Works by Women

Interview: Antonia Bogdanovich

worksbywomen — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:57:16 +0000

Antonia Bogdanovich‘s debut short film, My Left Hand Man, will premiere at the New Jersey Film Festival: Spring 2012 on January 28th. The film follows the theatrical Emerson family as the youngest son, Samuel, recites Shakespeare to unsuspecting people on the streets of Los Angeles while his older brother picks their pockets.

Antonia, daughter of film legends Peter Bogdanovich and the late Polly Platt, loves the theatre, particularly Shakespeare. Before embarking on her career as a film director, she helmed two acclaimed theatre productions — My Fair Lady and Eugene O’Neill’s The Long Day’s Journey into Night — in South Carolina and studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

As an actress, Antonia appeared in features including They All Laughed (at the age of 12) with Audrey Hepburn, John Ritter and Ben Gazzara; Bottle Rocket, directed by Wes Anderson, starring Luke and Owen Wilson; The Whole Wide World, Sugartown and The Evening Star with Shirley MacLaine; and in TV Movies including To Sir, With Love with Sidney Poitier, The Rescuers, and The Price of Heaven with Cicely Tyson.

She spoke to Works by Women about what Shakespeare role she would love to tackle and how her acting experience influences her directing career.

WBW: The tagline for your short film My Left Hand Man is “Shakespeare meets the ghetto.” You clearly love the Bard. Who is your favorite Shakespearean character and why?
AB: Lady Macbeth. The classic struggle all powerful women face. Sometimes we have to act like men and repress our female side to get what we want or gain power, but after we have that power or get what we want we often suffer because we are women and are able to so intensely reflect on what we have done and oftentimes feel guilty about what we had to do to get there. She became Queen of Scotland, but then could’t live with what she did to get there.

WBW: What other plays or playwrights have inspired you?
AB: O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night, Odets’ Golden Boy, Lyle Kessler’s Orphans (would die to direct this one on the stage!) – heard it’s supposed to be revived in New York soon. Maybe I can interview for the job…lol.

WBW: You started your acting career as a pre-teen. Did your acting experience influence your directing style?

AB: As an actor I learned to really listen and take the attention off myself. I learned that it is often in the quiet small moments where magic can really happen. It taught me how to talk to my actors. I was one of them so I understand what it’s like to be in their shoes. Most of my close friends are actors, and I’ve been surrounded by them my whole life so there’s a comradery I will always have with them when I’m working as a director.

WBW: You’ve directed for stage, and now completed your first short film. How is it different directing for the stage versus film?
AB: When you are directing for the stage you can experiment a bit, and if you’re not sure, that night, you can see if it works or plays well for the audience. Then you can change and/or adjust a bit as the production progresses and so can the actors. You also have a rehearsal period in theatre. Now a days, most films don’t alot time for rehearsals. So for a film, you can’t really go back and re-shoot. Yes, you can re-shoot a bit, but as a director you don’t really want to give yourself that allowance, and if you are starting out you don’t have that option because typically there’s no money for re-shoots. So you have to know while you’re shooting if the scene works or plays well. Before you walk on set, you have to know what you and once you’re shooting a scene – if you’re not getting what you want – you must get it right then and there before you move on. Otherwise, you will kick yourself in the cutting room because usually by then there’s no going back.

WBW: Your father is an Oscar-nominated director, and your mother was a beloved producer and Oscar-nominated production designer. What did you learn from each of them?

AB: Alot of what I learned from my parents was through osmosis, watching them work. And oftentimes they would explain to me why they were making certain choices. As I got older, I started to ask a few questions, but really I learned by example. My family lived, breathed and ate film. From both Peter and Polly, I learned the importance of detail when it came to writing. They knew so so much about writing. It still boggles my mind. They would literally go through my early screenplays with a fine tooth comb – picking up every grammatical error, pointing out issues of structure and plot and character development. Their attention to detail was unbelievable, and now I’m that way about my own work. After a while, they would get an almost final draft to make notes on, where as at the beginning they would get earlier drafts to gives notes on. I’m not sure if I learned obsession from them. Let’s just say that’s genetic. But to be in the film industry and truly stick with it, you have to be obsessed.

