Inspiration over limitation

We do not compare to these people, but if we can achieve 1/100th of what they've done, we can say we accomplished something. They are amazing.

Our friends are calling for directors

So ... our friends at Snorks and Piñs Productions are looking for a few good directors. Here's the details if you are interested:

Snorks and Piñs Productions is seeking director submissions for the third annual By the Light of a Match short play festival to be performed in New York City on February 8th and 9th at the Authur Seelen in The Drama Bookshop.

To celebrate Valentine’s day, this year’s theme is 'Bad Love'. The Snorks and Piñs reading committee received more plays than ever before about the crazy, monstrous and irrational things people do in the name of love. We’ve picked six short plays to be featured in this year’s festival and now it’s time to play matchmaker ourselves: we want to find these plays the director of their very weird dreams. 

A bit about the festival:
By the Light of a Match is a festival designed to support emerging artists and to encourage new audiences to New York’s independent theater scene. This is not your typical short play festival. Our plays will be brought together and intertwined in unique ways by the festival director. The Festival Director designs how the festival is presented to its audience and creates an ensemble atmosphere, connecting the pieces as he/she chooses. The plays are then presented to audiences who will vote on their favorite playwright, director, actor and actress. The audience’s favorites go on to host next years festival: The writer's play will be presented in the following festival, directed by the winning director and performed by the winning actor and actress. The writer will also choose the theme for that festival and the winning director will take on the role of festival director.  

How to submit:
1. Directors are asked to submit their resume and a short introductory paragraph about themselves to submissionssnorksandpins@gmail.com. 
2, Once we’ve received your email, we will send you a link to the plays. Select 1-3 of the plays and send us a one paragraph concept (for each) about how you would approach the play,
3. The playwright and festival director will work together to select the director for their play.
The deadline for concepts will be Monday December 10th at 5pm, so please email us your resume and intro paragraph asap!

The Fine Print
Snorks and Piñs provides casting assistance to directors, rehearsal space for the group rehearsals, a brief tech rehearsal and  the performance venue. The director and playwright are responsible for finding suitable rehearsal space (must be in Manhattan) and gathering props and costumes for the performance. Costs should be kept to a minimum and should be split evenly between the playwright and director.

Play reading on Thursday.

Join us this Thursday night at 440 Studios as 3 groups of talented performers read 3 new plays! 

A simple reading with minimal staging followed by a brief talkback session for each play hopes to benefit the writers with open and honest feedback as they work their new pieces of theatre through to completion. 

We're bringing some new artists into the Truant family and reuniting many others who have already worked with us and each other. Join the party; it will be free and it will be fun! As always at a Truant Arts' event.

--

"New Lang Syne" by Duncan Pflaster
directed by Julia Goldtsein
with Mark-Eugene Garcia & Ja'ron Young

"Motherly Addiction" by Shashone Lambert
directed by Bryan Davidson Blue
with Elizabeth Bove, Bianca Christina, Jennifer Fisher, Zoey Rutherford, Suzanne Rydz, K'Sandra Sampson & Tiffany Williams

"The Beeping" by Josh Drimmer
directed by Amy Surratt
with Will Forber, Jane O'Hara, Derek Rommel, Rachael Solomon & Tamara Winters

--

We're set to start at 7:30 sharp so be sure to arrive a few minutes early!

440 Studios
440 Lafayette Street, 4th Floor, New York, New York 10003View Map · Get Directions

We want plays for monthly reading series

Truant is kicking off a monthly reading series and we need you!  Writers, send your play(s) to TruantArts@gmail.com and let's get this ball rolling!

Short plays preferred, but we are open to any and everything your creativity has put on paper.  Send us one play or ten, but make sure they're in a PDF formatted file. We'll start going through the submissions right away and hope to have our first reading in mid-November! 

On the bill for tonight's Fast & Loose '12 finale

The march was arduous (And, yes, I had to look that up). The competition was tough. The battle was bloody. But, at the end of the day, six plays emerged from the crucible of creativity to perform again.

TONIGHT ONLY!

Six new plays!

