Q&A INTERVIEWS WITH THE ARTISTS
4CHAMBERS
Jody Oberfelder, Director, Concept, Choreographer : "I don't like to think of myself bound by one category. My goal is to engage audiences, whatever form it takes. Once I get going on a project I try not to worry whether it’s a definable category. Often I'll begin with a simple idea, which will lead to tangential concepts, and then the art-making will take over. As 4Chambers is about the heart, I researched, read everything I could understand (there’s a lot of medical language that is meant for specialists) interviewed neuroscientists and cardiologists and even cardiac psychiatrist. When a friend/colleague of mine had a heart attack, it affected me as a person, and somehow infused this work. Research is also personal. I have a heart, so I suppose I could say: “It takes one to know one.”
This piece felt all in my head for a while till we were told we could do the piece in an historical officers’ houses on Governors Island. The audience (12 members at time) travel to four chambers with arteries and veins connecting. The piece feels real now that it’s sited. But such a different animal than my past work, it’s a little scary.
It's actually better for me to take risks. Otherwise I'll put myself in a box and say "I'm a choreographer." or "I'm a filmmaker" or "I'm a director" or "I'm a writer." This particular piece is a mash up of several forms. I suppose if I was to name the level of communication, I’d say to physicalize and feel, would be equally paired with thinking and processing intellectually.
We're living in a time where information is at our fingertips. To distill and present something for audiences that zing with something real has no boundaries. No two people will have the same experience. So, pushing boundaries, my own, and crossing over to suggest that audiences give up their preconceptions of what is theater, is what I'm after. What matters to me is creating the right forms that command attention, participation, and engagement, without being didactic, or repeating a formula.
"
THE YEAR OF DEAD CATS
Erica Herd, Playwright and actor.: "I was born in Manhattan, on East 27th Street, in a 5th floor walk up apartment. My Mom gave birth to me alone (not intentional, I was premature) with the cat Mitzi acting as midwife. When I was 5 or 6 we moved to Jackson Heights, Queens. I went to Catholic school through high school, and received my B.A. from Hunter College."
MACBETH (THE TEMPEST LADIES)
Julia Giolzetti, Actor: "I was a no-neck monster in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at a community theater near my house in San Diego when I was 9 years old. It was fascinating to see adults dress up in costumes and play around with each other, and I (wrongly) assumed they all made buckets of money and that this was their only job. The deal was sealed when my line "You're just jealous cause you can't have babies!" got a laugh opening night."
THE BOAT FACTORY
Dan Gordon, Actor/Playwright: "New work. I love being the first to create a role - I get to make big decisons about who a character is. It's like creating a child without having to raise them and put them through college."
I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER ON BROADWAY BY TUCKER MAX
Abe Goldfarb, Actor in the role of Tucker Max: "Burlesque! I regularly host burlesque under the name Bastard Keith, and it's my passion. The interesting thing about I Hope They Serve Beer on Broadway is that its outrageousness, raunch, subversion and direct communication to the audience play on everything I love about burlesque. I studied at the Bristol Old Vic for 3 years, and my love for burlesque is driven entirely by my love for classical theater and the British music hall tradition. Christopher Carter Sanderson saw these affinities as a damn good reason to cast me, and I'll be forever grateful for it."
VELVET BANANA CABARET
The Evil Hate Monkey, Actor, Writer: "I was always a flamboyant primate. I've been swinging from vines in tiny costumes since my chimpfancy, it was just a matter of time before I found my way to NYC. It’s kind of taboo now to have chimps in shows cause of animal rights and stuff, but I love my life on the stage and audiences really love monkey business."
THE SWEET DREAMS OF LIZZIE TILLEY
Melina Chadbourne, Playing role of Lizzie Tilley: "I was born in Beverly, MA and raised in Needham, MA. I graduated from Emerson College in May 2012 ."
ALCESTIS ASCENDING
Seth Panitch, Playwright/ Director: "I was, what my Mother (and pretty much everyone else in the world) called a hyperactive kid. Theatre is the only thing that ever challenged me enough to force me to sit still for longer than five minutes. I get the same thrill of the chase, of the challenge, when I work on it today, as that first production of "Charlotte's Web" in that Templeton the Rat fat suit."
WALKING THE DEAD
Russell Boyle, Director: "I like to work on theatre that challenges the audience to think outside of their normal perceptions of the roles we are typically called upon to play in society."
COVERS
Ruvym Gilman, Co-Writer; Actor: "I love theater that plays on the boundary between reality and magic. Reality, by its nature, is infused with magic that we often don't see. As soon as you ramp up one of those magical notes, the audience has a particularly powerful experience in that moment where they don't know what world they are in."
