Stage Whisper
Whisper in the Wings Episode 648
(upbeat music) - Hello everyone and welcome back into a fantastic new Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper. We've got a fabulous show to bring you today that's at one of our favorite off off Broadway theaters in the heart of the East Village. And joining us to talk to us about the show, we've got a few of the actors involved including Alex Scalavino. He's here to speak to us about Lamama's presentation of The Marriage, which is playing September 26th through October 6th at Lamama. Now you can get your ticket to more information by visiting Lamama.org. We are so excited to dive more into this piece. So I don't wanna waste any more time. I just wanna welcome on our guests. Welcome in to Whisper in the Wings from Stage Whisper. - Hello, what's up Andrew, glad to be here. - I'm so happy you're here. I'm so happy we're talking about this great new work The Marriage. Could you start Alex by telling us a little bit about what this show is about? - This show, there's much to say that this show is about. I think a little context may be helpful about the playwright. He's a Polish playwright and his name is Weitold Gombrovich and he led Poland. I believe, I'm forgetting the exact year, but it was 1920s, 1920s or 30s around them. And he never returned to Poland. He was an Argentina and he lived a very, he wasn't able to be his full self. As time has gone on, there's been research and records and his writing and his personal diaries that he was perhaps, there's been research that he was perhaps bisexual and closeted. So The Marriage is about a soldier named Henry who is dying in a war, but in his last moments before he dies, he enters a dream space. And that's where the play takes place in Henry's mind as in his final dream before he dies. And the play is called The Marriage because The Marriage represents restoring one to innocence and restoring order in someone's life. So Henry is dealing with a chaotic situation in the war. He's also with the themes that the playwright was dealing with of a closeted bisexual man. There's a lot of desire to restore, to purity and innocence even though the world that this character is in as the play unfolds continues to be more and more chaotic as the play goes on. But he fights to restore order as much as possible. That's essentially it. There's more I could give but I won't give away too much. - And don't give away everything but that is an incredible story there and what a journey for the show. So I'm really curious to know, how is it that you came across this piece? - So I was actually friends with one of the actors that got cast in the show, I was having coffee with him and he referred me to the director and I auditioned. So that was my introduction to this piece. And yeah, once I learned about it, I couldn't stop reading about not just the play but the playwright. There's so much fascinating context around this play and history. - Very cool. Well, I'm really excited because this is the world premiere of this show. This is very exciting. And so with this being the world premiere of this beautiful piece by this incredible artist, what has it been like developing this show? - It's been challenging in many respects. It's been challenging in many respects. I think the biggest challenge we had to deal with right away was just the rules of the world 'cause it's not a real world. So as a cast, we all had to kind of sync a page about what are the rules of the world and understand the play enough so that we knew what certain moments represented in the dream world but also what was going on with Henry in the real world as he's dreaming this. So it's taken a lot of dramaturgy and a lot of personal work for the actors for us to connect to the roles and also understand the context that we're in. - Very cool. Now you've touched on this already about this world that you're creating that is the mind of this playwright and on the difficulty creating these ideas but I would love to know, is there a message or a thought from this work that you hope audiences take away? - I just hope people take away from this. I hope people can watch this play and maybe have a little bit more perspective about what are roles they're playing in their life, what are marriages or institutions or ideas that they're putting on themselves that maybe don't fit them, that maybe hindering who they really wanna be. That's a main theme that I think Henry goes through and a lot of the characters in the play, one of the things Zishan, our director, has talked about with us a lot is there's a lot of culture class, there's a lot of clashing in this play. And the main clashing that happens is really a clash between what intention maybe and what actually happens, you know? So I hope people can see this play and maybe have a little bit more perspective about what they intend for their own life and what they hope they can maybe step away from in their life and maybe not be serving them in a way they didn't realize. - I love that idea. I love that idea. I am most recently from Salt Lake to tie it into a different thought. My wife and I who've been married for four years now, well, we've been together since we're high school sweethearts. We've actually been together for 17 years. We've lived together for 15 of those 17 years. And once we got married, everyone's like, so what's married life like? How do you feel? And I'm like, it doesn't feel any different. Like, I have a ring on my finger now that's the only difference. I don't wake up feeling different. I don't, you know, make my copy any differently. And it just, it blows my mind the way people, some people harp on the idea of marriage should be or whatnot. And it's like, let's get down across tax of it, you know? It's just a wedding is a celebration of two people in love. A marriage is a promise between two people. That's what it is. Marriage has nothing to do with everyone else. You know what I mean? It is literally between two people. So I love that you are hoping that audiences take that idea of what a marriage can be or whatnot. 