The Awake
By Ken Urban
Directed by Adam Fitzgerald
Produced by kef theatrical productions
Nomination: Christian Frederickson is nominated for Outstanding Sound Design
Kevin Thomas Garcia Photography
About this Production
The set is on fire. The flood waters are rising. The interrogation is starting. Are we better off asleep? Three strangers - a devoted son, an Eastern European actress and a Canadian man on the run - awaken to discover they are connected by a mysterious corporation. Faced with lives they no longer recognize, they must confront a shifting reality of secrets, strangers and unmarked doors. In a world in which it's easier to close our eyes, Ken Urban's heart-pounding new play asks: Is it time to wake up?
Sound Designer Christian Frederickson talks about how sound can not only influence the world of the play, but in some instances actually help create at world.
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What attracted you to this project?
Christian: This script has huge possibilities for the sound designer. There are quick shifts between the dream realities of the characters and I felt that those would best be realized with sound, especially in a small space like 59E59. Every sound designer wants chances to create the worlds of a play instead of just the usual doorbells and transition music.
What was your favorite part of working on this production?
Christian: I really liked getting in the rehearsal room with the cast to build the skeleton of the design early in the process. I felt that their performance rhythm would be affected by the sound design, so I wanted to make sure they were accustomed to it before tech. I always prefer to be in rehearsal from the beginning so the design can be developed organically throughout the process.
What was the most challenging part of working on this production?
Christian: This was a big show to put in Qlab, with a couple of lengthy, complicated sequences: a flood, a burning building, a secret interrogation center with dogs and nightmare-voiced interrogators. The entire show was challenging, but very rewarding to do.
Dumbo
By Kate Kertez
Directed by Sara Wolkowitz
Produced by Oracle Theatre, Inc.
Nomination: Kate Kertez is nominated for Outstanding Original Short Script
Photos by Sergei Burbank
About this Production
A powerful family uses unusual means to protect their reputation after one of their own does the unspeakable. Dumbo was produced as a part of Brooklyn Labyrinth which were three short plays that reimagined the Greek myth of the Minotaur in a modern context.
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What attracted you to this project?
Kate: Edith Hamilton's Mythology was one of my favorite books growing up. I loved reading about larger-than-life characters behaving outrageously, getting swept up in wild love stories, and suffering horrific consequences - it was better than any soap opera on television. So when Ike and Sergei approached me saying they wanted to do a re-imagining of the Minotaur myth, I was all in.
What was your favorite part of working on this production?
Kate: My favorite part of working on the project was collaborating with Ike Rathbone and Sergei Burbank. They brought me on-board this project, and are such skilled playwrights that I was perpetually intimidated by them and terrified that I was going to ruin the show by not rising to their level. Fear is a great motivator, and so being around them and their words pushed me to do better work. Plus, to my great relief, they are also incredibly generous, kind, and funny people.
What was the most challenging part of working on this production?
Kate: Unfortunately for me, the production went into rehearsals right after I had left NYC to move to LA. I like sitting in rehearsals, watching things take shape, and then reevaluating my work, and so the challenge was letting that go and trusting the script to hold up on its own.
Candide – The Musical
By Leonard Bernstein
Directed by David Fuller
Produced by Theater 2020
Nomination: Candide – The Musical is nominated for Outstanding Production of a Musical
Photo by David Fuller
About this Production
A fanciful story about a young man, Candide, whose journey of improbable misadventures leads him ultimately to love, manhood and the meaning of Life. War, natural disasters, unnatural assignations, torture, pirates and disease are among the many obstacles Candide overcomes, in a paradoxically comedic satire. This was a site-specific production at St. Charles Borromeo Church.
Director, David Fuller; Choreographer Judith Jarosz and Music Director Ming Aldrich-Gan talk about staging this larger than life musical as a site-specific production and on a shoe-string budget.
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What attracted you to this project?
David: Hal Prince, who is on our Advisory Board, had directed this version 40 years ago out at BAM. I knew that version well and have always loved what he, Hugh Wheeler and Stephen Sondheim had done with what to my mind was an unwieldy 1950's Lillian Hellman book. The property was available and the timing seemed right for a 40 year anniversary remounting back in Brooklyn where we are based, with Hal's enthusiastic blessing. Moreover, I have always adored the score. And that final song: how glorious!
