theatre projected

Barbicide Promo Commercial

2012-09-24T09:37:00.001-07:00

Barbicide Q&A | Doug Sharf

2012-09-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

Doug Sharf portrays Ant Knee in Barbicide.

Doug Sharf, who plays Ant Knee and Toby in Barbicide,

sat down with us for a brief Q&A:

What are your characters all about?

"One of my characters, Ant Knee, is plagued with the common problem of beginning a new life after the armed forces with pretty much nothing. The sailor boy just drifts along until he finds something worth living for: Jo. Once he meets her, she's what he's all about. He's not a people person and chasing a peaceful, domestic life with Jo becomes everything. My other character, Toby, is all about eating and figuring out what happened to his role model, Joey Fanta."

Without giving anything away, What is your favorite moment in Barbicide?

"When Toddesco competes in the Shave Off."

What is the biggest discovery you have made during this production?

"Never go full retard."

What has been one of your most memorable moments working on this piece?

"This dates back to when we started the reading series at the Moustache Tonsorial--the barber shop in the Village. The first reading packed the place. It was hot, there was alcohol and we had no idea how the play would be received. But it got a really strong response. As we read through the play that night, I remember beginning to trust the words more and more because of the connection they were forming with everyone."

What is your favorite drink?

"It was Tanq+Tonic but I'm starting to just drink whiskey on the rocks. And always Guinness."

What is your favorite food?

"Pizza. From the $1 slices to the places that won't even serve just slices."

What is your current obsession?

"Writing a good script."

If you could give up one of your vices, what would it be?

"Envy, definitely. It's ugly and indicative of inner turmoil."

What is one thing you waste too much money on?

"Food. I need to do more grocery shopping."

What is one activity you waste too much time doing?

"Fantasy Football research and watching football."

What in the world most thrills you?

"The world. Mostly travelling it. Seeing things that most other people don't get to see. Doing the more secretive stuff that the locals are into, not the tourist traps."

What is your personal motto?

"Well, my quote in my senior yearbook was from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, it was 'Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.' I think that still applies. It's either that or 'Never eat airport Chinese food before a flight to Puerto Rico.'"

Barbicide Q&A | Paulette Oliva

2012-09-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Paulette Oliva portrays Ms. Lionetti in Barbicide

Paulette Oliva, who plays Ms. Lionetti and the Beggar Woman in Barbicide,

sat down with us for a brief Q&A:

What is your character all about?

“Mrs. Lionetti, is teetering on the verge of being an "old maid" - or more appropriately in Italian -"zitella". From a very young age - she was either babysitting for her "slow" younger brother, or working alongside her parents at their restaurant. Never married, and plodding through her dull and hapless life, she survives by operating a pizza parlor - controlled primarily by the mob. She escapes from her troubles at the movies, or with soap operas. Her social life consists of driving distant aging relatives to the beauty salon. Alone in the world, and resigned to her lot in life - things begin to spice up a bit, when a mysterious stranger enters her pizza shop. Desparate for companionship, she concocts a storied version of past events to suit her situation. Things begin to unravel quickly....”

Without giving anything away, What is your favorite moment in Barbicide?

“The shave-off!”

What is the biggest discovery you have made during this production?

“With limited space, and functional props only - I am amazed how this play truly relies on the actors' ability to breathe life into every moment of this piece - to the point where an audience will not feel the least bit "under-served" in terms of production values - quite the opposite...the words seem richer, the moments are more profound, and the audience is more engaged. The magic of theatre - period.”

What has been one of your most memorable moments working on this piece?

“I have a feeling it is yet to come.... because every time I think a moment is memorable, it gets trumped by the NEXT memorable moment.... it's about the process for me, the journey....and the collection of many memorable moments.”

What is your favorite drink?

“Grey Goose Vodka...on the rocks, no fruit, olives, or other distractions.......”

What is your favorite food?

“Potato Chips (is that a food group?)”

What is your current obsession?

“Driving with the top down. Um, that would be my CAR top down.”

If you could give up one of your vices, what would it be?

“I don't smoke or gamble - and Vodka's not a vice, YET. Did I mention Potato Chips??”

What is one thing you waste too much money on?

“Coffee at Dunkin.”

What is one activity you waste too much time doing?

“I get lost in Tumblr and Pinterest.........”

What in the world most thrills you?

“Singing "Rose's Turn" to a sold out audience.”

What is your personal motto?

“Don't wait - do it now - life is too short.”

Barbicide Q&A | Angie Atkinson

2012-09-12T09:16:00.004-07:00

Angie Atkinson portrays Jo in Barbicide

Angie Atkinson, of Barbicide, sat down with The Theatre Project for a brief Q&A:

What’s your character all about?

