Guess who’s coming to the first table read?

William Missouri Downs (or as we now call him, Bill) so graciously flew across the country today to join the cast and production team for our first read through of his play, Books on Tape, which we are performing in the New York Fringe this August.

We dove in, reading his script around my dining room table, pausing for Bill to explain what inspired a particular joke or section, and a few times, he even offered up edits, “if that’s okay with you?”  Of course it’s okay, dude, you wrote it!

The show centers around four New Yorkers: a girl who loves to listen to books on tape, a handsome actor who records them, a self-help author who secretly wants to be a rodeo announcer and a would-be minister of a new religion.  They’re all looking for love and meaning in the coincidences that arise.  Bill talked about everything from tenure-track positions, making a Muslim audience laugh, to the assassination of John Lennon.  Throughout it all, he talked about living in the moment, coming to your own conclusions outside of coincidences, religious rituals and superstition. 

In short, it was a perfect evening.

As we were wrapping up, Bill let us in on one of his own little superstitions.  “Every time I’ve ever been at the first table read of one of my shows, the production has been great.”  That’s a ritual I’m happy to believe in.

The cast list is posted!

Hundreds of actors submitted for our production of Books on Tape by William Missouri Downs.  Last Sunday, we held auditions and saw so many lovely and talented folks.

And now... the show is cast!

Nate Washburn will be playing Jeffrey, a voice over actor who records books on tape and has a habit of hovering around the audio book section of his local bookstore to meet women.

Jake Lipman plays Adriane, a make-up artist who longs for her life to be filled with all the drama and surging music of a book on tape.

Geoffrey J.D. Payne will play Larry, a frustrated Ph.D in religion who has taken his philosophies into his own hands by launching a ministry that extols the virtues of walking barefoot on Thursdays.

Shana Wiersum will portray Donna Paige Miller, a celebrated self-help book author of such books as All Men Are Jerks: Even Your Father.

Thank you to all who submitted and auditioned!  Looking forward to our first read-through on June 30 with playwright Bill Downs, who's flying in for the occasion.

Always an applicant (until now!)

Seven weeks ago, I was having a pretty great night. I was on my way home from the theater around 10:15 pm, after the second night of our production of The Drunken City by Adam Bock. We got a lot of laughs that night, and I was feeling good.

And then I checked my e-mail, and saw the best subject line, ever:

Welcome to the New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC)

I almost dropped my phone. I did a little dance and the guy working in the nearby newspaper stand just watched.

Ever since I moved to NYC in 2000, I have wanted to be a part of the Fringe. I’ve auditioned as an actor, I’ve submitted shows as a producer, and this year, I will get to wear both hats in our production of Books on Tape by William Missouri Downs.

Books on Tape is a love letter to New Yorkers looking for love and meaning in their every day lives. The comedy follows four characters in search of meaningful narration: Adriane, a girl who loves to listen to books on tape, to Jeffrey, the voice over actor who records them, to Donna Paige Miller, a celebrated self-help author and Larry, a religious leader.

It’s been a whirlwind ever since we heard: talking with the playwright, who is flying in from Wyoming for the first read-through, speed dates with directors, meeting deadlines for our artwork, the inspiring first town hall meeting with FringeNYC co-founder Elena K. Holy, and today we held auditions! More to come on this blog about our first time in Fringe, all the collaborators between now and then, and a lot of hilarious stuff that happens in the process of creating seriously funny theater.

--Jake