WHAT IS THE SHALIMAR?

The Shalimar LATE AND LIVE

2007-12-10T20:37:00.000-08:00

The Shalimar
LATE AND LIVE
A buffet of exciting, transgressive new performances by some of NYC's favorite downtown artists.

THIS WEEKEND!
10PM, Dec. 13-15
$FREE$ with Admission to You People
$5 if you don't see You People
$2 Brooklyn Brewery Brews and $4 Whiskey regardless

Thursday December 13th
Neal Medlyn's R.I.P. BABY MEDLYN, an all-new, all-hip-hop memorial service for Neal's dead baby, complete with back-up dancers and tribute video with Brendan Kennedy and others and Jody Christopherson performs something brand new.

Friday December 14th
Journey Home, the first episode of The RedTerror Squad's radio drama about a little family who take the short-cut to one kitty's homeland, Zhenesse's Christmas Dinner, and something amazing by Tommy Smith.

Saturday December 15th
Adam Lerman's America and brand spanking new work by Jessica Hedrick and Kim Gainer.

More performances to be announced, please check theshalimar.blogspot.com for updates.

YOU PEOPLE review

2007-12-10T20:34:00.000-08:00

New Theatre Corps

Monday, December 10, 2007
You People

In five short glimpses of people you've seen before but possibly never considered, The Shalimar have painted an impressive mosaic of American life -- through the eyes of the disaffected, the obese, the immigrants, and the religious. From comic parables like "Deseret Desire" to the bleak realism of "Tostitos," it's time to meet You People.

Reviewed by Aaron Riccio

Be they religious, obese, foreign, rebellious, or illegal, they're still people first, and The Shalimar's latest production You People aims to remind us of that, whether it's by doing a few rock numbers or a few one-act plays. This approach, while a bit sloppy and not as put together as LA FEMME EST MORTE (or Why I Should Not F!%# My Son), succeeds at being a lot like a melting pot of ideas, and there isn't a bad play in the bunch.

The first playful piece is Josh Liveright's Deseret Desire, in which we see two lovers getting all worked up with some serious kissing. Unfortunately for John (Justin Okin), Desiree (Laurie Naughton) will only take things so far on account of her religious beliefs ("butt stuff" is apparently OK from time to time -- ah, the vagaries of interpretation), and thanks to director Camilo Fontecilla's clever direction (the two sit at a distance from one another, responding to each other's kisses without actually giving or receiving them), we can actually see his frustration. It isn't long before John's agreeing to marry her, bring his kid up in the Church, hell, go to church himself -- anything for God, ahem, sex -- which says a lot about how some people treat religion in this country, especially when the sheets come off.

The next piece, Sharyn Rothstein's Miss Morley's Revenge is a more straightforward piece, and while it's nothing we haven't seen before, it's always a pleasure to see someone stand up for themselves, even when it's through the gaze of an impenetrable smile. In this case, Marilyn Hardy (Dawn Evans) is one of those self-righteous offenders who suggests "diets" and "moderation" like they've never been considered before, and Laura Morley (Kelli Lynn Harrison) just smiles and nods, being endearingly sarcastic as she plots her revenge. It's not a particularly deep play, but R. J. Tolan directs it without any menace, making it ordinary enough to remind us of just how often this well-intentioned discrimination goes on.

In Nastaran Ahmadi's Splinter, the discrimination is a bit more opaque. Man (Charles Semine) is an Irish student whose visa in America is about to run out. Woman (Jen Taher) would rather he didn't, as she's in love with him, but despite her desperate offers to marry him, he doesn't want to stay: "Being in America's only fun if you're American." It's an insidious comment, especially since Jessi D. Hill directs him as being so well-adjusted, happy, and normal; if we can't make this sort of visitor like us (the air has a smell, he says), who will like us?

Taking a more comic approach to the same thought is Hilly Hicks Jr.'s Blanco, in which an illegal immigrant, Blanca (Nina Freeman) tries to Google her American dream, with the help of her electronics store friend, Daryl (Blaire Brooks). Their discovery, through a gay video chat site, is that in America, you can not only achieve anything, but you can be anyone, and be accepted for it. Samuel Buggeln uses two unnamed actors (Chris McKeon and Chip Brookes) to bring the open gates of the Internet to life, but manages also to achieve a level of solemnity when "El Blanco" and "Army Cock" reveal who they are when they're not dreaming.

The best piece of the night is Michael John Garces' Tostitos, which is a rather frightening glimpse at disaffected youth in this country. Red (Andres Munar) rides around the stage on a bike, snarling at everything, while his punk hanger-on, Annie (Jenny Gomez) follows on a skateboard. Tanya (Barrett Doss), a good girl, has unfortunately fallen for Red, and he berates her even as he takes free sodas and candies from her, refusing to make any emotional connection. When Tanya's father, Danny (Edwin Lee Gibson) shows up, the two violently collide, and the lack of respect and understanding on both sides is frighteningly palpable. May Adrales doesn't hold anything back in the physical staging of this piece, which means she doesn't attempt to explain or justify the way these characters behave, and the piece is better for its mysterious bursts of anger, its violent teasing, and its aggressive banter (all of which Mr. Garces has refined far better in this short piece than in his last disjointed play, Acts of Mercy).

The evening transitions through each of these plays with songs from Davide Beradi and Tommy Smith, but with the exception of the last number, "You People," which actually engages the audience, these songs serve only to give the cast enough time to change the sets, and simply aren't clear enough; the direction from Shoshona Currier and Joey Williamson doesn't help either, as the 80s costuming doesn't fit the modernity of the other pieces, nor does it really speak to those people -- what they're doing is too easily identified with, too much a part of our culture. But if the play's the thing, then You People's got it.

-----------------------------------------------------
The InterArt Annex (500 West 52nd Street)
Tickets (212-352-3101): $10.00
Performances (through 12/16): Thurs. - Sun. @ 8:00

Posted by Aaron Riccio at 12/10/2007 11:33:00 AM

tickets on sale for You People

2007-11-16T12:41:00.000-08:00

You People (Short Plays About Those People)

The Interart Annex
500 West 52nd Street #2W
btwn 10th and 11th Aves

Nov 30-Dec 16
Thurs - Sun
all performances at 8pm

only
$10

get your tix here
or call 212-352-3101

Blanco
by Hilly Hicks Jr.
directed by Sam Buggeln

Deseret Desire
by Josh Liveright
directed by Camilo Fontecilla

Miss Morely's Revenge
by Sharyn Rothstein
directed by R.J. Tolan

Splinter
by Nastaran Ahmadi
directed by Jessi D. Hill

Tostitos
by Michael John Garcés
directed by May Adrales

Songs by Tommy Smith and Davide Berardi
directed by Shoshona Currier and Joey Williamson

with
Matt Bridges, Chip Brookes, Blaire Brooks, Devin Dunne Cannon, Barrett Doss, Dawn Evans*, Nina Freeman*, Edwin Lee Gibson*, Jenny Gomez, Kelli Lynn Harrison, Heather Lamb, Lizzie Moore, Andres Munar*, Laurie Naughton*, Justin Okin*, Allison Jill Posner, Charles Semine*, Jen Taher*

Shani Colleen Murfin stage manager
Joey Williamson musical director
Ariella Bowden costumes
Ien DeNio sound designer
Lisa Kopitsky fight choreographer
Lucas Benjaminh Krech lighting designer

*denotes member of actors equity association

seeking hard rock bad ass hair band singers

2007-10-30T07:18:00.000-07:00

The Shalimar is currently seeking submissions for its evening of new short plays. The show features a "band" of guys who narrate the entire evening with comedic 80s rock songs by Tommy Smith.

The show runs Nov 29-Dec 16, Thurs- Sun nights, all performances at 8pm. Rehearsals begin Nov 10.

Seeking: White males, any age. Rock singers with a great comic streak. No instruments necessary. Air guitar skills a plus.

Please submit your headshot and resume to staffing@shalimarproductions.org with ROCK BAND in the subject line. No Pay. EQUITY/NON-EQUITY

just a tease...

2007-10-09T06:58:00.000-07:00

edited by Joey Williamson. filmed by some guys in Edinburgh.

Knighthawk

2007-10-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

Tommy Smith is a magical human being. He is writing the body of The Minstrel Show. He went to Juilliard. He programs a night at Galapagos (actually, does he still do that? Hey Tommy, do you still do that?) He makes performance pieces with Reggie Watts. He drinks whisky. He has a family house in Ireland. He writes plays in verse and he likes to rap. He is wearing the blond wig in the video below. Please watch it.

Knighthawk Director's Cut from Tommy Smith on Vimeo.

Welcome to Wallindia

2007-09-25T15:12:00.000-07:00

Go see Curtis' traffic island this weekend!

more pictures of major award winners

2007-09-20T16:03:00.000-07:00

I know you must be sick of it by now, both of you who read this blog, but here are more pictures of us having memorable heart-warming times in Edinburgh. Lynsey, one of our SCAMP street team sent these to me. They warmed my teeny tiny heart.

Here we are at Oloroso the night we opened. The people you don't recognize are Sam from SCAMP (next to Joey), Alex a SCAMP actor (next to me, where he BELONGS!) and Lynsey (between Atticus and Craig).

Craig at the SCAMP Haggis Dinner at The Assembly Rooms. Funny, this is the only picture Lynsey sent from the haggis dinner. Actually, she seemed to have sent along a lot of pictures of Craig...interesting...

And these are at Star Bar after we won our award. See the glint of triumph in our eyes! Or is that just the glint of whisky...

Illumination Rounds

2007-09-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

This play is by Josh Liveright who is one of our writers for The Minstrel Show and runs The Interart Annex where we perform many of our plays. He is an alumni of the ATL apprentice program, he is very good to The Shalimar, and he is from Maine! If you find yourself in need of art and culture Columbus Day weekend or the weekend after, go see it! Support theater!

Plus it stars an Australian actress I met in a sauna...

the interart theatre development series and zena group present

illumination rounds
a play by josh liveright

directed by paul smithyman

featuring mark schulte and freya fox

sets by anita fuchs
lights by lucrecia briceno
sound by david m. lawson
video by william cusick and alex koch
costumes and make-up by tarafawn marek
violence by judi lewis-ocker
stage manager, julie griffith

OCTOBER 4 to 15
thursdays through mondays at 8PM
10 PERFORMANCES ONLY!

interart annex
500 west 52nd street
corner of 52nd and 10th

reserve by return email or call 212 604 4505

suggested donation $15

SEEKING 2 INTERNS

2007-09-17T16:10:00.000-07:00

Seeking Interns

Award winning NYC based theater company The Shalimar seeks 2 Productions Interns for fall/winter 2007 to work with Artistic Director Shoshona Currier. Please send resume and letter of interest to shoni@shalimarproductions.org.

Seeking two individuals who have an interest in theater administration, producing, or directing. This is a truly hands-on internship designed to give young theater artists the opportunity to learn about the day-to-day work of a small theater company. Past Shalimar interns have gone on to act, direct, and tour internationally with the company. Transportation stipend available.

Internship Requirements:
October 2007-January 2007

10 hours/wk of administrative work in Upper Manhattan office.
Duties Include: development research (grants, festivals, sponsorship,
etc...), organizational work (filing, copying, etc...), assisting in
seasonal mailings, helping to schedule readings, rehearsals,
performances, and workshops.

Minimum attendance of 3 rehearsals/wk.
Duties include: Assisting the director and stage manager in rehearsal, attending production meetings,assisting the dramaturge with research, taking rehearsal notes,
occasionally running rehearsals and/or warm-ups, actively
participating in the creation of the plays.

Participation in Shalimar Fundraisers
Duties include: Attending planning meetings, working on various fundraising committees, working at the events.

THE FALL SHOWS

Those Ones: A Modern Day Minstrel Show
November 29-December 16
at The Interart Annex
A controversial new take on our ever popular annual ten-minute play festival. It's "us vs. them" as writers confront stereotypes with ruthless candor and wit. Our modern interpretation of this old but not entirely forgotten form.
With new plays by Michael John Garces, Tommy Smith, Hilly Hicks Jr., Sharyn Rothstein, Josh Liveright and Nastaran Ahmadi.

Late and Live
November 29-December 16
at The Interart Annex
The Shalimar is thrilled to announce this brand spanking new late night series, with offerings from some of New York's most exciting theater artists. Schedule TBA.

MONDAY NEWS!

2007-09-17T15:29:00.000-07:00

The talented and charismatic Michael Garces will be awarded the Princess Grace Statue this year. I am so impressed and amazed by this man. We've known Michael since we were wee apprentices at Actors Theatre of Louisville and he was in town for Humana directing When the Sea Drowns in Sand (renamed Havana is Waiting for its run at The Cherry Lane) by Eduardo Machado, whose thoughts about grad school I've been rereading lately (please draw your attention to my buddy Isaac's blog), and who I last saw in the lobby of the Intar/Interart building when Atticus and Justin and I were loading out our LA FEMME set to drive it to 59e59 and Eduardo was waiting for the elevator, which we were breaking, and he walked up to the second floor and got it unbroken for us.

Theater. Yow. Small world.

Michael is writing a play for our Minstrel Show. This is a post I intended to write a few days ago, when I first read about The Princess Grace Statue, but I wanted to wait until I heard back from Michael who emailed me today to assure me his Minstrel Play is on its way so now I can relax and blog about how thrilled I am that Michael is writing for us. Last year he wrote a piece called Over Exposed for 1000 Words which Mary Kate Burke directed and a few months prior to that I directed a short piece of his, entitled off season for Prospect Theater Company. It starred Pat Dempsey, Lori McNally, and Joey Williamson and was the hardest stream of consciousness text three actors have ever had to learn. Plus they performed drenched in water (in an old church where the only tap water was freezing cold), I believe Joey was shirtless, and all three of them faced the audience dead on the entire time. It was a terrifying piece of text about thrill seekers riding out Hurricane Katrina in which Joey had an incredible long impassioned speech about the exhilaration of fear that he never quite learned all the words of. Next time you see him say "Screamhole". He'll know what you mean. And he'll shake with terror and scream like a bichon.

All this is by way of saying Michael's writing is so exciting and so angry and so funny and scenes are often beautiful tapestries of poetry, with characters finishing each others' phrases, lines repeated, and varied, and changed, and then repeated again, they are intense and they are wordy. He plays with text in a hyper-real way. It sounds natural but it's heightened. It lives in our reality and just above it. It's beautiful to listen to, challenging to work on, and a bitch to memorize.

Of course his contributions to theater don't stop there. When we first met Michael he was primarily directing, and now he serves as the Artistic Director of Cornerstone in LA. And he is still finding the time to write for our little company here in New York.

I'm so grateful that we have the opportunities to work with artists like Michael. It enriches our company. By continuing to reach out to other artists besides the actors we always work with we are able to create diverse work instead of enjoying a teeny tiny Shalimar theater bubble. It's important to keep our own little artistic community strong and thriving and it's also incredibly important to continue to contribute to the larger theatrical community, which I hope we are able to achieve in our own ways.

All this is by way of saying CONGRATULATIONS MICHAEL! There is noone more deserving of that statue than you.

viva la liberation!

2007-09-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

At one of our performances in Edinburgh we had 2 pieces of French press in the audience. One was this website. Husband found it through extensive googling and when he did a translation of the page found that for google "La Femme Est Morte" means "The Woman East Gold". That might be my next tattoo.

Please visit the site to see beautiful production shots of La Femme, actually shot during a performance!

On other fronts, I am still in Scotland. We are doing major preliminary work on the Minstrel Show as well as a few other projects, but mostly I am sleeping until noon, eating too much bacon, and glued to the news for any developments on whether Maddie was actually murdered by her parents. I'm on holiday, dammit.

Edinburgh Festivals Magazine review

2007-09-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

La Femme est Morte Review
Written by Imogen Thomas
****

Fast-paced, physical and sexy, this frenzied interpretation of Phaedra is a thrilling theatrical rollercoaster. The dynamic, American cast presents a vibrant adaptation of the Greek tragedy, complete with exciting dances and a Greek chorus in the form of the Paparazzi, who perform covers of Take That and the Spice Girls songs, whilst adding a humorous touch of celebrity obsession to the piece. Although some of the numbers do sound like karaoke, this adds to the kitsch undertone of the piece, and on the whole this is an energetic and stylish musical-comic-tragedy.

La Femme est Morte
Pleasance
5 – 27 August
4pm

our first FIVE STAR REVIEW!

2007-09-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

from SCOTSGAY!

