of Spetember 11 on their lives.

The final play is called Ten Years Later: Voices from the Post-9/11 Generation Speak. Co-director Ashley Marinaccio told Scholastic News, “It is completely youth driven. It focuses on the cultural aftermath of what it means to be a kid after 9/11.”

The writers and performers range from 9 to 23 years old. The youngest members of the group were not yet born when the events of 9/11 occurred. Others were children or young teens. Together, they interviewed community members, participated in writing exercises, and wrote songs to create an original play based on their experiences in New York following September 11.

A DIFFERENT AMERICA

Heightened security in buildings and airports and U.S. involvement in wars in the Middle East are a few of the ways the 9/11 terrorist attacks changed life in the United States. Many young people growing up in the past 10 years don’t clearly remember what life was like before the tragedy.

“My first view of the Manhattan skyline was without the towers,” cast member Emily Rupp, now 21, says in the play. “When I first saw it, I just tried to imagine what it could’ve looked like. . . . My Manhattan skyline will always be an unfinished puzzle to me.”

Shortly after 9/11, the U.S. sent American troops to Afghanistan to try to find those who had planned the attacks. Thousands of troops remain there. Many cast members do not remember a time when the United States was not at war. The play explores this through monologues and scenes. Other themes include the meaning of patriotism and increased security in American life.

The first performance will take place on September 10 at Pace University in New York City as part of a larger memorial program. This performance is just one way people around the country are preparing for the anniversary. On September 11, a memorial honoring victims will be dedicated at Ground Zero, the site where the Twin Towers once stood.

Ceremonies of remembrance will also take place at the two other sites where the terrorists crashed hijacked planes—at the Pentagon, near Washington, D.C., and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Scores of other services and events will mark the day around the nation as Americans seek to honor the memories of the victims.

Ten Years Later - Promo Video

2011-08-22T10:59:00.001-04:00

TEN YEARS LATER OPENS AT PETER JAY SHARP THEATER

2011-08-22T10:58:00.002-04:00

TEN YEARS LATER OPENS AT PETER JAY SHARP THEATER

Monday, September 12, 2011, 8:00 pm
Peter Jay Sharp Theater at 416 West 42nd Street - New York

Tickets on sale now! Contact Ticket Central!

August 22, 2011, New York, NY – Co-Op Theatre East and Project Girl Performance Collective debuts a cutting-edge, ensemble-devised play, created by youth between the ages of 9 and 23, Ten Years Later explores the impact of the September 11th terrorist attacks on youth. The young cast explores what it means to be coming of age in a post-9/11 society as a young person living in the shadow of Twin Towers that most of them have never seen. “My first view of the Manhattan skyline was without the towers,” said cast member Emily Rupp. “When I first saw it, I tried to imagine what it could’ve looked like. It was like putting together a puzzle.”

The “Ten Years Later” cast may not have seen the World Trade Center but they have been infinitely affected by the disaster as evident from their revealing stories and struggles. Terrorism, fundamentalism, orange alerts, airport security, subway sniffing dogs and tea party patriotism, as you will see in the show, weigh heavily on the minds and hearts of today’s youth.

Ten Years Later: Voices from the Post 9/11 Generation Speak opens 8:00 pm on September 12th, 2011 at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre and then tours the tri-State area. Please contact Casey Cleverly at casey@cooptheatreeast.org if you have any questions or would like to book the show this Fall.

About Co-Op Theatre East: Founded in Spring 2008 by three graduates of the Performance Studies program at Tisch School of the Arts, Co-Op Theatre East produces socially minded performance that deals with the questions of today, the situations we find ourselves immersed in as New Yorkers, Americas, and world citizens at this moment. Co-Op Theatre East believes in the power of art to foster a dialogue for social change. We provide an entertaining performance forum in which to ask evocative, challenging questions of artists and audiences on our way to creating collaborative answers. www.cooptheatreeast.org.

About Project Girl Performance Collective: "It was inspiring to see bright, confident young women holding forth onstage" (The New Yorker, September 3, 2010) was the response to the Collective’s most recent show at The Fringe Festival. Project Girl Performance Collective (PGPC) empowers young women by creating a safe space to address contemporary social, political and cultural issues through the performing arts and written word. The Project Girl Performance Collective is committed to the idea of theatre and performance as a medium for awareness, action and social change. www.projectgirlperformancecollective.org.

The cast includes
Kate Bralower (10, Manhattan)
Tiffani-Amber DiGrazia (9, Queens)
Samantha Phillips (15, Westchester)
Monica Furman (15, Brooklyn)
Arianna Hanson (15, Bronx)
Hank Chen (23, Washington, D. C.)
Nick Wolf (21, New Jersey)
Stacey Oliver (19, Connecticut)
Deanna Alexandra (16, Long Island)
Emily Rupp (21, Brooklyn)
Peter Kendall (20, New Jersey)
Mariah Adkins (23, Brooklyn)
Haleigh Spasjevich (22, Manhattan)
Laura Killeen (23, United Kingdom).

It is directed by Ashley Marinaccio and Robert A. K. Gonyo, Artistic Directors of Co-Op Theatre East, Assistant Directed & Stage Managed by Daniel Mendoza and produced by Jessica Greer Morris, Executive Director of the Project Girl Performance Collective, 9/11 Worker and Chair of the World Trade Center Community Advisory Board (2001-2004).

Co-Op Theatre East and Project Girl Performance Collective present:

TEN YEARS LATER: VOICES FROM THE POST-9/11 GENERATION SPEAK

Conceived and Directed by Ashley Marinaccio, Robert A. K. Gonyo and Daniel Mendoza

Produced by Jessica Greer Morris

Monday, September 12, 2011

8:00 pm

Peter Jay Sharp Theater

416 West 42nd Street - New York

Tickets available through Ticket Central

$20 General Admission

$15 Student/Senior Discount

5 Reasons to see "Ampersand: A Romeo and Juliet Story" at Fringe this year!

2011-08-16T15:59:00.005-04:00

Time to celebrate some of the amazing young artists in NYC (and there are many of them). Two in particular that are on my mind this week, Mariah MacCarthy, author of Ampersand: A Romeo and Juliet Story in the NY International Fringe Festival and Robert A. K. Gonyo, Artistic Director of Co-Op Theatre East and creator of Go See a Show, a new Off-Off Broadway podcast.

Top Five Reasons to see "Ampersand: A Romeo and Juliet Story" at the NY International Fringe Festival:

1. Strong female characters. With Mariah behind the script, it's expected and delivered. Playwrights and producers take note, this is a woman that needs to have work produced more often. She is writing strong, challenging roles for women in their 20s that are far more interesting than some of the more traditional parts that have been out there in the past.

2. Writing that is questioning traditional stereotypes and gender roles but isn't didactic.

3. Fantastic music and musicians (Emily Rupp from Project Girl Performance Collective is a stand out. Her short vocal performance is hauntingly beautiful.)

4. A talented young cast of "non union" actors. Eventually many of the cast members will be union and working nonstop in theatre, film and television, but until then, let's take a moment to acknowledge the new and/or underused talent thriving in this city. Fringe is traditionally the place to see "up and coming" performers. This ensemble is strong with many stand outs.

5. Lauren Hennessy. Her performance as Romeo is stunning. Since we're being honest here, I'd like to come out as an official (and once closeted) Lauren Hennessy fan. She was a standout in the Ampersand workshop in addition to Purple Rep's All American Genderfuck Cabaret. I look forward to seeing what's next for Lauren.

I've been following Ampersand since it's workshop days at Looking Glass Theatre, and it's come quite far. Part of the fun has been watching the actors (many who were part of the workshop cast at Looking Glass) grow with the script and completely embody their roles. I am looking forward to seeing where Ampersand will go next. I expect big things for this piece.

Info on how to see "Ampersand: A Romeo and Juliet Story":

Ampersand: A Romeo & Juliet Story
By Mariah MacCarthy
Music by Brian Kirchner
Directed by Amanda Thompson

With:
Brigitte Choura, Julie Ek, Nic Grelli, Craig Hanson, Lauren Hennessy, Jeremy Michael Lagunas, Diana Oh, Anna Savant, Jordan Tierney, Lauren Weinberg, and Matthew Welsh, and Emily Rupp on guitar.

Elizabeth Weitzen - Costume Designer
Liz Elliot - Lighting Designer
Christopher Shepard - Choregrapher
Teddy Lytle - Fight Director
LeeAnn DiCicco - Graphic Design
Kacey Stamats - Photography
Eva Schelbaum - Assistant Director
Tom Meredith - Technical Director
Christopher Diercksen - Assistant Producer
Marina Steinberg - Stage Manager

Executive Producers:
Larry Kunofsky, Mariah MacCarthy, and Leta Tremblay

FOR TICKETS and FringeNYC listing: http://www.fringenyc.org/basic_page.php?ltr=A#Ampers

The Story:
A prissy Beauty Queen falls in love/hate with a guitar-wielding firebrand. Is there room for this bad romance in Verona, Iowa? Or will Juliet stay in her walk-in closet? An award-winning pop-folk musical, with drag queens.

Performance Dates:
Friday, August 12 @ 5pm
Sunday, August 14 @ 8:15pm
Thursday, August 18 @ 2pm
Saturday, August 20 @ NOON
Saturday, August 27 @ 7:45pm

Finally, check out Robby's new podcast, a much needed asset to the off off Broadway community, "Go See A Show". His first interview is with Mariah. Info below:

About “Go See a Show!”

http://goseeashowpodcast.com/

The “Go See a Show!” podcast is (as far as I can tell) the only podcast dedicated to the off-off-Broadway scene in New York City. Every week, I interview an artist making theatre in New York City, discussing the ideas and process behind their work.

Arundhati Roy Video

2011-08-15T13:32:00.003-04:00

COTE Announces Auditions for two devised pieces

2011-08-05T23:11:00.001-04:00

Co-Op Theatre East (COTE) is casting two ensemble devised projects: "El Otro" by Miguel de Unamuno, directed by Robert A. K. Gonyo and "What to Do In Case You Miss the Rapture", devised by an ensemble of writers and actors, directed by Ashley Marinaccio .

Adaptation of Miguel de Unamuno's 1926 play EL OTRO, to be performed in both Spanish and English. Actors must have proficiency in both Spanish and English (fluency in one, and at least basic 200s college-level conversational ability in the other); and, must be comfortable developing a performance in an ensemble setting.

