The Oregon Trail and The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center

In 2013, Bekah Brunstetter brought her play The Oregon Trail to The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights Conference to be developed with director Geordie Broadwater. This season has seen an incredible number of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows that began their life at this incredible oasis of creativity in Waterford, CT. Broadway World wrote about some of these plays and their journey from development to full productions.

O'Neill Represented in NYC by SIGNIFICANT OTHER, IN TRANSIT and More

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center celebrates dozens of shows on Broadway, off-Broadway, and in theaters across the globe this 2016-17 season. Projects from the National Playwrights Conference and National Music Theater Conference have moved on to significant productions and even the Academy Awards.

The O'Neill supports writers at every stage of their career as playwright Joshua Harmon, whose show SIGNIFICANT OTHER opens on Broadway March 2, reflects:

"I first went to the O'Neill for a night in 2009, when they invited graduate students in playwriting to come and see the campus. I went back the next year for two weeks through the Kennedy Center, where I got to sit around dinner tables with Alfred Uhry and Molly Smith Metzler and bask in their glow. So when I was asked to come back as a writer-in-residence in 2013, it felt very full circle."

He continues: "By far the most moving part of being there is learning the history of founder George White's dream, to create a space for playwrights to work, and then seeing what has become of that dream: all the playwrights who now gather there each year, and the plaques which bear the names of so many of our country's most important writers, who all came to the O'Neill to work. It's quite moving to contemplate how many writers George White's vision has impacted, and how many audiences have been impacted by the work of the writers who have passed through the O'Neill. I feel very fortunate to have been one of them."

SIGNIFICANT OTHER was developed at the O'Neill in 2013. As the 2013 NPC writer-in-residence, Joshua Harmon worked on a new play titled The Franco-Prussian War, Several drafts and a title change later, the show enjoyed a 2015 sold-out run at the Roundabout Theater Company and is now on Broadway at the Booth Theatre.

UGLY LIES THE BONE by Lindsey Ferrentino was first developed at the 2014 National Playwrights Conference. After a sold-out run at the Roundabout Theatre Company, the show opens at London's National Theatre March 1. This production marks Lindsey Ferrentino's European debut.

IN TRANSIT by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan and Sara Wordsworth was developed during the 2008 National Music Theater Conference. Two years after the O'Neill's four developmental readings, IN TRANSIT opened off-Broadway in a Primary Stages production that won Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards. In 2016, eight years after the readings in the O'Neill Barn, IN TRANSIT opened on Broadway where it is currently running at the Circle in the Square Theater.

FENCES was first developed at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's 1983 National Playwrights Conference. The play went on to win the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1987 Tony Award for Best Play. Over the course of his career, playwright August Wilson developed six of his plays at the O'Neill. The American Film Institute (AFI)'s Movie of the Year, FENCES was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay (August Wilson, posthumously), Accepting her award for Best Supporting Actress for FENCES, Viola Davis celebrated the playwright saying: "Here's to August Wilson, who exhumed and exalted the ordinary people."

In reflecting on the tremendous success of O'Neill-developed projects this season, National Playwrights Conference Artistic Director Wendy C. Goldberg notes: "The stories are relevant and their success is a testament to the success of the O'Neill's holistic development process." She continues: "It is always inspiring when we are in a moment like this with so many shows moving into world premiere productions and New York premieres." citing the recent off-Broadway premieres of three NPC shows:

ALLIGATOR, by Hilary Bettis, was developed at the O'Neill's 2012 National Playwrights Conference. The show had its world premiere at New Georges Theatre in November as the inaugural production of The Sol Project, a New-York based initiative dedicated to raising the visibility of Latinx playwrights.

OREGON TRAIL was developed during the 2013 National Playwrights Conference. It had its New York premiere in a Fault Line Theatre production at Women's Project Theater. Written by Bekah Brunstetter, the production featured NPC director Geordie Broadwater and NPC cast members Emily Louise Perkins and Laura Ramadei. The show will also be seen at Chicago Halcyon's Theatre in November.