Q&A INTERVIEWS - UPCOMING SHOWS
4: Nancy Robillard (begins Jun 5, 2013)
4CHAMBERS: Jody Oberfelder (begins Jul 6, 2013)
ALCESTIS ASCENDING: Seth Panitch (begins Jul 9, 2013)
ATTEMPTS ON HER LIFE: Scott Kesselman (begins May 29, 2013)
BELLA'S DREAM: Jessica Ammirati and Dana Boll (begins Jun 16, 2013)
BIRDS ON A WIRE: Jordan Feltner (begins Jun 13, 2013)
BIRTHRIGHT: David Lawson (begins May 31, 2013)
BOOTSTRAPS: Artem Yatsunov (begins Jun 13, 2013)
BRILLIANT TRACES: Mary Catherine Wilson (begins Jun 7, 2013)
BUREAU OF MISSING PERSONS: Lila Rose Kaplan (begins Jun 14, 2013)
CATCH THE SPIDER: Joe Raik (begins May 30, 2013)
DANTE’S INFERNO: Michael Feld (begins Jun 8, 2013)
DRAGON: Jenny Connell Davis (begins May 29, 2013)
ELE↓↑TOR: Patrice Miller (begins Jun 8, 2013)
EVOLUTIONARY TALES: A HIP-HOP THEATRE CYCLE: Baba Brinkman (begins May 31, 2013)
FAREWELL TO SANITY AND OTHER IRRATIONAL CONSTRUCTS: Tom Slot (begins Jun 1, 2013)
FIX NUMBER SIX: Jerry Polner (begins May 29, 2013)
GEPPETTO: Carlo Adinolfi (begins Jun 13, 2013)
GHOST ON A STICK: Jara Jones (begins Jun 8, 2013)
HIT AND MATCH: Michael Hagins (begins Jun 7, 2013)
I HOPE THEY SERVE BEER ON BROADWAY BY TUCKER MAX : Abe Goldfarb (begins Jul 5, 2013)
IN SCENA! ITALIAN THEATER FESTIVAL NY: Laura Caparrotti (begins Jun 10, 2013)
KAMIKAZE: Jeroen Bouwhuis (begins Jun 15, 2013)
LAMENESS OF A HORSE: Joe White (begins Jun 22, 2013)
LAST LAUGH: Eric Lockley (begins May 29, 2013)
LIGHTHOUSE TRIPTYCH: Stephanie Lane (begins Jun 8, 2013)
MACBETH (THE TEMPEST LADIES): Julia Giolzetti (begins Jun 1, 2013)
MANNA-HATA: Barry Rowell (begins Jun 7, 2013)
MARINA / MATA HARI: Ivette Dumeng (begins Jun 15, 2013)
MRS. MAYFIELD'S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS OF '93 20-YEAR REUNION: Leta Tremblay (begins May 31, 2013)
MRS. MAYFIELD'S FIFTH-GRADE CLASS OF '93 20-YEAR REUNION: Mariah MacCarthy (begins May 31, 2013)
NAKED DARROW: Gary Anderson (begins Jun 5, 2013)
NOT WITHOUT MY GALL BLADDER: Sean Daniels and Eric Mercado (begins May 29, 2013)
NOTHING'S GOING TO HAPPEN: Justin Cornell (begins May 29, 2013)
OCCUPATION: Joe Jung (begins Jun 6, 2013)
PETER/WENDY: Jeremy Bloom (begins May 30, 2013)
RAGS: Anna Kirkland (begins May 29, 2013)
SHARON'S SHORTS: Sharon E. Cooper (begins Jun 1, 2013)
STRAIGHT FACED LIES: Mark Jason Williams (begins Jun 2, 2013)
SUBJECT 62: Lenny Schwartz (begins Jun 14, 2013)
TEST-DO YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW? ARE YOU POSITIVE?: William LoCasto (begins Jun 18, 2013)
THE BLONDE BOMBSHELL PROJECT: Jen Danby (begins Jun 1, 2013)
THE BOAT FACTORY: Dan Gordon (begins Jun 4, 2013)
THE GIRL WHO FORGOT TO SING BADLY: Louis Lovett, Actor and Joint Artistic Director Director of Theatre Lovett (begins May 31, 2013)
THE GOLDEN YEAR: Daniel Damiano (begins Jun 6, 2013)
THE GREATEST PIRATE STORY (N)EVER TOLD!: Christopher Leidenfrost (begins Jun 10, 2013)
THE HOLY COWS OF CREDENCE, SOUTH DAKOTA: A NEW MOO-SICAL: The Holy Cows Team (begins Jun 2, 2013)
THE PENALTY: Gregg Mozgala (begins Jun 13, 2013)
THE PIANO HAS BEEN DRINKING (NOT ME) : Anthony Wills Jr. (begins Jun 3, 2013)
THE SILVER CORD: Victoria Mack (begins Jun 5, 2013)
THE SWEET DREAMS OF LIZZIE TILLEY : Melina Chadbourne (begins Jun 12, 2013)
THE YEAR OF DEAD CATS: Erica Herd (begins Jun 16, 2013)
UNBIRTH: Charles Gershman (begins Jun 4, 2013)
UNSCRIPTED NEW YORK IMPROVISED THEATRE FESTIVAL : Dion Flynn (begins May 29, 2013)
VELVET BANANA CABARET: The Evil Hate Monkey (begins Jun 1, 2013)
VELVET ROPE: Celestine Rae (begins Jun 12, 2013)
VULTURE-WALLY: Jillian Sweeney and Jeffrey Cranor (begins May 31, 2013)
WALDEN: Katherine Brann Fredricks (begins May 29, 2013)
WALKING THE DEAD: Russell Boyle (begins Jun 4, 2013)
WHAT DO YOU MEAN: Bruce A! Kraemer (begins Jun 15, 2013)
WHITE NOISE: Tom Block (begins Jun 27, 2013)
WIGGERLOVER [WHITEBOY+BLACKDAD=GREYAREAS]: James Anthony Zoccoli (aka JAZ) (begins May 29, 2013)