At his home, my father literally screened most of the films by Lubitsch, Ford, Hawkes, Hitchcock, Welles, Renoir, Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Cukor all before I was twelve years old. And I’ve seen many many of their films multiple times. My father taught me how to talk to actors, about where to put the camera and why. About editing, I learned all about cutting as a child because I literally would sit for hours in the cutting room and watch my father work. I’ll never forget the summer I watched my father cut Saint Jack. I probably watched it 20 to 25 times while he was cutting the film from the 1st rough cut to the final cut.

My mother had such a broad scope because she was a designer, a screenwriter and then a producer. So it’s hard to articulate how much she taught me, but let’s suffice to say it was a ton! She worked very closely with the crew. She knew how to talk to them, and she also knew how to talk to studio heads. So she passed that onto me. My mother had impeccable taste from clothes, to furniture, to paintings, to everything in her personal life and in film. We would go to the movies and she would see an outfit or a room design that she didn’t like and she wouldn’t not stop vocalizing her distaste for it throughout the scene or at times the entire movie. She said it was distracting her from the story or film itself. If there was a door or wall she didn’t like and an actor was up against it, watch out. She would say, “Who would put that awful color against that wonderful actor…horrible, just awful. What were they thinking!” She did this always. And now I find myself doing the same things constantly. That really rubbed off on me. My attention to Production Design is pretty intense right now.

As a producer she taught me the importance of staying on schedule, hiring the right department heads and being collaborative with the actors and the rest of the crew. Both my parents had a great respect for DPs, and they passed that onto me.

WBW: What are the challenges facing women in the arts?

AB: I think some of the challenges facing women in the arts is probably our insecurities. I believe all of us have to consciously stuff those down and work hard to transcend those insecurities to be successful in the arts. Oftentimes, society and our own families teach us to doubt ourselves and our gut instincts, which are so crucial to being a great artist. Our mothers or grandmothers tell us certain things because they themselves have been disappointed or discouraged as women and that rubs off on us and affects the decisions we make as adults. I think women are not always taken seriously as men because we are typically more emotional or more vulnerable than men.

WBW: What gives you hope for women in the arts?

AB: There are quite a few very powerful women in film so I think we have come a very long way from even the 1980′s. There are several major female producers I would die to work with right now. Kathryn Bigelow gives me hope. Stacy Sher, Lindsey Weber give me hope. The strength of women and what they can go through and still end up successful gives me hope in the arts. My mother, Polly Platt, had such a difficult life. Not alot of people know that. Yes they know about her marriage to Peter. But she had such a difficult childhood and even as a young adult she went through some horrible tragedies, but she rose to be one of the most celebrated women in film. And that gives me hope for all women in the arts – that no matter how hard it gets – we can still rise above and get it done and get it done well!

My Left Hand Man will screen at the New Jersey Film Festival: Spring 2012 on January 28, 2012 at 7:00 pm. Tickets range from $8 to $10. For additional information, visit http://www.njfilmfest.com/.

‘The Way of Water’ Finds Its Way in April

worksbywomen — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:00:53 +0000

Last spring, Works by Women conducted a two-part interview with innovative theatermaker Caridad Svich as her adaptation of In The Time of the Butterflies, the gorgeous book from Julia Alvarez about the Mirabal sisters, premiered in New York. Now Caridad has a new, wide-reaching project on tap for April, and she’s looking for some collaborators. I’ve included the information about THE WAY OF WATER below.

Thirty-plus arts venues across the US and abroad in collaboration with NoPassport theatre alliance
will mark the two-year anniversary of Deepwater Horizon, the BP oil spill, and its effects on human health & environment with free readings of

Caridad Svich’s new play

THE WAY OF WATER

in the month of April 2012.

If your local theatre and/or college wishes to stage a reading, contact NoPassportpress@aol.com

Official web page at http://nopassport.org/wayofthewater

THE WAY OF WATER
a new play by Caridad Svich

The Way of Water is a play that pits the aftermath of the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico next to the lives of those directly affected by it. It’s a story about four people making do as best they can, living their lives, and trying to stay afloat in the land of many compromised dreams, as the devastation of a health and environmental crisis in the US Gulf is played out on a human scale. It’s a play about poverty in America, rumors and truth, what is said and what gets written, and the quest for an honorable life.