ORANGE JULIUS, by Basil Kreimendahl, was developed at the O'Neill's 2012 National Playwrights Conference. The show had its New York premiere at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in a collaborative production with PAGE 73. The production featured NPC alum Irene Sofia Lucio and Jess Barbagallo (National Theater Institute faculty).

"For over 50 years, major writers and artists of every stripe have launched their careers on our seaside campus. The number of O'Neill-developed works currently on stages around the world is a testament to the work of our outstanding Artistic Directors and demonstrates the value the O'Neill has in the American Theater." says O'Neill Executive Director Preston Whiteway. "I'm thrilled that these new plays and musicals will be seen by audiences across the country."

O'Neill-developed projects with upcoming productions at regional theaters include:

Zakiyyah Alexander and Imani Uzuri's GIRL SHAKES LOOSE (NMTC '16) world premiere at Penumbra Theatre.

David Auburn's LOST LAKE (NPC '13) at Berkshire Theatre Group

Jeff Augustin's LITTLE CHILDREN DREAM OF GOD (NPC '13) west coast premiere at The Road Theatre Company

Kirsten Child's THE BUBBLY BLACK GIRL SHEDS HER CHAMELEON SKIN (NMTC '98) at NYC's City Center as part of Encores! Off-Center.

Halley Feiffer's I'M GONNA PRAY FOR YOU SO HARD (NPC '14) west coast premiere with L.A.'s Rogue Machine Theatre and Kansas City, MO's Unicorn Theatre.

Jen Silverman's ALL THE ROADS HOME (NPC '13) world premiere for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

Ken Weitzman's HALFTIME WITH DON (NPC '15) will be the 65th National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere

Josh Wilder's LEFTOVERS (NPC '15) world premiere at Boston's Company One Theatre

Daniel Zaitchik's DARLING GRENADINE (NMTC '16) world premiere at Goodspeed Musicals.

Founded in 1964, the O'Neill is the country's preeminent organization dedicated to the development of new works and new voices for the American theater, and named in honor of Eugene O'Neill, four-time Pulitzer Prize-winner and America's only playwright to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The O'Neill has been home to more than 1,000 new works for the stage and thousands more emerging artists. Scores of projects developed at the O'Neill have gone on to full production at theaters around the world. O'Neill programs include the National Playwrights Conference, National Music Theater Conference, National Critics Institute, National Puppetry Conference, Cabaret & Performance Conference, and National Theater Institute - which offers six credit-earning undergraduate training programs. In addition, the O'Neill owns and operates Monte Cristo Cottage as a museum open to the public. The O'Neill is the recipient of two Tony Awards and National Medal of Arts www.theoneill.org.

View Original Article 

What We're Seeing: Pericles, Prince of Tyre

Artistic Associate Charise Greene has directed a production of William Shakespeare's Pericles, Prince of Tyre at Barnard College. There is debate around this notoriously enigmatic play as to whether or not The Bard was the sole author. But regardless, we're so excited for an opportunity to see this rarely produced masterpiece!

March 2 -4, 2017
Minor Latham Playhouse
Milbank Hall, Room 118, Barnard Campus
New York, NY 10027

A Little About The Show

Incest and intrigue, pirates and prostitutes, bitter revenge and providential reunions: Shakespeare's collaborative Pericles was popular in its day, scorned by Shakespeare's great rival Ben Jonson, and mysteriously omitted from the 1623 collected edition of his plays. Shakespeare's first, experimental foray into stage tragicomedy, Pericles embodies the attractions of early-modern popular theatre, and provides a uniquely challenging work for contemporary performance.

Featuring performances by Barnard and Columbia students

Crew:

• Written by William Shakespeare (and others?)
• Directed by Charise Greene
• Scenic Design - Robin Vest
• Costume Design - Lacey Bookspan
• Lighting Design - Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew
• Sound Design - Avi Amon
• Music - Alaina Ferris
• Assistant Direction - Lauren Cannon
• Stage Management - Daphne Liu

What We're Watching: Unicornland

You may remember Laura Ramadei onstage at our recent production of The Oregon Trail. Well, now you can catch her on the small screen in the new webseries everyone is talking about called Unicornland. Glamour called the series "hilarious, poignant, sweet, and—yes—very sexy". Our friend Nick Leavens directed the series and keep an eye out for featured roles from co-artistic directors Aaron Rossini and Craig Wesley Divino, as well as The Wedge Horse star Ali Rose Dachis.

