On the Square Productions
ARTISTS’ BRUNCH
at
BareBurger East Village – 2nd Ave at 5th Street
on
Sunday May 6th
beginning at
12:30p

 
We will have the upstairs room, as we spend a few hours talking with other theatre artists, producers, designers, directors, playwrites & friends about what we all have going on. This brunch is great way to network in a completely stress-free and comfortable enviornment.

(How stressed out can you be with a french fry in your hand, really?)

The On the Square company will be there, as well as some of the team from our upcoming production of

The Minervae.

Bring your business cards and grab yourself a burger with On the Square! 

Feel free to invite and bring anyone you like. The more the merrier! 

ps: mmmmmmmm

Logan Tracey, our Marketing & Social Media Coordinator was lucky enough to interview

 Debra Jans from Bareburger.

She’s wonderful, open, kind and amazing!

On the Square is very lucky to have such a wonderful relationship with Bareburger. We are always excited to have meeting and events in their spaces because the staff is fantastic, the venues are welcoming, and (of course!) the food is to die for.

Here’s the interview all about how home-grown BareBurger truly is.

 ———————————

Can  you  talk  a  bit  about  the  creation  of  Bareburger?  (Where  did  the  idea  come  from,  where  was  the  first  restaurant,  etc…)  

The  concept  for  Bareburger  was  conceived  while  co-­‐founders  Euripides  Pelekanos  and  John Simeonidis were  managing  their  live  music  lounge,  Sputnik,  in  Clinton  Hill  Brooklyn.  It  was  there  Euripides  and  John thought  to develop  a  menu  featuring  exotic  meat  burgers  and  snacks  made  from  organic  locally  sourced ingredients. These  items  were  an  instant  hit  with  guests.  Recognizing  the  popularity  of  their  menu  they decided  to  develop a  restaurant  concept  based  upon  these  ideas.  The  design  of  the  restaurant  was  crucial  to the  Bareburger concept  as  it  needed  to  reflect  the  food  and  mission  as  well  as  be  eco-­‐friendly,  warm  and inviting.  With  the menu  perfected  and  the  store  constructed  they  opened  their  first  location  in  Astoria,  NY(3321  31st Ave) in  June  of  2009.  The  co-­‐founders  were  playing  around  with  words  that  reflected  what  organic  means  and  the word  “bare”  made  perfect  sense  due  to  its  multiple  definitions  and  spellings,  thus Bareburger  was  born complete  with  its  trademark  unicycle  riding  bear.    

The  FAQ  area  on  your  website is  so  great  and  super  informative.  Why  did  you decide  to  go  with  free-range grass-­fed  beef  and  organic  veggies  &  dairy?  

So JOIN US on May 6th

for a wonderful opportunity to enjoy some fantastic food with a purpose

and some easy and fun networking with On the Square!

Any questions: feel free to email LOGAN at logan@onthesquareproductions.com

Michael Swartz here!

I’m back to talk about some shows that I think are a MUST SEE! Here are some ongoing productions that I’ve gone crazy for this year:

With TONY nominations around the corner, I’m always excited about the new plays. If you haven’t seen it already, go check out Venus in Fur. It’s hard to talk about ViF without giving too much away, but this exciting two-person play is not what you think. It begins with the simple premise of a writer/director auditioning women for his new play. Where the plays ends up, I promise you won’t guess! I was on the edge of my seat, to use a well-worn phrase, and Nina Arianda’s performance is absolutely electric. I wonder if she’ll snag a TONY this year..?

For more exciting new drama on the Broadway, go see Other Desert Cities. With Stockard Channing, Stacy Keach and Judith Light, to name a few, you might think it’s just one of those productions packed with stars to sell tickets for a play with a second-rate script. You would be wrong. I will admit that I had no idea where the play was headed at intermission. Little did I know what we were in for during the second act: theatrical fireworks! Five incredible actors chewing the scenery for 45 straight minutes! Seriously, if someone handed me a stack of postcards on my way out the door I would have danced though Times Square handing them out on my way home. In other words, GO SEE IT. Now, I’m sure you haven’t forgotten my obsession with cheap tickets from my last blog. Great news for those under 30: Lincoln Center Theatre, who is producing, offers discount tickets through their Linc Tix program. Sign up, grab some cheap tickets and go! If/when this play wins some TONY’s, you’re going to have a hard time getting in.

Moving away from the realm of the TONY, I saw a fabulous new play by Charles Busch at Theater for the New City. Literally fabulous. Judith of Bethulia is a new biblical epic, with Charles Busch doing what he does best: looking over-the-top glamorous, and being over-the-top hilarious! The play is a delightful romp, and I wish you could see it, but the entire run is sold out. Wow! I really admire Charles, not just for his impressive comedic talent, but for his humble indie theater beginnings. With all his success, some may not know that he began writing plays for himself that were produced for almost nothing in the Lower East Side bar scene. A true inspiration to all of us who are creating new works on small budgets in interesting venues.