The Way of Water was developed at the 2011 Winter Writers Retreat at the Lark Play Development Center in New York City.

Full-length. Four characters (two men, two women, all in their 30s). Simple set. Running time: 2 hours.

Caridad Svich is a US playwright and recipient of the 2011 American Theatre Critics Association Primus Prize for her play The House of the Spirits, based on the novel by Isabel Allende. http://www.caridadsvich.com

Perusal copies: To request a script of The Way of Water contact author at csvich21@caridadsvich.com
or agent Elaine Devlin at edevlinlit@aol.com

Interview: Tamilla Woodard

worksbywomen — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:00:45 +0000

Tamilla Woodard is a director, actor and adapter. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, an alumnus of The Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and a founding member of The Internationalists, a collective of directors from around the world creating an interactive global theatrical community. You may have seen her work recently at HERE where she directed the New Georges’ production of Nightlands by Sylvan Oswald as well as Saviana Stanescu’s Polanski Polanski.

Later this week, Hotel Project, an international collaborative site specific theater piece for one spectator at a time, will receive its United States premiere at two Tri-State area hotels — The Grand Summit Hotel in Summit, New Jersey and the Washington Jeffersonin midtown Manhattan. Tamilla is one of the co-founders and directors of the project, which originated in Querétaro, Mexico last summer.During the Hotel Project, audience members are treated to three short plays specifically created for three different hotel rooms, but this theatre piece is unlike any other because only one audience member at a time is in each room. Therefore, spectators are like flies on the wall, peeking into a room that they normally wouldn’t be allowed to.

Tamilla talked to Works by Women about the Hotel Project, its challenges and future.

WBW: How did the Hotel Project come together?

TW: Well, the idea came about from both need and inspiration. Ana Margineanu, whose original concept this is, had just completed a show for one spectator at a time and we, as a company, were in the middle of programming the next 12 months and dealing with all the headaches of finding affordable space and the disappointment of not having sold out our festival. At some moment Ana said she had an idea: a play in a hotel room (a fairly inexpensive and rentable venue) for one audience member at a time (instant sell out!). I invited Ana to travel with me to Mexico City to meet some of my collaborators and we shared the idea with them. They were excited and we began to lay down plans that very night over sopes and tequila. We’ve since developed the artistic structure and the collaborative structure into this present form. And it continues to grow and become more rich. For example, for New York City we have added a director/playwright team to create for the spaces between the rooms. Very exciting progression of the original idea, for us.

WBW: You are directing a piece in New Jersey and another one in New York. What are the challenges of directing a short play in a hotel room?

TW: I love the possibility of engaging the room in a way that also invites the spectator to stay mobile and not just plop down on the bed to view the whole thing. An obvious challenge of directing, especially in New York City, is the size of the rooms. We will be in some teeny tiny spaces so I’ll look for ways to keep movement going and not have the spectator squashed against the closet door! There is one particular thing I am extra mindful about in the space of four walls, actors and one audience member: authentic emotional connection balanced by heightened gesture. Just because the environment is real and super close up does not mean that the way the plays are acted needs to be naturalistic. We tell the playwrights the same thing. We are not obligated to naturalism in writing style or performance. The New Jersey hotel, The Grand Summit, is HUGE! Total opposite situation there. My challenge there is to eat up all that space, to make ever inch count and to entice the audience to follow and not perch on the comfy settee!

WBW: This project premiered last year in Mexico. What was the audience’s reaction?

TW: Tremendous! We were astounded, really. We asked audiences to give short interviews afterwards and almost everyone wanted to tell about there experience. We asked people to sign the “HOTEL REGISTRY ” and every single one of them did and wrote remarkable comments. They said such amazing things about the experience– things we’d hoped to hear and some we’d never thought of. Some people thought we had even choreographed the street scenes between hotels. (in Querétaro, we were in three different hotel room properties so audiences had to walk a few blocks between each room). One of my favorite quotes is from a playwright and critic who said in his interview that we “brought theatre back to life for him.” He said it was like going to the theatre for the first time and he envied the spectator who came after him for not knowing the delights that were in store.

WBW: How is it different producing Hotel Project in New York/New Jersey than in Mexico?

