This sunday, we will be showcasing four new plays in an effort to raise awareness of autism and raise some money for disability and the arts charities (specifically, Touching Humanity Inc).
While the plays have been chosen quite a while ago, wejust finalized casting all four plays and are so happy with the artists assembled.
The night will feature readings of:
"X-ray Vision at the motel 9" by Ian August, directed by Marielle Duke and featuring Eric Bland and Alex Engquist
"Rain" by Garry Williams, directed by August Schulenburg and featuring Ken Glickfel, Alisha Spielmann, Jane Taylor and Isaiah Tanenbaum
"Prodigal Father" by Isaac Rathbone, directed by Dev Bondarin and featruing John Greenleaf and John Gardner
"Walk into the Sea" by Elaine Romero, directed by Jerry Ruiz and featuring Sandra Delgado and Teddy Canez
"Teasers and Pleasers" the first installment of our "Autism Initiative" series, will be taking place in Penthouse 1 of Shetler Studios (244 w54th st) at 7:30 pm on 10/24/10. Tickets will be 18 dollars and can be reserved by emailing RSVPadaptive@gmail.com or by calling 845 667 0757
We hope to see you there!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
culture, passion, and science- a look into the mind of Elaine Romero
Meet playwright Elaine Romero, whose piece WALK IN TO THE SEA is being featured in our upcoming fundraiser (directed by Jerry Ruiz)
1)It appears that culture and heritage play a really important part in a lot of your plays. How does your own culture influence your writing and characters?
I just write what's in my gut and sometimes the plays dance with, or around, cultural themes. I do enjoy including Latino characters. I see them in my head. It's my community. I noticed early on that if I did not specify Latino characters that Latino characters were not cast when I wrote, "can be played by actors of any race." Just never. I found that discouraging. I realized I had to carve out a place in some of my work. Indeed, the culture influences how I see space and time. There's a sense that there is a very thin veil between this world and the next.
2)You seem to be in a different state each time I speak with you, is there a place that you consider your artistic home? Similarly, do you have a favorite place to write?
I currently live in Chicago, so that is my new artistic home. I have used Arizona as a home base for a long time, and I'll always return there to write. I have a long term relationship with a regional theatre there that has always served as a home for me. Super cozy there. They still love me and I still love them. My reality is that I have multiple artistic homes, companies I return to, again and again, who produce my work. I have homes in Denver, Dallas, Florida, and New York. They are all my homes.
3)Your characters have a way of making us believe and completely buy into their passions and ideas about life. Did a lot of research go into creating these characters for you? Specifically Karl and his theories on Viruses.
I did tons of research. Karl's theory is, actually, the theory of a good friend of mine. Over a ten year period, I was intrigued by how he applied his theory to social issues, politics, and himself. I became interested in the idea of a scientist who applied his theory to his personal life and it failed. I'm interested in our various identities and who we are if they fail us. I'm interested in Karl because he takes comfort in science. He does not know who he is without it. I'm interested in blind passion. I'm interested in obsession. It's something I deeply understand. I understand singular focus and blurring out the rest of the world. WALK INTO THE SEA is a product of that understanding.
4)What made you decide to apply for this festival? Do you have any personal connections to Autism that you would feel comfortable sharing?
I wanted to have WALK INTO THE SEA included in an event that was specifically about Autism. Frankly, I wanted to see the response to my play from those even closer to Autism. My best friend is a special ed teacher. I talked to her a lot while I was writing the play. She specializes in Autism. We talk a lot on the phone. I learned a lot about it from her. Other friends have kids who have Autism. It's been a path of learning. It continues to draw me in. As a writer, I love people. All people. As a writer, I want to understand them. Perhaps, writing a play is an attempt to crack a nut, solve a mystery.
5) What was the moment that made you decide to be a playwright?