Speaking of interesting venues, I have one thing to say: SLEEP NO MORE. Tell me you’ve seen it! Well, not seen it but EXPERIENCED it. This immersive theatrical installation has been around since 2011, and I know you’ve heard about it. SNM tells the story of Shakespeare’s Scottish play through the lens of Hitchcockian film noir. The audience don masks and explore over 100 rooms, observing the silent performers or just standing in awe of the incredibly detailed scenery. I know you’ve heard all this, but I hope you bit the bullet and purchased a ticket. You know I’m obsessed with cheap tickets, but here’s the thing: you’re NOT going to find them! Save, my friends. Save your coins in a jar till you can cash them in for this theatrical gem.

Thanks for joining me again this month for my ramblings and my overuse of the exclamation point. (!!!) Now go out and see some theatre, and meet me back here next month for more recommendations. Be there AND be Square!

All of us at On the Square Productions

are very proud of our Education Outreach Director,

Ms. Emily Tucker!

For the past few months, Emily has been touring all around the country in a new and exciting show by the amazing John Tartaglia.

From the company website, a bit about this magical show:

A one-of-a-kind live black-light puppet show, John Tartaglia’s ImaginOcean is a magical undersea adventure for kids of all ages. Tank, Bubbles and Dorsel and three best friends who just happen to be fish, and they’re about to set out on a remarkable journey of discovery. And it all starts with a treasure map. As they swim off in search of clues, they’ll sing, they’ll dance, and they’ll make new friends, including everyone in the audience. Ultimately they discover the greatest treasure of all: friendship.

Take a look at the website HERE for this ‘LIVE Glow-In-The-Dark Musical!‘

Emily and the entire ImaginOcean team will be in in Philadelphia, PA

at the

ANNENBERG CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS in early May!

Check in with the website or call the Box Office:(215) 898-3900

Logan Tracey, OtSp’s Marketing & Social MediaCoordinator, caught up with Emily Tucker for an interview about how the tour is going and how’s it’s been!

Can you talk a bit about the show? What is it about/how was it created?

I am currently on the first national/international tour of John Tartaglia’s ImaginOcean.  It is a glow-in-the-dark black light puppet musical for kids of all ages, and adults love it too.  It tells the story of 3 fish on an adventure under the sea to find treasure and friendship. The show uses all black light, so it is visually stunning and something people don’t see everyday.  Not to mention, the music is fantastic and has people dancing in their seats.  John Tartaglia created the show, and he is also one of the producers. He is one of the most fun and talented people I’ve ever met and worked with. John, Michael Shawn Lewis (co-producer), Donna Drake (director), and Emilie Schoenfeld (company and stage manager) make up what is truly one of the most tight knit and incredible production teams I could imagine.  I love my job! 

What role are you playing in this?

I am one of seven puppeteers on stage, dressed completely in black from head to toe, maneuvering the puppets and performing ninja-like choreography in the dark.  With backlight, the audience can’t see anything that is black, so the puppets and set are made of fluorescent materials and glow under the black light.  When all goes as planned, it appears all the puppets are floating under the sea!  My main character is the Baby Jellyfish, who helps the fish along on their journey.  I also puppeteer a myriad of other characters and props throughout the show.  It is a very fast paced and physical show, so it’s a great workout!

How did you get this magical opportunity? How did you get into puppetry? (Tell us your audition story, cause those are always the most fun!)

I’ve known about ImaginOcean since it opened its run at New World Stages a couple years ago.  I have always heard great things about the production team and loved the show.  So, when I heard about tour auditions, I couldn’t miss out.  I’ve been fascinated by puppets and the characters that come alive through them my whole life, but it wasn’t until a couple years ago when my boyfriend Zane bought me a puppet (her name is Deb) that I really got into puppetry on my own. I’ve done shows with puppetry elements and have worked on my own material with Deb, but this is my first professional gig as a puppeteer. I couldn’t be happier with the opportunity to dive further into this craft.  It’s a magical world, for sure.

The audition and callback was the best I’ve ever been through, thanks to John, Michael, Donna, Emilie, and casting director Melanie Lockyer.  They created a great atmosphere to come into.  For the audition, we had to prepare a song of our choice to lip sync to with our puppets.  I chose Talking Heads ‘Psycho Killer.’ Yes, I know it’s a children’s show, but hey, it worked! I choreographed a dance with my puppet Deb and had fun rocking out. The callback was about 3 hours long, and I made it through the cuts to the very end!  Funny enough though, I didn’t get the job right away!  Regardless, I was happy I had made it as far as I did. They were offering some roles to the original cast, so I knew the competition was steep.  I sent an email thanking the production team for the experience and wishing them well. Then, one week before rehearsals were to start, I got a call from producer Michael Shawn Lewis. One of the people they had cast was unable to go on the tour, and I was next on their list.  I accepted joyfully, resigned from my day job and joined the cast at their first rehearsal.  Two weeks of rehearsal later, I left NYC for my first national tour.  I feel incredibly lucky. 

To my fellow actors out there, it just goes to show–we really never know what may come our way, so always stay positive and be ready.

What were rehearsals like?