Synopsis: One of two twin brothers lies dead in the basement, killed at his brother's hand — but the killer is mad, refusing to reveal his identity. While the housekeeper, the doctor, and the twins' respective wives try to piece together the truth of the crime, they get little help from the living twin, who refers to himself only as "El Otro:" the Other. Working with the text in the original Spanish, in English translation, and something in between, we will use Unamuno's riff on the story of Cain and Abel in an attempt to get at the sense of "other-ness" in our country. Within the context of the American experiment, what does it mean to democracy when one "group" or another is seen as the "other"? Unamuno noted that the play explores "the intimate, profound truth of the drama of the soul;" as such, we will attempt to plumb the American soul.

Rehearsals for this work will begin in early December 2011, to culminate in a workshop performance in April or May 2012.

What to Do in Case You Miss the Rapture (… and other Apocalyptic Tales) is an ensemble-devised piece illustrating the obsession with the “End of the World” and impending “Dooms Day”. Writers and Actors will be creating text based on news headlines, interviews, pop culture and/or their own experiences with 'dooms day' enthusiasts.

Seeking 8-10 Performers, all ages and types who are comfortable with writing and contributing to an ensemble devised piece. Must be team players. Writing workshops for “Rapture” will begin in late October, public performance/workshops in May.

You may submit for EITHER El Otro or Rapture (not both). Auditions will be held onThursday, August 18th from 7:00 to 10:00 pm at the Looking Glass Theatre - 422 West 57th Street, NYC. Please do not submit if you cannot make the audition time or will not be in town for the performance months. To submit, please send a headshot/resume with the title of the show your submitting for in the subject line and information about yourself, your background and why you want to be part of the particular project to:cooptheatreeast@gmail.com.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

2011-05-03T18:58:00.000-04:00

"It does not interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

"It does not interest me what planet is squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals, or have become shriveled and closed from fear and further pain.

"I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, fade it or fix it.

"I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with the wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

"It does not interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself, if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.

"I want to know if you can be faithless and therefore be trustworthy.*

"I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty every day, and if you can source your life from God's presence.

"I want to know if you can live with failure, yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the moon, "Yes!"

"It does not interest me to know here you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after a night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

"It does not interest me who you are, how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

"It does not interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

"I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the quiet moments.

- Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Needed: Vacation

2011-05-03T18:39:00.003-04:00

A Sign that I may need a Vacation in the Near Future:

Today someone jokingly asked me how my "kids" were doing. I thought they were referring to my theatre companies (and maybe they were) so I went into a 10 minute speech about my son (Co-Op Theatre East) and daughter (Project Girl Performance Collective).

Why I Go...

2011-04-14T11:19:00.003-04:00

This is an excerpt from a piece I did during a COTE "Home and Garden" rehearsal. The prompt was "Why Do You Go to the Theatre"?

A friend of mine, who’s a pretty well respected Manhattan therapist recently asked me, “Ashley – why are you in theatre?” and my response was “I imagine it’s the same reason you’re a psychotherapist.”

This threw her off guard.

“And that is?”

“I have a lot of unanswered questions about myself and the world that can only begin to be explored through art.”

“Oh?” Her eyes got big and invested like she had hit gold. I probably should have stopped there, but apparently since I like to “test boundaries” (something she often brings to my attention) I add, “Yeah. And I’m sick of being lied to…”

I have no idea where this even came from but I think that’s what she was looking for because she smirked. Not a big grin, but just enough that I could tell she’s onto something. She’s totally baiting me but I’ve been around too many therapists for far too long to fall for this so I make an allusion to “In Treatment”.

“Don’t Paul me..” I say.

“Paul?”

Paul is the psychoanalyst on HBO’s drama “In Treatment”, Gabriel Byrne’s character, the role he should have received the Emmy for… God, there’s nothing I like more than making obscure television references to make awkward situations slightly more… awkward.

Of course, she brings me back down to earth or back to the conversation at least.

“Who’s lying to you?” She asks it sweetly at first and I pretend not to hear which only makes her ask it again with more motivation, “Who’s lying to you?”

I shrug. Alright, I admit, that was the wrong can of worms to open. Now I would be forced to give an explanation. I should I give her something deep, something worth pondering. Something about my childhood. Therapists love that shit. It’s like on that episode of the X-Files where Mulder undergoes hypnotic regression that totally brings up severe childhood traumas stemming from when his sister was abducted by aliens … I digress.

“Well, you see, as a kid my only solace in my broken home was through becoming someone else. It was the only place I could find my true self, my many selves…” Insert “United States of Tara” reference right here.

I guess there’s no need to manipulate. Perhaps she really does want to know why I feel I have been so mislead by my family, my country, my government, the whole damn world that the only place I can be free is on stage – whether it be through the characters I develop as a playwright, breathe life into as an actor or the incredibly deep worlds I invent as a director, the worlds that most of the time I wish I could dive into and live in forever. The truth is, for a number of reasons, I don’t feel safe exploring the controversial and sensitive material that my work deals with outside of my “workspace”. Blame it on whatever you’d like, the twenty six death threats I received in my e-mail box after speaking on CNN World or the third “terrorist watch list” my name was added to after directing a show about Palestinians, and no not Hamas fighters, just the regular day to day happenings of life under military occupation.

“Have you heard the saying ‘Politicians use lies to cover the truth while artists use lies to tell it?’ It’s in the film V for Vendetta. I’ve seen too much truth and the only way to even begin to scratch the tip of the iceberg of rage I’m feeling is through theatre. I am one angry mother fucker. And if I didn’t have an outlet for it, I guarantee you I’d be painting a white padded cell with my own blood and shit… like Miguel Alvarez in Oz. Oh, don’t tell me you missed Oz… I’m not talking about Dorothy’s Oz either…

Okay.

Maybe I “go to” the theatre to avoid the hard stuff.

In recent months I’ve become so good at transforming my pain to paper that I’ve forgotten how to feel.

I don’t pretend to think this is a good thing.

Or a funny thing.

Or something I should be particularly proud of.

Well, it’s not entirely a bad thing either.

There’s no shame.

It just is.

It is.

It is perhaps the only way I have been able to get through the day.

It is a survival mechanism of sorts.

I once played this character who was incarcerated for arson. She would get mad and just light shit on fire in her cell. She was bad ass. Crazy, but bad ass.

I want to be bad ass.

Jolene Shatila, a character I penned, handled the illness of her beloved life partner a lot better than I have my mother.

I want that courage.

And assistant directing Ragtime made me almost forgot how abandoned I feel by my own father when the curtain falls.

I go to the theatre when I can’t go home.

At some point I learned that it’s easier to have the dialogue I want to have in real life through my characters. You know what dialogue I’m talking about, the one that most recently has been ending with me making references to obscure television shows…

I guess you didn’t expect to hear that, huh?

2011-04-02T20:39:00.001-04:00

everything ███ █████ is█████ ████ ████ fine ████ ███ █ ██████ love. █████ ███████ ███ your █████ ████ government

Ode to the Haters

2011-04-02T19:15:00.007-04:00

I'm fascinated by "theatre people" that hate theatre. No really, I am.

What I mean... A friend of one of my creative partners was making his Broadway debut and we were hooked up with free tickets for one of his first previews. Generally these previews are packed with fellow "theatre people"... producers, directors, actors, playwrights, designers, marketing, etc... Often times, the discussions before and after the show with audience members are just as interesting as the play itself.

That night I got into a conversation with a typical 20-something director sitting near me that went something like this: "I heard great things about this playwright and show. I'm very excited..." I said and spoke a bit about the playwright, the development of the work and how exciting it was that it was his Broadway debut and how the play had evolved.

"Oh. I'll believe it when I see it..." He responded in a typical smug mid 20-something director way and went on to acknowledge how he has absolutely hated everything he has seen this season, hasn't been blown away by the theatre in years and can't fathom why half the shows in NY are a waste of time, the actors suck, the playwrights suck and the directors suck even more etc. etc. etc.

When he finished I stared at him for a moment. Of course, this is nothing out of the ordinary. I have several friends like this. There are many people like this in the theatre community (and even more in academia). In fact, with his big fro, hipster glasses and blue button down, he reminded me of a graduate student.

When conversations like these go down generally I smile, nod and go back to reading my program but this time I said "Wow. That's really sad."

"What do you mean?"

"It must be really sad to be an artist and so uninspired by other people's work."

"Uh...um..."

"I mean, how do you grapple with that? How do you stay inspired? "

The lights went down and he jetted after the show so I didn't have a chance to hear his response but it really brought this issue to light, yet again. There is a fine line between being an intelligent critic and an insecure asshole. Often when reading reviews you can tell who writes with a passion for theatre and who writes as a failed artist who takes their rage out on others who are putting themselves out there.

So, this is my ode (or perhaps just a public acknowledgement) to the "theatre people" that hate theatre. We all know these types. They are our friends, colleagues, teachers and former classmates. Mostly they are artists (or former artists) who at some point couldn't handle the rejection any longer (and who can blame them really?) They are the ones who go to shows wanting it to flop, perhaps to make themselves feel better about their own failures or because they genuinely get a thrill from watching others suffer.

I feel bad for these folks.

untitled

2011-03-04T13:39:00.000-05:00

when i look around, i think this: this is good enough
and i try to laugh/at whatever life brings
cuz when i look down, i just miss all the good stuff
and when i look up, i just trip over things

"To Win Our New World"

2011-02-17T23:01:00.000-05:00

“People who do not believe at all in a happy end impede changing the world almost as much as the sweet swindlers, the marriage-swindlers, the charlatans of apotheosis. Unconditional pessimism therefore promotes the business of reaction not much less than artificially conditioned optimism; the latter is nevertheless not so stupid that it does not believe in anything at all. It does not immortalize the trudging of the little life, does not give humanity the face of a chloroformed gravestone. It does not give the world the deathly sad background in front of which it is not worth doing anything at all. In contrast to pessimism which itself belongs to rottenness and may serve it, a tested optimism, when the scales fall from its eyes, does not deny the goal-belief in general; on the contrary, what matters now is to find the right one and to prove it. For this reason there is more possible pleasure in the idea of a converted Nazi than from all the cynics and nihilists. That is why the most dogged enemy of socialism is not only, as is understandable, great capital, but equally the load of indifference and hopelessness; otherwise great capital would stand alone.” – Ernst Bloch, The Principle of Hope

Check out more incredible political and social insight: http://www.walkingbutterfly.com/2010/12/22/albert-to-win-our-new-world/

Walk Like An Egyptian - Photo(s) of the week...

