The Hills Are Alive!
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Lauren Cartelli
July 21, 2012
What is your job on this show?
Production Stage Manager.
Where were you born? Where were you raised? Where did you go to school?
I was born in Yonkers, and we lived in the Bronx when I was very young. We moved to Orlando when I was seven years old, and I grew up helping with my mom's special events company in Orlando. I was enrolled in Dr. Phillips High School's Visual and Performing Arts Magnet Program at fourteen as an actor; I left, four years later, not really knowing whether I wanted to be a stage manager or a dramaturg. I had worked in both capacities, and both roles appealed to me. Day one of orientation at Fordham University (back to New York!) the decision was inadvertently made for me, and I've never had cause to look back.
Have you been part of FringeNYC in the past? If so, how did you particpate? (Be specific! Name shows, etc.)
I have! I stage managed a production written by, directed by, and starring a number of other Fordham alums in 2006. It was called "Moral Values: A Farce OR me no likey the homo touch-touch" by Ian McWethy, directed by Jeffrey Glaser. Fordham alum Graham Skipper, currently starring in NYMF's production of "Re-animator: The Musical" spent most of his time in a very sweaty bear suit. We had a blast!
In your own words, what do you think this show is about? What will audiences take away with them after seeing it?
"The Hills are Alive" tells the story of a family on the run who, despite the mountains before them being too high, and the valley behind them being too low, will always manage to sing their worries away. It's about the enduring power of familial ties in the face of poverty, hunger, strife, political extremism, the violence of nature, and mountain people. Audiences will leave with the realization that, actually, their families aren't so bad! Much hugging and good will shall ensue.
People who like which of the following recent Broadway shows would also probably like your show: THE BOOK OF MORMON, ONCE, DEATH OF A SALESMAN, CLYBOURNE PARK?
If you loved The Book of Mormon, then you will definitely love The Hills are Alive. Both shows are rooted in that land called Parody where even the smallest elements and references are incredibly smart. Both are acutely funny in their execution, and both will have you leaving the theatre wiping away tears of hilarity.
Why should people come to FringeNYC this summer, rather than the beach, mountains, or the latest movie blockbuster?
I love the beach. The one place I would rather be than in a darkened theatre on a Sunday afternoon in August is the beach. But, you know, if I go the next day...the beach is still there. And the movies? Hey, I go to the movies. It's dark, it's air conditioned, I can cozy up with my favorite people and enjoy my stale popcorn to the sountrack of something akin to a work of art, manufactured and mass-produced for my summer enjoyment. But, you know, if I go the next day...it's the same movie.
Theatre is never the same twice. Never. And, like life, its moments are fleeting. Sure, the script may be the same as the day before, the space may be the same as the day before, the players may be the same as the day before...but the combination of these things creates this living, breathing sentient being that is always subtly different. If you blink, you miss it.
FringeNYC is a forum for these beings, these unique moments, to occur simultaneously. With hundreds of artists contributing, in such a short period of time, it is guaranteed that this event will never happen the same way twice; if you blink, you'll miss it. Don't blink.
As for mountains, the show is called "The Hills Are Alive": come to our show, we provide our own mountains.
