Today on the podcast, we chat with the collaborators of the World Premiere production, The Tattooed lady, A New Musical on stage at Philadelphia Theatre Company. Here is my interview with Max Vernon and Erin Courtney for The Tattooed Lady, A New Musical.

The story of The Tattooed Lady highlights one of sideshow’s biggest stars, Ida Gibson, in a moving, fantastical tale that reveals the generational chasms and connections between Ida and her granddaughter Joy. A parade of beguiling characters appear, on a mission to liberate Ida from her self-imposed exile and help Joy find freedom through forgiveness. The musical celebrates the resilience of women whose choices have the power to liberate them.

ABOUT THE CREATORS

Erin Courtney (Book) is a New York based playwright. Her play, A Map of Virtue, was awarded an Obie and was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding New York Theater. Her play I Will Be Gone, premiered at the Humana Festival, Actors Theater of Louisville. She has written two operas with Elizabeth Swados: The Nomad and Kaspar Hauser, both commissioned and produced by The Flea Theater. Her other plays, produced by Clubbed Thumb, include Alice the Magnet, directed by Pam MacKinnon, and Demon Baby, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll. She is an affiliated artist with Clubbed Thumb, a member of the Obie Award winning playwrights collective, 13P, as well as the co-founder of the Brooklyn Writers Space.

Max Vernon (Book, Music, Lyrics & Orchestrations) is a musical theatre writer, whose works include The View UpStairs, KPOP (opening on Broadway this November!), The Tattooed Lady, and Show & Tell. They are a three-time Drama Desk nominee, Out100 Honoree, two-time MacDowell Fellow, Dramatist Guild Fellow, and recipient of the Lucille Lortel Award, Richard Rodgers Award, Jonathan Larson Grant, Pew Arts and Culture Grant, and New York Foundation of the Arts Fellowship, among others. They have also written work for Audible, Disney, Virgin Group, and Tyra Banks. Notable concerts include Joe’s Pub, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. They earned an MFA from NYU's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. www.maxvernon.com IG: @frauleinsallybowels

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://philadelphiatheatrecompany.org

A Leg Up
By Ken Kaissar

Director Amy Kaissar

September 20, 2022 – October 9, 2022

A world premiere comedy for the 21st century!

Initially slated for its world premiere in the 2019/20 season, this witty and outlandish story is a new comedy for the 21st century written as a traditional farce. In A Leg Up, Charles Griffin III (O’Neil) has staked what’s left of his fortune on the new Miraculous Knee-to-Toe XR-3000 with 3D Helix, an intelligent prosthetic leg, designed for a presidential candidate, Senator Sam Wannamead (Hogan). Unfortunately, his mistress Laurie (Hamilton) announces she’s pregnant, his business partner Stephanie (Alpert) has her eye on his wife Barbara (Maurer), and the Senator is having an affair with the leg designer Rufus (Robbins), and it’s not even lunchtime yet!

ABOUT MARLA ALPERT

Marla Alpert [She/They] is a seasoned actor and singer, having performed in the national tours of Jekyll and Hyde and Ragtime, as well as with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s The Sorceress, and over a dozen regional shows throughout the country. She is also the host of her own podcast about legendary Broadway flops, Flop of the Heap, and is a regular content creator on TikTok, advocating for transgender representation in media and educating on trans issues. You can find her on Instagram or Tiktok, @thefloorismarlava.

For More Information: https://brtstage.org

This September, Bryn Mawr College Performing Arts Series will present the first career retrospective of theater artist Annie Dorsen titled Algorithmic Theater. The retrospective is part of a residency advancing Dorsen’s work and examining the consequences of digital communications through theater. Algorithmic Theater brings Dorsen’s work to Philadelphia audiences for the first time and features four of her past projects, including Hello Hi There (2010), Spokaoke (2012), A Piece of Work (2013), and Yesterday Tomorrow (2015). Together, these works tell a story about advancing technology, encroaching artificial intelligence, and post-anthropocentric art-making that attempt to reckon with the last decade of history.

Dorsen is a New York-based theater director and artist who works at the intersection of algorithmic art and live performance. Since 2010, she has built a body of work in what she’s referred to as “algorithmic theater,” creating custom algorithms that perform in lieu of or alongside human performers. The pieces position the digital world’s influence on our everyday lives in dialogue with classical dramatic forms to confront the consequences of our increasing entanglement with information technologies.