Rehearsals were fun and challenging.  Our director Donna Drake, is extremely talented and has a wonderful spirit.  We had two weeks of rehearsals in NYC before embarking on our tour. Since we perform in the dark, we learned the show in stages of darkness.  We worked through the show learning all the choreography with the lights on and then did it with our mesh hoods over our heads, eventually going to dark with the black lights.  It was exciting and unlike any rehearsal process I’ve done.  Getting acquainted with all the puppets was fun.  There are several different types of puppets in the show, and they all have a great effect onstage.  Our rehearsal process was all about learning our tracks and learning to work as a team onstage and off.  This show is truly a group effort, and everyone gives their all to make it function like a well oiled machine.

How have the performances been going? Who loves it most the adults or the kids who come?

The performances have consistently been going great. I performed my 100th show last week.  We have school shows on weekdays (kids get bussed to the theaters from surrounding area schools) and public shows on weeknights and weekends.  When we are performing for an audience of sometimes 2,700 preschool- 2nd graders and the lights go off and black lights come on, well let’s just say I feel like a rock star.  The kids go nuts, and it doesn’t matter if it’s 9am and I haven’t had an iced coffee yet–it completely makes my day to hear how much they enjoy the show. Likewise, the adults love it too.  The show is visually stimulating and has a phenomenal musical score and a great message. And the magic of the black light leaves everyone asking, “How did they do that?”

How is being on tour? Are you missing NYC?

I absolutely love being on tour!  I like traveling around the US and playing in some of the biggest and oldest theaters in the country.  That is really a treat.  We even got to perform in Singapore for nine days in December, which was amazing! I’ve always loved road trips and driving, and since we drive everywhere (well, we flew to Singapore, of course), the lifestyle works well for me. The best thing about tour is that I get to perform constantly, often 10 shows a week, and I don’t have to work a survival job. I was getting a little tired of that balancing act in NYC, so I’ve been one happy actor.  Of course I miss my boyfriend Zane, my friends, and I miss out on all the incredible things On the Square is doing in NYC, but everyone has been incredibly supportive of me traveling around playing with puppets! 

What are some things you have learned about being a actor – sans a puppet – while working on this?

The audience doesn’t see us (hopefully), and due to the nature of the show, the dialogue and music is tracked with John Tartaglia, Michael Shawn Lewis, and Donna Drake as most of the voices along with other vocal artists.  Therefore, I don’t use my voice at all in this show.  We sinc the puppets to the track, and it’s all movement based.  Going into it, I wondered if I would miss being heard and seen since that’s so often what this business is about. 

But interestingly enough, I get the exact same if not more of a rush from performing this show.  It’s the thrill of live performance that I love so much.  And to allow what’s inside me to come out through a puppet is really exciting and fulfilling.  It’s a different craft, and I love that I get to do it.  And the fact that I get to run around onstage in the dark, well, it’s surprisingly thrilling every time. 

Has anything really surprised you about yourself as an actor during this process?

We travel with 9 people total (8 puppeteers, including one swing/ASM and our company/stage manager) therefore we are our own stage crew.  I love this.  I’ve always had utmost respect for those who are technically inclined and this show allows me to delve into that side of things.  When we load in to a venue and put together our entire set, repair our own equipment and puppets, perform the shows and then load it all out, there is great sense of ownership of the show that comes along with all of that.  It’s a lot of work, and it feels good at the end if the day.  Since I’ve mostly been on the performing side of things, this surprised me about myself in the best way possible.

What has been the most inspiring/exciting part of the entire process?

Two things. 

 The first is the reactions of the kids when they see this show, especially those who have never seen theater before let alone a black light puppet show.  It makes our job very rewarding.  And secondly, the people I work with everyday.  They are brilliant.  Many of them have been puppeteering and building their own puppets since they were little kids.   Their creativity and senses of humor blow me away everyday, and I learn so much from them.  We laugh a lot.  Not to mention, they all build puppets on the road and we shoot fun videos with them.  I am building my first puppet (that is, one from a pattern and not a sock or paper bag) right now with the help of my cast mates.  I’m really working with a stellar group of individuals.  We spend a lot of time together, and I love and trust these people immensely. And we honestly all get along, even after 6 months on tour…it is amazing to me. 

How you will be able to use these amazing experiences to build on what you do for On the Square?

This show energizes me to continue to do great work.  I have a huge place in my heart for children’s theater. Playing for audiences full of cheering kids, many who have not ever seen theater before, inspires me to continue to make a difference in kids’ and adults’ lives through theater.  This experience has further inspired me to reach and affect a wide spectrum of people and also to think outside the box to do so. Jackie and Rachel and the rest of the On the Square team are incredibly resourceful, creative, and supportive, so I know the possibilities are endless. 

I’ve been very inspired by so many of the children and family series programming that education departments in theaters around the country are doing.  It’s true that outreach can be simple, fun, and affordable and still very effective.  

Can you talk a bit about your personal goals for the education componenet of OtSP?

One of my main goals for On the Square’s education and outreach program is to reach as many under-served children and adults in NYC as possible with quality theater education and programming that uses theater as a means to teach about the world around us.  With arts programming cuts happening all over, there is a need to fulfill.  We can do so much for our communities as theater professionals, and I’m so glad to have the opportunity to do this with my friends at On the Square Productions.

Thanks for interviewing me!

So go check out Emily Tucker in this fun and amazing show in Philadelphia in early May!

Be There or Be SQUARE!