THEATRE
La Femme Est Morte (Why I
Should Not Fuck My Son)
Pleasance Dome
*****
Amazingly raw and sexy production! This multi-faceted show is simply dripping with talent. A Greek morality play, a political message about the merits (or not) of war and a deep insight into the animal that is celebrity – both from the celebrity and papparazi perspective. Featuring wonderfully choreographed dances and comedy moments
like the Janet Jackson nipple incident, this production manages to combine the serious with the hilarious in an explosion of red-hot genius. I personally thought the 3 papparazi characters excelled in the show – firstly the outstandingly elegant female dancer/gymanist with a voice which rivals any I’ve heard in the charts; a stylish male with a beautiful voice and great hair, who throughout the production plays both guitar and a harp; and a hot punky looking girl who plays violin. A must-see show!

Jodie Fleming

OnstageScotland review

2007-09-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

"Performances
that are pitch
perfect in tone
and style...
it's a blast"

La Femme est Morte or Why I Should Not Fuck My Son
Shalimar

Seneca's ancient Greek tragedy Phaedra done as a satire on American celeb and macho cultures, with pop songs and boxing – frankly this should have been a complete mess. Well it's not.

It's a constantly exhilarating, entertaining, surprising show, and the biggest surprise of all is that what you end up with is a powerful reading of Phaedra itself.

She's married to Theseus who is away fighting to impose American masculinity on wrong thinking infidels. In the meantime she falls in lust with her stepson Hippolytus (“I'm not his mother”, “She's not my mother”), under the constant gaze of a chorus of paparazzi. Then Theseus returns and it all turns very nasty indeed.

Throw in liberal use of a blood gun, boxing, mincemeat, the best mobile phone joke ever, terrific dancing, dialogue that switches from rhetoric to dude-speak in an instant and musical presentation that would grace any West End or Broadway stage and you have something very close to the top of my Fringe treat list.

You also have a company of eight, all of whom produce physical and vocal performances that are pitch perfect in tone and style from the very start to the very finish. Kim Gainer is a brittle, sexy Phaedra; Joe Cumutte a wondrously virginal dude Hippolytus; Atticus Rowe a frighteningly upright Theseus; Jen Taher glorious as the spin doctor from hell and Craig Peugh as best friend X powerfully delivers the traditional bad news messenger's speech while moving through the audience.

Last but most certainly not least are Joey Williamson, Laura Lee Anderson and Marissa Lupp as Tiresias and his paparazzi chorus, zapping out their musical numbers with precision of movement and terrific musicality.

Outstandingly well directed by Shoshona Currier, this young American company delivers one of the most successful mixing of theatrical style I've ever seen. It's a blast.

Victor Hallett

Culturewars review

2007-09-01T07:42:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to meet the very smart and very sweet and often very drunk Mister Haydon at our splendid VIP bar. He is highly educated and really cool and had some great things to say about our show (which yes, always makes me love someone a little more than usual...). Below is what he wrote about our show on culturewars.org. He also has his own blog which is a great resource for the London theater scene. He wrote about us there too. And there. Read all his blogs, he's a total star.

La Femme est Morte
Pleasance, Edinburgh

Andrew Haydon
posted 28 August 2007

It seems to be a Fringe tradition in recent years for one American company to become toast of the town for the month. For the last couple of years it has been the T.E.A.M., and before that the Riot Group. This year’s undisputed winners must be Shalimar Theater, a New York-based group on their second British outing with their irreverent assault on the Phaedre story: La Femme est Morte – or why I should not fuck my son.

Bursting onto the stage like the kids from Fame turned sleazy ‘trailer trash’, they proceed to build the story using a clever mix of registers from ‘dude’-littered dialogue through to some pretty elevated poetic declamation. The action is frequently punctuated or commented upon using a brilliant selection of trashy pop classics. The overall effect is like classical tragedy moulded from cultural detritus. The action of the piece itself has been loosely relocated to contemporary America, so the central royal characters – Theseus, Phaedre and Hippolytus, are modern celebs continually dogged by paparazzi while Oenone becomes Phaedre’s PR manager or image consultant.

It’s a neat aesthetic decision that enables the company to make a wry comparison between Classical tragedy and the modern world’s obsession with celebrities’ car-crash lives. The piece also uses Theseus’ role as a warrior to advance some not-very-veiled criticisms of the US war effort: ‘We’ve ‘liberated’ Crete!’ While I could quite happily never see another anti-war play, this being a US-based company, it at least avoids the usual lazy anti-American slurs which usually come with the territory.

What really lifts this show several notches above its competitors is the subtle use and sheer range of the pop-cultural quotation deployed by Shoshona Currier’s sharp script: Phaedre compares her early love of Theseus to ‘Katie watching Tom in Risky Business’; there are allusions to Britney, Paris and Diana (no, not the Greek goddess); there’s even a blink-and-you’ll miss it visual reference to Janet Jackson’s ‘wardrobe malfunction’. These manage at once to be very funny and neat comments on the poverty of our modern celebrity culture. The music is deployed in a similar fashion. 'Back for Good' and 'Two Become One' (Take That and the Spice Girls respectively - pay attention) are both milked for all the schmaltz they can yield as incidental music. Elsewhere a whole-cast performance of 'My Humps' is both funny and raunchy as a reconciliation scene, while Guns and Roses’s 'Don’t Cry' played on a harp deals neatly delivers the play’s own funeral scene.

And while maybe not all the performances from the energetic and, frankly, sexy cast are technically perfect, there are more than enough jokes, ideas and sheer enthusiasm here to cover for any occasional lapses. Revelling in trash and kitsch while dealing with a classical text is a simple idea, but the way it is treated here, as a powerful and acute commentary on our media-dominated lives is something very special indeed.

STAGE AWARDS

2007-08-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

US theatre triumphs at The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence
Published Wednesday 29 August 2007 at 11:45 by Matthew Hemley

Shalimar Theatre Company: Laura Lee Anderson, Kim Gainer, Jen Taher, Marissa Lupe, Craig Peugh, Joey Williamson, Shoshona Currier, Atticus Rowe and Justin Donham won Best Ensemble for La Femme Est Morte or Why I Should Not F**k My Son at the Pleasance Dome.
Photo: Chris Watt

American visitors to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe might have been fewer but US performers scored one of their best results at this year’s prestigious Stage Awards for Acting Excellence.

Performers from New York-based theatre company Shalimar were crowned Best Ensemble for their production of La Femme Est Morte or Why I Should Not F**k My Son at the Pleasance Dome. Compatriot Madi Distefano won Best Solo Performer for her production Popsicle’s Departure 1989 at the Assembly Rooms.

Distefano, who beat competition including Linda Marlowe, Elisabeth Gray, Alexander Campbell, Iris Bahr and Joanna Swain, said: “This is such a major international award. I never planned on touring the piece as I am a full-time Philadelphian actor, director and mother, but now I would be honoured to go to some other festivals.”

The two shows were among only three US productions to reach the shortlist of 23 nominees for the awards, now in their 13th year, which celebrate the best theatre at the fringe.

Shalimar artistic director Shoshona Currier said: “It’s a really great honour to win the award. It’s been a slow festival and we’ve struggled with audiences but it’s an amazing honour to be recognised by a group of critics and our peers.”

Other winners at this year’s event include Garry Cooper, who won Best Actor for his role in Long Time Dead at the Traverse, beating competition from James Baxter in Scarborough, Daniel Pirrie in Sting for Nolte and Merryn Owen for World’s End.

Colleagues Eugenia Caruso and Janet Bamford walked away with a rare joint award for Best Actress for their performances in Truckstop at the Zoo, beating competition from the likes of Stage columnist Dillie Keane, who appeared in Frank and Dolly at the Gilded Balloon Teviot.

Nominees are selected by The Stage’s team of critics, who review more than 300 professional shows.

Jeremy Austin, who heads the reviews team, said: “It’s been a great year for drama. None of us has seen a bad play.”

He warned the programme for this year’s festival had been “bigger than ever” and said: “There are not enough audiences to sustain something this size.”

Check out this magical video on non other than...BROADWAY BABY!

edinburgh out-takes

2007-08-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

So we're done. Two days ago I got up at 6:30am to put Joey in a cab to a bus to London. Then Craig, Atticus, and Kim got on a plane. Justin left for Prague. The next day Marissa and Joe got on the early bus to London and then Jen got on a plane. This morning Laura Lee got on the bus to London and now Husband and I are hopping a train to Glasgow and then another to the sandy freezing beaches of Ayrshire.

I have documented none of this. I actually am feeling a little sentimental and sad (a LITTLE) and didn't want to photograph the backs of my amazing cast as they carried their suitcases down the stairs, hopped into cabs and said good-bye. This was a killer group of people to work with. I couldn't have asked for a more fun talented caring and exciting cast and crew. And so it's sad to see it end. It's not just the end of a 4 week festival. It is the end of a year and a half of really dilligent work on a play that showed us at our best, as an ensemble and as individual artists.

Looking forward to the next show though...

I went through the i-photo and pulled some pictures of random wonderous moments throughout the fest. And after I post this, I will pack up my computer, walk out of Footlights for (god willing) the last time, and get on my train.

Here are some happy moments from this month.

Jen. Cleaning.

The boys from MOD.

EdFestTV

Lunch at the Princess St. Mall food court. Joey ate KFC...

...while I got obsessed with a McTart.

This is how the Best Ensemble warms up.

I got a new tattoo. Don't be fooled by Marissa's smiling face...she punked out.

Auto Auto. This is what the fringe is all about. Two German guys fucking destroying a car while they sing classical music. This show should have won every award going. It was a pretty special experience.

Kim flyered. And met a 19 year old.

Atticus got knocked down by that damn ghost.

Oh Dino. Marissa flyered Dino and he came to our show and he turned out to be the sweetest friendliest DJ from South Africa you've ever met. Yow.

Dino's show, The House of the Holy Afro. It was amazing.

This is our venue's "VIP" bar, Brooke's. Notice how it looks like a dentist's waiting room? Worst VIP bar in Edinburgh.

Kim's photo shoot.

Drinking and smoking and choking.

Simon. aka Moira.

Here is how we postered on the Royal Mile. ONCE.

The cue for our show. Magical.

WE WON!

2007-08-28T05:59:00.000-07:00

The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence 2007

Despite complaints of a drop in the number of US visitors to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, American performers recorded their best ever win at the prestigious Stage Awards for Acting Excellence.

Of the four prizes on offer, they won a total of two, despite the fact that only three US productions were included amongst the shortlist of 23 nominees.

Shalimar won Best Ensemble for their show La Femme Est Morte, at the Pleasance Dome, while Madi Distefano received Best Solo Performer for Popsicle’s Departure 1989 at the Assembly @ St George’s West.

British wins included Best Actor Award for Garry Cooper for Long Time Dead, hosted by the Traverse. Colleagues Eugenia Caruso and Janet Bamford tied for Best Actress and received a joint award for their performances in Truckstop at The Zoo.

The Stage Awards, now in their 13th year, aim to recognise outstanding theatre performances by individuals and companies on the Fringe. Nominees are selected from nearly 350 productions covered by the reviews team during the festival and the winners were chosen by the principal reviewers, Jeremy Austin, Gerald Berkowitz, Thom Dibdin, Duska Radosavljevic, Nick Awde and William McEvoy.
The 2007 winners
Best Actor
Winner

Garry Cooper for Long Time Dead (Travsere).
Also nominated:

* James Baxter for Scarborough (Assembly @ George Street)
* Daniel Pirrie for Sting for Nolte (Gilded Balloon Teviot)
* Merryn Owen for World’s End (Pleasance Dome)

Best Actress
Winners

Eugenia Caruso and Janet Bamford for Truckstop (The Zoo)
Also nominated:

* Nathalie Armin for Damascus (Traverse)
* Holly Atkins for Scarborough (Assembly @ George Street)
* Beth Fitzgerald for Follow Me (Assembly @ George Street)
* Dillie Keane for Frank and Dolly (Gilded Balloon Teviot)

Best Ensemble
Winner

Shalimar for La Femme est Morte, or Why I Should Not F**k My Son (Pleasance Dome)
Also nominated:

* Druid for The Walworth Farce (Traverse)
* Nimble Fish for The Container (E4 UdderBELLY’s Pasture)
* Arches Theatre Company for Pit (Traverse)
* Song of the Goat for Lacrimosa (Assembly Aurora Nova)
* Analogue for Mile End (Pleasance Dome)
* Angelica for Stonewall (Pleasance Courtyard)

Best Solo Performer
Winner

Madi Distefano for Popsicle’s Departure 1989 (Assembly @ St. George’s West)
Also nominated:

* Linda Marlowe for Believe (Traverse)
* Elisabeth Gray for Wish I Had A Sylvia Plath (Underbelly’s Smirnoff Baby Belly)
* Alexander Campbell for Private Peaceful (Assembly @ George Street)
* Iris Bahr for Dai (Enough) (Pleasance Courtyard)
* Joanna Swain for Talking to Spacehoppers (C soco)

hate mail

2007-08-27T04:19:00.000-07:00

Subject: edinburgh extra-curricular activities
From: "Seamus McFadden"
Date: Fri, August 24, 2007 7:35 am
To: shoni@shalimarproductions.org
Priority: Normal
Options: View Full Header | View Printable Version | Add to Addressbook

Ms. Shoshona,

I wanted to inform you that my colleagues and I were planning on attending your show in this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival - La Femme Est Morte - however, after witnessing a select member of your company engage in highly offensive and virtually pornographic activities outside your venue, we have decided to lead a boycott against your artistic efforts, which, no doubt, are as tasteless and inappropriate as your disregard for public decency.

Attached are photos of the incident to which I am referring. I apologize for being the bearer of such ill tidings, but as a fellow artist I thought that it may be helpful to your company.

I wish you the best in the future.

Yours in Decency,

Seamus McFadden
Artistic Director
Garden Variety Theatre Company

Ok. It turned out to be from Joe, Atticus, and Craig. Those motherfuckers totally punked me and it was genius.

New York Sun review!

2007-08-26T04:46:00.000-07:00

you can read the whole article here. we are on the second page. WOOOOO!

Another unlikely musical is the Shalimar's version of èacine's "Phedre" Â-- "La Femme Est Morte or Why I Should not F%!# My Son." Artfully updated by Shoshona Currier, the doom-laden tragedy becomes a slick modern parable about celebrity and power. Theseus is a war veteran with a returning soldier's ambivalence toward the loved ones he fought for, who are also the softies who stayed at home. Phaedra's confidante is her lifestyle guru and publicist. hippolytus is a gorgeous hunk of gym-toned masculine beauty who takes on his stepfather in a briskly choreographed boxing bout and makes his final and all-too-fitting appearance as a heap of raw meat. Joey Williamson, the musical director, plays Tiresias as an androgynous snake-in-the-grass gossip writer, leading a chorus/ chorus line of hacks and paparazzi. Thehard-rocking musical numbers last too long, but the performances are polished and the script is marvelously clever. For all its glossy modernity, " La Femme Est Morte" captures the themes and moods of the Euripidean original faithfully, making a snazzy but thoughtful contribution to an ancient debate about public honor and private passion.

the Financial Times review

2007-08-26T04:12:00.000-07:00

The Financial Times really raved. I attached the scan because there was nothing more magical than opening a major national paper and seeing an enormous picture of our show. Truly incredible.

It's a great article about the state of the Fringe and it goes on to mention a mere three shows. LA FEMME, Subway (which Joey and I are going to see in an hour), and another show that I fear I will miss but which sounds fun and simple. It is a great article by a highly respected writer. Click on the image below to get it to blow up.

as bad as it gets

2007-08-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

We got spanked. Again.

And we then got this from Hairline:

La Femme Est Morte or Why I Should Not F**k My Son

In direct contrast to the other production at this year's Fringe which recounts the tragic Greek myth of Phaedra in the much more conventional tradition of Racine, Shalimar's version of events brings the story kicking and screaming like a Jerry Springer guest right into the modern age. Their production takes in gaudy Heat magazine style celebrity glamour, the phenomenon of mobile communications and the scourge of sensationalist paparazzi journalism, as well as the brute force of American foreign politics, as it recounts the tale of the love triangle between Queen Phaedra, her husband Theseus and his son from a former marriage, Hippolytus.

The audience is impressed by the lively contemporary musical score, containing a number of up to date chart toppers by various over produced manufactured pop artists, performed live by a perfectly vacuous trio including the musical director Joey Williamson as the lead singer. The trio also double up as the vulture like media manipulators, feasting on the rotting carcass of society’s morals with a maniacal pleasure. Excellent characterisation in all honesty. In addition to this, Phaedra is presented as a regular Jenny from the Block bling queen, bored and lonely wife of a military man gone to war, Neevee is her PR and stylist, Theseus is the all American buzz cut GI Joe, and Hippolytus is here seen as a confused, hormone ridden adolescent frat boy who pours out his heart to his buddy X over boxing spars. The performances are excellent.