TW: Well rooms are HARD to get in New York City. We were in contact with over 100 hotels: E-mails, cold calls, pitch sessions before we got the Washington Jefferson and that was because our producer had a previous business relationship with the hotel. Also in Mexico, we were working with two companies who had a fantastic base of actors and production staff at hand. All volunteer. Here we are casting and hiring a lot of folks who don’t have a previous relationship with the company and it’s harder to assemble the team– actors, translators, production assistants …

Also our tiny budget went a LONG way in Querétaro. Not so much here. But we still have a tremendous team with the partnership of Neighborhood Productions and The Internationalists. It takes a village no matter what country we’re in.

WBW: What’s next for Hotel Project?
TW: Romania, we hope. This summer we are supposed to go back to Mexico at the invitation of one of the regional ministries of tourism. We are trying to work that out. Our plan is certainly to be in Europe in three cities consecutively in 2013. If anybody has connections at a great hotel somewhere, let us know! But Hotel Project is created to be a mobile collaboration. It is essentially an invitation to artists around the world. So call us. Hotel Project will travel.

WBW: What are the challenges facing women in American theater?
TW: The same challenges facing all artists, only perhaps more magnified. The opportunity to work, to be funded to create work and to be paid a living wage for the work you do. Frankly, I have a lot of fantastic opportunities to work but fewer opportunities to work for a living wage. Sigh….

WBW: What gives you hope for women in American theater?
TW: Watching my contemporaries rise in the commercial market. Leigh Silverman and Daniella Topol were enrolled as directors and at Carnegie Mellon University while I was there as an actor. So to see the trajectory of their careers tells me the path for women directors to succeed is growing. And they are not my only contemporaries who have wedged their foot in the door and pried it open through force of will, perseverance and talent. People like Leigh and Daniella and Liesl Tommy and Kate Whoriskey totally inspire me and give me hope for what’s to come!

Hotel Project performs January 27 – 29, 2012 at multiple times at The Grand Summit Hotel in Summit, New Jersey and at the Washington Jefferson hotel in midtown Manhattan February 3 – 5, 2012. For tickets and more information, visit www.hotelproject.co.

LPTW Launches Blog Profiling its Members

worksbywomen — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:00:37 +0000

Works by Women‘s blog has been on hiatus for a little while as I developed a new blog in celebration of the League of Professional Theatre Women’s 30th Anniversary. Now, that it is up and running, I will return my attention to Works by Women, celebrating the work of women in theater.

In the meantime, if you have a chance, please check out the LPTW30 blog, which profiles a different LPTW member each day. While you will learn a little about each woman’s work in her bio, each post offers a more personal glimpse into what inspires these women and what makes them tick. Some recent posts include playwright Chiori Miyagawa‘s love letter to Swan Lake, playwright Robin Rice Lichtig‘s ode to being 7o-year-old, playwright Robin Rothstein’s riff on the Bloody Mary and dramaturg Anne Hamilton‘s appreciation of Judith Malina.

Check the blog out frequently because a new post by a different member will be featured each day of 2012.

Interview: Michelle Haines

worksbywomen — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:00:35 +0000

Works by Women has interviewed many theatermakers — playwrights, directors, and dramaturgs over the past few months. Today, we shift our attention to another very important part of the equation — arts marketing. No matter how fabulous a play or musical is, each needs an audience. Marketing is a crucial part getting productions noticed and filling houses.

Michelle Haines, currently Sales and Marketing Manager at DreamWorks Theatricals, recently moved to New York City from Seattle, where she worked for Broadway Across America. She also ran her own theatre company –Burnt Studio Productions — during her twelve years in the Emerald City. Michelle is a graduate of Boise State University.

Works by Women caught up with Michelle. She tells us about the Seattle theater scene, her best marketing advice and how she fell in love with theater.

1) What inspired you to work in theater?
MH: For as long as I can remember I was always drawn to the performing arts. As a child I was painfully shy and the arts became an outlet for expression, first with music and then with art. But something really special happened when I got involved in theater. I am inspired by the collective of artists that come together as a community, I love the demands on everyone to reach opening night whether you feel you are ready or not, and of course the dialogue that develops when you finally experience it with an audience. As I mature, my relationship with theater continues to grow and evolve in tremendous ways that I could have never anticipated. Whether I’m involved artistically or as an administrator, I still get the same thrill from taking part in this powerful and beautiful art form.

