May 2012
3 posts
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Actor Jeff Auer on the rehearsal room
Today we load-in A Modest Suggestion into our new home, Theatre Row, and as we’ll be pretty busy all day hanging lights and painting walls, we thought we’d take this opportunity to hear from one of our wonderful actors, Jeff Auer.
Jeff has been a collaborator and friend of ACTC from the beginning. He in fact helped launch this whole shindig with his stirring performance as a...
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April 2012
9 posts
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Interview: Russell Jordan
Throughout our production of A Modest Suggestion, we’ll be posting interviews with our cast and production team. We’re thrilled to begin with the inimitable Russell Jordan, who is not only a social media guru (follow him on Twitter!), but also plays the role of “C” in A Modest Suggestion.
Why did you decide to pursue acting? In a 2004 event that could only be described as...
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Harpo says: tickets are now on sale.
We’re more excited than Harpo Marx when he sees a pretty lady.
Tickets for A Modest Suggestionare now on sale! So click here to get your tickets!
You can also visit www.Telecharge.com or call 212.239.6200. Or if you’re strolling around 42nd Street (not that kind of stroll…), come on down to the Theatre Row box office to pick up your tickets — 410 West 42nd Street,...
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March 2012
5 posts
ACTC's next show: A Modest Suggestion
Our next production, A Modest Suggestion by Ken Kaissar, doesn’t beat around the bush, so we won’t either.
In this pitch-black comedy (written by, it is worth noting, a religious Israeli-American playwright), four businessmen meet in an anonymous conference room over a pad of paper and a box of donuts to discuss the next item on their agenda: whether the world is a better place with...
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Long time, no see!
Look at you! You look great. Have you lost weight? I love what you’ve done with your hair.
Seriously. It’s so good to see you.
I know. I know. We haven’t posted in a bit.
Because we’re bums. Like these guys.
But real quick, here’s an update.
We concluded our successful run of Mel Nieves’ By the Dawn’s Early Light last August, and we were floored by...
August 2011
10 posts
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"And the clock begins to wind down."
It’s so hard to believe that we’re already in our last week of By the Dawn’s Early Light! While we will surely have more blog posts as we wrap up our run, our playwright Mel turned in his final, very contemplative, very heartwarming post last night. (Sigh.)
And the clock begins to wind down.
How is it possible that as I write this, we as a company are about to embark on our final...
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Interview: Farin Rebecca Loeb
Thank goodness we have an awesome stage manager for By the Dawn’s Early Light. With twelve actors and two plays (and eight scenes in the second play), keeping track of what-props-were-supposed-to-be-where — and keeping our [wonderful] actors in line — was much too much for us to handle.
Please meet the wonder that is Farin Rebecca Loeb, who has a surprisingly varied background...
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Interview: Karen Sours
We still have interviews on the way for By the Dawn’s Early Light. Today, we hear from the lovely Karen Sours, who plays the role of Angie, the pregnant girlfriend of a soon-to-be-deployed marine, in “Midnight Mass.”
How did you end up in New York City?
When I was 5 years old, I told my mom I wanted to be an actress. My mom smiled, thinking this would be a passing thing, and...
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"A person noted for feats of courage or nobility...
Mel writes about a subject matter close to his heart: the first responders of September 11.
It never ceases to amaze me that, whenever you are writing about a particular subject matter, the themes that you are exploring seems to jump out at you from every newscast you come across or any periodical your eyes happen to glance at. Case in point: the subject matter of those heroic, selfless first...
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July 2011
10 posts
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When is a playwright done?
Now that our playwright Mel Nieves isn’t rewriting By the Dawn’s Early Light, he has time to reflect and write about about his writerly process.
As the final weekend of July approaches, we (the casts and creative team) just finished a second run-through of both plays. The script for “Los Embrujados” has been locked-in (meaning, set in stone – no more re-writes) for about a week or so,...
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Interview: Gustavo Heredia
Next in our line of By the Dawn’s Early Light interviews is Gustavo Heredia, who plays Miguel in “Los Embrujados.” It was the voice of Gustavo, in fact, that Mel had in his head when he was writing the play for us. When you see the show, you will immediately see the similarities between Gustavo’s journey and the character he so dynamically portrays.
Why did you decide to...
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Interview: Mel Nieves
You may know that Mel Nieves wrote By the Dawn’s Early Light… but did you know he’s also an actor, and member of the award-winning and supremely fantastic Labyrinth Theater Company?
… Oh, you did? Well, do you know what performance inspired him to get into acting in the first place?
Gotcha. Go buy tickets to his amazing play, and then read on for more info on the great...
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Interview: Jorge Humberto Hoyos
In an effort to make blogging for the cast and crew of By the Dawn’s Early Light as painless as possible (it’s a little scary, we know), we’ve decided to conduct INTERVIEWS. We asked everyone to answer a question or two (we gave them 20 to choose from), and between attending rehearsals, memorizing lines, and selling tickets to the production, they’ll (hopefully) have a...