"I love Jo. She's this sort of sad and tough girl who's disabled but doesn't really think about it, isolated but hopeful, sheltered but wise, and adorably boy crazy. And I love that her best friends are pigeons."

Without giving anything away, What is your favorite moment in Barbicide?

"It's hard to pick favorites, but I gotta say that I'm a huge fan of the opening scene. It sets the tone of the play so beautifully, and I love the imagery."

What is the biggest discovery you have made during this production?

"I used to act a lot more often, but I switched my focus to music about a year and a half ago. I'm loving the musician's life, but doing this piece has reminded me of how much I love acting and how much I miss doing it."

What has been one of your most memorable moments working on this piece?

"Christian giving Doug tips on how to be tender with women was pretty memorable."

What is your favorite drink?

"Ginger ale. It's true."

What is your favorite food?

"Oh, it's like asking me to pick my favorite child! I suppose I could probably eat tacos every day. But, like, the delicious & fresh kind in the soft corn tortillas with the cilantro and the onions and all that. Tacos al pastor are my favorite. Mmmmm."

What is your current obsession?

"I just got an Apple TV and have been streaming Magnum P.I. on NetFlix, and it is EVERYTHING. I also kind of hope that when I die I come back as one of Adam Levine's tattoos."

If you could give up one of your vices, what would it be?

"Eating my feelings. It happens."

What is one thing you waste too much money on?

"Definitely food. I'm a starving artist so I'm pretty frugal about most things, but I'm a sucker for delicious takeout."

What is one activity you waste too much time doing?

"Doubting myself, 'cause any time spent doing that is wasted."

What in the world most thrills you?

"Music. And meeting and connecting with other human beings, especially the ones of the cute boy variety."

What is your personal motto?

I often say to myself, 'One day at a time, sweet Jesus.' And then of course, there's 'Be a strong black woman,' which is the best advice I ever got.

Barbicide Q&A | Arthur Aulisi

2012-09-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

Arthur Aulisi portrays Toddesco in Barbicide

Arthur Aulisi, of Barbicide, sat down with The Theatre Project for a brief Q&A:

What are your characters all about?

"Each character I play is obsessed with something. Todesco is blinded by his need for revenge. The Judge is obsessed with power (and his step daughter). Porello is obsessed with fame and success. and The Gooch...well, I imagine The Gooch is obsessed with food."

Without giving anything away, What is your favorite moment in Barbicide?

"There are many moments throughout, each vastly different, that I love for different reasons. But I think the hat latze at the World's Fair will be a lot of fun."

What is the biggest discovery you have made during this production?

"Of the process, I've learned that doing a two person scene by yourself is tricky. Of the play, that we don't always know what will make us happy."

What has been one of your most memorable moments working on this piece?

"Developmental readings at the Moustache Tonsorial were a blast, with passersby stopping and watching from outside the window. But pleasantly surprising was how the play worked on two levels in particular. Given how well know the source material is, it was fun to hear the listeners react to a character or a plot point they recognized. Even better was to hear the listeners taken by surprise by the play, despite familiarity with the source material."

What is your favorite drink?

"My favorite drink? Coffee is up there. It used to be bourbon. My dear friend and local bartender (independent of each other) once made up a vodka drink for me while I was rehearsing Uncle Vanya. She named it "the Astrov" and, as far as fancy cocktails go, it was pretty damn good."

What is your favorite food?

"Favorite food? Me and Garfield. Lasagna."

What is your current obsession?

"Current obsession? Love it or List it on HGTV."

What is one thing you waste too much money on?

"I spend way too much money on dining out. It does offer me fundamental nutrition as well so it's not a complete waste of money. But there's not a whole lot to show for it. Except maybe a fat ass."

What is one activity you waste too much time doing?

"I watch way too much television. See the above answer to the current obsession question."

What in the world most thrills you?

"This is going to sound corny and cliche but it really does thrill me to make people laugh or to move them or to make them think. We should all do more of that throughout our daily lives. Theater just happens to be a tool that I employ toward that end. Second to all of that, scuba diving."

What is your personal motto?

"I don't think I have a personal motto, certainly not one single one. There's a lot of good ones that friends share on Facebook. Take the 10 most contradictory ones of those, blend, and that will be my motto."

Tales from the Barber Shop | Interview 1

2012-07-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

You may be familiar with some of our behind-the-scenes, rogue styled, interviews.
Well today, we launch a whole new series of interviews, this time, with the cast of
Barbicide!

Tales from the Barber Shop offers weekly cast interviews, following the development of Barbicide!
Shot in the barber chairs of Moustache Greenwich Tonsorial, join us each week for a brief sneak-peek into the developing world of Sean Pomposello's new play!

Today's interview features Arthur Aulisi, who plays Toddesco & The Judge.