A rollercoaster of a play, the acting is great, and give a real depth to the production, using a mixture of traditional and modern dialogue to satirise today’s shiny consumerised, celebrity obsessed society, as well as highlighting the gung-ho approach to world affairs that modern America has made its name with. “America hates losers…We are He-men”.

4/5

Robert May

Truthfully, the reviews don't hurt anymore. I deeply believe in this show and the work we have done on it, so it has become masochistically intriguing, reading what people think of us. Jen always said this play is love it or hate it and I always thought that was bullshit. We encountered very little hate in New York. Pretty much everyone who saw it at Fringe and at 59e59 understood the satire, were thrilled by the spectacle, and were very willing to ride with us. The reviews here are not mixed, they are split down the fucking middle. Not a single three star review, they are all either 4 stars (spectacularly magical genius satire!) or 2 stars (let's assassinate The Shalimar from behind while they're walking away, those fucking motherfuckers).

The split is thrilling. I mean who wants to make middle of the road work? Is it not better to enrage than induce apathy? However, the thing with apathy, is it's expected. In this enormous arts festival if Joe Shmoe reads a 3 star review that is middling at best, he may still attend that show to see the fair writing, decent acting, and adequate costumes. But if Mr. Shmoe reads a review that calls out a piece as "a dud of epic proportions" and "a truly awful, misguided and forgettable hour of theatre", well it is just harder to justify seeing that piece of shit.

Whereas I find it entertaining to read the reviews by people who absolutely refused to go with us to the exciting world this play lives in, reviews by little rich girls from Conneticut who were longing to see a piece of reverential Greek Tragedy, and reviews by fucking FOOD CRITICS who admitted the not knowing that much about theater (!!!), I also fear the power of the print. I know our work is good. The 30 or so people who populate our audience on a daily basis are nothing but complimentary. We were nominated for a prestigious award. We have more 4 star reviews than I can even remember off the top of my head. And yet, people read these slams and decide we are not worth an hour of their festival weekend.

And who can blame them? When was the last time I read a positively shitty review and went to see the show anyway, figuring the reviewer was just misguided? It doesn't happen. And yet, I wouldn't change this. I wouldn't erase our 2 star reviews from memory. I wouldn't go back and remove the meat. I wouldn't change a damb thing about this show to make it easier to understand or stomach. This is by far the best work most of us have done and I stand by pushing some boundaries and making a mess.

And fuck it. Today the Financial Times ran a huge picture of us and called us "the most exciting young American company I have seen up here so far this century."

Eat that with your ground beef. Give a 2 star show a fucking chance. Maybe it's genius. Maybe it's a piece of shit. But I guarantee you won't be able to take your eyes off it.

it's an honor to be nominated...

2007-08-18T03:23:00.000-07:00

The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence 2007

Threatened Edinburgh site the Assembly Rooms has dominated nominations for this year’s Stage Awards for Acting Excellence at the Festival Fringe, receiving a total of six entries.

Following closely behind are the Traverse and Pleasance which boast five nominations. Other nominees include the Gilded Balloon, Zoo, C Venues and Underbelly.

News of the Assembly Rooms’ strong performance came just weeks after its director William Burdett-Coutts warned plans to refurbish the council-owned premises could put it “out of business”.

Now in their 13th year The Stage Awards are the only honours for professional theatre presented by a national UK publication at the Fringe.

They include categories for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Ensemble and Best Solo Performer. Nominations are chosen by the newspaper’s review team who view hundreds of productions before making their choice.

Stage Edinburgh team head Jeremy Austin said: “In what has turned out to be a very strong year for drama, there has been deliberation and debate even at the shortlist stage.

“Particularly encouraging is the mixture of performers in the best solo category, now in its second year, and the inclusion of shows from outside the 'big guns' such as The Zoo and C. We are all looking forward to an inspiring and challenging week of judging.”

The winners will be announced at an invitation-only ceremony at the Cafe Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh, on the evening of Sunday, August 26.

Stage editor Brian Attwood, who will present the awards, added:

“There’s a substantial number of prizes to be won at Edinburgh but few match The Stage’s for credibility.

“All nominees were chosen by our highly experienced team of critics, who between them have seen nearly 350 of the best Fringe shows this year alone. Anyone who makes their shortlist is pretty special.”
The 2007 nominees
Best Actor

* Garry Cooper for Long Time Dead (Traverse)
* James Baxter for Scarborough (Assembly @ George Street)
* Daniel Pirrie for Sting for Nolte (Gilded Balloon Teviot)
* Merryn Owen for World’s End (Pleasance Dome)

Best Actress

* Nathalie Armin for Damascus (Traverse)
* Holly Atkins for Scarborough (Assembly @ George Street)
* Beth Fitzgerald for Follow Me (Assembly @ George Street)
* Dillie Keane for Frank and Dolly (Gilded Balloon Teviot)
* Eugenia Caruso for Truckstop (The Zoo)
* Janet Bamford for Truckstop (Zoo)

Best Ensemble

* Druid for The Walworth Farce (Traverse)
* Nimble Fish for The Container (E4 UdderBELLY’s Pasture)
* Arches Theatre Company for Pit (Traverse)
* Song of the Goat for Lacrimosa (Assembly Aurora Nova)
* Analogue for Mile End (Pleasance Dome)
* Shalimar for La Femme est Morte, or Why I Should Not F**k My Son (Pleasance Dome)
* Angelica for Stonewall (Pleasance Courtyard)

Best Solo Performer

* Linda Marlowe for Believe (Traverse)
* Madi Distefano for Popsicle Departure 1989 (Assembly @ St. George’s West)
* Elisabeth Gray for Wish I Had A Sylvia Plath (Underbelly’s Smirnoff Baby Belly)
* Alexander Campbell for Private Peaceful (Assembly @ George Street)
* Iris Bahr for Dai (Enough) (Pleasance Courtyard)
* Joanna Swain for Talking to Spacehoppers (C soco)

Making Theater History

2007-08-18T03:08:00.000-07:00

And once again, a Fringe First OR EVEN THE POSSIBILITY OF IT evades us. Read it, if you dare.

But then we also got this rave from British Theatre Guide. A good reminder that reviews are very subjective.

La Femme Est Morte or why I should not Fuck my Son
Shalimar Productions
Pleasance Dome
****

Seneca never looked so good. Shalimar's production of Phaedra updates the action to modern day America and retells the story in a highly irreverent fashion. The story of the Phaedra the Celebrity-Queen and her love for stepson Hippolytus is told with a giggle and a whimsy that befit the situation all too well, as they try and fail to avoid each other's amorous glances until absentee King Theseus returns from waging war in a far-off but undisclosed land.

What struck me immediately as genius was Joey Williamson's inspired use of popular music, sung by the trio of paparazzi musicians, and set to articulately choreographed dance routines. By interspacing the action with these numbers, the tone is kept jolly and fun even when the doom becomes ever more apparent. In fact, the one moment where the play slips into the tragic mode of the source material comes as such a shock that it genuinely becomes affecting, before being transformed by the most brilliantly inspired visual gag of the play and a Harp rendition of Guns and Roses' Don't Cry.

The acting is decent, but with a carelessness at times that is welcome in an outright comedy as funny as this. Despite all of the comedy, underneath the play still manages to evoke a cutting satirical swipe at the modern celebrity culture and the invasions of privacy and spin used by the mass-media. As such it succeeds on both levels without ever seeming cloying or heavy-handed.

Graeme Strachan

The Guardian blogged about us (a little)!

2007-08-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

Guardian Unlimited: Arts blog - theatre

What do you think The Bacchae is about?
Mark Fisher

August 14, 2007 11:23 AM

The Bacchae
Coochie coochie coo ... Tony Curran and Alan Cummings in The Bacchae. Photograph: Murdo Macleod

What's The Bacchae about? It seems it depends on what paper you read. If you take the Daily Telegraph, you will believe it is about "the horrors of religious fundamentalism still being unleashed on the world today". That's the assessment of Charles Spencer who sees in the National Theatre of Scotland production a metaphor for the global tensions of 2007.

If, on the other hand, you are a reader of The Scotsman, you will be in no doubt that Euripides was writing about the challenges to a civic society. In her assessment of the show, Joyce McMillan argued it is "a political parable about the terrible fate that awaits a state which cannot acknowledge and find a balance between the different aspects of human nature."

Or maybe you read my over-night review in the Scotland on Sunday. If so, you'll see the production as a clever bit of programming by Jonathan Mills, artistic director of the Edinburgh International Festival: a play about the bacchanalian excesses of festivals in which the hangover is never far behind the party. "As the Scottish capital heaves with revellers, drinking in the cultural excesses of the world's biggest arts festival, The Bacchae stands both as a defiant shout of "yah-boo-sucks" to those who would rather the whole shebang was buttoned up and put away, and as a salutary warning to the fun-seekers that it is possible to have too much of a good thing," I claimed.

If you stick with the Guardian, however, you will know, like Michael Billington, that it is about "the dangers of repression" and the "fatal result of surrendering to animalistic impulses".

So which is it? Fundamentalism, civic society, festivals or psychological repression? The answer is yes to all of the above. The reason The Bacchae is a classic - 2412 years old and going strong - is that it reveals itself afresh to each new generation and even, in this case, each new viewer. Those of us who have written about this production have revealed our own pre-occupations - mine with the nature of festivals, McMillan's with society's political make-up, and so on - but each reaction is valid. The Bacchae is big enough to take them all.

It's the same with a great little show running at the Pleasance called La Femme est Morte. In Euripides' Hippolytus and Racine's Phèdre, the spirited actors of Shalimar have found a parable about today's celebrity culture and the war in Iraq. They show us the ancient Greek myth filtered through the world of Britney Spears and George W Bush. And they are thrillingly right.

So if they are so open to interpretation, what do these classics mean to you? Is there an aspect of John Tiffany's staging of The Bacchae, for example, that the critics have missed? Or have you come across different meanings in other versions?

Lush

2007-08-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we do some drinking.

4 stars from THREE WEEKS!

2007-08-15T05:28:00.000-07:00

theatre review
La Femme Est Morte or Why I Should Not F**K My Son
Shalimar

This energetic and stylish production transfers Seneca's 'Phaedra' to the modern age of American celebrity obsession, taking the usual stereotypes - the overeager publicist, the bitchy paparazzi, the sex-obsessed best friend - and turning it into something a bit special: a well-performed, genuinely funny, and profound adaptation of the classic Greek tale of forbidden love. The chorus' musical interludes, all beautifully performed, complement each moment of the plot's dire situation perfectly, with delicious dry humour - the 'Date Rape' song forms a particularly lasting impression. The script drags slightly, lingering a bit too long over Iraq (sorry, I mean Crete) but still makes for a compelling visual feast, with an honest, heartfelt message about the perils of love and war.

Pleasance Dome, 1 - 27 Aug (not 14), 4:00pm (5:10pm), prices vary, fpp 201.

tw rating: 4/5

published: Aug-2007

one4review.com gave us 4 stars!

2007-08-15T05:20:00.000-07:00

This tale is reworking of the Greek myth of Phaedra brought bang up to date to include the likes of paparazzi, mobile phones PRs, the ‘glamour’ world of Heat magazine and of course modern costumes as the story of the love triangle between Phaedra, her husband Theseus and his son Hippolytus.

From the opening moment, until the finale the eight strong cast serve up a non-stop feast of dance, music, both recorded and live together with some fine acting, somehow controlled by the direction of Shoshona Currier.

This New York based company deserve to have a huge hit on their hands if only for the effort they put into each performance, and were as purists may not be so happy with the interpretation, maybe another generation could possibly be made aware of the classic story through productions such as this.

Media Whores

2007-08-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

Ed Fest TV dragged us out into the streets two days ago to dance around, promote our show, and have some near death experiences. It was very successful. As soon as the clip is up online I'll link it.

My little stickering factory. In costume, on a shitty Scottish "summer" day, hung over, stickering like our lives depend on it...

We Play Christian Rock

2007-08-10T03:40:00.000-07:00

Marissa, Laura Lee, and Joey recording a spot on 87.7 Festival FM

The Stage "A Must See!"

2007-08-10T03:28:00.000-07:00

La Femme est Morte or Why I Should Not F%!# My Son

Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh

The Shalimar brings the Greek myth of Phaedra right up to date with a telling that encompasses R’n’B, paparazzi, mobile phones and Hello! style notoriety for the golden triangle of Phaedra, her husband Theseus and his son - her lover - Hippolytus.

As such, it is superbly choreographed by Isis Masoud and Marc Santa Maria to a well constructed score from musical director Joey Williamson. The result is tightly directed by writer Shoshona Currier into a loud and furious blast of pure pop entertainment.

If the surface shimmers very brightly indeed, there is real depth here. Found dialogue combines with the modern setting so that it talks specifically about modern America and the attitude that its citizens have to their country’s current overseas military operations.

The performances, too, are top of the range. There is not merely huge physicality to the ensemble work and strong interpretation of the songs. The creation of character, particularly bored Phaedra (Kim Gainer), confused Hippolytus (Joe Curnutte) and Phaedra’s protective PR, Neevee (Jen Taher), goes way beyond that which you might expect. Laura Lee Anderson and Marissa Lupp’s chorus works superbly well with Williamson as arch media manipulator Tiresias to ensure that both glitter and depth are always in focus.

4 stars from THE LIST

2007-08-10T03:23:00.000-07:00

We're on the HITLIST this week, in really amazing company. And we got a 4 star review. Ouch. Things are getting better...

LA FEMME EST MORTE OR WHY SHOULD I NOT FUCK MY SON
4 stars

* Publication: The List (Issue 582)
* Date: 9 August 2007 (Last updated: 9 Aug 2007 10:56 BST)
* Written by: Nicola Husband

Phaedra/Britney an unlikely comparison?

Britney is in a state of crisis. She split from her husband, shaved her head, drove with her son on her lap and allegedly tried to have his teeth whitened, and of course it’s all the media’s fault, just as they are held responsible for Phaedra’s demise in this adaptation of the classic. Celebrity du jour Phaedra awaits the return of her husband from war and, on a break from her Kabbalah and pilates, gets distracted by her stepson, accompanied by live renditions of music by the Spice Girls and Take That (we all know how the rest of the story pans out).

Updating the classics usually results in a painful audience experience, but not so here; the merging of the original script with the new never jars and the concept is utterly believable. The energy of the company and the frantic dance routines would have been enough, but it’s also teeming with ideas on the importance of appearance, American identity, the function of the media and our obsession with celebrity. Beauty and grotesqueness in one, this is a must see.

Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, until 27 Aug (not 14), 4pm, £9–£10 (£7.50–£8.50).

The Evening News review

2007-08-08T04:47:00.000-07:00

Four Stars from the Evening News!

Makings of a modern classic
JO CAIRD

La Femme est Morte ****
Pleasance King Dome, Potterrow

THIS show starts with two young men boxing, segues into an energetic and tightly performed eight-person dance routine and then morphs into a mini press conference before the audience has time to realise it is an adaptation of the classic tragedy Phaedra.

In this production Phaedra is a celebrity mother of the Victoria Beckham school.

Brash, sexy and irreverent, this show is hugely entertaining.

New York-based theatre company Shalimar have created a new and exciting piece of work from an ancient tale

Until August 27.

Fuerzabruta!

2007-08-08T04:07:00.000-07:00

This is what we saw the other night. It is by the people who made De La Guarda. It was AMAZING. I literally spent an hour and a half with my head tilted up, mouth wide open. We danced and we drank and we screamed and we got really wet (moshing in the impromptu indoor rain). Fuerzabruta!

See this show!

2007-08-07T05:10:00.000-07:00

Show Show Down Review

2007-08-06T05:02:00.000-07:00

Or read it here!

Thursday, July 26, 2007
EAST TO EDINBURGH: La Femme Est Morte

So much more than any of the other shows currently running at the "East to Edinburgh" festival, La Femme Est Morte captures what it means to be a fringe show. A lighter adaptation of the classic Greek myth of Phaedra, La Femme Est Morte balances between the bloody conclusion of Sarah Kane's Phaedra's Love and the rock band nature of Chuck Mee's First Love by gyrating through the seven levels of pop circle hell. Assembler and director Shoshona Currier has the chorus sing "Date Rape" one moment, and has Theseus quoting Patton the next; Phaedra seduces her stepson, Hippolytus, to the chorus's rendition of "My Hump," and not to be outdone, there's ample samples of the Spice Girls ("2 Become 1"), too. It's like an avant garde take on Moulin Rouge: for all the derivations, the energy and creativity manage to sell the show. The show stands out, however, because of the exceptional choreography from Isis Masoud and Marc Santa Maria (bodies crucified and spun in mid-air), and from the multifaceted performance of Joey Williamson, who plays the effeminate leader of the paparazzi chorus with such exuberance that the story itself makes perfect sense. Great fun!