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How to Turn the Upper West Side into a Focus Group
Perhaps it’s my secret longing to be an advertising executive, but I always highly anticipate receiving the artwork for a production. It’s one of my favorite parts of the producer process.
When I began collaborating with our artist, Katherine Miles Jones, I told her that our starting point would be Tribute in Light, the memorial of the World Trade Center we New Yorkers see every...
Wait, what's today?
And now, another word from our producer, Allison Taylor.
Wait a minute, y’all. Today is July 11th.
That means one thing and one thing only.
No, not the anniversary of the first World Chess Championship game between Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky.
And no, it has nothing to do with Slurpees.
It means we have one month until the opening night performance of By the...
It's the most wonderful time of the year.
And now a word from our sponsor, our producer Allison Taylor.
What could possibly be more wonderful to a producer than finalizing the script, casting the play, selecting the artwork, getting AEA approval, reviewing a press release, and successfully soliciting donations for the show?
What could be better?
Why, PUTTING THE TICKETS ON SALE!!!!
VITAL INFO
Tickets: $15 By Phone: 212.239.6200...
June 2011
6 posts
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Amor de Lejos Amor de Pendejos
Today, we hear from our first cast member — Camilo Almonacid, who plays the role of David in “Midnight Mass” — about where he was on 9/11: Two weeks prior, my relationship had reached a point of no return. Elizabeth, then a journalist at Vibe magazine, was insisting I move from Seattle to New York. A three-hour difference can feel more like a ten year difference. But...
Drum roll please...
We have artwork!
Our gorgeous key art for By the Dawn’s Early Light was created by Katherine McPherson Jones — who is not only a remarkable artist and designer, but also an incredible photographer.
In fact, Katherine shot our last production, As Is…
I know — she’s pretty great, right? You can check out more of her work at her website.
Stay tuned for a post...
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Turn on your Television
Once again, we hear from our playwright Mel. In a second installment he recalls where he was on September 11th.
My first blog, I must admit, was a rather painless affair. There are many memories of being up there with my artistic family during my generation’s darkest moment. There were good times and amazing memories.
I mean for a theatre artist like myself, what better way is there to share a...
Our Mission and Our Moment
Mel Nieves, the playwright of By the Dawn’s Early Light, shares his memory of ten years ago — his first blog post ever, but certainly not his last.
I’ve never actually written a blog before. In fact journal writing or even diary writing isn’t my thing. There’s a book titled, The Artist’s Way, which has been around for a while. I even purchased a copy of it once, but I couldn’t get into...
If You're Ever Lost
Tonight, we bring you the first in a series of reflections on where we (company members of Apple Core) were on September 11th. First up is Producing Artistic Director Allison Taylor.
On September 11, 2001, I had just arrived to New York from Thomas Jefferson Land, in bucolic Virginia. I was going to college outside the city, and the prospect of exploring the many interweaving villages of my...
Oh lookie here! We have a blog!
I know, I know. We don’t call, we don’t write, we don’t update this blog with any kind of regularity. I mean, the last blog post was on the opening night of our last show, As Is. Which was in October! Of 2010! We didn’t even tell you how the show turned out! (We think it went great, but then we’re biased.) If you’re reading this — in fact, if anyone...
October 2010
4 posts
Guys, it is finally here.
The set is done.
The actors know their lines.
Allison has a pretty dress all picked out.
We participated in Free Night of Theater 2010.
Ticket sales are coming in.
It is October 14, 2010.
All this can only mean one thing:
IT’S THE DAY OF THE SHOW, Y’ALL!
Thanks for all of your support! If you aren’t already gotten your tickets (for shame), the can be procured here....
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Camp AmeriKids
Today, we have Jessica Luck, one of the talented actresses from AS IS, here to talk to us about a cause near and dear to her heart. She included some wonderful images with the post that will be included in a separate entry shortly, so please make sure you check in to see those.
Since 1997, I have had the privilege of volunteering at Camp AmeriKids, a sleep-away camp for children in the ...
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Checking in with a bit of a V.I.P...
Many thanks to Ryan, one of the brilliant actors in the company of AS IS, who took the time to stop in and write a guest blog.
Enjoy!
Recently in shows it seems I have been that guy who plays multiple characters. This has been wonderful for me as I have always been attracted to character work. As a kid I watched Saturday Night Live, and the millions of reruns they would show on Comedy Central. ...
September 2010
3 posts
To put on a play, you've gotta have...
A SET!!!
Check out these wise words from Allison, and pssssst… you have to see the other post for the corresponding images…
We just went into rehearsals for As Is yesterday! With the show now only a month away, we’re putting the final touches on the design of the production. It’s always a challenge doing off-off-Broadway, in that you typically don’t get to spend a...
And now a word from our sponsors. I MEAN,...
Hey all, we are super excited to kick off regular posting with a stop in from Allison Taylor, the Producing Artistic Director of Apple Core Theater Company. Let’s just shove on over and make her feel at home, all right?
A little bit of background: I asked Allison to tell us what led her and Walter to choosing AS IS for the fall production. After assuring me that it was NOT because Walter...