Algorithmic Theater will begin with a presentation of A Piece of Work on September 9 at 8 p.m. at McPherson Auditorium. Mixing live performance with algorithms and interfaces, A Piece of Work flips the switch between man and machine in a digital version of Hamlet for a post-humanist age. The spectators are absorbed in a swirl of connections amongst memory, language, and technology, implicating both the past and future of theater itself. New scenes, songs, scores, and visuals emerge from an intricate and ingeniously programmed web of technology that uses Shakespeare’s original text as data.

The next piece, Spokaoke, will be hosted on September 10 at 10 p.m. at the Marie Salant Neuberger Centennial Campus Center. Spokaoke is a participatory event that invites people to perform speeches as they would ordinarily perform songs in a karaoke bar. Speeches are, after all, songs of persuasion, argument, consolidation, or motivation. Over 90 speech videos are loaded into a karaoke system and arranged in a catalog for audience members to peruse. Participants will read various forms of public addresses, including political speeches, award acceptance speeches, press conferences, theatrical monologues, eulogies, and trial testimony. An additional presentation of Spokaoke will take place at FringeArts on September 16 at 10 p.m. as a part of this year’s Fringe Festival, featuring a special guest host.

The third piece, Hello Hi There, will be presented on September 10 & 11 at 8 p.m. at Hepburn Teaching Theater. Dorsen uses the famous television debate between philosopher Michel Foucault and linguist/activist Noam Chomsky from the 1970s as inspiration for a dialogue between two custom-designed chatbots. Material from the debate, along with additional text culled from YouTube, the Bible, Shakespeare, and western philosophy, is inputted into computer programs designed to mimic human conversation to create a new, “improvised” dialogue at each performance.

Finally, Algorithmic Theater will conclude with Yesterday Tomorrow at McPherson Auditorium on September 15 at 8 p.m., September 16 at 6 p.m., and September 17 at 8 p.m. In Yesterday Tomorrow, three singers receive computer-generated music and lyrics both aurally and visually. The algorithmically-produced score begins with the Beatles’ hit song “Yesterday” and slowly transforms into “Tomorrow” from the musical Annie. Inspired by an artificial intelligence known as evolutionary computation, Yesterday Tomorrow gives a unique experience of the complexity and unpredictability of the present tense contrasted with the known past and the imagined future. Each night, the spatial and musical path from the past to the future is different; neither the singers, creative team, nor the audience knows the route the performance will take them.

Free tickets will be available to students from the Tri-College Consortium (Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore) and can be reserved by calling 610-526-5300, or emailing reservations@brynmawr.edu.

General admission tickets for Algorithmic Theater performances will be available online for $20, $18 for seniors (65+), $10 for students (not from the Tri-College Consortium), and $5 for children under five.

In addition to presenting performances, Bryn Mawr College Performing Arts Series will release an accompanying publication titled Algorithmic Theater: Essays and Interviews, 2012-2022. The publication highlights the last decade of Dorsen’s work, and a limited number of copies will be available to the public for free. Edited by writer and theater critic Tom Sellar, the book features essays by Dorsen as well as illuminating conversations with her collaborators. It also includes a collection of essays previously published in journals, monographs, and anthologies by Miriam Felton-Dansky, Jacob Gallagher-Ross, Sarah Bay-Cheng, W.B. Worthen, and Johannes Birgfeld.

ABOUT ANNIE DORSEN:

Annie Dorsen is a director and writer whose works explore the intersection of algorithms and live performance. Her most recent project, Infinite Sun (2019), is an algorithmic sound installation commissioned by the Sharjah Biennial 14. Previous performance projects, including The Slow Room (2018), The Great Outdoors (2017), Yesterday Tomorrow (2015), A Piece of Work (2013), Spokaoke (2012), and Hello Hi There (2010), have been widely presented in the US and internationally.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://anniedorsen.digital.brynmawr.edu and https://anniedorsen.com/

Today on the podcast, GUNNAR MONTANA returns to talk about the latest FringeArts offering, BATHHOUSE. Here is my interview with Gunnar Montana.

Designed as a temple to the fluid nature of sexuality, BATH HOUSE is a deeply sensory immersive theatrical experience dripping with erotic energy from start to finish. BATH HOUSE fuses dance and movement to create an atmosphere where guests are free to indulge their deepest desires, and perhaps even discover new ones.

