The Secret Theatre Welcomes 19 Shows for FLYING SOLO 3 Festival Tonight
By: BWW News Desk Oct. 28, 2015
The Secret Theatre and Artistic Director Richard Mazda are proud to announce that 19 solo shows have been chosen for the FLYING SOLO 3 festival at the Secret Theatre, the 3rd Festival of one-person shows at the theatre.
This year's solo shows are BE: JESUS + DRUGS = BEAUTY, written and performed by Lesley Asistio; IT AIN'T PRETTY, written and performed by Annette Guarrasi; WILD CHILD IN THE CITY, written and performed by Tjasa Ferme and directed by Ana Margineanu; THE FUNERAL OF ENERIO LOPEZ, written and performed by Lori Felipe-Barkin; THE BOY FROM BANTAY, written and performed by Jeremy Rafal and directed by Josh Boerman; FERDINAND, performed by Luke Tudball and written and directed by performer Heather Bagdall; I AM HOPE written and performed by Mia Raye Smith; SCREW YOUR COURAGE! (or The Bloody Crown!) written and performed by Klahr Thorsen and directed by Autumn Mirassou; DO THIS ONE THING FOR ME, written and performed by Jane Elias; THE REAL COYOTE UGLY, written and performed by Kyle Stockburger; GARBAGEMAN, written and performed by Collin Blackard; THE HUNGRY GHOST, written and performed by Evan Brenner; THE QUESTION OF MY VIRGINITY, written and performed by Tessa Hope Slovis; THE LEAST FAMOUS PERSON THERE, written and performed by Richard Mazda; BROWNGIRL. BLUEGRASS., written and performed by Lacresha Berry; RANT!, written and performed by Alexandra Cremer; 'THIS GONNA BE ON THE TEST, MISS?, written and performed by Ronna Levy and directed by Kel Haney; THE BAD GERMAN, written and performed by Tessa Kim; RIPPLE OF HOPE: One Teacher's Journey to Make an Impact, written and performed by Karen Sklaire and directed by Padraic Lillis.
The festival will take place from tonight, Oct. 28th, through Nov. 1st with three to six shows per day. For the full schedule and for information regarding tickets, visit www.secrettheatre.com.
"We were overwhelmed by the number of submissions and are so excited to be able to present 19 exciting solo shows, and to do it without charging a submission fee but still having a cash prize at the end of the festival for the fan favorite." says Richard Mazda, Executive Producer of the festival and Artistic Director of The Secret Theatre.
The festival has subject matter ranging from death and drugs, to pregnancy, homelessness, and what it means to be a New Yorker, and a diversity of talent from all over the world. The festival gives tech time, rehearsal time, and marketing support, and aims to further develop a vibrant community of support for solo show artists.
SHOWS AND ARTISTS:
BE: JESUS + DRUGS = BEAUTY
Lesley Asistio: performer, writer
30 min (Part of a 60 minute 2-show performance)
"Be" is one woman's testimony about how God brought her out of the depths of Hell (a.k.a. her drug addiction), and into the Light. G (as in G.O.D.) is a fairy-like English woman that takes 7 different recreational drugs through a 7-step recovery program. You'll meet Mary Jane, Rock, Snow, Molly, Cid, Kay, and Crystal. These drugs personified will tell you the tale of Be and her boyfriend Ben, and their addictive personalities and relationship. You'll never look at rehab the same again!
About LESLEY ASISTIO - Impresario of The VirginMotherWhore Project, Lesley has self-produced several original performances: Regrets, Roller Coasters, White Butterflies & Crying Myself to Sleep, Another Song for Ma, The VirginMotherWhore Project Mini,and The VMW 2009: Image. She is currently touring her latest solo performance Be: Jesus + Drugs = Beauty on the Fringe Festival circuit. She is a member of ALAP and the Company of Angels Playwrights Group.
IT AIN'T PRETTY
Annette Guarrasi: performer, writer
30 min (Part of a 60 minute 2-show performance)
When a woman comes to terms with pregnancy, it ain't pretty. This is a serio-comic account of Anna Lee's...opinions.
About ANNETTE GUARRASI - Annette began her acting career performing improv and sketch comedy in NYC, predominantly with Gotham City Improv Company. After her sarcasm muscles began to ache, she challenged herself with Shakespeare and was fortunate to study for a summer at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Eventually, her love for writing comic character monologues led her to a Solo Performance Workshop with Kirsten Ames, where she created "Never Show the Ugly," her first solo show. "It Ain't Pretty" follows Anna Lee as she comes to terms with pregnancy.