2011-01-28T21:21:00.001-05:00

Be with the Revolution - كن مع الثورة

Coming of Age in a Crap Economy - Interview

2011-01-23T20:54:00.001-05:00

I was interviewed on Liz Funk's blog called "Coming of Age in a Crap Economy". Check it out here:

http://www.comingofageinacrapeconomy.com/1/post/2011/01/20something-spotlight-ashley-marinaccio.html

Review of Beyond Therapy

2011-01-23T20:44:00.004-05:00

Beyond Therapy at Porch Light Productions got rave reviews! Check it out here:

Never Before Was 'Therapy' Such Fun
Porch Light Production's frenetic new production of 'Beyond Therapy' is cheaper than analysis and way more entertaining.
By Joseph M. Gerace

An audience walking into Porch Light Production’s latest black box show “Beyond Therapy” would be wise to repress their judgments of this play’s peculiar characters until the curtain falls.
Each of the performance's big personalities comes fully loaded with issues that invoke wild unpredictability, and the audience witnesses each character unspooling before the easy-to-miss breakthrough finally occurs in this uproarious play directed by Ryan Pifher.

The 1981 comedy by Christopher Durang looks at the skewed dating lives of two slightly fractured singles trying to find true love and the therapists who, despite being in desperate need of therapy themselves, treat them.

Absurd and calamitous, the delightful plot spins out of control from the opening tics of Bruce and Prudence’s first date.

Bruce, an overly emotional bisexual bran flakes aficionado, and Prudence, a stoic and tightly strung magazine writer, at first glance are polar opposites. And well, their date ends poorly.
Tensions strain and snap, love triangles are revealed, and the car crash rendezvous concludes with two tossed servings of room temperature water. Actors Phyto Stratis and Rachael Lee are hilarious bouncing expectations and neuroses off one another. On the night I attended, the audience —literally howling and bent forward in fits of mirth—couldn’t have appeared more pleased.

The couples then retreat to their respective therapists, Prudence to Dr. Stuart Framingham and Bruce to Dr. Charlotte Wallace.

Ridgewood resident Bill Porterfield plays Stuart with misplaced machismo oozing out of his high collared shirt. The libidinous doctor isn’t there so much to help Prudence as to take her to bed.
No better, Bruce’s therapist Charlotte isn’t a sexual deviant but certainly has her own problems.
Ashley Marinaccio plays Charlotte like a primal scream: Her puerile affection for her Snoopy doll, Freudian-slip diction and the thing with the pickles are uninhibited and frantic.
These hysterically raucous therapy session roll along at high speeds on the diverse talents of a comically gifted cast.

And just when you think things can’t get funnier, we meet Bruce's lover Bob.
Omar Robinson sulks onto the suddenly diminished stage. He appears impossibly tall as the nagging, fussy, effeminate Bob. Robinson is a born scene stealer. He struts with an attention-hungry sashay and delivers his lines with a curt, almost-slapstick urgency.
Pifher, meanwhile, weaves Durang's characters together in the final rollicking scenes and the cast somehow maintains their through the roof energy.

In a sober moment as the play nears an end Bruce lays out a credo of sorts to Prudence.
"We’re all alone," Bruce says. "Everyone is crazy and you have no choice but to be alone or to be with someone in what will be a highly imperfect and probably eventually unsatisfactory relationship."

And at that moment we discover that all those judgments levied at uptight Prudence or Bruce, who plays loose with the rules, were premature.

We need them just the way they are, with all their hysterics, just as much as they need each other.

STARRING: Phyto Stratis (Bruce), Rachael Lee (Prudence), Omar Robinson (Bob), Ashley Marinaccio (Charlotte), Bill Porterfield (Stuart) and Jon E. Sims (Andrew).
Tickets for "Beyond Therapy" are $25 for adults and $22 for students and seniors. Call 201-857-3520 or visit Porch Light Productions for tickets.

Link (with photos): http://glenrock.patch.com/articles/never-before-was-therapy-this-much-fun

The Doctor is IN...

2011-01-10T23:20:00.000-05:00

Porch Light Production's Beyond Therapy opens this week! It's going to be super fun, zany and a (very short) break from the super heavy material I usually work on. I would love to see you there! I'm playing Charlotte Wallace, psychoanalyst extraordinaire. Need therapy? Charlotte's your girl! Need good therapy? Charlotte may not be your girl... In any case, she will warm your heart and make you smile.

2011 is off to a busy start. Next week I'll be filming the first episode of a paranormal television pilot called Beyond Haunted, which is being pitched to several cable networks. I'll be one of the paranormal investigators (think Ghost Hunters). It's a dream gig, as deep down ya'all know I've always wanted to be Fox Mulder (from the X-Files)... j/k. Also, last week I was interviewed on author Liz Funk's blog for her new project "Coming of Age in a Crap Economy". It's short and fun. Would love for you to check it out.

Finally, I'll be back to political theatre at the end of the month. Co-Op Theatre East is producing Trojan Women Redux, opening January 28th at the Looking Glass Theater in midtown. COTE's Literary Director, Casey Cleverly has adapted and directed this unbelievable piece which raises consciousness on the current sex and human trafficking crisis happening throughout the globe. We are collaborating with several non-profits working on this issue to encourage audiences to take a stand and become active in ending sexual violence and human trafficking.

I have also just started rehearsals for several upcoming projects that I'm directing with my youth performance company, Project Girl Performance Collective. Our 2011 season includes performances at the United Nations, NJ State Theater, Richmond Virginia Holocaust Museum and various schools, Universities throughout the tri-state area, plus the development of a new piece with young men and women called "10 Years Later: Voices from the Post 9/11 Generation Speak" in which we're exploring the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks and this idea of a "post 9/11 generation". I can't begin to express my excitement over this project. We have kids coming from as far as West Virginia and Maryland each week to be part of this and it's going to be something really special.

Both Project Girl Performance Collective and Co-Op Theatre East have completely taken off in 2010 and it's because of the support from audiences and YOU! Right now the sky's the limit for both of these companies and we're ecstatic about our 2011 season and looking ahead!

***

Beyond Therapy
Written by Christopher Durang
Directed by Ryan Pifher

Porch Light Productions
555 Broad Street
Glen Rock, NJ

Jan 14 - Jan 30, 2011
Fridays & Saturday @ 8PM, Sundays @ 2PM Adult: $25.00
Student/Senior: $22.00

Please call (201) 857-3520 for tickets or visit:
www.porchlightproductions.org

STARRING:
Phyto Stratis (Bruce), Rachael Lee (Prudence), Omar Robinson (Bob), Ashley Marinaccio (Charlotte), Bill Porterfield (Stuart) & Jon E. Sims (Andrew).

Bruce and Prudence are deeply into therapy. Prudence's macho therapist (Stuart) is urging her to be more assertive while Bruce's wacky female therapist (Charlotte) wants him to meet women by placing a personal ad. She does not fully comprehend that Bruce has a male lover (Bob) who is not pleased by Bruce's desire to date a woman: Prudence. Bruce doesn't know how to handle poor nervous Prudence and Prudence doesn't know what to make of her unpredictable new boyfriend. They do learn to live "beyond therapy" in this delightful Off Broadway hit that moved successfully to Broadway.

What is your training?

2011-01-10T19:38:00.003-05:00

I was researching at the library today for the TV pilot I'm starting to film next week and came across this question in one of the books. It's one of the most provocative questions I've thought about in awhile and I have a few thoughts but first I want to hear what other people's answers are. Here we go:

Imagine that before you entered this life you went through training with a teacher who was the best of the best of the best at a particular focus, and who lived you like a son or daughter. This teacher taught you everything about this focus, reminding you, "you won't remember a thing consciously, but it will all be there in your subconscious, waiting to be reawakened, once you get to Earth and your nature is stimulated to grow." What did this teacher train you to cultivate and grow? Do you remember the part of the training that reiterated: Try and fail a hundred times, rather than playing to small, repeating what you have already perfectly mastered?

So, I'm curious. What was your training?

One of my favorite things about my birthday in the cyber age...

2011-01-09T10:48:00.002-05:00

is all of the facebook wall well wishes.

1.1.11

2011-01-01T00:13:00.003-05:00

Dick Clark makes me sad. Kathy Griffin makes me sad. New Year's Eve makes me sad, especially from around 11:30 to 11:59pm. I get nostalgic when thinking about all of the things that happened over the year, the relationships I've made (and lost) and how we will never get that time back, ever again. I'm one of those people who has a hard time saying goodbye, letting go, accepting change. But once 12am rolls around, I'm happy. I enjoy what feels like a clean slate.

I spent NYE by myself this year (much to the humor of family and close friends, ALL of whom laughed in my face when I announced my plans). There were plenty of other options but at the last moment I opted out and chose the path of Chinese take out (spare ribs and lo mein), my paints, canvases and collages that I've been trying to finish. I need the time to myself. I like spending NYE reflecting on the past and looking to the future. It's something I hope to do more of this year.

2010 was good to me. One of the best yet, in fact.

Here's to making 2011 even better!

We only move forward.

Happy New Year, Comrades!

And it's beginning to snow...

2010-12-30T22:20:00.003-05:00

Brooklyn. December 26, 2010.

For more visit: http://www.photoblog.com/ashleymarinaccio/2010/12/29/snowpacalypse-2010-aka-oops-we-forgot-to-plow-brooklyn.html

the 2011 list

2010-12-26T01:13:00.014-05:00

At our last COTE Ensemble meeting we spoke of our New Years Resolutions and how when you put them up on a social networking site or a blog, you're holding yourself publicly accountable to get it done. So, here we go...

... Holding myself publicly accountable:

listen more/see more/write more/continue to watch COTE take on a life of its own and flourish/continue to watch PGPC take on a life of its own and flourish/get smart(er) about finances/start learning an instrument (piano and guitar)/exhibit photography/read the classics/read more fiction/read EVEN more nonfiction/voice lessons/book Law and Order: SVU/do an arts and theatre rehabilitation program with incarcerated people/create work that encourages thoughtful dialogue/get back in touch with good friends from yonder years/rid myself of unhealthy and dead relationships/create my own "1000 places to see before you die"- blog it/finish a collection of short plays/once and for all - do something with this blog/step it up - work off broadway and regionally/ stop being afraid to ask for more $$$/attempt to see all of the work and shows my friends are doing/workshop new pieces/study psychoanalysis/finish all my sentences/challenge myself/associate with people who challenge me/work with the Culture Project/finish reading all of the books in my current library/host a "dinner party" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dinner_Party)/do my part to see more women empowered and more positively represented in the theatre world/ have a vegetable garden/study Arabic and Italian/be more present/post 1 blog entry per week/Stop cussing... use more colorful vocabulary (though the occasional "fuck" is totally fine)/find and join political group that's actually doing something - be active/work on my relationship with food and my body/assign specific times in the day to do e-mail and phone business so it doesn't take over my life/be more physically active/ let her go/let them go/ lose iphone addiction/be more present/learn about astronomy/learn about astrology and what the hell "birth signs" actually mean/travel to 3 new places I've never been before

and the longer reaching stuff:

own a feminist-progressive book store and cupcake shop/direct and-or write a play that starts a revolution (or at least a riot)/get a cedar tree tattoo/run a groundbreaking cultural organization/have an art or photography installation at a gallery or museum/visit the "1000 places to see before you die" (according to the 2007 edition of the book...apparently there is a new edition every few years)/grow my hair super long and then shave it all off and allow it to grow back in its natural color without ever dying it again/foster cats/adopt a child/be part of the movement that ends violence against women

That's all for now.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T20:04:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS, 2010!