Watch the full series here.

A Little About The Show

Unicornland is an 8-episode webseries about Annie, who explores her sexuality post-divorce by dating couples. 

...Over drinks, at dinner, and in bed. 

Each episode features a date with a new couple, from Williamsburg hipsters, to Wall Street power duos, to Bushwick burners, as Annie becomes not just sexually active, but activated.

Unicornland was created/produced by Lucy Gillespie, directed by Nick Leavens, and shot by a 70% female cast and crew. 

Unicornland celebrates the ethnic and social diversity of New York City, with a cast that’s 60% non-white, including trans, genderqueer and disabled actors.

Unicornland contains themes of polyamory and open relationships, and was made with the full support of the New York sex positive community. In the final episode, Annie attends her first inclusive sex party at the Hacienda Villa, a renowned epicenter of the New York scene. 

What We're Seeing: Nibbler

Our friends in The Amoralists Inc. are just 3 days away from opening their latest production: Ken Urban's new play Nibbler.  The show is going up downtown at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Hopefully we'll catch you there; we won't be missing this one!

February 23 - March 18, 2017
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
224 Waverly Place
New York, NY 10014

A Little About The Show

In the summer of 1992 in Medford, New Jersey, Adam and his gang of friends face life after high school.  But when the fivesome encounter a mysterious visitor from another world, their lives are forever changed. A dark comedy with music about that time when everything and nothing seems possible.

Cast:

• Rachel Franco
• James Kautz*
• Elizabeth Lail
• Matthew Lawler*
• Spencer Davis Milford*
• Sean Patrick Monahan*

Creative: 

• Directed by Benjamin Kamine
• Written by Ken Urban
• Stage Manager – Whitney Dearden
• Assistant Stage Manager – Dana Libbey
• Scenic Design – Anshuman Bhatia
• Sound Design – Christian Frederickson
• Lighting Design – Christina Watanabe
• Costume Design – Lux Haac
• Prop Design – Zach Serafin
• Puppet Design – Stefano Brancato
• Fight Director – Alex J Gould
• Dramaturg – Jeremy Stoller
• Original Artwork – Dan Pecci

*Appears courtesy Actors Equity Association

What We're Seeing: CastAndLoose Live! Body Language

One of our favorite blogs on the internet is Cast and Loose. They have created, in their words "a curated collection of breakdowns, parodied with the hopes of shedding a humorous light on some very serious issues in the Entertainment Industry: misogyny, racism, ageism, body shaming, heteronormativity, and objectification to name a few." For the 5th time, they're bringing their brand of humor and activism to Joe's Pub. Better yet, a portion of all proceeds will benefit The Alliance For Inclusion In The Arts.

February 23, 2017 @ 9:30 PM
Joe's Pub At The Public Theater
425 Lafayette Ave, Astor Place

Run Time: 1 hour

A Little About The Show

America! Where our president ridiculed the disabled, publicly humiliated Miss Universe for her weight, and bragged about sexual assault. And where did he come from? The Entertainment Industry! Returning for its 5th installment at Joe’s Pub, CastAndLoose Live! features stars of the stage and screen bringing real, verbatim casting notices to life. Join us this evening for ageism, ableism, fat shaming, transphobia, and everything breakdowns have to say about the body. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts. As always, come laugh at the problem while funding the solution. 

