Nothing But Trash

Nothing But Trash
By Andy Halliday
Directed by G.R. Johnson
Produced by Theater For The New City

Nomination Jim Cooney and Greg Zane are nominated for Outstanding Choreography/Movement

    Photo by David Rodgers

About this Production
What happens when two beautiful teenage boys meet under the hot summer sun?  Nothing good. It’s 1958. Tab and Troy are on the fast track to madness when their innocent love is destroyed by lies. Wrongly accused of a heinous crime, the boys must escape the horror of juvenile hall, or risk losing their sanity. And their lives!

Playwright Andy Halliday and Choreographers Greg Zane and Jim Cooney discuss their work on this, as Marcus Scott of EDGE Magazine put it, “campy satire of gay pulp fiction and ’50s retro teen-angst B movies.”

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What attracted you to this project?

Andy: It had originally begun as a short film, about these two nitwits guys, who think they’ve found the first Gay Porn Film in some old drunk’s apartment. But it wasn’t coming together, and I put it away. Then two years ago, I was dying to write something, but couldn’t figure out what.  And one night I watched the old 1959 movie “A Summer Place”. And after it was over, I thought wouldn’t it be fun if I parodied this film, but made the two young teenagers who fall in love,  guys!  And what if the theme was all about repression, homophobia, tolerance, and acceptance.  And above all LOVE. And it all just fell into place!

Greg: G.R. Johnson's concept and Any Haliday's writing for Nothing But Trash was enough to make me accept the invitation to choreograph for the production.

Jim: The script was hilarious, I knew the director, and I was very familiar with the work of many of the actors in the cast. I knew it would be fun to work on and that the audiences would really enjoy the show.

What was your favorite part of working on this production?

Greg: The collaborative process and the talented cast and creative team.

Andy: Working with my friend G.R. Johnson, who directed it. Watching him shape it into this wonderfully funny play.  Working with the cast, whom were all so good. And also getting to perform on stage again. I love making people laugh.  And just to be around those guys, who were all so sexy and funny!  I LOVED every single minute of it!

             Photo by Choke Saisanit                                          Photo by David Rodgers

What was the most challenging part of working on this production?

Andy:  Letting go of my control issues. Meaning, trusting that everyone was on the same page.  That was hard for me in the beginning, because the show had been playing out in my head for two years, and now I had to turn it over to GR and the actors, and let them find their own voice.  But I was extremely lucky, because GR is such a terrific director, and completely understood the tone of the play. And I was so proud of the cast, who played the truth of the piece. And ultimately that’s what made the play so funny, and touching. 

Greg: Working within the confines of the performance space greatly affected the focus and thrust of the number.

What did you want the audience to come away with after watching your production?

Andy: Mainly to laugh, which they did. To have a wonderful time.  And I was also hoping the audience would be touched by these two teenage lovers, who had everything working against them.  But, because these boys believed in their hearts, that they were meant to be together,  they fought through fear, prejudice, and homophobia, and found each other again. They realized that there’s nothing stronger than love. As sappy as that sounds, I believe it’s true.