This episode of the nytheatrecast features playwright, monologist, and solo performer Mike Daisey, whose new show, Great Men of Genius - which is actually four separate solo pieces about P.T. Barnum, Bertolt Brecht, Nikola Tesla, and L. Ron Hubbard - opens at Joe’s Pub in early November. Mike talks to nytheatre.com contributor Michael Criscuolo about his new show, his fascination with these four men, and the ties that bind them all together.

Mike also talks at length (and with great insight) about his process of developing a piece and working on it with his director and collaborator, Jean-Michele Gregory. He and Jean-Michele are also married to each other, and Mike shares some tidbits about how that influences both their professional and personal lives.

One of Mike’s previous shows, Invincible Summer, played at The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival back in January, and he talks about that as well. In addition, he shares his first-hand account of the now-(in)famous incident that occurred last spring when a large group of high schoolers walked out during a performance of Invincible Summer at American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA. You’ve got to hear this to believe it.

Episode links:

• Great Men of Genius - info on nytheatre.com
• Mike Daisey’s website
• nytheatre.com review of Invincible Summer

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nytheatre.com correspondent Adam Klasfeld moderates a roundtable discussion about improv comedy. The participants are Rob Reese, the artistic director of the improv group Amnesia Wars; Sharon Fogarty, who is a cast member in the Chicago City Limits touring company; and Steven Slate, who is a member of the improv groups Big Tobacco and Death League Tea Party, as well as one of the Magnet Theatre’s resident improv teams.

These three veteran improvers talk about their respective backgrounds, and their different approaches to improv comedy (Rob and Sharon are seasoned practitioners of short form improv; Steven is more well-versed in long form). They also talk about the wide-reaching influence of Chicago comedy pioneers Del Close, The Compass, and Second City.

And, of course, Adam, Rob, Sharon, and Steven conclude their discussion the only way they possibly could: by improvising. Listen to the panelists’ lightning-fast skills in action!

Rob is also a two-time NYTE alumni playwright: his play, Survivor: Vietnam!, was published in Plays and Playwrights 2004; and his stage adaptation of Frankenstein was published in the NYTE anthology, Playing With Canons.

Episode links:

• Amnesia Wars website
• Amnesia Wars MySpace page
• Chicago City Limits website
• Big Tobacco MySpace page
• Death League Tea Party MySpace page
• Magnet Theater website 
• Plays and Playwrights 2004 info
• Buy Plays and Playwrights 2004
• Playing With Canons info
• Buy Playing With Canons

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This is an interview with performer/creator Taylor Mac, who talks to Martin Denton about his upcoming show The Young Ladies Of.

The Young Ladies Of is based on an incident in Taylor’s father’s life: in 1968, when he was serving with the U.S. military in Vietnam, Taylor’s dad placed an ad seeking a woman to meet on leave in Australia. He received thousands of responses. Taylor’s father died when Taylor was young, so he doesn’t know much about what happened next, and this show is not a docudrama: it uses this situation as a way into an exploration of the stratification of American culture.

Taylor talks about some of his other projects. His musical from last season, Red Tide Blooming, is published in NYTE’s anthology Plays and Playwrights 2007.

Episode Links:

• The Young Ladies Of (info on nytheatre.com)
• Taylor Mac’s website
• Interview with Taylor Mac
• Plays and Playwrights 2007 info

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This is a fun and interesting conversation with John Seroff, who does public relations for Joe’s Pub and also produces a new and genuinely unique monthly variety show there, called ROFL! The Internet Gong Show.

ROFL! is a live “game show” where Internet “experts” (bloggers, webmeisters, etc.) present videos, web art, etc. that they’ve found on the ‘net; the audience votes for the best one and the evening’s winner gets $150. John talks about how the show came to be, what it’s like, and gives us a preview of the upcoming show on August 31.

John also gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Joe’s Pub, which is one of NYC’s most popular new cabaret/comedy/music spaces. He also gives us a preview of a special event celebrating Joe’s Pub’s 10th anniversary, featuring ten evenings of performances at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park.

Episode Links:

• Joe’s Pub website

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In this episode, we take a look at Spiegeltent, the summer variety event that is playing in Lower Manhattan at South Street Seaport for the second year in a row. nytheatrecast host Trav S.D., who is the author of the vaudeville history No Applause—Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, talks to listeners about the Spiegeltent concept and in detail about the two shows that are the centerpieces of Spiegeltent: La Vie and Absinthe.

This episode combines commentary about the shows with lots of useful information about the shows, what they’re like, and how to get to them.

Episode Links:

• Review of La Vie on nytheatre.com
• Spiegeltent official website
• Info about Trav S.D.’s book

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Michael Criscuolo sits down with comedy team Mark and Ari to talk about their new sketch show, Loft, which is currently playing at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre.  Mark and Ari are actually Mark Sarian and Ari Voukydis, two friends and comics who have been working together for a long time now. On this episode they talk about their show, how they first started their artistic partnership, and their experience working with film comedy director John Landis, among other things. All the while, digressions and non-sequiteurs abound as these two funny men show us what they’re made of.

Episode links:

• Mark and Ari’s MySpace page
• Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre website
• Mark Sarian’s website

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This episode of the nytheatrecast focuses on the theatre company Sponsored By Nobody, who has already had a very busy summer: they’ve already performed full productions at chashama, The Brick Theater’s Pretentious Festival, and the Samuel French, Inc. Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival - and that was just in the month of June! They have two more productions coming up this summer: not from canada, which will be premiering at the New York International Fringe Festival; and their revival of The Position at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

Michael Criscuolo talks to Sponsored By Nobody’s artistic director, Kevin Doyle, and company members Paul Newport and Sean O’Hagan about their busy summer, the company’s history, and where they got their name.

Kevin is also one of our Plays and Playwrights alumni: his play, The Position, was published in the NYTE anthology, Plays and Playwrights 2006.

Episode Links:

• not from canada preview
• Sponsored By Nobody’s MySpace page
• Sponsored By Nobody’s website
• Plays and Playwrights 2006
• Buy Plays and Playwrights 2006
• Info about the New York International Fringe Festival on nytheatre.com
• Info about the Philadelphia Fringe Festival
• Plays and Playwrights 2006 interview with Kevin Doyle

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