Write Angle Reading Series…

Raw Stitch by Jacqueline Goldfinger
Directed by David O’Connor

… Raw Stitch: A pub play for the enthusiastically inebriated and sexually active. Featuring 12 spanking new monologues including “Miss Coitus Interruptus,” “Double Slut Gene,” “Hector has Herpes,” “Serial Bride,” “The Bounce,” and “Good Night and Get Lucky.” Run time: a naughty little hour.

Featuring: Becky Chicoine*, Rheaume Crenshaw*, Susan Ferrara*, Louise Flory, Anna Marquardt, Vanessa Lozano & Jenson Smith*
* Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association

Sunday April 1 at 7:30pm
Time Out New York Lounge

Purchase tickets at http://rawstitch.eventbrite.com/

Social Media & Marketing Coordinator, Logan Tracey, was able to get this spitfire playwright to answer a few questions about her process, her play, and her deep & real love of directors!

Take a look here and make sure to come to the reading THIS SUNDAY!

On the Square Productions is so excited to have you on board with this new project! Can you talk a bit about your history/relationship with OtSP?

I first got to know OtSP because they have worked with with some of my favorite emerging writers including David Stallings and Cody Daigle. David and Cody both recommended OtSP as a great place to develop new work. Then I met Rachel McPhee (she acted in a reading of my play Slip/Shot when it was a finalist for the Next Generation Playwrights Award) and I fell in love with both the artists working at OtSP and the bravery and soul of the company itself.

 
As a playwright, can you talk about working with On the Square? What kind of opportunity does the company give you?

Working with OtSP is fantastically easy – which I love as a playwright. They allow the playwright to just be the playwright. Unlike other companies which throw casting, marketing, or other production concerns back at the playwright, OtSP actually handles every aspect of producing the event so that the writer can spend their time on the script.

They also focus on telling meaningful stories in diverse forms – comedy, drama, naturalistic, poetic, etc. When I sent them Raw Stitch – which is a bit of an oddball piece because it’s a pub monologue play into which you can incorporate other live performance elements like music – they weren’t concerned about the non-traditionalness of it. They didn’t try to force a square peg into a round hole. They full embraced the aesthetic and intention of Raw Stitch which gave me an immense amount of artistic freedom.

 
Where are you with this play – process wise?

I’ve been working on Raw Stitch on-and-off for about a year. It originated with a couple of monologues that I wrote to be performed in fringey cabarets by friends, and has bloomed into a monologue piece that can be its’ own night of theater. This the first time all of these monologues have been assembled into one (hopefully) coherent show and performed together. So you’re seeing something completely new.

 
Where did the subject matter in this play come from? Why this play for you — right now?

Raw Stitch is comprised of stories of women who are each a phenomenally hot mess. They are sexy and vulgar, prude and meek. They want to be beauty queens and better lovers – but even though they are very different people having very different experiences they are all seeking to define themselves and figure out where they fit in the world. Sometimes they figure it out, sometimes they don’t, but through it all they are funny and honest and fearless. Many times, they are saying what we think but are afraid to say aloud.

I think Raw Stitch partially comes from my struggle of having being raised in the deep South to be exceedingly polite, and having to learn to speak my mind. It also comes from watching my stepdaughter, who is 13, struggle with what it means to be a woman rather than a little girl. I’ve watched her “try on” different identities and try to figure out where she fits in the world. I see identity as a journey that we’re always on.

 
What are you looking for in the actual reading? Will it truly help in the shaping of the play?

The reading is a very important step in shaping Raw Stitch. At this point, there’s nothing more we can do until we see how it plays with an audience. It’s a comedy and, I feel, that comedies rely on audience response more than dramas. If a joke doesn’t play with an audience, you hear it in the deafening silence. So we’re really looking forward to seeing how the audience reacts – what they laugh at, what they don’t, when do we go too far, when is the story getting lost in the character or joke. Then we’ll revise the piece based on the response to the reading.

 
Can you talk a bit about working with a director at this stage of the playwriting process? Do you find them helpful and insightful or are you too close to it the play still feels like your baby?

I fucking love directors. I love them so much that if they were dipped in chocolate I would spend all day licking them. It’s great to have a partner in crime. The director for this process, David O’Connor, is brilliant. I actually wrote one of the first monologues, “Serial Bride,” for a mutual actor friend who needed a piece to perform in David’s 2011 fringe cabaret. So David’s been with Raw Stitch from the beginning, and we’re on the same wavelength in terms of what we’re trying to do. In addition, I am friends with his wife, so if he fucks up my play I can totally tell on him.

 
And actors..? when the play is in development, especially a monologue play, how important are the actors at this stage of the game?

The actors also play a huge role because we’re trying to get this piece from being funny on the page to being funny on the stage. Lots of things can be funny on the page, but the performance and interpretation of the pieces determine whether or not they’re funny on their feet. One of the reason that I’m doing the first full reading with OtSP is because they work with great actors.

 
Do you think your projects are ever finished?