8 p.m. at Access Theater

(380 Broadway, 4th Floor -- two blocks south of Canal Street at the corner of Broadway and White Street, NYC)

• $15 single seat tickets
• $10 tickets for groups of four or more (Send a list of the people in the group to TruantArts@gmail.com and show up to the theater together)
• $5 industry tickets (Email us your name and credentials -- we are looking for people in positions to offer work to our talent)

It is the first/last and only chance to see:

These 12 fabulous actors molded by 6 talented directors, in the service of 6 <INSERT SUPERLATIVE HERE> playwrights.

The plays

"Bonds" by Greg Moss
Directed by Greg Moss
Featuring Bianca Cristina and Brandon Ferraro

"Female Mover Wanted" by Kristen Felicetti
Directed by Helyn Rain Messenger
Featuring Jessica Appel and Zoey Rutherford

"Mise-en-Place" by Scott Cheshire
Directed by Viet Vo
Featuring Peter Guarraci and Asa Merritt

"Progress" by Caitlin Graham
Directed by Bryan Davidson Blue
Featuring Vanessa Bontea and Mary McCarthy

"Monozy Goat" by Katharine Henner
Directed by Julia Goldstein
Featuring Laura Darrell and Avra Friedman

"Sense and Sensei-bility" by Brandon Ferraro
Directed by Frank-Thomas Grogan
Featuring Shawn Ack and Andrew Reaves

Six down, seven to go...

Tuesday night's performance of six new plays went off like an old-school alarm clock. It was a wake up call to indie theater that truants are in the house.

Three of the shows are in the house again Thursday.

"Bonded," written by Greg Moss and featuring Bianca Christina and Brandon Ferraro

"Female Mover Wanted," written by Kristien Felicetti, directed by Helyn Rain Messenger and featuring Zoey Rutherford and Jessica Appel

and

"Mise-en-Place," written by Scott Cheshire, directed by Viet Vo and featuring Peter Guarraci and Asa Merritt

... are getting a second shot at the boards at 8 p.m. Thursday night, Access Theater (380 Broadway, 4th Floor - on the corner of Broadway and White St., two blocks south of Canal St.).

Show up tonight at 8 p.m. and decide which three plays from tonight's performance will join them.

*Find out more about the talented people involved in Fast & Loose '12.

** Get more information about the festival and tickets.

Scouting like the pros

Truant, a theater company specializing in working from the ground up, is too, but we are tired of sifting through resumes that are padded, monologues that are over rehearsed and headshots that don't look like real people.

What we want is to see actors, directors and writers at work, but that can be a logistical nightmare ... and costly.

What if we could see two dozen actors and a dozen or more directors and playwrights in action? We thought we could. And so we put together Fast & Loose '12.

We'd like to share the opportunity with you. For the next three nights, (Aug. 28-30 at p.m.) Truant and Access Theater are presenting new works by 13 playwrights and featuring 26 actors and 13 directors.

Get a chance to catch theater talent as it works, not as it postures -- for as little as $10. Find out more here.

Or email truantarts@gmail.com and reserve your seat.

Access Theater is at 380 Broadway, 4th floor, at the corner of Broadway and White St., two blocks south of Canal Street.

Fast & Loose '12: The Gory Details

Truant Arts, in partnership with Access Theater, is thrilled to present Fast & Loose: 13 new plays, inspired, written, rehearsed, and performed in about 48 hours!

Curtain is 8:00pm on Tuesday 8/28, Wednesday 8/29, and Thursday 8/30. Thursday night is a 'best of' from the other nights, based on audience vote; let your voice be heard!

Tickets are on sale at the door, for cash only, but can be reserved by emailing TruantArts@gmail.com (reservations suggested).

1 show - $15

2 shows - $25

All 3 shows - $35

(multi-night tickets must be purchased at one time)

Group discounts: 4 or more friends coming together get $10 tickets. You must email TruantArts@gmail.com by 5pm on the night of the performance with the names of all the people in your group.

Are you in the industry? Email TruantArts@gmail.com with your credentials and get $5 tickets.

A week of fearless theatre. Fast & Loose, just how we like it!

Access Theater

380 Broadway, 4th floor

(corner of White St., 2 blocks below Canal St.)

TUESDAY PLAYERS:

See bios and photos here.