Creative:

• Hosted by Lynne Marie Rosenberg (High Maitenance)
• Directed by Jenn Haltman

Featuring*:

• Pun Bandhu (Plenty)
• Tom Phelan (The Fosters, Hir)
• Cara Reedy (Infamously Short)
• Aneesh Sheth (Southern Comfort)
• Maysoon Zayid (Most Watched TED Talk of 2014)
• The stylings of musical theater team Gordon Leary & Julia Meinweild

*More participants to be announced; casting subject to change

Geordie Broadwater in Broadway World

Heading into the final weekend of The Oregon Trail, our fearless leader Geordie Broadwater chatted with Broadway World about directing a play based on a video game he grew up with (but could never beat!).

BWW Interview: Take a Trip With the Director of THE OREGON TRAIL, Geordie Broadwater

by Marissa Sblendorio

For anyone who grew up playing the classic computer game "The Oregon Trail" (especially in computer class, and especially if you filled up your wagon with pop stars and classmates you had crushes on), Bekah Brunstetter's ("This Is Us," Be A Good Little Widow) new play THE OREGON TRAIL, is going to hit all the right buttons.

Directed by Geordie Broadwater (The Flies, And to the Republic), the play stars Jane, a 13 year old girl in 1997 who escapes her life by playing "The Oregon Trail" in her high school's computer lab. Audiences get to watch as Jane grows up and moves through her life while simultaneously watching "Then Jane" and her family navigate 1850s frontier life, traveling down the trail, all under the guidance of the all-powerful Voice of the Game.

Since the show is about to enter it's final weekend, BroadwayWorld was able to chat with the show's director, Geordie Broadwater on all things OREGON TRAIL, and how he never could beat the computer game when he was younger. Check it out, below!

So, what is THE OREGON TRAIL about?

It follows a girl in 1997 playing the computer game "The Oregon Trail" in the computer lab of her school and as she plays, we start to follow 13 year old girl in 1848 on the the actual Oregon Trail with her family, traveling from Independence, Missouri to Oregon. And then the play shifts again and the girl in 1997 is fast forwarded through time by the same video game framing device and is in her adult years, living on her sister's couch. The whole time, she's interacting with the game the same way she's been since she was playing it. And then it follows her struggle with life as an adult as you check back in with the other girl and her family on the Oregon Trail.

What drew you to the project?

Well, the first thing is that Bekah Brunstetter is my favorite people to work with and is a playwright that I admire and would direct anything she ever writes. But, also I remember the "The Oregon Trail" very distinctly from my adolescence. It's something that whenever I mention the play to somebody from my generation, all they do is pause and then say, "Wait, like the video game?" Everyone seems to remember it. The second thing is that when you actually read the play or see it, there's this amazing thing where, of course it's very funny because Bekah has this amazing humor, but there's this gut punch of emotionality in the play that, I think, really surprises you. It sort of takes this whimsical, funny framework of the video game and this 13 year old girl and makes this about what we're doing in the universe in this amazing and powerful way.

Were you a fan of the game when you were younger?

Oh yeah. But, I don't remember ever beating it. And now that I've played it a bunch of more as an adult, I beat it all the time. I feel like a real pro!

Did you play it in preparation to direct this?

Yeah. Thank god you can play it online for free, because I don't know how we would have tracked it down, otherwise.

As the director, did you come up with the way the 2-D game was presented in a 3-D stage? Or, was that a collaborative process involving the entire creative team?

It was was certainly a process involving everyone. We've been working on this play together, Bekah and I, for many years, and we never staged it together, only readings and workshops. So, it was actually very daunting to say that well, we actually had to put it up on it's feet. And we discussed using projections and all sorts of techniques, but, the most important thing we kept coming back to was that the characters of the past in the game had real emotional lives and are people we can relate to, as well. So, removing anything that kept us from caring about them was really important. There's actually an interesting thing with the cast, because we've been workshopping this play for three years at least, we've worked with a couple of actors over the course of three years. So, there's some actors that aren't in the show that was owe a great deal to, who helped shaped the roles over the years. And the two of the actors in the show, Laura Ramadei and Emily Louise Perkins, have been a part of this play for the same three years Bekah and I have. It's great to have this sort of history of development in the room and then also we have these fresh perspectives from the other three actors, so they ask all the questions we might have ignored over the past three years.

You're both and actor and a director. Is there one role you prefer over the other?

