Stage Whisper
Whisper in the Wings Episode 593
(upbeat music) - Welcome back and everyone to a fabulous new Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper. We are bringing you part two of our coverage of the amazing 2024 short play festival that's being presented by New Perspectives Theater Company. This time we are hosting Program A from Hot Spot and their shows play August 5th through the 10th, Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 4 p.m., Tuesday, Thursdays at 8 p.m., and Saturday at 5 p.m. All of this wonderful work is being performed at New Perspectives Studio and you can get your tickets and more information by visiting new-perspectives-theater-company.ticketleap.com. We have a wonderful panel of artists joining us today. We have the playwright Shaelyn Kouser, the director Jenny Reich Linsky, both from Heathen. We have the playwright Christine Ben Vanuto from a female variety of suffering and we have the playwright Stephanie Klein and director Jenny Greeman from They Only Love You When You're Dying. You might have heard earlier the episode where we spoke with Program B. This time we have the three shows that make a Program A and they are equally as different and exciting and intriguing as we already heard from Program B. So with that, let us go ahead and welcome in our guests. Friends, everyone, welcome in to Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper. Thank you for joining me today. Thanks for having us. - Yay, thank you. - I'm so happy you all are here. Thank you for joining us on a Sunday and a beautiful Sunday and bringing us such amazing works. Shaelyn, I wanna start with you. I would love for you to tell us a little bit about what Heathen is about. So essentially, Heathen is about a young artist who was part of a former, like a part of a former religion who she decided to leave. And she invites her very, she invites a very close friend of hers to her house for dinner on a very, very hot summer day when her air conditioner is not working. And just during that time, it's like they both realize that their worlds are so completely different as opposed to the last time they saw each other. So that's essentially like the dynamic of the show, just like them just kind of getting to know each other now and just how that dynamic is actually pretty rocky. It becomes rocky. I love that. Christine Ben-Zunuto, why don't you tell us about your show, a female variety of suffering? - So on one level, it's about the very different ways that men and women may respond to rape allegations or the subject of rape, college rape in particular. But on another level, it is really just about how, whether you really know the person you're in an intimate relationship with, as well as you think you do. - Ooh, I love that. - It's a comedy. - Amazing, even better. And then our final playwright we have is Stephanie Klein with her show. "They Only Love You When You're Dying." Can you tell us a little bit about that? - Sure, "They Only Love You When You're Dying" looks at how you process the heaviest things in your life and how that affects the people that are trying to help you through that as well. And it just looks at the conflict that comes in when the people in your life are not in the same level as you are and what you're trying to accomplish in your last few months. - That's amazing. So listeners, as you can tell, we have three incredible pieces that are being showcased in this fabulous festival. So I wanna bring in now our wonderful directors to talk a little bit about these pieces. And I wanna start things off with Jenny Reichlitzke. Jenny, you're the director of Heathen. Tell me, how is it you came upon this piece? - Well, we were all in the short play lab together, meeting for several months, and all the directors got to see each other's pieces from the beginning and give feedback. And Heathen was one piece that really struck me 'cause it just questioned so many things about life, about purity and about what it means to be a good person, what the right way to live life is. And basically all the directors were able to kind of request a piece that they wanted to direct, and I was very lucky to get Heathen. - That's fantastic. I should mention listeners, we are also joined by the director, Melody Brooks, from a female variety of suffering. So good to see you. Can you tell us a bit about how you came upon this piece? - So we, our lab every year, this is our 16th festival of these plays, and we give writers a theme in February, six writers. And then the six directors shepherd those plays to completion, and then the directors tell me what are their top three choices or what they would like to direct. And then depending on how that shapes out, then that's the play. But I decided that I wanted to do a female variety of suffering because first of all, I love it. It's quirky little play, but it's right at my alley. And also that it's a challenge to take this subject matter and make it funny. And I thought that I was probably the best choice of the person to do that. Since I've been just doing this for 100 years, and I'm just an old person now. So that's why I gave myself this play. - I love that. I love