The Fitzgeralds Of St. Paul

Last weekend, we invited a small group of friends and collaborators to take a look behind the scenes with writer Christie Baugher and director Danny Mefford (Dear Evan Hanson, Fun Home) in an open rehearsal we hosted of their musical-in-progress The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul. In the new year, we will be back in the room with Christie and Danny to further develop this exciting new show! 

The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul is a two-person, one act full-length chamber musical about F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, celebrated literary figures of the Jazz Age. Part memory play, part gin-soaked vaudeville, The Fitzgeralds of St. Paul is a fictionalized, hyper-theatrical imagining of the lives and adventures of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda – an evening in which two tragic, larger-than-life icons of a bygone era finally get to tell their story.

Round Table at Hex & Co.

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to hear Round Table by Liba Vaynberg at Hex and Company last weekend! This work-in-progress was directed by Geordie Broadwater and marked the second project of our Irons in the Fire reading series. After hearing the play, we headed to the beautiful rooftop patio of The Heights Bar & Grill. 

If you were able to attend, it was our pleasure to share this play and enjoy the first few days of Fall with you. If not, we hope to see you at the next one in the new year!

All photos by Katherine Oostman.

What We're Seeing: Macbeth

Our friends at The Backroom Shakespeare Project are doing Halloween right! Don't miss their production of Macbeth... ahem.... The Scottish Play featuring Ali Rose Dachis (The Wedge Horse). This all goes down at Radegast Hall, which is quite honestly one of the best bars the city has to offer. In keeping with the season, there is also a costume contest, tarot card readings, and plenty of other Halloween goodness. Best of all, there's no cover! Just show up and enjoy some beers, sausages, and theatre.

October 30, 2017
Radegast Hall and Biergarten
113 N. 3rd St.
Brooklyn, NY 11211

A Little About The Show

Doors at 6:30pm
Play starts at 7:30pm

Shakespeare's actors had no director. They rehearsed only the fights and dances. They got their lines and their cues, they grabbed their balls and tried to tell the truth. When they failed, they probably really bit it. 

Hell of a legend, right? 

The Back Room Shakespeare Project takes as much of it as seems useful. We read the play once, we memorize our parts, and we rehearse it once. We have no director, and we perform in bars, for free. For you! An unruly bunch of drunks! 

Cast:

• Victoria Blad
• Emily Shai
• Shannon Matesk
• Emily Case
• Caitlin Costell
• Miriam Mint
• Katie Melb
• Sean McIntyre
• Celine Dirke
• Blake-Briana McKa
• Nowani Rattra
• Ali Rose Dachis
• Jesse Thursto

What We're Seeing: The Mecca Tales

Almost a year ago, we sat down with playwright/director Kareem Fahmy to workshop his play A Face in the Clouds. Ever since, we've become huge fans. 3/Fifths was a spectacular immersive carnival and cabaret through a dystopian ehtno-theme park. Not My Monster was a children's play at The Flea (written by our buddy Nick Gandiello). Regardless of subject matter or genre, his work is reliably incredible. That's why this month we can't wait to catch his latest directorial effort The Mecca Tales written by Rohina Malik at the Sheen Center in association with Voyage Theater Company.

October 20 - November 4, 2017
Sheen Center, Black Box Theater
18 Bleecker St
New York, NY 10012

A Little About The Show

THE MECCA TALES tells the story of five Muslim women on the pilgrimage known as the Hajj. When their bus is stopped miles short of their destination, tempers flare and the women are tested in unexpected ways. They share their personal stories in an attempt to move forward in their lives and find meaning in a spiritual journey seemingly gone awry.

Cast:

• Cynthia Bastidas
• Kimberly S. Fairbanks
• Mariam Habib
• Gulshan Mia
• Jade Radford
• Louis Sallan

Creative:

• Written by Rohina Malik
• Directed by Kareem Fahmy
• Set Design: David Esler
• Costume Design: Teresa Snider-Stein
• Lighting Design: Devorah Kengmana
• Sound Design: Fan Zhang
• Assistant Costume Design: Karim Rivera-Rosado
• Assistant Lighting Design: Ashley Kok
• Production Stage Management: Keri Landeiro
• Assistant Stage Managers: Kelli McGurk & Tiffany McWilliams
• Choreographer: Theara J. Ward
• Dramaturg: Salma Zohdi

What We're Seeing: Arden/Everywhere: The As You Like It Project

Liba Vaynberg is a busy, busy woman. Earlier this year, she starred in our production of Bekah Brunstetter's The Oregon Trail. Last month her solo show Scheiss Book was remounted at Dixon Place after a sold out run at the United Solo Festival. Now she is appearing in Arden/Everywhere: The "As You Like It" Project, a contemporary reframing of the famous Shakespeare's comedy. Liba is awesome. Shakespeare is awesome. That's too much awesome in a show to miss it!

October 8 -28, 2017
Baruch Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10010

A Little About The Show

A good and gentle leader has been overthrown in a coup. His daughter must run away or be killed. She disguises herself as a man in order to protect herself while she searches for safety. In a world of political instability where brother is plotting to kill brother, people from all walks of life are trying to escape danger and make a life in exile in the woods.

As You Like It is a play redolent with themes of exile, yet often in production they take a backseat to its love story. Still rooted in Shakespeare’s text, the radical shift of “Arden/Everywhere” comes from taking seriously the stakes of the characters’ circumstances and making that the spine of the story. By bringing questions of exile and dislocation to the fore, the project re-imagines this familiar story filled with beloved characters, making it new and essential for a contemporary audience.

