OUR TOWN Q&A with Brad Widener

Over the coming weeks, we're blogging about the talented team assembled for OUR TOWN, running Oct. 17-27. Get your tickets now and for more about the show, visit www.tictheater.com.

OUR TOWN Q&A with Brad Widener (playing assorted characters--townspeople)

1. Of the four kids in the play, who do you resemble and why?  (Emily, Wally, George, or Rebecca?)

Of all four kids in OUR TOWN, I like to think I most resemble Rebecca.  I read her as a big dreamer in a small town who has ideas of grandeur, and that was definitely my life as a kid growing up in Pennsylvania.

2. What question would you like an audience member to ask Editor Webb about Grover's Corners?

I feel like I'm obligated to answer this question as my character actually does ask Editor Webb a question about the lack of "ambition," if you will, to close the economic gap between the rich and poor in town.  However, if Brad were asking a question, that would be a different story.  I would probably ask how the citizens of Grover's Corners would react if they knew that gay marriage would be legal in New Hampshire, their home state, in about a century.

3. What birthday would you most like to re-live, and why?

If I could relive any birthday, I would relive whichever birthday it was when I had a Power Rangers-themed party.  I must have been 4 or 5 years old, and I was such a Power Rangers fanatic.  I had two full costumes from the show (the red and white ranger... I was big stuff!), and I must have been the happiest little boy that day, running around karate-chopping thin air for my parents and family.

www.bradwidener.com

OUR TOWN Q&A with Jere Williams

Over the coming weeks, we're blogging about the talented team assembled for OUR TOWN, running Oct. 17-27. Get your tickets now and for more about the show, visit www.tictheater.com.

OUR TOWN Q&A with Jere Williams (playing Constable Warren and Joe Stoddard)

1. What birthday would you most like to re-live, and why?

My most recent one, just a few weeks ago.  My partner surprised me with a trip to Europe that included stops in Brussels, Bruge and Paris.  I had instructions to fly to London, where he met me at the airport and, after a couple of days in the UK, we took the Eurostar train through the Channel Tunnel to Brussels.  I hadn't been to continental Europe before, unless you count a trip to Spain with my high school Spanish class, so it was all an adventure for me.  After running around Brussels for a couple of days, and eating our share of crepes and gaufres (the local word for what we call Belgian waffles), we headed to Bruges, a picturesque village in western Belgium.  We were there for only a day, but had a marvelous time walking around the quaint shops and eating a lot of chocolate.  Then it was off to Paris on a high speed TGV train.  My actual birthday was spent meandering around the Paris Opera, the most beautiful theater I've ever been in, and going up the Eiffel Tower.  The next surprise was a dinner party with lots of friends, old and new.  Other highlights of the trip included a day at Versailles and then another day bumming around the countryside around Fontainebleau.  After that, another couple of days in London before returning home to start rehearsals for OUR TOWN.  It was just a perfect trip and a magnificent way to spend my birthday.

2. Of all the occupations in Grover's Corners, which would you most like to attempt?

I play two characters: Joe Stoddard, who loves his job as town undertaker, and Bill Warren, who is bored to death with his job as policeman in a small town with no crime.  I can relate to both.  There's nothing I love more than when I'm working on a play.  And there's nothing that bores me quite so much as my day job in an office.  Of course, at my day job, I'm bored with everything I have to do, while Bill is bored because he has nothing to do.  I'm tempted to say I'd give Bill's job a whirl, because it's fun to envision what I might do with an unlimited amount of free time.  I might be able to actually keep my apartment clean and read half the books I'm always saying I'd like to get to, if only I had the time.  But, with my luck, the moment I took the job, Grover's Corners would be revealed to be the headquarters of the New England mob or an international espionage organization and I would be charged with single-handedly taking down the vaguely European-accented villains in my own version of DIE HARD or a Bond flick.  This would not bode well for Grover's Corners, although I imagine the ladies of the neighborhood would enjoy gossiping about all the damage I'd caused to the Congregational Church and Mr. Morgan's drugstore (probably this is the reason why Mr. Morgan had to change it).  In reality, I'd much rather take a turn at being the editor of a small town newspaper that only comes out twice a week.  The pressure seems low, and you get to know everything that's going on.  And you still get to be there for your family every day.  Editor Webb seems to have the best deal in town.

3. You're sitting in Mr. Morgan's drugstore.  What would you order for an old-time-y treat?

I'd order a hot fudge sundae and a phosphate.  Probably lemon, rather than strawberry, if Mr. Morgan had it.  I can think of no better way to spend a bit of time, than having some real, hand-made ice cream with all the trimmings and a cold beverage, watching the world go by for a bit.   

Fall 2012 Plus One Performers Announced!

We're thrilled to announce the performers in our next Plus One Solo Show Festival, which runs for two nights only, Sunday-Monday, October 21-22 @ 7:30 pm at Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios.  Tickets are a mere $18 online and by calling 212-868-4444.

One ticket buys you entry into an evening of five solo shows and a musical guest.

We received over 50 submissions (a record!) for this fall's showing (thank you!).  So many great shows to pick from... here are the 5 we selected:

DISHWASHER DREAMS by Aladdin Ullah
A comedic actor seeks a future in the movies while remembering lessons learned from his father.

DEAR NATHANIEL by Andrea* Alton
Set in the 1800s, Beth Ann patiently waits for her true love, Nathaniel, to return from war.

