Interview: Renee Philippi and THE BELLAGIO FOUNTAIN HAS BEEN KNOWN TO MAKE ME CRY

Concrete Temple Theatre proudly presents the New York premiere of The Bellagio Fountain Has Been Known to Make Me Cry, written by Renee Philippi, co-directed by Eric Nightengale and Renee Philippi, designed by Carlo Adinolfi, with original music composed by Joseph C. Phillips Jr. The Bellagio Fountain Has Been Known to Make Me Cry runs from November 27th December 13th in a limited engagement at HERE, located at 145 6th Avenue in New York City. Broadwayworld.com had the opportunity to interview Renee Philippi about her career and the production.

In The Bellagio Fountain Has Been Known to Make Me Cry, two Floridians dream of a fantastic escape to Las Vegas. There's just one minor problem, the ground is sinking beneath them. Pairing women and water as metaphors for one another. The show explores themes of conservation and regeneration, and at its heart, our eternal quest for happiness.

Renee Philippi is Artistic Director of Concrete Temple Theatre with Carlo Adinolfi. Her work has been seen in NYC, nationally and internationally at The Yard, Atlanta Arts Festival, Bard Summerscape, and in Costa Rica, Germany, Italy, India and Sri Lanka. Renee is alumna of Women's Project Directors Forum, Spiderwoman, Ice Factory Festival and a member of Lincoln Center's Directors Lab, New Georges and LPTW. She's been an Artist-in-Residence with Mabou Mines, Playwrights Center, St. Ann's, Directors Company, Nantucket Historical Association, Workspace for Choreographers, The Flea, The Yard, Dixon Place and a Directing Fellow at the Williamstown Festival.

When did you first become interested in the theatre arts?

Around the time I was eleven or twelve, I think I knew I wanted to be a playwright and director. I wrote my first play when I was 13. It was an incredibly dark and morbid little performance piece that I had constructed for myself to perform...I remember there was a line about vultures ripping my flesh. It was an odd piece for a rather cheerful middle schooler, but it did set me on a path.

What theatrical pieces have inspired your career?

June 2014, I saw "A Raisin in the Sun" on Broadway. I was deeply moved, and that evening changed forever how I felt about art, specifically theatre, and my own work. The vultures can rip your flesh, but at the end of day, one must celebrate humanity.

Tell us a little about your training.

Beyond various academic degrees, my directing training includes assistant directing with Frank Castorf, Deutsches Theater, East Berlin; Charles Nelson Reilly, Williamstown Theatre Festival, MA, as well as with Michael Rudman and Steven Berkoff, Public Theatre, NYC. I was also a Directing Fellow at Williamstown Theatre Festival. I then studied playwriting with John Guare and Arthur Kopit.

We'd love to know about your dual role as writer and director.

I am the Artistic Director of Concrete Temple Theatre, along with Carlo Adinolfi; it is a multi-disciplinary company, emphasizing the creation of compelling new theatre works, incorporating drama, dance, puppetry, music, and visual arts, which focus on the individual's struggle for identity and society's need for cohesive community. We try in our work to have objects become characters and characters become objects, creating a fluidity in the nature of "things." The images created within a theatrical event are often more important than what is said. All of that to say, I often write and direct the works that we create in which the narrative of the work is held in the visual presentation. In "The Bellagio Fountain Has Been Known to Make Me Cry" the dialogue and spoken narrative is the focus, and the narrative of the water depicted through the use of paper is the visual narration set against the characters' story. So, I decided that I needed to work with someone who would be an advocate for the play and the written word but felt that I still needed to be involved in the visual narrative. Eric Nightengale, Co-Director, is a very talented, intelligent and passionate Director and an old friend. I feel incredibly fortunate to be working and collaborating with him!

Tell us a little about the cast and creative team for the show

Carlo Adinolfi is the most creative of us all. He is the designer, creator and performer of our water. To see him work is nothing less than delightful! Brianna Seagraves performs Water with Carlo, and she along with Melissa Hurst as Dixie, Lisa Kitchens as Maria, and Heinley Gaspard as Curtis, bring a tremendous amount of heart and humor to the stage. Joe Phillips's, our composer, recently had this written about his music: "and throughout a creative freshness that marks this music as occupying a world on its own." And then, we would be nothing without the grace and talent of Stage Manager/Lighting Designer Casey McLain.

What are some of your plans for the future?

There are two pieces that Concrete Temple is working on. Both are in the very early stages of development. The First draws its inspiration from Longfellow's poem "Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie," the Korean War, "Yankee Princesses" (prostitutes servicing U.S. soldiers, during and after the Korean War) and their children. The second is a more close to home piece that deals with obsession and one of my Brothers.

For more information on Renee Philippi, visit: http://ConcreteTempleTheatre.com.

The Bellagio Fountain Has Been Known to Make Me Cry is a part of SubletSeries@HERE, HERE's curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical support. HERE is accessible from the C or E train to Spring Street, 1 to Houston St., or N or R to Prince Street. Performances are Thursdays - Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 2pm with an added show on Monday, November 30 at 7pm. Tickets are $20 and $15 for students and seniors. Purchase them by calling 212.352.3101 or by visiting http://here.org/shows/detail/1703/. The running time is 75 minutes.

You can view the show's promo video trailer at: https://vimeo.com/141503153

You can like Concrete Temple Theatre on Facebook and follow them on Twitter @ConcreteTemple.

Photo credit: Stefan Hagen

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