Judith: The score is sublime. I played/sang Cunegunde in a production in school while getting my undergrad degree and fell in love with the entire piece. The humor is just the way I like it, a little shocking and unexpected, as well as very infectious. Lenny Bruce meets the good humor man.
Ming: As a classically-trained pianist working in musical theater, I have a special place in my heart for works like Bernstein's Candide that straddle the operatic and musical theater genres.
What was your favorite part of working on this production?
David: We had great collaborators, from our wonderful, extremely talented cast, to our crew and designers. Auditions were highly competitive and the caliber of our cast was astounding. Working with Judith as choreographer and Viviane Galloway as costume designer is always a joy and Ming as a new team member was just terrific. Dana, Marilee and Gaby were invaluable backstage and on spotlights. It was just a blast from the first rehearsal to the final curtain.
Judith: Working with the artists. It was magical getting to hear Ming’s amazing playing and the singer’s stellar voices in the acoustically fabulous Saint Charles Borromeo Church. Every single performance they had me in tears during that finale. Good tears!
Ming: Playing a grand piano in a musical is a rare treat! The cast and creative team helmed by David and Judith of Theater 2020 were not only talented and hardworking (which is half the battle when working with such challenging material), but also great to work with.
What was the most challenging part of working on this production?
David: The most challenging part was staging a full-scale musical site-specifically in a Catholic Church sanctuary. Every scenic element I designed or set piece I decided to use had to be easily stowed away after every performance. But the leadership at St. Charles Borromeo Church was very supportive and we were able to use the entire space at will: from the choir loft, to the pulpit, to the altar and every space in between.
Judith: The music for this piece is NOT easy, to play or sing. Choreographing interesting movements that help tell the story while being sensitive to this reality is a major task. Also doing a large musical on an indie theater shoestring budget always tests the boundaries of patience. You want to do more. Like everyone, we beg, borrow, and scrounge. Viviane Galloway works miracles with costumes.
Ming: Bernstein (to my knowledge) never intended Candide to be performed with solo piano. The piano reductions supplied by MTI (the licensing company) range from "not easy" to "impossible", and required some reworking on my part for me to render the orchestral score as faithfully as possible with just ten fingers. The Overture, in particular, ended up being practically my own arrangement. You can watch me perform it.
Why do a production of Candide now? (What makes it relevant now?)
David: There's always a need for laughter and wonderful music. And the themes are very pertinent.
Judith: The lessons of Voltaire in Candide are as timeless as Shakespeare’s. We earth spirits just love to keep repeating history, so this material is always relevant.
What did you want the audience to come away with after watching your production?
David: I hope our audiences came away from Candide with an appreciation for Voltaire's themes through the lens of Prince/Wheeler, as well as an uplift in their spirits. Quite simply, I hope the musical made them happy.
Judith: An appreciation for Leonard Bernstein’s astonishing abilities and Voltaire’s lessons. Shit happens to everyone. This too shall pass. Be grateful for your life. Be kind to others. And laugh at yourself…always remember to laugh.
Hip
By Nora Woolley
Directed by Raquel Cion
Produced by Eat a Radish Productions in association with IRT Theater
Nominations: Nora Woolley is nominated for Outstanding Original Short Script as well as for Outstanding Solo Performance
Photo by Sarah Rogers
About this Production
Hip is set in the early aughts, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, ground zero for the modern hipster movement. Wythe, a struggling musician, is convinced his songs have been co-opted by the increasingly popular buzz-band, The Strokes. His single-minded quest for fame is diverted by three women who are also longing for their own brand of recognition. In an increasingly self-aggrandizing community, Wythe must decide what is lasting and what is simply–hip. A story for anyone who has ever wanted it so bad, they could practically fake it.
Writer Performer Nora Woolley and Director
Raquel Coin talk about creating this work set in hipster Williamsburg
about a musician struggling for recognition.
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What attracted you to this project?
Nora: I wrote this piece in an attempt to express the longing for recognition that so many artists feel.
Raquel: When Nora approached me to direct Hip there was no way I could say no. Nora and I worked together in 2009 for her and Christine Witmer's play Selling Splitsville presented at PS 122 as part of the undergroundzero Festival. Working with Nora is a complete joy. We challenge each other, share a sense of humor and she is not afraid to dive deep into places that transcend humor to a deliciously 'should I laugh or weep' place. The subject matter of the piece was also, perhaps sadly, very resonant for me. That yearning to live life as an artist and feeling that life is just running you over.