I'm pretty certain that it started before I became conscious of it. I used to read plays aloud to myself as a kid. I always loved playing all the parts. As a writer, I found myself wanting to embody each voice in its entirety without interpretation. I found the craft to be pure. When I wrote my first plays, I was uncertain of the form, but I found myself fighting for each play. Really fighting for it in a way that I had not fought for my other writing. I found myself with the will to write and rewrite. The will to hear my work with other artists. I fell for the collaborative aspect of the theatre. I fell for hearing my work aloud in a room and feeling the response. It's been an ongoing journey of falling in love.
6)What is your favorite piece you have written? Or Favorite experience with a piece?
I've had magical experiences with my plays. Literally, ideas that have come out of the ethers. When I wrote BEFORE DEATH COMES FOR THE ARCHBISHOP, I had the experience of having the name of Willa Cather's novel come to mind. It was completely out of the blue. When I read the book, I realized I needed to do a Latina revisionist version of that time period from the point of view of a priest she lambasted in the novel. Within minutes of discovering his true identity, I ended up with an invitation to stay in his home with his descendants. That entire experience was magical for me. In many ways, it's that play I find myself returning to as a favorite. I wanted to capture that moment in time when the U.S. took over northern Mexico, but I wanted to find a personal vehicle to tell it. I found that vehicle in Padre Martinez.
7)If you were trapped on a deserted island with only one play to read, what would it be? Feel free to cast it as well (we can kidnap some actors onto this island)!
It would lend itself to A TEMPEST. I'd cast it with members of my cerebral ensemble because they'd keep me writing.
1)It appears that culture and heritage play a really important part in a lot of your plays. How does your own culture influence your writing and characters?
I just write what's in my gut and sometimes the plays dance with, or around, cultural themes. I do enjoy including Latino characters. I see them in my head. It's my community. I noticed early on that if I did not specify Latino characters that Latino characters were not cast when I wrote, "can be played by actors of any race." Just never. I found that discouraging. I realized I had to carve out a place in some of my work. Indeed, the culture influences how I see space and time. There's a sense that there is a very thin veil between this world and the next.
2)You seem to be in a different state each time I speak with you, is there a place that you consider your artistic home? Similarly, do you have a favorite place to write?
I currently live in Chicago, so that is my new artistic home. I have used Arizona as a home base for a long time, and I'll always return there to write. I have a long term relationship with a regional theatre there that has always served as a home for me. Super cozy there. They still love me and I still love them. My reality is that I have multiple artistic homes, companies I return to, again and again, who produce my work. I have homes in Denver, Dallas, Florida, and New York. They are all my homes.
3)Your characters have a way of making us believe and completely buy into their passions and ideas about life. Did a lot of research go into creating these characters for you? Specifically Karl and his theories on Viruses.
I did tons of research. Karl's theory is, actually, the theory of a good friend of mine. Over a ten year period, I was intrigued by how he applied his theory to social issues, politics, and himself. I became interested in the idea of a scientist who applied his theory to his personal life and it failed. I'm interested in our various identities and who we are if they fail us. I'm interested in Karl because he takes comfort in science. He does not know who he is without it. I'm interested in blind passion. I'm interested in obsession. It's something I deeply understand. I understand singular focus and blurring out the rest of the world. WALK INTO THE SEA is a product of that understanding.
4)What made you decide to apply for this festival? Do you have any personal connections to Autism that you would feel comfortable sharing?
I wanted to have WALK INTO THE SEA included in an event that was specifically about Autism. Frankly, I wanted to see the response to my play from those even closer to Autism. My best friend is a special ed teacher. I talked to her a lot while I was writing the play. She specializes in Autism. We talk a lot on the phone. I learned a lot about it from her. Other friends have kids who have Autism. It's been a path of learning. It continues to draw me in. As a writer, I love people. All people. As a writer, I want to understand them. Perhaps, writing a play is an attempt to crack a nut, solve a mystery.
5) What was the moment that made you decide to be a playwright?