Alexa Servodidio

Asa Merritt

Bianca Christina

Brandon Ferraro

Cherie Chalouhi

Cyndee Rivera

Donnell Smith

Greg Moss

Helyn Rain Messenger

Ja'ron Young

Jamie Rosler

Jennifer Fisher

Jessica Appel

Kathryn Leuci

Kristen Felicetti

Moshe Maizels

Nicole Serra

Peter Guarraci

Richard Ploetz

Scott Cheshire

Viet Vo

Zoey Rutherford

WEDNESDAY PLAYERS:

See bios and photos here.

Andrew Reaves

Ariana Fekett

Asa Merritt

Avra Friedman

Bob Teague

Brandon Ferraro

Bryan Davidson Blue

Burton Crane

Caitlin Graham

Cherie Chalouhi

Cindy Parra

Cyndee Rivera

Dawn Del Orbe

Ernell McClenon

Frank-Thomas Grogan

Greg Moss

Jackie Schiffer

Jasmine Pierce

Julia Goldstein

Katharine Henner

Katie Fabel

Laura Darrell

Linus Gelber

Mary McCarthy

Natalya Krimgold

Omar Perez

Shawn Ack

Vanessa Bontea

See bios and photos here.

Fast and Loose off and running.

We are off to a great start on our Fast and Loose '12 festival.

At 11 a.m. today, we converged on Access Theater and the games began. Actors, directors and playwrights took random words and started sculpting characters and stories and general weirdness for three hours.

Now the playwrights are off making their magic ... and we wait.

Starting at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, the first batch of six new 10-minute plays start to crawl. By performance time at 8 p.m. Tuesday, they will be walking, running, dancing and, if today is any indication, soaring.

Then the next seven new plays will launch at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

Thursday, the strongest of the strong will get a second performance.

Who will be pushed forward to greatness on Thursday? You can help decide by coming to the shows and voting on your favorites.

Contact TruantArts@gmail.com for details.

Shows:

8 p.m. Tuesday
8 p.m. Wednesday
8 p.m. Thursday

Access Theater, 380 Broadway, 4th floor (at the corner of White Street and Broadway, two blocks south of Canal Street).

Theater artists, let's grab a quickie Aug. 26-30.

Truant Arts’ Fast and Loose Festival

(6 plays in 48 hours) X 2 = 12 playwrights, 12 directors, 24+ actors

Truant Arts, in partnership with Access Theater, is seeking playwrights, directors, and actors to help us command a space for four days of theater mayhem during the final week of August.
If you are a playwright who can handle the thrill of high-speed writing, we want you.


If you are a director who can realize a vision on the move, we want you.


If you are an non-union actor ready to grab a script in both hands in the morning and perform it that night, we want you.


If you think you've got what it takes, follow the links above for more information on your speciality. If you still think you want to spend quality time with us, email TruantArts@gmail.com and let us know you are in.

Please include “actor,” “director” or “writer” in the subject line.

Actors, let's get emotionally naked together for a couple of days

Truant Arts' Fast and Loose Festival

Actors

From 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26, you will be grouped with a director, a playwright and one or two other actors at Access Theater, 380 Broadway, 4th Floor (two blocks south of Canal Street). As a creative team, you will improvise on a theme. Out of this improvisation, your playwright will go forth and write a brand new, shiny 10-minute play (average 10 pages).

At midnight Monday or Tuesday, depending on performance schedules, you will be emailed a PDF file of your play. Your team will rehearse all day, including a scheduled tech in the theatre, and perform in the evening. Audiences will vote on the top three plays each night. Those plays will move on to a Thursday night performance.

If you join the project, you will be required to attend the improvisation session on Sunday, Aug. 26, and all-day rehearsals the day of performance. You will also be required to perform on Thursday night if your play moves to the finals show, so you will need to keep that time clear just in case.

If you want to play, send an email to TruantArts@gmail.com, with "Actor" in the subject line.

Directors, get jiggy with us for a couple of days

Truant Arts' Fast and Loose Festival

Directors

From 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26, you will be grouped with a playwright and a few actors at Access Theater, 380 Broadway, 4th Floor (two blocks south of Canal Street). As a creative team, you will improvise on a theme. Out of this improvisation, your playwright will go forth and write a brand new, shiny 10-minute play (average 10 pages).

At midnight either Monday or Tuesday, depending on performance schedules, you and your actors will be emailed a PDF file of your play. Your team will rehearse all day, including a scheduled tech in the theatre, and perform in the evening. Audiences will vote on the top three plays each night. Those plays will move on to a Thursday night performance.