The List previews LA FEMME and other media/war/terror/VERY IMPORTANT shows

2007-08-05T03:08:00.000-07:00

The battle for hearts & minds

or check it out here!

* Publication: The List (Issue 581)
* Date: 1 August 2007 (Last updated: 2 Aug 2007 15:24 BST)
* Written by: Steve Cramer

The Arab and the Jew
Steve Cramer goes behind the headlines to preview a selection of Fringe shows exploring terrorism, war and the media

‘If I were to offer you a trip to Paris in the next couple of months or a trip to Syria, which would you be more nervous going on?’ asks playwright David Greig, before adding, ‘You’d probably say you were a little bit more nervous about a trip to Syria. In fact, in the last ten, fifteen years, no foreigner has been attacked in Syria – you’d be far less safe in Paris.’

The central character in Greig’s Damascus, which receives its world premiere at the Traverse, is a salesman who travels to the titular city to sell English language textbooks. Unconsciously, he feels he already knows the country and the presumptions he and his Syrian contact make about each other lead to a series of misunderstandings. ‘The play touches on the British man’s fear of the Middle East,’ says Greig.

Greig’s play amounts, he says, to a comedy of manners on the theme of east meets west, but with a profound purpose, part of which is to address the perceptions we carry into any situation. ‘One of the characters is a hotel porter, and his image of what Scottish girls are like is very much informed by things like MTV. At the same time Paul, the British character, has his perception of what Arabs are like informed by CNN. Another character points out that what we call balance is really just a desire to maintain the status quo with the West in control. The West has the power of the mass media.’

Back in New York, Shoshona Currier is also concerned with media perceptions and war. Her company, Shalimar, had success at the Fringe in 2005 with Stirring. This year La Femme Est Morte or Why I Should Not F**k My Son amounts to a version of Seneca’s Phaedre set within a modern celebrity family, with the incestuous relationship at the centre witnessed by a chorus of paparazzi and spin doctors.

Currier feels it is not fear but apathy that is generated by media perceptions of wars. ‘The way the press is working here, we’re not even allowed to see coffins draped in flags. But you can watch the war on Youtube – my seven-year- old brother can. There are some amazingly violent clips on Youtube and in your subversive way you can watch them. But there are also images of Britney Spears with no underwear. The Youtube hits on that are over a million now, but anything involving the word Iraq is just a couple of hundred thousand.’

The text, which uses an article about a soldier returning from Iraq in the Washington Post to preamble an intimidating physical style, makes an attack on what we might call the ‘War on Whatever’. Currier says, ‘This soldier returned from the gulf and was immediately taken to a chain restaurant. He said “I was looking at everyone stuffing their faces, and thought I was fighting for you?” It’s worse than Vietnam, where soldiers returned to protests – now they return to apathy and unawareness. We don’t get any information.’

In Paul Allman’s Bombers’ Row there’s also a strong commentary on how we choose to see ourselves, and how the media affects this. The play speculates on a real-life meeting between Ramzi Yousef, author of the first world trade centre attack, the Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, and a fourth prisoner, a notorious Cuban drug lord. Allman’s play examines the media frenzy that surrounded them. This didn’t simply affect our attitudes, but showed a certain media self-consciousness in the men themselves.

Allman says, ‘They became celebrities in their own minds, Timothy McVeigh referred to them as the A-team. He had 18 marriage proposals while he was on death row. We rarefied them in a way, making them into monsters. Does it really serve some purpose to make them special in some way? The media tries to paint them as lunatics, wild men, paranoid schizophrenics, maybe because they’re sending the message, “don’t listen to what they’re saying”.’

Commenting on this legendary meeting, actor David Calvitto says: ‘They don’t talk about their activities. Mostly they talked about the movies; which was their favourite Godfather movie, they passed dirty magazines back and forth, they talked about survivalist techniques – that’s what’s so bizarre about it. These guys they described as Dracula, the Wolf Man and Frankenstein might just as well have been walking into an average bar together.’

Richard Walker’s The Racket is a one man play about a Baghdad war reporter, which explores how the mediation of events affects our perceptions on a personal level. So too in Gecko’s The Arab and the Jew, the self-perception of each of the eponymous characters in this hectic physical theatre show is as much informed by the media as themselves.

But this collection just scratches the surface of what is a pervasive Fringe theme. Go and judge the results for yourselves.

Damascus, Traverse Theatre, 228 1404, 5–26 Aug (not 13, 20), times vary, £16 (£11). Previews Aug 1, 4, £11 (£5); La Femme Est Morte Or Why I Should Not F**k My Son, Pleasance Dome, 556 6550, 4–27 Aug (not 14), 4pm, £9–£10 (£7.50–£8.50). Previews until 3 Aug, £5; Bombers’ Row, Assembly @ Hill Street Theatre, 623 3030, 5–27 Aug (not 15), 3.55pm, £8.50–£11. Previews 3 & 4 Aug, £5; The Racket, The Zoo, 662 6892, 5–27 Aug, 5.15pm, £6.50 (£5). Previews 3 & 4 Aug, £4.50; The Arab and the Jew, Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 20–25 Aug, 1pm, £9.50 (£7.50). Previews 17–19 Aug, £5.

The Journey is the Destination

2007-08-04T04:47:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday at 1pm, Joey and I got on the Path Train.

We had to switch trains a few times on the way to Newark. Four total, I believe.

We got on a KLM plane at 3:30. It took off at 4:40, headed for Amsterdam.

We slept for ten minutes. Immediately after take off we both woke up.

I watched Little Children (indy tripe) and Sleepless in Seattle (which was filed under "KLM Classic Movies" along with Anger Management).

Joey watched The Office and listened to High School Musical.

Against our better judgement, we decided not to drink.

We had iced tea instead. Sparkling.

We didn't sleep again...not once.

We landed in Amsterdam early. 5:30am local, which is 11:30pm New York. We considered getting our drink on. We hoped to go to the casino and win back our Edinburgh "investment". Neither of the above happened and we stared at each other for two hours, smoking cigarettes, planning various ways to torture our travel agent. We decided on a letter bomb. Which is too bad because our travel agent is my mother.

We finally got on a plane to Glasgow. Undocumented because I fell asleep with my mouth open for the entire hour and a half while Joey tossed and turned and spit and cursed next to me. We landed at 8:30am local.

On the bus from Glasgow Airport to Glasgow City Center. The driver wouldn't let us on the first bus and we almost started a riot. Something about luggage. When we got to City Center we had to jump out and catch another bus, which was packed, so we had to sit apart, so I sat in the back, and obviously fell asleep with my mouth open, and we missed our stop, and Joey ran to the back of the bus and punched me in the teeth. I didn't take a picture of that.

We got to our flat at 11:30am local. That's 6:30am New York for those of you who are still reading. We moved stuff into the flat, bedding and groceries that Mother-In-Law brought for us, in a move of sheer generosity and loveliness. At this point Joey and I were barely able to speak anymore.

We got some coffee and headed to the SCAMP flat. SCAMP are our general managers. They are great. They have a great flat. Much better than ours. It smells like coffee and rainbows. Ours smells like feet.

We went to our venue around 4pm, the remarkable and beautiful Pleasance KingDome. It was still being built.

I worked on the bed.

Joey got bored. And shape-shifted into a fraggle.

At 6pm local we went to the countryside. Well, ten minutes out of the city. It was fucking beautiful. We got our harp. Claire, from SCAMP, used the brilliant GPS tracking system (apparently all the rage here) and I fell asleep with my mouth open.

At 8pm we crashed out at the flat a little bit. See how everything's getting blurry? I fell asleep with my mouth open while Joey played the new harp. When he saw I was asleep he threw said harp at my head.

And finally, at 10pm, we met up with SCAMP at the Wally Dug bar.

We drank. At midnight we split. It was a long crawl home, down the endless Princess Street. We got to bed at 1am. Or 8pm, however you choose to look at it.

And the next morning everyone else arrived...

nytheatre.com review

2007-07-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

La Femme Est Morte
reviewed by Pete Boisvert

Pick up a newspaper, flip through a magazine, or turn on a cable news channel. Odds are the first story you encounter will be on one of two topics: war or celebrity gossip. These twin themes provide the yin and yang of 21st century corporate media. In Shalimar Productions' LA FEMME EST MORTE or Why I Should Not F!%# My Son, a very modern adaptation of the Phaedra myth by Shoshona Currier, military jingoism and the lifestyles of the rich and famous collide, with fascinating results.

Currier's Phaedra is that most modern form of royalty: a celebrity, worshipped by all. Reclining on her bed throughout the first half of the play, she juggles pilates and kabbalah lessons, gives interviews to sleazy celebrity gossip hounds, and harbors secret desires for Hippolytus, the son of her warrior husband Theseus from his previous marriage to an Amazon. Hippolytus has sworn off women in order to keep himself pure for his boxing regimen—and also to hide his own feeling for his stepmother ("Not my mother!" as both he and Phaedra frequently exclaim throughout the buildup of the show).

This unspoken love rises to the surface quickly, with Phaedra and Hippolytus confessing their mutual lust over a bag of fast food. Believing Theseus to have been killed while on military duty in Crete, the unlikely lovers consummate their desires in the absent husband's bed. Of course Theseus isn't really dead, and when he makes his triumphant return from the war to a crowd of flashbulbs and microphones, all manner of hell breaks loose.

Kim Gainer commands the stage as Phaedra, with all the self-obsession, charm, and magnetism of the modern celeb. She sucks in attention from everyone around her like a black hole of narcissism. As her husband Theseus, Atticus Rowe delivers a solid, exciting performance, bringing an "invade first, ask questions later" attitude to the latter half of the play.

Hippolytus is slightly underwritten here; he begins the evening all repression and restraint, but once he succumbs to his affections for Mother, there isn't a lot left for him to do. Joe Curnutte fills the role with enthusiasm, particularly in his sparring sessions with Craig Peugh as his best friend X. Boxing is a recurring motif throughout the play, and Curnutte, Peugh, and Rowe pull off these scenes with pugilistic grace and brutality.

Joey Williamson's paparazzo Tiresias brings a wicked sense of humor to the piece, wallowing in the Page Six dirt gleefully and drinking one too many mojitos along the way. Complementing Williamson, Jen Taher shines as Phaedra's press agent Neevee, nailing one comedic moment after another.

Music and dance play a central part in the evening. Williamson, Laura Lee Anderson, and Marissa Lupp form a paparazzi chorus that comments on the action through karaoke-style pop covers. These numbers are often clever and entertaining, creating a witty counterpoint to the action, but at times the combination of miked singers and prerecorded music becomes distracting, swamping the scenes they are supposed to accent.

I can't say that celebrity gossip and warmongering are two of my favorite themes, but they are certainly preoccupations of our time and country. LA FEMME EST MORTE is being presented at the East to Edinburgh festival at 59E59, and when Shalimar makes the jump across the Atlantic in a week or so for the Edinburgh Fringe, America will be fairly (if savagely) represented by Currier and her crew.

Result Oriented

2007-07-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

We opened tonight.

We opened our show with eight actors, 40 props, 3 messy food props, 5 big moments of stage combat, 3 musical instruments, 3 brand new handheld mics, and hundreds of light and sound cues. And we had never done a run through.

We have a love / hate relationship with festivals. They are a great way to audience build and do theater on the cheap. But often we find ourselves sacrificing certain elements of our show. Beauty. Safety. You know.

I will say, this is probably the best run festival we have ever been a part of, in the snazziest building, with the best air conditioning and the most competent tech crew. But even with all those good vibes, it was scary for everyone to go on stage in front of a fair sized audience having only done a cue to cue.

It was rocky and it was great. We are prepped to run for a month in Edinburgh so it's a priceless opportunity for us to use this week at 59e59 to iron out kinks. All that said, it is so scary sitting in the back of the house and feeling like you've just sent eight actors to the lions. They were amazing in defeating their impossible task. I was a bit of a case.

Anyway, here are pictures. The show is gorgeous. Serge took these last night at tech.

boxing

It was a long night.

this is the way we make the play...

2007-07-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

rehearsal last weekend. all photos by the incomprehensibly amazing Serge Cashman.

our AC is broken

2007-07-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

but we're still rehearsing!

the voice that launched a thousand ships...

2007-07-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

I did a podcast for nytheatre.com with a bunch of truly fun artists. Check it out.

Read about indie theater now on the nytheatrecast blog!

If you are pressed for time and want to only hear the sultry sounds of Shoshona Currier expounding thoughts on war and theater, I start chattering at minute 17. But I suggest listening to the whole thing. It's pretty fun.

Especially fun, was seeing my friend Jack Ferver, who I haven't seen or spoken to in...hm...four years? I seem to remember running into him in a yoga class a while back, but we haven't made anything together in ages.

What? You don't know Jack Ferver? Oh I think you do! Maybe from this:

Or this:

But really, these don't do justice to Jack's talent. I first saw Jack in a reading at New York Theatre Workshop and was drawn to his impeccable timing and snarky wit. Soonafter, we met through our friend Glynis and in person I was drawn to his impeccable timing and snarky wit. As well as the slightly crazy look in his eye. We did some little reading-ish projects with the now defunct Black Cat Group and then sort of fell out of each other's lives, which is how it goes in New York City.

It was so great to see him, and ride the train with him, and laugh with him again. So please listen to his part of the podcast as well (he's first!) and maybe even go see his show called When We Were Young and Filled With Fear. I'm going to.

Also, my friend Ed is on this podcast too. He's second, chatting about his play Nosferatu and I suggest you also go see that. Ed's a strange fun guy who makes strange fun plays.

Actually, you should see all the shows we talk about in this podcast! It was a really fun roup of artists all slogging away in various festivals around the city. Getting together to chat about theater felt like a friendly little showing of community...I'm glad I was there.

AMAZING!

2007-07-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to The Brandy Library last night and opened their wallets and their hearts for The Shalimar. It was our most successful fundraiser EVER. We raised one third of our budget last night!

We still have a bit more to raise, but in the meantime, we would like to deeply thank Flavien and the entire staff of The Brandy Library who graciously hosted us last night and treated us like royalty. If you have never been to this beautiful bar, pay it a visit. It's lovely, the staff knows their stuff, and the food is ridiculously good.

We also need to thank the incomparable Martin Daraz and Highland Park. Martin led the 25 of us through a fun and interesting whisky tasting that left everyone sufficiently drunk and in love with Highland Park. No one entertains the masses like Martin, and we really appreciate his work on this event.

Raise a Glass...

2007-07-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

Please join The Brandy Library and The Shalimar for
A Grand Single Malt Tasting for Charity
Led by Martin Daraz, Brand Ambassador for Highland Park Distillery

"Distiller of the Year" San Francisco Spirits Competition 2007
"The Best Spirit in the World" F Paul Pacult, Spirits Journal

Join Mr. Daraz in tasting nine premium whiskies.

Highland Park 12, 15, 18, 25 and 30 yr old
The Macallan Fine Oak 15 yr old and Sherry Oak 18 yr old
Famous Grouse Malt 12 yr old and Grouse Blend

After this indulgent sampling of Scotch, enhance your love of single-malts by bidding on whisky prizes. We will be auctioning many bottles including Highland Park 25 and 30 yr old bottles as well as Macallan 17 and 18 yr olds.

Due to the exclusive nature of this event, attendance is strictly limited to 40 people

Monday July 9th
8pm
The Brandy Library
25 North Moore St (between Varick and Hudson)
(212) 226 5545

Tickets $100 on theatermania.com

Me talk pretty one day...

2007-06-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

...but not on a 90 degree day when I'm drunk and in a mermaid costume.

Luckily Kim has plenty of experience trying to make sense while drunk and picked up me and Joey's slack...of which there was PLENTY.

Viva Sweden

2007-06-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

So I've been freaking the fuck out about our one set piece. The bed. Yes, as far as sets go we are often quite minimal. Last time we went to Edinburgh we got by with rolling up the black curtain that was serving as crossover masking, setting two rolling chairs on the stage and hanging this metal grate thing on the back wall. I think we found that on the floor in the space. Low maintenance.