What's the Big Deal: Site-Specific Theatre

2012-04-30T15:33:00.002-07:00

Click HERE to watch the Barbicide live-stream!

What's The Big Deal:

Site-Specific Theatre

4.30.12 3:00PM

Last week, I opened up a conversation on #2AMt asking, “What is it about site-specific theatre that people love so much?” I received a few responses:

“Good question. I prefer fantastic sets w/ my thtr.”

@MichaelSeel

“Site-specific is the antidote to the cookie-cutter black box.

A space that is very definitively one thing.”

@playwrightsteve

“In the #foreplayplay case, people seem to love the hyper-realness

of it, how they forget it’s a play.”

@MariahMacCarthy

On April 20^th we held a reading of Sean Pomposello’s newest play, Barbicide, at Moustache Tonsorial. Moustache is a small, vintage-inspired barbershop in Greenwich Village. You may remember that Barbicide is an adaptation of the Sweeney Todd/String of Pearls legend. The audience turnout and reaction to the reading was an extreme positive. This lead me to wonder how large a role the site-specific aspect of the reading played into the overall reception of the piece.

On various levels I agree with @MichaelSeel, @Playwrightsteve and @MariahMacCarthy. Typically with a production I do tend to lean towards a great scenic design. This mostly affects me during an actual staging as opposed to a reading, but I am a fan of a fantastic set. From what I have realized, it can be more affordable (especially in Manhattan) to use a site-specific venue as opposed to a theatre space. In which case, I agree with @Playwrightsteve that site-specific theatre is a solution to the more “generic” black-box productions that are staged. The hyper-reality of being location specific does intrigue an audience. For some reason, there is a level of truth that supports or validates the theatre piece.

As I watched the audience hang out in the barbershop awaiting the start of the reading, many asked “Why choose a barbershop?” To be honest, we really just wanted to establish a fun environment for our audience to interact and enjoy a new piece of theatre. Instead of over-thinking an idea, our “plan” was established from a much more simple point of view: “Sweeney Todd/Barbicide is about a barber | Barbicide is used in barbershops | Let’s do this reading in a barbershop!”

Sometimes, the more casual the event, the more educational it can become. As we used Moustache to learn about the play and how it can be received, my mind began turning with ideas. This is my number one reason to produce readings, it allows the creative team an opportunity to hear the words. I began to notice the parallel between an old-fashioned barbershop quartet and our four performers. I quickly realized the possibility of Barbicide being a play exclusively performed in Manhattan barbershops.

It turns out that site-specific theatre can also be a positive for the location you select. Moustache Tonsorial is positioned on a busy corner of Greenwich Avenue and is surrounded by large picture windows. Not only did a decent amount of audience members watch from the outside, but the reading provoked numerous people passing by to go in the next day for a haircut!

I’m excited to announce that Moustache Tonsorial and The Theatre Project work very well together, because we have been invited to perform Barbicide on a bi-monthly basis. As we continue developing Barbicide, Moustache will become our home-base. I am looking forward to using the barbershop to further identify aspects of the production that are yet to be realized.

Perhaps site-specific theatre serves a greater purpose in building an audience and buzz for a production, prior to bringing it to the stage. In any event, the goal is to continue providing an entertaining evening of contemporary theatre to those who appreciate it. Maintaining a transparent developmental process also allows our audience to return and recognize any modifications made to the script.

I hope to see you at our next reading of Barbicide on May 9 at 8:30 PM at Moustache Tonsorial. It’s a new twist on Fleet street!

-Christian

The director's notebook is a blog Christian Amato started through theatre projected in order to allow people to see how a younger director approaches his work.

Simply Intricate: Oral Tradition in Theatre

2012-04-16T11:31:00.003-07:00

Staged Readings

Simply Intricate: Oral Tradition in Theatre

4. 16. 2012, 2:30 PM

As you may or may not know, we have been spending quite a bit of time developing our newest production, Barbicide by Sean Pomposello. We had originally work-shopped an early portion of the script in the fall, as part of our reading series, Universal Monsters. After an overwhelming response from our audience members, I began to see a great potential in a script that had otherwise been an intriguing concept, (See, The Playwright’s Pad: The Origin of Barbicide.) Shortly after, what was read at Universal Monsters ended up becoming the first three scenes of Sean Pomposello’s newest play! After lengthy conversations about the play itself, changes to dialogue and characters, as well as modifying concepts that would maintain a cohesive quality to the piece as a whole, we finally reached a rest stop. I wanted to give Barbicide the opportunity to truly evolve, so as the script was completed, we decided to present a developmental reading of the finished product. We began rehearsals last week for our reading of Barbicide, equipped with a great cast and a fantastic script. With a reading, there are a variety of options to present a piece of theatre. Beginning this process made me wonder, is there a proper way to direct a reading?