I think projects are finished. Sometimes, whether or not a project is everything you want it to be artistically, I think you need to say it’s done. Just so you can take what you learned from it and move on. Otherwise, you get stuck revising the same play for ten years. Raw Stitch is a little different because we are designing it to be flexible – so that companies can adapt it to their needs in terms of cutting or adding monologues and other performance elements – so it might not ever be “finished” except that every production will have it’s own finished state. Which is something that I love. Theater is alive. Let it live and breathe and be what it should be, needs to be, for every community.

 
Are you excited for this reading? What kind of emotional state are you in with this project?

I’m so excited for this reading. I can’t wait to see what hits and what doesn’t in terms of the comedy, and which characters people fall in love and which they can do without.

 
How do you feel when you see your work being performed?

I tend to feel sick to my stomach at the beginning and then I have a drink and relax into it. I tend to enjoy it (the play or the drink? both?) by the end.

 
Where do you tend to sit while your play is being performed?

I tend to sit in the back and drink so a pub play is freaking perfect because I don’t have to hide my beer.

You can read more about her work online: http://www.jacquelinegoldfinger.com/

See y’all at the reading – be there or be SQUARE!

On the Square Productions is proud to offer you an amazing headshot deal with one of our most favorite photographers in New York City…

John shot our fabulous wintertime Naughty or Nice – Holiday Cabaret at the TONY Lounge and we loved his work so much we needed to share him with you.

Check out these photos from the event…

John Keon is offering an amazing headshot deal:

A 20% discount to anyone who mentions this blog post

and

books a session by the end of April.

The shoot does not need to take place by the end of April, only booked, but it must be completed by the end of June to receive the discount.

(A $100 non-refundable deposit is required – which will be applied to the total package price.)

Want more information? Check out…

John Keon Photography

on the web

Click HERE to FIND JOHN KEON PHOTOGRAPHY

on FACEBOOK!

We cannot recommend John Keon Photography more that we do! Call him!

You’ll be thrilled you did.

Stay tuned for more deals & special events On the Square!

Michael here!

And I’m thrilled to be writing to you in a brand new feature on our blog: OTSP’s Fan on the Street. That’s me! As a rabid lover of the Theatre, I’ll be writing to let you guys know what I’m currently obsessing over.

You may recognize me as OTSP’s Associate Creative Director, sometimes actor (America: A Problem Play, The Minervae), and sometimes director (2010′s Midsummer). Now you’ll get to know me as the Arts & Entertainment fanatic that I’ve always been. Seriously, I’ve had a subscription to Entertainment Weekly since I was old enough to read. I used to ogle Playbill.com back when AOL was a thing. A dial-up thing! [insert 90's modem noise here] After following me here, you might see why Jackie and Rachel trust me to weigh in on their tough creative decisions. After all, people have always called me a Taste Maker. Ok, well, my mom said that, but I think she was on to something. I guess you’ll just have to follow me and find out. So, off we go on this blogging adventure together. I hope you’ll be there AND be square!

My first entry is not about what to see, but more how to see it. Here I’ll be sharing with you my secrets for snagging the cheapest tickets in town to everything from Off-off, to Off, to The Broadway.

In my first year in the city, I saw well over a hundred plays, musicals, and live performances. Like most of my young theatre friends, I was making next to nothing at the time, but I still managed to see an average of 2 shows a week.

Here’s how:

If you’re a theatre professional, you need to sign up for a TDF membership immediately. You know that TKTS thing, where you stand in a long line all day and still pay $75 a ticket? It’s not the only way! TDF offers a yearly membership for $25 that allows you to get discount tickets in advance for hundreds of shows. We’re talking between $30 and $40 for a Broadway show! And my favorite feature, $9 Off-off tickets!

Visit www.TDF.org right now and sign up!

A great trick I learned early on is the good old rush and student rush tickets. Tell me you’ve heard of this! If you’re lucky enough to have a current (or what appears to be current) student ID, most theatres have a limited number of tickets available for you at a student-friendly price. Other theatres do a general rush. These usually go on sale when the box office opens, but it’s never too late! I’ve walked up to the box office seconds before curtain and snagged a $25 seat. All you’ve got to do is ask. The most important thing is to be charming, carry cash, and do your research. Your best resource for this method is Playbill.com’s list of Rush policies, divided into Broadway and Off-Broadway, and always conveniently linked to on their front page.

Finally, my most favorite method of all is the papering services out there. What’s papering, you ask? When a production needs to fill seats because they have reviewers coming, or they’re not selling well, or a new production wants to help create word-of-mouth, they offer comp tickets through one of these services. There’s Theatermania Gold Club, Theater Extras, Audience Extras and more! Do a little Googling on the topic to find the best fit for you. These services charge a yearly membership, around $99, and then a “processing fee” around $4 per ticket. Sounds like a lot at first, but I’ve seen so many amazing shows for FREE! ($4, whatever, feels like free!) In my opinion, it’s worth the investment. I often find myself sitting in orchestra seats, too. Just make sure you follow the rules, and don’t go telling the poor person next to you that paid $125 to see Spiderman swinging around that you got your ticket for free.

Now there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to get tickets to every show you want to see through these methods. Sometimes you just have to shell out the big bucks for something. But if you’re like me, you can’t go too long till you get hungry for some theater. Use these tricks to satisfy your appetite while you save up your money for Sleep No More, for example. Go out and see something you never would have paid for! You just might find something that makes you think, or, best of all, feel something! That’s the joy of theater, isn’t it?

