Thursday, February 26, 2015
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
MOLDAVIA-ON-HUDSON
MOLDAVIA-ON-HUDSON
Where
Death imitates Art
Sitting
on the banks of the Hudson River, the dark and mysterious town of
Moldavia-on-Hudson is haunted with humor. Unfortunately for its slightly
twisted residents, the jokes are on them.
Presented
by The New York 19th Century Society & Monsterpiece Theater Collective,
Moldavia-on-Hudson is comprised of five darkly comedic vignettes based upon
short stories by classic Gothic authors: Edgar Allan Poe- The System of Doctor
Tarr and Professor Fether (1845); Ambrose Bierce- A Watcher by the Dead (1890);
Hans Christian Andersen- The Shadow (1847); Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- The Brown
Hand (1899); & HP Lovecraft- The Thing on the Doorstep (1937).
Starring:
Jacob
Banser*, Chris Beier, Katia Haeuser*, Lani Harms, and Mike Wirsch
Written
by:
Marc
Dombrowski & Samantha Tella*
Directed
by:
Samantha
Tella
Assistant
Director/Stage Manager:
Liza
Ramirez*
*Monsterpiece Artist Collective member
Stage II 300 West 43rd Street, 4th Floor New York, NY 10036
Thursday October 23,
Friday October 24, & Saturday October 25 @ 8:00pm
Saturday October 25, Sunday, & October 26 @ 2:00pm
Saturday October 25, Sunday, & October 26 @ 2:00pm
More
information email mptheatercollective@gmail.com
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
The Importance of Being Earnest
Monsterpiece
Theater Collective gets Wilde with Importance of Being Earnest
Monsterpiece Theater Collective's Importance
of Being Earnest interprets Oscar Wilde's classic with a jazzy New Orleans
flair. Starting our journey in turn of the century New Orleans we combine the
music and rich heritage of the south and the posh façade of English society.
Using the poetry of John Gambril Nicholson, a contemporary of Wilde and author
of the poem (of Boy’s Names) that inspired the title of this classic, the
Monsterpiece Collective has created a musical world of original songs and
Dixieland jazz standards. Moving from drawing rooms and countryside gardens to
honky tonks and plantations we enjoy the sharp wit and acid tongue that can
only be found two places, Wilde’s characters and the most charming southern
homes.
Performances are Thursday, March 27; Friday March 28; and
Saturday, March 29 at 8:00 p.m., with matinee performances Saturday March 29
and Sunday March 30 at 2:00 p.m. All performances are at The Beckmann Theater
314 W. 54th St., 2ndfloor. Tickets are $20.00 and can be
reserved at mptheatercollective@gmail.com.
The cast includes Zack Krajnyak and
Liam Selby as Algernon and Jack, the two young men trying to get the most out
of life by being Earnest. Katrina Michaels (Gwendolen) and Susanna Allen
(Cecily) as the women they pursue. Katia Haeuser and Jacob Banser as the
budding couple in the country, Miss. Prisim and Rev Chasuable and Clemmie Evans
as the ever opinionated Lady Bracknell.
Monsterpiece Theater Collective is a
group of risk-taking artists working together to tell compelling stories
imaginatively by creating, supporting, and producing each other’s work in
readings, workshops, and short run full productions. They specialize in kicking
down closed doors and blowing up glass ceilings.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Working at the Lab
A lot of wonderful things are happening for Monsterpiece in 2014, and it just hit the second month!
January marked the continuation of the Monsterpiece Artist’s collective; a group of artists brought together to uphold the ideals of Monsterpiece by holding monthly meetings. We’ve titled these meetings Monsterlabs. In these labs we bring in ideas, plays, and concepts flip them on their heads, and hold discussions with a purely collaborative spirit. These labs are fun as hell, but also artistically challenging. One of our fellow members, John Detty, wrote a lovely description:
Sunday's MPAC was a blast! We started with going around and telling our worst Shakespeareance. From there, we wrote positive adjectives about each other and really learned how everyone saw each other. It put everyone in the right mind set to create. Then, the games began. We were divided into groups and were tasked with different sketches. My group had to do "cartoon characters in the future/reunited" in the spirit of Brett Royal's Dog Sees God. Another group had to take the opening monologue from Love's Labors Lost and rework it as a spell for the witches from MacBeth. The last group did a completely silent scene in the vein of the second act of Noises Off. They were all immensely different, but equally as good. We took time apart to put everything together, came back, and performed them. Then, most importantly, and frequently overlooked, we discussed what happened. We talked about what the process was like, what worked, what didn't, and ideas that came up unintentionally. It was such a wonderfully positive collective of artists to get to play with. Can't wait for the next one!