If you join this project, you will be required to attend the improvisation session on Sunday, Aug. 26, and to direct your cast on the day of performance. We would love for you to attend the performance(s), but that is up to you.

If you want to play, send an email to TruantArts@gmail.com, with "Director" in the subject line.

Playwrights, have a summer fling with us

Truant Arts' Fast and Loose Festival

Playwrights

From 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m on Sunday, Aug. 26, you will be grouped with a director and a few actors at Access Theater, 380 Broadway, 4th Floor (two blocks south of Canal Street). As a creative team, you will improvise on a theme. Out of this improvisation, you will go forth and write a brand new, shiny 10-minute play (average 10 pages). At 10 p.m. Monday you will email the script in PDF format to TruantArts@gmail.com. We will send that script out to your actors and director at midnight either Monday or Tuesday, depending on the night your show is scheduled to be performed.

Your team will rehearse all day and perform in the evening. Audiences will vote on the top three plays each night. Those plays will move on to a Thursday night performance.

If you join this project, you will be required attend the improvisation session on Sunday, Aug. 26, and to write a brand new 10-page play and send it to TruantArts@gmail.com by 10 p.m. Monday, Aug. 27. We would love for you to be involved in the rehearsal process as an observer and to attend the performance(s), but that is your choice once the script is submitted.

If you want to play, send an email to TruantArts@gmail.com, with "Playwright" in the subject line.

48 hours - 12 new plays? It can be done. It will be done.

Will you be one of the ones to do it?

If you are an actor, writer or director and you want to find out how you can join the fast and furious new play festival we are putting up Aug. 27-30, email truantarts@gmail.com for details.

It is summer. We have a stage.

Let us commit acts of theater together.

Can it be? Is there life on the fringe?

Go to the fringes of the world, where the monsters are. Only when you get there will you know if you are alive or dead.

It's an idea that dances in my head from time to time and this time it is taking me into the world and economy of fringe festivals.

Here are some notes from a fringe artist on surviving. And some of the artist's videos.

I'll post more information as I find it.

-- Manchild Truant

You can also follow our tumblr account. It's where we are putting links to theater-related online information.

today's Truant pics

gratitude in list form

THANK YOU...

Sol & Eileen Bilkis
Rachel Crouthamel
Stuart & Rhoda Davidoff
Liam Ewing
Leonora & Steve Fleisher
Christy Futch
Scott Gioia
Alyssa Gleason
Henry Hamilton
Greg Moss
Anne & George Power
Joseph Naftali
Craig Rosler
Evan Rosler
Mark & Sheila Rosler
Grace & Peter Russo
Martin & Pat Shapiro
Cindy Stein
Judy & Patrick Walsh

--
Access Theater (*Jackie)
Aporia Theater (*Sarah, Liz)
Brooklyn Brewery (*Ben)
FXFowle Gallery (*Max, Steve)
Left Hip Productions
Space on White
zArt Studios (*Thomaz)

--
Rachel Blithe
Megan Curet
Krista Fogle
Katherine Gordon
Matt Graham
Katharine Henner
Hearsay
Christina Hernandez
Camilla Houston
Boots LaMae
Nathan Rosler
Nicole Serra
Diamando Stratakos
Emily Tucker

--
WE CAN'T DO WHAT WE DO WITHOUT ANY OF YOU.  THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR TOES (WHICH IS SO MUCH DEEPER THAN THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS)

<3

--
want to see your name on this list?  make a tax-deductible donation here!

The last show ...

"Four Square" closed last night with a great show and a brilliant audience.

The truants finished striking the set at noon today. There is a hole in our souls now. Time to take a nap and then ramp up the next projects.

Help us out with "Splinters," the working title of our next piece. What we need first is your anonymously contributed understanding of your own personal relationship style. What works? What doesn't? What do you know you do over and over again that isn't particularly useful to building real relationships?

We will take this information and eight to 10 actors with us out behind the Sip-n-Slip liquor store on Franklin Street and start creating a piece of character-driven interactive theater that comes from the lives of real people.

Walk with us on this next truant journey by following this link to "Splinters -- Pulled from Truant Love" and sharing some of your secrets.

