Brian Dykstra is back with a brand new solo show just in time for this exciting election season. Brian calls this show The Jesus Factor and he explains while talking to Martin Denton why he felt it was time to debunk the religious fervor of the fundamentalists. 

Brian is a relaxed conversationalist and talks easily about the show and about some of his past experiences doing a solo show (don’t miss how he handles a heckler).  Additionally, he speaks a bit about his family and background and, most interestingly, talks about why he thinks he needed to be and work as a trained actor in order to be a good playwright.  Brian shares with Martin and the listening audience how and why he has to change small parts of the show to keep up with the “news of the day”.

A highlight of the podcast is his performance of a short piece from The Jesus Factor.

Episode Links:

• Info about The Jesus Factor on nytheatre.com
• Brian Dykstra’s website
• Barrow Street Theatre website

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Edward Einhorn who recently produced the Havel Festival is back with a new musical version of Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle.  Edward begins the episode with a short synopsis of this well known book.  Why turn it into a musical, one may ask.  Edward explains that as he began writing his adaptation he felt the calypso in the text cried out for it to be musicalized on stage.  According to Edward, the book could only be done justice as a musical and as a live stage production.

Produced by Edward’s theatre company, Untitled Theater Company #61, artistic director Henry Akona joins in creating this piece — Edward wrote the book and lyrics, Henry, the music.  In addition, he also directed. To bring it to life on the stage they have created a church (of sorts) in which to house it and a choir to make it sing.  Listen closely as Edward describes how and why they envisioned this.

The play runs in repetory with two other productions which Edward tells us a bit about and then talks about the excitement in store next for the company.

Cat’s Cradle begins performances on February 22 at Walkerspace.  Edward is usually around for his productions, so when you attend the show look for him and say hi.

Episode links:

• Untitled Theater Company #61 website
• Info about Cat’s Cradle on nytheatre.com

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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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In this episode, Martin Denton chats with theatre practitioners Julia Lee Barclay and Bill Aitchison, both of whom work primarily in London. Julia is an American playwright and director; Bill is an English performance artist.

During this conversation, they discuss their own work as well as the current state of cutting-edge and experimental London theatre. There’s also some interesting discussion about some of the differences between theatre in London and New York.

Julia is known for her collage/cut-up theatre pieces, which include Word To Your Mama (her first full-length play, published in NYTE’s Plays and Playwrights 2001) . She recently presented a reading of her newest work, Besides, you lose your soul, or the History of Western Civilization at the Brick Theater.

Bill is currently working on a new performance piece about 2012 which touches on the apocalypse and the London Olympics, among other subjects; he talks a bit about how he has been reading Saddam Hussein’s novel as research for this work.

Episode Links:

• Apochryphal Theatre website
• Bill Aitchison’s website
• Information about the Apochryphal mini-festival
• Martin Denton’s blog entry about Besides You Lose Your Soul…
• Information about Plays and Playwrights 2001

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This is the first episode of “The Leonard Jacobs Show,” which is a new monthly series on nytheatrecast, hosted by Leonard Jacobs, national theatre editor for Back Stage. Leonard’s first guest is John Clancy, Obie-winning director and playwright, and one of the founders of the League of Independent Theatre.

 The League is the main topic of conversation here. The League is a brand new organization that is being created to provide support and advocacy for the indie theater community (i.e., theatre presented in venues of 99 seats or fewer in New York City). John explains how the League is being formed and discusses the objectives and vision of this important new group.

Leonard is asking listeners to help him come with up a snappy name for this new series; if you have any suggestions, please email them to admin@nytheatrecast.com.

Episode Links:

• League of Independent Theater’s website
• Leonard Jacobs’s blog
• John Clancy’s blog

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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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On this episode, Martin Denton announces the 15 theatre artists and companies that have been named nytheatre.com’s People of the Year for 2007.

This podcast features excerpts from interviews and performances recorded during the past year, spotlighting each of our 15 honorees.

The People of the Year for 2007 are:

• The Chocolate Factory
• Tim Cusack & Jason Jacobs (Theatre Askew)
• Kevin Doyle
• Electric Pear Productions
• FRIGID Festival
• Mia Katigbak
• Cyndy A. Marion
• Metropolitan Playhouse
• Edith O’Hara 
• Mac Rogers
• T. Schreiber Studio
• The Storm Theatre
• Trav S.D.
• Ken Urban
• Jose Zayas

Episode Links:

Read all about the People of the Year and find links to much more information about them on nytheatre.com

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In this episode, Trav S.D. moderates a roundtable about contemporary burlesque. (Trav S.D. says the table is not only round but curvaceous.)

Our guests are three of NYC’s burlesque scene’s biggest stars: Bonnie Dunn, Julie Atlas Muz, and Nasty Canasta. Each of these ladies shares insights about her own career and her views of how burlesque has evolved into a sophisticated live entertainment form.

Episode Links:

• Le Scandal (at the Cutting Room; Bonnie Dunn’s show)
• Julie Atlas Muz’s website
• Nasty Canasta’s website

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On our latest episode, Michael Criscuolo talks with the masterminds behind the upcoming Wonder Women Week Festival, a week-long celebration of female performers and performance, produced by Groove MaMa Ink. This is the festival’s second annual installment and will feature the work of more than a hundred artists - more than double the amount of its inaugural run last fall.

Groove MaMa artistic director Kara M. Tyler and associate producer Bricken Sparacino talk about the origins of the festival, and offer some previews of this year’s shows. Both women will also be performing - Kara, on the festival’s “Super Sized Variety” night; and Bricken, with her sketch comedy group, Comedy Period - and they talk a bit about what they’ll be doing.

Kara and Bricken are also joined by two of this year’s festival participants: writer/performer Samantha Jones, who gives listeners a taste of her multi-character solo show, Butterfly Suicide; and songstress Jessica DelFino, who will be hosting one of the festival’s late night programs, “Vaginapalooza.” She gives listeners a sample of her musical wares with a very funny (and somewhat racy) song. Not for the faint of heart.

Episode Links:

• Groove MaMa Ink’s official website
• Groove MaMa Ink’s MySpace page
• Dora Mae Productions (Samantha Jones’s production company)
• Comedy Period
• Jessica DelFino’s blog

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This was one of the more fun episodes to record! Joel Jeske and Ryan Kasprzak, members of the cast of Cut to the Chase, chat with Martin Denton about their show. Cut to the Chase is the latest production from Parallel Exit, a physical theatre company founded by director Mark Lonergan. This show is about a vaudeville troupe trying to put on a show, but chaos ensues. Ryan describes the company’s aesthetic as “silent film meets live-action cartoon.” The show contains no dialogue (but lots of music and comedy).

Joel is a clown who has worked for both Ringling Bros. and the Big Apple Circus. Ryan is a dancer/choreographer who was the Dance Captain for the Broadway musical Fosse.

Joel and Ryan talk at length about what the show is like, how it was developed, and their process in creating it with Lonergan and the rest of the company.

Cut to the Chase is for family audiences of all ages, and plays at 59E59 in December 2007.

Episode Links:

• Cut to the Chase info on nytheatre.com
• 59E59 website
• Parallel Exit website

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