~John Detty: Monster in residence
As John pointed out this process was a really fun and exciting three hours! More importantly, however, these activities serve as a conduit for true creation. As a fellow member of the collective, I feel that there is nothing greater than finding a group of people with whom I share a true and safe connection. During the meeting, we were able to push aside things like petty competition, fear of failure, and our own personal insecurities. Without doing so, we would not have been able to create really good art.
In the coming months, we hope to continue this work by pushing ourselves with even more thought provoking artistic endeavors. Beyond the actual work, we strive to deepen our understanding of artistic expression by constantly discussing questions such as: What was exciting, what questions do I have, and what did this make me feel? Asking questions such as these forces us to delve further, and challenge our own understanding. Questions break down barriers that need to be broken, and push us past our own preconceptions. For example, during the Love Labor’s/Witches mash up the actors, through creative expression, took an otherwise light piece and turned it into a provocatively serious piece. Through their art they smashed through what we previously knew about the monologue and shaped it into something completely different. Or during the cartoon scene, a suitcase became a casket for the character Snarf; changing our perception of the suitcase completely. It is this kind of work that makes me so excited. I love breaking down original thoughts and turning it into something completely different. I think that’s what we, at Monsterpiece, do: tell provocative stories, break down notions, pretty much be the most fearless monsters on the block.
So until next time, I’ll leave you with this thought:
“A mind once stretched by a new idea, can never regain it’s original dimensions”
-Oliver Wendel Holmes
By: Katia Haeuser: Monster in residence
January marked the continuation of the Monsterpiece Artist’s collective; a group of artists brought together to uphold the ideals of Monsterpiece by holding monthly meetings. We’ve titled these meetings Monsterlabs. In these labs we bring in ideas, plays, and concepts flip them on their heads, and hold discussions with a purely collaborative spirit. These labs are fun as hell, but also artistically challenging. One of our fellow members, John Detty, wrote a lovely description:
Sunday's MPAC was a blast! We started with going around and telling our worst Shakespeareance. From there, we wrote positive adjectives about each other and really learned how everyone saw each other. It put everyone in the right mind set to create. Then, the games began. We were divided into groups and were tasked with different sketches. My group had to do "cartoon characters in the future/reunited" in the spirit of Brett Royal's Dog Sees God. Another group had to take the opening monologue from Love's Labors Lost and rework it as a spell for the witches from MacBeth. The last group did a completely silent scene in the vein of the second act of Noises Off. They were all immensely different, but equally as good. We took time apart to put everything together, came back, and performed them. Then, most importantly, and frequently overlooked, we discussed what happened. We talked about what the process was like, what worked, what didn't, and ideas that came up unintentionally. It was such a wonderfully positive collective of artists to get to play with. Can't wait for the next one!
~John Detty: Monster in residence
As John pointed out this process was a really fun and exciting three hours! More importantly, however, these activities serve as a conduit for true creation. As a fellow member of the collective, I feel that there is nothing greater than finding a group of people with whom I share a true and safe connection. During the meeting, we were able to push aside things like petty competition, fear of failure, and our own personal insecurities. Without doing so, we would not have been able to create really good art.
In the coming months, we hope to continue this work by pushing ourselves with even more thought provoking artistic endeavors. Beyond the actual work, we strive to deepen our understanding of artistic expression by constantly discussing questions such as: What was exciting, what questions do I have, and what did this make me feel? Asking questions such as these forces us to delve further, and challenge our own understanding. Questions break down barriers that need to be broken, and push us past our own preconceptions. For example, during the Love Labor’s/Witches mash up the actors, through creative expression, took an otherwise light piece and turned it into a provocatively serious piece. Through their art they smashed through what we previously knew about the monologue and shaped it into something completely different. Or during the cartoon scene, a suitcase became a casket for the character Snarf; changing our perception of the suitcase completely. It is this kind of work that makes me so excited. I love breaking down original thoughts and turning it into something completely different. I think that’s what we, at Monsterpiece, do: tell provocative stories, break down notions, pretty much be the most fearless monsters on the block.
So until next time, I’ll leave you with this thought:
“A mind once stretched by a new idea, can never regain it’s original dimensions”
-Oliver Wendel Holmes
By: Katia Haeuser: Monster in residence
Monday, January 27, 2014
Importance of Being Earnest Auditions
Monsterpiece Theater Collective is now accepting headshots and resumes for the Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde with new dixieland jazz songs based on the poetry of John Gambril Nicholson.
Auditions will be held by appointment only in early February with rehearsals beginning February 18th and production dates set for March 27 - 30 at the Beckmann Theater in Manhattan.
Please email your your materials to mptheatercollective@gmail.com for an audition slot. Preference will be given to those with a musical background and those that can play instruments.
One minute comedic monologue reqired with a one minute song optional (must accompany yourself/bring own instrument/piano provided).
One minute comedic monologue reqired with a one minute song optional (must accompany yourself/bring own instrument/piano provided).
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
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