I'm pretty certain that it started before I became conscious of it. I used to read plays aloud to myself as a kid. I always loved playing all the parts. As a writer, I found myself wanting to embody each voice in its entirety without interpretation. I found the craft to be pure. When I wrote my first plays, I was uncertain of the form, but I found myself fighting for each play. Really fighting for it in a way that I had not fought for my other writing. I found myself with the will to write and rewrite. The will to hear my work with other artists. I fell for the collaborative aspect of the theatre. I fell for hearing my work aloud in a room and feeling the response. It's been an ongoing journey of falling in love.
6)What is your favorite piece you have written? Or Favorite experience with a piece?
I've had magical experiences with my plays. Literally, ideas that have come out of the ethers. When I wrote BEFORE DEATH COMES FOR THE ARCHBISHOP, I had the experience of having the name of Willa Cather's novel come to mind. It was completely out of the blue. When I read the book, I realized I needed to do a Latina revisionist version of that time period from the point of view of a priest she lambasted in the novel. Within minutes of discovering his true identity, I ended up with an invitation to stay in his home with his descendants. That entire experience was magical for me. In many ways, it's that play I find myself returning to as a favorite. I wanted to capture that moment in time when the U.S. took over northern Mexico, but I wanted to find a personal vehicle to tell it. I found that vehicle in Padre Martinez.
7)If you were trapped on a deserted island with only one play to read, what would it be? Feel free to cast it as well (we can kidnap some actors onto this island)!
It would lend itself to A TEMPEST. I'd cast it with members of my cerebral ensemble because they'd keep me writing.
talking fish, motels, and brotherly love or meet Ian August!
A look at playwright Ian August whose play "X-ray Vision at the Motel 9" is being featured in our upcoming fundraiser. X-Ray is being directed by Marielle Duke and features Alex Engquist and Eric Bland.
And now, lets get to know Ian...
1)Within your play, there’s a big theme of being replaced; what it means to be replaced and how we can be. Was this something you thought about at the inception of the project?
I think the idea of "replacement" is inherent in any piece about siblings or sibling rivalry. I know even with siblings of different gender that there is a certain amount of one-upsmanship that goes on between the two. Hank, the older of the two brothers in the play, and the character with autism, understands that idea with a genuine clarity that even Joe, the younger sibling, does not.
2) In the original version of the script, one of your characters was mentally disabled after an accident, how do you feel that the switch from a new disorder to life-long disorder (Autism), affects your characters and their relationship?
One of the things I love about this piece is that Joe, the younger brother, has a seemingly endless patience when it comes to Hank, the character with the disorder. I think changing Hank's affliction to a life-long disorder like autism creates a deeper history between them--a history that speaks of their relationship for years before the story takes place.
3) What made you decide to apply for this festival? Do you have any personal connections to Autism that you would feel comfortable sharing?
A younger cousin of mine suffers from a similar disorder to autism; his condition greatly affects his memory and his social skills. But he is one of the most hard working and persistant young men I know. He is now, at age 21, attending college and living on his own. It's pretty awesome.
4) What was the moment that made you decide to be a playwright?
Oh--that's a tough one. I was a professional actor for several years, toured the country and did some regional productions--but I was becoming dissatisfied with much of the work I was doing. The parts, the scripts, the experiences weren't as gratifying or as fulfilling as they had once been. So eventually, I just stopped complaining and started writing. And thankfully, people have been responding very well to my work. I feel extremely lucky.
5) If you were trapped on a deserted island with only one play to read, what would it be? Feel free to cast it as well (we can kidnap some actors onto this island)!
It would probably be something by John Guare or Peter Schaffer--I love the storytelling devices Shaffer uses in plays like Amadeus or Equus--but Guare is a master of merging form and content. That's not to say that either of the them are the authors of my favorite play--that's reserved for Stoppard's espionage / physics play Hapgood--but if I were stuck on a desert island, I could read House of Blue Leaves or Amadeus forever.