This show has no less than 25 hand props, 3 musical instruments, 2 costumes per person, 3 body mics, and a large rolling bed. So the issue comes up of how the hell to get all of this stuff to Scotland.

Well, the props can go in luggage. One of the instruments we will have to buy over there, the costumes go in the luggage, the body mics go in the hand luggage. And the bed. Oh the bed.

See, we're doing a short run here at 59e59 that ends the day before we go. So using something here and then shipping it is not really an option. If we can use it and then stuff it in a suitcase, well that works, but for the life of me I could not figure out how to get a bed to fold down into a small square. I wish I was as ingenious as Banana Bag and Bodice who, when faced with the prospect of doing The Sewers in Dublin without their stunning set that included 3 detailed walls, a roof, and a million doors, holes, and secret openings of magic, decided to recreate their entire set out of CARDBOARD. Cardboard that FOLDED DOWN AND FIT INTO A SUITCASE.

Shit.

Not only do we need a bed that rolls, but we need it to be structurally sound enough to carry the weight of at least 5 people while rolling. It should also have some prop storage underneath. Oh and beautiful. Let it be beautiful.

I sat here, on the futon, late one night, searching UK websites, actually looking for cots or something to stick in our flat in Edinburgh (we are just a couple of beds short of appropriate boundaries). I cruised Argos and Tescoe and finally found my way to Ikea.

Ikea.

IKEA.

Of course. They have Ikea. We have Ikea. Every country has roughly the same shit at their Ikea. I could buy the bed here, we could make the set, it could be amazing, and when we get to Edinburgh we can buy the same bed at their Ikea, build the rest of it there and we will have the exact same set piece.

Which is how on Tuesday Curtis and I found ourselves on a New Jersey Transit operation heading towards what can only be described as the promised land. Curtis is a brilliant opera designer and painter and he is a constant source of support for The Shalimar. He has let us rent out corners of his studio before for cheap. He has taken me paint shopping and taught me to goldleaf, which is the best thing ever ever EVER. He created the floor design for the recent production of stirring and then he came in and PAINTED IT. He and his amazing wife Julie come to our parties, donate to our cause, and laugh at all our jokes. They are good people. And Curtis agreed to come to Ikea with me to make sure I didn't buy a bed made out of tinker toys because it was the cheapest one they had.

We found a bed. And for my part, my pathetic little part, I worked on Curtis' artist statement for him. He's in the midst of making this beautiful series of dictator-based self-portraits and had hit a bit of a wall with his statement. It happens. So while he sketched pictures of beds and took measurements, I thought up innovative ways to explain the man behind the art.

It was a good day.

And now I'm off to buy lumber.

day job

2007-06-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

I'm having one of those fucking days at work where I need to snarl at every customer. And they look at me like I am an absolute troll because they have asked me for coffee and instead of smiling and bouncing over to the machine I instead ignore them for 10-20 seconds, look at them like they are deeply inconveniencing me (hello, I'm searching slutty tops on ebay), ignore their requests for decaf, skim, soy, vanilla, splenda, or whatever bullshit they want to ruin their coffee with, and make their drinks with a look of total disgust/boredom/homicidal rage on my face. I'm lucky enough to work at a place where this actually passes for great customer service.

And the customers look at me with a mixture of fear (mission accomplished!) and bewilderment. Do I not know that it is my duty to serve them coffee and baked goods with an assholey smile on my face? Did I not realize when I woke up this morning that my only important task this day would be to make them their fucking half-caf three shot skim iced latte, just fill the cup 1/3 of the way with ice please because otherwise it, like, melts and my drink ends up all watery, you know?

Hey lady, you're drinking 16 ounces of skim milk. Your drink is going to taste like water no matter how much ice I put in it, YOU KNOW?

Today, as has been the case many times for the last few months, all I want to do is grab these customers and scream at them "THIS IS NOT WHAT I DO!" I will reach across the counter and grab them by the collar, pulling their face close to mine, "THIS IS NOT WHAT I AM!"

They will stammer and stutter, terrified of the sociopath behind the counter with butter knives a mere arms length away. They will atttempt to reason with me, "But you're the barista. This is your job. To make the coffee."

I roar. Possibly my face turns entirely red, my mouth opens to three times its normal size andn my eyeballs spin (we watched Evil Dead 2 last night). "I AM NOT A FUCKING BARISTA. I AM A WRITER. I DIRECT PLAYS. I MAKE THEATER. I HAVE IDEAS. I HAVE AN EDUCATION."

They are shaking, wishing they hadn't stepped out for their coffee break, wishing they had indulged in a machine-made hot chocolate in the break room of the company where they do tech support. Or develop websites. Or micro-manage other people who do those things. And I see their fear and their ultimate dissatisfaction with the lives they chose, and I set them down gently. I release their collar. I pour their coffee. They stare at me warily. As I hand it to them I say,

"You don't know me. You don't know what I can do. You don't know how talented I am. I am not just someone who makes coffee so do not look so surprised that I am fucking miserable to be standing behind this counter. This is six hours out of my day that I cannot be doing what I love, what I am good at, that I cannot contribute to society in the way I am supposed to. Do not look at me with the expectation that simply because I stand here and you stand there, I am a servant with a servant's mentality."

They are looking at their feet. They are a bit ashamed. Other people in the cafe are staring. So I smile at them, the big smile, the REAL smile, the smile that breaks across my face the minute I walk through this door out onto the street, away from the necessity of working for hourly pocket change, and I ask them, "Did you want anything else today?"

6/22/07
I need to make a slight ammendment to the above post. I must mention that I have many a regular customer whom I truly adore. There are customers who brighten my day every time they come in. A short list of them would be Rex, Frank, Bill, Curtis, Strummer Joe, The King of Spain and his wife, Food Dude, Jesse, Gerry, Erik, and a whole bunch more whose names I don't know. It's just that for every great customer who really takes an interest, there is one who treats me like dirt. Similar to bartenders, for every amazingly interesting drunk who is full of wonderful stories, humor, and compassion, there is a bachelorette party from Long Island demanding that you make blow job shots and dance on the bar.

Williamsburg

2007-06-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

We sat out on Bedford all weekend, selling our earthly goods. And it was good! We sold stuff! But we still have mad stuff left. Clothes, my TV/VCR combo (forty dollah! good deal!), movies, books, panini presses, other amazing items. We'll be out on Saturday again.

Jen and Kim and I were manning the goods when my friend Dave showed up. He and I walked down the street so I could pee at some coffee shop (where I had the worst public restroom experience of my life...another story for another day) and as we were walking back Dave said, "Did you hear about this bodybuilder professional weight lifter guy who was shooting steroids?"

"No."

"Yeah," Dave continued. "He kept shooting steroids into his arms. Like over and over. And his arms kept getting bigger and bigger. But he was sort of careless about it. He kept using the same needles and the same holes. So his arms got infected."

"Of course."

"Of course. So they're infected and they start getting bigger and bigger, but he keeps shooting the 'roids, and they keep getting bigger and bigger, like HUGE, because they're all infected and then they burst. They explode."

"Ew."

"And THAT'S Williamsburg."

Buy Our Shit

2007-06-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

The Shalimar will be stationed on Bedford Avenue this weekend selling our earthly posessions to raise money for our Edinburgh show this August.

We need to raise some money!

We have great stuff!

Come buy it!

Seriously, we have clothes (vintage and brand new!), shoes, jewelry, TVs, books, very useful appliances, movies, theater tickets, and a lot of totally indescribable and very important items (including taxidermy!)

So come buy it! You'll be doing your part for the future of American theater and you will walk away with some bitchin goods.

And if you don't want to buy anything, at least come by and say HI!
We'll be on Bedford, probably near North 11th
Sat & Sun 10am-7pm

Just look for us. We'll be the drunk sunburned theater company with lots of stuff on the ground. If you can't find us, call Shoni at 917 292 5738.

See you this weekend!
The Shalimar loves YOU!

nightmare

2007-06-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

So right before I woke up this morning (for a phone appointment with our general manager, SCAMP) I had a wee nightmare. In this evil dream, we were all getting on the plane to Edinburgh. We had our suitcases, we were all on the same flight, we were ready. Except it was June 29th instead of July 29th. We were going over a month early. And for some reason I didn't realize this (and nor did anyone else) until we were on the plane. When we were halfway over the Atlantic I started panicking. We haven't rehearsed the show! Our apartment isn't going to be available! We didn't buy any of the sound equipment we needed to buy in America because it's cheaper there! We have performances in New York starting July 24th! What have we done!

When we got off the plane I had a voicemail from Adam Rapp. It said, "Hey Shoni. I really want to donate to your show but I hear you guys left already. A month early. What the fuck are you thinking?"

Then we headed to our flat, even though by now I knew we were screwed. When we got there it was empty but people's stuff was in all the rooms. Clothes, books, bedding...we just sort of wandered from room to room. Joey started moving a bed. I was like, we HAVE to fly back to New York. We can't stay here. SCAMP showed up and were like, Shoni, what have you done?

Other recent dreams:

Gary (baker of all things delicious) recently had a dream about me. I got very excited when he told me this, but it wasn't that kind of dream. Basically he and Joey were out of town and I was staying in their place. And they had this yummy cheesecake with berries on it in the fridge. And I ate the whole thing except for one bit which I left out on the table to rot. They found this when they came home as well as a bunch of little ramekins of chewed up food that I had left out all over the place. So Gary called me and was yelling at me that this was unacceptable to which my response was, "This CONVERSATION is unacceptable."

Hm.

I had dinner with Camilo tonight at Ariba!Ariba! and he told me that I was recently in his dream too. In this dream he was in a play but didn't know any of his lines. He kept having to run offstage to look at his script. But that's not the climax of the dream. No, the climax of this hateful dream is AFTER that when he sat me down and said, "Shoni, we need to talk." Apparently it was very serious and dramatic and he said to me, "I really hate it when you and Kim come over and go through my fridge and eat all my food."

End of dream.

What the fuck. Who knew these gays had so much hostility building towards me and my eating habits.

And will I continue to have panic dreams about Edinburgh up until the festival? Maybe. Though they are totally unfounded. I woke up from my Edinburgh nightmare, had some coffee, and had a lovely phone meeting with SCAMP. I then emailed a bunch of stuff to our UK Press Rep and bought our plane tickets. Really all is right with the world.

So why am I afraid to go to sleep?

research

2007-06-04T18:12:00.000-07:00

I felt I should point out that besides frantically raising money, The Shalimar also makes plays. In case I haven't physically shaken you in hopes that money will fall from your pockets and screamed in your ear how great this show is, let me tell you a little about LA FEMME EST MORTE or Why I Should Not F!%# My Son. It's about America. And celebrity. And the fact that our country is at war yet we obsess over Shilo Jolie-Pitt and whether or not Lindsay Lohan has fucking died yet. Seriously, when will she just die? The play is based on Phaedra, so there is also some good old fashioned incest and religious guilt. Really it's about what happens here in America when our men go to war. So here are the videos I'm watching as inspiration. I will warn that they are not all for the faint of heart.

(Sidebar. It's pretty interesting to me what people post on youtube. It's interesting that I can't see the war on the news but anyone, including my seven year old brother, can watch it on the fucking internet.)

PROM PICTURES!

2007-05-28T15:37:00.001-07:00

MONDAY NEWS

2007-05-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

The Flash and Trash Beer Prom was a lot of fun! What? You missed it? Your loss, dude, it was great. We need to thank our sponsors Brooklyn Brewery, BlackBook Magazine, Fresh, and all the amazing restaraunts that donated food and the businesses that donated to the raffle. There will be a full list up on the website soon.

And there will be pictures soon, I promise.

We have another month of fundraising to go and then we get into rehearsal. We actually have our first read-through tonight, which I am pretty excited about. We've finished casting and we are excited to welcome Craig Peugh to the cast in the role of X.

So...yeah. Another month of fundraising. Have you donated yet? If not, please donate. Please. It's tax-deductible, it'll make you feel good about yourself and it will help us get our killer show to Edinburgh!

And we have set our show dates here in NYC. We will be performing LA FEMME EST MORTE or Why I Should Not F%!# My Son at 59e59 July 24-27 at 7pm. Hot hot hot!

And below are our Edinburgh show dates. This is just a draft of our Pleasance programme page, but I think it's beautiful and I wanted to share it.

hoping to lose that pesky virginity...

2007-05-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

what do you mean you haven't bought your ticket yet?

2007-05-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

It's on people. And we call it PROM for a reason.

Check out last year's prom! And buy tickets for this year's prom!

MONDAY NEWS

2007-04-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

Whisky Business, A Single-Malt Scotch Tasting tomorrow! Come to it! Here's what we're auctioning:

The Whisky LOVER Package...value $300
2 tickets to PROM
$100 gift certificate to Amarone Restaurant
Bottle of The Macallan 18 Year

The All Star Package...value $400
Bottle of Highland Park 25 Year
Double Gold Medal Winner -San Francisco Spirits Competition
Bottle of The Macallan Fine Oak 17 Year
The Peerless Spirit
Bottle of Famous Grouse Malt 12 Year
The Most Popular Whisky in Scotland

The Pure Decadence Package...value $550
Bottle of Highland Park 30 Year
Bottle of Highland Park 18 Year
Bottle of Famous Grouse Malt 12 Year
Michael Cluizel Chocolate Nuancier Grandes Teneurs en Cacao Tasting Box

Prom after that...we're the editor's pick baby...

What's that? You can't go to either but you desperately want to support The Shalimar's incredible artistic endeavors? What are you waiting for? Donate now!

whisky whisky whisky

2007-04-24T08:23:00.000-07:00

in just one week...
please join us for...

WHISKY BUSINESS
a single-malt Scotch tasting
featuring Martin Daraz, the Highland Park US Brand Ambassador

Tuesday, May 1st
at The Interart
500 W. 52nd Street at 10th Ave.
7pm - Brooklyn Brewery Happy Hour
8pm - Whisky Tasting

Taste the best whisky in the world, enjoy delicious dessert pairings, learn how Scotch is made, and chase it all down with Brooklyn Brewery beer.

Live auction with FANTASTIC WHISKY PRIZES!

Whisky Visitor Ticket
$45 in advance/$55 at the door
taste FOUR whiskies including 25 year old Highland Park

Whisky VIP Ticket
$80 in advance/$90 at the door
taste NINE whiskies including 30 year old Highland Park

BIG DISCOUNT FOR YOU!
Whisky Visitor Ticket for $30 with code BUDDY1
Whisky VIP Ticket for $65 with code BUDDY2

for tickets click here
or call 212-352-3101

all proceeds to benefit The Shalimar
www.shalimarproductions.org

MONDAY NEWS

2007-04-23T23:20:00.000-07:00

We saw a lot of AMAZING men in the last couple of weeks, enough to make Joey and I start seriously thinking about making a straight play, something American and classic, just to accomodate all of these stunning men. And whatever Alabama Shakes MFA program is selling, I'm buying. We saw a couple of guys from that school who were absolutely stunning. Their voices are like butter and they have presence and energy and yowza. I'm not usually one to applaud the theater grad school system here, but these guys maybe changed my mind...

Despite seeing fifty or so gorgeous talented wonderful men, we could only choose one for Hippolytus. We are so thrilled to welcome the incredible and talented Joe Curnutte to the cast.

In other news, on Saturday night we participated in...an off-off Broadway dance off. It was part of a fundraiser for Terra Nova, a company I don't know, but they seem like fun people (the leader of the pack did an amazing Jennifer Beals/Flashdance number. He had great legwarmers...). Allison Prouty grabbed me at her show last weekend and asked me if we would like to participate. To which I replied, "Dude. We will mop the floor with the other companies."

Which we would have. If the other companies, well one company in particular, hadn't played dirty. FILTHY.

We were up against Groove Mama, a company that is run by my buddy Kara and another company who I didn't know. We went first and I will say it... Laura Lee, Marissa, Jen, Kim, and Joey rocked hard. They did My Humps from LA FEMME, ammended slightly for girl-on-girl action (we added in a Showgirls reference). They shook their humps and their lumps and the audience went wild. Mando led the cheering. Charles looked flustered and embarassed. They warmed the room for the next performers. I was so proud.

The next group did an acoustic number from their show. They were high energy and fun.

And then Groove Mama came out, looking like the drag queens they are, in low cut dresses, gloves, boas, etc...and they stripped. All the way down to tap pants and pasties. That's right, pasties. And they swung that shit around. They swung it so hard that a certain husband of a certain Groove Mama said he worried they were going to fly right off. And he wasn't talking about the sequined pasties.