WILD CHILD IN THE CITY
Tjasa Ferme: performer, writer
Ana Margineanu: director
70 min
The piece combines the writer-performer's European sensibility and Kafkaesque sense of irony with down-to-earth toughness of a New York single girl who's seen it all. It is a story so unbelievable, twisted, and smelly that it must be true. The writer-performer recalls top 10 experiences that occurred in her roughly twenty-five different rented apartments in New York.
About TJASA FERME - Tjasa is a Slovenian National Film Award and Stane Sever classical stage award recipient, and for the past eight years has been living and creating in New York. She is also the creator of a short film "Ophelia's Flip" (Cannes Film Festival, 2012), a new interactive solo show, and "Wild Child In the City" (just returned from European Tour, next stops are FLYING SOLO 3 and Miami Art Basel).
THE FUNERAL OF ENERIO LOPEZ
Lori Felipe-Barkin: performer, writer
60 min
This is a participatory solo piece that explores themes such as love, death, family, sex and how Cuban-Americans will continue to construct their identities as the older generation dies and Cuba continues to be thrusted to the front of the world stage.
About LORI FELIPE-BARKIN - Hailing from South Florida, Lori is a New York-based artist, performer, writer, VO artist, and creative member of Genuine Wild West Productions. Lori's voice can be heard in Nickelodeon's "Dora and Friends," "Channel One," and abroad in Calavera Films' "Sea Devil." Stage credits include: Babe in "Marfa Lights" (UNIT 52); Peto in "Henry IV "(Shakespeare in Clark Park); Enriqueta in "Bohemian Lights"(Live Source Collective); "Reconstruction" (Josh Fox, International WOW Company); "2013 One-Minute Play Festival"(InterACT & INTAR); "The Funeral of Enerio López" (an original one-woman show). Additionally, Lori had the honor of participating in the 2014 Encuentro Latino Theater Festival as Grace in Marianna Carreño's "Patience, Fortitude, and other Anti-depressants."
THE BAD GERMAN
Tessa Kim: performer, writer
65 min
Tessa Kim's dynamic one-woman show presents a humorous, yet sensitive narrative about her own experience of reconciling her German identity in America. Featuring anecdotes from her own life, about a German who moves to NYC and finds herself haunted by her inherited guilt.
How will she earn forgiveness?
Work clandestinely in a Kosher restaurant?
Exorcise her German-ness with energy healing?
A true story about going too far for redemption.
About TESSA KIM - Tessa is a New York-based actor and writer. Much to the dismay of her parents, she abandoned her medical studies in Germany and moved to New York, where she received her BA in Theatre Arts (Empire State College, SUNY) and her MFA (Actors Studio at the New School). Her credits include many off-Broadway theatre productions, independent films, short film producer, voice-over artist (including for video games and a meditation CD for pet owners). Tessa has also played a Nazi in Robert de Niro's "The Good Shepherd" and a lesbian corpse on "Law and Order." She's thrilled to perform her first solo show in the FLYING SOLO 3 Festival!
RIPPLE OF HOPE: One Teacher's Journey to Make an Impact
Karen Sklaire: performer, writer
Padraic Lillis: director
60 min
An idealistic drama teacher discovers the obstacle is not the inner city students she must conquer but a troubled NYC school system. Can she overcome "test prep" to engage and inspire?
About KAREN SKLAIRE - Karen is an actress, singer, and comedienne who has toured the country with Theatreworks/USA and has been featured Off-Broadway at The Promenade Theatre, Town Hall, The Soho Playhouse, and The Film Forum. She has performed stand-up comedy in clubs throughout NYC and hosted such comedians as Judah Freidlander("30 Rock") and Colin Quinn, as well as touring with comedian Rob Bartlett and the Bartletts. She has appeared on "Saturday Night Live," "In the Mix," and on "The Imus in the Morning."
THE BOY FROM BANTAY
Jeremy Rafal: performer, writer
Josh Boerman: director
60 min
From his childhood in the Philippines --a Technicolor blur of cartoons and classical music-- Jeremy always knew he wanted to be a concert pianist. "The Boy from Bantay" takes us on his heartwarming journey of growth and self-discovery.