that. Jenny Greenman, tell us about why you picked the show. They only love you when you're dying. - Well, similarly to Millie's comments, I really loved the idea that this piece sort of runs on two tracks at the same time. Like underlying, it's a very heavy subject matter, and it's sort of universal about relationships and how we deal with trauma or crisis in our lives. But the top layer is funny and a little bit zany and it has some really topical social commentary. And so I loved the opportunity to play with that. - That is wonderful. So I wanna dive a little bit more into these works. And I wanna return back to our playwrights 'cause I'd love to know what exactly was your inspiration to pen these pieces? And Christine Ben-Vonuto, can I ask you first, what was the inspiration behind a female variety of suffering? - So we were given a prompt in February at our first meeting to write to the theme or be inspired by the term hotspot and to take that in any direction we chose. And as I thought about it, this idea which I had had in the back of my mind, but had never attempted to write, just mesh. And I just saw where I could go with it. That is wonderful. Stephanie Klein, what about you and they only love you when you're dying? What was the inception of the piece? - So I really hit my stride on it in the second draft, I think of this play. And I wrote it while I was in remission from cancer. And I just wanted to do the exact opposite of what I would do. So I wrote a character that I don't like, I wrote a character that made all the choices that I would never make. And then halfway through, I was re-diagnosed. So I have recurrence. And so the development is a little kind of weird and just really starting to hate this character, which is a departure, because you always want to fall in love with who you're writing. And so it's just been a very interesting journey of writing a character that is so different from how I would react. And I think many people would react. And I think that hits on what Jenny said. It's a little zany in that and the choices that this character makes. So I'm excited to share a horrible character. Thank you. - That is wonderful, wonderful. Shayla, tell us what inspired you to write this great show, "Heaven." - My actual initial, when I heard the same hotspot, my initial goal was actually to do something internet connected, like something to do with the internet. But I'm like, no, I want to try to go to a different direction. So I immediately thought of this massive heat wave that we've been having these last several years. So I'm like, okay, I can put that in a realistic setting. And then I thought about just my own experience, my own personal experiences with religion and talking to people. When I think, I've actually think of a personal experience where somebody that I knew, their friendship diminished because of their views, their different views. So it's like, okay, let me, I want to create something based on that in a really hot setting where like the tensions can get even worse when you're in a dynamic like that. So I kind of, my first couple of drafts were very rocky. But then I think as time went on, I'm like, okay, I think I got something going with where I want to take it. - That is so brilliant. I love that. I love those different elements coming together that's wonderful. Let me come back to our directors now 'cause I am really curious to know what these three different, very dynamic plays, is there a message or a thought? You hope that your audiences take away from the piece. And why don't we start over with Jenny Greeman and they only love you when you're dying? - Thank you. Well, first, I just want to give a little extra love to Stephanie who is grappling with something difficult for the world, but so personal and her experience has been dynamic throughout this process. And my greatest compliment that I will take with me forever as a director is after one rehearsal, Stephanie said, wow, you're making this character likable and I didn't think I could like her. And so I share credit for that with our wonderful actor, Katie Braden. I think the underlying message of this piece is around self value and sort of really finding a way to love ourselves, no matter kind of what experience we're in. The backdrop is a story of four women who have been friends since college and our protagonists. I'm just gonna say feel some kind of way about her place in this group. And so there are messages around loving and forgiving oneself. There are messages around asking for what you need and you want in your life. And there are messages around, there's a social media aspect. So there's a real hard question about what is love? What is adoration? What does it mean for other people to value us? And what is more important ultimately? Is it, you know, a phrase we've used was like those dopamine hits that you get from online connections versus sort of the normal slog of an in real life relationship that changes over time. And really asking us to question, what are we putting value in? And how are we like judging the messages that we're getting from the online world and the real world? - I love that. That is brilliant. Kudos