We only move forward - 2010 Year in Review

2010-12-25T17:09:00.004-05:00

My OCD, list making and workaholic nature go in hyper mode this time of year... New Year, Birthday etc...

As we approach the end of 2010, I like to take a look at my 2010 resolutions and see what was NOT done. I've managed to cross out the things I accomplished this year and revisit some of the others for 2011. Of course, many of these things cannot be done by one person alone and are parts of a larger goal for which my work (and activists fighting for peace, equality and justice) must address. As for the things I didn't get to (doing SOMETHING with this blog) well, it will happen in 2011.

Lose 20 pounds; ~~See Co-Op Theatre East grow and flourish;~~ ~~See more shows that my friends are in or part of;~~ Be more assertive in relationships and financially; ~~Dance;~~ Stop allowing distorted views and expectations of "femininity" dictate the way I see myself; ~~Write; See GirlPower take on a life of its own;~~ Visit a new museum each month; Make theatre that changes and inspires people; Create work that encourages thoughtful dialogue; See all of my friends/colleagues achieve their dreams; Be present; Perfect my Arabic; ~~Stay inspired;~~ See more women directors and playwrights represented in the commerical theatre world; Be more diligent about responding to e-mails in a timely manner; ~~Finish "What to do in case you miss the Rapture";~~ ~~Spend more time out doors;~~ Learn how to love my body and stop criticizing it; ~~Shoot more photos;~~Do something with my blog; Read the books I haven't read on my bookshelf; ~~Start research project on young competitive dancers~~; ~~Visit places that I've never been;~~ Stop cursing... use more colorful vocabulary; Get rid of clutter; ~~Post one tweet a day for COTE (@cooptheatreeast);~~ Perfect what sometimes feels like lackluster listening skills; More funding for the arts and small theatre companies; End Violence Against Women; ~~More action/Less talk all around.~~

The "body" stuff is interesting to reflect back on because while I haven't lost 20 pounds, I am working on a much healthier mental approach to body image issues. I still have a ways to go. Hopefully I can continue to adopt healthier eating habits in 2011 and beyond.

...and while we're at it, let's take a look at random life aspirations from 2009. (http://ashley-marinaccio.blogspot.com/2008/06/random-life-aspirations.html). 95% which I hope to still do. Gotta make a few of these things happen in 2011, starting with finishing all those books on my shelf. =) Perhaps, I will end the year getting rid of the clutter.

Merry Christmas All!
Here's to a wonderful New Year!

A Conversation with my Mother...

2010-12-01T21:05:00.001-05:00

Mom - Oh yeah, I have an autographed copy of Abbie Hoffman's book, Steal this Book...

Ashley- Wait. WHA? How?

Mom - I went to his book signing up near Columbia, right before the big anti-war march in DC

Ashley- Why didn't you tell me any of this?

Mom- You never asked

Ashley - Ma, you were so cool...

Quote of the day

2010-11-28T23:12:00.000-05:00

"If you really want to help the American theater, don't be an actress, dahling. Be an audience." - Talullah Bankhead

Favorite Photos of 2010

2010-11-23T13:44:00.005-05:00

I've managed to compile a few of my favorite photos from 2010. The good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. I uploaded an entire album to facebook.

Dr. House is in the house...

2010-11-01T08:47:00.001-04:00

God, I love Halloween! God, I love Dr. House (and Hugh Laurie at that!) What a perfect opportunity to put two of these great things together, eh? So... without further hesitation I present my fabulous Dr. Gregory House Halloween Costume of 2010.

There's House...

And there's me...

And yes, I met a ton of House fans (and non fans) who totally knew who I was and got appreciated it. Happy Halloween!!!!

New Headshots by Dirty Sugar

2010-10-30T12:29:00.003-04:00

Dirty Sugar is in the house!!!!

Ideally, at some point I will get better at updating this blog as things happen. In any case, I am super excited about my recent photo shoot with the gang at Dirty Sugar. They are FIERCE. Follow them on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/dirty-sugar-photography/30540017687 . Dirty Sugar is hands down some of the most talented photographers out there (not to mention, the coolest people) . I had an absolute blast working with them and learned a whole lot about photography. Their use of color and light is like no other. Check out their website: http://dirtysugarphotography.com/site/splashpage.html . They first came on my radar via facebook about a year ago and I fell in love. Of course, I will continue to facebook stalk. In any case if you're looking for new headshots, these are the guys to go to! Highly recommended to all!

Busy October

2010-10-30T11:49:00.003-04:00

Some highlights from this past month's theatrical activities:

COTE Tales. Co-Op Theatre East's new play reading series.

Trojan Women dramaturgy rehearsal.

Reading of my play "Documentary: A Suicide Narrative" at the Brecht Forum

Co-Op Theatre East Ensemble Photo Shoot

Encore performance of "GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest" at the Estrogenius Festival

(Above and Below) Scenes from Radio COTE, new socio-political radio plays

Friggin' Great Quotes!

2010-10-30T11:30:00.002-04:00

"The word theatre comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation. The theatre is a spiritual and social X-Ray of its time. The theatre was created to tell people the truth about life and the social situation." - Stella Adler

"Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds. Pity the nation that needs to jail those who ask for justice, while communal killers, mass murderers, corporate scamsters, looters, rapists, and those who prey on the poorest of the poor, roam free." - Arundhati Roy

‎"[Human beings] will begin to recover the moment we take art as seriously as physics, chemistry or money." - Ernst Levy

Plotting My Next Move

2010-09-23T23:17:00.002-04:00

I’m a creator of excessive lists. At the beginning of the summer, when I made the commitment to pursue the business of acting (I never actually stopped performing, I just wasn’t actively in the pursuit of acting work) I plotted my return plan of action carefully in a list that now looks somewhat like this:

June:

~~Research Acting Classes~~

~~Start Diet and Exercise Routine~~

~~Pick 3 Killer Monologues~~

July:

~~Narrow Down Acting Classes~~

~~Start Researching Headshot Photographers~~

~~Make schedule at the beginning of the week that includes dance class (don’t skip it!)~~

August:

~~Audition/Sign Up for Acting Classes~~

~~Narrow down Headshot Photographers~~

~~Submit for every role I’m right for~~

~~Audition, Audition, Audition~~

I keep my lists. I cross tasks off as I finish them and then I file them neatly, if they aren’t already in one of the notebooks I’d never be caught dead without. I’m also an excessive note taker. I write everything down from general observations of people I see in the streets and favorite quotes to ideas for new plays. If there are no words to express it, I draw pictures or take photography. My notebooks end up looking like that of a mad scientist or artist, which I guess we theatre types are both.

I often have to remind myself that this business is a marathon, not a sprint. There’s always so much work to be done at all times and I am the type who will happily forego a night out with friends to finish the tasks on a list. (Have you read Emily Kinney’s blog entry on Back Stage Unscripted http://backstage.blogs.com/unscripted/2010/09/what-its-like-to-be-a-flake.html, “What It’s Like To Be a Flake”… I identify) I don’t think of it as flakey though (I’m probably in denial)… rather, I tell myself I’m a recluse by choice. Though recently I’ve written this proverb on the top of my white board “All work and no play makes Jack a boring boy”. Next month’s list looks a bit like this:

October:

Find the Balance

Radio COTE is Coming!

2010-09-20T23:14:00.003-04:00

I'm debuting 2 new radio plays in COTE's 2010-2011 Season Kick-off called "Radio COTE" on October 6th, "Live from Pod 305" and "Standing in Front of 9/11 Waiting for the End of the World", a collaboration with my creative partner, Robert A.K. Gonyo. It's going to be a fun night filled with some of COTE's favorite performers and playwrights. Check out the info below and meet the cast here, http://www.theateronline.com/PB.xzc?PK=25817.

****

Co-Op Theatre East presents:

Radio COTE
New Radio Plays on Current Events
(with a Revisionist Twist)

Written by
Jacob Dickerman, Robert A. K. Gonyo*, Ashley Marinaccio* and Mariah MacCarthy

Directed by
Andi Cohen, Robert A.K. Gonyo, Veronique Ory and Katherine Sommer

Featuring
Hannah Rose Barfoot*, Kerrie Bond*, Mike Callahan*, Tyrus Cucavac*, Theresa Christine*, Jacob Dickerman, Jessica Greer Morris, Tony De Meglio,Robert Gonyo*, Alex Herrald*, Ashley Marinaccio*, Lauren McCullough, Todd Meredith, Michael Rehse, Anna Savant*, Lynn Spencer*, Laurence Waltman, Ruis Woertendyke

* member of the COTE Ensemble

Admission is free but there is a suggested donation of $5. All donations collected at the door will go to the Stefanos Tsigrimanis Memorial Fund established at NYU’s Department of Performance Studies, to sponsor future projects by departmental students that embody the spirit of Stefanos’s own work. Contact Laura Elena Fortes at the Department of Performance Studies at LF65@nyu.edu for any questions regarding the fund.

About the Plays

Live from Pod 305
Written by Ashley Marinaccio and Directed by Andi Cohen
Featuring Anna Savant, Ashley Marinaccio and Jacob Dickerman
At the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women, two pod mates discuss the concepts of revisionism and escape through a nightly grassroots radio broadcast from Pod 305.

Bachelor/Bachelorette
Written by Mariah MacCarthy and Directed by Katherine Sommer
Featuring Hannah Rose Barfoot, Lauren McCullough, Theresa Christine,
and Tyrus Cucavac
On the eve of her wedding at her bachelorette party, Dani is torn between an androgynous stranger and a call from her future wife.