Thanks for reading my very first entry. I hope you’ll be back in April when I share my love of Indie Theater. Remember, be there AND be square!

Somewhere Safer

by Lauren Ferebee
Directed by Deborah Wolfson

“You wanna make people sing for you, get at the thing that pulls them up from their guts… A journalist. A radical. A prodigy. A CEO. A wife. A star anchor. A junior aide. A great man’s brother. The woman who photographs them all. A play about how things explode in the pursuit of greatness and what happens in the aftermath.”

Featuring: Virginia Baeta, Michelle Beck*, Katlyn Carlson*, Dan Cozzens, David Crommett*, Ryan Farrell*, Michael Finnerty, Daniel Graff, Logan Tracey* & Amelia Workman*

*denotes member of Actor’s Equity Association

Monday, February 27th at 8pm

The Bridge Theatre @ Shetler Studios
244 West 54th street, 12th floor

I had the pleasure of asking Ms. Lauren Ferebee a few questions about her play; where it came from, how she works with a director at this stage & if this play will ever be finished…

Ms. Lauren Ferebee - the playwright.

With a varied background in acting and music, can you talk a bit about how you came to playwriting?

Language for me is first and foremost about sound and rhythm. I studied violin in the Suzuki method from when I was two and a half, so I learned to talk and play music by ear simultaneously. I think this had a tremendous impact on how I think about the sound of words spoken out loud and how they weave together

I started writing plays because I managed to convince my AP English teacher that reading eight Tom Stoppard plays and writing an imitation was a legitimate project in Great Literature. I still have that play. It features Jack Kerouac, Carl Sandburg, and Pablo Neruda among others.  I’m relieved not be eighteen anymore. At the time I thought I was getting away with something; I think in truth I ended up putting in way more time on that project than I would have on a paper.

Can you talk a bit about your past relationship with On the Square and how did OTSP come to find Somewhere Safer?

OTSP has been instrumental in my development as a playwright: This is the second reading of my work they’ve produced. It’s incredibly rewarding to collaborate with the same team many times: they’ve has seen my work in every possible form. I remember sending Deborah around 20 pages of Somewhere Safer back in September  – which was really just a series of character sketches – with a sort of hopeful note about the plans I had for the play and how much I wanted to write it.  At the time, I knew OTSP only accepted full scripts, so I was thrilled when Deborah emailed me in November to say they wanted to develop it in the way they did – it was more than I had imagined happening.

Why this story for you as a storyteller?

Sometimes it’s hard to know why you’re telling a story until you’re on the other side of it.  That’s not really an answer. I’m terribly fickle when it comes to stories, because I see them everywhere, and often it’s a real matter of discipline to keep myself focused on the story at hand. There are so many stories worth telling.

That being said, the play does pose questions about our responsibility is as citizens of this country, which are becoming increasingly relevant, I think – or rather, hope.  They are for me, anyway.

The helpless anger I felt at the state of our country was really the impetus to begin writing.  The first bit I wrote was Bill’s speech from the beginning. I think I wrote it right around the time of the debt-ceiling crisis, when I became totally disillusioned about our government as a representative entity. I suddenly saw that it had become a marriage of the worst of liberalism and the worst of conservatism, that it had lost every positive, hopeful quality and instead simply pursued destruction for the sake of power.

I had a couple of other secondary interests that then influenced the characters I chose as lenses for the issues. I was, and continue to be, fascinated by the cultural phenomenon that is Fox News, which has essentially institutionalized lying and popularized ignorance to the point where they have largely succeeded at demonizing education. I wanted to understand how fear can be used as a tool for whipping up patriotic fervor – how far people will go to feel safe.

I’m also utterly appalled by the women who garner the most attention in politics and media and I wanted to find out what these fields do to strong and interesting women – why it is that women like Ann Coulter, Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin, who have little to no interest in advocating for women, are at the forefront of our national consciousness, and what it says about our national attitude toward women in power.  I don’t think it’s funny. I think it’s horrifying. I think it’s no coincidence that we’re putting these women’s ideas everywhere and simultaneously having to-retread women’s rights.

Do you have any background in politics? Protesting? Speech-writing?

I’ve done some marching and meeting but would by no means dare call myself an activist. To be honest, when [Occupy Wall Street] began (well after the first pages of the play were written) I made a conscious decision to stay a bit distant from it because when I get involved in things, I tend to go (as we would say in Texas) ‘whole hog’ and I wanted to keep my head in all the worlds of the play until I had at least a draft.

I believe strongly that art is a political vocation. Art, unlike politics, has real potential to change people’s minds.  Stella Adler, where I studied acting, continues to be one of the great proponents of artist-as-citizen; I’m proud to have studied in a heritage that has its roots in The Group Theater, which produced some of the greatest political artists of the 20^th century. I believe – as Stella herself once said – that theater belongs in its Greek etymological roots as “the seeing place…the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation.”