'Cause that is an idea that needs to be discussed more. - Right. - Yeah. - It's great. I'll quote one of the lines in the play 'cause you just touched on it exactly. But the main character, Henry, in his kind of grasp, he's dying, you know? So he's grasping for power, you know? There's things on his mind as he's dying that he's realizing, oh my God, you know, this feels unresolved, this feels unresolved. So he's clinging to this idea of getting married and he has a line where he says, well, what is really crucial here? Other people, if others can acknowledge, if others acknowledge the sacredness of this act, then, you know, Molly might soon to be wife will be a queen for them. And if she's a queen for them, then she's a queen for me. So there is a certain element in this play that you just touched on, which is actually a really core element of this play, which is how much of what we do is a promise that we're making to ourselves because we believe it. And how much of what we do is something we're doing to keep up appearances of how we want to look to the world. And you just hit that on the head with sharing your experience, you know? - Yes, I love that. There's a brilliant line. Thank you for that. - Yeah. - Well, my final question for this first part is who are you hoping to have access to the marriage? - I, this is my belief around theater in general right now. I hope there's a healthy amount of people that see it that are fans of the playwright, fans of Lamama and fans of this type of material. But I also hope there's people that see it that maybe aren't expecting to see it that week or that day aren't necessarily seeking theater out actively in their life. I hope we can get some people in the audience that are, you know, not expecting to learn something, you know? 'Cause I think that's where growth can happen. And I mean, not even learn something, just have a new experience, you know? This is some, Lamama is known for experimentation and this play is incredibly abnormal and abstract. It's not a linear at all. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Well, on the second part of our interviews, we love giving our listeners a chance to get to know our guests a bit more. Pick your brains, if you will. And I would love to start by asking you, what are who inspires you, what playwrights, composers, or shows have inspired you in the past or just some of your favorites? - I draw inspiration from different things all the time, depending on what phases of life I'm in, but the common thread of what inspires me, my family, my mother, my father, my grandmother, my brother, my cousins, I'm an Italian, so I'm very family oriented and I'm inspired every day by my family and my friends that have shown resilience in their own life. I wouldn't seek art to begin with if I didn't have people that impacted me and I seek art to understand and grow my connection with those people more. - That is a wonderful list of inspiration. I love that, love that. I would love to know now, what is your favorite part about working in the theater? - My favorite part about working in the theater right now, I think is, there's not many spaces that exist where it's the only medium that exists that can only exist in the way it exists, if that makes any sense. You can't have a theatrical experience unless you have real people in the room live, that's the definition of theater. As soon as you film it and you put it, it's something else now. So my favorite part about theater is that, just by nature of doing it, it is exactly what it is. And I feel like, I like the challenge of it. Every time I do a new play, I'm working with new people, so I have to understand the dynamics of the room, so it keeps me sharp in how I interact with people and it also keeps me sharp in my skills as an actor. There's always something new that I have to do that's challenging. - That is a fabulous, fabulous answer. - That leaves to my favorite question to ask guests, which is, what is your favorite theater memory? - I have so many. Man, there's like context to a lot of them, but my buddy Yvonne is gonna, I just have to, I'm gonna just share this 'cause this is the hardest, one of the hardest times I ever laughed at my life, but we were doing a show at the Globe Theater in London and he died on stage and I pretended to die on stage. And for whatever reason, when he died, he left his eyes open and somebody else was supposed to close his eyes for him, but they didn't, so like a dedicated actor, he just kept them open for like four minutes on stage. So I saw him and I legitimately lied, thought he was dead, legitimately. I was like, oh my God, he died for theater because his eyes were wide open and I had a whole monologue, I have to give him and he's still not closing it. And finally, I ended up picking him up and taking him up and taking him off stage and I just remember going, dude, you all right? And he just looked at me and he was in so much pain and he said, she didn't close my eyes. She didn't close, and then it makes me laugh because it just shows actors wanna do so well. Like we wanna commit, you know? And here we were young actors and my buddy Yvonne going for it and committing to the, even to the point where he was willing to permanently damage his eyes. And it's funny 'cause it's the Globe Theater. It's not like we were in a black box or anything, you know? Like he could have closed his eyes. It wouldn't have been that noticeable, but no, he was committed. So I think about that all the time 'cause it just shows me that there's not much to take seriously about the world of theater and also there's just, I don't know, it's romantic. Like he really was committed to it, so. - That's off to him, that's amazing. That is a great memory though to share. You very much for it. 