One of the most attractive qualities of a reading is the simplistic nature of the event as a whole. “Hey, here’s a reading. It’s free. Come see it,” is the essential structure of advertising your typical reading. When you are in a space, all it calls for are a few chairs and music stands, then you are set. I have been to readings that play up and play down the event. Some readings I have been to can seem uptight and others too lax. How do you find the happy medium? Does the environment of the reading affect the piece itself? I do not believe there is one specific way to curate a reading, and granted, the mood and environment certainly will be compared to the play itself. The point is that these “simple” readings are an opportunity for like-minded people to gather, discuss and participate in a play in order to contribute towards it’s growth.

While the event itself can be presented simply or intricately, what about the direction of the piece? The ultimate goal is to tell a story. At a reading, there is typically very little stage direction. If you are operating under equity guidelines, actors cannot be using props or costumes. When I direct a reading I rely on three factors:

-An Actor’s Instincts: In a reading, the actors have to rely on each other. There are no light cues or staging for them to involve in their existence in the moment. Ultimately the actors must be storytellers.

-Vocal Attention: The most crucial element in directing a reading is the unique and interesting ways you can guide a story by playing with vocalizations. With the actors unable to fall back on scenery and staging to add additional conflict or intent to a scene, they must resort to vocal variation. This keeps the audience involved while appropriately serving as a storyteller.

-Audience Involvement: While you cannot rely on an audience to interact, you hope they do. If you have a good theatre piece on your hands, the audience will typically participate. This doesn’t mean inviting them to read, though you could if you like. An attentive and vocal audience is always appreciated at a reading. You get a sense of how people enjoy the piece as well as moments of the play that are simply not landing where you expected.

Really, readings are a prime example of oral tradition. Every culture throughout the ages has told stories to an audience. Novelist, Edwards Price once wrote, “A need to tell and hear stories is essential to the species.” Everybody tells stories. Everybody includes their own influence towards a story. That is what gives a story life. As it travels from person-to-person and mouth-to-mouth, it naturally undergoes changes that are essential in it’s growth and complexity.

Like most art forms, it is subjective to consider one proper way of holding a play reading. We should, however, be promoting and holding many more readings. We are responsible for carrying on the oral tradition. Through readings, we become a part of an age old custom.

With that said, you may join The Theatre Project as we continue our commitment to the spoken word. Friday April 20^th, I invite you to attend our developmental reading of Barbicide. The reading will be held at Moustache Tonsorial on 55 Greenwich Avenue. I look forward to seeing you there.

-Christian

The director's notebook is a blog Christian Amato started through theatre projected in order to allow people to see how a younger director approaches his work.

From The Director's Notebook v.5: Branding

2012-02-22T09:37:00.000-08:00

Developing The Brand

Building Imagery for a Production

2. 21. 2012, 4:00PM

One of my favorite pre-production projects is creating the identity of the play I am currently working on. Some may see this a rather daunting task, for myself however, it is how I begin to give the production direction. Recently, I completed the imagery that will be used for The Theatre Project's upcoming reading of Barbicide. I thought it may be interesting to share the process that lead to the final key art that we shall be using.

When I begin to create a icon or poster for theatre, I consider all aspects. The play's setting, language, and scenic design highly influence my initial design concepts. The play may not be completely designed, and very rarely have I balanced key art when staging, but by creating this identity I can rein in all aspects.

Barbicide is a highly stylized play that hybrids beat poetry, monologues and dialogue. Linguistically it is very unique, which is why we decided to present the piece as a developmental reading prior to staging it. Additionally the play is set at the height of the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, Queens. We see a lot of elements that will translate into the production from the time period. Even more important is the main character, Toddesco. Having been framed and imprisoned in the 1940's, and later being released in the 60s, Toddesco encounters a variety of changes to culture. All these details become a part of the knowledge incorporated into the design.

The Vanishing American Barber Shop
by Ronald S. Barlow

It was crucial that the vintage quality stay at the forefront of the piece. Both Sean Pomposello, playwright of Barbicide, and I wanted to include that dated charm. The homey quality of a barber shop has been very necessary to understand in order to develop the ideal look. I have been using a wonderful study on the tonsorial arts that really hits the nail on the head for every department. "The Vanishing American Barber Shop" has ended up becoming the dramaturg to our production. Included is the history of the tonsorial arts, old school photography, detailed product catalogs and illustrations, as well as scenic, prop and wardrobe cues. I even investigated various throwback salons in Manhattan to develop an idea of the environment we would be set in. My favorite, without any doubts, was Moustache Tonsorial. It also was important to consider that Toddesco's environment would lean more towards his past as opposed to his present, both stylistically and emotionally.