VIP Packages Available: The VIP Table Experience is the ultimate way to get up close and personal with Gunnar and the BATH HOUSE cast. The Experience includes (4) VIP table seats, (4) official BATH HOUSE t-shirts, a bottle of champagne for your table, and a post-show meet and greet with the cast. Check ticket page for VIP options.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://www.gunnarmontana.com

"rADicAl ImAgInAtIoN"

(and other sorted pandemic musings)

Theatre Exile presents rADicAl ImAgInAtIoN (and other sorted pandemic musings); a Paper Wings event featuring original works written by students from Fanny Jackson Coppin and Franklin Learning Center!

For this event, 30 students wrote original works using World Building prompts created by our Education Director, Mx. TS Hawkins

Through imaginative and thematic activities, group assignments, and peer review, the students had an opportunity to gain real-world experiences and learn how to collaborate in a writer’s room.

rADicAl ImAgInAtIoN (and other sorted pandemic musings) will be presented virtually on Friday, June 3 at 7PM and Saturday, June 4 at 2PM.

This event is free to the public, but donations will be accepted with proceeds going towards Theatre Exile’s Education Department to fund future Paper Wings productions.

The Saturday, June 4, 2PM presentation will highlight the winner of the Literary Eagle Award!

ABOUT TS HAWKINS

TS Hawkins (they/them) is an international author, performance poet, art activist, playwright, and member of the Dramatists Guild. Plays, short works, and books include Seeking Silence, sweet bread peaches (formerly, Cartons of Ultrasounds), Too Late to Apologize, In Their Silence (formerly, They’ll Neglect to Tell You), #RM2B, The Secret Life of Wonder: a prologue in G, AGAIN, #SuiteReality, “don’t wanna dance with ghosts…”, Sugar Lumps & Black Eye Blues, Confectionately Yours, Mahogany Nectar, Lil Blaek Book: all the long stories short, and The Hotel Haikus. Hawkins’ one-act choreopoem, AGAIN, was acknowledged for having the “Best Theater Moment of 2017”. #SuiteReality received the 2017 “Theatrical Reality Check” Surya Bonaly Award, an international publication in WORDPEACE Literary Journal, showcased in Chicago at the Goodman Theatre for the Black Lives, Black Words International Theatre Festival, and shares residence at the Carnegie Mellon University Hunt Library. Cartons of Ultrasounds had the pleasure of returning to New York for a limited off-Broadway run to rave reviews. Recently, The Secret Life of Wonder: a prologue in G graced Australian stages as part of Antipodes Theater Company’s Ricochet Reading Series! Hawkins’ residency credits include National Black Theatre SOUL Producing Resident, Swim Pony Performing Arts TrailOff Writer-in-Residence, 1812 Productions’ Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Residency, Out of Exile Artist-in-Residence, Irondale Ensemble “To Protect, Serve, and Understand”, Painted Bride Art Center’s Souls of Black Folk, and Alphabet Arts Puppets & Poets. Notable writing contributions include Rising Voices: Poems Towards a Social Justice Revolution (University Professors Press), Closet Cases: Queers on What We Wear (Et Alia Press), Family Legacies (SONKU Collective Magazine). WORDPEACE Literary Magazine/vol. 2 Spring Edition, Fragrance of Love (Poet Tree), Long Wharf Theatre Blog Series, The Dramatist – Motivation & Innovative Dramatists issues, and Pandemic of Violence Anthology (North of Oxford Press). Ongoing projects: TrailOff and Community Capital: an Afrofuturism South Philly Walking Experience. tspoetics.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://theatreexile.org

Reverie

A New Play by a Pulitzer Prize winning Philadelphia Playwright

By James Ijames - 2022 Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama (FAT HAM)
Directed by Jerrell L. Henderson

When Jordan answers a knock at his door, he’s expecting to see his most recent assignation standing there, but instead encounters Paul, the father of a former boyfriend. Paul’s son Lucas died six months ago, and Paul found Jordan’s address amongst his son’s belongings. Reverie deals with grief, being true to yourself and the family dynamics that can make that so challenging.

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://azukatheatre.org

Today on the podcast, we talk about the final production of Theatre Exile’s 25th season, Today is My Birthday by Susan Soon He Stanton. Here is my interview with Rachel O’Hanlon Rodriguez and Daniel Kim for Today is My Birthday.