Research:

At the moment, reading and talking to people. I went through a big phase where I was listening to a lot of Rush Limbaugh. I’ve also spent a fair amount of time looking at photographs of all kinds, mostly from war zones. Right now (looking around on my living room floor) I’m reading Saul Alinsky, Jack Newfield, Thucydides, Bernie Sanders, Plutarch and Chris Hedges. Also Tom Jones, but that’s not for the play, that’s for my own amusement. I owe a great debt of gratitude to a coffee-filled hour with the unmatchable artist Monica Hunken, whose passion for activism made me fall in love with the First Amendment all over again. Google her. She’s doing some of the most courageous work I know.

 Are you ever totally surprised and learn new things from the readings? Or are you “rarely surprised” like Annabella?

I often put pieces of the puzzle together during readings – by hearing things threaded together I’ll realize where scenes belong or what happens in a moment that’s not yet happening.  I also often realize things about my characters – what lies at the heart of their motivations – when I have people reading, lines will pop out at me in a different way. I leave readings with a thousand ideas ricocheting around my head.

Which relationship do you find the most challenging to write for in this play? Which has really grown within the play and even surprised you – the playwright?

I think they’ve all had moments of being difficult and easy, and I’m constantly surprised.  I honestly didn’t even want Melody to be in the play at first, but she kept sort of knocking at the door.  The first scene I wrote with her that worked was with Annabella, and it was the first time I knew that understanding her was imperative to making the story of the play work.

Can you talk a little bit about working with a director at this stage? (Does the director help to lead and guide? Does the director help to lead and guide? Do you ever get a totally new perspective from the director?)

I’m very lucky that I know Deborah and we share a common vocabulary of talking about plays. In the development process so far, she’s been incredibly supportive.  In the early stages, it’s very delicate, how feedback is given and received, especially with such a new piece, and she’s been incredibly sensitive to that every step of the way. Mostly, when we have meetings, I leave with a bunch of questions she’s asked that I don’t have answers to yet – it’s a great encouragement, when people are asking the right questions for what’s next and provoking you to think about the potential of what’s on the page.

I’m only five months into the process of writing this play; I think my dream is to have a place to develop it further, and keep figuring out what happens next.

What are you hoping to get out of the reading on the 27^th? What are you hoping to see?

That’s a tough question. In any reading, no matter where it is, I’m hoping to see where the play is, and where it could go.  I am looking forward to having a cast that’s had some time to breathe with the script and talk about it.  I imagine I’ll learn a lot about the play.

Is a play ever finished? Do you ever hit ‘save’ and think, ‘yep, that’s done now?’

Only in my dreams. And even then, it’s a rare experience. I’m an actual perfectionist. Nothing is ever done. I have learned to accept this.

Beginning TODAY February 4th through February 14th, we will kick off our Ten Days of Love Campaign! Everyone who donates to On the Square during this time will receive a special shout out from OTSP. The person who donates the highest amount that day, will receive a special personalized SURPRISE gift from one of our fabulous company members- Rob, Logan, Michael, Deborah, Rachel, or Jackie! Donations can be made via the Pay Pal widget on our website (www.onthesquareproductions.com)

So c’mon and celebrate Valentine’s Day with us! Remember EVERY donation, no matter how big or small makes a huge difference. We love all of our donors! Let’s show each other some love!

For OTSP, 2012 starts off with a thrilling first! On January 30^th, we’ll be hosting our very first wine tasting and photo show, Views of Queens! Featuring live music, hors d’oeuvres, artisanal wines and a silent auction of original photography, this event will benefit On The Square and their upcoming production of The Minervae this summer. As this exciting evening approaches, I sat down with photographer Duane Tollison to find out what’s in store. Stay tuned at the end of the interview to find out more about our host, Moore Brothers Wine Company, and how to get your tickets. I hope you’ll be there AND be Square! – Michael Swartz

MS: How long have you been taking photos?

DT: I remember my dad buying a Minolta camera at Wal-Mart when I was very young, about 10 years old, and that was the same camera I used when my 6th grade class decided to start a school newspaper, The Chatterbox, to raise money for a class trip from Minnesota to Chicago. I was the school photographer. After that, I didn’t really keep up with photography, but I must have spent a fortune on disposable cameras, taking literally thousands of pictures. People used to call me “the tourist”. Finally, after I moved to New York, I bought a cheap Phoenix camera and began taking photography seriously.

MS: Why did you choose Queens for this project?

DT: Well, the simple answer is: It’s where I live. It’s also where On The Square Productions is headquartered. But it’s a really dynamic area with a rich variety things and places to appreciate and photograph, from something like the mythic Hell Gate Bridge, to the iconic Silvercup Studios sign. One of my favorite things to do is walk down 36^th street in Astoria. People on that street in particular have such diverse and beautiful gardens and flower beds. I like to get up close for some macro shots.

MS: I LOVE the close-up of the Queensboro Bridge. How did you manage to take that photo?

DT: Well, first, this photo came out much better than I thought it would. I was moving at the time it was taken. I was on the tram from Roosevelt Island to Manhattan. It was only the second time I had made the trip… and I’m intensely afraid of heights. In fact, the first time I rode the tram I could barely look outside the car, and never let go of the railing.

MS: I think this photo is my favorite of the bunch. Why did you choose this technique for this photo?