No. I'd say that acting is like a wonderful, fun vacation from directing. Directing is extremely satisfying, but, for me, it's a lot more work. Acting is lot of work in it's own, but it's invigorating and, in the end, you're responsible for yourself, where in directing your responsible for everything. I always say that when you're directing, if it goes well, it's everyone else's hard work and talent, but if it goes bad, it's completely your fault. There's not one I like more than the over, but they certainly feel very important to me.

Do you think you would ever do both in one production?

I don't know. I don't think I have enough self awareness as a performer to be able to direct myself.

It's 1997. Alone in her computer lab, 13-year-old Jane finds her escape from the awkward throes of puberty by joining her sister and her unattainable high school crush in a covered wagon headed west on "The Oregon Trail." Under the guidance of the all-powerful Voice of the Game, we watch "Then Jane" and her family navigate the deadly perils of 1850s frontier life, while present day Jane navigates the different but all-too-real dangers of high school, college, and eventually adulthood. Jane soon finds herself in her 20s, unemployed and battling an undefinable lifelong depression, even as "Then Jane" continues to face the tribulations of the trail. With nearly two centuries between them, both Janes face hardships that seem impossible to overcome-until they find one another.

Tickets for THE OREGON TRAIL are available by visiting www.faultlinelinetheatre.org.

View Original Article

What We're Seeing: Drunkle Vanya

Exactly 3 years ago tomorrow, we were opening our production of Crystal Finn's new play The Faire at the 4th Street Theatre. Back then, Amanda Sykes played a Witch at a small town Renaissance Faire. Now you can catch her as Yelena in Three Day Hangover Theater Company's production of Drunkle Vanya.

November 10, 2016 - March 4, 2017
Tolstoy's Lounge Upstairs at The Russian Samovar
256 W. 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019

A Little About The Show

Oh, the (Cards Against) Humanity! Relationships are tested, sadness is buried, and lives are destroyed on a quiet country estate bathed in family “dramedy” and alcohol-induced hijinks. Springing from a deeply empathetic reading of Chekhov’s classic, Drunkle Vanya tells the juicy story of lost youth and unrequited love as if it were suspended in time between then and now. Three Day Hangover mixes modern references and Chekhov’s language to bring the audience up close and personal for “shots” of all kinds.

Cast: 

• Joel Rainwater
• Amanda Sykes
• Chris Tocco
• Sean Tarrant
• Leah Walsh
• Josh Sauerman

Creative:

• Written by Anton Chekhov
• Directed and Adapted by Lori Wolter Hudson
• Produced by Roman Gambourg, Darren Sussman, Misha Von Shats & Three Day Hangover
• Production Stage Manager - Brooke Bell
• General Manager - David Hudson
• Costume Designer - Caitlin Cisek
• Original Artwork - Ligature Creative
• Assistant Stage Manager - Serena Montsma
• Line Producer - Beth Gardiner

Bekah Brunstetter in Paste Magazine

A couple days before opening night, playwright Bekah Brunstetter chatted with Paste Magazine about our production of The Oregon Trail and the transition from stage to screen.

The Oregon Trail's Bekah Brunstetter On Her New Show

By Alicia Kort

You might remember this early computer game from your childhood. In “The Oregon Trail” game, you helped your wagon party journey across the country to start a more prosperous life. But the obstacles you had to overcome weren’t easy, and you watched various members of your wagon party die of cholera, snake bites and exhaustion. Although this game might have elicited giggles and laughs at the suffering of your fictional characters at the time, playwright Bekah Brunstetter brings the life of the “The Oregon Trail” into reality in her play. She talks to Paste about writing for both the stage and the small screen, as well as, sadness in the 1840s and present day. The Oregon Trail runs through February 12 at the Fault Line Theatre.