2) You’ve spent much of your career based in Seattle. What was it like working in theater in the Emerald City?
MH: I arrived in Seattle right when the city was bursting with incredible theater. Following college, a friend and I had the strong desire to develop and produce original works of theater. Seattle seemed like the perfect place for a young company to experiment and produce theater relatively inexpensively. We presented our first show, Progression, at the Seattle International Fringe Festival and after being awarded the Artistic Pick of the festival it became clear to us that we could continue to create this type of work and move forward on forming a non-profit organization, Burnt Studio Productions. That decision would not have been possible without knowing what the city provided us in terms of support, talent, inspiration and the room to explore the full spectrum of our voice as a new company. From there, I had the great opportunity to work with various organizations that contributed to everything I know about theater up to this point including some as diverse as the Empty Space Theatre, Theatre Puget Sound and Broadway at the Paramount. I highly recommend Seattle to any young artist who is ready to jump in with both feet! It will reward you.

3) You are a director as well as a marketing expert. How do these two disciplines inform each other?
MH: I really dive into both disciplines with a similar approach. For me, it always comes down to finding the heart of the story and then determining how that will be shared with and received by an audience in a way that hopefully is transcends.

With directing, you have that initial response to the material that draws you in a way that becomes borderline obsessive – it inspires you and haunts you to the point of no return. Next, it’s about digging through the play to find as many facts about the characters, time, place, playwright etc. that can lead to really wonderful discoveries through diligent research. I really try to be tedious with that part of the process so I then can bring those elemetns back to the play to help inform the overall concept, choices, rehearsal process and audience experience. I truly enjoy what comes with the patience and persistence of such a hunt. Once armed with all of that information, it frees me to approach directing from an honest place and really helps to bring to life that initial response I had to the play in a visceral and genuine way. The final key to the puzzle is when you start to bring in your collaborators and what new perspective they bring to the process that fills the story with such incredible life in ways you couldn’t imagine.

When I start to look at how I can market a property, play or season I really revert to the same creative approach. I seek out the core of what gets me emotionally invested in the material and drives me to want our future audiences to feel that same pull when they interact with any of the marketing pieces. As with directing, I dive into research to see how similar shows have been marketed as well as learning more about the property or organization itself. Once done, you can create key art, campaigns and strategies that are really in line with the core of what you are representing and ultimately will be powerful enough for people to want to buy a ticket. And of course, it is great to work with a talented marketing team brings more ideas to the table and executes them in ways you didn’t even dream.

I think both are informed by not settling for what is on the surface and can easily be presented. Gimmicks in either discipline only get you so far and don’t help to serve the overall purpose of the presentation. It really demands a deep knowledge, commitment and love of the material in order to expect any audience to feel the same way about it. And of course, it should be fun! It’s a creative process after all and you just have to be open to the possibility of what you may discover.

4) What is one piece of marketing advice you would give to companies big and small out there – something that you live by?
MH: Be clean and clear with your messaging and overall concept. Nothing drives me crazier than a busy, wordy, and/or visually assaulting ad that I can’t absorb in the blink of an eye and can’t decipher who they are talking to. As I mentioned in the last answer, you tell a story through marketing and you need to be as specific and clear with your choices as you do when you are working on a play. When starting on a campaign I try to remind myself that a great majority of people who will see the marketing don’t care about the thing I’m trying to promote so it really drives me to create something with information that is easy to digest and embodies an overall concept that resonates. Marketing is more than just a tool to help inform people of the time, place and how to buy tickets (though that information is very important and again should be easy to access), but it has the power to affect them in a personal way that also provides a universal sense of what the story is about or the core values of an organization. As with all things, this is easier said than done. Sometimes you really hit the target and sometimes you miss, but usually I find less is more and that is advice companies big or small can access no matter what their budget or resources are.

5) You are a recent New York transplant. What excites you about the Big Apple?
MH: Everything! I’m in the midst of a major love affair with this city that is starting to become a serious commitment. Walking through the park, taking in the opera at the Met, eating the amazing food, hearing too many languages to count as you walk down the street, working with a terrific company in the heart of it all – it is so incredible! Of course, then you throw in the theater and it truly becomes the greatest city in the world. I’m really excited to immerse myself into this amazing community as an artist and administrator. I would love to be as deeply involved as I was back in Seattle. Reaching out to my previous contacts, as well as meeting new ones in organizations like the League of Professional Women provides a good start.

