FringeNYC Previews

For Reasons Unknown

Produced by Gingham Theatre

Author: Andi Teran and Jeff Long

Our show, For Reasons Unknown, is about a guy named Bradley who comes home to his New York apartment to find a giant poo on his couch. The windows are locked, the door is locked, and there are no signs of forced entry. Bradley enlists the help of his best friend and hip-hop dance partner, Julie, and together they attempt to find out who committed this dastardly act of aggression. There's dancing, a couple of cops, pigeons, a mysterious neighbor, and even a little Annette Funicello thrown in for good measure (who doesn't LOVE Annette??). Basically, For Reasons Unknown is a modern comedy about the random absurdity that comes with living in New York.

Well, aside from being funny, our show celebrates New Yorkers and what it takes to live here currently. It is a commentary on the present state of New York City, and we even tackle a few very recent events (which we're keeping under wraps). We want to reach out to our fellow locals and get them to come laugh with us about the ridiculousness surrounding anything from midtown office life to navigating the streets of Murray Hill on a morning stroll. We've all had absurd things happen to us in this city, and it's therapeutic — not to mention terribly fun — to get together with our neighbors near and far and borough to borough to share in the common occurrences that link us all together in this wonderful town.

We (writers Andi Teran and Jeff Long) are long-time friends who moved to New York and worked together as concierges at The Mercer Hotel in Soho for several years. We started weaving stories together while working at the front desk in the hopes of someday writing and performing a play about the city life we were witnessing day to day. It's amazing what kinds of crazy stories we all have and how many people experience similar things — however wacky they may be. We heard one story that floored us so much, we were inspired to write a play while adding in our experiences living here for the past eight years. We've seen this city change so much in so little time, and we feel we have something strong to say about that. Also, we just really want to laugh with an audience...and poo is both terrifying and funny. We think poo is the new zombie.

Photo by Phillip Toledano

Andi Teran, writer/actor