Paste: What’s Oregon Trail about? 
Bekah Brunstetter: The Oregon Trail follows, kind of juxtaposes, the two lives of two very different young women. You’ve got one who you meet in the ‘90s, who you meet when she’s [Jane] in middle school, and she’s playing “The Oregon Trail” in her computer lab. We follow her life through her mid-20s as she wrestles with a sadness and a frustration with life that she can’t quite explain. Simultaneously, we’re also following the game that she plays, her game of the Oregon Trail. We’re also following a young woman also named Jane, who’s traveling on the Oregon Trail from Missouri to Oregon with her family. The play is about sadness then versus sadness now and to what extent contemporary life makes space for sadness, because back in 1848 if you’re traveling on the Oregon Trail with your family, you can’t necessarily say that you’re too sad to get out of the wagon in the morning and have to get keep going.

Paste: That sounds very interesting.
Brunstetter: It’s a lot of fun. It’s a fun play about sadness. It’s one of those sadness comedies!

Paste: Where did you get this idea? Or when did you come up with it? 
Brunstetter: I actually had the very, very first idea to write it 10 years ago when I was in grad school. I think I wrote the scene and then I put it away because I wanted to really learn about what the Oregon Trail life was actually like. It’s so funny to me that we played this game in middle school, in which we’re traveling on the Oregon Trail, but we really learned nothing about what it was actually like. I put the play aside for a while because I wanted to do that research. Probably about five years ago, I got a really cool fellowship with a theatre here in town called The Lark. They support playwrights while they research plays, so I decided to revisit it. At that point, I wrote the full draft of the play and actually started to learn more about what life was like for people actually on the trail, and what life was like for women and how people viewed sadness then. I learned a lot about the history of mental illness and how it used to not be a thing. Now, it’s a thing. It all started back then. The two young women’s lives became clear to me first and then I started using the game as a structure, which was just a lot of fun, because I love that game as I think many people did when they were young.

Paste: What were the challenges of putting this show on a stage with the two different time periods?
Brunstetter: The guy who is directing it, Geordie Broadwater, we’ve actually worked on it together in a couple of different readings and workshops, so it’s cool that we’ve tried to explore it more. I honestly have not seen it yet. I actually got into town tonight, so I’m seeing it for the first time tonight. It’s scary and thrilling. I would imagine what’s difficult—and there was a production of this in Portland and the technical elements were amazing—but what’s challenging is keeping the trail stuff real. The family is fjording a river, losing wagon wheels and people are dying. It was important to me that it all felt real. At first, you’re laughing and enjoying the nostalgia of the game and then people lost their lives. It was quite arduous to do this, and I want that to come across too. It’s a play, but how can it feel scary and not just like a middle school history play?

Paste: How does this differ from your other plays and other work? I know you also wrote the upcoming TV series American Gods and This Is Us. How does this compare to that? I know writing for TV must be a totally different beast than playwriting.
Brunstetter: I’m actually writing on This is Us right now, which is a new family drama for NBC. Any TV job, you’re a part of a staff, so you’re helping your boss execute his or her vision. It’s super collaborative, and you’re more of a part of a team, whereas with a play, you’re writing it alone and then it becomes about your collaborators after you write it. With a play, you really need to know what it is that you’re exploring and what it is that you mean to say. That’s on you. You can’t really look to anyone else to tell you that, whereas with TV—until, of course, you have your own show—you’re part of discovering that. I find TV work to be very liberating, because it’s not all on me. They’re both rewarding in different ways. I’d say that this play, which I wrote about five years ago, has a special place in my heart. It’s so fun and insane. It’s one of the more theatrical things that I’ve written. I always write dramedies, but my plays since then have become a bit more grounded and serious, so this play for me is remembering the crazy shit I did in my 20s. I’m now happy to go to bed earlier, but I loved remembering what life was like then.

Paste: This happens before her [Jane’s] 20s, but I heard that Jane’s school crush plays into this a little bit.
Brunstetter: Yeah, there’s a guy when she’s in middle school. There’s a boy, who she likes, that she has an encounter with that she never forgets. You see the trauma that haunts her when she gets older and catches up with her in her adult life. Since in our contemporary lives we’re not traveling the Oregon Trail with our families, other things become our hardships and our traumas. Be it rejection by a boy, a girl or a friend when you’re at that impressionable age at 12 or 13, those kind of events become the things that shape you, imposed to “I saw my mom die of a snake bite.” But they have the same value, so it was interesting to me juxtaposing the hardness of the trail to parts of life now.