Initially, I began with a rough place-holder graphic, with the understanding that the graphic was sure to be improved upon over the course of the pre-production phase. Heavily leaning towards the more noir aspects of the production, the first try ended up being this:

First Try

I really liked the imagery. A straight razor sums the piece up perfectly while the typography calls toward a film noir style. Combining serif and sans-serif fonts was an idea that I ended up liking as well, especially for the main reason that it was done in a subtle and unobtrusive manner. The adjacent graphic did not manage to convey the play as well as I had hoped for, which led me to go a bit more vintage.

By approaching the art through a vintage approach, I opened the production up to more options scenically. Not many will use this approach, but I favor cohesion through all elements.

Second Try

The dog eared paper look in the second try really pleased me aesthetically. Additionally, the font choice felt very appropriate considering the time period that Barbicide spans.

After making these two posters, I noticed something that truly excited me. The similarity between the letter A and the straight razor was too good to pass up. Using the razor in a typographical manner had the potential to allow the show to speak for itself in a new way.

And so, I decided to do a little bit of playing around which led me me to the following piece of art work:

By combing the font from the second try with the black of the first, I was able to connect both Noir and vintage into one. And the A/razor concept ended up working out well.

Third Try

I could not help feeling that the black was too dark. Yet I did not want to lose the noir concept. I considered how that concept would be maintained through the typography as well as through staging. I then allowed myself to take what I liked out of all the concepts and fuse them together. This left me with our final product:

Fourth & Final Try

Keep in mind, that this imagery is simply for our upcoming reading. For our run this summer, we will go through this process all over again.

I must say, that the fourth try completely captures the production accurately, especially to present a reading. When it comes time for our full staging, we will have a new poster designed. Simplicity works well for a reading, but a full production's key art needs a bit more pop.

-Christian Amato

The Playwright's Pad: The Origin of Barbicide

2012-02-13T10:21:00.000-08:00

I’ve been told that I’m dark. Frequently, actually. Most recently by my ten-year old daughter, over breakfast. And, in a great many of my plays, that darkness pervades, but it is often accompanied by some degree of violence. Stop, don’t ask why. I myself don’t know. It just does. In fact, I’ve even been passed over at certain festivals (the names of which I won’t disclose) for being too violent. So, you can imagine my excitement when I awoke with a start on my daily train ride with an idea for a way to adapt into a play, of all things, a well known, and beloved, musical. You know, orchestra, dancing, kicking, singing—in short, everything I despise about theatre. Well, not everything, but most everything.

How great would it be to expose my work to a whole new set of theatergoers who might normally look the other way when a play of mine was being staged. Immediately, fearing the loss of cell signal that an approaching tunnel would bring, I texted Christian Amato, artistic director of The Theatre Project and detailed my idea. Christian was at the time knee deep in not only a reading series of a collection of my work (titled Universal Monsters), but a full blown, balls-to-the-walls staging of my play Bitch.

Over the months of development, Christian had become somewhat of the ideal collaborator for a playwright. He’d always listen to even half-baked ideas, listen some more, provide perspective, and then step back. Never one to stifle a good concept, however unpopular, Christian knows just what to say to find a way to steer something to the stage—even if that something might be a little too dark for mass audience consumption (read: taking on a play about dog fighting). Later that day we discussed the piece I dreamt up on the train while an actor read a rather lengthy monologue I had originally staged at Manhattan Repertory Theatre the previous Spring. After the piece was read, Christian leaned in and asked if I’d ever considered writing a full-length monologue.

Now, the monologue is something that, for good or for bad, has made frequent appearances in my plays over the years, but it is normally the kind of conceit that actors shrink from and directors scratch their heads over. It is often difficult to perform (particularly with my language) and even more daunting a task to stage in any compelling way. So, needless to say, the question took me aback. I had, however, always yearned to write a full-length monologue, but with multiple voices—a stereologue, if you will. The one I’d been toying with incorporated direct audience address, but also included such diverse elements as beat poetry, terse, hard boiled language and tenses that shifted from past to present. What’s more, I wanted all attention to be directed to the language itself—in fact, in order to focus on the words, in this piece, I’d ask that a small handful of actors impersonate scores of other characters. For me, this would be an experiment in pure storytelling.

So, upon Christian’s question concerning the monologue, a light bulb went off. Why not apply this unique form of storytelling to this musical adaptation that sparked my imagination on the train. This was how Barbicide was born—my meditation on coincidence and fate. Or, if you’d prefer, my very loose, potty-mouthed, deconstructed adaptation, or parody, of the musical Sweeney Todd.

At last, a lighter, more accessible play for the masses… a story about, among many of things, a serial killer barber and cannibalism.

