Stage Whisper
Whisper in the Wings Episode 609
(upbeat music) - Welcome back and everyone to a fabulous new Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper. We are back at the Chain Theater today. We are covering the Chain Theater's One Act Festival and we've got some wonderful shows to be sharing with you today. As we mentioned, we are talking about the Chain Theater's One Act Festival, which is going on now through September 1st at the Chain Theater. And you can get your tickets and more information by visiting chaintheatre.org. Our amazing guests today include the playwright, Joseph Klein Mann, who's here to talk about his show, The Sidekick Support Group. Tywell Aloba, who's here to talk to us about her piece, The Coronation of Constance. And Jove Trip Tonson, who's here to tell us more about his piece, The Immaculate Conception of Black Jesus in Sundown, Alabama. As you can tell alone from the titles, we've got three very diverse different pieces, three very exciting pieces. So let's not waste any more time. Let's go ahead and welcome on our guests. - Joe, Jove and Tywell, welcome in to Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper. - Thank you, thank you so much. - Hi, it's wonderful to be here. - Yeah, I'm so happy all of you are here. I'm really intrigued alone, just by the titles of your work. I'm like, okay, go on, you've definitely caught my attention. So I wanna start things off by having you all tell us a little bit about what your pieces are about. And Joseph, we can start with you in the Sidekick Support Group. - Yeah, Sidekick Support Group. It's funny 'cause it basically is the title. It is a group of sidekicks all here to talk about their grievances about being a sidekick. - I love it. Tywell, why don't you tell us about your show, The Coordination of Constance? - Thank you very much. And thank you for that introduction. The Coordination of Constance is a one act play. It critiques the corruption and wastefulness and governance through satire and humor. - That sounds fantastic. I love that. I can't wait to dive more into that. And Joe, tell us about your piece, the Immaculate Conception of Black Jesus and Sundown Alabama. - Yeah, so it's a speculative fiction about the second coming of Jesus Christ, but he's black and he's born to a bunch of white kids or a couple of white kids in a Sundown town in Alabama and their daddies are grand dragons in the KKK. - Oh, all right, you know, that seems about right. - Lucky them. - And joining us as well in this conversation, we have the playwright Kenneth King with his show, Time's Up. Kenneth, tell us about the show, Time's Up. - So ostensibly, there is a pressure list for it, but I think what I would like to actually say about the show is that it is about an established immigrant couple in New York who would rather face repeated, violent, painful death than the prospect of dealing with visa reading. But also it is a light-hearted rom-com, so it'll be fun. - I love that. So across the board, diverse works, it sounds like there's a lot of powerful and a lot of funny stuff going on here. So I want to dive in a little bit further into these and Taiwan, I want to start with you and your piece, the coronation of Constance. I'm really intrigued by this. Can you tell us what inspired you to pen this piece? - Okay, thank you. Well, so I always wanted to write a funny piece, you know, I write mostly political plays and, you know, very serious themes. So yeah, just, you know, for once I just want to say like, have fun, you know, like create those very, you know, ridiculous characters and, you know, thankfully, you know, I think the change theater with the One Act Festival is really a great platform, you know, for plays like this. So yeah, I'm glad I get to show it here. And it's been fun the entire process. So yeah, the main inspiration was actually writing a comedy. - Yeah, there's definitely still political themes. I can't, you know, stray away from that. But, you know, I just wanted to write something, you know, comedic and at the same time, still entertain, of course, and pass on a political message. So yeah. - I love that political theater is my job. Joe, tell us what inspired you to pen the sidekick support group. - Yeah, well, the sidekick support group came from when I first started writing, I did try really hard to write political theater and theater that, like, really delved into complicated themes. But I grew up as a comic book fan. I watched superheroes since I could see. So all I really know how to write, all I know how to express myself is through superheroes. So yeah, I've just been writing different scenes that convey different things in different parts of my life. And this feeling of wanting to be more, like knowing that I'm possible, I had the capability to do more, but I'm struggling to get there. Sidekicks came to mind. And I just started talking through sidekicks. - I love that. We need more superheroes in the theater, as all I'm saying. That's, that means to be more of a thing. - I fully agree. - Kenneth, tell us where you got the inspiration for this rom-com, as you say. - Sure. I, yeah, I mean, as a, as someone who was born and raised