Paste: How much of the game does the play incorporate? 
Brunstetter: The game is probably a good 30 to 40 percent of the play. The play follows the structure of a round of the game. If you remember at the beginning, you name the members of the people in your wagon party and you go to the general store to get your wares, you decide whether you’re a farmer or a banker and then you travel the trail. You encounter things and you decide what to do. That basic structure is the structure of the play. It’s the past story and the present story. The option to continue on the trail or not is a huge part of the play. Jane in her contemporary life, that’s the choice she keeps being given. In the play, those choices that are usually just flashing on your computer screen in front of you are actually a character and an omnipotent voice from the rafters that gives her choices and demands her responses. It starts off as a game and becomes something a little more malicious then it’s meant to be. It’s the voice of fate, the voice of time and the voice of life as it chugs on and forces you to deal with it.

Paste: Is there anything you’d like to add? 
Brunstetter: It’s a shitty time. This play is not politically important. I do think that it’s a hell of a lot of fun and we need that right now. It also is about how to keep going, which is also important to think about right now. I hope it adds value to people’s lives at this time, because it really is a fun night at the theatre. It’s only 80 minutes, which is my favorite kind of play. It’s like “I can do this, but I can also do other things!” You can live a lot of life before and after and hopefully have some thoughts about it. I feel like it’s a safe play if you don’t like plays, usually don’t go to plays or have a friend that doesn’t like plays. It’s a nice beginners theatre play.

View Original Article

What We're Seeing: Orange Julius

Already seen our production of The Oregon Trail? Looking for something to do in the bitter weeks of February? We've got you covered! Our friends at Page 73 are currently running their powerful new play Orange Julius by Basil Kreimendahl at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. We can't wait to catch this production from one of our favorite companies.

January 10 - February 12, 2017
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
224 Waverly Place
New York, NY 10014

A Little About The Show

Nut grew up in 1980s and 90s working-class America the youngest child of Julius, a Vietnam vet suffering the toxic effects of Agent Orange. As Julius’s health fades, Nut begins paging through forgotten photo albums and acting out old war movies about brothers-in-arms, leaping through time and memory to trace the complex intimacy between father and child, fighting for a mutual recognition before it’s too late.

Cast:

• Jess Barbagallo
• Stephen Payne
• Ruy Iskandar
• Irene Sofia Lucio
• Mary Testa

Creative: 

• Directed by Dustin Wills
• Written by Basil Kreimendahl
• Set Design - Kate Noll
• Costume Design - Montana Blanco
• Lighting Design - Barbara Samuels
• Sound Design - Palmer Hefferan
• Projection Design - Joey Moro
• Prop Design - Raphael Mishler
• Prod. Stage Manager - Nicole Marconi
• Asst. Stage Manager - Corinn Moreno
• Production Manager - Rebecca Key

The Oregon Trail in The New Yorker

The New Yorker wrote a very nice review of Bekah Brunstetter's The Oregon Trail in their "Goings On About Town" section for their upcoming edition:

Goings On About Town: THE OREGON TRAIL

by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Over the past ten years or so, Bekah Brunstetter has established herself as a sympathetic, keen-eyed chronicler of a flailing American middle class, stuck in tough jobs and straining to make sense of life. Here she turns her attention to Jane (Liba Vaynberg), whom we first meet as a geeky 1997 middle-schooler determined to finish the computer game The Oregon Trail, in which a pioneer family heads west in a wagon. The play then fast-forwards to Jane at thirty, overeducated, underemployed, and mired in depression. Swiftly directed by Geordie Broadwater, the show toggles between our world and the frontier, contrasting the aimless modern Jane with her 1848 avatar (Emily Louise Perkins), who doesn’t have the luxury of wallowing on a couch. Brunstetter clearly has affection for her characters, watching them struggle to grow up against very different odds.

View Original Article