What was your favorite part of working on this production?
Nora: Over a two year rehearsal process, I often rehearsed with Kim Katzberg (also a nominee for the Outstanding Solo Performance category) as she was simultaneously rehearsing her own piece. This process pushed me to be accountable for my work and in many ways encouraged me to move beyond my comfort zone. Kim is a very special performer and I knew that sharing a rehearsal practice with her would push me in very specific directions I had not yet allowed myself to venture. Kim is an extremely hard worker and has a brutal, raw, challenging, and moving aesthetic that opened up a new permission in me. I've learned so much about timing from Kim.
Hip was my first solo piece and I set out to make a work that included a number of narrative, physical, and emotional elements I had never previously tried on stage (i.e. slow overdose, be a young man, be sexy). Additionally, I was interested in being challenged by director Raquel Cion, who I knew would not let me get away with anything sub-par in terms of comedic and tragic elements. Raquel is an exceptionally intelligent and open person (a powerful combo), who is able to respectfully step into a multitude of diverse worlds with ease, fascination, and a specific sense of craft. I have worked with Raquel as a director on previous original projects and feel grateful that she continues to humor and mold my work.
Raquel: Nora came to the first rehearsal with such a clear vision of the work. She had developed incredibly funny and heartbreaking characters that were profound without being heavy handed. Since the piece was stepping onto the boards for the first time we really allowed ourselves to play while honing the text. It's a short piece (for which Nora is also nominated for Outstanding Original Short Script) so, we really needed to be incredibly specific with the text and find the ways into the meat of the show with immediacy. Nora is such a facile actress and brought such emotional range, risk, outlandishness and reality to each of her characters. Seeing these characters really come to life was beyond satisfying.
What was the most challenging part of working on this production?
Raquel: Hip ran side by side with Kim Katzberg's Darkling (Kim is also nominated for Outstanding Solo Performance) and both shows needed to aesthetically stand on their own. Though they do share certain themes they are very different shows. With our shoe-string budget we needed to find ways to give each show its own look and feel. Hip due to its length had to be incredibly tight technically because of the sound and video components as well. The play itself feels very much like a film in its approach. The challenge was how to establish place, character, time, without pandering or getting lost in exposition. I believe we were very successful in creating this within a half hour running time. As Nora said our technical team, Josh Iacovelli (who designed our sets and lights) and Laura Detkin our stage manager did wonders.
Kim and Nora were also so incredibly supportive and available for each other in both the process and in performance. Their dedication to the work and generosity toward each other was simply astounding. They ran each other's shows; were willing to do whatever it took to bring both their visions to life. As we all know putting up one's own work is a vulnerable, challenging experience. Nora, Kim and the whole team faced those challenges with graceful ferocity.
Nora: Hip was a demanding piece physically, vocally, and emotionally as it was only thirty minutes but included four distinct characters. But more than those acting demands (which I relish!), it was a tough evening to figure out technically in rep with Darkling (additional props to Josh Iacovelli, Designer and Laurel Detkin, SM) during a brutal winter, amidst all of our team's demanding day jobs/schedules. Hey, welcome to NYC.
What made Hip so unique?
Raquel: The films created by Nora and Marieclare Lawson really elevated Hip. What could have been a sketch or ironic nod to Williamsburg in the early aughts was turned on its head due to the quality of the work visually, the novella like quality of the script and Nora's nuanced characters. Again, the show felt very cinematic. Within IRT Theater's black box we managed to bring a breadth of the city, the sorrow and ridiculousness of its inhabitants and had beautiful close-ups of how we all yearn to make a mark or connection.
Nora: The film component was huge-- Mariclare Lawson did wonderful work creating original music videos circa 2000 in a way that would read onstage, sans any sense of cliché. I have known Mariclare since NYU days and she has an exquisite eye for detail and an innate sense of slick editing. We have collaborated a lot and I very much relate to her aesthetic view of NYC, both past and present.