About JEREMY RAFAL - "The Boy from Bantay" is Jeremy's first solo show as a playwright and performer. Credits in film and TV including: ""I'd Kill for You"; "Dates from Hell"; "Deadly Sins"; "Alfonso On the Phone"; "The Sounds of Coins Hitting Brass." Theater credits include: "#serials@TheFlea"; "The House of Bernarda Alba"; 'Measure for Measure"; "Life is a Dream." He is also a resident actor at The Flea Theater. As a pianist, he holds a doctorate in piano performance from Indiana University, Bloomington, and has performed across the US, Europe, and Asia.
Besides being an actor and musician, Jeremy is also a linguist, jump roper, and an avid Crossfitter. He would like to dedicate "The Boy from Bantay" to his family and all the people that have shaped him as the person he is today.
FERDINAND
Luke Tudball: performer
Heather Bagdall: writer, director
50 min
A poignant father/ son story about the fight to preserve innocence in a world of corporate downsizing and school yard bullying.
About LUKE TUDBALL - Luke trained in the Masters Program at the Central School of Speech and Drama, London, after earning an honours degree from the University of East Anglia, Norwich. He has also studied with the Russian School of Acting (in collaboration with the University of Birmingham), the Actors Centre, London, TVI Actors Studio, New York and the Actors Center, Washington DC.
He has worked and toured extensively in Europe as well as in the United States, and is a member of: British Actors Equity; the Screen Actors Guild; American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA); The Spotlight; and Actors Equity Association (AEA). Most recently, Luke has been working with/ in: the Studio Theatre (Washington, DC); the Shakespeare Theatre Company (Washington, DC); the Maryland Renaissance Festival (taking the role of "Bottom" in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"); "A Man of No Importance" with Talking Horse Productions (Columbia, MO); and "Just Deserts" at the Corner Store Arts Center (Washington, DC). His other credits include work in "Personals," "SINGLEMARRIEDGIRL," voice-overs, radio, film, and television. Charity work includes performing for a third season with The Hope Operas (Washington, DC).
He is Co-Founding Artistic Director of Tasty Monster Productions and Founding Member of the Spiral Theatre Studio in New York.
I AM HOPE
Mia Raye Smith: performer, writer
40 min
A young vibrant girl from Detroit becomes agoraphobic in New York. Will she leave her apartment and make all her dreams come true?
About MIA RAYE SMITH - Creative. Artistic. Visionary. Mia Raye Smith is a performer, producer, and actress, as well as a proud graduate of the William Esper Studio. Mia's most recent work includes the role of Judy in the film "Reflecting Adrienne," which was accepted into the Manhattan Film Festival. She recently wrapped up the short film "Professional Bleeding." While enrolled in Matt Hovermen's "Go-Solo" workshop, Mia wrote, developed, and performed her one-woman Show, "Look at Me I Am Hope," which is featured in the New Works Series Festival. She is currently developing and producing her next project "Toilet Confessions of an Actress."
SCREW YOUR COURAGE!(or The Bloody Crown!)
Klahr Thorsen: performer, writer
Autumn Mirassou: director
50 min
Witches curse an actress to play the role of Lady Macbeth over and over again until she gets it "just right". Will she be able to conquer madness, Serbians, and enchanted bagpipers long enough to triumph as Shakespeare's most misunderstood heroine?
About KLAHR THORSEN - Klahr is an actor /solo performer /director /choreographer who is currently based in Brooklyn. In 2013, she was selected as an International Acting Fellow at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London.
New York credits include: KING LEAR (Theater 2020); MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR (Theater 2020); IAGO IS DYING (The Network One-Act Festival); THE BLOODY CROWN (Go-Solo Workshops). Regional credits include: THE TEMPEST (California Shakespeare Theater); TWELFTH NIGHT (San Francisco Shakespeare Festival); DIARY OF ANNE FRANK (San Jose Stage) URINETOWN: THE MUSICAL (San Jose Stage); COLORADO (Impact Theatre); BABY (Playhouse West); A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE (New Conservatory Theatre Center); GOOD PERSON OF SZECHUAN (Woman's Will); BLACK NATIVITY (Lorraine Hansberry Theatre); PRELUDE TO A KISS (Fox Theatricals Chicago); SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO (Theo Ubique Theatre); THE LOTTERY (Theo Ubique Theatre); BETTER LIVING (Open Eye Productions); NEW ANATOMIES (Foreground Theatre Company); MAN OF LaMANCHA (Phoenix Ascending Theatre).
