Tales Told by a HIDiot: March 2014

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Tales Told by a(n) HIDiot: Episode Six - Turn to Flesh Productions

Turn to Flesh Productions: Old Theatre Made New & New Theatre Made Great

It's another ridiculously attractive edition of Tales Told by a HIDiot! This week we sit down with Emily C. A. Snyder and James Parenti of...well, of quite a few things, frankly! Both of these artists are elbows-deep in a sub-section of New York theatre we have dubbed The New Verse Community.

Give us credit for one thing, Hamlet Isn't Dead is good at coming up with catchy titles.

Join us as we get in-depth on the writing process, both new and old, from Shakespeare to Shetler Studios. We chat about workshops available to actors, writers, directors, and more such as DARE Lab (and Hamlet Isn't Dead's LMNOPs!!). And you'll learn when and where you can see Parenti's new play May Violets Spring, a new story for a new Ophelia. Gah, we're amazing at tag lines as well!

(Okay, so James' girlfriend came up with that one. Still. We are.)

So get ready to talk pentameter,

Learn of new theatre and speak of old.

With Turn to Flesh Productions and DARE Lab,

You're guaranteed a podcast of pure gold!

All the best,

-David Andrew Laws

Artistic Director, Hamlet Isn't Dead

To learn more about Turn to Flesh, click here.

For the Whens and Wheres of DARE Lab, click here.

And to get your tickets for the most Ophelia-tastic show around, click here.

So listen well and enjoy Tales Told by a HIDiot, Episode Six!

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As always, thank you for reading about, listening to, Liking, Following, and generally supporting Hamlet Isn't Dead! And if you only fall into a few of those categories, it's not too late to take it up a notch!

Like us on Facebook HERE!
Follow us on Twitter HERE!

And if you or anyone you know feels the need to join us on an episode of Tales Told by a HIDiot (PodOmatic's 24th best free performing arts podcast), e-mail us at hamletisntdead@gmail.com and we'll be sure to save you a seat.

Be sure to join us next week when we talk to James Parenti and Emily C.A. Snyder of Turn to Flesh Productions.

All the best,

David Andrew Laws

Artistic Director, HID

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Tales Told by a HIDiot: Episode Five - WOW Café Theatre

WOW Café Theatre: Women and Transgender and Theatre, Oh yes!

Let it be known that Robin Rightmyer and I (founders of Hamlet Isn't Dead) are neither women nor transgender. We don't fall into WOW Café Theatre's demographic of artists within the LGBT community or, try as we might, lesbian separatists. But that doesn't mean we don't understand the absolute importance of and complete need for a place like WOW Café Theatre to exist. And to continue to do so, they need your help.

In the early 1980s, a group of women joined together to create a collective of like-minded (and like-gendered) artists, in order to give women the opportunities to perform, create, and generally participate in the arts in ways that the "mainstream" was not allowing them. Over the years, that mission statement expanded to other repressed groups such as trans people and the LGBT community at large.

Now WOW needs your assistance, both financially and physically, to stay alive. Massive renovations must be done to their East Village location in order to remain open and functioning. If you can spare anything at all, please go to wowcafe.org and donate. If you can't, spread the word to someone who can. Or someone who will spread the word as well.

This is a true collective, run on sweat equity and unanimous artistic decisions. Organizations like this are incredibly rare, and this one must not fall prey to its own generosity. We must fight to keep WOW serving the New York City arts scene for another thirty years.

If you need further convincing, listen as Hamlet Isn't Dead sits down with Sharon Jane Smith and Jessica Cermak of the WOW Theatre Collective to talk about its history and its role in the arts community on this week's edition of Tales Told by a HIDiot:

http://hamletisntdead.podomatic.com/entry/2014-03-18T21_00_00-07_00

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Be sure to join us next week when we talk to James Parenti and Emily C.A. Snyder of Turn to Flesh Productions.

All the best,

David Andrew Laws

Artistic Director, HID

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Tales Told by a HIDiot - Episode Four: Queen's Players

Richard III: Not Your Grandfather's Podcast (Obviously)

Let me be clear. This is your grandfather's Shakespeare:

This is not:

I mean, unless your grandfather is...awesome. Which, maybe he is, I don't know, we've never met.

