Meet the Cast: Jenna D'Angelo (KEEP)

Jenna D'Angelo is an actor, producer and yoga instructor based in NYC. She is a co-founder of Mastodon Theatre Company as well as a guest artist with Wide Eyed Productions. She has appeared in many films, webseries, and plays around the city. She is currently starring, co-producing, and writing for the upcoming digital series Bar Crossed Lovers premiering in May! Credits include: How Alfo Learned to Love (59E59), Elemeno Pea (Mastodon), Animals (FringeNYC), Leah in Vegas (FringeNYC), The Wedding Guest (reading: Moisés Kaufman), The Perfect Murder (Discovery ID), Madeleine Zabel (Cambridge Film Festival), Silent Wave (Best Supporting Actress in a Short nomination), Vlogger (Take Two Festival), Bruiser (Intendance Film Festival), Kin (Nitehawk Film Festival). Jenna received her BA from Western Michigan University. www.jennadangelo.com

You’ll be performing in the world premiere production of Keep, which we are co-producing with Mastodon Theatre Company. How was the rehearsal process? Can you tell us a little bit about the character you’ll be playing, and your favorite thing about this role? (No spoilers!)

It was a really fascinating rehearsal process, in large part because the show takes place in a hoarders house (which in and of itself almost acts as a fifth character in the play), so the room is filled with all different kinds of things. In the rehearsal room, we didn't have the luxury of having a lot of stuff to interact with, so we had to experiment a lot with miming and working to build this world in large part with in our minds. I think I speak for everyone when I say we couldn't WAIT to load in and have a fully packed living room to play with!

I'm playing Kara, one of the sisters who come to help stage the intervention. I love playing Kara—on the outside she is really tough and sarcastic and always feels like she is in charge, but underneath it all she is really battling with a lot of her own issues and fears. I love that dichotomy between her interior and exterior life.

This is a play that deals with – among other things – hoarding belongings. What’s one thing that you really should release from your own personal stash of objects?

Hah! Ummm, ALL OF MY CLOTHES. I read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up last summer, and as I read it I felt really inspired and I started to get rid of some things...but I have a LONG way to go. My closet is filled with clothing that I barely touch, but I always think, “but I COULD wear this!” or “it MIGHT come back into style!” I need to just bite the bullet and get rid of things.

When did you know that you wanted to be an actor? How did you get started?

I've wanted to be an actor ever since I was a little kid. I always loved to perform for people and make people laugh. I always watched a lot of movies and musicals—I had a phase where I came home from school every day and watched Annie and sang along to all the songs. I did school plays and musicals in elementary school and never stopped.

Who or what do you consider to have been your biggest creative influences to date?

Oh wow. That's a really hard question! I guess I would have to say the other artists around me. I find a lot of inspiration from the actors / writers / directors / producers who I work with or who I see work. Reading plays, seeing shows, watching movies and TV shows, going to museums—all of those inspire me to create more, do more, push myself more.

We’d love for our audience to get to know your work a little more. Could you tell us a little bit about your last project?

I just did my first Off-Broadway show at 59E59 over the holidays this past year - How Alfo Learned To Love - and had a really amazing time. The entire team across the board was phenomenal. The cast had a really incredible bond and I felt very blessed to be a part of the production. Plus I got to play a really sassy, loud-mouthed Brooklynite, so you can't beat that.

Are you working on any additional projects at the moment? Is it something you can tell us about?

A few things! Mastodon is producing a night of Pint Size Plays at The Barrow Group on April 25th which will be a great time.  I wrote a piece, will be acting, and may also be directing a piece. And Bar Crossed Lovers, the digital series that Wide Eyed Productions and StagNation Productions are co-producing, will premiere in May! I'm starring in it, working as a co-producer, and wrote a couple of episodes, as well. We are so proud of this series, and I think it is going to be a ton of fun.

Outside of the arts, I started teaching yoga this year after getting my certification this winter, and it is has been such a fun transition to make! If anybody reading this in NYC wants to try out yoga or just chat, please check out my website (www.jennadangeloyoga.com).

Keep begins previews at The Barrow Group Theatre on April 7 and runs through April 30. Get your tickets here. Bar Crossed Lovers Episode 1 premieres on May 11. Stay tuned!