-Sean

From The Director's Notebook v.4

2012-02-10T08:26:00.000-08:00

Friday, February 10

11:30 AM

My apologies for being unable to post in the last few months, but my production schedule has been pretty hectic. Having been totally invested in B*tch, I did not have the opportunity to post as frequently as I would have liked. I imagine that those are the benefits to Twitter and Facebook. You don't have to write a lot—an update will suffice.

Currently I am working on a very cool production of Alice In Wonderland. The production is Off-Broadway at The Historic Players Theatre, and features a newly interpreted script and score by writing team Sgouros and Bell. This is the world premiere production of the musical, which features an all percussion score!

I have been fortunate to be collaborating with a large amount of artists lately, an experience which is crucial for all young directors. On Alice, I have been working with the composer and the librettist whom are both extremely keen on input and involvement. The same goes with my other collaborator, Sean Pomposello. Sean wrote B*tch and together we have been developing a new play entitled Barbicide, a noirish reflection of the Sweeny Todd myth set in 1960s Queens. To learn more about Barbicide, watch the talk balk between Sean and I.

The key to a collaboration is the level of involvement. A director should never make a bottom line. When collaborating, it is our job to guide the piece into the best possible production.

In theatre, there are a lot of opportunities to collaborate. You collaborate with actors, technicians and designers amongst others. Recently I have been able to collaborate with businesses, corporations and product lines as well.

As a director, the relationships built are equally as important in conjunction to the plays you develop. While it sounds like something you may hear in theatre school, it is a highly valuable piece of advice. It may be difficult at the outset to find collaborators you see eye to eye with, but then again not all relationships need to be on the same page in order to thrive. I am lucky to be involved with artists who share similar values as my own.

Creatives are out there, in all fields, seeking people to partner with and develop great work. Theatre allows for a fusion of many cultures and relationships. For me, I enjoy developing work with a group of people in highly varying worlds. The end result is magnificent for an audience.

Keep an eye out for future (and more frequent) posts and be sure to check out our new blog series, The Playwrights Pad.

-Christian

The director's notebook is a blog Christian Amato started through theatre projected in order to allow people to see how a younger director approaches his work.

Video Talk Back: Barbicide

2012-02-01T09:41:00.000-08:00

Check out this video interview on our upcoming project, Barbicide.

Playwright Sean Pomposello answers questions with Artistic Director Christian Amato on our newest play!

Check out the B*tch Commercial

2011-12-28T07:15:00.000-08:00

You have got to check out out B*tch promo video!

Universal Monsters Lineup!

2011-09-28T12:16:00.000-07:00

Universal Monsters is a collection of 11 of Sean Pomposello's written work. The Theatre Project will be presenting these plays in a series of readings throughout the months of November and December. Revolving around the concept of "Man's inhumanity to man," the Universal Monsters Series offers a brazen look at the aggressive side of humanity in the 21st Century. Here is the complete series lineup!

November 3 Bitch

November 17 Unlimited Nights
Dark Future
The Walkaway
To Hell with Darwin
The Dog House
Daddy's Little Girl

December 1 IT
Plus One

December 15 Turnpike South
Barbicide

We look forward to seeing you at these 5 Free play readings.

@ The Players Theatre
115 MacDougal Street
New York, NY 10012

Plus!

Check out our Universal Monsters key art, and an interview with writer Sean Pomposello about the plays!

Announcing our Cast!

2011-09-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

We're very excited to share with all our followers our casting decisions! We have cast 5 actors to appear in both Universal Monsters and Bitch. These performers will be delving into 10 of Sean Pomposello's plays this fall and winter! They are a mighty talented bunch and we are proud to have them on board for this project! And here they are:

Michael Neithardt as Junie

Benjamin Weaver as Mitts

Brian Cheng as Davy Dollar$

Gina LeMoine as Gil

Arthur Aulisi as Uncle Knee Co

Universal Monsters: Part 2 with Sean Pomposello

2011-09-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

Universal Monsters: Part 1 with Sean Pomposello

2011-09-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

from the director's notebook v.3

2011-09-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

9. 12. 11 9:48 pm

Today were auditions for Bitch and Universal Monsters. There is always a slight nervous feeling that hits me whenever I hold an audition. I guess I tend to worry that what and who I'm looking for may not show up. However, one thing I believe in is, you don't have to worry about that in New York. There will always be one or in most cases, many people who can fill the roles you are looking to fill. With so many performers in the city it becomes much easier to cast a show.

