Stage Whisper
Whisper in the Wings Episode 600
(upbeat music) - Welcome back in everyone to a fabulous new Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper. We are continuing coverage of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. We have gotten to hear from a lot of amazing artists with a lot of incredible shows. And today's guest is no exception to that. We are being joined today by Alexa Elmi, who is the playwright and performer of her new show, Alexa Play. It's happening August 12th through the 17th at venue 29, Paradise in the Vault. And you can get your tickets and more information by visiting edfringe.com. - Very curious, very excited about this show. You gotta love a show about Alexa, especially by someone with the same name. This is gonna be very interesting to learn more about. So why don't we go ahead and welcome on our guest, Alexa. Welcome in to Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper. - Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. - I wonder how many echoes and stuff that we've just triggered by just doing an intro with your name, right? This is gonna be-- - Oh, all of them. All of them. Every time I have to do anything over Zoom, if there's usually even just one person involved, they'll be like an echo going off in the background and I just have to go, "I'm sorry." - Well, I'm excited to dive into this play that you've written, Alexa Play. Can you start by telling us a little bit about what the show is about? - So this show is about what has happened to the name Alexa over the past decade. It's a comedy/revenge quest against Amazon and Jeff Bezos. It's also about the objectification of women and the way that we have to fight for our personal autonomy in a fun and funny container. The elevator pitch is Alexa is fed up with Amazon's bastardization of her name. She creates a support group for real Alexa's to seek healing over the robot that has stolen their identity and to ultimately take on yet another mega conglomerate, hell bent on turning women into objects. - I love that. What a brilliant idea. So what inspired you to pin this piece? I mean, I kind of feel like I'd be sharing me in the face, but why don't you tell us what was the inspiration behind it? - Well, literally, whenever I meet a new person, oftentimes the first thing they say is to make an Alexa joke. And so it kind of started as me trying to make a joke about that and then it turned into an entire play. - That is wonderful way to take, dare I say pain and turn it into humor? - Oh yeah, you know it. - And also I love that you're pushing a bigger message in it as well, which we'll get into in a moment, but I'm curious to know, you know, as we are barely towards the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, what has it been like developing this work? - Having done a staged reading and performed it at Theater Row with the United Solar Festival in the fall of 2023, it's been really rewarding to continue to sharpen the script as well as to continue exploring what this play looks like on its feet and how we can further develop the relationship with the audience. I like to view the play as a living thing, which for me means that certain moments and lines in the play can change with every show depending on the audience and the energy that they're giving me. And my director, Emma Shafer, and I have spent a lot of time developing the character of Alexa through our movement work and that's been really grounding to continue coming back to as I've developed the piece. That is very cool. I love it. So I wanna come back to the discussion about message because, you know, you've mentioned that not only are you kind of lashing back at the idea that this is your name and look what it's become, but you're also taking this great idea about women and how they're viewed and objectified and whatnot. So what is the message or thought? Or is there a message or thought? You hope that audiences take away from your piece. I hope that as a society, we will stop naming objects after women, especially women with common names. I hope it also just opens up the dialogue about feminism. In the US, it feels like we need to talk about feminism and women's rights now more than ever. You know, it takes a lot of courage, gumption and strength to continuously stand up for yourself and be respected. Historically, this has been the case for any marginalized group of people and continues to be the case today. And Alexa Play narrows in on a niche situation, but in reality, it isn't really in Sony's at all, as Alexa says in the play. I'll be here as you laugh as you cry, who knows what could happen. This is my first support group. So Alexa Play comes to us as a comedic lens, but really hits on what it means to be taken advantage of in a capitalistic and patriarchal world. So I'm just out here trying to combat misogyny. - Yes, yes. Oh my gosh, that is amazing. I feel like that is definitely an idea and a message we can all get behind. I can't believe it's 2024 and you and I are having that conversation, but here we are. - Yep. Well, it was such a great idea, was such a fun way of presenting all of this truly. Who doesn't love a good play like this? Who are you hoping have access to this show? - I hope that the people who are meant to find it do, I would love women to come and droves. My dream would be like in an ideal world to fill the audience with people named Alexa. I think that would be the funniest thing ever. I don't know that that'll ever be possible, but that would be hysterical. (upbeat music) - And for the second part of our interview, we love giving our listeners a chance to get to know our guests a little bit better. Take your brain, if you will. And I would love to start by asking you what or who inspires you? What playwrights, composers or shows have inspired you in the past or just some of your favorites? - My favorite playwright is Ella Hickson. My favorite play is Oil, which she wrote. And it has these interscenes in the play that kind of changed the way that