Catriona Rubenis-Stevens-GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES at Art House Productions

 

Art House Productions, under the direction of Executive Director, Meredith Burns, in collaboration with Half-Light Productions, is thrilled to announce the upcoming presentation of Rajiv Joseph's compelling play, Gruesome Playground Injuries, directed by Catriona Rubenis-Stevens.  This captivating dramedy will be staged at Art House Productions in Jersey City, offering a unique theatrical experience for audiences.

Performances Begin On Friday, October 18, 2024, And run through Sunday, November 10, 2024, with showtimes on Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 3:00 PM. Ticket prices are set at $45 for general admission and $35 for students and seniors.

In a time when empathy and understanding are more crucial than ever, "Gruesome Playground Injuries" seeks to foster connection and dialogue. Art House Productions will engage the community by hosting post-show Q&A sessions with the creative team, and mental health specialists.

"Gruesome Playground Injuries" is a fast-paced, intense, and darkly comic play by Rajiv Joseph. It tells the story of Kayleen and Doug, two friends whose lives are intertwined through a series of injuries that bring them together. Spanning ages 8 to 38, the play follows their relationship as they navigate life's challenges, sometimes leaning on each other too much, occasionally causing harm, and often struggling to ask for help. Its non-chronological structure allows the audience to piece together their attraction while exploring themes of lost love, pain, regret, and how injuries can map a lifetime. Joseph highlights the complexity and messiness of life, reminding us that it becomes a bit easier with someone by our side.

Broadwayworld had the opportunity to interview the director of Gruesome Playground Injuries, Catriona Rubenis-Stevens about her career and the upcoming show at Art House Productions.

Catriona Rubenis-Stevens is a multi-award-winning director and producer and was part of the team that went to the 93rd Academy Awards with the Oscar nominated live action short; Feeling Through.

Born and raised in a small town in the UK, she moved to NYC in her early 20s to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and soon learned her passions lay behind the camera, and so turned her attention to directing and producing and in 2020 founded her production company, Half-Light Productions.

She has directed several award-winning short films for the Easterseals’ Disability Film Challenge that have screened across America at top tier festivals including Slamdance, Hollyshorts and Heartland. Her film e.ro.sion, noun screened at over 20 festivals worldwide, including The Sci-Fi London Film Festival, SoHo International Film Festival and the Fargo Fantastic Film Festival and went on to receive numerous wins including Best Director and Best Film. Her foreign language short, The Path Of Avarice was a finalist for Best Director at the BBC Alba awards in Glasgow, Scotland. She is currently now on the festival circuit again with her 4th feature film as a producer, Regarding Us, her disability musical comedy short, Unlucky In Love and her multiple Shorty Award winning music video Lift Me Up, a tribute to Judy Heumann which was in consideration for best music video at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards and was selected to play at the Diversity Day at the Cannes Film Festival 2024.

Over the years, Catriona has managed to build a reputation for authentic storytelling, carefully blending together her exploration of the human condition and her passion for social awareness. Her style leans toward magic realism and comedy, and her journey into motherhood has further influenced her empathetic nature, sarcastic dry humor and her approach to her work!

Every Halloween Catriona directs and produces the Zombie Opera – an experiential concert in her hometown bringing in international opera singers together with an orchestra for one night and attracting audiences of 4000 people. She is an established theater director in New York and New Jersey, directing shows including the World-premiere of Allerleirauh, The Wizard of Oz, Oklahoma!, Anything Goes, Hairspray, Oliver, Into The Woods and Spring Awakening.

Other directing credits include over a dozen short films, multiple music videos for Mila Jam, Broadway Cares, LUX and On The Quays, the digital series Speak American, The Scoop and Maestro’s Magical Music Box, in-house commercial and industrial training videos for Cartier’s High Jewelry, Money Map Press and the famous children’s animated series, Brainpop. Catriona was recently commissioned by Speak.a Technology in Hangzhou China to write, direct and produce over 50 videos for an English language learning app specifically aimed at preschoolers in China to aid them in their study of English.

Notable producing credits include the BBC’s Houdini’s Diaries for the History Channel, Daymond John’s Money Map, the MSNBC docu-series, Model America and A&E Network’s Greatest of all Time with Laila Ali. Feature films include Lost Cos, Indigo, Americano and Regarding Us.

Have you had any particular mentors for your directorial career?

While I haven’t had any mentors specifically just for my directing career, I would say that I view my peers in the industry as the people I look to for guidance, inspiration and advice. I believe we all hold so much wisdom in the things we learn on every job, that by supporting and uplifting each other, we can become mentors to each other.

