Past and Present Endeavors
Twelfth Night (or) What You Will
by William Shakespeare
presented August 2008 at Goodbye Blue Monday
The inaugural production of the RST took place in Bushwick's multipurpose art space Goodbye Blue Monday. On any given day, the bar's colorful interior hosted three bands in free live performance , impromptu musical practices, locals coming in for a drink, and an eclectic collection of vinyl, radio figurines, and unusual art pieces (including a metal sculpture garden in the back).
The space felt like Shakespeare's Illyria: a quirky home for the drunken hijinks and high drama of Twelth Night. Set in the modern-day “hipster” culture, our production explored pertinent issues of identity – and also took full advantage of the fun and real-life theatrics of a typical drunken night at a bar. The show was accompanied by live music (as music is integral to the text of the play). Oberlin composition graduate Jacob Wise created a three-piece improvised music score with a pianist and a double-bass player.
Under Milk Wood
by Dylan Thomas
presented October 31, 2008 at The Cutting Room
The RST's second project was a Halloween concert of Dylan Thomas' language play Under Milk Wood. Our director, Melisa Annis, hails from Wales and brought an invaluable sense of the culture and history to the play, while creating an updated staging of it for this cabaret/performance space in Chelsea. The original “radio play” concept was expanded in our production to incorporate a more audience-interactive approach. Each ensemble actor also took on the tremendous challenge of bringing to life two or three different characters.
Three Sisters
by Anton Chekhov
presented December 2008 at Lefferts House
Set in the double-parlor of Prospect Park's historic Lefferts farmstead, Three Sisters explored the audience's voyeuristic relationship to performers: each audience member became a part of the Prozorovs' greatest secrets and most intimate moments over the course of the four years. The play took its cultural cues from the 1950s: a series of home videos created the sense of time passing between each act of the play and the house was dressed to look like a formal parlor. The fourth act of the play moved outside, with the audience in coats and blankets underneath tents watching the plays denouement.
The Speak/Easy Reading Series
Apologies to Bob by Paul Frazee
presented February 8, 2009 at the Donaghy Theatre
The Kitchen Table Readings
presented April 16, 2009 at LaSalle
The Speak/Easy series fosters new relationships between the RST and contemporary playwrights. For the full play readings, The RST provides the playwrights with an ensemble of actors who are comfortable enough with each other and the company to quickly and expertly take on new material, making it an ideal testing ground for plays in development. Apologies to Bob, the first full-length play in the series, is an original work by Paul Frazee.
The second part of the Speak/Easy series is a “dinner theatre” spin-off where actors, playwrights, and directors have the opportunity to network and work on new material. The RST team asks a variety of playwrights to compose ten-minute plays on a specific subject relating to food. The company selects six plays and casts each confirmed dinner attendee in one of the plays. The night of the reading begins with a half-hour meet and greet, followed by the announcement of the play casting. Over dinner each cast and director read through and work on the play, and then perform a preliminary reading over dessert.