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? - Thank you so much for that opportunity. I'm super grateful. I am a, and the founder of a film company called Mindful Alliance Films. And I've produced about four or five films now two have been released and three are in post production right now. And the main aim of my company, it's called Mindful Alliance. So a lot of my films are about duality. You know, balancing difficult things with difficult subjects, but maybe with a different angle on looking at it. Either through humor or different psychological perspective. So I have a film that can be checked out right now. It's on, it's called Getting There about body image and disorder heating. And I have another film coming out, hopefully within the next couple of months called It's a Match about two people that perform a medical exam at a longer map. - Alex, that all sounds fantastic. It sounds like something we definitely need to look into and check out. And listeners, we have a very special thing for you because joining us now we have two other company members from the show, Annie Haig and Coyote. Annie Coyote, welcome in. So glad you were able to make it. I want to backtrack on just a couple of questions now regarding the show because I'd love to hear some insight from you. So Annie, I want to first start with you and I would love to know what has it been like developing this piece for you? - It's been a wild process. It's a beast of a show. It's a big cast, it's text heavy, it's super. There's a lot of intellectual elements. So in the first week, we were really just like, we were spending a lot of time on table work just trying to understand this thing. When I was first sent the original script because we've cut it a lot, which I think has only made it stronger and better. But when I was first sent the original script, which was just like a good translation of the Gombrovich text a few months ago, I had to read that a few times. I was like, wait, what is happening? So there's a lot to unpack about just what's going on. So we did a lot of work on that. And for my character is super different than in the original, in the original, she's kind of like pretty a passive female character, not a lot of lines and just kind of a victim in this world. And in Zishan's take on this, she has a lot more agency and she's a lot more resistant to what's happening around her. So that is a great departure from the original and part of what has gone into making her a kind of more interesting and independent character has been giving her a lot of music. So I'm doing a lot of singing in this piece, which is not in the original and which I'm super excited about because I love to sing. So I'm singing a lot, which is great. Yeah. - It's fantastic. Coyote, I wanna come to you 'cause I also wanna ask you a question I asked earlier, which is what is the message or thought when you're hoping audiences take away from this piece? - Wow, okay, that's the question. I think that the title of the marriage can mean so many things, not just like a wedding, like there's a marriage, a friendship, there's a marriage of like all these other relationships. So that's what I think that the title is encompassing, but when we're talking about the themes of the play, it's really about breaking, getting away from the norms of society and also like tackling them and challenging the norms of society in a way that makes us on stage ask questions. Like I think part of what we do a lot in the show is think. There's constantly a lot of thinking going on and we have to play that. I've been in some plays where it's like, no one thinks we just listen and go for it. But for this one, it's like we really have to like the act of thinking is something we have to do on stage, right? And I think that like really helps because that's a natural way to do it. You know, you don't just make decisions, you have to think about it. My dad always used to tell me, think before you speak. And I think that's like pretty evident in this play. - Yes. - Yeah. - Because we think as we speak, we speak as we think. - As we think, yeah. - I think this one. - Yeah. - I love it. I know we're a little bit short on time, but Annie, Coyote, I cannot let you go without asking my favorite question, which I have already asked Alex and it was a great memory that he shared. And that of course is what is your favorite theater memory? - Well, I'll say this. I got serious about my craft after doing Aladdin Jr. in middle school. I was an actor before that, but I was a child actor, you know? I wasn't really, there was nothing that was really big for me. I just like got a chance to get out of school. So I was just like, yay, you know? But after a while, you know, they dropped me because I wasn't as cute anymore. And, you know, that's like basically, I just lost my thought. - Aladdin Jr. - Aladdin Jr. Yeah, Aladdin Jr. just really, it was the first time I was like nervous and had butterflies. I never felt anything like that before and that is what kept me going really. I went to a performing arts high school. I got a BFA in college. I have an MFA, all of that stuff. And it's all because of like Aladdin Jr., I would say. (laughing) And also like the way that I got into Aladdin Jr. is I lost a bet. My best friend was just like, hey, if you don't make the varsity football team, you gotta do this play with me. I didn't make the varsity football team, so I did the play. And, you know, it was just like unreal. It was an unreal experience. And I feel like every single time I act now, I'm trying to hold on to that as part of my performance because, you know, that changed my life. It was a musical, and I don't really like musicals, but it changed my life really. - Who were you? - I played Jafar. - No, I mean, yeah. - Oh my God. - Yeah, it was fun. - Love that. - That is a great memory though. That is