Workshops include: her previous solo show THE WATER ROAD (Carolinian Shakespeare Festival); A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN (Rock Dove Theater in NYC).
She received training at: A.C.T. (San Francisco); Shakespeare & Company (Lenox; MA); the Gaiety School of Acting (Dublin). She is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago and The Second City Conservatory.
DO THIS ONE THING FOR ME
Jane Elias: performer, writer
70 min
The poignant story of a woman's self-discovery through her relationship with her father, a Greek Jew who survived Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. Now he just wants to dance with his daughter at her wedding. Not too much to ask, right?
About JANE ELIAS - Jane is a writer and actor based in Brooklyn, NY. Her solo play, "Do This One Thing for Me," which debuted in the 2013 EstroGenius Festival, ran for four weeks in spring 2015 at the TBG Theatre in Manhattan ("A soulful, contemporary triumph . . . the best solo show since 'The Lion.'" www.theatrereviews.com). Other acting credits include "Immersion Therapy" and "Face Time" (both with Core Artist Ensemble), "Lobby Hero" (Hampton Theater Co.), "Three Days of Rain" (Flatiron Playhouse), and the short films "Bad Movie" and "The Confession."
Jane's plays and monologues have been developed with Naked Angels, Access Theater, Core Artist Ensemble, and Stony Brook Southampton; her poetry and fiction have appeared in journals including Washington Square, trans lit mag, and The Southampton Review. Her (very) short story "First of All" was a winner of Press 53's 53-Word Story Contest, and her play "Baby Steps" was a finalist for the 2015 City Theatre National Award for Short Playwriting and the 2015 Heideman Award at Actors Theatre of Louisville.
She received her BA in English from Duke University and her MFA in poetry from NYU.
Acting training: Michael Howard Studios and Larry Singer Studios.
THE REAL COYOTE UGLY
Kyle Stockburger: performer, writer
45 min
Riffing on the hit 2000 film, "The Real Coyote Ugly" is one part coming-of-age story and two-parts examination of the intersection between cinematic fantasy and reality.
About KYLE STOCKBURGER - Kyle is a theatre artist based in New York City. He has performed at: Dixon Place; Chashama Studios; Theatre for the New City; with the CalArts Center for New Performance at REDCAT (Downtown Los Angeles); UDG at the Teatro Experimental (Guadalajara, Mexico). His written work includes the play "4some" and the musical revue "What I Did For Love." He holds an MFA in Acting from CalArts.
GARBAGEMAN
Collin Blackard: performer, writer
15 min (part of a 45 minute set of 3 exciting short solo shows)
A homeless crimefighter quizzes audience members in hopes of finding a sidekick.
About COLLIN BLACKARD - "I got my degree in Theatre from Oklahoma Baptist University, then moved to Chicago to study improv comedy. I came to New York 2010 to make home as an actor. I'm SAF-AFTRA and currently an EMC. I love rehearsals and auditions as much as performances. I have a special place in my heart for interactive theatre. I could name-drop the people I've worked with and the roles I've played, but that's what resumes are for."
THE HUNGRY GHOST
Evan Brenner: performer, writer
15 min (part of a 45 minute set of 3 exciting short solo shows)
This is the story of early professional success followed by a complete and comical personal collapse and finally seeking salvation in writing a play about The Buddha.
About EVAN BRENNER - "I am a native New Yorker and began my career as an actor, writer, and director on short independent films in New York City. I worked in Russia where I wrote and directed the feature film 'The Riddle,' which is a coming of age story about a 10-year-old boy. I wrote and performed 'The Buddha Play,' which is The Life Of The Buddha Assembled from The Original Texts. I host a Youtube series called 'Evan's Household Tips.' "
THE QUESTION OF MY VIRGINITY
Tessa Hope Slovis: performer, writer
15 min (part of a 45 minute set of 3 exciting short solo shows)
Tessa, a comedian, begins a routine. Her act takes a turn when she begins to tell the story of one particular night; forcing her audience to question its authenticity, and even safety.
About TESSA HOPE SLOVIS - Tessa is an EMC/SAGe actor and theatre-maker based in NYC.
TV/Film: "Law and Order: SVU"; "Breaking Bad"; "Actor Seeks Role."