We love you all ... in an unhealthy way.

Oh, shit! Almost forgot. If you follow us on Twitter we are starting a dialogue under #truantlove. We'd love to see you there.

"Four Square" kicking ass

The actors are happy. The writer is happy. The director is happy. The audience is thrilled. 

Running until Sunday June 3rd at Access Theater, 380 Broadway, nyc

Saturday matinee (2 pm) is PAY WHAT YOU CAN.  Enjoy the play and then give what you think it was worth, and what you can afford!

Contact truantarts@gmail.com if you have ANY questions.

we love you.

Preview tomorrow!

• Where: Access Theater, 380 Broadway @ White Street, 4th Floor

What: Janice meets Sid, who introduces her to Earl. Earl meets Kerry, who slept with Michael who slept with Janice who plans to sleep with Sid, or plans to until Earl shows up. But, was Earl always there? And, where did Sid go? You can always find Kerry. She never leaves. Neither does Michael, which really starts to bother Kerry who takes it out on Janice and Earl. Or was that Sid? It all depends on how you look at it. But one thing's certain, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

When: 8pm Tuesday-Sunday, and a 2pm matinee on Saturday, June 2.

$13 advance tickets are available online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/246578

Tickets at the door, if available at all, are $18 (cash only).

The house will open 30 minutes before curtain. Latecomers will be admitted at the discretion of the house manager. The run time is 90 minutes.

Please direct any questions or requests for industry tickets and STARVING ARTIST DISCOUNTS to TruantArts@gmail.com. Handicap access is also available. Let us know your needs at the same email address.

--
written by Bob Teague
directed by Jamie Rosler

with Nick DeMarco (Earl), Marjorie Swartz (Janice), Gabi Van Horn (Kerry), and Ryan P.A. Walsh (Michael)

Tickets on sale!

Tickets are on sale for "Four Square", and there's only one week left to take advantage of the early bird discount. Use the code SquareBird by May 15th to save two dollars on every ticket. Just click on that code and have your credit or debit card ready!

Meet the people playing "Four Square"

We've just posted a trailer for "Four Square." Jamie and the cast did a great job. You should check it out by mousing over "check it out" and clicking.

up for bid on April 22...

Today's featured single, from Truant Arts' upcoming party and date auction, is Nathan R., in the first person...

"I've been a drummer for 22 years, a reborn painter for the past year, and I design graphics during the day to support these passions.  Having always lived in NYC has really helped me hone my ability to throw down some sarcastic and witty banter.  Always on the lookout for new music to broaden my rhythmic horizons, while keeping an eye out for outdoor adventures."

The grand Truant tradition

In the grand Truant tradition, this is the unofficial crest of the Royal Navy's submarine, HMS Truant.

Truant history

up for bid on April 22...

Leading up to our party and date auction, Truant Arts will be featuring one of our singles every day.  Today, Nick DeMarco, from Truant Arts' upcoming play, Four Square.

"Here are the basics: I grew up in Rochester, NY.  I'm doing the whole starving artist thing, but I still find ways to have a good time!  I have been in the city for almost a year now and am still constantly suprised and entertained by it.  I am very casual/relaxed person.  I can often be found going to play readings or singing some karaoke with some friends.  I am a TV show-aholic and will try any show once.  I am looking forward to partying down at this auction!"

up for bid on April 22...

Leading up to our party and date auction, Truant Arts will be featuring one of our singles every day.  Today, Matt Graham (comedian & Scrabble champion)!

Matt is originally from Indiana.  He can play Scrabble blindfolded and possesses a Jimmy Stewart manner.  If he had to pick three adjectives to describe himself they would be well-spoken, well-endowed, and well-butrin.  No, make that sleepy, grumpy, and postdoc.  Better yet, messy, manic, and messianic.  Scratch all of the above.  Let's go with supercallifragilisticexpletivedeleted, even though it's only one adjective, has no meaning, and has been censored.

this is Ruth, Matt's late cat.  "the most affectionate, trusting animal [he has] encountered."

up for bid on April 22...

Leading up to our party and date auction, Truant Arts will be featuring one of our singles every day.  Today, Krista F.