I admire my friends and collaborators in the business so much and I’m so proud to be among them as I watch their careers blossom and flourish, and I think that being on this wild journey with them in itself acts like a mentorship.

You have impressive and varied credits.  Can you tell us some of the challenges of being both a producer and a director?

Thank you! I will say first - it’s not easy doing both, and believe me, it’s not by choice all the time but more often than not it’s due to budgetary restrictions. I often find that when I’m brought on as the director, I naturally fall into producing during pre production purely because I have all the check lists ready to go in my head and if I can help move a project along by being another body able to get things moving and completed, I’m all about diving in and getting the job done. One of the challenges however can often be knowing when to switch that part of the brain off. I have a habit of always wanting to go the extra mile and not wanting to say no when my plate gets full, but I’m slowly learning that there’s power in letting go of control and seeking help when it all gets too overwhelming.

I enjoy doing both jobs though, and it’s sometimes a really great learning experience when I’m only producing as I’m able to observe the director and take notes to bring on to my next project!

We'd love to know more about your production company, Half-Light Productions.

I started my company the first summer of the pandemic, despite there being no production work available (crazy, I know). But it was because my friend, Molly Dunn and I founded what has now become one of the largest annual live events in Jersey City, the Zombie Opera. We started with a couple opera singers performing outdoor concerts on stoops during the summer of 2020 in a safe and socially distanced environment, and we soon grew to an event that now hires over 80 artists and sees audience sizes of almost 4500 people. Along with these live concerts, my company has also produced two features, several shorts, music videos and commercials and two full length musicals.

The name comes from the hours of twilight that you see in the mid to late summer in England. We experience considerably longer twilight hours due to our positioning in the northern hemisphere, and I’ve always found that in-between time so magical. The ‘gloaming’ as we call it in Scotland, the half-light between day and night - these witching hours, are when all the magic, mischief and mystery comes alive… perfect for a theater and film company!

How do you like working with Art House Productions?

I adore Art House. I first got the honor of working with them in 2016 as an actor in their immersive show, The Handless Maiden. I fell in love with the company and their mission of supporting local artists, allowing them to play, explore, grow and take risks in a safe space. Getting to now direct a show there is an absolute dream come true. The entire staff are supportive, generous and open to all of our ideas and I think we have formed a really great working relationship, and one I hope continues long into the future.

Can you tell us a little about the team that is bringing Gruesome Playground Injuries to the stage?

I was approached to come on board the show a few months ago by Ashley Scott, another local Jersey City artist. She had wanted to bring this play to Art House for a long time, and hadn’t quite found the right team for it. I love the show, I think Rajiv Joseph is such a wonderful writer digging deep into complex human connections, and so being asked to direct the play with Ashley playing Kayleen was an easy choice to make! She and I are both producing the show in collaboration with Art House, and we just attached the incredibly talented Mario C. Brown to play Doug. We also brought on to our team the award-winning international video installation duo, Laia Cabrera and Isabelle Duverger to design our set projections.

What would you like audiences to know about the show?

I want audiences to come in ready to have a conversation with us. This play opens up a lot of sensitive and deep traumas for the characters, and we do not take it for granted. We will be holding fireside chats with the cast and crew after a couple of our performances, and these will be moderated by a licensed therapist. It’s really important to us that our audience feel safe going on this journey with Doug and Kayleen, but also be free and able to have conversations afterwards to discuss the topics that Rajiv’s dialogue touches upon.

Can you share with us some of your future plans?

Sure! I’m also in full planning mode for this year's upcoming Zombie Opera, as well as Jay Armstrong Johnson’s one night only Broadway show, I Put a Spell On You.

I’m directing a short film later this fall, and a feature I’m attached to as director, called No Rules, a drag-inspired buddy comedy set in the early 90s, is in the financing stage right now.

Anything else, absolutely anything that you want BWW readers to know.

I really just want BWW readers to come out and see what the theater life is like in Jersey City. We’re a stone's throw from NYC and we have a thriving art scene that I want more people to come and experience!

Art House Productions is located at 345 Marin Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ 07302 on the first floor of the Hendrix building. For more information and ticketing, visit Art House Productions. Follow Art House on Twitter: @arthouseprods, Instagram, and Facebook: @arthouseproductions.

Photo Credit: Catriona Rubenis-Stevens/Art House Productions

 

 

 

 

 

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.