6) Whats up next for you? Any news or projects you want to share with the blog universe?
I just had a production of a new play called Donna Orbits the Moon premiere in Salt Lake City, but I'm eager to have it produced here on the East Coast. I'll also be workshopping a play with the Passage Theater in Trenton, NJ next year--It's a Irish ghost story that takes place in Northern Ireland in the early 80's--called For Mother's Song. And I'm writing a novel tentatively titled "And With Gills." It's a contemporary fairy tale about the residents of a fictional town in Ohio who are all searching for happiness, and turn to the guidance of an enormous, repulsive, one-eyed talking pike. It should be fairly bizarre.
And now, lets get to know Ian...
1)Within your play, there’s a big theme of being replaced; what it means to be replaced and how we can be. Was this something you thought about at the inception of the project?
I think the idea of "replacement" is inherent in any piece about siblings or sibling rivalry. I know even with siblings of different gender that there is a certain amount of one-upsmanship that goes on between the two. Hank, the older of the two brothers in the play, and the character with autism, understands that idea with a genuine clarity that even Joe, the younger sibling, does not.
2) In the original version of the script, one of your characters was mentally disabled after an accident, how do you feel that the switch from a new disorder to life-long disorder (Autism), affects your characters and their relationship?
One of the things I love about this piece is that Joe, the younger brother, has a seemingly endless patience when it comes to Hank, the character with the disorder. I think changing Hank's affliction to a life-long disorder like autism creates a deeper history between them--a history that speaks of their relationship for years before the story takes place.
3) What made you decide to apply for this festival? Do you have any personal connections to Autism that you would feel comfortable sharing?
A younger cousin of mine suffers from a similar disorder to autism; his condition greatly affects his memory and his social skills. But he is one of the most hard working and persistant young men I know. He is now, at age 21, attending college and living on his own. It's pretty awesome.
4) What was the moment that made you decide to be a playwright?
Oh--that's a tough one. I was a professional actor for several years, toured the country and did some regional productions--but I was becoming dissatisfied with much of the work I was doing. The parts, the scripts, the experiences weren't as gratifying or as fulfilling as they had once been. So eventually, I just stopped complaining and started writing. And thankfully, people have been responding very well to my work. I feel extremely lucky.
5) If you were trapped on a deserted island with only one play to read, what would it be? Feel free to cast it as well (we can kidnap some actors onto this island)!
It would probably be something by John Guare or Peter Schaffer--I love the storytelling devices Shaffer uses in plays like Amadeus or Equus--but Guare is a master of merging form and content. That's not to say that either of the them are the authors of my favorite play--that's reserved for Stoppard's espionage / physics play Hapgood--but if I were stuck on a desert island, I could read House of Blue Leaves or Amadeus forever.
6) Whats up next for you? Any news or projects you want to share with the blog universe?
I just had a production of a new play called Donna Orbits the Moon premiere in Salt Lake City, but I'm eager to have it produced here on the East Coast. I'll also be workshopping a play with the Passage Theater in Trenton, NJ next year--It's a Irish ghost story that takes place in Northern Ireland in the early 80's--called For Mother's Song. And I'm writing a novel tentatively titled "And With Gills." It's a contemporary fairy tale about the residents of a fictional town in Ohio who are all searching for happiness, and turn to the guidance of an enormous, repulsive, one-eyed talking pike. It should be fairly bizarre.
Friday, October 8, 2010
"How far did you fall?" an introduction to RAIN playwright Garry Williams
Meet our second playwright, Garry Williams whose play RAIN will be featured in our upcoming "Teasers and Pleasers" night of new works.
1) What made you decide to apply for this festival? Do you have any personal connections to Autism that you would feel comfortable sharing?
A playwright friend, Rich Orloff, told me about the festival and it touched me that a company would devote an evening of plays to autism. I have a first cousin with heart damage and profound mental retardation, and I always admired my aunt and uncle and cousins for making sure that she was loved and included and always knew that she belonged.