when the Philippines, like the thought of how long I can stay here in the U.S. is something that's always on my mind, the threading the needle of, and then jumping through all of the required hoops to do so legally is, you know what? No, it's actually a super, it's a, it's a breeze and your immigration systems are extremely efficient and very egalitarian. And I, and I will forever be grateful to the United States government for allowing my poor third-world self the privilege of getting to work here. - I love it, love it. And rounding this out on this question, I've got to come back to Joe and, and your amazing Russian drama, you know, get back to the conception of Black Jesus and sundown element, no. I, I want to know what is the inspiration for this show? I mean, the premise is insane. So where did you come up with the idea? - Well, I just thought about it. I was just like, well, if Jesus is Black, you know, wouldn't it be kind of funny if he came back, and especially during this time, like in our current contemporary zeitgeist? - I just think it would be interesting to play around with that idea of like, he comes back, he's, you know, this kid is forced to give birth to him and ends up loving him, but now that he's born, everyone is like, oh. And so I wanted to just explore that. I wanted to explore the fickleness of faith and in religion and politics in America. But primarily, I just thought it was really funny. So I was mostly writing it to entertain myself and I hope people are also entertained. - I love it. I think all of your shows tend incredibly entertaining. So I love what you're all doing. I want to ask you now, you know, what has it been like developing your work? So this is a one act festival, so these shows are one acts, but I'm curious to know, you know, what has it been like hearing your words and getting them up on their feet? And Kenneth, why don't I start first with you on that? - Sure, well, I want to shout out the team at entry level, which is a group put together by Vic Liu, Esmetin, and Beth, a bunch of people who came out of MTC, I believe, and then they started a playwriting development group, essentially out of Vic's apartment. So that's where the development of this play started. I mean, I wrote it in grad school, but like, so I appreciate like that kind of intensive feedback, like, you know, just like read it. They found people to go over it, like really great dramaturgical advice. Yeah, so I would credit entry level, and I would also credit paper crane, Brittany Crowell, also out of that, for giving me the chance to first see it on a stage. Yeah, and then of course, I also had the privilege of working with a great team on it in its first iteration with Gellan Verra, and the worker who's an award-winning playwright from the Philippines who directed it, and like his forced edicts were really useful, like he would always be like, "Yeah, but I think this needs something. I think this needs something. I need you to rewrite this in the next five minutes." So thank you. And then like, and then now I'm the director, I'm working with Giancarlo Abrahan, a screenwriter, a very accomplished screenwriter in his own right, is giving it a dimension that I have not previously seen before. And I think I'm putting in a very good place for rewrites and revisions. That is so fantastic. Joe, how about you? What's it been like developing your piece? It's been like really life-changing actually. I'm very new to writing. I'm also directing this show. So I'm very new to writing and directing, and finally being able to take something that I have been looking at for so long on a page, and then hearing not only other people say it out loud, but then I encourage everybody to like any ideas you have, throw it out there, and they start to bring their own life into it. It's addicting how amazing it feels. Seeing this thing you've written come to life and start to play and everybody's starting to have fun with it, and seeing how it changes, how it's almost completely different from the first draft to when it finally goes up, because of how much life is infused into it, it's addicting. I can't get over how good it feels seeing that happen. That is a wonderful answer. I love it. Joe, tell us about your show and what it's been like developing that. Well, through the process I discovered that I am my own worst enemy when I was first, when I first wrote the piece, and I was first sending it out to theaters, and I was like not hearing back or I was getting rejections, I was just like, it's because I'm weighing over my head, like what the hell have I written, like these people probably think I'm insane, why am I doing this to myself? But now that I'm actually like working with people on it, like it's actually in the hands of other people, I'm seeing actors engage with them, I'm seeing directors engage with it, I go, oh, thank God, like I'm not a crazy person, I'm not a horrible person, like there are people that see the vision and understand me. And I think that beyond just what developing the piece has meant, like developing myself has just been like, oh great, I can trust myself, I can trust myself and I can trust in the things that