Favorite Theatre Credits: The Who's "Tommy" (Berkshire Theatre Festival); "A Class Act" (Directed by Robert Moss at the Robert Moss Theatre); "Master Matthew" (Manhattan Rep); "#Lovestory" (NYC International Fringe Festival); "Spears: The Gospel According To Britney" (The Foxwoods); "#Serials" (The Flea). Tessa is a proud member of The Bats, the resident acting company at The Flea Theatre.
As a producer/marketing director, Tessa has worked with: IRT Theater; Organic Magnetics Theatre; Ricochet Collective; Signature Theatre Center. She currently writes the recurring cabaret series "Swipe Right/Swipe Left: Love in The Age Of Tinder," which has performed this year to sold out audiences at The Duplex and 54 Below. She is managed by MSA Models and Bicoastal Model Management.
THE LEAST FAMOUS PERSON THERE
Richard Mazda: performer, writer
45-50 minutes
The trials and tribulations of being a working-class Brit with big dreams of stardom and reaching the shores of America.
About RICHARD MAZDA - Richard has worn many hats in the industry: As a record producer, writer, and musician, he has collaborated with various punk and soul artists like The JBs, The Fleshtones, The Fall, Ultra Nate, Nick Cave, And Average White Band; as an actor and director, his credits include "Richard III", "Eastenders," "Bag Fulla Money," "Quills," "Saving Private Ryan", "Love Actually" and "Hair"
After several years in New York, Mazda is now the owner of a custom built theatre complex, The Secret Theatre, built in a warehouse in LIC, the home of the Flying Solo Festivals and Richard's acting troupe, The Queens Players, and The Secret Theatre's Academy of Dramatic arts..
BROWNGIRL. BLUEGRASS.
Lacresha Berry: performer, writer
60 min
A theatrical and historical look into race, identity, and culture through the eyes of a brown girl from Kentucky.
About LACRESHA BERRY - Berry, a teacher, naturalista, playwright and singer/songwriter from Kentucky, wrote BrownGirl. Bluegrass. to fill a need for more positive role models in the lives of our children. Growing up in Kentucky, she found few role models that looked like her, a brown girl from the Bluegrass State. Through her own research, she discovered important African-Americans from her hometown of Lexington, KY. There was Charlotte Dupuy, who fought for her freedom from Henry Clay, a Kentucky Secretary of State and Robert Charles O'Hara Benjamin, a man shot 6 times in the back for encouraging African Americans to vote. Even Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched to the capitol in Frankfort, KY and it was never documented in any of her history books.
RANT!
Alexandra Cremer: performer, writer
45 min
A dramady about one woman's quest to find Mr. Right in the world of Tinder, Shakespeare, and the wilds of New York City.
About ALEXANDRA CREMER - Playwrighting credits include "Sunny Shores," a black comedy about death, family and Florida; the short play "I Feel Fat," which was produced at the Ticket2Eternity One Act festival; and "The Believers," a comedy about faith with the Perchance to Dream Festival. Alexandra also does sketch comedy and occasional stand-up. Acting credits include Gertrude in "Hamlet," Goneril in "King Lear," Audrey in "As You Like It," and Titania in "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
'THIS GONNA BE ON THE TEST, MISS?
Ronna Levy: writer, performer
Kel Haney: director
60 min
"I'm not Michelle Pfeiffer; this isn't Dangerous Minds. Welcome to community college remedial English; it's my job over the next 12 weeks to teach you what you should've leaned over the past 12 years."
About RONNA LEVY - For the past twenty years, Ronna has detoured from the acting into academia, teaching remedial English in Los Angeles and New York City community colleges. And for the past 20 years, Ronna has been observing her students and the education system -- in preparation for this solo show.
Before the classroom, Ronna studied at the Neighborhood Playhouse; also with Julie Bovasso, and with F. Murray Abraham. She has performed off Broadway; in Boston; and was a member of the Group Repertory Theater in Los Angeles. Ronna has had numerous poems published, giving poetry readings throughout NYC; presented papers at conferences across the country, edited a test-prep book for Pearson Longman, and has a recent article in the Journal of Basic Writing.
While she is committed to her students, Ronna has never abandoned her passion for performing. Actually, she has always had a vision of merging performing, writing, and teaching. She is excited it has all come together in this solo show developed under the tutelage of Matt Hoverman and rolled out under the guidance of Molly Pearson.
Ronna holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on the Basic Writer; an MFA in creative writing/poetry, studying with Allen Ginsburg; and a BA in communication studies with a minor in theater.
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