Posts
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.Being a Kid After 9/11
Young performers in New York City explore what it means to grow up after the world changed
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.
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.
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!
***
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
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. Labels: acting, Performances, theatre
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.
Co-Op Theatre East (www.cooptheatreeast.org) is presenting some exciting new street theatre this weekend at various locations throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens called "Democracy in America". Come check us out! "Democracy in America" explores the nature of contemporary democracy in the United States, with a focus on the New York City mayoral election. Curated and directed by Robert A. K. Gonyo, the piece is brimming with questions of civic participation, spectatorship, the politics of art, and the art of politics. The locations are listed below. We definitely hope to see you as you're out and about this Halloween weekend.
Happy Halloween!!!!
DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA SCHEDULE
SATURDAY OCTOBER 31st
BROOKLYN
Between 12:30 and 1 p.m.Fort Greene Park, Dekalb Ave. @ Washington Park, Brooklyn, NY, 718-398-4024 http://fortgreenepark.org
MIDTOWN - MANHATTAN
Between 2:30 and 3 p.m., and 4 and 4:30 p.m.:A.D.A.’s World’s Largest Block Party FREE Madison Ave between 42nd and 57th Sts (nycstreetfairs.com). Subway: 42nd St S, 4, 5, 6, 7 to 42nd St–Grand Central; N, R to Fifth Ave–59th St. 10am–6pm.
THE VILLAGE - MANHATTAN
Between 5:30 and 6 p.m., and 6:30 and 7 p.m.36th Annual Village Halloween ParadeFREE Sixth Ave from Spring St to 23rd St (halloween-nyc.com). Subway: A, C, E, D, F to W 4th St; C, E to Spring St; F to 14th or 23rd St; L to Sixth Ave. 7–10pm.
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 1st
MIDTOWN
Between 12 and 12:30 p.m., and 1 and 1:30 p.m. Sixth Avenue Autumn Fair FREE Sixth Ave between 34th and 42nd Sts (nycstreetfairs.com). Subway: D, F, N, Q, R to 34th St–Herald Sq; D, F to 42nd St–Bryant Park; 7 to Fifth Ave. 10am–6pm.
JACKSON HEIGHTS - QUEENS
Between 2:30 - 3:00 pmJackson Heights Greenmarket, 34 Avenue between 77 & 78 Streets, and on 78 St between 34 Avenue and Northern Blvd. 7 to 74 St/Broadway; E, F, V, R, G to Jackson Heights/Roosevelt. http://www.cenyc.org/node/278
UNION SQUARE - MANHATTAN
Between 5:00 - 5:30 pmUnion Square Broadway FestivalFREE Broadway between 17th and 23rd Sts (clearviewfestival.com). Subway: L, N, Q, R, 4, 5, 6 to 14th St–Union Sq; R to 23rd St. 11am–6pm.
This statement about the death of Augusto Boal was released by the Center for the Theater of the Oppressed in Rio de Janeiro. It was written by Bárbara Santos on behalf of the CTO-Rio. I have copied it from Robby's blog... http://reconsider59.tumblr.com/ .
**
Brothers and sisters in arms, companions in the struggle. Our beloved comrade Augusto Boal, that tireless sower of seeds, whotravelled the four corners of the earth scattering the seed of theTheatre of the Oppressed, is on yet another journey. He set off in the early hours of the second of May. He spent the First of May, May Day, in a vigil of solidarity with the workers fighting for a fairer and happier world, a world of solidarity. He set off on this special journey, for which reason he was not able to be physcially present at any event. But, as was his habit, he lived, loved and worked to the last drop of his energy, leaving ready (for publication) the new version of his book, The Aesthetics of theOppressed. He also left express instructions that no event should be cancelled because of his absence. “Isnt that the very point of Multiplication?”
Yesterday, on the third of May, we held a farewell ceremony. The cremation of his body marked the start of a new phase of the Theatre of theOppressed, in the physical absence of the Master himself. We wept, we talked, we sang. Celse Frateschi recited, beautifully, a passage from*Arena Conta Zumbi*. We sang a song written by Nuno Arcanjo. And CeciliaBoal, with all her strength and vitality, told the world that her husband should be remembered as the warrior that he always was. We dried our tears and affirmed Boal’s leaving.His body has gone, but not his presence! This Saturday, the 9th of May,from 5 pm to 8 pm (Brazilian time), we will pay homage to him and his presence at the Centre of the Theatre of the Oppressed with music, poems, performances and videos. At 7 pm we stop for a moment of tribute in Boal’s honor. We will celebrate the life, the struggle, the productivity, the work of Augusto Boal and the continuity of that work. We ask that everybody do same as us, and pay homage to him this Saturday. It will not be easy to follow our Master, Partner, Friend and Comrade in the Struggle. But what has ever been easy in the trajectory of the Theatre of the Oppressed? Ethics and Solidarity will be our foundations and our guides. Multiplication will be our strategy. And our goal will remain the same: to create concrete social actions to transform oppressive situations into realities of peace and justice.Viva Augusto Boal!
Barbara Santos, 4 May 2009 Centre of the Theatre of the Oppressed, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
ZehlSteen Think Pound performs at EndTimes Underground TOMORROW and April 2nd!
My sketch comedy group, ZehlSteen think Pound is performing at End Times tomorrow night. We'd love all of the support we can get. It should be an excellent show! Come and check us out.
ZehlSteen Think Pound vs. Jungle Jungle tomorrow night!!!
EndTimes Productions invites you to a no-holds-barred Sketch and Improvisational Comedy Exposition.
Featuring the grittiest and gutsiest comedy groups that Gotham has to offer.
Each Tuesday and Wednesday night, see two groups go head to head in a winner-takes-all showdown. The victor’s chosen by YOU the audience. So come, we “Promise you safe passage through the Wasteland” of contemporary comedy.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays @8:00pm
March 4th - April 16th 2008
at
Underground @ the Gene Frankel Theatre
24 Bond Street New York, NY 10012Admission $10
http://www.endtimesproductions.org/thunder.html
I'm super excited to be part of The V-Day Campaign for the 5th year in a row....
NYU and The V-Day Campaign Present:
The Vagina Monologues
By Eve Ensler
directed by: Lydia O'Connor
organized by: Jessica Laigle
featuring:
Sarah Francois, Anika Pyle, Neaka Balloge, Sarah Grasso, Laura Padilla, Lara Swersky, Eve CowanAnna Sloan, Shannon McKenna, Beth Pollack, Melissa McCord, Meredith O'Leary,
Ashley Marinaccio, Jenny Torgerson, Emily Gallagher, Lindsey SikesKelly Burke, Annie Robinson, Lydia O'Connor
performance dates:
February 11th at 8:00 pm
February 12th at 8:00pm
February 13th at 8:00pm
Eisner and Lubin Auditorium
Kimmel Center - 4th Floor
All proceeds for the performances will go to support GEMS-Girls Educational and Mentoring Services in NYC.
For more information see: www.gems-girls.org/index.html
Tickets are available through NYU Ticket Central beginning next week... tickets can also be purchased at the box office.
$7 NYU STUDENTS
$15 GENERAL ADMISSION
Tickets are now on sale at NYU Ticket Central