I write and I can trust that there are people there that will support me. That is also a fabulous answer. And rounding us out on this one, Taiwo, tell us about your piece and the development of that. - Thank you very much. I feel like all the playwright I've actually answered, the question on my behalf, 'cause I feel the same way and the process as being the same way for me, I'm also directing this piece and it's just really amazing. I have to shout out my cast, Opie has a walker at Amunikei Gomez, just awesome artists who have really brought too much passion and had work, they treat the material just the same way I do and the rehearsals have just been a laugh fest all the way of the way. And it kind of gave me the confidence that the stage performances are also going to have the same response. And it's been good so far, I'm excited for the upcoming performances as well. - Yeah, it's just been a learning process for me too. And also for me to trust my voice, trust my vision, trust the story with Helen. And it's like, yes, it's a comedy, but still having people come to us and ask to do more research about the characters. If they're actually even characters like that in Africa, I like that to spark in conversations like that. And yeah, I'm grateful for the cast, for the team, for Team Theatre. And excited, yeah. - Wonderful. Let me ask a couple of you, I'm curious to know what these great, great pieces, very different stories, very different subjects. Is there a message or a thought you are hoping that audiences will take away from your piece? And Ty, well, I'd like to start off with you and your piece. - So obviously, it's a satire. We won the audience day, life at the characters, but also take the very important message that we're trying to pass across about politics in Africa, the wastefulness of governance in Africa, and just the state of governance in Africa at the moment. And then we hope it sparks conversations about this issues. So yeah, it's still reflecting a social issue, that's a main problem in Africa. - And the world over 'cause it's still a universal theme governance that is. So yeah, we hope to spark conversations regarding social issues. - I love that. I love a good play that also makes you think, entertained and makes you think. So that's wonderful. Joe, what about you and your show? What are you hoping that audience is? What's the idea that you hope audiences take away? - That it's a little embarrassing to be an American. I think that we are still having these conversations that other first world countries are just not having. And I think primarily in this show, we're putting 16 year old kids in a really sad situation as a nation. It's taking place contemporarily. And I hope that people walk away saying, you know what, the situation that we have going on with the divisiveness when it comes to women's bodies, when it comes to religion, when it comes to politics, when it comes to race, like in America, we are not in a great situation with all this right now. And this is our next generation. And I guess I hope they walk away thinking, you know, whether or not they are proud to be an American. And if they want to be proud, what does that path forward look like? - Oh, I love that. I really do. I think that is a fabulous answer. Joe, let me kick off the final question for this first part with you. 'Cause I'm really curious to know who are you hoping to have access to your piece? - Everybody, I hope everybody has access to this. As much as I am listening to these playwrights and I'm so happy that the playwrights in this Zoom call right now are writing plays because those are amazing, amazing things. And I wish I could be more political and more, I guess, talk about more complex themes. But honestly, I just hope everybody has a good time. I just hope people laugh. So I just hope anybody can come. There's no anybody who wants to have a good 15 to 20 minutes. Please go see the show. That's it. I love it. That's fantastic. And Kenneth, bring us home on this. Who are you hoping have access to your piece? - American voters. (upbeat music) Well, on the second part of our show, we love giving our listeners a chance to get to know our guests a little bit better. Pick your brains, if you will. And I would like to jump straight to my favorite question, which, of course, is what is your favorite theater memory? Or, Kenneth, I mean, we've had you on before when I believe you were talking about the Lighthouse series, if I remember right, what's another of your favorite theater memories? Yes, Joe, please kick us off with this. I have a couple, and one is being in it and one is watching it. Watching it one, when I first moved to New York and I was 18 right at high school, and I remember, haven't seen much theater, I grew up in the South, and there's not all that much theater in the South. So it was very scary moving here, and my mom spent the first two days in New York with me, just to sort of ease me in. And I remember those were the scariest two days ever, and she could see that I was kind of freaking out and said, let's just pause everything, let's just go see a random Broadway show. Like, let's just forget it, let's just go