Conference
Written and Directed by Robert A. K. Gonyo
Featuring Kerrie Bond, Mike Callahan, Alex Herrald and Todd Meredith
In the midst of delicate negotiations for a new health-care bill, a seasoned Congressman learns that his re-election campaign just got alot more complicated— voting has been made mandatory. Over a conference call, he & his campaign staff strategize through this turn of events, and weigh the costs of winning on Election Day.

Unus Populus Fidens (A Nation Without Fear/A Confident Nation)
Written by Jacob Dickerman and Directed by Véronique Ory
Featuring Lynn Spencer, Laurence Waltman, Jessica Greer Morris, Ruis Woertendyke, Michael Rehse and Tony De Meglio
In the wake of alterations to the Texas Social Studies curriculum, the US of A realizes the freedom that can be had when we subjugate our reason to our desires.

Standing In Front of 9/11 Waiting for the End of the World
Written by Ashley Marinaccio and Robert A.K. Gonyo
Performed by Ashley Marinaccio and Robert A.K. Gonyo
Toby and Rachel are professional disaster tour guides in need of some quick cash. While standing in front of the World Trade Center site they attempt to create a business plan that will demolish the competition of the surrounding street vendors and 9/11 memorabilia peddlers.

***

About Co-Op Theatre East
Founded in April of 2008, Co-Op Theatre East (COTE) believes in the power of art to foster a dialogue for social change. COTE provides an entertaining performance forum in which to ask evocative, challenging questions of artists and audiences on our way to creating collaborative answers. www.cooptheatreeast.org

About the COTE Ensemble
The COTE Ensemble are the resident artists of Co-Op Theatre East. The company membership exists to develop and expand both the performance technique and social consciousness of the individual artist, provide a supportive and safe atmosphere to create new work, and present new theatre that challenges the stories being told in dominant culture.

The Two Constants In My Life ...

2010-09-12T16:00:00.004-04:00

A special friend of mine in Seattle reminded me on September 10th that it's been 17 years since The X-Files debuted on television in 1993. Here's to one of my favorite shows ever and to the two constants in my life ... theatre and The X-Files.

He is Missed

2010-09-08T13:03:00.004-04:00

Stefanos Tsigrimanis
1980 - 2010

We've lost a beautiful soul, brilliant scholar and creative force to be reckoned with. You will be missed.

Photos from Around Fringe...

2010-08-16T08:32:00.003-04:00

Tech Rehearsal

Some photos documenting the last few exciting weeks while working on "GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest" at the NY International Fringe Festival. We opened yesterday. The show is brilliant and is highly recommended for ALL ages. There will be plenty more photos to come. Get your tickets while they're still available: http://www.theateronline.com/pb.xzc?PK=25096&ID=25096 .

Tech Rehearsal

Final Rehearsal @ EHS

The girls did a "sneak peek" at Manhattan Theatre Source's JuniorGenius festival.

Cast Party and Fundraiser at BBar

USC School of Theatre Commencement Speech

2010-08-08T19:03:00.000-04:00

Found this here: http://www.hollywoodactorprep.com/blog/2010/07/actors-life-art-soul-usc-commencement-address/

Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 10:10am
USC School of Theatre Commencement Speech
By José Rivera

Congratulations, we’re all colleagues now.
Having been perpetual students of an art form that can’t be fully learned because all the stories haven’t been told yet, we are now able practitioners.
Not only that, we’re partisans in a great struggle that may seem holy to some and crazy to others, but is wildly quixotic even at the best of times.
We’re all veterans of hope, sergeants and captains of an idealism and courage that seem anachronistic and beautifully, dolefully, painfully antique.
Because what we do, what we are trained to do, is to keep an ancient and sullied and disrespected and much maligned and amazing tradition alive.
We together keep the spoken word from going silent, spectacle from disappearing in the ones and zeros of forgetfulness, great life-and-death themes from dying of malnutrition, enormous characters and souls from the purgatory of indifference and ignorance.
Together we keep the The House of Atreus from foreclosure and the Skryker from extinction and Kent and Salem from dying of cancer and Pozzo from getting too lucky.
We are apostles of language, dreamers in blank verse, aristocrats of sight gags, archeologists of gesture and dance and sword battles and mask wearing and mythic games of tragic and comic consequences.
We bring Falstaff to the party and hope he doesn’t get too drunk and pinch too many butts even as we enter through the back door and try to deliver dream-worlds to the wary and the post-modern and the unsuspecting.
We traffic in awe and metaphors and are impatient with the ordinary and expected.
We fight the inertia of silence and talk too loud in polite locations and there is no Ritalin for us.
We don’t succumb to psychoanalysis and the voodoo of easy answers.
We thrive on complexity and ask that our monsters truly terrify us, that our lovers truly slay us with their passion, that our magicians truly make something out of nothing and hand it to us with smoke and a rakish smile.
We seek connections with the strange and communion with brave souls seeking the truth – not the entire truth, just a piece of it will do – a coin of truth we can keep in a pocket near our valuables, that we can spend in those frightening moments when we don’t know ourselves, when we’re in too deep and some clarity would help, some beauty that could redeem and enliven the night.
We turn awful experience and bad relationships and murdering office jobs and loveless parents and poverty and addictions and angst and loss and death itself into the fearsome gold of art.
We are alchemists and con artists, acrobats and used car salesmen, liars and enlighteners, and we are here to do the earth’s bidding because the earth is screaming out its stories and begging for us to write them down, and act them out, and draw her pretty pictures on the face of the clouds.
What’s in store now that you’ve made it through this training ground of the imagination?
Here are some of the highs and lows you can expect on this amazing journey.
There’s joy as you travel to wonderful places and receive the smiles and affection of new friends made in the crucible of performance, in front of raging armies of critics and prove-it- to- me, I’ve-paid-too- much-for- these-tickets, I-saw-it-last- year- in-London audiences and a perfect stranger comes up to you after the show to say they never felt so transported in the theatre before and they understand something about life they never understood until tonight and how you captured her parents’ pain and nobility so beautifully.
Fatigue as you give it everything you have, every single day, every muscle engaged in a marathon that doesn’t end until you end.Pain because you tell yourself it’s just a gig, just a job, but then you fall in love with it anyway.
Discovery of your limits and appreciation for the breathless power of your mastery.
Bliss when you’ve written that one good sentence; or you delivered that one perfect moment when the lights are on you and only you; or you discover in the text an idea or an image or a parable so true that it makes your audience weep with recognition; or you put out into the world a rendering of a staircase or acostume or a throne of gold in three brilliant dimensions that just last week existed in none.
Awe when you sit backstage, a moment before your entrance and realize you’re about to give the greatest soliloquy in our language.
Gratitude when it dawns on you that you make a living from the honey and perspiration of your mind.
Excitement when you write Act One, Scene One on the top of the first page; and you sit along the wall on the afternoon of your third call-back for your favorite play; and you stand in the back of the house and that moment you worked on for fourteen hours with that actor who never seemed to get it gets the biggest laugh of the night.
Amazement when your lights reflect in the physics of time and space exactly what’s happening in the unlit chambers and labyrinths of the hero’s soul.
Even more amazement when your project, which you put together with faith, spit, and favors turns a remarkable profit in actual U.S. currency.
Humility when you look around and everyone else seems more successful, or richer, or quicker, or better reviewed or living on both coasts and are equally familiar with Silver Lake and Williamsburg.
Relief when you figure out that, like all great cyclical events in nature, your long career will rise and fall and you’ll be hot, then forgotten, then hot, then forgotten, then hot again.
Anger when the words won’t cooperate and the costume’s too tight and you made a grave error in casting the world premiere, or passion seems to be ebbing, or you’d rather have a baby, or the grant goes to your rival, or that barbarian in the second row keeps texting his lawyer, or ten people show up to your reading in a theatre with three hundred seats, or you can’t stand Bushwick anymore, or the McArthur people overlooked you – again – or the sitcom’s too tempting, or your favorite actor’s not available, or the culture’s going north while you’re going south.
Or maybe you’ve forgotten something – you forgot the joy and the magic and the purpose and the need for it all.
But then you remember and come back anyway.
That’s the amazing part.
You come back the next day because even when the words don’t come and the costume’s cutting off the blood to your legs, this activity connects you to your most authentic and naked self, to the child who told sweeping sock puppet sagas and imitated your dad’s big laugh and drew pictures of avenging super heroes, to the adolescent who fell in love with the smell of opening night flowers, to the mature artist who became enthralled with the great blank space, that enchanted oval, on which battles determine the course of history and lovers learned the key expressions of the heart and men and women modeled heroism and humanity and Estragon lost his way and colored girls considered suicide and Proctor wouldn’t sign his name and Arial was free to go and a wicked Moon under a Lorca sky betrayed the idea of love.
You come back to balance art and family, and sometimes your checkbook, because nothing feels as good as the act of acting.
You endure the indifference of agents and literary managers because nothing sounds as nice as the click of that perfect metaphor falling into place.
You put off children, or you put off real estate, or you put off the thousand intangible compromises of the spirit because nothing frees you from the dark enchantments of gravity like this.
You stay up to three in the morning memorizing those sides for your best friend’s new play even though she wrote the part for you and the producers insist you have to audition anyway, because nothing brings you closer to Creation that this.
So why do you do these things?
Why come back when it hurts so much?
What kind of people are we?
How crazy do we have to be to put up with this?
Let’s face it, given the speed of today’s run-away clocks, given the accumulation of power and money in the hands of the very few and all the injustice that flows from that, given the complexity of social intercourse in an age of instant talk and delayed reflection, you’re a member of a different species entirely.
You age differently than the rest of the population.
You try hard not to succumb to the common theories and manias of the crowd.
You speak in tongues when everyone else is speaking in fortune cookies.
You make one-of-a-kind little miracles with your bare and blistered hands for below minimum wage as stock markets soar and die and soar and die.
You write about your existential pain in unsentimental words for sentimental audiences.
Your curiosity is so vast and out of control you don’t know boundaries and you annoy your lovers with your constant need to analyze their every nuance and no answer is ever good enough because each answer leads to ten new questions.
You dream in such vivid colors, you wonder if you can market your sleep as the next cool drug.
Your sensitivity to the pain and joy of others is so acute you might as well have multiple personalities.
You and failure are so intimate with each other you could birth one another’s bawling babies.
You try hard not to succumb to the common theories and manias of the crowd.
You speak in tongues when everyone else is speaking in fortune cookies.
You make one-of-a-kind little miracles with your bare and blistered hands for below minimum wage as stock markets soar and die and soar and die.
You write about your existential pain in unsentimental words for sentimental audiences.
Your curiosity is so vast and out of control you don’t know boundaries and you annoy your lovers with your constant need to analyze their every nuance and no answer is ever good enough because each answer leads to ten new questions.
You dream in such vivid colors, you wonder if you can market your sleep as the next cool drug.
Your sensitivity to the pain and joy of others is so acute you might as well have multiple personalities.
You and failure are so intimate with each other you could birth one another’s bawling babies.
You are gifted and cursed with a love of words so intense few other pleasures can move you like Lopahin’s declaration that he bought the cherry orchard, or what Li’l Bit had to do to learn to drive, or what devils of self-doubt whispered to a beautiful and wounded soul in a psychosis at 4:48 am.
For all this and more you came to this school and sacrificed, and worked your ass off, and delayed some big life decisions, and dreamed exceptional dreams, and fertilized your mind, and kept important promises you made to yourself.
That’s the important part: you kept the promises you made to yourself to stay in it and learn.
So now that you’ve come this far, and we’re in this room, together, what’s my advice?
It’s not a lot.
Love grandly.
Work forcefully.
Listen humbly.
Risk intelligently.
Risk stupidly.
Scare yourself.
Recycle your pain.
Think about greatness.
Make babies and make art for them.
Slay your heroes.
Laugh at yourself.
Betray no one’s trust.
Throw parties.
Make time for silence.
Search and search and search and search.
I could go on, but I don’t think you need any moreadvice from me.
I think you’re ready.
You, the fighter and hero of this morning’s tale are trained and ready to unpack your Heiner Muller and your tap shoes and your colored pencils and are brimming with ideas and full of courage and full of fight and you know the obstacles and laugh in their faces and the dragons you fight are windmills and thewindmills you fight are straw and the time to talk about doing it is over.
It’s time to do it.
So let’s go out now, you and I, let’s go out and make some art.
Thank you and all the best of luck.
Jose Rivera is a playwright. [wikipedia]

