Summer theatre in NYC always includes lots of free outdoor productions, usually of the plays of Shakespeare.  Since this season is no different, nytheatrecast invited four companies who have varied productions of the works of the Bard in different locales.  What they have in common is that they are free, they are in the park (or in one case, the park(ing) lot) and all are sure to be professionally done.

Present for this roundtable discussion with Martin Denton are: David Fuller who will be directing Pericles for Hudson Warehouse at the North Patio of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in Riverside Park; Rohana Elias-Reyes, director of PLG Arts’ production Daydream (Midsummer Night’s Dream adapted specifically for children) which can be found at Prospect Park’s Imagination Playground in Brooklyn; the Drilling Company’s Tom Demenkoff talking about their productions of Twelfth Night and Henry V at the Park(ing) Lot on the Lower East Side; and Matt Johnston, director of As You Like It for Boomerang’s production in Central Park.

Martin began by asking each to give a short introduction to their production, its location, and other pertinent details. This was followed by a lively discussion of such topics as “what’s different about directing outdoor Shakespeare”, “why Shakespeare and not some other classic play?”, “what’s the difference between producing during the day vs. nighttime”?  Listeners will also hear about the audience and its impact on outdoor theatre and there’s even an exchange of ‘horror tales’ that have occured with outdoor producing.

This is an informative and fun episode.  The main thing to learn is that this is possibly the most accessible theatre for everyone, as satisfying for novice theatre goers as it is for those well versed in classic theatre. And it is FREE and probably happening somewhere this summer at a park close to home.

Episode Links:

• Daydreams on nytheatre.com
• PLG Arts website
• Twelfth Night on nytheatre.com
• The Drilling Company website
• Pericles on nytheatre.com
• Hudson Warehouse website
• As you Like It on nytheatre.com
• Boomerang Theatre Company website

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By an interesting coincidence, two established theatre companies located in Queens and Brooklyn are opening revivals of former Broadway musicals.  Martin Denton is joined by Astoria Performing Arts Center director Brian Swasey and Tom Wojtunik, director for The Gallery Players in Park Slope, Brooklyn.  The musicals are, respectively, Triumph of Love and Man of la Mancha.

After a quick description of each play, Brian began by talking a bit about why he wanted to produce this play.  Having seen the origianl Broadway production, he felt it would have been so much better in a smaller, more intimate venue such as his.  Tom also looks at La Mancha as fitting easily into the intimate surroundings of Gallery Players’ space. 

Much of the discussion centered around how one produces a Broadway musical on an indie budget.  Both Tom and Brian depend greatly on the talent and ability of their respective musical directors to take responsibility for just about all things vocal.  The importance of a shared vision by each with his musical director makes the process work smoothly.

Before closing Tom and Brian talk about working in NYC but outside of Manhattan. They are in complete agreement that this is not a problem where casting is concerned since it is the work itself that is important and the desire for actors to want to appear in these specific roles, rather than where they are located.  Likewise, if the musical is one audiences have heard of or would like to see in an unamplified venue, they will come.

Episode Links:

• Triumph of Love on nytheatre.com
• Man of la Mancha on nytheatre.com
• Gallery Players website
• Astoria Performing Arts Center website

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Director John Jahnke is the guest on this episode. John talks with host Martin Denton about his upcoming project, a revival of the rarely-seen play The Cenci by Antonin Artaud, which will be at the Ohio Theatre in February 2008.

Among the highlights of this conversation: John talks about the historical background of the story of the play, which concerns a real Italian family whose patriarch was murdered by his children; and he provides a lot of fascinating information about Artaud’s play, which he describes as a kind of “cut-up” incorporating text from Shelley’s play about the same subject along with other material. John also discusses why he commissioned a new American translation of this play for his production.

John shares with listeners some great insights about what the production will look like, including why he selected the Ohio as the appopriate venue for this show. He provides some really fascinating insights into his process in staging the show as well.

John’s company, The Hotel Savant, is producing The Cenci. John is also a playwright, and his work The Shady Maids of Haiti is in NYTE’s anthology Plays and Playwrights 2004.

Episode Links:

• The Hotel Savant’s website
• Info about The Cenci on nytheatre.com

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On this episode, Frank Cwiklik talks about his upcoming show, Bitch Macbeth, which plays at the Brick Theater in Williamsburg in January 2008. Frank tells us about the genesis of this play, which is an amalgamation of many different Shakespearean works (not just Macbeth). He also discusses some of the changes he’s made for this production, which is a revival of a piece he originally mounted in 2001.