see whatever, like the first Broadway show we can, and we got tickets to see something rotten, like rush tickets, and it was wonderful. It was an amazing experience, and it solidified my view of theater and art is really magical and can not only transport you to a different place, but also make you feel more comfortable in where you are. And to this day, that's a tradition. Every time my mom comes up to visit me, we'd be like, go see a random Broadway show, rush tickets, that's a tradition of this day. - I love that, oh my gosh, that's such a great show. What a great show. - Okay. - Yes, I will, please. - All right, well, so I studied theater at Legos, Nigeria, so we do African theater, and I remember my first year, the first week, once you go into the theater, the auditorium is also where you receive lectures, and just going in and seeing the theater for the first time, and just being in awe, and then also being thrown into a production like right as you walked into the door, there was a production going on, and obviously, it was an epic play, so there was a large cast, and yeah, I would never forget that, obviously, because that's my first theater production I was in, but just thinking, oh yeah, well, maybe the first year we're taking notes and stuff like that, and they're like, no, the first week, you're just thrown on stage to start performing, but yeah, that was a really awesome experience. - That is a fantastic memory. Oh, thank you so much. Joe, yes, tell us your favorite theater memory. - So in the summer of '22, I was in a production of Man of Lamontia, and there was, I don't know if you're familiar with the show, anyone here, but basically there's this giant fight scene that happens, and the hero's win, and then the show goes on. It's probably maybe about halfway through the show, or basically three fourths through the way of the show, and for whatever reason, our actor who was playing Man of Lamontia, Don Quixote, not the man of Lamontia, well, I don't know, I wasn't paying attention. So whoever was playing that guy, Don Quixote, he completely forgot everything. We, as the cast, thought he got hit in the head and was having an episode, 'cause we had no clue what was going on. And so the whole cast came together, basically, to get him through the whole show, ad-libbing, whatever they needed to, to work around the show, until we got to the end. And so we were able to complete the whole show, and as far as a lot of the audience thought, they thought everything was normal. But yeah, basically the whole cast came together to make the show happen. (laughs) Which is incredible, it is incredible. - Wow, wow, that is an amazing memory. Thank you for sharing that. Well, can't I bring this home on this? What's another of your favorite theater memories? - Sure, fully caving into recency bias. Last weekend, I saw Mina Lee's reading of "Welcome to Ghost Pipe Grove" as part of the line fest at Tank. And I mean, Mina is one, a fantastic human being, as well as a fantastically talented playwright. But there was a moment in that play because it is hilarious while also continually talking about the death industry. So everybody was laughing. And I don't know if it was this pure, sincere laughter in a venue that, you know, it's a good time. But like, and it's a reading, but everybody was laughing so hard. And then I started crying because I was overwhelmed with the feeling of feeling so fortunate and grateful to be in this city at this time during the summer, quote unquote, the low season. But there is theater that is so beautiful that exists here. And I get to see it. I want a random afternoon. I get to be part of it. And then like later in the week, I'll go see or make or meet more people who are doing it. And then just being, yeah, I was overwhelmed with like, oh, this is utter joy. And then also, and I found myself just crying at appreciation for getting to be here. - I love that. That is a beautiful memory, a great memory to end on. Thank you all so much for those wonderful memories. Those are really, really fantastic. As we wrap things up, I would love to know, do any of you have any other projects or productions coming on the pipeline? We can plug for you? Yes, Kenneth. - Yeah, I mean, in addition to us having another show for times of tomorrow, August 17, and then also August 21. The, I have a, this is still in January for the Exponential Festival. Play about my Amma, a play about my grandmother and the Japanese invasion of Manila and the subsequent American bombing of Manila will be, you know, so again, light-hearted fun stuff. That will be up in for Exponential Festival at the Target margin in January. - Very cool. Ty, well, yes, please tell us what you've got coming on the pipeline. - So we have, it's kind of an Ayo. It's a mass growing display, which we developed last year to residency. We're going to be performing it at an African Festival, August 31 in Mount Vernon. That should be fun, you know. It's meant to be a theater piece, but we're doing it outdoors as part of a festival celebrating African cultures and we're representing Nigeria. So I look forward to it. It's a mass growing display filled with costumes, dance, poetry, for