Things Krista is proud of: her dvd collection, her tea collection, the fact that she's lived in the same place for 12 years and runs the block party (though that last one might mean she's just a teeny bit crazy).  Krista is the Program and Marketing Coordinator for the Creative Arts Team, an educational theatre company, which is good, because she went to school for an obscure degree called Educational Theatre.  She does a lot of photography on the side, particularly headshots and live bands around NYC.  She eats meat, likes food in general, likes motorcycles, animals, the outdoors, and has hair that, when let free, tends to get stuck in train doors.

up for bid on April 22...

Leading up to our party and date auction, Truant Arts will be featuring one of our singles every day.  Today, Christina H., in the first person...

"Oh my, this is awkward; selling myself in order to best sell myself.  This is why I don't belong to any dating sites, cutely summarizing makes me cringe. Rest assured though, my looks or personality won't make you cringe.  At least, I hope not.  Looks are in the pic, so phew, no need to elaborate there.  As for the rest of me here goes: I'm quite a New Yorker and most definitely a Brooklynite (been here since '90 folks, top that!).  I play in a weekly bar trivia league and DVR Jeopardy!, to appease my inner nerd.  With all that implied intelligence, you can also expect quick wit, a bit of a smart ass, and
a pretty basic cool girl.  I run my own dogwalking business, love to bike Brownstone Brooklyn and when not doing those and a few other things, can usually be found watching too much television.  I'm no couch potato though, wanna do something?"

up for bid on April 22...

Leading up to our party and date auction, Truant Arts will be featuring one of our singles every day.  Today, Jamie Rosler.

A native New Yorker, Jamie has a penchant for sarcasm and misanthropy.  An optimistic cynic, she hopes for the best, sees the worst, and laughs at everything.  Co-founder of Truant Arts and production manager and member of Rufus Khan, she devotes a lot of her time to creating live performance and entertainment for the world around her.  Next Thursday, Tim Gunn is helping her find the perfect bathing suit.  She gives great first date.

sunday april 22nd at 862 myrtle ave., 12:30pm, Truant Arts is having a party.  it's all about the sunday buzz (be that buzz from drinking, dancing, art, or the date auction)!  it's free to get in, but spaces are limited so you need to reserve a spot at TruantArts@gmail.com.  we look forward to getting your email!

coming soon!

we're having a party on april 22!  we're auctioning dates with hot, talented singles at this party.  coming soon, pictures and profiles of everyone on the auction block.  check back for more!

answer anonymously. you can be honest.

--
what are your relationships usually like?

why?
--

Why are we asking? 

We are building a piece of improvisational interactive theater (working title: Splinters) that will wrap your input into an ongoing exploration of 21st century relationships.


So tell us your defaults, your dark places, and your joys. Then, read other comments. Then, share the link with the people you know so they can join the conversation. Every step of the way, you will be part of the creation.


To make your comment anonymous, use the drop-down "Comment as:" menu below and click "Anonymous."


Thanks for sharing,
Jamie and Bob

Twitter, twitter, twitter ... what, more social networking?

That's affirmative, Houston. We've got Twitter. Here.

Moving into the 21st century!!!!!

Truant Arts is fresh, cool, young, vibrant and technically savvy.

Ok, that's not entirely true.

Some of the people involved in Truant Arts are fresh, cool and young (Hi, Jamie! You know she is these things because she uses <3 and =-) and other fresh, cool, young things. The best I can do is use multiple !!!!!!s. Sad, really).

Still, all of us are vibrant. (For example, I was up at 5 a.m. this morning. Pretty vibrant, huh? And, you should see Jamie's smile. Pretty vibrant, too.)

Anyway ...

We are struggling now to be technically savvy. We have a mailing list - as of last night. You can sign up for it here.

We have a Facebook page - as of this morning. You can like it here.

We are gonna do a Twittery thing, but you can't sign up for it here. Not as of yet anyway. But soon.

titled, bitches!

sorry, i get excited. we finally have a title for the play. not a working title, but a real live title!

coming to Access Theater, opening on May 30th, Truant Arts is proud to present Four Square.

the tag line is still in the works, but we have to have something to ponder and later share with you.

=)

We got a space for Discomfort

That sounds like a dank basement in the suburbs somewhere -- with sound proof walls and hooks on the ceiling.

But it isn't. We've just taken Access Theater's Gallery space for six performances of "Discomfort" for the week of May 29-June 4. We'll be sure to let you know what's happening as things develop, so stay tuned.

