FringeNYC 2013: Track Twelve

A major blizzard keeps four travelers stranded in Penn Station for hours with nothing to do but wait. The stress of delay and confinement forces them to finally accept that the only way to move forward is to let go.

Official production website
Show details/ticketing at FringeNYC

Venue: Teatro Circulo, 64 East 4th Street

Review by Julie Congress · August 15, 2013

Track Twelve, a new play by Emily Comisar, is about four people connecting, and misconnecting, with one another when their Amtrak train is delayed leaving Penn Station. While the play’s heart is in the right place, the production feels more implausible than one would hope.

Free-spirited wedding photographer Jenny and her straight-laced banker older brother Simon are headed to their mother’s wedding. Consultant Mike, an all-around good guy whose job happens to be laying people off (a la the film Up in the Air), is on a business trip with his co-worker (and ex-fiancé), the high-strung Lindsay. When their train to DC is drastically delayed due to snow, the two pairs end up getting to know one another in every combination possible and the sparks quickly fly between Jenny and Mike.

Keelie A. Sheridan brings life, energy and humor to her depiction of scattered but earthy Jenny. Her chemistry with Charlie Gorrilla, as Mike, is very believable and we are definitely rooting for the two to get together. Less believable is the brother-sister relationship between Jenny and Leo Goodman’s Simon. Sarah Sanders, the doppelganger of actor Anna Kendrick (who coincidentally appears in Up in the Air), is perkily harpyish as Lindsay, persistently nagging at Mike and forming some sort of close but under-defined relationship with Simon.

Director Josh Penzell moves the action along at a quick pace (save for some rather extraneous transitions) but violates some of our basic understandings of Penn Station and trains – characters sit on the floor of the station, leave laptops and other possessions unguarded (if you see something, say something), have extensive leg room on the Amtrak and look at each other through what would be the headrest/back of their seats.

Comisar’s script has some very funny lines and a well-developed rom-com style budding love story, but the characters’ storylines often feel underdeveloped and contrived (Jenny’s terrible relationship with her mother, the state of Mike’s business, etc.).

Preview: Interviews with Artists from Track Twelve

We're asking artists from each show to answer questions about themselves and their work to help our readers get a detailed advance picture of the festival:

Gettin' Social · Beccacrawford88 (Other)

Where were you born? Where were you raised? Where did you go to school?
I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia. In Sydney I went to a school called The University of NSW to study Architecture. In New York City I attended Parsons (The New School) for the past two years, completing a Masters of Fashion studies! Studying in this city has been the experience of a lifetime...
How did you meet your fellow artists/collaborators on this show?
I met Emily - the playwright of Track Twelve - through our mutual friend Kathryn. I was lucky enough to be invited into her (highly exclusive) girls only burger club, which was where I proceeded to meet Emily at one of our monthly meetings!
If you had ten million dollars that you had to spend only on theatrical endeavors, how would you use the money?
I would love to keep working with young talent...but would pour the ten million dollars into the Australian theatre scene! Sorry New York!
If you're a New Yorker: why is FringeNYC an important part of the summer theater scene? If you're not a New Yorker: what are you most looking forward to doing and seeing (apart from the festival) while you're here?
I can't wait to check out as many of the other shows as possible!! To engage with such unique theatre in the space of downtown New York City is incredibly exciting...
Describe your show in a tweet (140 characters or less).
Four travelers are left stranded in Penn Station waiting for their train to DC during a terrible blizzard. As tensions bubble to the surface, so does the complicated, yet potentially renewing, nature of love...

Read more Gettin' Social previews!

All About My Show · keeliesheridan (Actor)

Complete this sentence: My show is the only one in FringeNYC that...?
references a Hadron Collider. I'm pretty sure...
Tell us about the character or characters that you portray in this show.
I play Jenny, a quirky, free-spirited wedding photographer.
What moment or section in this show do you really love to perform? Without giving away surprises, what happens in that moment and why do you love it?
I get to eat a pastry! A "really nice-looking danish." So far, I've only had pantomime danishes, but opening is near! I'm very much looking forward to chowing down on the real thing for each performance.
Which school or system of acting has been most useful to you in your career, and why (examples: The Method, Uta Hagen, Viewpoints, etc.)?
My training background is very diverse. I'm a dancer, and I find movement and physicality informs everything. I've also trained with the Chuck Jones vocal method- connection with my voice and my breath keeps me grounded.
What's your favorite pastime when you’re not working on a play?
Taking pictures, traveling, Irish step dancing and collecting mermaids.

Read more All About My Show previews!

Journey to FringeNYC · Emily Comisar (Writer)

Where were you born? Where were you raised? Where did you go to school?
Although I was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, I often tell people that I was raised primarily in Dallas, Texas, where I went to middle and high school. I hold a B.A. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University (Go 'Cats!) and an M.A. in Italian from Middlebury College. In the Fall I'll join the Columbia University Theatre Management & Producing program.
What are some of your previous theater credits? (Be specific! Name shows, etc.)
Track Twelve is actually my first full production. In May, my short play, Reunion, appeared in a reading series produced by Lone Star Theatre Company. However, I spent most of 2011-2012 working on a comedic web series which you can find at groupthewebseries.com. This winter, my full length play, Moonlighting, will receive a staged reading, also presented by Lone Star Theatre Company.
Why did you want to be part of FringeNYC?
It seemed like a great opportunity to be part of a really supportive theater community. Track Twelve in particular is a very "New York" story (it takes place mostly in Penn Station), and begs to be told in an intimate, no frills way. FringeNYC seemed like the best venue for that kind of work.
What was the most memorable/funny/unusual thing that has happened during the development and rehearsal process for this show?
My favorite part of play development is often casting -- I've had a number of VERY different actors reading the four parts of this play over the course of table readings, a staged reading, and now this production. Throughout the auditions for this production we encountered a number of really unique and quirky actors that made me think: "could I rewrite the part for him/her?" Luckily my director convinced me I should stick to the characters I actually wanted to write.
Be honest: how many drafts have you written of this play so far? Are you still re-writing? What’s the process been like?
That depends on what you mean by "draft." The file is currently saved on my computer as Track Twelve v4, but if you mean every time I've rewritten, then the number is definitely in double digits. I tend to write quickly just to get the ideas out, but I consider myself a slash and burn editor -- between drafts 1 and 2 I cut and re-imagined the entire second act.

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