Feb 17

Elvis Doesn’t Waltz: DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP

Photo by Emma Young; a tense moment for Commodore Perry and family.

Presented by Fresh Ink Theatre Company
Written by Laura Neill
Directed by Joshua Glenn-Kayden
Dramatugy by Jessica Foster

February 10-25, 2017
Boston Center for the Arts
539 Tremont St., Boston, MA 02116
Fresh Ink on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MA) Fresh Ink Theatre Company serves its community by developing the works of currently living, local-ish playwrights. They do awesome work. Don’t Give Up the Ship is the first show in their 2016/2017 season. Please vote for the arts with your attendance.    Continue reading

Jun 07

More Fun Than Interviewing Pigeons: “The Birds and the Bees”

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Presented by Sleeping Weazel
Written by Kate Snodgrass (Bark), Adara Meyers (Birds), Charlotte Meehan (Beesus)
Directed by Melia Bensussen (Bark & Beesus), Shana Gozansky (Birds)

June 2 – 11, 2016
Plaza Black Box Theater
539 Tremont St
Boston, MA
Sleeping Weazel on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston, MAThe Birds and the Bees: A Festival of New Plays is good albeit strange theatre. Play #1, The Last Bark is the most concrete of the three plays that make up this production. Birds is post post-modern theatre. Beesus & Ballustrada is even more abstract than Birds. The performances are compelling. The scripts are perplexing. Continue reading

Dec 07

“It’s Not About My Mother”: It’s About Fleetwood Mac

Photo credit: Nile Hawver

Photo credit: Nile Hawver

 

Presented by Fresh Ink Theatre
By Lizzie Milanovich
Directed by Cassandra Lovering

December 4-12, 2015
The Plaza Black Box Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts
Fresh Ink Theatre on Facebook

Review by Travis Manni

(Boston, MA) Location, location, location. That was the thought that crossed my mind as I took a seat at the Plaza Black Box Theatre, and just from looking over the set the placement of It’s Not About My Mother was perfect. Not only does the show itself take place in a basement, the theatre is located in a similar setting, which was welcomingly orienting. Continue reading

Dec 08

“Distant Neighbors” and Close Encounters

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Sheldon Brown (Adams) & Louise Hamill (Talia). Photo by E. Milanovich Photography

Presented by Fresh Ink Theatre
Written by Patrick Gabridge
Directed by Liz Fenstermaker

December 5 – 13, 2014
Boston Playwrights Theatre
949 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA
Fresh Ink on Facebook

Review by Gillian Daniels

Fresh Ink Theatre’s Distant Neighbors hits at the heart of what the best science fiction is about: people reacting to technological advancement.  If you read (or watch the film adaption of) Jurassic Park, you’re not just consuming entertainment to see how people create dinosaurs, but how people react to creating dinosaurs.  Similarly, the characters of Distant Neighbors react to a change in an intimate environment.  Here, however, the source of upheaval is the wing of an apparent spacecraft that comes crashing down into the backyards of Adams (Sheldon Brown), Talia (Louise Hamill), and Griffin (Daniel Boudreau), three neighbors who know nothing about each other.  It’s a wonderful starting point for a story about intimacy and paranoia, but I’m not sure it pans out well.

Continue reading

Oct 01

Advances in Tech Nostalgia: “How May I Connect You?”

Courtesy of Paul Cantillon, LIDEC Photo

Presented by Project:Project
How May I Connect You? (Or, Scenes in the Key of D:\)
Scenes written by Lynn Wilcott, Jeffrey Mosser, Max Mondi, Vicki Schairer, Alli Engelsma-Mosser, Tom Blanford, Louise Hamill, Gillian Mackay-Smith, Claire Suni, Sophia Shrand
Directed by Jeffrey Mosser and Vicki Schairer
Music composed by Thomas Blandford
Choreography by Alli Engelsma-Mosser
Ensemble: Sheldon Brown, Mikey DiLoreto, Louise Hamill, Gillian Mackay-Smith, Anita Shriver, Adam Thenhaus, Zach Winston, Lynn Wilcott

Sept. 26 – Sept. 29, 2013
Carol G. Deane Hall
Calderwood Pavilion
BCA
Boston, MA 02116
Project: Project on Facebook

Review by Kitty Drexel
Review is based on the Sept. 28, 2pm performance.

(Boston) Louis C.K. recently went on record saying that he thinks children shouldn’t have cell phones. (Some “news sources” went on record saying Louis C.K. hates cell phones. This is not true. If one watches the clip, this is obvious.) Children need to experience the horrors and joys of life as they occur. Experiencing this allows children to (hopefully) grow into reasonable, seasoned adults capable of handling the emotions of others and themselves. Perpetually having their eyes on a screen or ear up to a receiver will not. Yet, electronics also have their obvious rewards. The laugh-riot that was/is How May I Connect You? (Or, Scenes in the Key of D:\) examined both sides of the tech coin. Continue reading

Jun 22

A Shrieking Mess: BLACK COMEDY

Photo Credit: The Happy Medium Theatre Co. Where can I get that dress?