6) What are the challenges facing women in American theater?
MH: It is an interesting time for women in theater. My generation has definitely benefited from the battles previous generations have fought in that I have never personally felt I’ve been held back from pursuing my passions and goals because I am a woman. I know it is still out there and that women are not necessarily getting the same opportunities to tell their stories and lead our great institutions at the same rate as men, but I find that each year there seems to be more women in charge, more plays produced, directed and written by women, and more men that don’t adhere to the old mentality of what a women is or isn’t capable of. Personally, I think the greatest hurdle is that too many times I get in my own way and allow doubts to plague my own sense of what I can and should accomplish in a way that I feel men just don’t when pursuing the same goals.

7) What gives you hope for women in American theater?
MH: The good news is I’m surrounded by many accomplished women in the theater and we can continue to provide support for each other as we all seek balance and respect within this field across the country. It continues to get better by the act of us just doing the work, doing it well, supporting the work of your sisters and letting our passion for theatre inspire us to leave a legacy that becomes undeniable.

Celebrating International Theatre & Rwandan Artist Odile Gakire Katese

worksbywomen — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:53:32 +0000

Odile Gakire Katese is a trailblazing theater artist — playwright, director, actress, activist and poet. She grew up in Zaire, and only learned as a young adult that her family had fled their native Rwanda due to unrest in the country. She returned to Rwanda, and has created theatrical work that is breathtaking, insightful, moving and ultimately healing. She can now add to her accomplishments the inaugural Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award, which will be presented to her on Sunday, October 16th by the League of Professional Theatre Women. The award ceremony will be held at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

The following day – Monday, October 17th — Ms. Katese will be the guest of honor at an all day symposium about her work and international theatre at the Martin E. Segal Theatre, Graduate Center, CUNY (365 Fifth Avenue, between 34th & 35th St.). The program is as follows:

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Odile Gakire Katese “in her own words”
excerpts from Sweet Dreams, Ngwino Ubeho and Book of Life

4:00pm – 6pm
Status and projects of women working in International Theatre
Panel discussion moderated by Anne Cattaneo, Lincoln Center Theater dramaturg, founder and head of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors’ Lab and recipient of the prestigious 2011 Margo Jones Award

Also participating:
Gerda Stevenson SCOTLAND
Dijana Milosevic SERBIA
Odile Gakire Katese RWANDA
Deborah Asiimwe UGANDA
Martha Coigney USA

6:30pm – 8pm
An Evening with Odile Gakire Katese
Scenes from Ngwino Ubeho, excerpts from Book of Life and a clip from Sweet Dreams, a ﬁlm by Lisa Fruchtman and Rob Fruchtman about Odile’s unique vision.

These presentations are free and open to the public. Reservations may be made by E-mailing international@theatrewomen.org.

Ms. Katese has said, “My business card should actually say professional dreamer.” Her dream is to create a culture of hope and happiness in a country still dealing with the emotional and cultural repercussions of 1994, when more than 800,000 people of the small East African nation were murdered, the vast majority of whom fell within a mere 100 days. Ms. Katese describes her motivation for her work: “Each project is a line I throw out in order to join with others…an opportunity to let my heart speak…to officially declare my fire for humanity.”

Interview: Kristen Vaughan

worksbywomen — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:00:05 +0000

Last month, Kristen Vaughan (pictured left with Joseph Mathers and Matthew Trumbull) won the New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her work in Retro Productions’ production of Benefactors. The award may have been a surprise for Kristen, but not for those in the theater community who have loved her work for years.

Through October 16th, she is playing one of the most controversial women of the last 100 years, Ayn Rand, author of Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead, in Impetuous Theater Group‘s production of Action Philosophers! at the Brick Theater in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The wild show, which ComicMix hailed “philosophical history a la Monty Python on Crack,” is Crystal Skillman’s stage adaptation of the critically acclaimed graphic novel by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey.

Kristen spoke to Works by Women about her favorite philosopher, her inspiration and what it’s like to win the New York Innovative Theatre Award.