to both of you for creating these kind of characters and this kind of work, this is wonderful. Jenny, let's come back to you and the show Heathen. What is the message or thought you hope audiences take away from the piece? - I think there's definitely different messages that can tell my thing. One is that there's not really one correct way to live life. People have different lifestyles that they think suit them. And also it's important not to push your belief system on other people. And I think also the question of can people from different belief systems maintain a friendship or a relationship, is that possible? And also just like how the backgrounds you come from affect who you are and the lifestyle you're given. And I think as someone who has been around people who have been quite religious, it's just interesting to see how their religion can affect their lifestyles and people that they associate themselves with. So I think just having this commentary on that and just seeing these two different people, someone who is religious, someone who needs to be religious like come together is really important. And also kind of what I like to call a friendship breakup is that kind of what they have. And seeing how these different beliefs have some really affect their relationships and their lives is just I think very important. And also there is one more element to the story that I didn't mention that there's a mannequin on stage. There's the upper half of a mannequin's body. And I think although it seems silly, it kind of does represent the main character Janine's like new lifestyle, her art, and kind of her companionship with a mannequin kind of, it just shows her creativity and it also provides comedic relief. So I love the mannequin. - I love that, that sounds really interesting. Finally, Melody with a female variety of suffering, tell us, what is the message or thought you both audiences are gonna take away? - I don't know how articulate I can be about it, but one of the things that in terms of the development of this group through with the lab was finding the spine of it and what it was really trying to say. And so in our rehearsals, I keep saying to Christine, this isn't really a play about my culture. So for me, what it's much more about is there's two, like everything, right? There's always two tracks that you go for, is that the script itself sort of has the kitchen sink litany of so many current cultural touchstones, the do's and don'ts, the sort of politically correct way of looking at all kinds of different things. And then the idea that these two people have had a baby together after a brief relationship and the notion that the choices that we made, as Christine mentioned earlier about it, do we really know the person that we're involved with how well do we really know them? And then I think in the case of the two people, they didn't even stop to consider that question. And so there's a reckless element to it. To me, that sits on top of this cauldron of what we're living through right now, which is all of the ugliness, all of the contentions on gender issues, on religion, on things we're supposed to do or not supposed to do, so that you throw a baby into that mix and we have to really stop and think. So that's what I hope the audience gets out of it is, what are we doing? As individuals, as a society, we have to make better choices as a human race if we're ever gonna survive this sheer ugliness that we're living through right now. - That is a brilliant thought. I love, love, love that. And it's a great lead into my final question for this first part, which will be for everyone. And that is, who do you hope have access to your work? And let's stay with the team from a female variety of suffering, Christina Melody, between the two of you, who do you hope have access to your show? - Well, we have a, you know, this is, as I said, our 16th festival of new short works by women. This brings us to a total of 80 plays that have been developed and produced in our women's work projects since 2008. So we have a lot of people that come back every year, they're mostly female, either audience members or other theater women. We always have new people involved in the festival itself. So they bring a new group with them. But I really hope that we always hope that more and more people that come through our doors have never been there before. That's my goal always, right? Is because we have a long history in New York City. We're known fairly well for certain kinds of things. But you've heard what these three plays are all about. There's three more in the other program that that impact can reach more and more new people, and not just younger people. I mean, we always want younger people. But we, I want some, you know, old folks like myself to come in and go, oh, wow, I never thought of that. So roughly, that's what I hope for Christine. - Well, my first thought was everyone, but I think if I had to pick, I would say young adult men and women are the people I would, most people making choices. - I think there's a great answer. I love both of those. Going now to the team of, they only love you when you're dying, Stephanie and Jenny, who are