At my last audition, for 4.48 Psychosis, I bumped into Tim Gunn. Let me rephrase that. At my last audition, Tim Gunn bumped into me! It was outside of Parsons on my way to Ripley-Grier. And as he accidentally tried to walk through me he said, "Oh! Love that chartreuse!" I know, very exciting. He was referring to the color of my polo. A compliment from Tim Gunn on your fashion choice is like having Bobby Flay tell you, you make wonderful grilled chicken, so I knew that my auditions were sure to go well! Needless to say, I didn't bump into Tim this time around. But I did walk past a poster of him on my way to the theatre that read "Make it work" so I took that as some sort of a sign that things would go well.

There was a great audition turnout and we had a great mix of performers. I wanted to see actors with both film and theatre experience because Sean's language lends itself to a more cinematic approach. It has made my decision very hard because I had so many talented men and women come through. Casting is a decision I am going to have to think carefully about. How the actors look together plays an equal role as to how talented they all are. Luckily I have a few combinations so I'll certainly have to come to a good decision.

Outside of auditions, I've been busy working on scenic and design sketches to get ahead of the game. I tend to be a perennial planner and constantly push to be ahead of my own schedule. This can be both a great relief to Keri Anne; the Executive Director of our company because it makes her world 300 times easier, but it also can become a bad thing. Especially when I start to second guess the decisions I have made and start to tweak them, specifically for the fact that I have time on my side.

With that said, I believe that I have finally touched upon my final design choices for the Universal Monsters series key art, as well as the scenic sketch for Bitch. The key art for Bitch still needs development, yet I would like to share some of the ideas that have influenced the execution of the current scope of work.

For Universal Monsters, Sean Pomposello and I wanted to create an aesthetic that heavily correlated with the themes in his pieces while intriguing a theatre goer in an abstract way. Sean's work heavily focuses on "man's inhumanity to man" and we wanted to create a visual conceit that pushed that theme. His plays tend to focus on people who wear "masks." Figuratively speaking, characters whose presence is cloaked in some sense. With that in mind, we went for this image as our final look.

A young girl, wearing a gas mask with her Teddy bear following suit. It calls towards the idea that a monstrous human being can appear to be very much the opposite.

For the set, this sketch is what I have been seeing lately, so I'm eager to perfect it.

The play takes place in a cramped, Bronx chop shop. I wanted to create depth and lines in the design. The aerial piping and wainscoting help to set the tone of the place. This also has lead me to create interesting ideas for the "dog's blocking." I won't divulge all just now.

As for the key art for Bitch, here are a few ideas. I'm having trouble realizing this but I love the photo Kelly Marsh has taken. It speaks towards animal cruelty, the greasy aspect of the chop shop. But what I like is how the wrench is evocative of a dog bone. I'm sure I am close on this one!

I think that's it for now. This is what happens when I write my blog posts on the subway, I end up writing short stories. I hope somebody finds them insightful. Who knows, maybe Tim Gunn does. After all, I am starting to believe that he may be my audition fairy godmother!

-Christian

The director's notebook is a blog Christian Amato started through theatre projected in order to allow people to see how a younger director approaches his work.

Part 3 of 3/Mini-Interview with Sean Pomposello on Bitch

2011-09-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

Part 3 of 3 with Sean Pomposello on Bitch. Stay tuned for our next video spotlight on Sean's

Universal Monsters series.

Interview 2 of 3 w/ Sean Pomposello on "Bitch"

2011-09-02T13:21:00.001-07:00

from the director's notebook v.2

2011-08-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

8/31/2011 3:00 PM

It has been a interesting week! I'm starting to realize how tough it is to manage a Kickstarter campaign. That in itself is like having a full time job. I think a secret is having a lot of content. The campaign in itself is a little over a week in, so I'm not to worried about the progress as of yet, I feel that people will be more provoked to donate later on in the campaign. As for content, I believe that the interviews with Sean are great. They give an audience a chance to learn more about the person behind the words. There are two more interviews regarding Bitch, and then we will be moving on to discussing the plays in Universal Monsters.

Outside of the whole Kickstarter world, auditions will be announced later today and casting notices will be going up. I have been debating over whether or not I should have sides available prior to the audition, or if I would like to do cold readings. Typically I prefer cold readings because it reveals an actor's abilities instantaneously. It also shows how quickly an actor can develop a concept behind a piece of text, which fascinates me.

Regarding what I will be having those auditioning read, I'm not only looking a the Bitch script. I'm also looking into the plays in the Universal Monsters series. The great thing about Sean's writing and his style with language is it's consistency. Since the performers will be auditioning for Universal Monsters and Bitch, it will be the perfect way to evaluate them for the work as a whole.