African or African. Yeah. - Fantastic. Joe, yes, yes, please. Nothing super specific, but this is the sidekick support group is the third superhero themed short play that I've written and soon I'm hoping to do like a big collection one night. So that's my next project is putting that together. So I guess just keep an eye out for that. Hopefully that'll come sooner rather than later. - Very awesome. And Joe, what else do you have coming down the pipeline? - Yeah. So next spring, my full length play Hound is going to be produced by news cosmopolitan ensemble. It's a play about a group of friends that are chased by a cosmic space demon dog and it's an allegory or it's a metaphor for anxiety. So it's very relatable. - That is fantastic. So all of you've got some irons in the fire. It sounds like we need to keep tabs on all of you. And that is a great lead into my final question, which is 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? Joseph, let's start with you and the sidekick support group. - Yeah, well, the sidekick support group, we just had our opening night yesterday and we're performing again August 24th and 31st at the chain theater. So if you're interested or you want to meet me in person, that's a great way to do it. But if not just my Instagram @JosephKlineMan, Kline's spelled K-L-I-N-E and the man, M-A-N-N, that's the best way. That's where I put all my information. It's the best place to, if you want to message me and get to know me, that's it, that's the place. Kenneth, what about you and Time's Up? - Sure, Time's Up is part of program number four that is our next show is August 17. That's a Saturday at 5 p.m. And then August 21, that's a Wednesday at 8.30 p.m. at the chain theater in midtown. If anybody wants to know more about my work, my website is KennethKing.com. That's two ends for Kenneth and then K-Kilo Echo November golf for King. So yeah, KennethKing.com, I'll update that website someday. And then I also have an NPX under the same name. - Fabulous. Taiwan, tell us about how we can get more information about the coronation of Constance or yourself. - Okay, thank you. So for the coronation of Constance, it's part of program three. And we have a show today, yes. Thursday, August 15 at 6.30 p.m. at the chain theater. And then our next show is Thursday, August 22nd at 8.30 p.m. also at the chain theater. And we hope to see you all there. It would be amazing if on time, trust me. And to follow up on everything Taiwan related, I'm pleased to (laughs) model boss on Instagram. M-O-D-E-L-V-O-W-S. M-O-D-E-L-V-O-W-S on Instagram. And my website is www.taiwoallobat.com. Thank you very much. - Fabulous. And rounding this out, we've got Joe with the Immaculate Conception of Black Jesus in Sundown, Alabama. - Yeah, so my show's part of program number 11. We perform on the 18th, the 25th and the 29th. If you want to know more about me or get in touch with me, Instagram is great. @JoveNotJoe on Instagram for my sub stack where I post craft scripts, stuff like that. And if you want to actually read the script for Immaculate Conception, I'm dropping it tomorrow. My sub stack, it's at it'sbyjove.substack.com. That's it. - Wonderful. Well, Joseph, Kenneth, Taiwo, Joe, thank you all so much for taking the time to speak with me today. This has been so much fun. And all of your shows sound amazing. I've got to move heaven and earth to come check them out. This is fantastic. So be proud of what you've made and congratulations on these shows. Thank you for your time today. - Thank you. - Thank you very much. - Thank you so much. That was great. - Thank you. It's a pleasure. - My guests today have been four of the incredible playwrights that are part of the Chain Theaters One Act Festival. The festival is happening now through September 1st at the Chain Theater and you can get your tickets and more information by visiting chaintheater.org. We're also going to have more information about our guests and their shows posted on the episode description as well as the social media posts. But today you heard from Joseph Kleinman and his show, The Sidekick Support Group, Kenneth King and his show, Times Up, Taiwo Aloba and her show, The Coronation of Constance and Joe Tripp Thompson and his show, The Immaculate Conception of Black Jesus in Sundown, Alabama. All of these shows need to be checked out. You need to go out and see these shows, support these great artists. It's all happening at the Chain Theater and you can get your tickets at chaintheater.org. And we want to add for our American listeners that Election Day is November 5th. Make sure you are registered to vote, that you have a plan to cast your ballot and you do your democratic duty. You can find out more information on 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 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 stagewhisperpah. And feel free to reach out to us with your comments and personal stories at stagewhisperpahd@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 stagewhisperpahd.com. Our theme song is Maniac by Jazzar. Other music on this episode provided by Jazzar and Billy Murray. 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