Photo Credit: The Happy Medium Theatre Co. Where can I get that dress? – Kitty

presented by Happy Medium Theatre
by Peter Shaffer
Co-Directed by Lizette M. Morris and Michael Underhill

@ The Factory Theatre
Boston, MA
June 14th – June 22nd, 2013
Happy Medium Facebook Page

Review by Craig Idlebrook

(Boston) There is the top, there is going over the top and then there is trampling on the top and spitting on its grave. You have to hand it to the talented Happy Medium cast that performs Black Comedy; they commit to an outrageously loud and brash style that infuses a punk sensibility to a tired and silly British farce. Each actor delivers their lines with such gusto that it’s like being in a room with a guitarist who cranks the amp up to 11. Unfortunately, this loud performance quickly grates, and it’s impossible to emotionally invest in the offensive, obnoxious and one-dimensional characters. The unfunny end product may waste the energetic performances by some talented actors, but at least there’s no danger of falling asleep. Continue reading

Dec 08

Hold Onto Your Shawarma, Here Comes Crazypants: “The Embryos”

Photo credit: Fresh Ink Theatre
Mommy and Daddy don’t like fast food.

presented by Fresh Ink Theatre Company

Written by Ginger Lazarus
Directored by Dawn M. Simmons
Dramaturg: Tyler J. Monroe

The Factory Theatre
November 30-December 15, 2012
Fresh Ink Theatre Blog, Facebook Page

Review by Kitty Drexel

(Boston) There are many valid reasons to become a parent. Some “adults” feel that it is their life’s mission to procreate; some couples want to share their love organically; and others accidentally drop a cheeto into their partner’s lap, live in the moment and welcome a baby 9 months later. To each their own. Ginger Lazarus’ nugget of hilarity, The Embryos, offers a surrealist viewpoint on parenting that investigates topical politics as well as the extent of delusion only unconditional love enables. Her characters begin their journey hoping for a larger family. They end it on the wrong sides of the law and the greater Shawarma community. Continue reading

Nov 09

Project: Project WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?

Project: Project

The Boy Scouts need to prepare for the big conference. The Boondock Skanks just won the big Roller Derby match and need to celebrate. But there’s only one house. What are they going to do?

WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?, Project: Project‘s inaugural production, has been in the works since we first came together in November 2011. After one year of devising, improvising, writing and rewriting it is coming to fruition. Part improvised, part scripted, and all site-specific! We couldn’t be more proud to finally share with you this one-of-a-kind event, but first, you need the details!

WHERE:
The Democracy Center
45 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
WHEN:
Friday, November 9 at 8:00PM and 10:30PM
Saturday, November 10 at 8:00PM and 10:30PM
Sunday, November 11 at 2:00PM (With the possibility of a second show!)
WHO:
P:P could not be more pleased to feature the fine talents of our cast, including:
Rachel Katherine Alexander
Meg DiMaggio
Katie Drexel
Louise Hamill
Tim Hoover
Chris Larson
Emily Laverdiere
Milo Macphail
Harry McEnerny
Max Mondi
Jeff Mosser
Brendan Pelsue
Vicki Schairer
Adam Thenhaus
Jesse Tombari

and finally . . . HOW MUCH:
Tickets will be from $5-10! (You can’t beat that deal!)

To secure a reservation, Click here: http://tinyurl.com/ctjb338
Can’t wait to see you there! And bring your skates and badges!

Earn your badge in awesomeness!

Continue reading

Sep 18

Project: Project’s WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?

This is our FIRST fundraiser for our FIRST production. A $500 pittance to assist with space rental and miscellaneous props that can’t be found in our closets.

Our current show, What are You Doing Here?, has been in the works since we first came together in November 2011. After one year of devising, improvising, writing and rewriting it is coming to fruition. Now we need your help to see it through! It’s part improvised, part scripted, and all site-specific at the Democracy Center in Cambridge, MA. Continue reading

Apr 29

Joyful Absurdity in Trog and Clay: An Imagined History of the Electric Chair

Trog (Cameron Beaty Gosselin) and Clay (Louise Hamill) dream of their elusive next meal. Photo by Sunny M. Rissland

Trog and Clay: An Imagined History of the Electric Chair by Michael Vukadinovich, Fresh Ink Theatre, The Factory Theatre, 4/27/12-5/12/12, http://www.freshinktheatre.com/on-stage.html.

Reviewed by Gillian Daniels

(Boston, MA) Fresh Ink Theatre Company’s Trog and Clay crackles with manic energy from its first moments.  Actors throw themselves into their roles with performances that range from amusingly campy to blindly sincere.  Continue reading