Today is My Birthday is about life with a thousand friends on Facebook and no one to have dinner with on Saturday night. This quirky comedy by award-winning screenwriter and playwright Susan Soon He Stanton tells the story of would-be writer Emily, who moves back home to Hawaii after her bubble life in New York pops. As she trades one island for another, Emily, feeling unfulfilled, creates an alter-ego for a radio dating show, determined to turn fantasy into reality. Today is My Birthday, told through a playful mixture of live radio, voicemail, and phone calls, is about finding true human connection in a digital-obsessed world.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Rachel O’Hanlon-Rodriguez (Hailma, DJ Solange, Goddess Sweet Leilani, Generic Female Voice, Hostess, she/they) is thrilled to make their Theater Exile debut. Rachel is a Philly-based actor, poet, organizer, trauma-informed teaching artist, and facilitator. They are the Operations Associate of Spiral Q and serve as a member of the Artistic Squad of Delaware Shakespeare Theater. Rachel has spent the last decade working with theater companies throughout the region such as Power Street Theatre, Die Cast, The Hum’n’Bards, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, Simpatico Theatre Company, The Wilma Theater, the Arden Theatre, EgoPo Classic Theater, and the International Performing Arts for Youth. Rachel received her Master’s in Theater from Villanova University. Follow Rachel’s creative journey on Instagram @the.inter.section or at www.rachelohanlonrodriguez.com.

DANIEL KIM (Dad, Bill Tapia, he/him) is an actor and standup comedian who has appeared across the country. While in Los Angeles, he played the villainous Judge Turpin in the award-winning production of Sweeney Todd at East West Players, the nation’s oldest Asian American theater. Dan also played family friend Stan on Margaret Cho’s sitcom All American Girl. In addition, Dan was a member of the Warner Bros. Comedy Writing Workshop. In Philadelphia, Dan most recently played the role of Atung in The Chinese Lady at Interact Theatre. In addition, Dan appeared in Tiger Style, the inaugural production of Philadelphia Asian Performance Artists (PAPA). At the South Camden Theatre (NJ), Dan played the role of Wong in both the premiere and revival of Fortune Cookies. Dan was also a founding member of the performance group Asians Misbehavin’ (NY & Philly Fringe Festivals, WYBE-TV), as well as the Edge of the World ensemble (NAATCO, LaMama). Dan has performed stand-up comedy at clubs in Chicago (Zanies, Comedy Cottage), New York (Improv, Gotham Comedy Club), and Philadelphia (Comedy Cabaret). Love to Doris, Melody, Maple, and Lolly!

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://theatreexile.org

Today on the podcast, Theatre Philadelphia’s Executive Director, LaNeshe Miller-White talks about the 2022 Philly Theatre Week, featuring 85 events across the region. Here is my interview with Theatre Philadelphia’s Executive Director, LaNeshe Miller-White.

The 5th Annual Philly Theatre Week
April 1-10, 2022

85 EVENTS ACROSS THE REGION
EXCLUSIVE FREE, $15, OR $30 TICKETS
ON SALE NOW! WWW.PHILLYTHEATREWEEK.COM

Theatre Philadelphia presents Philly Theatre Week: a celebration of artists, organizations, and audiences that have made Greater Philadelphia one of the most vibrant theatre regions in the nation. Audiences will have an opportunity to try unique events from our theatre community and access exclusive Free, $15, or $30 tickets.

The 5th Annual Philly Theatre Week will feature 85 unique live and virtual performances, readings, audio plays, and more from theatres across the region! Tickets are on sale now!

Plus: Don't miss our March 30th Kick-Off Celebration, featuring preview performances by participating artists and organizations.

Questions? Contact phillytheatreweek@theatrephiladelphia.org.

Know Before You Go!

This year, exclusive Philly Theatre Week tickets are sold through Eventbrite.

Virtual Events: Virtual Events will have their own unique ticketbuyer-only access page! Access to virtual events will launch at the event's start time.

Live Events: Each event will include unique information about COVID safety, Accessibility options, and more. Information is subject to change. For any questions, please contact phillytheatreweek@theatrephiladelphia.org.

Today on the podcast, Without A Cue Productions stops by to talk about their latest offering, The Golden Girls Murder Mystery. Here is my interview with Without A Cue Productions.

ABOUT GOLDEN GIRLS MURDER MYSTERY

Thank you for being a friend! Especially a Golden Girl friend! Your favorite ladies from the ‘80’s are throwing a party, and you’re invited! Sophia, Blanche, Rose and Dorothy have worked long and hard to throw the perfect celebration, but will they still be celebrating when they discover that their party guest, Arthur, has not only been two-timing them, but three-timing them?! The women uncover a deadly love triangle, and they are not at all pleased! As Sophia attempts to lighten the mood with a song, someone’s attempting to lighten the mood with a BANG! Who could the killer be? Cast your vote! Perhaps YOU can solve this Golden Girls Mystery?