On Oz...

2010-07-31T21:56:00.006-04:00

No, not this Oz...

This one.

I suppose I'm jumping on this band wagon a little late... 7 years late to be exact. However, I'm absolutely undone by this show and will most likely be writing a few more blogs about it before my obscure little summer obsession runs its course.

I'm in the middle of watching the series via dvd (currently at the beginning of season 4). It's hands down one of the best episodic drama series that I've ever seen. I will have more comments as soon as I'm through the entire series as there's A TON to say, about the writing, performances and the issues it raises. I think the storytelling is superior and am personally interested in how the structure (narrative/narration) affects the way the audience understands the various issues that it raises about the prison/legal system, gender, race and class. It's a structure I've seen done both successfully (and not so successfully) in theatre and something I would like to work with a bit more in my own work, though adapting the structure of Oz to the theatre could end up creating a very pretentious/didactic theatre piece. Though on the flip side, it's incredibly Brechtian, which I think is another reason why I'm so captivated. I haven't had the chance to read any criticism/discussions on the series (I'm holding off until I'm done in a sad attempt to not spoil the ending) but I imagine all of these points have been raised.

Oz successfully puts a face onto statistics, the rather large and insane US prison incarceration statistics. Not only do we get to know, attempt to understand and empathize with the characters but Tom Fontana (the writer) skillfully weaves in larger humanitarian/ethical themes and statistics through narration by a character named Augustus Hill (played by Harold Perrineau) who breaks the 4th wall and addresses the viewers.

With facebook, twitter and the other social networking sites that dominate our lives and the way we watch television, I wish this show was still on the air not only for the crazy comments everyone would be posting at the end of each episode, but to get a sense first hand of the way that people are interpreting the ethical issues jam packed into every episode. Does it make people want to take action? How does one view the prison system after watching this series? How does the structure affect the way the information and storytelling is coming through? I may be digging deep but I'm hooked (and for good reason...). I would love to hear the dialogue on this one.

And one final thought for tonight ... How the heck does Simon Adebesi keep that hat on?

(Simon Adebesi [played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje] and his infamous hat)

PGPC and COTE Present: GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest

2010-07-18T22:50:00.001-04:00

Project Girl Performance Collective and Co-Op Theatre East present: GIRLPOWER: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST created and performed by the Project Girl Performance Collective directed by Ashley Marinaccio and Jessica Greer Morris edited by Elizabeth Koke and Lara Gold assistant directed/stage managed by Katherine Sommer and Alexa Winston featuring: Emily Rupp, Lillian Rodriguez, Andira Rodriguez, Dominique Fishback, Stacey Oliver, Amber Tiara Rhaab, Samantha Phillips, Camille Theobald, Katherine Scott, Kristen Gonzalez, Arianna Hanson, Nora Kennedy, Deanna Alexandra, Kaylyn O'Gara, Dailyn Santana, Kristina de Mora The New York International Fringe Festival – FringeNYC a production of The Present Company SUN August 15th @ 2:00pm THUR August 19 @ 4:45pm FRI August 20 @ 4:00pm SAT August 21 @ 7:15pm THUR August 26 @ 4:00 pm Followed by a moderated talkback with cast/crew Tickets: $15 The Robert Moss Theatre 440 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest is an empowering, ensemble-driven collection of words written and performed by teenagers, struggling with issues they face growing up in today's world. In deeply personal material based on real interviews and experiences, the young women explore topics such as peer pressure, body image, being an outcast, different, flawed, and full of dreams for the future. They share their perspectives on love, relationships, current events, the future and creating change. Audiences can expect to walk away with a renewed sense of their own empowerment, regardless of age and gender. "The show achieves the innovation and freshness sought by many more seasoned writers and actors at the Fringe Festival. Gritty and honest, GirlPower is sure to encourage postperformance discussion among audience members of all ages and genders." - Carly Guarino (Time Out NY - 2009) About the Project Girl Performance Collective: The Project Girl Performance Collective empowers young women by creating a safe space to address contemporary social, political and cultural issues through the performing arts and written word. The Project Collective is committed to the idea of theatre and performance as a medium for awareness, action and social change. www.projectgirlperformancecollective.org. About Co-Op Theatre East: Co-Op Theatre East believes in the power of art to foster a dialogue for social change. We provide an entertaining performance forum in which to ask evocative, challenging questions of artists and audiences on our way to creating collaborative answers. www.cooptheatreeast.org

Project Girl Performance Collective and Co-Op Theatre East present:

GIRLPOWER: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
created and performed by the Project Girl Performance Collective

directed by Ashley Marinaccio and Jessica Greer Morris
edited by Elizabeth Koke and Lara Gold
assistant directed/stage managed by Katherine Sommer and Alexa Winston

featuring:

Emily Rupp, Lillian Rodriguez, Andira Rodriguez, Dominique Fishback, Stacey Oliver, Amber Tiara Rhaab, Samantha Phillips, Camille Theobald, Katherine Scott, Kristen Gonzalez, Arianna Hanson, Nora Kennedy, Deanna Alexandra, Kaylyn O'Gara, Dailyn Santana, Kristina de Mora

The New York International Fringe Festival – FringeNYC
a production of The Present Company

SUN August 15th @ 2:00pm
THUR August 19 @ 4:45pm
FRI August 20 @ 4:00pm
SAT August 21 @ 7:15pm
*THUR August 26 @ 4:00 pm

*Followed by a moderated talkback with cast/crew

Tickets: $15

The Robert Moss Theatre
440 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor

GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest is an empowering, ensemble-driven collection of words written and performed by teenagers, struggling with issues they face growing up in today's world. In deeply personal material based on real interviews and experiences, the young women explore topics such as peer pressure, body image, being an outcast, different, flawed, and full of dreams for the future. They share their perspectives on love, relationships, current events, the future and creating change. Audiences can expect to walk away with a renewed sense of their own empowerment, regardless of age and gender.

"The show achieves the innovation and freshness sought by many more seasoned writers and actors at the Fringe Festival. Gritty and honest, GirlPower is sure to encourage postperformance discussion among audience members of all ages and genders." - Carly Guarino (Time Out NY - 2009)

About the Project Girl Performance Collective:

The Project Girl Performance Collective empowers young women by creating a safe space to address contemporary social, political and cultural issues through the performing arts and written word. The Project Collective is committed to the idea of theatre and performance as a medium for awareness, action and social change. www.projectgirlperformancecollective.org.

About Co-Op Theatre East:

Co-Op Theatre East believes in the power of art to foster a dialogue for social change. We provide an entertaining performance forum in which to ask evocative, challenging questions of artists and audiences on our way to creating collaborative answers. www.cooptheatreeast.org

GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest in the NY Fringe Festival

2010-07-18T22:48:00.001-04:00

Some links to information about our show:

PGPC blog: http://pgpcnyc.blogspot.com/

Show's website: http://www.theateronline.com/pb.xzc?PK=25096

NY Theatre Fringe preview: http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/listing_fnyc.php?t=10590

Another Review (and 2 Festival Award Nominations)...

2010-07-14T21:45:00.003-04:00

Another exciting review of "Decadent Acts" from Show Business Weekly:
http://www.showbusinessweekly.com/archive2010/599/dec.shtml

and in other news, "Decadent Acts"/COTE has 2 nominations in the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity Awards:

Anna Savant for Outstanding Lead Actress (for her work as Dr. Jolene Shatila)

and I am nominated for the Planet Activist award.

Great summer so far!

Gearing up for "GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest" in the Fringe Festival this August! It's going to be a fantastic show as well!

Overheard in my house...

2010-07-14T21:10:00.002-04:00

Some things are so good they need to be repeated...

"You mean to tell me we've got over 250 channels and not one of them is playing Law and Order:SVU right now!? Who do I call to complain about this?"

‎"I'd really love to see that show about the cats..."
"You mean CATS?"
"Yeah, Cats!"
"Well dad, you're about 20 years too late..."

"There should be a channel that just plays Law and Order: SVU in loop."
"There is, it's called the USA network... and tonight they're failing us."

Hooked on CSPAN worked for me!

2010-07-03T12:54:00.006-04:00

Ah, the joys of CSPAN...

I got hooked on CSPAN this past week and the Elena Kagan Supreme Court confirmation hearing. It was a chance to see how the US judicial branch works and I hope that if/when Kagan gets on the court, she continues to argue for cameras in the court room. It would provide a fantastic opportunity for the American people to see hows things are done and talk about the decisions and issues that are argued behind closed doors. Elena Kagan is incredibly intelligent, tough and an inspiration for women everywhere.