During the rehearsal process, before Hip was a play per se, my brother (George Woolley) and I made a couple of short films centered around early versions of Gloria and Wythe (two characters featured in the piece). We labeled them, monologues-on-film, and have continued that work as a series. Currently we are in the process of creating more. The series is called "Les Petites Tristesses (The Little Sadnesses)". Our Dad described Wythe and Gloria as tristesse, and we thought that was apt. These early monologues-on-film enabled me to deepen my approach some of Hip's characters on stage. Both Mariclare and George changed my view of film on stage.
Hip allowed me to depict the mundane in all its complexity. Longing is a very human feeling, one that is simultaneously numbing and manic-- a feeling that is rampant and normal in NYC. I think longing is a hard feeling to express in a compelling way because it is essentially a selfish sensation. I hope Hip pulled that off.
One is the Road
By Mark Loewenstern
Directed by DeLisa White
Produced by WorkShop Theater Company
Nomination: Mark Loewenstern is nominated for Outstanding Original Short Script
Photos by Gerry Goodstein
About this Production
Our protagonist drives home from vacation with his wife, whom he has put on a pedestal. He relates to us the 7 things he is thinking and doing moment-to-moment over the course of perhaps 2 minutes.
This was produced as a part of an evening of short scripts titled Super Shorts 2013.
Playwright Mark Loewenstern and Director DeLisa White talk about this production that unravels the mental processes of a man as he contemplates his current relationship.
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What attracted you to this project?
Mark: I wrote this script because, back in college, I heard about a series of early cognitive psychology experiments which suggested that on average the human brain keeps track of about 7 different things at once. That idea stayed with me for a long time. What are the 7 things each of us is tracking moment-to-moment? What if you told a story by describing each of those 7 things at key points? I tried writing it first as a poem, and that didn't work out so well. It had no shape. And then years later I went back and tried writing it as a play and it just flowed. Who the characters had to be, and what had to happen to them, and how the story had to end -- it all just came together like a dream.
DeLisa: I have had the good fortune to work with Mark before and his writing is so deeply compelling to the mind, the dialogue so juicy for the actors, and the questions it poses so close to the nerve it’s always a treat to work on something of his. The rhythm, poetry and deep subtext of this piece demands that everyone involved in any production be at the very top of their capabilities and it’s wonderful to get the kind of script that challenges you to be at your very best. Scary, but wonderful.
What was your favorite part of working on this production?
Mark: My director (DeLisa White) and my actor (Tom Berdik). Seriously, they were awesome. My schedule at the time was crazy and I was only able to attend about 90 minutes of a single rehearsal. And yet, when those 90 minutes were done, I walked out of there utterly sure that my team knew exactly what they were doing and that my script was in the best possible hands. For a worrywart like me, having that kind of certainty was nothing short of miraculous!
DeLisa: There was a constant discovery process of questions that Tom Berdik absolutely had to answer VERY specifically and communicate in ways that were clear but never too overt. We had a lot of great discussions about why long-term relationships work and don’t work – and in what ways - the kind of discussions that make you a less judgmental and hopefully better and continually growing person. It was a really great rehearsal process and Mark gave us just enough room to find our way into it before we shared it with him. That’s very courageous of him and allowed it to be a deeper experience for us. It’s also the kind of piece that’s repetitive enough that it’s surely astonishingly difficult to memorize. Tom was essentially off-book at the second rehearsal. His hard work was my massive luxury.
What was the most challenging part of working on this production?
DeLisa: Knowing that the piece is complex enough that there are probably 20 different ways to do it and still be true to it and sticking to the one that felt right to us, and hoping it would feel right to Mark as well (and what if it didn’t!) Also - how do you create what feels like being on the hood of moving car and peering in the windshield and into someone's mind while on a teeny blackbox stage? Duane Pagano (set and lights and NY Innovative Theatre Award winner) accomplished that for us with great aplomb.
Mark: A few audience members asked me to explain the conceit to them, because they just didn't get it. For me it is no fun having to explain what I wrote, because it means that for those people at least, the work didn't speak for itself. And then I have to wonder: maybe I didn't do my job as well as I could have? I suppose anytime you attempt to innovate, you run this risk. But for me, those are the least fun moments of the production.
In your opinion, what is the most innovative aspect of this production?
