Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Blogging Bloodworks: Snider


My Bloodworks is tonight! The actors and director are solid. Please come if you're able. At 7pm we have the fantastic "SCHOOL PLAY" by Tony Meneses. I've heard portions and highly recommend. We follow them at 9. Join us both for a crazy night of Bloodworks followed by the usual Youngblood fun.

HOW TO USE A KNIFE
by Will Snider
Directed by Jessie Mills
Featuring Tim Cain, Hanna Cheek, Ethan Hova, Jack Moore, Luis Moreno, Paul Pontrelli, Scott Sowers


A newly sober chef with a brain full of bad memories befriends a disciplined African porter who helps him stay clean. But the porter has demons of his own.


9pm
260 West 35th Street, Suite 203
btw 7th and 8th
Admission FREE 


The above information is all you need, but if you have one of those jobs where you can just, like, read the internet all day and maybe keep a few work tabs open if the boss comes around, please read my disorganized thoughts on the play after the jump.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Marathon




Okay guys, I’ve been doing some calculations.

So the official distance for a “Marathon” is 26.2 miles.

Currently, there are seven Youngblood members/alums included in EST’s 34th Annual Marathon of One-Act Plays.

Here they are, listed in alphabetical order, according to surname:

Rob Askins
Clare Barron
Joshua Conkel
Ryan Dowler
Eric Dufault
Jon Kern
Chris Sullivan

(What an attractive list of people! I would consensually date each and every one of them.)

Here’s what we’re going to do.

I’m going to go ahead and say that these plays are, on average, 20 pages long.

A typical sheet of paper is 11 inches tall and 8.5 inches wide.

So, if you laid out one of the playwright’s pages on the ground, they would stretch out 220 inches (18.3 feet).

If you laid out all of the playwrights’ pages, they would stretch to 1,540 inches (128.3 ft.)

Including scripts for actors, directors, playwrights, stage managers, etc, I’m going to say that about 50 final drafts of these plays will be/have been printed.

So, if you laid out all of these scripts on the ground, put on your sneakers, pinned a number to your shirt, and ran beside them, you would run... 6,415 feet, or 1.2 miles.



(I’ll be honest, I was really hoping that this number would be closer to 26.2 miles, thus allowing me to make the “Marathon” connection or something.)



Okay, I have a new tactic.

Hopstop tells me that, to get from my apartment in Astoria to Ensemble Studio Theatre, I walk approximately 1.17 miles.

I really like attending rehearsals for my play. I have attended 16 rehearsals, and will be able to attend five performances. That means that, all in all, I’ll have walked... 24.7 miles.

Which is still less than the distance of an actual Marathon.

What the fuck.

Guys, Marathons are really fucking long.


Whatever. Come see Youngblood members’ plays in the Marathon. Unlike my math, they won't disappoint. Information below. Series A begins Saturday.



Ensemble Studio Theatre presents
The 34th Marathon of One-Act Plays
May 18 - June 29, 2013

Series A: May 18 – June 2
Previews: May 18 & 19 @ 2pm & 7pm
Opening: May 21 @ 7pm

Poison by John Patrick Shanley*, directed by John Giampietro* with Jacqueline Antaramian, Alicia Goranson* & Aaron Serotsky

Kandahar to Canada By Dan O’Brien, directed by Mark Armstrong* with Lily Balsen, Jay Patterson* & Abraham Makany

You Belong to Me by Daniel Reitz*, directed by Marcia Jean Kurtz* with Scott Parkinson & Patricia Randell*

Curmudgeons in Love by Joshua Conkel*, directed by Ralph Peña* with Veronica Cruz, Nina Hellman, Alex Manette, David Margulies* & Martin Shakar*

Something Fine by Eric Dufault, directed by Larissa Lury
with Lucy DeVito*, Diana Ruppe* & Catherine Curtin*
June 1 & 2 @ 2pm
May 22, 23, 31, June 2 @ 7pm