2)The character with Autism in your play, Tyler, is nonverbal throughout the play. That’s a really challenging (and yet utterly rewarding) character trait for an actor just walking into the role. What made you decide to go this route?
Much of what goes into my plays is subconscious, I think. Maybe even accidental. I didn't know as I was writing RAIN that Tyler was going to end up being a Christ symbol - an all-loving but completely uncommunicative being. The decision to make him nonverbal wasn't meant to set that up. I was simply moved by the idea of Tyler being an unspeaking - but unconditionally loving - presence in the family and on the stage. The fact that Staff eventually uses him as a Christ symbol was a very happy surprise to me.
3) In your play, there is an amazing juxtaposition set up between Tyler, who has had a disorder for all of his life, and Staff, who recently became handicapped. Did you do a lot of research going into the play on the ways in which people cope with disabilities or the backgrounds of those disabilities at all?
I didn't do a lot of specific research into loss or disability before sitting down to write. This play really came more out of emotion than intellect. My mantra is always "How would that feel?" How would it feel for a man of the outdoors to lose his legs, his independence? For that matter, how would it feel to fall off a barn roof? After the opening night of the first production of the show (at the Alliance Rep in Burbank), a man came up to me and asked, "How far did you fall?" He had fallen forty feet and said that I described the experience and thought processes so clearly that he assumed I had fallen too.
4) Many times in Off Off Broadway theater I feel like we see plays about New Yorkers or situations we face in a big city. However, your characters live in a far away land known as the Midwest. How do you feel the location of your plays effect your characters and their sensibilities?
There is something stark about the part of Indiana that we live in. It looks stark and it feels stark. The summers are too hot, the winters are too cold, and there's very little of what most people would think of as beauty. It's flat and featureless and pretty much wall-to-wall corn and soybeans with a few trees and houses in between. But you learn to see the beauty if you live here. You learn to bundle up when it's cold as hell and run a hose over your head when it's hot as hell. And you go on. Those are the things that forged people like Staff and Mary - living on a part of the planet that humans couldn't live on if they hadn't tamed fire and learned to use tools. It's a no-nonsense environment and it produces no-nonsense people.
Another thing that makes Staff and Mary who they are, I think, is the fact that they farm. Farming is an act of both faith and stubbornness. They plant fields that are too big to water, so if it doesn't rain, they don't have a crop. But they'll do it again the next year, and the next. We live on a farm (though we don't farm ourselves), so I know the feeling of looking out across hundreds of acres of corn that is stunted and withered by heat and drought. And there's nothing you can do. Nothing at all. That's Staff and Mary's life. They chose it and they'll survive it. They're tough people.
5) What was the moment that made you decide to be a playwright?
My wife actually says that writing RAIN was pivotal for me. She read it, looked at me and said, "Well, you're a playwright." As far as a moment that made me want to BE a playwright, I can't really put my finger on one. I remember being young - 10 or 12 maybe - and watching a movie that touched me. I don't even remember what the movie was, but I thought it was a thing of beauty. And I remember thinking that I wanted to be in on creating something of beauty someday.
6) What is your favorite piece you have written? Or Favorite experience with a piece?
RAIN may very well by my favorite piece, along with an unproduced TV pilot called "Tijuana, Ohio." And I would have to say that my favorite moment was the very first production of RAIN at the Alliance. It was beautifully directed, perfectly cast, and brilliantly acted. They found every beat of the play. It was remarkable.
7) If you were trapped on a deserted island with only one play to read, what would it be? Feel free to cast it as well (we can kidnap some actors onto this island)!
Wow. I'm not sure I could settle on one. Maybe DEATH OF A SALESMAN. Or WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Or STREAMERS. And the original Broadway cast of any of those shows would be welcome on my island!
8) What's up next for you after this? Any news to share with the bloggy world?