They won. Of course they won. They got their tits out. Our intricate well-rehearsed hip hop number with its tongue-in-cheek irony couldn't compare with tits. Hell, Jen even cheered for them. And they used a fan, an idea we will, of course, be stealing.

It wasn't such a harsh loss. I got to bury my face in Kara's boobs. Which was...ahem...nice. And I was reminded of something I have always believed. You can get anything if you get naked. Really. Nudity will always be rewarded in some form, even be it just for having the balls to show the skin. Later an audience member who had cheered for us told us that we shouldn't trust the masses. But I think the masses are the only thing we can trust. It's the only thing I believe in anymore. A group of people cheering for the most gaudy, the most garish, the most terrible, the most wonderful. When the crowd speaks, you listen. And on Saturday night the crowd was saying WE LOVE TITS.

Next time we'll be butt ass naked, let me tell you.

MONDAY NEWS

2007-04-16T07:55:00.001-07:00

Clearly you should come to our prom. And our Whisky Tasting. We like when people drink and dance!

PARTY PARTY PARTY!

2007-04-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

THE SHALIMAR has two amazing events coming up!

Save the Date for...

WHISKY BUSINESS
a single-malt Scotch tasting
featuring Martin Daraz, the Highland Park US Brand Ambassador

Tuesday, May 1st
at The Interart
500 W. 52nd Street at 10th Ave.
7pm - Brooklyn Brewery Happy Hour
8pm - Whisky Tasting

Taste the best whisky in the world, enjoy delicious dessert pairings, learn how Scotch is made, and chase it all down with Brooklyn Brewery beer.

Live auction with FANTASTIC WHISKY PRIZES!

Whisky Visitor Ticket
$45 in advance/$55 at the door
taste FOUR whiskies including 25 year old Highland Park

Whisky VIP Ticket
$80 in advance/$90 at the door
taste NINE whiskies including 30 year old Highland Park

for tickets click here
or call 212-352-3101

all proceeds to benefit The Shalimar
www.shalimarproductions.org

and coming up May 12th...

FLASH AND TRASH
Beer Prom at the Ukrainian Center

tickets available here

MONDAY NEWS

2007-04-09T20:37:00.000-07:00

Just when you think the casting process is over...

The Shalimar is holding replacement auditions for its upcoming production of LA FEMME EST MORTE, a modern-day Phaedra adaptation, directed by Shoshona Currier. Classic and contemporary text are mashed up together in this satire of America's celebrity obsessionin the midst of war.

Seeking:

Hippolytus. Male. Age 18-25. Confident, arrogant yet innocent, celebrity royalty. Seeking very physical actor (boxing and dancing required) who can handle classical text.

Dates:
Rehearsals in June/July in NYC
Performances in August in Edinburgh
Performances in September TBA

Small stipend and travel included.

Please send headshots/resumes to staffing@shalimarproductions.org or mail to:

The Shalimar
15 Broadway Terrace, #2D
New York, NY 10040

Electronic submissions are preferred as auditions will be held very soon.

www.shalimarproductions.org

MONDAY NEWS

2007-04-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

a day late. even a couple of weeks late. but here's what I got...

Our Edinburgh venue is CONFIRMED! LA FEMME EST MORTE or Why I Should Not F!%# My Son will be playing the King Dome at the Pleasance at 4pm every day! Mark your calendars!

stirring had a fabulous closing weekend. More on that and new pictures soon.

We finished casting the ladies of the chorus. We're so excited to have Laura Lee and Marissa on board! Also we saw so many amazing women for those roles. It's always helpful to see new actors and we saw a whole bunch, many of whom we will be grabbing for the Minstrel Show.

Speaking of The Minstrel Show, it has been rescheduled for the fall. Look for it before Christmas!

We have major parties coming up! Our first whisky tasting will be on Tuesday May 1st, featuring NINE whiskys and the Highland Park Whisky Brand Ambassador.

And mark your calendars for The PROM on May 12th to be held at the Ukranian National Home on St. Marks. More info coming real soon.

Husband and I went to Dressed to Kilt last night, the pseudo fabulous Scottish party and fashion show. We went with the amazing David Eustace (no one wears a kilt like that man) who photographed us for the Glasgow Herald in 2005, as well as Brian the manager of Public, Charlotte a comedian from Glasgow, Amanda who works for the BBC and the ladies who run Colours Modeling Agency in Glasgow. The event itself was a little boring. Lots of Tartan, not enough food. I was drunk within 12 minutes. The after party at the Pink Elephant was drunken debauchery. None of this really seems like news, you're thinking. Except that I got to meet someone fun and fabulous who now Joey and I are stalking on myspace. I want her to be my friend! Stay tuned for more details...

"The play celebrates the basic human need to connect, to be cherished, to be understood."

2007-03-19T23:18:00.000-07:00

from offoffonline.com

Meeting Cute, Online

by Kirthana Ramisetti
stirring reviewed March 16, 2007


	The cast
	Photo Credit: Serge Cashman

Have online personal ads become passé? There was a time when nearly everyone seemed to be trying for luck on dating Web sites. Yet now it appears the trend has begun to nosedive. People are steadily logging off these sites, no longer convinced that the Internet is the best way to meet Mr. or Ms. Right. Even Match.com seems to recognize that online dating is waning in popularity and is trying to entice singles back with its new slogan, "It's O.K. to look."

The characters in stirring are wary of the online dating stigma, but they can't help logging on to look for love anyway. On the surface, their taste in music (Mogwai, Devendra Banhart), the clothes they wear (vintage Converse high-top sneakers and thrift store jackets, ballerina flats, and leggings), and their place of residence (Brooklyn's Williamsburg) advertise that they are too cool for personal ads. Nevertheless, these lonely hipsters are registered on Match, Jdate, and Nerve.com, risking potential humiliation for a chance to meet that special someone.

Shalimar Productions's performance of stirring memorably captures the search for connection through modes of technology that keep people separated from one another. The play originally enjoyed sold-out runs at the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival and the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and is now being restaged at the InterArt Annex for a limited time.

The seven lovelorn Brooklynites are James and Sasha, whose long-distance relationship thrived on titillating e-mails but soured once they moved in together; Sasha's ex-boyfriend Ryan, who generates sparks with Daniel based on their mutual love for the same books and bands; Daniel's friend Joy, who lovingly derides her neighborhood on her widely read blog; and romantic Laura and darkly charming Trip, who quickly fall in love without having ever met.


Kim Gainer and Matt Bridges
Photo Credit: Serge Cashman

The script, by Charles Forbes and Shoshona Currier (also Shalimar Productions's artistic director), adeptly captures the online dating world, specifically the carefully cultivated personas men and woman create to woo each other in cyberspace. The play is based on and heavily influenced by Currier's research on actual online personal ads, which is why the characters' ads are so hilarious in the way they mirror real-life dating profiles.

All of the hipsters are well versed in the rules of writing profiles, such as "start with a hook" and "supply a narrative." The play is most exuberant in its recounting of these rules and the difficulty of cramming one's sprawling personality into neat categorizations like "favorite sex scene" or "five items you can't live without."

The affable and talented cast members play well off of one another, whether harmonizing slightly off-key to a Smiths song, chanting their personal ads in overlapping dialogue, or lustfully circling and even chasing each other around the stage in an entertaining visual demonstration of the online mating dance, where they woo one another by e-mail and instant messenging.

All give wonderfully real performances, but Jen Taher's sardonic yet vulnerable Joy is a standout, especially when skewering the wannabe artistic pretensions of Jersey City denizens or talking about meeting a cute guy in a bar and desperately trying to reconnect with him via his MySpace page. Rachel Plotkin infuses Laura with a lovable goofiness, and the character's dreamy notions of romance are both funny and surprising.


	Joey Williamson and JenTaher
	Photo Credit: Serge Cashman

Kim Gainer's Sasha shows great dramatic range as she struggles with her excitement and guilt over meeting someone new on the Web as her boyfriend withdraws into his own world. And while Matt Bridges is appealing as James, his recounting of the Pygmalion myth and musings on binary codes feel odd and out of place. You feel too acutely that the playwrights are using him as a mouthpiece to express their ideas about love and disconnection, causing James to seem less three-dimensional than the others.

The stage in which the characters interact off- and online is intentionally sparse, with props and sound used inventively to signify setting in terms of physical space and cyberspace. Desk chairs indicate that characters are communicating via laptop, while bar stools under Christmas lights show they are interacting face to face.

The characters giddily fall for each other online but fear meeting in the real world, worried that the illusion will be broken (as it often is). Some of them meet and some do not. Yet the play is not about what happens when two people finally see each other; instead it celebrates the basic human need to connect, to be cherished, to be understood. And no matter what future advances in communications technology occur, in the end we will always seek a beating heart over a blinking cursor.

Following three of the performances, there will be speed dating sessions for single theatergoers and cast members (two are for straight singles, the other for gay singles). So after watching the play's characters reflect on finding love in New York City, audience members will have the chance to do the same—but in person.

MONDAY NEWS

2007-03-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

Yeah, it's a little late at night for news, but I'm going to do my best.

Joey and Isis and I spent the day auditioning girls for the Edinburgh production of LA FEMME EST MORTE or Why I Should Not F!%# My Son. It was a hardcore day. I think we saw about 60 girls (which is a pretty high number for us). They dance, they sang, we watched.

The only other news is that we maybe are going to get a bigger space in Edinburgh. MAYBE. More shall be revealed.

love was in the air...

2007-03-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'll say it. Speed Dating was AMAZING. We had Brooklyn Brewery beer, Lindsey and Bob from The Burg hosted, and there were even a few love matches!

Hurry and get your ticket for next weekend's speed dating. Friday March 23rd if you're gay, Saturday March 24th if you're straight!

stirring opens TONIGHT!

2007-03-16T01:32:00.000-07:00

Come see what all the buzz is about...

all photos by Serge Cashman

MONDAY NEWS

2007-03-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

Speed Dating Hosts Announced for The Shalimar's HIPSTER SPEED DATING

March 17 - Hetero Speed Dating Hosts from cult-hit internet TV show

Join cast members for a beer and find your true love.
BUY TICKETS!

March 23 - Gay Speed Dating Hosts...New York's baddest ukulele band...

THE HAZZARDS

If you're lucky, maybe they'll sing their hit song "Gay Boyfriend"...while you find the man of your dreams!

BUY TICKETS!

March 24 - Hetero Speed Dating Hosts TBA...wait for it...wait for it...
BUY TICKETS!

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!

2007-03-07T22:22:00.000-08:00

click the image to enlarge...

MONDAY NEWS

2007-03-05T21:28:00.000-08:00

Cast members from The Burg will be hosting HIPSTER SPEED DATING on Saturday March 17th. Yes, that's St. Patrick's Day. The Burg is brilliantly funny and we're so excited to have them. So buy your tickets for HIPSTER SPEED DATING on March 17. Enjoy stirring, have some Brooklyn Brewery beers and find your soulmate! All in one night...

Our good friend was called "the discovery of the season" by The Times. It's pretty humbling and overwhelming to watch someone dear, someone you've known for years, enjoy such success.

And the big news...WE'RE HOLDING AUDITIONS FOR LA FEMME!

Shalimar Productions is holding replacement casting for LA FEMME EST MORTE, a modern Phaedra adaptation with music and dance, set in celebrity obsessed America. Rehearsals: May-June (NYC), Performances: July (NYC), August (Edinburgh Scotland), September (TBA).

SEEKING: Chorus- 3 female singer/dancers. Must sing in 3 part harmony. Musical instruments a plus.

Please submit headshot/resumes to staffing@shalimarproductions.org, subject: La Femme; OR to Shalimar Productions, 15 Broadway Terrace, Suite 2D, New York, NY 10040. Auditions March 19, callbacks March 22nd. Equity Showcase Code. EQUITY/NON-EQUITY

fall in love with THE SHALIMAR

2007-02-27T22:29:00.000-08:00

Peanut butter and jelly. Posh and Becks. Our sexy show & speed dating...find your perfect match!

Hipster Speed Dating

March 17, 23, 24

This spring The Shalimar helps you find love on stage and off! Leave your laptops behind, and meet some hot singles in the wild. Watch our hit show stirring, have a few Brooklyn Brewery Beers (on us!) and then get to know the rest of the audience with our specially designed speed dating party. The next day you might NOT be going to brunch alone…

Click on date to buy tickets:

March 17th
March 23rd Gay Speed Dating (cause this ain't the middle ages)
March 24th

FOR $20 you get a show, 2 drinks, and a chance to meet YOUR SOULMATE!

Speed dating commences following stirring performances

The Interart Annex
500 West 52nd St. (@ 10 th Ave.), 2nd floor

www.shalimarproductions.org

MONDAY NEWS

2007-02-26T23:47:00.000-08:00

Here's a little something we're trying out. Please let us know what you think. But only if you like it. It'll go up and down throughout the day, as Joey and I systematically destroy it with our rudimentary Dreamweaver knowledge. So GO THERE NOW and enjoy it while it lasts.

cold hands, cold feet...

2007-02-25T08:54:00.000-08:00

Last Monday was cold. Wind whipping, lips chapping, fingertips freezing, the whole deal. I took a trip downtown to pick up some keys. Then I took a trip to midtown to pick up Pat and husband. Got more keys. Then Pat and husband and I walked three avenues and ten streets in the blistering cold to the truck. The Cupcake Cafe truck, painted blue with a sloppy mural of animals all over it, is a little bigger than a UPS truck. It has no shocks. The doors don't really work. It leaks anti-freeze. I got into the driver's seat. My feet barely reach the pedals.

We spent the day moving stuff into our new chashama space, to make it more liveable. We rehearsed there once two weeks ago and it was so cold (due to space heaters being off all day and the near-zero weather outside) we decided we couldn't go back until we had curtains to close the room off and a chair or two to sit on.

So on Monday Pat and husband and I went to the chashama warehouse on 57th and 12th where we used to rehearse and loaded chairs, tables, and scrap wood into the truck. I had a major nostalgic experience in there. It's where we rehearsed Bad Girls Good Writers and the Photo Plays and did a few LA FEMME readings. We shared the space with Banana, Bag, and Bodice, one of our favorite companies. They had built their box set for The Sewers on one end of the space while we shifted around beds given to us by The Debate Society at the other end of the space. It was summer and things are always easier in the summer. We weren't saddled with the need to raise $40K to get to Edinburgh. We were going to have an easy time of it. We were creative and happy. It was hot out. I would sit in the entrance of the space, a driveway, and watch cars on the West Side Highway.

On Monday our fingers were freezing. We were sniffling. It was fucking cold. After the 57th Street stop we made our way into Harlem to pick up an air conditioner a guy from the Directors Lab list was giving away. I wanted to give it to Interart, but Josh was uptown, so we brought it to chashama instead. We unloaded everything there, at our space on 126th and Amsterdam, drove back to midtown, ate chicken fingers, went home, limbs frozen. I had a sore throat.

On Tuesday at 9am, I met the indefatigable Chris Illing inside the 145th St subway. We traveled to Long Island City together and found ourselves in Materials for the Arts. We loaded up on pieces of rug, big gray blanket-y pieces of material, and some windows that I couldn't let get away. Cabbed up to 126th and Amsterdam, dropped off these pieces, ate food, I was home drinking chamomile tea and praying for health by 2 in the afternoon.

At rehearsal that night Jen walked in sick as a dog. I kept my illness to myself, not wanting to call the rehearsal. Matt and Rachel hung the curtains, closing in the room, raising the temperature ten degrees. I popped tylenol when no one was looking. Jen sounded like a drag queen. The next night she asked to leave early and I made my displeasure clear. Matt is away for the next ten days out of a very necessary necessity and we didn't have the option of letting people go. Even if they were sick. Even if they could barely speak. Even if they were making the rest of us sick by being there.

I have never been more aware of our economic instability as a company than I am now. I feel our weakness as a structure, I feel us affected by the elements. Our space is too cold to rehearse in! But we can't go anywhere with heat because we can't afford more than this. I never understood the truth of suffering for your art (a bullshit phrase, but I can feel it a little now) until I stopped working for a paycheck in an effort to better serve the company I am building. We are getting ready to take a huge show overseas for a month. It is a great show and it will get great response. It's a show that could have a life for a long time. It's a show that audiences told us over and over that they fucking loved. We have $184 in the bank account right now. It's winter and we're looking for ways to stay warm in our rehearsal space. Will we use that scrap wood to make rehearsal furniture or will we just burn it for warmth?

MONDAY NEWS

2007-02-18T22:21:00.000-08:00

Hot off the presses...