DT: There’s something about taking something slightly out of focus that makes it timeless. It almost puts the photo in another dimension. But I think you have to make sure it’s not too cliché, and that it doesn’t look too much on purpose. But I think it makes for a very romantic photograph.

MS: How do you determine what you’re going to photograph?

DT: Well, sometimes I plan it out. I keep a notebook with me where I write down ideas as I’m out, you know, day to day, and I’ll say to myself, “Wow, the Empire State Building looks great from this angle, on the N.W. corner of 38th street, right through those buildings” or “this doorway, with this stenciled sign, at 41^st street, just yearns to be photographed,” and I’ll write it down. But mostly I’ll just take my camera out for a day and just go wandering for hours, taking photos of things that I find interesting. I mean, I rarely go out with a concrete idea of what I’m going to photograph. Like the photos in the Views of Queens, most of them were taking during one afternoon just walking from Astoria Park to Roosevelt Island to Manhattan.

MS: Have you ever sold a photo at auction before.

DT: Yes. For years I have donated a photo to amfAR and GLAAD for their respective silent auctions. I feel like it’s a good way to be charitable and also share my creativity. One photo that I’m particularly proud of is one of Bethesda Fountain after a light dusting of snow. I took that photo one morning after work. I got off at 8am and the snow was just beginning so I decided to walk through Central Park. I love the snow. I’m from Montana, so I miss it sometimes. So, I got to Bethesda Fountain and the snow was pristine. It was a light coating and not one footprint. I was probably the first one to witness the unspoiled, ethereal beauty of it. It was gorgeous. Anyway, that photo sold at the amfAR San Francisco Fall Gala for $830.00.

MS: Is there anything you would have liked to photograph that you didn’t for this project?

DT: Well, I am a huge fan of art deco and formalist/post-modern types of architecture, and also old signs. So I was sad not to get more photos of the Silvercup Studios sign in Long Island City, and of the Pepsi-cola sign at Gantry Plaza State Park. I wanted to capture more of Astoria Pool, but it was just too dark. Also, I wish I had gotten to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the site of the 1964 New York’s World’s Fair.

MS: Why did you decide to give to On The Square Productions?

DT: I have a lot of respect and admiration for OTSP. They have a great ethic when it comes to theatre, which is a kind of rebellious and determined… performance at all costs. That is the distance between good work and great work. I am invested in seeing them grow and succeed. They put a lot of hard work and effort into everything and it always shows.

MS: Are there any photographers who inspire you?

DT: Oh, well that’s… wow, yeah. So many. Annie Leibowitz, James Nachtwey—a war photographer, Peter Lindbergh, Bernice Abbot, Ansel Adams, Laurent Nivalle, David LaChapelle… for the most part these photographers are witnesses to kinds of soft, subtle moments, and they transform them into these weighty, profound statements. I love that.

MS: What’s next for you?

DT: To keep taking photos. To never make it a job, as much as a passion.

Get your TICKETS here: http://viewsofqueens.eventbrite.com/

“Moore Brothers Wine Company is unique – we source our wines directly, working with artisan winegrowers in France, Italy, and Germany.

 Our personal relationships with these growers, and our integrated, temperature-controlled distribution model provides our customers with traditional, authentic, and natural wines that taste here in the US, exactly as they taste at the winery.”

“Hello, dear reader.

Regulars to OtSP’s newsletter and blog have seen a few references to the changes Rachel, Jackie, and I have been making to the structure of our reading series. We’re really excited about what we’ve been working on and hoped to share with you the new leaves we’re turning over for the new year.

Friends of the Square know about our Developmental Reading Series.

This has been a means for us to explore new work for production, work with new artists, and continue our dedication to original plays. As we read through the wealth of wonderful submissions, however, we started to think that it wasn’t fully answering the needs of all the talented writers who reached out to us. As it stood, the reading series was great for polished plays that, more than anything, needed to be seen. The hole we saw was for those writers whose work was not as developed, whose ideas needed more support to be fully fleshed out. And so we busted out our metaphorical pick-axe and created our institutional schism.

What had been our Developmental Reading Series is now our

Write Angle Series: finished plays in need of an audience, a chance to be heard and shown off. As in the past, we’re immensely proud not only of the quality of plays that come out of these reading, but of the people with whom we work.

So what’s new and different?

Our Square One series: Created for plays that aren’t finished, for ideas not fully set to the page, this is a private series to give writers a change to workshop their in-progress pieces. Our authors are not only hearing their words aloud for the first time with top notch actors, they get the chance to get feedback, to rework, and to come back with a new draft.

We’re delighted to be able to foster new work from it’s earlier stages and look forward to taking plays all the way through the development process.

Beginning with our first Square One! Author (and OtSP friend and favorite) Lauren Ferebee is currently working on a brand new draft of her show, which once it completes the Square One cycle will be presented as a Write Angle Reading. We’re thrilled to be working with her and to showcase more of her work, after last year’s charming success, Invisibility, or Tiny Rockets.

My resolution for 2012? To keep helping writers write. We hope to see you at our next reading!”

So Mark your calenders for February 27th – the first Write Angle Reading on 2012 – a new play by Lauren Ferebee!

See you soon On the Square!

Photo from The Minervae rehearsal – being developed into our mainstage production for the summer of 2012.