1) You just won the NY IT Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. Kudos. What was that like?
KV: It was wonderful and such an honor. It’s hard for me to fathom how it is that I win such a thing, but I think it’s frequently said that a great deal of what happens to actors is luck. I feel incredibly lucky. And one of the ways that I know this to be true is that I was nominated for the same award alongside one of my closest friends, Heather Cunningham, who works so hard and is so amazing that I was rooting for her! Also, the New York Innovative Theatre Awards organization is tremendous, so my joy at being involved with what they do was overwhelming.

2) When and how did you know that you wanted to pursue theater?
KV: I attribute it to two plays that came into my life at just the right moment (faltering visual arts degree), but it’s also true that as a girl and young woman, my mother, Ursula, was in the theater in Germany. She stopped acting at 20, when she came to the U.S. Some part of me feels like I picked up the gauntlet at 20. I would have loved to have seen her on stage.

3) What artists inspire you?
Lately, Mark Rylance. Always, [Meryl] Streep. Close enough to touch (at times), Mac Rogers.

4) Now, you’re playing Ayn Rand in Action Philosophers! How have you approached this role?
KV: Ayn is amazing. As much as I have reservations about her philosophy, she is quite an example of a deeply determined, driven, passionate woman – and her impact (for better or worse) is to this day quite profound. I read her novels many years ago, and in preparation for the show I watched her interviews with Mike Wallace (which you can find on YouTube) and I took a look at some of her philosophical writing. Also, the show is based on the ACTION PHILOSOPHERS! graphic novel, by Crystal Skillman‘s husband, Fred [Van Lente], and she was kind enough to gift the book to her players. I saw the show at the Brick’s Comic Book Fest, where Ayn was played hysterically, and fantastically by Kelley Rae O’Donnell, and I knew that I had to let my restraint down quite a bit to get even close to the larger than life characters this show calls for. John Hurley, our director, makes it easy.

5) Since Action Philosophers! offers a new spin on some of the world’s greatest thinkers, who is your favorite philosopher and why?
KV: I’m a terrible philosophical grazer, I don’t really have a favorite. I will say though, there’s an unforgettable Kierkegaard story that’s a bit like “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. It talks about a community of people who are happy and at ease because all of the suffering is played out by a chosen few. Some 20+ years ago when I first encountered this story, it stuck. It seemed to me a great metaphor for the ghettoes, the struggling classes, and the otherwise marginalized (and here Ayn starts to roll over in her grave). That story may be at least a part of a Socialist sensibility I’ve carried throughout my adult life.

6) What are the challenges facing women in American theater?
KV: Ubiquitous as we are, we’re still generally not considered the “norm” or the “universal character.” That voice is still male. I’m so unbelievably tired of hearing the phrase “chick flick.” Apply the chick flick sentiment to the stage where the “real art” happens, and you have a good idea of what we’re up against.

7) What gives you hope for women in American theater?
KV: It’s taking a lot longer than many of us hoped, but deep down I think we all know… WE’RE UNSTOPPABLE.

Performances of Action Philosophers! run through October 16th, Thursday and Friday at 8:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 7:00 pm, at the Brick Theater, 575 Metropolitan Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Tickets are $18 at www.bricktheater.com.

photo credit: Crystal Skillman

Interview: Barbara Kielhofer

worksbywomen — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:00:22 +0000

Earlier this month, Barbara Kielhofer, Producing Director at T. Schreiber Studio and Theatre, accepted the 2011 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Full-Length Production of a Play for her work on T. Schreiber’s production of Lanford Wilson’s Balm in Gilead. It was quite a milestone for an emerging producer, one who is fearless in her choices, innovative in marketing strategies and dedicated to creating lively, heart-palpitating theater.

Barbara, pictured left with playwright John Patrick Shanley at the NYIT Awards ceremony, is a member of the Theater Resources Unlimited’s Producer Development Mentorship Program and the League of Professional Theatre Women. She spoke to Works by Women about winning the NY IT Award, her love of theater and her best piece of advice for other producers.

1) What is your first theater memory?
[Barbara Kielhofer]: My first theatre memory is going to Cats with my parents when I was four. And I have to say, as four-year old, I was blown away by it. It blew my mind all these actors crawling through the aisles dressed like house cats. I sort of have an earlier memory of my parents going to see Pump Boys and Dinettes. I was two or three-years-old and was too young to go to the theatre with them. It really made me mad that I wasn’t included so I was extra excited when I was finally old enough to go to the theatre. Theatre has been a huge part of my life for me entire life. I was really lucky to grow up in the theatre going household.

