Interview: FRANK S. PETRILLI of THE DUMB WAITER & GRACELAND at TOWN PLAYERS OF NEW CANAAN

If you don't know Frank S. Petrilli's work, it's high time you did. Petrilli has earned a stellar reputation as a director's director and a dramatist's dramatist, most frequently working in Connecticut. He is always available to bring his work again to New York City and beyond.

Right now, Petrilli is in rehearsal for a concert reading of Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter and Ellen Byron's Graceland. The one-act plays will be read at the revitalized Stage II of The Town Players of New Canaan on Saturday, September 25 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, September 26 at 2:00 p.m. The casts feature Patrick Duffy, John Fatteross, Olivia Lapine, and Kimberly Lowden. Petrilli had done these plays before at the early 1990s at the Acme Stage Company in New York City, which he founded with Gil Kaufman.

Petrilli has extensive experience working with both Equity and non-Equity actors and has been a mentor to those performers who are seriously pursuing careers in theatre. A former student of Morris Carnowsky and Austin Pendelton, he has staged numerous Actors' Equity Showcases and approved SAG-AFTRA Micro-Budget Projects to help them get noticed by casting directors. He has worked with artistic directors who have had the most challenging performing spaces. One such venue was a small meeting room in the Greenwich Arts Center, where he directed 12 Angry Men and Women. There is a riser that has traditionally been used as a stage, and get this. There's always a baby grand piano on it. Petrilli put the actors in the center so the audience members felt as if they were hovering around the jury from all parts of the room and the piano was not a distraction.

In addition to directing, Petrilli is a seasoned playwright and screenplay writer. He is also a founding partner and creative director of Derelict Films (www.derelictfilms.wixsite.com/derelict-films). He directed the independent films, Within and Without, Play Hooky and Catatonia. He wrote the screenplay Amazôna, the play Lutfisk, and the teleplay Paulie Walnuts is My Barber. He has also had three SAG approved screenplays up for option and worked with Alan Brown, formerly of Joseph E. Levine Presents. Unfortunately, the financial crisis of 2008 put the kibosh on the films because of the complicated financing and tax credits that were previously in place through the State of Connecticut's film commission. Note to all agents: this guy is worth talking to.

Petrilli loves the television programs of the 1950s which were influenced by film. Although his directing and writing are diverse, he has an interest in World War II and stories that hardly anyone ever knows about. Agents, you do want something original and unique, don't you? Maybe Uncle Giaccamo or Hedgehog? All his writings have at least one strong woman in them. And food. He calls himself a dramatist, not a playwright," and "a suffering screenwriter."

Meanwhile, discover Petrilli through his directing with The Dumb Waiter and Graceland at Stage II of The Town Players of New Canaan. There is a suggested donation of $15.00 per ticket. Masks and proof of vaccination are required. For reservations, email info@tpnc.org. www.imdb.com/name/nm5169423/. www.gandeproductions.com/paulie-walnuts-is-my-barber?fbclid=IwAR26WwewPhC74StlwYCGQiWOQ0hz_11em0Ju6PAB2WNT8pgdShXq79jBYUE

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