wonderful. Thank you for that. - That is a really good memory. And it's funny because my memory is also a middle school theater memory. It's just such a powerful memory for me. I was a singer before I was an actress. I was singing my whole life like in church when I was, you know, four or five years old talent shows this and that. And I used to do the musical in middle school. And then in eighth grade, we had auditions for 12th night. And I went out for that, and I booked. I got the part of Viola, which is such a great part. And that was my first experience doing a straight play. And just after doing Shakespeare, I never looked back. And I wasn't even as interested in musicals anymore after that. I was just like, oh my God, this is where it's at. And so working on that show was such a life-changing experience for me. I fell in love with Shakespeare. I fell in love with straight theater as opposed to musical theater. And I also fell in love because the guy playing my twin brother, Sebastian, is kind of weird. But he was like my total crush. And I had my first kiss during that production. And like, it was just, that was a watershed moment in my life, eighth grade 12th night. - Her first kiss was on stage two. That feels like a little-- - No, it was not on stage. You're playing brother and sister. That would be the end. - It was in the boiler room under the theater. - Oh, that's amazing. - All right. - Okay, okay, that's the way to get in. - I love that memory though. Both of those, all of you, those were great memories. Thank you for sharing those with us. - Thank you. - Annie, Kayo, day, I wanna also offer you the opportunity to let us know if you have any of the projects or productions coming on the pipeline that you might be able to plug for you. - Yeah, I mean, I'm a writer. I'm a producer as well. I'm an actor, producer, writer. So we're like this stuff. - Yeah, I, you know, I work at the Billie Holiday Theater in Bedside Brooklyn. I'm a producer there. And, you know, we just announced our new season. So there's gonna be a lot of fun stuff at the theater. I helped curate that with my supervisor. And I'm also a writer. I have two pieces that I've been working on for some time. We'll see what happens with them. One of them is an adaptation of Shakespeare's Nick Bottom and all of his clowns. I kind of took all the lines and put them together into one person. And then the second one is this play about Richard Potter, who was the first like famous black magician. Hopefully, you know, they can get picked up. But I've been workshopping them a lot. - Hell yeah, that's awesome. - Yeah, anything for you, Annie? - Yeah, a lot of jazz singing gigs coming up. Follow me on IG and keep abreast of those. If people are interested in jazz. I also have a so close Shakespeare piece for minds about Cleopatra that I hope to produce. And yeah, that's what's up with me. - For anyone who's gonna be in Poland, we're going on tour in Poland at a festival. So if you're in Poland, you can come see it as well. - Yeah. - Yeah, I love it. We'll be in Poland, October 15th to October 23rd. - Yes. - I mean, I'll be there to the 31st. But night, me too. So you can link with me in Kia ora until the 31st. - Yeah. - That is fantastic. And a perfect lead in to my final question for all three of you, which is, if our listeners would like more information about the marriage or about any of you, maybe they'd like to reach out to you, how can they do so? - I can check the website, lovemama.org, right? That's it? Yeah, there are some details there. Like it's been updated. And, you know, we post about it sometimes. You can just follow the Instagram and follow us individually. I don't really post post, but I got a lot of stories. So it... - Me too. - Yeah, you know? So that's also something too that they can learn more about it. - Yeah, my Instagram is @AniHague, A-N-N-I-E-H-A-G-G. - Yeah, I mean, reach out to me on Instagram @mindfulllion, which is the same as my film company. Mindful as in mindfulness and lion as in roar. - Well, wonderful. Well, Annie, Coyote and Alex, thank you all so much for taking the time to speak with me today, for sharing your wonderful insight and those fabulous stories. It has been so wonderful chatting with you. So thank you all so much. - Thank you. - Thank you. - Thanks for listening to us and asking questions. - You. - Come see the marriage. - Yeah, come see it. - My guests today have been three amazing performers, Annie Hague, Coyote and Alex Galvino, who joined us to talk about their show Being Presented by LaMama, The Marriage. It's playing September 26 through October 6 at LaMama, and you can get your tickets and more information by visiting LaMama.org. We also have some contact information for our guests, which will be posted on our episode description, as well as on our social media posts, but head over right now to LaMama.org, get your tickets for this wonderful world premiere. The show again is The Marriage, playing September 26 through October 6. And we want to add for our American listeners that Election Day is November 5. Make sure you are registered to vote, have a plan to cast your ballot and do your democratic duty. You can find out how and where you can register and 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 theater in a Stage Whisperer. 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 Stage Whisperer POD. - And feel free to reach out to us with your comments and personal stories at Stage Whisperer POD at gmail.com. - And be sure to check out our website for all things Stage Whisperer and theater. You'll be able to find merchandise, tours, tickets and more. Simply visit stagewhisperer POD.com. Our theme song is Maniac by Jazzar. Other music on this episode provided by Jazzar and Billy Murray. You can also become a patron of our show by logging onto patreon.com/stagewhisperer POD. 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