The idea for Swiftly Tilting Theatre Project came out of my deep need and love of theatre, which I want to share with everyone. I forgot when I started the kickstarter that this didn’t mean demanding more from those who have more or not giving to those who have less.
Everything good and right in my life has happened when I have been honest and true. That doesn’t change because it is “business,” IF WE’RE GOING TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN, WE’RE DOING THIS TOGETHER! Continue reading →
There is nowhere for the audience to escape from the horrors of adolescence in Zeitgeist Stage Company’s production of Punk Rock, playing at the Black Box Theatre. We can only recognize our own cruelties, failures and flailings as a group of high schoolers try to make some sense of their universe. This kind of play would drive me to drink if it weren’t drawn so brightly and crisply, thanks to a fearless cast which doesn’t shy away from the awkward intimacy. Continue reading →
The Nina Variations is a strange little nugget of show presented for the approval of Anton Chekhov devotees. The plot re-imagines the last scene of The Seagull 42 different ways. It manifests on stage all possible and impossible permutations of the final scene. Three different actresses playing Nina and one actor as Boris Trigorin examine all aspects of the couple’s “love story” (Is this how people in love treat each other? Really? Ok, fine.). The result is a live fanfiction demonstration wrapped in a buttery layer of honed acting technique. Continue reading →
Omar Robinson, Johnny Lee Davenport*, and Johnnie McQuarley in the foreground, with Jesse Hinson* (Pericles) and the cast in the background. Photo: Stratton McCrady Photography
(Boston) It’s easy to see why Pericles, Prince of Tyre isn’t one of Shakespeare’s best loved plays. The plot is often as lost at sea as the titular character, who drifts from one melodramatic episode to the next on an unending voyage. Pericles’ journey begins with villainous incest and the threat of death and, after abandoning this thread, continues on to tragic storms, kidnappings, and brothels. Taking on this play means a potential mess. Continue reading →
Kickstarter Page The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
January 9-19, 2014, at The Chain Theatre, 21-28 45th Rd, Long Island City, NY Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides
March 31-April 13, 2014, at The Secret Theatre’s Poco Theatre, 44-02 33rd St, Long Island City, NY
I passed on my blog to Kitty Drexel when I realized that I could no longer deny my desire to create a theatre company. Long Island City, one of the major residences of New York based theatre people, is becoming an economical alternative for theatrical productions. I was born in New Jersey, so it was only a matter of time before I inched my way back to the area. I want to give artists and audiences the opportunity to be a part of quality theatre, regardless of income. I am trying to do what Whistler in the Dark has done for Boston to the Queens area.
Swiftly Tilting Theatre Project is an artist community that will work towards bringing artists and audiences together while allowing us all to not be crushed by hard economic times.
Please watch the video and even the smallest pledge to the Kickstarter will help my dream become a reality.
David Drake, Samantha Richert, Ellen Adair, Larry Coen, and Laura Latreille in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of RYAN LANDRY’S “M”. March 30 – April 27, 2013 at the South End / Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA. huntingtontheatre.org. Photo: T. Charles Erickson
Presented by Huntington Theatre Company
Ryan Landry’s “M”
Directed by Caitlin Towland
(Boston) Fritz Lang’s masterpiece M, released in 1931, revealed much of his hatred and compassion regarding German society at the time. Ryan Landry’s M likewise breaks new ground while being observant of society’s duality. The Huntington’s production is ambitious with explosively funny results. Spoiler alert: nothing written here can be a genuine spoiler, trust me. A real spoiler would be able to point you towards a reasonable expectation of what will actually happen on stage. Ha ha ha! Continue reading →
(Boston) Little Giants has puppets, masque work, gender reversal, religious metaphor, interpretive dance, song, tumbling, Greek mythos, Bible references, and mime work. It’s influences range from the Commedia dell’Arte to the modern circus. That is where the similarity ends. The production is a lot to process in one sitting but the cast and director, Matthew Woods, weave it into an enjoyable albeit sometimes overwhelming evening. Continue reading →
(Boston) New drama is a tricky game that needs to be practiced over and over again. Even after all of that practice, the playing field is the only true test of its mettle. Girls’ Sports has gone to court to test itself and it’s come up short. Continue reading →
(Worcester) You’re probably sick of hearing about Les Miserables, and how Russell Crowe can’t sing and how Anne Hathaway can’t pick out her dress. I know I am, and I didn’t really like the musical that much in the first place. “Ornate” might be a generous way to describe how this play’s music reaches my ears; “overdone” might be more accurate. But if you can strip away the hype, it’s possible to see a really good storyline that materializes from this spectacle. After all, that Victor Hugo guy may have been no Stephen Sondheim, but he was no slouch. Penned a few novels, something about a hunchback. I hear he sold a few copies. Continue reading →
Directed by Charles Towers
Listing by Craig Idlebrook
Greed may not be good, as fictional stockbroker Gordon Gekko once famously espoused, but it never goes out of style.
In the 1987 film Wall Street, Gekko’s ode to greed was devastating to hear for Americans who had just suffered through insider trading and junk bond scandals. The late eighties also produced Glengarry Glen Ross, a razor-sharp play by David Mamet which examines greed on the micro-level, as bottom-feeding real estate agents in Buffalo lie, cheat and steal to sell tracts of land in Florida. While focusing on everyday financial crimes, Mamet creates an allegory for Wall Street greed that resonated with Main Street theatergoers in the late eighties. Continue reading →
