Five Things: A Webcomic in 3-D
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Amanda LaPergola
July 31, 2012
What is your job on this show?
I am directing the whole shebang and acting in a few bit parts. I also make sandwiches for the cast and crew because I am determined to have total control over everything that goes in and out of this production. (Playwright) Jillian Tully likes her crusts cut off..
What type of theater do you like most to work on?
I graduated with a BFA in music theatre, so for a long time that was the only world I knew. After I moved to New York six years ago I quickly grew frustrated with the limitations of that world and unhappy with theatre in general. Meanwhile there was this whole other world of theatre- the indie theatre scene- where the work was exciting and fresh and creative and weird and eclectic. That was the kind of theatre I wanted to be doing, but I had no idea it even existed. If my friend had not taken me to an indie theatre show for my birthday a few years ago, I might still be slogging through open calls for shows I don't care about while this crazy-awesome other world went on without me.
Also, I like shows with set pieces that fly or fall or are just really big. Like a show with a giant flying blender. I could get into that kind of show.
Complete this sentence: My show is the only one in FringeNYC that...?
...has hidden two halves of a golden amulet in the theatre. The audience has to find and reconnect them before the end of the show or a cast member will die. There's also tap dancing.
How did you meet your fellow artists/collaborators on this show?
I met Jillian when going to Vampire Cowboys' Saturday Night Saloons back when they existed (RIP Battle Ranch) and we immediately established that we have similar aesthetic leanings. Then, last year I reviewed "Five Things" when it played at The Brick for geek girl website The Mary Sue. This led Jillian to ask me if I wanted to direct the Fringe revival. I loved the show when I first saw it. It really spoke to me as a young dorky woman who came to the city to find life and love. I am so happy to be a part of its renaissance.
Which “S” word best describes your show: SMOOTH, SEXY, SMART, SURPRISING?
S'AWESOME. Or S'AMAZING. No, wait. S'ORGASMIC. Or maybe just S'MORES.
If you had ten million dollars that you had to spend on theatrical endeavors, how would you use the money?
There's a great line from the prologue of a play I adore called "Flying Snakes in 3-D": "If we had $8,000 we could put on, like, ten 'War Horses'." Indie theatre people are geniuses when it comes to making spectacular things with very little money. I don't even know what I would do with ten million dollars. Except, of course, add that giant flying blender.