Kagan's opening statements: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/29/elena-kagan-wants-cameras_n_629807.html

New Art

2010-06-29T21:26:00.004-04:00

Finally had some time today just to chill out. I worked in the garden for a bit (it's looking great... pictures soon!) and finished these collages that have been sitting around for awhile. It was fabulous to finally have the chance to finish these up. My next adventure will be figuring out a way to hang them up (they're kind of heavy).

Decadent Acts Review

2010-06-20T14:54:00.003-04:00

Decadent Acts received a nice review from Erik Haagensen of Backstage magazine (http://www.backstage.com/bso/reviews-ny-theatre-off-off-broadway/decadent-acts-1004099237.story). Overall, it's very fair and I'm very appreciative for both the criticism and positive feedback. It's a great place to start (and end, this round). Haagensen has provided me with a valuable set of critiques which I can't wait to hopefully work on and change for not only the next phase of Decadent Acts but future plays.

I'm thankful Backstage had the chance to check it out and hope that they will come back to see GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest in the NY International Fringe Festival this summer. I would LOVE to receive such thoughtful criticism and feedback such as this for PGPC because it's a wonderful way to think about how to frame work int he future (especially with a project like GirlPower that's ongoing). So, thank you Erik/Backstage and I hope to see you again in August back at the Robert Moss Theatre (dates TBA!)

My Painting!

2010-06-16T21:32:00.002-04:00

I got to fill in on one of my favorite programs today at work (no, not bird watching...), Adult Art. Like all of the programs in Battery Park, it's one that reminds me how fortunate I am to work at such a fantastic place. Since we're encouraged to participate in programs, I put together this little watercolor masterpiece. haha. I'm planning on adding to it. I want to make it a mixed media collage. This is phase 1 ... phase 2 will start as soon as I get a free moment ...

Decadent Acts @ The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity

2010-06-14T23:02:00.003-04:00

decadent acts.

written and directed by Ashley Marinaccio.
original score by Kaze Patricio Chan.
assistant directed by Casey Cleverly.
design by Robert Gonyo. Lynn Spencer. Theresa Christine.

Part of the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity.

featuring:

Anna Savant, Hannah Rose Barfoot, Beatrice Miller, Mike Callahan, Joanie Fritz Zosike, Alex Herrald, C. Rose Kearns, Michelle Sims, Alionka Polanco and David Roberts

TUESDAY 6/15 at 4:00pm FRIDAY 6/18 at 4:00pm SATURDAY 6/19 at 1:30pm SUNDAY 6/20 at 8:30pm WEDNESDAY 6/23 at 8:30pm THURSDAY 6/24 at 6:30pm

The Robert Moss Theater
440 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor

Proceeds of Decadent Acts will go to Democracy Now.

Set in late 1980s New York City, Decadent Acts chronicles the story of a lesbian couple struggling against legislated discrimination. When television personality Farah White falls fatally ill, her partner, professor Jolene Shatila, along with their daughter Nicole, are faced with unexpected challenges that will change their lives forever. From child custody laws, to hospital visitation rights, Decadent Acts spotlights the harsh reality of discriminatory regulations against same-sex partners, plunging emotional and political depths with grace and searing honesty. At a time when the push for full equality is finally building real momentum across the country, this play couldn’t be timelier.

The show stars Anna Savant as Dr. Jolene Shatila, Hannah Rose Barfoot as Farah White and Beatrice Miller as their young daughter, Nicole. The ensemble is comprised of Mike Callahan, Joanie Fritz Zosike, Alex Herrald, C. Rose Kearns, Michelle Sims, Alionka Polanco, and David Roberts. Decadent Acts is written and directed by Ashley Marinaccio.

About Planet Connections Theatre Festivity:

The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity is New York's premiere eco-friendly theatre festival. Fostering a diverse cross-section of performances, the festival seeks to inspire artists and audiences both creatively and fundamentally, in a festive atmosphere. At the heart of the festivity are like-minded individuals striving to create professional, meaningful theatre, while supporting organizations, which give back to the community at large. http://www.planetconnectionsfestivity.com/shows/decadent-acts

About Co-Op Theatre East:
Founded in April of 2008, Co-Op Theatre East (COTE) believes in the power of art to foster a dialogue for social change. COTE provides an entertaining performance forum in which to ask evocative, challenging questions of artists and audiences on our way to creating collaborative answers. www.cooptheatreeast.org.

Meet the cast of Decadent Acts: http://www.theateronline.com/pb.xzc?PK=24495

*** The photos you see here are from today's tech rehearsal. More to come...

Diversity in Indie Theatre Discussion - This Friday!

2010-06-14T21:41:00.003-04:00

I have been invited to speak on a panel this Friday that will be exploring diversity in the independent theatre world. It's part of the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity (in which COTE is currently producing "Decadent Acts"). The festival has been a wonderful experience for us so far. If you haven't had the chance to, you should check out some of the exciting work being done. Of course, you should check out Decadent Acts too. We've made quite a lot of changes since our April production and are in great shape. Looking forward to an exciting run.

For more information on the panel, check out Martin's blog. I have copied and pasted the information from there, below. http://nytheatre.wordpress.com/2010/06/09/talking-about-diversity-in-indie-theater/

***

On Friday, June 18 at 2:00pm, at the Robert Moss Theatre, I will be hosting a panel on diversity in Indie theater. The panel is part of the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, of which nytheatre.com is a media sponsor.

I’ve put together a really interesting lineup to join me on the panel:

LEAH BONVISUTTO is the director of Felipe Ossa’s Cake at Planet Connections
ROI “BUBI” ESCUDERO is the creator/director/designer of 11 Seconds of Ecstasy at Planet Connections
ASHLEY MARINACCIO is the author/director of Decadent Acts at Planet Connections
MONTSERRAT MENDEZ is a playwright, director, actor, and a reviewer for nytheatre.com

We’ll be talking about the breadth and depth of diversity in the indie theater community–which is certainly exemplified by the panel, which includes three women who direct and two who write plays; one of our panelists is from Argentina and another from Puerto Rico. Diversity will be defined very broadly in this discussion–not just in terms of gender or ethnicity, but also in terms of subject matter, theme, genre, and form. Why is indie theater the platform for so much more exploration in these areas than elsewhere in the NYC theatre world?

We’re also going to be talking about why diversity is important–not just for the various groups/ideas that are represented, but more significantly for the audience. Why should theatregoers of every stripe stretch themselves and move out of their comfort zones to experience diverse kinds of theatre?

I expect a fascinating and lively discussion, and I hope you will join us! It’s free. Post your thoughts here and I will bring them to the panel!

We've got OWLS!

2010-06-06T20:09:00.005-04:00

An owl family has moved into the tree outside my window. I have taken the liberty to name them. Marlena and Fred are the adults and the little ones are Dewie, Lewie and Stewie.

some thoughts

2010-06-06T19:19:00.002-04:00

on my mind...

Production Photos from Decadent Acts in April 2010

2010-05-15T21:33:00.003-04:00

More Photos from Decadent Acts, from rehearsal to performance: http://www.photoblog.com/ashleymarinaccio/2010/04/30/decadent-acts-rehearsal-to-performance.html

decadent acts

2010-05-15T21:12:00.002-04:00

decadent acts.

written and directed by Ashley Marinaccio.

original score by Kaze Patricio Chan.

assistant directed by Casey Cleverly.

design by Robert Gonyo. Lynn Spencer. Theresa Christine.

Part of the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity.

featuring:

Anna Savant, Hannah Rose Barfoot, Beatrice Miller, Mike Callahan, Joanie Fritz Zosike, Alex Herrald, C. Rose Kearns, Michelle Sims, Alionka Polanco and David Roberts

TUESDAY 6/15 at 4:00pm

FRIDAY 6/18 at 4:00pm

SATURDAY 6/19 at 1:30pm

SUNDAY 6/20 at 8:30pm

WEDNESDAY 6/23 at 8:30pm

THURSDAY 6/24 at 6:30pm

The Robert Moss Theater

440 Lafayette Street, 3rd Floor

Proceeds of Decadent Acts will go to Democracy Now.

Set in late 1980s New York City, Decadent Acts chronicles the story of a lesbian couple struggling against legislated discrimination. When television personality Farah White falls fatally ill, her partner, professor Jolene Shatila, along with their daughter Nicole, are faced with unexpected challenges that will change their lives forever. From child custody laws, to hospital visitation rights, Decadent Acts spotlights the harsh reality of discriminatory regulations against same-sex partners, plunging emotional and political depths with grace and searing honesty. At a time when the push for full equality is finally building real momentum across the country, this play couldn’t be timelier.

The show stars Anna Savant as Dr. Jolene Shatila, Hannah Rose Barfoot as Farah White and Beatrice Miller as their young daughter, Nicole. The ensemble is comprised of Mike Callahan, Joanie Fritz Zosike, Alex Herrald, C. Rose Kearns, Michelle Sims, Alionka Polanco, and David Roberts. Decadent Acts is written and directed by Ashley Marinaccio.

About Planet Connections Theatre Festivity:

The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity is New York's premiere eco-friendly theatre festival. Fostering a diverse cross-section of performances, the festival seeks to inspire artists and audiences both creatively and fundamentally, in a festive atmosphere. At the heart of the festivity are like-minded individuals striving to create professional, meaningful theatre, while supporting organizations, which give back to the community at large. http://www.planetconnectionsfestivity.com/shows/decadent-acts

About Co-Op Theatre East:

Founded in April of 2008, Co-Op Theatre East (COTE) believes in the power of art to foster a dialogue for social change. COTE provides an entertaining performance forum in which to ask evocative, challenging questions of artists and audiences on our way to creating collaborative answers. http://www.cooptheatreeast.org/.

Meet the cast of Decadent Acts: http://www.theateronline.com/pb.xzc?PK=24495

My Left Forum Loves!

2010-03-22T16:30:00.003-04:00

There they are... a few of my favorite people from the Pace University sociology/anthropology department (alumni) at Left Forum this past weekend. I chaired a panel called "Creating Lasting Change through Radical Theatre"on Saturday that featured some fierce speakers and wonderful performances. Every year I look forward to the energy and ideas I get at Left Forum. Looking forward to 2011!

New Pictures by Jillian Farrell!

2010-03-20T22:13:00.004-04:00

Jillian Farrell of 60b photography took some amazing new pictures the other day. She is an incredibly gifted photographer. Looking forward to posting more of her work.