2) Your began your career in theater as a stage manager. Tell me a little bit about your experience.
[BK]: I started stage managing in college. I knew I wanted to do theatre but wasn’t sure where I fit in. My mentor Michael Nehring really helped me find my niche. I owe my entire career to him and the time he took to really help me find my passion. He also gave me my first professional SM gig at his theatre company in Los Angeles, Son of Semele. From there I moved to New Work, received my masters in Stage Management from Columbia and have worked with Choice Theatricals, LAByrinth, The Public Theater, PS122, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Splinter Group, Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Theatre Festival, The Princeton Festival and New York City Opera…just to name a few.

3) How was the transition from SM to Producer?
[BK]: The transition from Stage Manager to Producer was a complete surprise. I took a few producing classes for my masters, but hadn’t really considered it as a career path. I was in between stage management gigs when a position opened up at T. Schreiber as the assistant to the Producing Director. I’m close with our Board President so she recommended me for the job. It was just supposed to be a temp thing while I was in between gigs, but I loved it so much I stayed on. Less than a year later our Producing Director left to pursue her directing career, and I got bumped up to Producing Director. I never planned it, but producing has ended up being my true passion. I can’t even imagine not having it in my life.

4) You just won the New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Production for T. Schreiber’s production of Balm in Gilead. What was that like?
[BK]: Balm in Gilead was a magical experience for everyone involved so winning the Outstanding Production Innovative Theatre Award really put the cherry on top of our sundae. It was a fitting way to honor our collective experience and to honor Lanford Wilson’s memory. In my acceptance speech I said that “his words and his presence touched us all deeply” and I really mean that. He changed our lives with this show and by being there to experience it with us. He was an amazing man.

5) What’s the most important thing you’ve learned as a producer?
[BK]: Pick your battles. Not everything is worth fighting for, but the few things that are worth it are usually the things that make or break a show.

6) What do you think are the greatest challenges women face in American theater?
[BK]: There is definitely a glass ceiling for women. There are very few female Artistic Directors, and it seems like there are only a few female playwrights getting their work produced. I know so many women working in theatre, but so few up them have reached the highest levels of their profession.

7) What gives you hope for women in American theater?
[BK]: The women I know working in theatre give me hope. They are smart, professional, driven women. If anyone is going to breakdown the boundaries we currently have in American Theatre it is one of the women working in theatre today.

T. Schreiber Studio and Theatre’s next production is Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero, running October 13 through November 20, 2011 at the Gloria Maddox Theatre (151 West 26th St., 7th Floor, between 6th and 7th Ave., New York City).

Turning 30: League of Professional Theatre Women

worksbywomen — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:30:30 +0000

The League of Professional Theatre Women will kick off its 30th Anniversary season on Wednesday, September 28th in the heart of Times Square. The event — Turning 30: Celebrating Our Legacy, Creating Our Future — will be hosted by Julie James (SiriusXM Radio) and Christine Pedi (Forbidden Broadway) and run from 10:30 am until 12:00 pm at Duffy Square. Enjoy performances by Carol Linnea Johnson, Corinne Melançon and Stacia Fernandez  from  Mamma Mia and a special appearance by Judy Gold (The Judy Show). The event is free and open to the public.

To learn more about the League of Professional Theatre and its 30th anniversary events, visit LPTW’s web site.

Great Article about Female African-American Playwrights on Broadway This Fall

worksbywomen — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 16:30:42 +0000

Two days ago, this New York Times article about the three plays by African-American women that will grace Broadway this fall appeared. The playwrights are Katori Hall, whose Olivier Award-winning play The Mountaintop bow first; Lydia Diamond, author of Stick Fly; and Suzan-Lori Parks, who contributed to the revised The Gershwins Porgy and Bess. The article is mainly about Ms. Hall and Ms. Diamond.

Previews of The Mountaintop, starring Samuel L. Jackson as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Angela Bassett as a maid he encounters at the Lorraine Motel just hours before he is murdered, begin September 22nd while performances of Stick Fly begin on November 18th. Both plays are directed by Kenny Leon.