Series B: May 28 - June 16
Previews: May 28, 29 @ 7pm
Opening: May 30 @ 7pm

Love Song of an Albanian Sous Chef by Robert Askins*, directed by Moritz Von Stuelpnagel*
A Sunrise in Times Square by Sharr White, directed by Claudia Weill*
The Favor by Leslie Ayvazian*, directed by Leslie Ayvazian*
Something Like Loneliness by Ryan Dowler, directed by Colette Robert*
Waking Up by Cori Thomas*, directed by Tea Alagić
Daddy Took My Debt Away by Bekah Brunstetter, directed by Jamie Richards*
June 8, 15, 16 @ 2pm
June 1, 9, 12, 14, 15, 16 @ 7pm


Series C: June 8 - June 29
Previews: June 7 & 8 @ 7pm
Opening: June 9 @ 2pm

Existence by Murray Schisgal*, directed by Peter Maloney*
Zero by Tommy Smith*, directed by William Carden*
Hate the Loser Inside by Jon Kern, directed by R.J. Tolan*
Carry the Zero by Christopher Sullivan, directed by Robert Saenz de Viteri
Solar Plexus by Clare Barron, directed by Nelson Eusebio
June 10, 13, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 29 @ 7pm
June 29 @ 2pm
Tickets: $18
Student/Senior: $15
Previews: $10

2 Series Pass: $30
3 Series Pass: $40

Bonds Bloodworks : this is the biggest play I've ever written

Hi guys. 

Tuesday marks my last big Youngblood hurrah.  For I am old now.  And they must cast me from the group and feed me to the wolves.  There will be a big farewell Brunch, yes, in June, but I have to be in rehearsal in Philadelphia and very sadly won't be able to attend.  So my Bloodworks reading feels like my official graduation.

SWIMMERS is a big play.  It's the biggest play I've ever written.  Not just in cast size, but in structure...it's a bit of a departure for me.  I had a lot of fun writing it and I've had a lot of fun working on it over the past several months with director Portia Krieger.  She is busy next week with Clare Barron's lovely play at Clubbed Thumb, so I'm making my directorial debut with this reading...

I hope to see you on Tuesday.  I'm really really really really excited about the cast.  Since the beginning of my awareness of Graeme Gillis' existence, I have wanted to have Graeme Gillis in one of my plays.  So this is a momentous moment.







SWIMMERS
written & directed by Rachel Bonds

In which we travel up every floor of an office building in an industrial park in the Research Triangle Area.  No one does any work.  There are coyotes.  And Russian accents.  And Altoids.  
And it might be the end of the world. 

Featuring!
: Tim Cain, Graeme Gillis, Megan Hill, Dylan Dawson, Lucas Kavner, Charise Smith, Annie Henk, Mahira Kakkar, Stephen Stout, Michael Chernus, and Denny Bess.
 
TUESDAY, MAY 21st, 7PM
Ma-Yi Studio Space
260 West 35th Street, Suite 203  


ps. it's kinda hot in there, so don't wear a lot of clothes but do bring a lot of water.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Cheers to Bloodworks!

In honor of Youngblood's upcoming full-length reading series BLOODWORKS, here's a look back at some fun times we had during the year.

Lucy Teitler and Lucy Gillespie read the EST Sloan commissioned play Lucy. Predictable. In the background, Co-artistic director of Youngblood, Graeme Gillis, wishes he were named Lucy.


From left to right: In the Ensemble Studio Theatre lobby, Youngblood playwrights Cory Finley, Patrick Link, Leah Nanako Winkler, Lydia Blaisdell, Willie Orbison, Chiara Atik and Mary Hamilton wait with Budweiser for inspiration.


 Chiara Atik and Clare Barron live it up at Youngblood's favorite bar, McCoys.

Graeme Gillis and Patrick Link enjoy RJ Tolan's favorite game.


Darcy Fowler and Dylan Dawson are graduating from Youngblood this year cause they're so damn old. If you want to make an award for all-around awesomeness, we recommend sculpting the faces of these two and using that as the trophy.