I thought about structure. I also think it's a really cool play because she takes the concept of candlelight and oil and all that and goes all the way to harvesting the moon, spoiler alert. But it's just like, you know, the idea that she can take this concept and stretch it as far as she can blew my mind. And it's also like about a mother-godder relationship through time. And as a playwright, I definitely really like to focus on female relationships. I'm also a huge Shakespeare fan, my favorite being "Midsummer Night's Dream." I love the work that Mischief Theatre Company does. I've seen a number of their shows, which would be the play that goes wrong. Peter Pan goes wrong. And they have so many good ones, but every time I've seen one, I just laugh my butt off the whole show. And I hope that people do that at my show. I've also always loved and been inspired by Lucille Ball. She definitely has been a big source of inspiration and a reference for the show as well as "Legally Blonde." I think our character of Alexa is living in a very pink world and yeah. - That is a fantastic list. I love that. That's amazing. I'm curious to know, I know you've been very busy getting ready for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, getting your show Alexa play ready, but have you seen any great theater lately? You might be able to recommend to our listeners. - I recently saw the notebook on Broadway and I absolutely sobbed my eyes out. I really wasn't sure how they were going to translate it to stage and if that was actually going to work because it's such an iconic film, but they did a great job with it. It felt fresh and new and I was really moved by it. I also am an audio book narrator and so I narrate a lot of romance. So I love romance. And yeah, I was very, very moved by the show. I highly recommend it. - I am with you as well. I don't normally cry at shows, but that one let me ask you now, what is your favorite part about working in the theater? - This is such a difficult question. I feel like I can't just give one answer because there's so much that I love. I would say the adrenaline rush of performing the sense of community you develop with your casting crew and the fact that I really believe that art has the power to make change in society. - That is a beautiful answer. I love it. And actually that is a great lead-in to my favorite question to ask guests, which is what is your favorite theater memory? - Again, so many, but when I was young, I was in chorus and we did this thing called the Wicked Coral Workshop, which meant that we got to go to on a field trip to New York City, which starting, that's like the best thing ever. And then so basically we got to work with some of the cast members from Wicked and then go see the show afterward. And as a high schooler, I just thought it was so inspiring to be able to work with these professionals. And yeah, that's one of my favorite memories. - I love that. What an amazing memory. Thank you so much for sharing that. Well, as we wrap things up, I would love to know, do you have any of the projects or productions coming on the pipeline? We might be able to plug for you. - So right now, this is our focus. I'd love to tour the show, especially in the US, but we'll see what the response is like at fringe. It has been incredibly positive so far. I've been kicking a few new ideas around for my next play, but they're kind of still too new to discuss. So, yeah. - So we will have to stay tuned for all of this. This is so exciting. And a great lead into my final question, which is if our listeners would like more information about Alexa play or about you, maybe they'd like to reach out to you, how can they do so? - So for the show, you can follow us on Instagram or TikTok, our handle is Alexa play NYC. And there's tickets on the fringe website and all of that. For me personally, my social media is just my name, Alexa Elmi. And I'm on TikTok, I'm on Instagram. You can also find out more about me on my website. I'm pretty accessible. - Well, wonderful. Well, Alexa, this has been such a joy. I am so excited about this show. I can't wait to see the legs that it will have grown and will continue to grow when you get back from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. But for right now, I hope you have a great time over there. And I really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us today. So thank you so much. - Thank you so much. It was really fun, honestly. I feel like this was a nice break from my work week. - My guest today has been the incredible playwright and performer, Alexa Elmi, whose show Alexa Play is playing August 12th through the 17th at venue 29, Paradise and the Vault at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. You can get your tickets and more information by visiting edfringe.com. And we also have some contact information for both Alexa and her play, which we'll be posting on our episode description as well as on our social media posts. But seriously, right now, if you are going to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival or if you need a reason to go, you need to check the show out. So head to edfringe.com, get your tickets today for Alexa Play, playing August 12th through the 17th. So until next time, I'm Andrew Cortez, reminding you to turn off your cell phones, unwrap your candies and keep talking about the theater. - In a stage whisper. - Thank you. (upbeat music) - If you like what you hear, please leave a five star review, like and subscribe. - You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram at stagewhisperpod. - And feel free to reach out to us with your comments and personal stories at stagewhisperpod@gmail.com. - And be sure to check out our website for all things stage whisper and theater. You'll be able to find merchandise, tours, tickets and more. Simply visit stagewhisperpod.com. Our theme song is Maniac by Jazzar. Other music on this episode provided by Jazzar and Billy Murray. 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