Frank’s earlier play, Sugarbaby, is published in NYTE’s anthology Plays and Playwrights 2004.

Frank — a true auteur of the indie theater scene – is writer, director, production designer, and sound designer of this show. As you’ll hear, Frank promises lots of sex and violence and gore in Bitch Macbeth!

Special bonus feature: moderator Martin Denton pronounces Frank’s last name correctly (it’s a Polish name and doesn’t sound the way it looks).

Episode Links:

• Bitch Macbeth website
• Bitch Macbeth info on nytheatre.com
• Plays and Playwrights 2004 info

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This episode features a fascinating discussion with director Bruce Levitt and actor Robert Zukerman regarding their upcoming production of Gilles Segal’s play, The Puppetmaster of Lodz. This play, written about 25 years ago, is about a Polish Jew who escaped from a concentration camp in 1944 and has been hiding out in an apartment in Berlin. The play takes place in 1950, and the man — who is a puppetmaker — refuses to believe that the war has ended.

Bruce and Robert offer tantalizing clues about this intriguing play, as well as lots of interesting behind-the-scenes details about how this production is coming together. One of their key collaborators on this production is puppetmaker Ralph Lee, and Robert talks extensively about Ralph’s work and the challenges in learning to work with the puppets that are part of the show.

There’s also some chat about how Bruce and Robert are working this project into their very full schedules. (Bruce is commuting to NYC from his “day job,” as a professor of theatre at Cornell University.)

The Puppetmaster of Lodz will play at the Arclight Theatre through late December, where it’s being presented by Blue Heron Theatre.

Episode Links:

• Info about The Puppetmaster of Lodz on nytheatre.com
• Blue Heron website — includes some photos of the puppets!

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This episode is dedicated to the play Auntie Mayhem. Originally produced in 2003, and then published by NYTE in Plays and Playwrights 2004, this play by David Pumo is being revived at Wings Theater in September 2007.

Pumo and director Donna Jean Fogel talk with Martin Denton about the play. David goes into some detail about the genesis of the play, which deals with a gay couple and their three foster children, all of whom are gay/transgender kids who have been kicked out of their homes. David was working as an attorney dealing with kids like this when he wrote the play, and his experiences inspired this story.

The podcast concludes with a terrific excerpt from Auntie Mayhem, performed by the entire cast: Moe Bertran as Auntie Mayhem, Ivan Davila as Uncle Bobo, Mark Finley as Charlotte, Jason Flores as Dennis, Carl K. Li as Ivan, and Andre Myers as Epiphany.

Episode Links:

• Auntie Mayhem website
• Auntie Mayhem review on nytheatre.com (original 2003 production)
• Plays and Playwrights 2004 info

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This episode looks at the current production of the theatre company Woman Seeking…, which is a program of six short plays from the 1920s written by three women playwrights — Louise Bryant, Alice Gerstenberg, and Susan Glaspell. nytheatre.com’s Tim Cusack talks to Christine Mosere, who is the artistic director of Woman Seeking…, and actresses Rhonda Ayers and Vivian Meisner about these playwrights and their works.

In addition to specific discussion about the plays being presented, there’s a lot of information about the social and political context of these plays and the playwrights’ careers.

Louise Bryant is probably best known as the lover of John Reed (Diane Keaton played her in the movie Reds). Susan Glaspell was one of primary movers in the creation of the off-Broadway movement in the early 20th century.

Episode Links:

• Woman Seeking… website
• Melodrama & Mayhem on Main Street info

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Jonathan Bank, artistic director of the Mint Theater Company, discusses his company’s 2007-08 season. It features two plays written by authors who are much better known as novelists rather than playwrights: Leo Tolstoy’s The Power of Darkness, which opens in September; and Ernest Hemingway’s The Fifth Column, which opens in early 2008.

Jonathan talks about both plays at length, and provides a lot of background about the development and production histories of both. The Hemingway drama — the only play by the great American writer — is about his own experiences during the Spanish Civil War.

Jonathan touches on the Mint’s exemplary publishing program as well: they’ve put together several collections of plays that they’ve “rediscovered” by authors such as Schnitzler, St. John Hankin, and Harley Granville-Barker.

Episode Links:

• Mint Theater Company website
• The Power of Darkness info on nytheatre.com

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