But, rest assured, The Queen's Player's production of "Richard III" is. Awesome, that is.

Set in England's "Winter of Discontent", (1978-79) this is a punk-infused, musically-driven festival of one of Shakespeare's earliest and most famous histories. A live band heightens the atmosphere of the rise and fall of this iconic villain. And, as evidenced by the picture above, it's pretty sexy too.

So hold on to your mohawk and don't miss this weekend's closing performances. For more information and the tickets we know you so badly crave, click here.

And to learn more about the production, including a good old-fashioned brain-picking of the director, Alberto Bonilla, and Murderer (Murderess?) #1, Samantha Maurice, don't forget to check out an unusually short installment of Tales Told by a HIDiot. <-- Click it! Click it! You know you want to!

As always, thank you for reading about, listening to, Liking, Following, and generally supporting Hamlet Isn't Dead! And if you only fall into a few of those categories, it's not too late to take it up a notch!

Like us on Facebook HERE!
Follow us on Twitter HERE!

And if you or anyone you know feels the need to join us on an episode of Tales Told by a HIDiot (PodOmatic's 24th best free performing arts podcast), e-mail us at hamletisntdead@gmail.com and we'll be sure to save you a seat.

Be sure to tune in next week when we talk to members of WOW Café Theatre, a theatre primarily focused on theatre of, by, and for women and transpeople, with their (and our) plea to help save their space!

Until then, stay lovely! (Like you can help it)

All the best,
David Andrew Laws
Artistic Director, Hamlet Isn't Dead

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Tales Told by a HIDiot: Episode Three - Sanguine

Sanguine: Sounds Like Penguin (Looks Like Awesome)

When the founders of Sanguine Theatre Company read that tagline I just invented for them, they're going to wish they could pay me a billion dollars for it. And that's just a rough draft.

Welcome back! To the repository for all things Hamlet Isn't Dead-y! Today's spotlight is on Sanguine Theatre Company, and their upcoming production Wild, by Crystal Skillman. In this entry, you'll find a bit of background information on the show and the company itself that you might not have been able to pick up over your own uncontrollable laughter during our most recent podcast.

What? You haven't listened to it yet? Well, here's the link, silly. If you try listening to the podcast and reading this article at the same time, it's almost like we're there in the room with you talking over one another.

http://hamletisntdead.podomatic.com/entry/2014-03-06T10_23_09-08_00

Sanguine Theatre Company is the brainchild of Jillian Robertson (Artistic Director) and Karly Fischer (Executive Producer), two University of Oklahoma graduates with big ideas about the future of independent theatre. They are joined in this interview by Associate Producer Anna Fearheiley, and the hilarity in the room is palpable.

"Wild" is the story of gay couple (Peter and Bobby) who are torn apart when one of them cheats on the other with a woman. Their story is one of passion, honesty, and trust, which explores the ways we love, and the ways we heal. Crystal Skillman's work has been performed and lauded in Chicago and New York City alike. Her various awards and accolades would take up much of this blog's bandwidth (Is that how a blog works?) so check her out at various locales on the web, including here: http://thenewcolony.org/people/crystal_skillman

You can catch this sexy, gripping performance at IRT, March 13th - April 6th. For more information or for tickets, you can visit Sanguine's website: http://sanguinenyc.com

Or IRT's: http://irttheater.org/irt_productions/wild-by-crystal-skillman/

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Also, the line's already around the corner to appear on Hamlet Isn't Dead's hit podcast, Tales Told by a HIDiot. Do you or someone you know have a voice for theatre and a face for radio? Drop us a line at hamletisntdead@gmail.com and we'll bring you on the show to rant, rave, revel, and reveal.

If you haven't already, you should follow Hamlet Isn't Dead on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/hamletisntdead

and Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HamletIsntDead

If you have...good job! Have a proverbial gold star.

NEXT WEEK! We talk with Alberto Bonilla and Samantha Morrice, (director and cast member respectively) of Richard III, being presented by The Queen's Players at The Secret Theatre. Not to give anything away, but if you like anything in the world, you're gonna love this.

Thanks for listening, reading, liking, and being.

Until next time, remember, Hamlet Isn't Dead: It's theatre you'll love, whether you like it or not!

-David Andrew Laws

Artistic Director, Hamlet Isn't Dead