Quote of the Day

2010-02-26T16:08:00.000-05:00

"But if there was no war than there wouldn't be any good video games..." - Little boy (age 9) at the deli commenting on the anti-war patches on my backpack

Dec Diary: Entry #2

2010-02-18T21:55:00.003-05:00

Rehearsals are great. We're heading into the 3rd week and almost done with Act 1. Here are some pictures from last week's photo shoot. More will be up soon.

Jolene, Farah and Nicole

Nicole and her "South Africa" Hat

Full Cast

Eve

Hospital Scene

Grandma, Grandpa and the Gang

Estrogenius Submissions

2010-02-12T21:38:00.002-05:00

The 2010 Estrogenius Festival is up and running! Below is information on how directors, playwrights and performers can submit to be part of it.

All deadlines and details can be found here:

http://www.theatresource.org/estro/submission_guide.html

or by going to http://www.estrogenius.org and clicking in the upper right hand corner on "Submission Guidelines."

Short plays, solo pieces and visual art submissions are due April 15th.

Director/designer/crew resumes are due June 1st.

The festival will run from September 29-October 30, 2010.

Here's to a FANTASTIC 11th year!

Reason 58693 why I love Eve Ensler...

2010-02-02T13:07:00.001-05:00

Girl Power Can Save The World (from CNN): http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/02/02/ensler.TED.talk.girl.power/index.html?hpt=C2

Buying a girl is cheaper than buying a cow in many places.
--Eve Ensler

Editor's note: Eve Ensler wrote the play "The Vagina Monologues" and founded V-Day , a global movement to end violence against women and girls. V-Day has funded more than 11,000 community-based anti-violence programs and launched safe houses in the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, South Dakota, Egypt and Iraq. Ensler's book, "I Am an Emotional Creature: The Secret Life of Girls Around the World," will be released February 9 by Villard/Random House. Ensler spoke at the TED India conference in November 2009. For more TED Talks, click here.

(CNN) -- The future is "girl." Imagine girl is a cell that each of us -- boys and girls -- are born with. Imagine this girl cell is central to the evolution of our species and an assurance of the continuation of the human race.

Now imagine that a few powerful people, invested in owning this world, understood that the oppression of this cell was key to retaining their power, so they reinterpreted this cell, undermining its value and making us believe that it is weak. They initiated a process to crush, eradicate, annihilate, humiliate, belittle, censor, reduce and kill off the girl cell.

This was called patriarchy.

Imagine girl is a chip in the huge microcosm of our collective consciousness, which is essential to the balance, wisdom and future of humanity.

Imagine that girl is the part of each of us that feels compassion, empathy, passion, intensity, association, relationship, emotion, play, resistance, vulnerability, intuitive intelligence, vision.

Imagine that compassion informs wisdom. That vulnerability is our greatest strength. That emotions have inherent logic and lead to radical saving action.

Now remember that those in power essentially taught us and conditioned us to believe the opposite:

Compassion clouds your thinking.

Vulnerability is weakness.

Emotions are not to be trusted.

Don't take things personally.

To be a boy means not to be a girl.

To be a man means not to be a girl.

To be strong means not to be a girl.

To be a woman means not to be a girl.

To be a leader means not to be a girl.

It must be very powerful to be a girl if everyone Is taught not to be one.

Having traveled the planet for 12 years, visiting more than 60 countries and living in the rape mines of the world, I have been with girls. I have witnessed their realities.

I have seen girls with knife wounds and cigarette burns, treated like garbage, beaten by their brothers and fathers and boyfriends and mothers, starving themselves to death to look the way they are supposed to look -- which is close to invisible.

I have witnessed across this planet ... the wild natural resiliency, fierceness, grace and nobility of girl.
--Eve Ensler

We are so accustomed to prohibiting girls from being the subjects of their own life that we have turned them into objects: commodities in the marketplace, bodies to be bought and sold and plundered and married off or raped in war. Buying a girl is cheaper than buying a cow in many places.

I have been with boys as well, watched as they have been ridiculed, censored and abused for their tenderness, their doubts, their grief, their need for comfort and protection. I have seen how the tyranny of masculinity has forced boys and then men to cut off their hearts and cast them into a brutal, lonely state of disassociation and isolation.

The state of girl, the condition of girl -- in the world and in us -- will determine if this species survives.

I believe unleashing the intensity of girl, the outrage of girl, the passion of girl, is the only way to chip away the thick sludge of denial, oppression and indifference that has led to our insane acceptance of a world spinning us toward our end.

What I have witnessed across this planet is the wild natural resiliency, fierceness, grace and nobility of girl.

The girl cell is our greatest resource, a renewable, untapped energy field like the wind. It is there for us, if we activate it and allow it to resist, dare, challenge, feel and connect.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Eve Ensler.

Decadent Acts, Entry #1: A Director's List

2010-01-29T23:17:00.005-05:00

The first "Decadent Acts" entry ... January 30th, 2010

Getting ready to start COTE's newest production of "Decadent Acts". I'm at the point where I'm about ready to take off the playwright's hat and wear the director's. Of course, leaving behind playwright may not happen for a few weeks until after I hear the first read through this Sunday. Actually, who am I kidding... when we did "Documentary: A Suicide Narrative" in 2008, made script changes up until the last minute. I already have some ideas for what I may cut/add and scenes that would help Dec. I'm thrilled with the process that's been made so far on it and couldn't be more happy with the team that's been busting their behinds on getting it to where it is today. This play has had many lives (and many more rewrites), originating as my honors thesis from Pace University.

My biggest fear always is going into a first rehearse unprepared (or appearing unprepared). The down time from Battery Park City (no job in the winter) has given me plenty of time to get lots of work done. Thus, my check list is completed.

The Director's Check List

1. Script printed/Scenes labeled
2. Rehearsal schedule (for February) printed/conflicts noted/rescheduling done. Contact list and other EXCEL documents completed.
3. Skeletal blocking for the entire play done (This is where I go through the script scene by scene a lay a rough framework for how I want it to look. I do it separate from the script) .
4. First few scenes blocked on paper (This is where the blocking is actually written into the script). It always ends up changing and (for the most part) being thrown away, but I like having it.
5. Character work and preliminary questions sent to cast. (I generally send a list of questions broken down by scene for the actors to ask themselves about their characters and motives to get the ball rolling...)
6. Some additional research and suggested reading/video watching sent...

Okay, so I'm a bit of a research junkie. I fantasize that everyone who works with me loves to do research as much as I do. There just is never enough you can know about a topic and being that I'm often too curious for my own good, I spend hours researching the smallest nuances in a script. Maybe I'm missing my calling in life as a dramaturg? Ah well, for now we're set and I can't wait to get this show on the road.

Indypendent Photos

2010-01-29T22:58:00.002-05:00

I shot this issue's cover of the Indypendent. Check it out above. It's a great newspaper. I think it's very important to support independent journalism and media, especially in the times we're living in. I recommend this paper. Every issue has well written, thought provoking articles. To read the article I did the photos for, click below.

Click here: http://www.indypendent.org/2010/01/29/inside-columbus-high-school/

Birthday with Wolves!

2010-01-09T17:40:00.006-05:00

Celebrated my birthday today! Best one yet. It's going to be a great year. We visited a wolf Lakota Wolf preserve and animal conservation area (in Northern NJ) where we saw foxes, bobcats and wolves (obviously). Here are the highlights of the day:

The cake!

The pack of kids in front of the pack of wolves.

Let him eat cake!

Walking a mile to the wolves.

Wolf.

For more pictures from the day: http://www.photoblog.com/ashleymarinaccio/2010/01/09/

The House of Ash

Why Children's Theater Matters...

Building the all inclusive movement (and theatre company)

Opening Night of Lady Macbeth

2011 Resolution Tally

Quote of the Day

Life with Ryan

As winter approaches, Occupy can use theater to maintain protest

Favorite Photos of 2011 (Part 1)

Year in Review - Favorite Photos of 2011 (Part 2)

TIME Magazine

Buy Nothing Day!

Top 10 George Carlin Quotes

7 Reasons Why Theatre Makes Our Lives Better

7 Reasons Why Theatre Makes Our Lives Better

How Sweet It Is!

A Letter from Troy Davis

Quote of the Day

Being a Kid After 9/11

Being a Kid After 9/11

Young performers in New York City explore what it means to grow up after the world changed

Ten Years Later - Promo Video

TEN YEARS LATER OPENS AT PETER JAY SHARP THEATER

5 Reasons to see "Ampersand: A Romeo and Juliet Story" at Fringe this year!

Arundhati Roy Video

COTE Announces Auditions for two devised pieces

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Needed: Vacation

Why I Go...

everything ███ █████ is█████ ████ ████ fine ████ ███ █ ██████ love. █████ ███████ ███ your █████ ████ government

Ode to the Haters

untitled

when i look around, i think this: this is good enoughand i try to laugh/at whatever life bringscuz when i look down, i just miss all the good stuffand when i look up, i just trip over things

"To Win Our New World"

Walk Like An Egyptian - Photo(s) of the week...

Be with the Revolution - كن مع الثورة

Coming of Age in a Crap Economy - Interview

Review of Beyond Therapy

The Doctor is IN...

What is your training?

One of my favorite things about my birthday in the cyber age...

1.1.11

And it's beginning to snow...

the 2011 list

Merry Christmas!

We only move forward - 2010 Year in Review

A Conversation with my Mother...

Mom - Oh yeah, I have an autographed copy of Abbie Hoffman's book, Steal this Book...

Ashley- Wait. WHA? How?

Mom - I went to his book signing up near Columbia, right before the big anti-war march in DC

Ashley- Why didn't you tell me any of this?

Mom- You never asked

Ashley - Ma, you were so cool...

Quote of the day

Favorite Photos of 2010

Dr. House is in the house...

New Headshots by Dirty Sugar

Busy October

Friggin' Great Quotes!

Plotting My Next Move

Radio COTE is Coming!

The Two Constants In My Life ...

He is Missed

Photos from Around Fringe...

USC School of Theatre Commencement Speech

On Oz...

PGPC and COTE Present: GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest

GirlPower: Survival of the Fittest in the NY Fringe Festival

Another Review (and 2 Festival Award Nominations)...

Overheard in my house...

Hooked on CSPAN worked for me!

New Art

Decadent Acts Review

My Painting!

Decadent Acts @ The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity

Diversity in Indie Theatre Discussion - This Friday!

We've got OWLS!

some thoughts

Production Photos from Decadent Acts in April 2010

decadent acts

when i look around, i think this: this is good enough
and i try to laugh/at whatever life brings
cuz when i look down, i just miss all the good stuff
and when i look up, i just trip over things