We have a new assistant producer coming on. His name is Matthew and we're really excited. It's always amazing to get more people involved. Last year we had Megan and she set a great precedent...we're so busy right now, with 3 productions in the next six months (dear lord), it's great to get new people in the room. People who aren't exhausted. Other new people we love are Brandon Bales (who was in the workshop of Aliens and is playing Ryan in the upcoming stirring production), Rachel Plotkin (playing Laura in stirring), and Shani Colleen Murfin who stage managed Aliens. NEW PEOPLE RULE.

The intern search rages on.

Hilly Hicks Jr. has signed on to write a play for The Minstrel Show. Now the writers involved are Tommy Smith, Michael John Garces, Sharyn Rothstein, Josh Liveright, and Hilly. We are almost ready to go!

Rebecca Brooksher, occasional Shalimar actress (Humidity of Fish reading, 2006) and writer (Preface, 2001), and longtime friend and supporter started previews for her Lincoln Center show this week. Joey and I went to the invited dress. I know better now than to write anything about a show before it officially opens, but I will say that we all support Boo and send her our love.

And Jesse Hooker (Hippolytus in LA FEMME) goes into previews for his off-Broadway show next week. I can't wait to see it. For...ahem...big reasons.

And in other celebrity news, Britney brings sexy back. It's like a car crash. Can't. Look. Away.

aging artfully...

2007-02-15T08:11:00.001-08:00

My first intern just got his first intern. Does this mean I'm getting old?

A Tribute

2007-02-13T22:11:00.000-08:00

Today Joey turned 23. I would like to celebrate this special day, this marker of his journey into manhood, with a pictoral walk down memory lane. Unfortunately these pictures only date back about two years. Joey and I weren't friends when we first met. I had more refined taste...

Birthday facts about Joey:

He is 23 years old.
He drinks his calories.
He loves Canadian Idol.

He is 23 years old.
He will verbally abuse you into staying out late.

He is a better actor than dancer (and he is a pretty fine dancer).
He can learn to play an instrument in two weeks.
He is 23 years old.

He is selfless in a sneaky way.
He has an incredibly creative mind, a true artist, in the black turtleneck, bad poetry way.

He is 23 years old.

He is unforgiving. For five minutes.

He is 23 years old.

He adds color and snark and camp and challenge and trust to my life.

He is 23 years old.

Happy Birthday Joey.

Seeking 2 Productions Interns

2007-02-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

NYC based theater company Shalimar Productions seeks 2 Productions Interns for 2007 season to work closely with Artistic Director Shoshona Currier. Please send resume and letter of interest to shoni@shalimarproductions.org.

Seeking an individual who has an interest in theater administration, producing, or directing. This is a truly hands-on internship designed to give young theater artists the opportunity to learn about the day-to-day work of a small theater company. Past Shalimar interns have gone on to act, direct, and tour internationally with the company.

Internship Requirements:
March 2007-July 2007

10 hours/wk of administrative work in Upper Manhattan office.
Duties Include: development research (grants, festivals, sponsorship,
etc...), organizational work (filing, copying, etc...), assisting in
seasonal mailings, helping to schedule readings, rehearsals,
performances, and workshops.

Minimum attendance of 3 rehearsals/wk.
Duties include: Assisting the director and stage manager in rehearsal, attending production meetings,assisting the dramaturge with research, taking rehearsal notes,
occasionally running rehearsals and/or warm-ups, actively
participating in the creation of the plays.

Participation in Shalimar Fundraisers
Duties include: Attending planning meetings, working on various fundraising committees, working at the events.

THE SHALIMAR SEASON

stirring
March 15-25
at The Interart Annex
Back by popular demand, stirring takes us inside the lives of seven lonely hipsters as they navigate their desperate fantasies and grim realities all from the safety of their laptops.
"Riveting...provocative, hip, and beautifully put together." - Three Weeks
"Highly stylish...perceptive about a generation." - The Guardian

The Minstrel Show
June dates TBA
at The Interart Annex
A controversial new take on our ever popular annual ten-minute play festival. It's "us vs. them" as writers confront stereotypes with ruthless candor and wit. Our modern interpretation of this old but not entirely forgotten form.
With new plays by Michael John Garces, Tommy Smith, Sharyn Rothstein, and Sibyl Kempson.

LA FEMME EST MORTE or Why I Should Not F!%# My Son
July dates TBA in New York
August dates TBA at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival
Take a ringside seat at this Phaedra adaptation. Sexual tension runs high, there's a boxing match to the death, the paparazzi are swarming, nobody is telling the truth. Using found text, live music, frenetic dance, and many wigs, experimental theater company Shalimar Productions entrenches themselves in America's celebrity obsession in the midst of a war. Flash photography is encouraged.

ALIENS
by Saviana Stanescu
Fall 2007/Winter 2008 dates TBA
ALIENS is a play about cross-cultural love and greencard-marriage that explores the immigrant experience in New York. Does a marriage with an American citizen solve every problem? Is a greencard a strong enough reason for a marriage? Based on true stories of immigration explored collaboratively by Shalimar Productions and fictionalized by a playwright who is trying to understand her own story, ALIENS is a story about the American dream and its everyday nightmare.

MONDAY NEWS

2007-02-12T13:23:00.000-08:00

Here is some fun stuff that's new and exciting.

We received a grant from Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for Aliens, this new play about immigration that we are creating with Saviana Stanescu.

We are signing on to work with SCAMP at this year's Edinburgh International Fringe Festival. These ladies are definitely rockstars. They always represent amazing shows and we are so excited to be working with them.

Joey and Gary and I went to Victor Villar-Hauser's bar last night and I got pretty drunk. Off a beer and a half. And we hung out with Victor for a while. He's friendly and has an accent and that's pretty much all it takes for me...thanks for the drinks Victor!

We have decided to take on two production interns. I will post the ad in a few days and please forward it around!

And the biggest news of all. A few days late, I know, but please let's all bow our heads and say a little prayer for an amazing icon of camp. Good-bye Anna Nicole.

The Journey

2007-02-08T08:04:00.000-08:00

After the showing on Tuesday night we got a little drunk. We had beer for the audience, but since the whole audience was students, we drank the beer. Husband had had a whisky event that night and brought us a bottle, but we had no cups so we swigged it from the bottle like the fucking hobos that we are.

Then at 11pm we decided to journey towards Rudys. Me, Husband, Joey, Gary, Matt, Chris, Brandon, Shani, Kim, Jen, and Ben. Here's what happened.

We waited at the 33rd St 7 Station in Queens (ever heard of it? I thought not...). It was less than ten degrees.

The train came. At the next stop, Queensboro Plaza, we lost Shani. She lives in Astoria.

Two stops later, at 45th St, we lost Jen and Ben. They took the G to Williamsburg. Because they are hipster scum.

Then, between stations, the 7 Train stopped for about 20 minutes. At first we didn't notice. We were drunk and Brandon was showing off his amphibian prowess by hanging off subway poles. Then we got a little worried that we would be trapped on this subway car forever, just us and all the people who were pissed off that they had to share a car with noisy drunk pole-flipping assholes.

The train finally made it into Grand Central. Chris jumped off saying he had to pee and he would meet us at Rudys. People piled on the train. We sat politely. Finally someone turned to us and said, "this train is going back to Flushing."

We ran out of the train, cursing, and made our way to the shuttle platform. The shuttle. Dumbest train ever. When we got there, we found the Atlantic City shuttle, stopped quietly in the station. We pounded on the doors, hoping to be let in, but instead a regular train came and we got on that. During the hubub, we lost Matt. But just as the doors of the shuttle were closing, Chris reappeared.

At Times Square we took the long walk underground to 8th Ave. Brandon began ripping down posters (the guy is wierd. he really is). When some MTA employees tried to apprehend him, a drunken Kim told them that he had tourettes (which he actually may) and couldn't help it. The MTA employees became concerned. Brandon started hitting himself and we all walked away.

In the big 8th Ave hallway, under Port Authority, Brandon began whimpering about going home. It was close to midnight at this point. I managed to get him in a headlock and run him down to the 44th Street exit of the station. When we got there he pried himself free, gave me a hug, and ran to the A Train like his froggy life depended on it.

Then Husband came up behind me and said we had lost Chris to the A Train too. He had yelled BYE and ran away.

And so arriving at Rudys were myself, Husband, Joey, Gary, and Kim. Pathetic. The second we stepped into Rudys Husband began feeling nauseous. Maybe it was the smell of hotdogs, or sour beer, or despair (or the fact that he hasn't felt totally well since returning from Denver) but he had to leave. So I took him home.

When I left, Kim, Gary, and Joey were ordering a pitcher and settling into a booth. I am sure they closed the place down with Prince songs, pitchers of Pabst, and the pride of being the last three standing.

Alien Invasion

2007-02-07T07:01:00.000-08:00

The showing last night went really well...to our surprise. (We were a little nervous about the work...) Three ESL teachers brought their classes so we ended up with an audience of 75 international students. They were a very live audience, amped up, really interested in the subject matter, for obvious reasons.

In the talk back a Colombian girl spoke up about what a different life you live in America, that in your home country you may live in a big apartment with a great career and here you will have a tiny apartment and a menial job.

A Sudanese man thought it was important to work on a plot about credit cards for immigrants, how they don't understand the rules of credit when they first arrive. Then between student loans and buying overpriced junk and not really understanding it all, they end up in unmanageable debt.

One Albanian woman insisted that we should not present immigrants as depressed and having no options. She was worried that we were painting these characters in a hopeless light.She wanted to make sure the four characters would have more joy and optimism in the second half of the play

Overwhelmingly though the audience really enjoyed it. They paid attention and they laughed and someone in the front row took a picture with his phone of Kim in her stripper outfit. I'm sure she's already all over the internet and YOU CAN'T BUY THAT PUBLICITY.

I took these pictures, so they are shit, but they'll give an idea of what we're making. Photos of the epic journey to Rudys to follow soon. Stay tuned...

And it's a good thing those classes were there. Otherwise we would had an audience of seven. So I must shout out to Allison, Gwen, Marcy, May, Ben, Gary, and Serge for making the trip in the freezing weather. Gold star. All the rest of you...shame.

too thirty on toos day

2007-02-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

Husband and I are too broke to leave the house so we are spending the day on our asses on the futon. He's reading OK! I'm reading Gawker. We're eating butterscotch pie. It's a pretty high-brow day.

I'm heading to Queens soon for the showing of ALIENS the big front-burner project this month. If you can brave the cold and the questionable 7 Train please join us. All the gliterrati will be there. And there will be Brooklyn Brewery beer. Per always.

And if you're too lazy to travel for theater, don't worry, we won't judge you. I'll post some pictures tomorrow that you can peruse from the comfort of your couch. Expect brilliance. Or at least the efforts of theater artists who got up the energy to leave the house.

I had a great Edinburgh meeting yesterday. Things are looking up for that leg of the tour. And we have a bunch of grant applications swimming around as well as some residency possibilities. 2007 will be big big big baby!

Oh and I think we're going to this party tonight at Jesse Hooker's after the show. I'm sure everyone is welcome...

work-in-progress

2007-01-31T10:56:00.000-08:00

Shalimar Productions is totally psyched to present a work-in-progress showing of

ALIENS

a new play by Saviana Stanescu
directed by Shoshona Currier

Tuesday, February 6
8pm
at THE LITTLE THEATER
at Laguardia Performing Arts Center

LaGuardia Community College/CUNY

31-10 Thomson Ave. Long Island City
(7 Train to 33rd St or E, V, R to Queens Plaza or check here for more directions)

ABSOLUTELY FREE! NO RESERVATIONS REQUIRED!

Please join us for a few scenes of this new work and a discussion after.

featuring: Brandon Bales, Matt Bridges, Kim Gainer*, Christopher Illing*, Jen Taher*, Joey Williamson*
stage manager: Shani Murfin

ALIENS is a play about cross-cultural love and greencard-marriage that explores the subtle and complex sides of the immigrant experience, challenging and using the stereotypes about love and marriage in New York. Does a marriage with an American citizen solve every problem? Is a greencard a strong enough reason for a marriage? ALIENS is a story about the American dream and its everyday nightmare.

ALIENS is based on true stories of immigration explored collaboratively by Shalimar Productions and fictionalized by a playwright who is trying to understand her own story.

Made possible by a LaGuardia Performing Arts Center Space Residency

same bullshit, different day

2007-01-31T07:02:00.000-08:00

It's been a long week of making theater for no money. I spent hours yesterday working on a proposal that I had to run to a theater that may or may not even accept the damn thing because it's late. We checked with them and they said they would take it late but then I didn't have time to work on it because I was in rehearsal, doing rewrites, buried in production stuff, dealing with every other element of running a fucking theater company, so I didn't have time to work on the proposal to get the free space at the prestigious theater, which we desparately fucking need, so the proposal has ended up REALLY late. But I busted my ass yesterday for 6 hours, writing writing writing, plus the subway ride and the dashing through streets of New York and then dashing back to the subway to get to another theater to do a walk through. I cancelled a meeting with a press rep and I didn't go running. It was exhausting. And it pissed me off.

Because we can't make theater without the hand outs. Without the grants and the residencies and the begging and the free labor from good friends and the artists who work way below their standards for us. I'm starting to feel like a street urchin. Or a slum lord. And in taking all that time to fill out applications, write narrative, compile bios, print copies of reviews, get more DVDs burned, when is there the time to make the work that we are asking for support for? I'm too busy compiling company data and writing cover letters that are basically fucking begging for support than to work on my craft (sorry to use the dumbass word) or just make my fucking plays better. Please think I'm good enough. Oh please like my work enough. All I can do is hope that my application stands out in a teeteringly tall pile of applications by other collaborative ensemble experimental edgy (insert dumbass downtown theater adjective of choice here) theater companies.

It's demeaning. I just want to make the plays.

After writing all day and rushing and running and kissing some ass and agreeing to things I didn't want to agree to because people are doing me favors and letting Camilo buy me dinner because I am BROKE and feeling guilty about it because he does all our graphic design work for practically free, I was almost ready to throw in the towel. There are days where it seems too hard. Like I'll never make a living at this on my terms. Like I'll have to go to grad school to get contacts or I'll have to become a director for hire and stop making my own work. But my friends who have done those things aren't making livings at it either. They struggle too. We're all just trying to make the work, make a living. Maybe be happy here and there. Or at least be ok with things. Maybe I should just work full time at Cupcake Cafe again. I KNOW I'm good at making coffee.

I did have one transcendent experience yesterday, when I watched The Real Housewives of Orange County for the first time ever. I think I maybe saw God.

Oh and it snowed. It was amazing. So perhaps things aren't so bad.

The Making of the Play

2007-01-28T03:43:00.000-08:00

We're in "the room" right now, as it were, working on this new play about immigration and cross-cultural relationships. I mean, we're in a few rooms at the moment, since we're remounting stirring AND Joey and I are starting to rework LA FEMME EST MORTE or Why I Should Not F!%@ My Son. But most pressing for the next week is the immigration play, being written by the remarkable Saviana Stanescu...so we are generating lots of work in typical hippie collaborative style, trying desparately to avoid viewpoints, to add tools to the toolbox, to take a step away from the masses. Isaac talked me through some Joint Stock excercises a few weeks ago and we've been using some of those for development, as well as some other random planes, trains, and automobiles.

We conducted interviews a few days ago, with friends, loved ones, and partners...all people who are currently or have been involved in an international relationship (real or...phony). Here are some of my favorite things that have been blurted out...

"It's hard for me to have a relationship. I'm always gone."

"It's just married life. It's not that different."

"Around Thanksgiving we called up Mom. Drove to Vegas."

"What I actually did was help a felon get his citizenship."

"Correspondence was fierce."

"I can't work here. My life has come to a screeching halt."

"I don't regret that. I belive in marriage."

"I don't care about marriage."

"If it doesn't work out we'll get divorced. No big deal."

"We are something that exists on land, not just on the water."

"Christmas was hard. I miss you guys."

"She works at Starbucks. She's got a masters. We're waiting to get her papers."

"I know why tigers eat their young."

"I'm in New York because of you."

"Am I going to father a child for the price of a greencard? Is that the cost of being with you?"

"You're saying it's worth it, but you're not the one doing it."

Dude, I Saw Her First

2007-01-26T10:48:00.000-08:00

Check out the Times Review below. Sound familiar? I do believe The Shalimar did this play this summer. We called it LA FEMME EST MORTE or Why I Should Not F!%# My Son....need proof? Compare our photos (the next four) with their photo...leopard print dress anyone? Anyone?