you hoping have access to your piece? - So I just want to throw a little context. Melody is not only the director, but she is the founding artistic director of New Perspectives Theater Company. So I think that's important to kind of expand on her answers and what she's doing here for us. I first met Melody in 2007 and I have not left. And something that inspires me about the mission is, Melody's relentless pursuit of presenting theater that looks like New York City and having audiences that look like New York City. She says, you know, if you're riding on the subway and then you walk into a theater, you should see the same diversity on both. So we are always hoping to bring in new audiences, bring in folks who may not have considered themselves theater fans in the past. I think for this piece specifically, you know, maybe the, again, perhaps younger folks for whom social media is becoming an ever greater share of their attention and how they relate. I do a lot of work with young people and I do see that they find a lot of the life that they live on social media as more real and more immediate and more impactful to them than they find in kind of the day-to-day personal interactions. That freaks me out. Maybe it's okay, I'm not part of it, but it freaks me out. So I think this piece offers an opportunity just to kind of discuss that issue. - Love it, Stephanie, anything you'd like to add? - Sure, so for me, I'm a big advocate for getting more veteran, military veterans into the arts, particularly female military veterans. And so I'll be dragging plenty of my friends up from DC to come see this and for them to have access to and to see stories that aren't just about the military. So the six plays to really give them broader access and look at there are stories beyond your experience. You have something to add. That's a huge piece of what I like to do as an artist is to expose a lot of military veterans to arts outside of the military. And this is a great opportunity for me to do that. And that's when trying to focus my access on. - That is so awesome, I love it. And then going to our final show key then, Shaylin, Jenny, who are you hoping have access to your work? - I'll piggyback kind of off of what Melody said. Like I'm hoping like people, like new people to come in and have access to it. But also to like, also piggybacking on what others have said, like younger people as well, like coming in and seeing, I think more, if for me, I'm thinking more of like aspiring writers. I would like for them to come and see the show and be like, okay, this is definitely something that I can create. Like I can do this, you know? They kind of look more into indie theater as a whole as well. - I love that, yes. Jenny, what about you and anything you like to add to that? - Yeah, I think just in terms of the content of our piece, I think anyone who's trying to change this so much, I think there's a lot of young men and women, or honestly, anyone of any age are always questioning like what's the meaning of life. And I think anyone wants to challenge themselves to think in a less black and white way and see this situation and just see what they think about it. And I think what I love about this play festival is that you're coming in to see three pieces, not just one. So you can walk away with a lot of new thoughts and ideas, which I love seeing theater of like multiple creators and I think that's awesome. (upbeat music) - Well, for the second part of our interview is we love giving our listeners a chance to get to know our guests a little bit better. Pull the curtain back, if you will. And I want to ask you all my favorite question, which is what is your favorite theater memory? Yes, Melanie, please. - Okay, I'm going old school here. So I've been doing theater for more than 50 years. So I have a lot of amazing theater memories. But I think one of my strongest is when I went to see the original production of How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel with the original cast. And I went with my sister and for listeners who may not know how I learned to drive, it's about sexual abuse, younger for younger person, but also the ties that bind, the family dynamics and all the rest of it. And my sister and I having come from such family, not technically the sexual abuse part, but all the other elements that we, it was active in here. So it was not on Broadway. Paula Vogel has called herself the queen of Off Broadway for years, although she finally made it to Broadway a few years ago. We could not move, we could not get out of our chairs that we were so affected by it as a brilliant piece of art as the performances were extraordinary. All of it, we just couldn't move to absorb that. And many years later, when I met Paula Vogel and she was talking about queen of Off Broadway, I said, I'm so glad that I saw your play, not on Broadway, because if I'd been in a Broadway theater, we would have been moved out. We would have been told to get up and leave. And the fact that we were allowed to sit there, we probably sat there for 20 minutes, just, just absorbing it. So that's one of my strongest members, there are other, but that one still is with