The crew read the new script without me ...

But I hear things went well. It's time to get back to work.

Sweet.

a Victorian Era Virginian bride-to-be opines in her diary...

"...Will he love me as I desire to be loved?  I don't look for perfect bliss, but the whole soul of my Husband devoted to love me. ...I would be foolish to expect perfect happiness, but my heart will demand perfect Love."

-Sarah Anderson

Welcome, Nick!

Earl has been recast!  We are very happy to welcome Nick DeMarco to the team.  Along with Marjorie Swartz, Ryan P.A. Walsh, and Gabi Van Horn, Truant gets back into the lab this coming Monday to start rehearsing the latest version of Discomfort [working title].  It's good to be productive.

In the audition room

Bob and Marjorie at the director's table, anxiously awaiting our next actor

Here's a new opening for "Discomfort," aka "Truant One."

We've been working on this play for months now, and based on the feedback everyone gave us during the workshop performances, I've been wrestling with set-up for the two unlovers. Here's the latest attempt, unless it really sucks. In that case, forget I mentioned it.

TIME

Now. Early Morning

(The lights come up on a nicely furnished two-bedroom apartment. It is night. There is just enough light so anyone entering would not enter a dark house. No one is seen. Then, on the stairs...)

EARL: If I die, promise me you'll tell the media I was found in a compromising position. 

JANICE: It's only five flights.

EARL: The penthouse?

JANICE: We do have roof access.

EARL: Promise me.

JANICE: Well, Penelope and Katharine in 5C have a stuffed parrot.

EARL: That's a start.

JANICE: And an alternative lifestyle. 

EARL: Better.

JANICE: And great-grandchildren.

EARL: Sold.

JANICE: I'll see what I can do. But it won't be necessary. Here we are. Home sweet--  (Realizes she doesn't have her keys.) Shit!

EARL: What?

JANICE: Shit, shit, shit ...

EARL: What?

JANICE: Hi.

EARL: Hi ...

JANICE: Could you? ... (Hands some of the contents of her purse to EARL.)

EARL: Sure.

JANICE: Thanks. ... And ... (Hands more to EARL.) Damn it.

EARL: Let me guess. You don't have your--

JANICE: Ummm. ... I haven't exhausted all the possibilities yet.

EARL: OK.

JANICE: But it doesn't look good. This is embarrassing.

EARL: It's fine.

JANICE: I'm such an idiot.

EARL: It's fine. You have a lovely hallway.

JANICE: Thanks.

EARL: I'm getting a chance to catch my breath. And, chagrin looks good on you.

JANICE: Thanks. ... I think.

EARL: It does. You wear it well.

(To be continued)

seeking male actor, mid-late 20s

Truant Arts is replacing one actor in a new play (working title Discomfort) that has already been workshopped and vetted.  We will be rehearsing every Saturday in Newark, NJ, with a week long run in early May in New York City. Rehearsals slated to start on March 3rd.

Travel stipend. Performance stipend. Non-equity.


CHARACTER DESCRIPTION:
Earl is a charming asshole.  He is sexy, masculine, highly intelligent, and a bit of a tease.  He loves word play and is a sort of big city vagabond.  He fancies himself a philosopher, a guru, and one who imparts wisdom regarding the human condition.  He likes to manipulate people and situations for his own entertainment and personal gain.  Other people can't help but like him, despite their better judgment.


Auditions by appointment only: Saturday, February 25th from 10am to noon.  Prepare a two minute monologue.

To submit, send a headshot, resume, and brief introduction to TruantArts@gmail.com

The application is in the email

We have officially applied for a number in the Chicago Fringe Festival -- two hours before the deadline. (Gotta love a deadline.) Now, it is a matter of wait-and-see.

Project Question: When two or more are gathered together, what have we got?

Jamie and I headed back to Newark on Saturday to begin work on a project Truant would love to take to the Chicago Fringe Festival in August and September. We dragged Leo Mendoza and Sara Ruth Blake, two improvisation artists from the big city, with us to see what we could see.

The plan? Build a completely collaborative piece of theater from the ground up, starting with a simple question.

The question? "What have you been thinking a lot about lately?"