GREEK TRAGEDY WEARS A NEW, BRASH MASK

By Jonathan Kalb

Published: January 24, 2007

Sophocles’ “Women of Trachis” is packed with sex, gore, desperation and verbal beauty. If it isn’t staged very often, one reason is that the plot hinges on a twist that is hard to swallow today. Why would Deianira, Heracles’ adoring and sensible wife, believe that such a glaringly suspicious character — a centaur that Heracles shot for trying to rape her — would then want to help the couple stay together by giving Deianira a magical love potion?

Hilary McHone

Debargo Sanyal and Heidi Schreck, front, and behind, from left, Jodi Lin, Birgit Huppuch and Rebecca Lingafelter, in “Women of Trachis.”

Readers’ Opinions

Forum: Theater

In Kate E. Ryan’s delightful and perceptive contemporary adaptation, directed by Alice Reagan and produced by Target Margin Theater as part of its Hellenic Laboratory series, obliviousness becomes the play’s central theme, elevated to a kind of hubris. Deianira, played with fabulously distracted lucidity by Heidi Schreck, is a desperate housewife-cum-celebrity-spouse in a sleek, leopard-print dress, who literally itches with longing for her roving-eyed, absentee husband.

The chorus consists of three dreamy, immature young women (Birgit Huppuch, Jodi Lin and Rebecca Lingafelter) in pink dresses and flower bracelets, who drink Diet Coke out of a plastic cooler and react to the increasingly serious situation with twittering, trivialities and bromides. It’s never quite clear why such a smart, worldly queen would surround herself with such airheads, but that problem fades away in the end because the point apparently is that obtuseness, whatever its source, is fatal, particularly to women.

Ms. Ryan is far from the first playwright to update a Greek play with pop songs, casual modern speech and references to things like Xanax and computer games. There’s a special psychological alertness and pungency to this mélange, though, that Ms. Reagan shrewdly strengthens in her superbly cast and infectiously energetic one-hour production.

The two roles deliciously played by Debargo Sanyal — the royal son Hyllus, as a snooty teenager in a golf shirt and hiking boots, and the royal gofer Lichas, as a snide celebrity assistant in white glasses and shoes — are reason enough to see the show.

My one dramaturgical quibble is with the reductive portrayal, in the final scene, of Heracles (Todd d’Amour) dying when the supposed love potion turns out to be poison. Portraying him merely as a bad daddy and a serial adulterer with a secret taste for genital mutilation reads as a cheap shot beside all Ms. Ryan’s other whimsically acute decisions. Luckily, the swipe is fleeting, and never completely drains the ending of its hard-earned gravity.

“Women of Trachis” continues through Feb. 3 at the Ohio Theater, 66 Wooster Street, SoHo; (212) 352-3101.

Bad Bad Girls...

2007-01-23T07:30:00.000-08:00

And in a further excercise to empty out iPhoto, here are pictures from Bad Girls Good Writers by Sibyl Kempson, which played at the $ellout Festival at the Brick this past June.

Sarah Murphy playing the narrator

Sam Desz, Gabriel Grilli, and Jennifer Gordon Thomas

Sam and Jennifer

with Sarah Elliott

Rolls Andre and Matt Bridges rock out while Gabriel, Jennifer, Sam, and Sarah Murphy eat pretzels.

Gabriel, Sam, and Jennifer.

The whole cast sings Van Halen

time is of the essence...

2007-01-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

We received a space grant from the Laguardia Performing Arts Center for the play we are workshopping with Saviana Stanescu. Basically they give us 40 hours or so of space in their theater and we show whatever we have piddled out in that time.

Oh the space residency. A blessing and a curse really. A blessing because it makes you make work. A curse because it makes you make work. On a time-line.

Because what is the ideal? The ideal is that we have our own space. Something we can rehearse in and perform in and have an office in. Something a bit convertible. Edgy but with comfortable seating. Working toilet. Heat in the winter. Sprung floors would be nice, but we have fared well on concrete before...And with the space we have money. Not a lot of money but enough to get us all in the room at the same time without too much fight. Just something to make acting more worthwhile than catering, which of course it is, but there is the necessary evil of paying rent. So...

So in this fantasy we have all the time and space in the world. So we can create plays on our time, at our leisure, when inspiration strikes, we are there. We had a whisper of that this summer thanks to the Women's Interart Annex. We had 24 hour access to that space for a month at a VERY low price. During the day I would pop in to write. The actors would come a few hours before rehearsal to warm up. We could leave our growing collection of musical instruments there. And at 11pm when rehearsal was over but Joey and I were just getting inspired, we would blast the sound system and stay until 3am, creating the musical numbers for the show. It was freeing to be able to work at our own pace.

This space grant is great because it lights a fire under our asses. We have 3 other shows coming up in the next 8 months, a remount, a ten-minute play extravaganza, and a re-workshopped re-created re-mount that will go overseas. Starting a new play from scratch was getting continually pushed to the back burner. But then we got this grant. And we had three weeks to organize ourselves, do our research, make a schedule, and get our asses out to Queens so we could make some fucking theater.

But it's still hard. The space is great, but there is no money involved and we are still renting some space in Manhattan to rehearse so we are putting money out there. The space is great but it is in Queens, so rehearsing on weeknights is all but futile with everyone commuting from their temp jobs. Basically your will to live DISAPPEARS somewhere on the 7 Train. The space is great, but we have to provide our own audience, which is challenging already. Work in a scenic ride on the 7 and you've got yourself a problem.

But again, the space is GREAT. It's a 220 seat black box/proscenium. It is incredible to be able to rehearse on a stage. Somehow that always makes everything better. Everything looks like a show when it is on a stage. And the fact that we have it for free is so...luxurious. When we are there it is amazing to get caught up in making work. To be able to break for lunch and not worry about losing money on a $20/hr rehearsal room. It is heart-breaking that these are the factors that go into making theater, but this is the reality for a small theater company with no trust funds. We keep ourselves ready and available for when someone calls and says, "Want something for free?" And when they make that call, we make theater.

A Thousand Words

2007-01-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

I've finally sorted through the photos from this summer's show A Thousand Words: Short Plays on Photography. Here are my favorites.

From For Art by Nastaran Ahmadi:

From Please Send Pic by Sharyn Rothstein
From Pathetique by Alex Dinelaris
From Over Exposed by Michael Garces
From Rednecks With Fish by Charles Forbes
From Les Carabiniers by Kirk Lynn

all photos by Israeli Reichman

An American girl, an Australian girl, and a Polish woman walk into a sauna...

2007-01-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

Setting: The locker room at Crunch.
Time: Last night. 7pm.

When the following symbol is used ---- it signifies silence on the part of the speaker, combined with a look that means I have no idea what you are talking about, you American fool.
____________________________________________________________________

After a particularly rough hip-hop class on a particularly cold day, Shoni decides to step into the sauna at Crunch. She towels up and walks into the brightly lit wooden box. Just as she relaxes on the top bench, for maximum heat, a girl walks in.

Girl: There's something wrong with this. The heat is actually going down, not up.
Shoni: Fuck.

Shoni and Girl step out of the sauna and fiddle with the buttons until the temperature begins to rise. They step back into the sauna and lay down on adjescent benches. Shoni closes her eyes. Girl begins to breath deeply. Silence. Silence. Then.

Girl: Have you ever used the pool here? The Crunch pool?
Shoni: Yeah. It's small.

Silence. Silence. Then.

Girl: (In an unmistakeably Australian accent) Are the spinning classes here any good?
Shoni: They're ok.

Shoni thinks to herself, SERIOUSLY? Will this stranger talk to me the entire time I'm in here? Then she remembers her New Years resolution, shich was to have more joy. And this girl might be fun and nice and interesting and good to know. Sometimes it's good to know Australians. So.

Me: What are you doing here in the states?
Australian Girl: I came to study. I'm an actress.
Me: Ah! Where did you study?

And thus begins a rather lengthy conversation on the arts in Australia versus America. The Cate Blanchett Hedda Gabler comes up. Australian dance comes up. Shoni mentions Japanese dance she plans to see this weekend. More harmless artistic chatter. Then.

Shoni: Why leave Australia?
Australian Girl: There's just no culture there. Because it's so far away. The stuff that comes there, it's like Madonna, and tickets are like $200. Just the things there are to do and see in America, in New York. It's really. But you have to be so ruthless, such a survivor.
Shoni: As an immigrant?
Australian Girl: No, as an American.

An American girl walks in. She is clearly horrified that the two naked girls in the sauna are chatting away. She sits on a low bench and stretches her feet out in front of her. She glances quickly at Shoni and the Australian girl looking vaguely nervous.

Shoni: What do you mean?
Australian Girl: Just not having insurance is so scary. You know to come from a country with a health system and then when I got here, I mean I have a green card now, but the first time I got sick, it was before I had insurance, and I went to the doctor and it was, like, $500. And I was like, you're kidding, that's my savings, and the doctor was like, yup, that's what it costs. And I realized I had to be careful, I had to be aware of my health. I mean it's ridiculous. How does a single mother or something like that, how do people afford it?
Shoni: They don't get sick.

A well-preserved Polish woman in her 50s enters. She is wearing just a thong. She stands right in front of the stones, fanning the hot air up into her face.

Australian Girl: And appearances here are more important. It's way dressier than Australia.
Shoni: No way! We're the slobbiest country in the world!
Australian Girl: Australia is like really casual.
Polish Woman: (with thick Polish accent). Maybe you think that but no. When I move here, I live in Brighton Beach now, this is Russian neighborhood. When I move here, very sloppy, yes. But now, thirteen years later, very dressy.
Australian Girl: It's all about shoes. And bags.
Polish Woman: And getting nails done and hair done.

The silent American girl wiggles her perfectly manicured toenails. Her make-up is perfect. She appears to not be sweating. The Polish woman sits on the corner of the box the stones are in.

Australian Girl: It's totally different here. Adjusting to the culture is hard. Living hand to mouth, like being a cocktail waitress when I was in school, it's different.
Shoni: I wish I had had my tape recorder. I am doing a play about immigration and we're interviewing immigrants. This would have been great to record.

An Asian woman walks in naked. She lays down on the lower bench, her head next to the American girl's ass. The American girl sits very still.

Australian Girl: What is your play about?
Shoni: Well, immigration and love. Like green card marriages.
Australian Girl: Oh! I'm one of those. I mean, not really, it was a REAL marriage, but you know.
Polish Woman: YOU are doing play about immigrants? You are American! What do you know about immigrants?

Every fiber of Shoni's being shudders with fear of being an utter fraud and making a huge mistake.

Shoni: Well my husband is an immigrant. He's Scottish.
Polish Woman: What do you know about it.
Shoni: Well we have a Romanian playwright writing the play.
Polish Woman: ---
Shoni: She's really good.
Polish Woman: It is like this guy Borat. He knows nothing about it. He make fun of these immigrants and makes money off of them and laughs at them and he knows nothing about it.

Oh fuck, Shoni thinks to herself, are you really bringing up Borat?

Polish Woman: Why does he not make this film in Britain? No he makes it in poor country and pays them five dollars a day, seven dollars a day.
Australian Girl: I know, he's awful, it's not funny.

The Asian Woman begins rubbing her temples, aggressively.

Polish Woman: I mean, I have not seen it, but what I read about it, he makes fun of these people, and pays them nothing. They think oh, I want to make movie, but it will be so expensive in England, so let's go to different country and pay nothing. And he makes fun of them.
Shoni: Well, I think he's really making fun of Americans. And there are elements of the comedy that's really subversive, more so than, say, Employee of the Month or something, which is really just an example of Americans being willing to settle for something completely sub-par and facile and laugh at it anyway.
Polish Woman: ----

Silence. Silence. Then.

Australian Girl: Wow. We've been in here 40 minutes. Are you hot?
Shoni: Yeah, I'm pretty hot.
Australian Girl: I'm going to get out.
Shoni: Can I get your email? I'd love to interview you for our play.
Australian Girl: Sure!

Shoni and Australian Girl leave the sauna, followed by Polish Woman. Shoni gets Australian Girl's email and leaves the gym, with the Polish Woman's words echoeing in her ears.

YOU ARE AMERICAN. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IMMIGRATION?

YOU'RE The One That I Want

2007-01-14T20:51:00.000-08:00

The show is brilliant. It's so good it's bad and then it transcends that and comes back around to being good again. And then it exceeds even that and becomes fabulous.

The new Grease reality show is overwhelming. Watching a casting process on TV is so humbling and exhilirating. Yes, I get that most of reality TV is staged and obviously manipulated by editors and producers, but I believe that Grease: You're The One That I Want is pure. These wide-eyed actresses who worked double shifts all week at the Applebees in Tulsa so they could buy a bus ticket to New York, ride their hopes and dreams all the way here just to stand on stage in front of some Broadway heavy weights and belt out Hopelessly Devoted to You while batting huge doe eyes, well honestly they break my heart. They speak to the 15 year old theater geek in me who knows every word to Les Mis and who was sure that one day she would play Kim in Miss Saigon (no matter that Kim is a Vietnamese refugee and I'm a Jew from New England, TRUE TALENT HAS NO LIMITS). If this reality TV show had been on in 1996, I would have been on my knees in front of the TV, wearing my Cats t-shirt, holding my Rent double cassette set, worshipping at the shrine of David Ian, literally pawing the TV hoping to crawl inside.

But what wows me the most, in the here and now, sitting in some shitty cafe with free wi-fi in Hells Kitchen, looking forward to rehearsal in Queens tonight where we will continue to cobble together a new play and try our damnedest to change the world (hold for irony. hold...), is the touchingly human quality of the casting committee on this reality show. They are trying their damnedest to make watchable TV. They are trying to be as ruthless as those talent-free American Idol judges with their cutting words and obnoxious jokes. But they just can't do it. Before the Idol phenomenon, Paula Abdul had never had to sit in front of some kid singing their heart out and tell them, "I'm sorry, you're just not right for this." She's never worked with that singer, trying to coax something new and ultimately useable out of them. She doesn't understand the heartache of that poor kid, the work that has gone into these 16 bars, and the thousands of dollars thrown away on conservatory training. So now, in one of those three seats of power, she has no problem giggling at the tone-deaf, mocking over-zealous warblers, and telling the occasional mentally challenged kid who squeaks out Pussy Cat Dolls, hoping to become a star, that they are fucking awful. She can do all that because she's never really had to do all that.

But Kathleen Marshall has. And it shows. Auditions are brutal for everyone. Sure, actors are putting themselves out there, hopeful that they are the one that we want, but the casting committee is hopeful too. All we want is for you to be wonderful. Please. Stop my search right here by being brilliant. Maybe the next person who walks in this door was born for this role. Maybe they're remarkable. And when they're not, we will do whatever we can do to make them better. Maybe they take direction well. Maybe they're a shape-shifter and can morph into what we want. Maybe they can change.

Of course they can't. They're it or they're not. Sometimes we're sure they're it, they prove they're not, but we were so sure, really so absolutely certain they were it, that we ignore all warnings and hire them anyway, forcing them to become the it that we so clearly see in our minds.

Then they get fired after a week of rehearsal.

But in my case all this means is they don't get to perform a two-week showcase in yet another shitshow of an off-off Broadway theater. It leaks. There's exposed wire. It still has the nubby stained rug on the floor from when it was an OFFICE. It gives you asbestos poisoning.

On You're The One That I Want, Kathleen (and David Ian and writer guy) have to get it right. There is no firing. America will choose the leads in their 10 million dollar revival. And they are scared shitless. So between fear of directing freaky newbies in their Broadway debut and being genuinely good human beings who understand the pain of auditions, they are kindly telling every auditioner, "Thanks." "Thank you." "Thanks but you're not quite right for this. Keep trying though!" It is humanity at its finest. It is a true generosity of spirit as these three theater artists maintain their integrity and let hopefuls from Tulsa down gently.

A warm and fuzzy feeling washes over me. A feeling that even when they sell-out and turn to a TV show to sell tickets to their perhaps purposeless Broadway revival of a show so many times revived that we need to just slap a do-not-recesutate sticker on it and move the fuck on, at the end of the day theater people will always be the most human. Maybe it's the low salary. Maybe it's the fear of rejection. Maybe it's the self conscious nature of getting up in front of real people and showing real feelings, but it's part of the reason I keep on keepin' on. The goodness of the people and the need to keep making the work, asbestos poisoning or not.

back to blogging

2006-11-30T14:18:00.001-08:00

Why do I feel it's necessary for us to document our backwards work? Really we just like to sing and dance and play with meat. But that's important stuff to share with the world.

So hurray for blogging. It's good to be back.