LUCK OF THE IRA by Ira Gamerman
A kid named Ira goes to Ireland... and it only gets more awkward from there.

IS THAT GONNA BE ON THE TEST, MISS? by Ronna J. Levy*
Spaulding Gray enters the Remedial English community college classroom.

WHAT WILL PEOPLE SAY? by Anthoula Katsimatides
An old-fashioned family, a mugging, a suicide, politics and a little dancing in between...

And special musical guest Matthew Sucich will perform his original songs.

Meet the cast and crew.
*Appears courtesy of Actors Equity Association.

OUR TOWN Q&A with Lynn Berg

Over the coming weeks, we're blogging about the talented team assembled for OUR TOWN, running Oct. 17-27. Get your tickets now and for more about the show, visit www.tictheater.com.

OUR TOWN Q&A with Lynn Berg* (playing Simon Stimson--choir director, town drunk)

1. Of all the occupations in Grover's Corners, which would you most like to attempt?

I’d want to be a reporter for the Grover’s Corners Sentinel. I’ve always been interested in journalism and I like reading local papers in whatever town I visit. I even read the Queens Courier sometimes. When I was 12 my family moved from the big city of Dubuque, Iowa (pop. about
62,000 at the time) to the small town of Bellevue, Iowa (about 2,000 people at the time) and one of the sections that fascinated me in the local paper, the Herald Leader, was a section where people reported about parties they had, who visited them, trips they went on, etc. I always wondered who even cared who these people had dinner with, not realizing that I did, apparently. I don’t think the paper has that section anymore but now we have Facebook.

2. If you were making a time capsule of your life to put in a cornerstone, which 3 items would you include?

I’d want my time capsule to have a photo album of my different (often embarrassing) hairstyles, a recording of one of my old radio programs called “Closet Classics,” and one of my homemade comic books drawn when I was a kid. Actually, I wish I had all that stuff right now!

3. Our tag line for the show is "A Sweet And Tart Slice of Small Town Life." If we made a kind of pie in tribute to your character, what kind of pie would you be?

I think Simon Stimson’s tribute pie should be a bourbon pecan pie. I've never had it, but it sounds delicious. Here's the recipe: http://piemaven.com/liquor_pie.htm

www.lynnberg.com
*Appears courtesy of Actors Equity Association.

A Perfectly Sweet State (and Cookie!)

I’m Brady Adair and I’m playing Doc Gibbs in the Fall production of Our Town. I’ve always thought that Our Town is a beautifully rendered play of the simple, honest truths about American life and the American family. Thornton Wilder struck a chord in portraying focused glimpses of the important things that matter to the human soul and illuminating the fact that we most often overlook these things in our daily lives.

The state cookie of New Hampshire, as baked by Brady Adair.

When I begin work on a play, I like to bring something to the first day of rehearsal as an act of welcome and goodwill to my cast mates, something that has relevance to the piece we will be performing. It is always food-related, as food is the perfect catalyst to bond people. 

In approaching Our Town I thought about what might be appropriate. Researching cookie history I test baked the most popular cookie of 1901 (the year Our Town starts). I found that cookie to be a bit dull. After several days of no inspiration, I suddenly thought that perhaps the State of New Hampshire could help me, as that is where our play takes place. After searching for state emblems on the internet Wikipedia gave me comprehensive information about various official emblems that the United States has, broken down by state. It was here that I discovered that New Hampshire is one of the few states in the U.S. that actually has a state cookie—voila! I was set. 

The official cookie of New Hampshire is the pumpkin cookie which was also a perfect sweet for the beginning of fall. To package the cookies I was fortunate to find a small paper bag with a red gingham print in which to place the cookies. Each cast member was given a bag with their treat as a personal welcome from me. It’s a wonderful way to start a new collegial relationship and sets just the right tone for the work ahead.

And here's the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/iced-pumpkin-cookies/detail.aspx

Brady Adair

www.BradyAdair.com

First read through of OUR TOWN!

Brian Roach, Gillian Hurst play Gibbs siblings.

The first read through of OUR TOWN kicked off our fall season at Shetler Studios earlier today.

A small town's worth of cast and production crew (21 in all!) gathered around 6 large tables to convey the timeless play about love and life in small town America.  A lot of laughs and touching moments ensued, and there were baked goods galore.  What else could you hope for?

 
We open in about five weeks, so get your tickets now!

OUR TOWN by Thornton Wilder

Shelley Little as Emily Webb.

8 performances, Wednesday-Saturday for 2 weeks
Oct. 17-20 and 24-27, 2012 @ 7:30 pm
Theatre 54 @ Shetler Studios, 244 West 54th Street, 12th floor

Tickets: $18*
By phone 212-868-4444
Online http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=OUR19

For more about the production, visit www.tictheater.com.  See you soon!

*This is an Actors Equity-approved showcase.

Submit Your Solo Show by Fri 9/7 at Midnight!

There's still time to send in your solo show to Tongue in Cheek Theater's 8th Plus One Solo Show Festival, running October 21 and 22, 2012 at Theatre 54 in midtown NYC.

We are looking for 20-minutes (or shorter) funny and thought-provoking shows.  Submissions are due by this Friday, September 7 at midnight to scripts@tictheater.com.

Our festival always sells out and is great opportunity to get your show up in front of a supportive crowd in a lovely theater.

Complete submission guidelines are spelled out here:
http://www.tictheater.com/plusone-fall2012.html

Looking forward to reading your submissions!