Four hours -- and a lot of intense follow-up questions later -- and the game is afoot. 

Stay tuned for details and updates.

workshop performance, 1/19/12

foreground: Gabi Van Horn (Kerry) & Ryan P.A. Walsh (Michael). background: Bobby Brower (Earl)

All photos by Coe Will, FXFowle Gallery, NYC (Thanks, Coe!)

Ms. Houston, and today in the laboratory...

I want to dance with somebody
I want to feel the heat with somebody
With somebody who loves me

Affordable optimism on the streets of new york...?

Meeting with the boss on 'Discomfort" ...

So, I met with the boss today (That's you, Jamie). We've decided the bones are there make it worth moving to the next phase.

I have my marching orders, or at least a general idea which way to start wandering on the project I've codenamed "Truant One" for lack of a better title than "Discomfort." Thanks again to everyone for the input.

My goal is to be ready to bring the actors back together in the middle of February. That's exciting for me because I already miss them. I miss you too, so I'm motivated to get something built for you to take another look at just as quickly as possible.

If you are stumbling upon this blog and have no idea what I'm talking about, send us an email and we'll explain it (truantarts@gmail.com). We are always looking for new suckers ... er, audience members ... to join us in the creative process. In short, we are looking for you.

bob

Truant One, Day Two

Friday night's workshop performance was even better than Thursday night's show. The discussions ran well into the wee hours and people seemed to enjoy themselves. I know I did.

It is a strange thing to watch other people work as hard as Jamie, Bobby, Marjorie, Gabi and Ryan did for me. It is humbling, really. Thanks again, gang. I can't wait to continue on the path.

So, what's next?

Jamie and I will meet in the next 48 hours to sort through the acres of feedback I was lucky enough to get from this process. Obviously, we can't use every suggestion and it will be come a balancing act between what we have and what we what to see. I'll end up disappearing into the keyboard for several weeks and then bring the resulting dead frog back to Jamie for some moral support and resuscitation. When she thinks we're ready, we'll bring the actors in to read the revised work and give us feedback.

It is our goal to have something ready for an actual performance (with sets, lights, sound, costume changes and a stage) by mid-Spring. We'll keep you posted here, so come back.

Bob

The launch of Truant One

Truant One, working title "Discomfort," got it's first workshop production off the ground last night (Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012, for future historians) and it was good.

The audience (Yeah, audience!) was amazingly helpful. Your feedback and general thoughts of the lives of these characters are already starting to work magic. A new version of "Discomfort" was being built on the train back to Brooklyn.

Max, Steve and the rest of the crew at FXFowle, our hosts for the evening, could not possibly hold a warmer spot in my heart right now. They were kind enough to disrupt their lives, move their furniture all over the place, loan us coffee mugs, provide us with audience AND fed the masses. Above and beyond the call, fellas. Thank you.


I'm really looking forward to tonight's performance. 


Bob

Crew of Truant One - the maiden voyage

These are the fine folk who have joined Truant's effort to launch the first production.

Bobby Brower (Earl) Theater credits: Wilson in The Cookie Fight, Jeremy in Waking Up, Walter in The Palace, Stanley in Celluloid, and Marty in Rooftop Rites. Film credits: Manny in A Summer Job and Jerry in On the Other Side, a 2011 Cannes Film Festival official selection.

Marjorie Swartz (Janice) A native of Toronto, Canada, and a graduate of Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts, Marjorie has been in New York for three years. Since coming here she has had the pleasure of performing in a variety of shows, and is most proud to be a part of the evolution of Discomfort. Many thanks to her family and friends for their constant support!

Gabi Van Horn (Kerry) is a recent graduate of The Hartt School, and couldn't be more excited about Discomfort.  Some favorite roles have been Judith in Stage Door, Lucy in Threepenny Opera, and Alexander Ashbrook in Coram Boy.  gabivanhorn.com

Ryan P.A. Walsh (Michael) is psyched to have been a part of this project and its creative process.  He is a Syracuse University Drama Department graduate (BFA Drama '07).  He has recently worked as a staff member and performer for Left Hip Productions, producing many works of which he is very proud.  Thanks to J-Roz, Bob, his awesome cast, and anyone reading this bio right now.

Caught this outside one of our rehearsal spaces

Amen, Brother!

Our first piece of truant behavior