Cast:

• Helen Cespedes* (Rosalind)
• Anthony Cason (Orlando)
• Liba Vaynberg* (Celia)
• Dennis Kozee* (Touchstone)
• Tommy Schrider* (Jaques)
• Kambi Gathesha* (Oliver/Silvius/First Lord)
• Kenneth De Abrew* (Charles and Corin)
• Dikran Tulaine* (Dukes)
• Indika Senanayake* (Phebe/La Belle/Adam)
• Alessandra Mesa (Audrey)
• Ali Arkane (Ensemble/William)
• Jorge Pluas (Ensemble)
• Anton Kurdakov (Ensemble)
• Denisse J. Jimenez (Ensemble)
• Murodilla Fatkhullaev (Ensemble)
• George W. Tarr (Ensemble)

Creative:

• Written by William Shakespeare
• Directed by Jessica Bauman

* actors appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association

White History at the Bushwick Community Darkroom

Thank you one and all for making our inaugural Irons in the Fire project a massive success! It was a pleasure to share Dave Harris's White History at the Bushwick Community Darkroom with a room full of friends, collaborators, and fans of new plays. The kick-off BBQ following the presentation had hotdogs grilling long into the night and continued conversations beyond the walls of the theatre-space.

Good plays, good company, and good conversations are our favorite things.

We can't wait to celebrate the next one!

Irons in the Fire: White History

Last month we announced our new, year-round, play development initiative Irons in the Fire and this weekend we're extremely excited to get things underway with White History by Dave Harris.

White History was a semi-finalist for the 2016 Relentless Award and a finalist for the O’Neill Playwriting Conference in 2017. We're thrilled to continue the development of this piece with director Whitney White who is the inaugural 2017 Directing Fellow at Roundabout Theatre.

The cast will include Lucy Van Atta, Ralph Adriel Johnson, Nate Miller, Matthew Russell, Courtney Gabrielle Williams, and Amara Brady reading stage directions.

For more info, check out our new Development page on the website.

Poster Art by Sean Devare

What We're Seeing: Scheiss Book

Surely you remember Liba Vaynberg from our production of Bekah Brunstetter's The Oregon Trail. Well, she is not only one of our favorite actors, but also a gifted writer. Her solo show Scheiss Book: 6 Words For My Condition is returning to New York for one night only after a critically acclaimed run at the United Solo Festival with a record-breaking number of encores. Do not miss this!

Dixon Place
161A Chrystie St.
New York, NY 10002

A Little About The Show

A solo show for people who hate solo shows. My relatives who survived the Holocaust are mentioned only for comedic purposes.

After 6 sold out encores at the incredible United Solo Festival and winning Best One-Woman Show at the United Solo Festival and the Backstage Magazine Audience Choice Award, SCHEISS BOOK is back... and admission is FREE.

Creative:

• Written and Performed by Liba Vaynberg
• Directed by Leslie Gauthier
• Stage Manager - Emily Tabachuk

What We're Seeing: Cannibal Galaxy

Back in 2015, Co-Artistic Directors Craig Wesley Divino and Aaron Rossini travelled to Cincinnati with Artistic Associate Charise Greene to workshop a production of her play Cannibal Galaxy with a company of student actors at Xavier College. Flash forward 2 years and the show is now receiving a full production with an incredible team of young performers. If you're in the Cincinnati area, today is the last day to catch a performance of this incredible piece!

Xavier University Theatre
3800 Victory Pkwy
Cincinnati, OH 45207

A Little About The Show

CANNIBAL GALAXY focuses on a group of Washington, D.C., Science Museum employees confronting a random act of workplace violence during an otherwise typical workday. While trying to move on and face their vulnerabilities in a post-traumatic environment, they’re also fighting to rediscover their identities, search for connections and make sense of the senseless world around them. 

Cast:

• Donald Burns
• Cassie Delicath
• Henry Eden
• Taylor Maas
• Katie Mitchell
• Hannah Sgambellone

Creative:

• Written by Charise Greene
• Directed by Tiffany Greene
• Set Designer/Technical Director - Joe Leonard
• Lighting Designer - Joe Beumer
• Costume Designer - Jessica Pitcairn
• Props Designer - Kelly Markle
• Sound Designer/Assistant Director - Lily Dennstaedt
• Producer - Stephen Skiles
• Stage Manager - Emi Suarez
• Assistant Stage Managers - Ellie Conniff & Meaghan Vaders

What We're Seeing: The Wave

You may remember back in April, Aaron Rossini directed a production of Jon Kovach's one-man show The Wave in SAG Habor at the Bay Street Theater. Now the production is coming to the Big City for one night only at The Tank. We'll see you there!

The Tank
312 West 36th Street
New York, NY, 10018

A Little About The Show

Based on a true story, a young 1967 history teacher dealing with The Vietnam War and integration into the public school system, tries to deter his students from fascism through a social experiment that spirals out of his control. Individual freedoms are abandoned and repressed for collective goals as happened in the rise of Nazi Germany and the treatment of the Jews during World War II.

Following the performance, Mark Hancock, an original Wave participant in 1967, will be in attendance for a Q&A.

You may be familiar with Todd Strasser's novel, or Norman Leer's 1981 after-school special, that share the same title. Our production is unique, being co-authored by the teacher who experienced the actual event in 1967, Ron Jones. If you or anyone you know is wondering why we're still dealing with Nazi's, this story shows a few reasons.

Cast

• Jon Kovach

Creative

• Directed by Aaron Rossini
• Co-Written by Ron Jones
• Co-Written and Produced by Jon Kovach
• Lighting Design - Zach Weeks
• Costume Design - Kelsey Torstveit
• Sound Design - Nathan Leigh
• Q & A - Mark Hancock