me and that was many, many, many years. - That is such a wonderful memory. And a brilliant play, thank you for that. - Yes. - Yes, Shaylyn, please. - I guess, I think, well, I have a couple, 'cause I'm originally from Pecipse, New York. So the theater scene's not really like that lively, upstate New York. They try, but it's not as lively as like New York City. But I remember one time I was in seventh grade, and we had an after school program, and then this after school program, they're like, okay, we're gonna actually have a field trip. We're gonna go see a Broadway show. And I'm like, well, I've never seen a Broadway show before. So I was very excited to go, and it was the color purple, when it was really like popular. Like really, really popular, like when Fantasia was on there. So we went and I, and it's funny, because Fantasia actually didn't go on that night. Her understudy did. And her understudy was LaShea's, is her name? - LaShawns. - LaShawn is her name. And I know people were mad about it. They're like, oh man, Fantasia's not here at all. But listen, LaShawns, I'm sorry. She knocked it out of the park. It was amazing. Like it was, we had the balcony seat, those leaves. So we got to see everything. And I'm like, and that truly like, 'cause at the time, like theater, I was kind of fiddling around with like writing. But that introduced me to like, wow, like Broadway is like, this is amazing, like the stage, all of it. Yeah, I wanna be part of this world. Like that kind of opened my eyes to doing what I do now. I love that, love that memory. That's one, I want a show, I want a show. Oh, yes, it looks, Jenny, please. - Yeah, I'm gonna, I had so many thoughts and thank you, Shaelyn, for helping me narrow them down. So I'm gonna join the LaShawns bandwagon. When I was in high school, my show choir came to see the original production of Once on this Island on Broadway. And I was utterly floored. And LaShawns was the star of that show, kind of her breakout role. We're talking in 1995-ish, five, six. I loved it so much. I convinced my mom to get tickets and we came back and saw it again a second time. I bought the cassette. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the cassette. And it is one of those shows that I can, I can see you the entire cassette, including the interstitial dialogue from beginning to end with everybody's acting choices. And I still have it on my iPod and it just, I cry every time I listen to it, I smile. It just absolutely filled me and it's one of those kind of touchstones of a time in my life that was just wonderful and an experience that was just profound. - That is such a fantastic memory. Y'all are killing it with these shows today. Christine, please, yeah. - So, yeah, everybody's making me have so many memories, come to mind that it's really hard to pick, but I'm gonna go with seeing the late and very great Glenda Jackson as King Lear, which I think was gonna say five years ago. - I cannot believe you had to see that, that's amazing. It's Stephanie, yes, please. - So, one of my earliest memories and probably my favorite, my family, we were stationed in Turkey and my dad directed and starred in just this tiny little, like so far off Broadway of Come Blow Your Horn by Neil Simon. And it was awful, but the joy that everyone, even at six years old, I reckon I like, this was terrible, but the joy that they brought to it. And my dad was a very miserable human being and just to be able to see that little bit of joy for a bit just struck me so much. Neil Simon is my favorite writer, I think, because of that, because I saw how much joy that could bring and I kind of clung to that and I love him as a writer, but everyone on that stage tried so hard and it was just incredible to see and it's that same passion that you get in Indeed theater, it's that same passion you get in high school theaters like across the country of just people who are trying so hard and it makes them so happy if there's no one in the audience or if it is a packed house. And for me, that just had such an impact on me throughout my life and I just couldn't imagine not having theater in my life after that. - Oh, I love that. It's a wonderful memory, thank you for that. And bringing us home, Jenny, what is your favorite theater memory? - I think my, one of my favorite theater memories is when I was at Sleepaway Camp, my first year in sixth grade, I was very shy and had trouble getting out of my shell and I still do, but I remember we had drama as an activity and I don't know what happened to me, but I transformed in that faith. I was like running around, I was like super extroverted and I remember the drama teacher, like oh my counselor, like oh, he's so great. - I love that we love a great origin story. That's all I'm saying. We love hearing how people come up with theater bugs. That's amazing. All of you, those were phenomenal memories. I loved all of them. Thank you so much for sharing those. Well, as we wrap things up, I would love to know if our listeners would like more information about your shows or about you, maybe they'd like to reach out to you, how can they do so? And let's start with the production of Heathen with