I have a script with the BBC called LORILEI. It's the true story of the mother of a murdered little boy who didn't want her son's killer executed. In the age of comic book movies, it's not an easy film to get made. And I'm hoping that one of the cable channels will take a chance on "Tijuana, Ohio," a series about a small town facing big city problems. It's about flyover country and what's happening here.
1) What made you decide to apply for this festival? Do you have any personal connections to Autism that you would feel comfortable sharing?
A playwright friend, Rich Orloff, told me about the festival and it touched me that a company would devote an evening of plays to autism. I have a first cousin with heart damage and profound mental retardation, and I always admired my aunt and uncle and cousins for making sure that she was loved and included and always knew that she belonged.
2)The character with Autism in your play, Tyler, is nonverbal throughout the play. That’s a really challenging (and yet utterly rewarding) character trait for an actor just walking into the role. What made you decide to go this route?
Much of what goes into my plays is subconscious, I think. Maybe even accidental. I didn't know as I was writing RAIN that Tyler was going to end up being a Christ symbol - an all-loving but completely uncommunicative being. The decision to make him nonverbal wasn't meant to set that up. I was simply moved by the idea of Tyler being an unspeaking - but unconditionally loving - presence in the family and on the stage. The fact that Staff eventually uses him as a Christ symbol was a very happy surprise to me.
3) In your play, there is an amazing juxtaposition set up between Tyler, who has had a disorder for all of his life, and Staff, who recently became handicapped. Did you do a lot of research going into the play on the ways in which people cope with disabilities or the backgrounds of those disabilities at all?
I didn't do a lot of specific research into loss or disability before sitting down to write. This play really came more out of emotion than intellect. My mantra is always "How would that feel?" How would it feel for a man of the outdoors to lose his legs, his independence? For that matter, how would it feel to fall off a barn roof? After the opening night of the first production of the show (at the Alliance Rep in Burbank), a man came up to me and asked, "How far did you fall?" He had fallen forty feet and said that I described the experience and thought processes so clearly that he assumed I had fallen too.
4) Many times in Off Off Broadway theater I feel like we see plays about New Yorkers or situations we face in a big city. However, your characters live in a far away land known as the Midwest. How do you feel the location of your plays effect your characters and their sensibilities?
There is something stark about the part of Indiana that we live in. It looks stark and it feels stark. The summers are too hot, the winters are too cold, and there's very little of what most people would think of as beauty. It's flat and featureless and pretty much wall-to-wall corn and soybeans with a few trees and houses in between. But you learn to see the beauty if you live here. You learn to bundle up when it's cold as hell and run a hose over your head when it's hot as hell. And you go on. Those are the things that forged people like Staff and Mary - living on a part of the planet that humans couldn't live on if they hadn't tamed fire and learned to use tools. It's a no-nonsense environment and it produces no-nonsense people.
Another thing that makes Staff and Mary who they are, I think, is the fact that they farm. Farming is an act of both faith and stubbornness. They plant fields that are too big to water, so if it doesn't rain, they don't have a crop. But they'll do it again the next year, and the next. We live on a farm (though we don't farm ourselves), so I know the feeling of looking out across hundreds of acres of corn that is stunted and withered by heat and drought. And there's nothing you can do. Nothing at all. That's Staff and Mary's life. They chose it and they'll survive it. They're tough people.
5) What was the moment that made you decide to be a playwright?
My wife actually says that writing RAIN was pivotal for me. She read it, looked at me and said, "Well, you're a playwright." As far as a moment that made me want to BE a playwright, I can't really put my finger on one. I remember being young - 10 or 12 maybe - and watching a movie that touched me. I don't even remember what the movie was, but I thought it was a thing of beauty. And I remember thinking that I wanted to be in on creating something of beauty someday.
6) What is your favorite piece you have written? Or Favorite experience with a piece?
