Thursday, June 30, 2011

Journal Entry #1 for THE PRENUP by Charles Gershman

I'm very excited about our upcoming Strawberry One-Act Festival, which will be presented at the Hudson Guild Theatre from July 28th - August 7, 2011.  In preparation of the festival I've asked the playwrights to keep a Journal of the process to share with our readers.  I think it will be very rewarding to learn about the process and the journey the artists take to getting their play performance ready for the festival.  I hope that you will join us on that journey.  Share your thoughts.  And if you're in town you can also check out screening of The Video Diaries Project on Monday, July 18th at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, 2 Avenue of the Americas at 6:30pm or Tuesday, July 19, 2011 at Time Warner Headquarters, Entrance on 58th St. between Columbus Circle and 9th Avenue.  For tickets go to www.therianttheatre.com

Here's Journal Entry #1 for The Prenup by Charles Gershman.

***

Thursday, June 30, 10:30 am

So. This is the beginning. Finally, we have our cast all set. After seeing more than 45 people audition, we’ve got Sergio Castillo on board in the role of Patrick, Jessica DiGiovanni as Elyse, and George Ridgeway as Mr. Alberts. Jim Fagan (the director) and I couldn’t be more excited. Monday night (6/27) we had our first rehearsal at Roy Arias studios, in a room about the size of a closet. We made introductions, signed contracts, reviewed our schedule, and read through the script. Jim, whose discussion-prompting skills are better than those of many TAs I had in college, led us brilliantly through some textual issues.

I feel particularly blessed, not just to be in this festival, but to be working with a director who’s got not only vision and experience, but has a wonderful way with people. He makes everyone feel comfortable and is utterly respectful of everyone’s work, which is simply awesome.

In the days ahead we hope to secure a stage manager (Jim’s interviewing someone today), and we’ve also talked about including live music in the performance, which would be super-fun. To help deflect costs, we may hold a fundraiser.

Enough rambling for now. The short story is that while there’s a lot ahead of us in the coming month, we’re off to a good start. I’ll be posting new updates periodically throughout the process -- so, more to come soon. Thanks for reading.

Until the next post,

Charles Gershman
Playwright/Producer


 

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Riant Theatre : The Launch Party for the Strawberry One-Act Festival July 11, 2011

The Riant Theatre : The Launch Party for the Strawberry One-Act Festival July 11, 2011

Join us at the Launch Party for the Strawberry One-Act Festival on Monday, July 11th at 7pm as we present the PIONEER OF THE ARTS AWARD to Broadway Producer ALDO SCROFANI (FAT PIG - October 2011) and Screenwriter GERALYN LUCAS (Why I Wore Lipstick To My Mastectomy - Lifetime Movie) at the Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 West 26th St, NYC. For tickets go to http://www.therianttheatre.com/item.php?id=105

Monday, June 20, 2011

The Riant Theatre : The Launch Party for the Strawberry One-Act Festival July 11, 2011

The Riant Theatre : The Launch Party for the Strawberry One-Act Festival July 11, 2011

Join us as we honor:
ALDO SCROFANI, Broadway Producer (FAT PIG October 2011)
and GERALYN LUCAS, Screenwriter (WHY I WORE LIPSTICK TO MY MASTECTOMY on Lifetime)
with The PIONEER OF THE ARTS AWARD for Outstanding Achievement and Excellence in the Arts
Tickets are now available at www.therianttheatre.com

The Launch Party for the 
Strawberry One-Act Festival
Monday, July 11, 2011
At the Hudson Guild Theatre
441 West 26th Street, NYC Between 9th & 10th Avenue

6:30pm - Meet & Greet
7:00pm - Awards Ceremony & Discussion with Honorees
8:00pm - Reception with Food & Drinks

Entertainment provided by jazz vocalist Boncellia Lewis with Roger Anderson on piano.

The Riant Theatre : The Best Plays From The Strawberry One-Act Festival: Volume Six

The Riant Theatre : The Best Plays From The Strawberry One-Act Festival: Volume Six
This book is available on our online bookstore. Click the link above to buy now!

The Riant Theatre : The Video Diaries Project Excerpts

The Riant Theatre : The Video Diaries Project Excerpts

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

The Fast Track Project - Article by Stephanie Spohrer

The Fast Track Project - Article by Stephanie Spohrer

Do you have what it takes to get your project green lighted?
Writing a play, directing and acting all take craft, consideration and time. What happens when time is eliminated from the equation? The Fast Track Project! Together Playwrights, Directors and Actors will come together to write, direct and perform in a three minute play. The catch: this will all be accomplished in an hour timeframe.
My experiences in this kind of collaborative effort have been with what many people call 24 hour theatre. In those circumstances you are given 24 hours to write, direct and perform your play. What makes The Fast Track different? You are given one hour to prepare! The theatre artists will be given a topic to write about within minutes of meeting each other. They will then find out they have an hour to write, direct and rehearse their piece. Everyone will then come together and present their finished products in front of one another.
The way I can describe this project is exciting and freeing. You are working closely with other theatre artists having to think on your toes in a limited time frame. It is a good exercise and learning experience for any theatre artist. Everyone brings to the table their own expertise and ideas as a starting point and that is where the magic comes from. It is extremely rewarding to see what you are capable of producing in a collaborative environment.
Are you an eager, passionate theatre artist? Then come and board The Fast Track! In the end a few groups will get the green light and their projects will move on to a future event of featured short plays, where they will be able to lengthen their original piece.
Join: The Riant Theatre
June 16th 2011 at 6:30 p.m.
Entry Fee: $12 in order to participate in the Fast Track
12 Desbrosses St., NYC
Between Hudson & Greenwich Streets
Trains: #1, A, C, E to Canal Street.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Fast Track Project

The Fast Track Project

The Riant Theatre : The Strawberry One-Act Festival Theme Song Competition

The Riant Theatre : The Strawberry One-Act Festival Theme Song Competition

Contest Rules:
  • Video contest for the Strawberry One-Act Festival Theme Song. Singers/Composers will submit a video recording of their Original Theme Song being performed by a singer(s).
  • The maximum running time for the song is 3 minutes.
  • Submission deadline is July 7, 2011*.

  • All video submissions will be posted on The Riant Theatre’s website and YouTube Channel.

  • The public will be asked to vote online for their favorite song. The top 38 songs will be played during the festival on select days from July 28th – July 31st. The theatre audiences will vote and the songs with the most votes will advance to the Semi-Finals. The top 8 songs will be performed live during the Finals on Friday, August 5th at 7pm and Saturday, August 6th at 1pm at the Hudson Guild Theatre, 441 West 26th Street, NYC.

  • The top 4 Songs will advance to the Award Ceremony & Performance on Sunday, August 7th at 2pm at the Hudson Guild Theatre. The Winner will receive an Award and $500.00.

  • Questions? Please write us at RiantTheatre@gmail.com

  • The Submission Form & Waiver Form is available Here for download. Please be sure that every participating performer (i.e.: singer, videographer, editor, etc…) completes a Waiver Form.

Thank you for participating in the Strawberry One-Act Festival Theme Song Competition! We look forward to receiving your videos and experiencing your talents!
You can follow us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/RiantTheatre and on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/RiantTheatre
* Contest closing date may be extended or reduced by Producers if necessary – announcement to participating entries will be made.