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://www.withoutacue.com/goldengirls

When Eve gets a promotion, she moves to London in the hopes of having the perfect big city life. But soon she discovers that being one in 9 million can be pretty lonely. Feeling at her lowest, a lifeline comes to Eve in the form of a letter for her apartment’s former tenant – Hollywood actor Michael Fassbender. Now all Eve has to do is return this letter to the rightful owner!

Featuring: Amy Frear

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://inisnuatheatre.org

Today on the podcast, director Tyrone L. Robinson talks about the Interact Theatre Company production of “This Bitter Earth” by Harrison David Rivers. Here is my interview with Tyrone L. Robinson.

ABOUT THIS BITTER EARTH

A protest brought Jesse, an introspective Black playwright, together with his white boyfriend Neil, a Black Lives Matter activist. But as Neil immerses himself deeper in the movement, Jesse finds his choices challenged and their love on the line.

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://interacttheatre.org

Today on the podcast, I checked my confirmation, packed my bag and settled in for the night at Motel Montana the latest offering from Gunnar Montana after a long intermission. Here is my interview with Gunnar Montana.

Gunnar Montana - “Motel Montana is designed to celebrate everything my grandfather couldn’t express in his life, and in turn, everything I am so unapologetically eager to express now. There’s something incredibly conflicting about celebrating the idea of my grandfather living out his truths, knowing I wouldn’t have been born had he done so.”

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://www.instagram.com/gunnarmontana/ and https://www.gunnarmontana.com

Today on the podcast, Liam Mulshine and I play catch up, share thoughts on virtual theatre and talk about returning to the stage in-person with the Inis Nua American Premiere of A Holy Show by Janet Moran. Here is my interview with Liam Mulshine.

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://inisnuatheatre.org/discover-more/discover-more-holy-show

About The Hazards of Love:

Margaret’s chance encounter with a wounded fawn in the wild leads her on a dark, magical journey where she’ll learn “The Hazards of Love” firsthand.

Join us as we weave this tragic folk-rock opera featuring Yali Puello, Julianne Schaub, Alyssa Al-Dooki, Wyatt Flynn, Jenn Adams, and Linden Curhart.

The Hazards of Love will be available to watch both IN-PERSON and DIGITAL STREAMING.

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS HERE!

IN-PERSON: The show will be performed on Sept 29, 30, Oct 1 and 2 at Front Street Dive (upstairs at The Victoria Freehouse). This venue is up a flight of stairs. We require all audiences to be vaccinated AND masked. Please bring proof of vaccination to the box office, which can be a physical card, a picture of your card, or an app such as Docket or Bindle.

DIGITAL STREAMING: When you purchase a ticket for October 3-10th, we will send you an email on October 3rd with a link to view a video of the production until October 10th at 11:59pm. Vaccination and/or masks are not required

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: http://www.humnbards.com

Today on the podcast, Mariangela Saavedra stops by to talk about the hybrid performance of “Rogues’ Gallery” by John Patrick Shanley, presented as part of Fringe Arts by The Stagecrafters Theatre. Here is my interview with Mairangela Saavedra.

Today on the podcast, Producing Artistic Director Damon Bonetti (He/Him) and Artistic Associate Eli Lynn (They/Them) stop in to talk about the FringeArts offering “QvK” , a classical clash of royal proportions. Here is my interview with Philadelphia Artists Collective for QvK. Stay Tuned!

Today on the podcast, CJ Higgins and Quinton J. Alexander stop by to talk about the Hum N Bard’s production of #Knightlife, a virtual renaissance Faire. Here is my interview for Hum N Bard’s #Knightlife. Stay Tuned!

Today on the podcast Michelle Pauls stops by to talk about the virtual series Speaking of Family… a series devised using phones, tablets and virtual meetings following a family dealing with the new normal that may or may not have a future. Here is my interview with Michelle Pauls.

ROB TUCKER & BILLY BUSTAMANTE

These longtime friends and University of the Arts graduates will present a beautifully curated night of musical theater pieces paying homage to Broadway greats.

Today on the podcast, we return to Theatre Exile to talk about their production of Sin Eaters by Anna Monech and directed by Matt Pfeiffer. This production will be presented virtually and features Bi Jean Ngo and David M. Raine. Here is my interview with Bi and David about the Exile production of Sin Eaters. Stay Tuned!