RAIN may very well by my favorite piece, along with an unproduced TV pilot called "Tijuana, Ohio." And I would have to say that my favorite moment was the very first production of RAIN at the Alliance. It was beautifully directed, perfectly cast, and brilliantly acted. They found every beat of the play. It was remarkable.
7) If you were trapped on a deserted island with only one play to read, what would it be? Feel free to cast it as well (we can kidnap some actors onto this island)!
Wow. I'm not sure I could settle on one. Maybe DEATH OF A SALESMAN. Or WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Or STREAMERS. And the original Broadway cast of any of those shows would be welcome on my island!
8) What's up next for you after this? Any news to share with the bloggy world?
I have a script with the BBC called LORILEI. It's the true story of the mother of a murdered little boy who didn't want her son's killer executed. In the age of comic book movies, it's not an easy film to get made. And I'm hoping that one of the cable channels will take a chance on "Tijuana, Ohio," a series about a small town facing big city problems. It's about flyover country and what's happening here.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Meet our artists: Isaac Rathbone
As our new works program is fast approaching, we wanted to give all of you out there in bloggy land a chance to meet all the awesome artists who are donating their creative talent (not to mention time, energy, passion) to this project.
so, over the next two weeks will be posting interviews with playwrights, actors, and directors.
First up, playwright Isaac Rathbone. On October 24th, we will be presenting a reading of his new play, Prodigal Father, being directed by Dev Bondarin. You may remember him from our last fundraiser where he wrote "Hold the Bus", which was directed by Marielle Duke and featured Stephen Alan Wilson and David Nelson. If you can't wait until October 24th to see more of Ike's work, you're in luck! A reading of another new play of his is being featured in Oracle Theater Company's upcoming Truth be Told Series and you can find more info on that here: http://http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118227288234105
and now, the interview:
So, your play Prodigal Father was actually written specifically for our “Autism Initiative” project. What made you want to take part?
It was a very challenging topic to write about a there was a strict deadline. Both of those things are good things for me. They were good motivators to jump right in and write.
Do you have any background or experience dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder?
I don’t, which was another reason I was interested in tackling this project. I have, admittedly, have limited exposure to it. Its why there’s no character on stage with Autism. I wouldn’t know how to write that character yet.
Now in Prodigal Father, they family believes that the grandson’s Autism comes from Ben’s exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. With the constantly increasing number of reported cases of Autism, there are loads of theories (from genetic to environmental) on what actually causes Autism. Why did you choose this as the cause?
I am currently writing a piece on Vietnam and in my research for that I discovered this trend [of linking Autism cases to Agent Orange]. I wanted to tackle that idea while writing this other piece. I am not sure the validity of the theory itself, but it seemed to speak to me.
So what’s up next for you? You mentioned another piece you are working on…
I was commissioned to write a script for Hofstra University based on their campus in the period during the Vietnam War. It will be based mostly on oral histories I am gathering from alumni, activists, professors, and veterans. All of the text will be based on these histories and archived documents. It’s not all completely verbatim though, we are taking some creative license. The story is so big that we need to add focus in order to better serve it.
You tend to write a lot of historical plays, what about that is appealing to you?
That’s actually a relatively new thing for me. But, I really enjoy working on them. The research alone makes the experience well worth it and the play becomes a bonus.
For both this piece with us and your last, Hold the Bus, you focused on some less than savory characters. Was that a conscious focus?
I like the darker sides of characters a big more. I find it more interesting to write about.
Now not only do you write plays, you also work with a company that puts a heavy focus on new
work , Oracle Theater Company. Why new plays?
I think it’s important to provide an outlet for new work. There is something about that process that is so exciting for us. We just want to be involved in that somehow.
Alright, tough question time, what is your favorite play of all time?
Oh, The Dumbwaiter. If I had to be alone on a deserted island with a cast and a script that would be it!
Dream cast?
Michael Caine and…..Ewan McGregor.