Mark: Unpacking a moment, and looking at it from 7 different points of view, and then unpacking the next moment, and so on, and using that to tell a meaningful story. It is a different way of looking at time and at the mind. It's not processed and unified like a monologue. It's more raw and impressionistic. And I think it works well in live theater because it has the immediacy of live theater.
DeLisa: Firstly, it’s stream of consciousness times seven. (Read it on indietheatrenow and you'll see what I mean - I'm not even kidding.) THEN it’s stream of consciousness that feels like the most naturalistic off-the-cuff dialogue even though it’s a poetic monologue. Further, it’s stream of consciousness that masks part of what the character is feeling while still giving the actor a chance to reveal that to the audience even while he's not entirely honest with himself! Lastly, I have never once read or seen anything quite like it.
What did you want your audience to take away from this production?
DeLisa: I think the hope is that the finished piece inspires the kind of discussions that working on it did. What does being a loving, committed, grown-up, responsible person in a long-term relationship mean and how wide a berth do we need to give ourselves and each other in the course of that goal?
Mark: First, I want them to take away a new way of experiencing their own minds, taking stock of how their attention is split, and what it is split on.
And then, I want them to experience through that prism what it means to choose a partner for whom you are trying to take care of everything, what it means to choose someone whom you put up on a pedestal instead of treating as an equal partner.
My Father’s Ashes
Written and Directed by Tom Slot
Produced by Original Binding Productions
Nomination: Milee Bang is nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Featured Role
Photos by Tom Slot
About this Production
On the one-year anniversary of their father's death, three sisters return to their childhood home to scatter his ashes. But a brutal winter snow, their judgmental mother, and years of unresolved baggage threaten to derail the memorial before it even begins. As secrets and insecurities are exposed at every turn, can these three sisters overcome their sibling dynamic long enough to mourn their father? Or will the night leave their relationships so fractured that they can never go home again.
Writer and Director Tom Slot and actress Milee Bang talk about working on this production that dealt with the heavy emotional material of love, loss and family.
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What attracted you to this project?
Tom: When I wrote My Father's Ashes I was very interested in exploring the different ways people deal with the death of a family member and how they process grief. On top of all the natural feelings of loss and mortality you suddenly have to layer in the sibling and family dynamics as well. That can be a delicate balancing act during a time when emotions are already running hot. I also wanted to write a show that had strong roles for women, and I was attracted to the idea of explore how sisters would interact in this type of situation. I only have brothers and was curious to see how flipping genders would inform the writing.
Milee: Tom Slot (the artistic director of Original Binding Productions) wrote a play with specific company members in mind. He was kind enough to include me amongst those members writing a beautiful play about love, grief and family. What attracted me to the show was how Tom was able to capture the dynamics of a family during the time of loss and show how everyone mourns and grieves differently.
What was your favorite part of working on this production?
Tom: My favorite part of working on this production was the cast. I had written these parts for specific actresses and watching them take on the sister and mother relationship was incredibly fulfilling. Meredith, Claire, and Kristi were all friends prior to the show, but through the rehearsal process I came to see them as sisters. And Victoria's work as Edithmarie was wonderful to watch her create. The whole cast was amazing. I really got spoiled working with them.
Milee: My favorite part of the working on this production was being involved from the start. From the first reading of the play to closing night, I saw how the play evolved and became this incredibly moving piece. It's rare to be part of a play from start to finish and it's such a treat for the actor.
What was the most challenging part of working on this production?
Milee: The most challenging part of working on this production was the issues it dealt with (love, grief, and family). It wasn't easy working on the play without thinking about how love, grief and family affects your own life. That's what makes the play so intriguing to watch.
Tom: It's a heavy play emotionally. There were nights in rehearsal were we could only get through a scene once or twice and have to stop. It brought up a lot of memories for all of us and we often left rehearsal emotionally worn out.
What was the most memorable moment for you during the creation of this production?
Tom: Every night of the show when the sisters and Anna (Milee) would pack up the house between Act 2 and 3. They moved with such sensitivity, letting the emotion and music play through them. There was no spoken text, but their physical dialogue with each other was crystal clear. It was an incredible cathartic moment every performance.
What did you want the audience to come away with after watching your production?
Tom: I wanted the audience to come away from the show looking at their own lives and family relationships. I hope the play served as a mirror that asked them what's working and what could be better in those relationships.