It's been a great season. And now the best part - the Bloodworks batting order:

TONIGHT WEDNESDAY MAY 15
7pm - Leah Nanako Winkler
9pm - Lucy Gillespie

At the MA-YI STUDIO
260 West 35th Street, Suite #203
between 8th and 7th


Coming up:
Tue 5/21
7pm Rachel Bonds

Wed 5/22
7pm Tony Meneses
9pm Will Snider

Wed 5/29
7pm Krista Knight
9pm Cory Finley

Mon 6/3
7pm Willie Orbison
9pm Dylan Dawson

Wed 6/5
7pm Christopher Sullivan
9pm Alex Borinsky

Mon 6/10
7pm Mary Hamilton
9pm Lucy Teitler

Wed 6/12
7pm Lydia Blaisdell
9pm Patrick Link and Eric March

Mon 6/17
7pm Emily Chadick Weiss
9pm Zhu Yi

Wed 6/19
7pm Chiara Atik
9pm Brendan Hill

Mon 6/24
7pm Jen Silverman
9pm Darcy Fowler

Wed 6/25
7pm Clare Barron
9pm Eric Dufault
Readings are FREE
No reservations necessary

SPECIAL THANKS to our friends at

Ma-Yi Theater Company

for hosting BLOODWORKS 2013!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

Hark!  

Blooming cherry blossoms!  

Snow-white legs in sundresses!  

AC in the Subway!  

It must be May!  

(How the f%&k did that happen!?)

From every corner of New York City* the sounds of tap-tap-tapping rise to a fierce crescendo as Youngblood writers scramble to finish their Bloodworks Drafts.

Will they succeed and triumph and go on to successful, fabulous careers filled with artistic gratification and recognition and commissions and money and accolades and CB2 furniture, purchased brand new and paid for in cash?

Or will they fail, and, you know, just keep it small, not invite too many people because I really just want to hear it out loud anyway, and see how people react and figure out my next steps because I'm at this new stage in my process and this is a real left-turn for me artistically anyway, so you know.  It's like, it's not a big deal.  I'm not worried.  It is what it is, you know?.....................



COME FIND OUT on WEDNESDAY 15th!  
THE GLORIOUS OPENING NIGHT OF YOUNGBLOOD BLOODWORKS!
Ma Yi Studio Space
260 West 35th Street, Suite 203
Free Admission!!
Cheap Beer!!

Leah Nanako Winkler's COPE @ 7pm!
Directed by Morgan Gould
Featuring Eugene Oh, Katie Broad, Allison Buck, Stephen Stout, Jason Liebman, and TBA
 
Risa, a young journalist, spends three weeks observing and studying the COPE clinic- a research center for young adults with prodromal symptoms to schizophrenia. As she gets to know the patients living on the edge of reality, she begins to wonder at what cost the decent of madness can be predicted.

Lucy Gillespie's THE FORUM @ 9pm!
Directed by Luke Harlan
Featuring Graeme Gillis, Ethan Hova, Bob Jaffe, Britt Lower, Allyson Morgan, Christopher Burris, Hanna Cheek and TBA

A group of idealistic strangers gather in a city park to protest the disparity of wealth created by their country's malevolent corporate culture. Will they prevail, or will too many cooks spoil the revolution?

  * Except Staten Island.  Why would anyone live in Staten Island?

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Drink with us this Saturday!


EST/Youngblood is having a benefit & party this Saturday, May 11 @ 7pm!

LIVE FROM THE LOFT
with Music from
THE SPRING STANDARDS
LAPLAND
NORTHWOOD
POOR REMY  
and CHRISTINA COURTIN!

and Plays by
CHIARA ATIK
DYLAN DAWSON
ERIC DUFAULT
DARCY FOWLER

And then, maybe, probably, a dance party will break out.

Saturday, May 11 - doors at 7pm
@ Loft227 | 227 W. 29th Street
New York, NY 10001 

For more info and tickets click here!

All proceeds benefit EST/Youngblood


Not convinced yet?