Coosje
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Steven Conroy
September 21, 2012
What is your job on this show?
Actor.
Are there boundaries as to what kind of theatre you will take part in?
Respect. I will take part in almost any type of production as long as there is mutual respect between the audience and theatre-makers. I will not work on a show that gives the audience exactly what it wants, that dumbs down subject matter, and material that does not challenge. If the work doesn't engage the audience and make them think, it is not worth doing. Likewise, if the audience doesn't take up that challenge and engage with the performers- push them, listen to them, breathe with them- it is not worth doing. If we respect each other's time, brains, and hearts- I'll do it!
Why do you do theater (as opposed to film, or TV, or something not in the entertainment field)?
Magic happens in the theater! You pay for the seat, but you get so much more! It transports you to a completely different place, people transform before your eye, and you can't press pause or Tivo this $#!t. You have to race to keep up, because one trick unfolds after another (most of the time on a nothing budget). If you give yourself over and allow the theater to transport you, then you have completed the coolest magic trick yourself! Also, only in the theater do the actors come out of the stage door, so you can always buy them (me) a drink after the show.
Are there any cautions or warnings you’d like to make about the show (e.g., not appropriate for little kids)?
There is a giant singing pear in this show. So if you have a fear of large fruit this show is not for you.
Which famous New Jerseyite would like your show the best: Snooki, Bruce Springsteen, Thomas Edison?
Snooki. Out of a great mess (of inspiration) we birthed COOSJE. If you want to financially back this show though, we are more than happy to change the name to LORENZO.
Theater is a necessary ingredient in democratic societies. Do you agree or disagree, and why?
If you asked me in college I would have defintiely agreed. But seeing how most theaters reach minimal capacity, pack in star actors, or do one too many grape vines, I don't often see how it motivates people to engage in a national dialogue. Theatre like democracy is filled with comedy and tradgey, and different voices arguing their points of view, but this has occurred in theatre that existed under monarchies, theocracies, empires, and military states. Unfortunately (or fortunately I have yet to decide by the end of answering this question), Facebook and Twitter are more of a necessary ingredient to democracy than theatre...But I will leave you off with these words: Like No. 11 Productions on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!