Design wise, our key art for marketing was just completed. Scenically we are in early phases of the design process. I had been planning to discuss that this week, but I am holding off until next week when there is more imagery to share! The interesting thing is that the set is the office of a chop shop, so there is a lot of fun in considering the objects in the room. The set must be easy enough to move quickly in terms of strike, but hearty enough to appear permanent. It will be a challenge but I think it will turn out very well. Regarding key art, there is a big play with the masculinity of the chop shop paired with a subtle hint of animal cruelty. Being that the play focuses on dog fighting, our imagery aptly touches upon numerous ideas while maintaining a strong design aesthetic.

I'm eager to share the design concepts at length, so expect another post very soon! Feel free to send in questions as well as well as comments and please share our Kickstarter project!

-Christian

The director's notebook is a blog Christian Amato started through theatre projected in order to allow people to see how a younger director approaches his work.

Mini-Interview 1 of 3 w/ Sean Pomposello

2011-08-30T06:34:00.000-07:00

Interview with Sean Pomposello

2011-08-22T11:35:00.001-07:00

Check out our new interview with Sean Pomposello, writer of Universal Monsters and Bitch.
This is part 1 of many other interviews with Sean to be released!

Also, were now on Kickstarter! Please show your support and share with your friends..

from the director's notebook v.1

2011-08-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

August 15, 11:40 AM

As I sit on the two train en route to meet up with Sean, the playwright I am fortunate enough to be working with this fall, I cannot help but be nervous. Despite having met a couple of times in person and sharing a regular dialogue through email, today fills my stomach with excitement as my nerves jump like a student at his first day of classes.

Today I will be filming an interview with Sean where I will be asking him questions to learn more about his play Bitch and his play series, Universal Monsters. This is the first time I've had the opportunity to work with a modern playwright and actually speak to him one on one. What has been fascinating is the way I can read his word and then be able to question him about it.

Sean Pomposello's writing intrigues me in the simple fact that it combines New York's grit with a cinematic movement and a conversational thread. It reads very naturally, and with auditions fast approaching and the summer coming to a close, I look forward to being able to getting inside his mind.

Email interaction can only go so far, but to truly understand the play, I must truly understand Sean. This video interview should do the trick! As I prepared the questions, I thought of how a character in Bitch might ask them. I wanted to avoid a "Inside The Actor's Studio" format because frankly I felt it would be perceived as too lofty. That would have been the opposite of what I am trying to achieve. I want to keep The Theatre Project accessible, and as a young company, I believe that is what makes us relatable.

I can't help but imagine that the characters in Bitch all have ridden this train before. The play is set in my town, which is not initially attracted me to the script, but certainly made me consider it. As I look around I can see people who remind me of the characters. Real people on their grind—which is what makes the characters unique. It doesn't glorify or enlarge a situation. Bitch exposes real people doing what they have to, no matter how corrupt, in order to survive

August 15, 8:05 PM

After I emerged from the Penn station subway stop, I met with Sean and we hopped back on a train heading towards the West Village. As we got off the Christopher Street/Sheridan Square stop, and walked over towards The Players Theatre, I felt a sense of gratitude in the fact that such a great playwright would be willing to place such faith in my hands. We went over to one of the best coffee shops in the area, Pubblico Espresso, a favorite haunt of mine.

Pubblico is right across the street from the theatre and delicious. Over iced coffee we discussed marketing, scenic design, and most importantly—the show itself. After posing many questions on the script, I was thrilled to have been able to pick up on and relate to aspects of the script that may lie more dormant in the dialogue. Facets of the plot that are there, but not spelled out. It's refreshing to know you are on the right track, especially with such a contemporary work. After coffee and small talk, we went to the theatre and I conducted my interview with Sean. We filmed at the Players Theatre which I felt was appropriate since it will shortly become a "home base" for The Theatre Project. It was a noisy day on MacDougal Street and the noise of the day served as the underscore to our interview, which went extremely well and was an eye-opening experience. By learning more about the playwright, I have learned more about the script itself. I highly recommend doing something like this, be it in person or through email in order to fully understand a project you may delve into. It particularly helps if the playwright you are working with happens to be alive. I would not be able to have done the same with say, a Chekhov play. Unless, that is, you happen to be able to channel the dead.

I also was able to show Sean the space where Universal Monsters and Bitch will be staged. There was something exciting about standing in the theatre with Sean and talking about the show. Mostly it was inspiration, the rest was probably fear that he may say something along the lines of "Look at this shit hole," but he was actually pretty psyched!

Overall, it was a great day for me as a director, and a great day for Sean and I as artists, as we step further into this venture. I'll wrap it up there since this is a blog post and it's becoming a novella. I look forward to my next blog post as well as newer developments in the project.

- Christian Amato

The director's notebook is a blog Christian Amato started through theatre projected in
order to allow people to see how a younger director approaches his work.

Were Now on Youtube!

2011-07-29T12:38:00.000-07:00

Check out our awesome new youtube teaser!