Ok, what about a favorite play that you’ve wrote?
There’s Always A Band. Philip Emeott, David Nelson, Jason Little and I went to Cape Cod last winter to develop it. It’s a story about two soldiers stuck in the middle of nowhere with no one but each other. It has yet to be done in New York though, outside of a ten minute version.
Speaking of New York, what’s the strangest thing that has ever happened to you on a New York
subway?
I once saw the three Hanson brothers on the subway. Each one had an age appropriate girlfriend too. So I rode the subway with them for a bit. It was pretty awesome. They were totally lost too and all asking each other where they were going.
so, over the next two weeks will be posting interviews with playwrights, actors, and directors.
First up, playwright Isaac Rathbone. On October 24th, we will be presenting a reading of his new play, Prodigal Father, being directed by Dev Bondarin. You may remember him from our last fundraiser where he wrote "Hold the Bus", which was directed by Marielle Duke and featured Stephen Alan Wilson and David Nelson. If you can't wait until October 24th to see more of Ike's work, you're in luck! A reading of another new play of his is being featured in Oracle Theater Company's upcoming Truth be Told Series and you can find more info on that here: http://http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118227288234105
and now, the interview:
So, your play Prodigal Father was actually written specifically for our “Autism Initiative” project. What made you want to take part?
It was a very challenging topic to write about a there was a strict deadline. Both of those things are good things for me. They were good motivators to jump right in and write.
Do you have any background or experience dealing with Autism Spectrum Disorder?
I don’t, which was another reason I was interested in tackling this project. I have, admittedly, have limited exposure to it. Its why there’s no character on stage with Autism. I wouldn’t know how to write that character yet.
Now in Prodigal Father, they family believes that the grandson’s Autism comes from Ben’s exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. With the constantly increasing number of reported cases of Autism, there are loads of theories (from genetic to environmental) on what actually causes Autism. Why did you choose this as the cause?
I am currently writing a piece on Vietnam and in my research for that I discovered this trend [of linking Autism cases to Agent Orange]. I wanted to tackle that idea while writing this other piece. I am not sure the validity of the theory itself, but it seemed to speak to me.
So what’s up next for you? You mentioned another piece you are working on…
I was commissioned to write a script for Hofstra University based on their campus in the period during the Vietnam War. It will be based mostly on oral histories I am gathering from alumni, activists, professors, and veterans. All of the text will be based on these histories and archived documents. It’s not all completely verbatim though, we are taking some creative license. The story is so big that we need to add focus in order to better serve it.
You tend to write a lot of historical plays, what about that is appealing to you?
That’s actually a relatively new thing for me. But, I really enjoy working on them. The research alone makes the experience well worth it and the play becomes a bonus.
For both this piece with us and your last, Hold the Bus, you focused on some less than savory characters. Was that a conscious focus?
I like the darker sides of characters a big more. I find it more interesting to write about.
Now not only do you write plays, you also work with a company that puts a heavy focus on new
work , Oracle Theater Company. Why new plays?
I think it’s important to provide an outlet for new work. There is something about that process that is so exciting for us. We just want to be involved in that somehow.
Alright, tough question time, what is your favorite play of all time?
Oh, The Dumbwaiter. If I had to be alone on a deserted island with a cast and a script that would be it!
Dream cast?
Michael Caine and…..Ewan McGregor.
Ok, what about a favorite play that you’ve wrote?
There’s Always A Band. Philip Emeott, David Nelson, Jason Little and I went to Cape Cod last winter to develop it. It’s a story about two soldiers stuck in the middle of nowhere with no one but each other. It has yet to be done in New York though, outside of a ten minute version.
Speaking of New York, what’s the strangest thing that has ever happened to you on a New York
subway?
I once saw the three Hanson brothers on the subway. Each one had an age appropriate girlfriend too. So I rode the subway with them for a bit. It was pretty awesome. They were totally lost too and all asking each other where they were going.
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