Shaelyn Kouser and Jenny Wright-Litsky. - I'm not much of a social media person, but I mean, I do have an Instagram. So if people are interested in seeing me, I'm at the weird sea, which is, you know, the sea has in cow and two eath. So private page, so, but definitely if I accept you, you definitely see what I have going on, you know, just my life, any upcoming shows, any upcoming things I have regarding, 'cause I'm also a screenwriter. So I give like updates about like what I do for screenplays as well. - Perfect. Jenny, did you wanna leave any contact info with us? - Yeah, I have an Instagram specifically for the theater work I do. It's Jenny Wright-Litsky Theater, which is my name in the word theater. And I post on there, so I don't annoy people on my other account with the stuff I do. - And is that theater with an RE or an ER? - It's ER. - Jumping to the team over at a female variety of suffering, Melody and Christine, how can our listeners get information about you? - I'm just gonna do plug the festival first, that we have the three plays that we've talked about today and that's in program A and then we have a program B, but our website is www.nptnyc.org. And if you go to that website, there's a lovely poster for this festival, click on it and all the details are there, including how to order tickets. And for me, I mean, 95% of my time is spent at new perspectives, so that's where you can find me if anyone is interested in learning. - Christine, anything for you? - I'm on Instagram at Ben Venuto Christine and on Facebook as Christine Ben Venuto and Christine Ben Venuto author. - Beautiful. And finally, our team over at The Only Love You and You're Dined, Stephanie Klein and Jenny Gremen. How can our listeners get more information from the two of you or about your show? - This is Jenny. So I'm only on Facebook because I just can't handle more, but you can find me as Jenny Gremen on Facebook. I do also wanna plug the new perspectives TikTok page. Every Thursday, they do a Thursday, like this day in history tidbit, which is absolutely fascinating. - Be it your history, Thursdays. - Thank you, theater history, Thursdays, THT. So I highly suggest folks follow that and check in. It's a really, you're gonna learn a lot. And Stephanie, anything for you? - So my work does not allow me to have public social media. So if you come to the show and you come talk to me after and you can eat me face to face, I'm happy to share any of my social media with you for people that I meet in person. So come to the show. - Oh yes, let's plug the IRL in real life where you can find new perspectives in just 458 West 37th Street, almost a 10th Avenue in the absolute heart of off off Broadway. - Wonderful. Well, everyone, thank you so, so much for taking the time to speak with me today. This has been amazing. Your show sound incredible. I am excited to see them. They truly, you know, program A, program B, compliment each other. This is such a wonderful event. So thank you all so much. - Thank you. - Thank you. - And we hope we'll see you there, Andrew. - Oh yes, oh yes, absolutely. My guest today have been several of the writers and directors of program A from this year's New Perspective Theatre Company's 2024 Short Play Festival. Program A is happening August 5th through the 10th, Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday at 8 p.m. And Saturday at 5 p.m. All of this wonderful theater is happening at New Perspective Studio. And you can get your tickets and more information by visiting new dash perspectives dash theater dash company.ticketleap.com. We also have some contact information for our guests, which will be posting on our episode description, as well as on our social media posts. But right now, hurry over to that website. Get your tickets, join us. We will be in attendance. We can't wait to see these three fantastic new works. See them before they take off. That's what I love to do. Get them on the ground level and then you can say you saw them when. Again, the three shows we were able to host today are Heathen, a female variety of suffering, and they only love you when you're dying. And we want to add for our American listeners that election day is November 5th. Make sure you are registered to vote and have a plan to do your democratic duty. You can find out how and where you can register to vote by visiting vote.gov. The future demands that we fight for it now. 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 city with words. - In a city with words. - 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 @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 stagewhisper and theater. You'll be able to find merchandise, tours, tickets, and more. Simply visit stagewhisperpod.com. Our theme song is "Maniac" by Jazar. Other music on this episode provided by Jazar and Billy Murray. You can also become a patron of our show by logging on to patreon.com/stagewhisperpod. There you will find all the information about our backstage pass as well as our tip jar. Thank you so much for your generosity. We could not do this show without you. ♪ I'm away from paradise ♪ ♪ Where I don't care anywhere near your town ♪ ♪ Makes me there ♪