Meet the Cast: Madison Comerzan (KEEP)

Madison Comerzan is a co-founder of Mastodon Theatre Company. She hails from Detroit, Michigan, and has been living in New York for over four years where she works as an actor and a Pilates instructor. She received her B.A. in Theatre and Dance from Western Michigan University. She also completed the two year acting program at William Esper Studio studying under Bill Esper. Previous credits include: MICHAELA in Mastodon's Elemeno Pea, ADDISON in Nylon Fusion Collective's Miss Hope's, FELICE in After the Fall with Variations Theatre Group, KELLY in Love and the Small Print (2012 Cannes Film Festival), and appearances on ABC's What Would You Do. She also held the title of producer for Mastodon's production of Molly Smith Metzler's play Elemeno Pea. www.madisoncomerzan.com

You’ll be performing in the world premiere production of Keep, which we are co-producing with Mastodon Theatre Company. How are rehearsals going? Can you tell us a little bit about the character you’ll be playing, and your favorite thing about this role? (No spoilers!)

Rehearsals have been tough. The set is such a huge part of this play and we wont be able to play on the set until tech week. However, it has been so fun making up a hoader's space with rehearsal props every night. I feel like a little kid again. I will be playing Jane. She is a bit neurotic and a little confused about her own identity. She has a big heart though and loves loving others. My favorite part about becoming Jane has been mastering her physicality. I think Jane is an "emu" and I have been working on embodying an emu for this character. Weird, I know...I am an actor.

When did you know that you wanted to be an actor? How did you get started?

I honestly have no idea when I knew that I wanted to be an actor. I think I just always have. My mom says that when I was little, people would ask me what I wanted to me when I grew up and my answer was, "Well, do you want to know what my parents want me to be when I grow up or do you want to know what I want to be when I grow up?" My answer was always "Actor." My grandmother got me started in actual theatre classes when I was about 10 years old. My grandmother has always supported my creative endeavors. I am so thankful for her.

This is a play that deals with – among other things – hoarding belongings. What’s one thing that you really should release from your own personal stash of objects?

I am more of a purger than a hoarder so I don't hang on to much. However, I won't let my mom throw out any of my old stuffed animal from childhood. I am not sure why...I feel their little button eyes looking at me like, "Please don't throw us out Madison, we love you." I just can't bear to get rid of them even though they take up space.

Who or what do you consider to have been your biggest creative influences to date?

I grew up watching Lucille Ball on I Love Lucy. She is one of my biggest idols. Her physical work is amazing as well as her personal story. I also love everyone on SNL. My dream is to be on that show one day!

We’d love for our audience to get to know your work a little more. Could you tell us a little bit about your last project?

My work with Mastodon has forced me to delve into the world of writing and producing. I wrote a seven-page script for one of our Pint Size Plays back in the summer of 2015, and a short screenplay for StagNation / Wide Eyed Productions' upcoming web series Bar Crossed Lovers. Seeing something that I wrote performed was magical. I loved it and am really trying to make writing a bigger part of me life.

Are you working on any additional projects at the moment? Is it something you can tell us about?

I am currently choreographing a dance piece for Mastodon's Evening of Pint Size Plays on 4/25. This yet to be titled dance piece will be featuring Katy Copeland and Becca Shulman. Rehearsals are scheduled to start on 4/8. I am nervous but so excited to create feeling through movement with my dancers. Dance has always been a big part of my life and as I get older, I have realized that I communicate best through movement. It is so exciting to know that there is a whole other creative world out there for me to explore. If you're reading this and you're free the evening of 4/25, come see "Untitled" at Mastodon's Evening of Pint Size Plays at The Barrow Group Theatre at 7pm!

Keep begins previews at The Barrow Group Theatre on April 7 and runs through April 30. Get your tickets here. Bar Crossed Lovers Episode 1 premieres on May 11. Stay tuned!

Meet the Cast: Leslie Marseglia (KEEP)

Leslie Marseglia is proud to be a guest artist with Wide Eyed. She graduated with an MFA in Acting from The New School for Drama, where favorite roles include Rosalind in As You Like It and Beth in the old forever new things. Other roles include: Mrs. Baines, Major Barbara (Brave New World Rep); Brenda, Leah in Vegas (Fringe NYC); and Miss Jessel, Turn of the Screw (Everyday Inferno). Leslie also holds a BFA from NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. www.lesliemarseglia.com

You’ll be performing in the upcoming world-premiere production of Keep, which we are co-producing with Mastodon Theatre Company.  Can you tell us a little bit about the character you’ll be playing, and your favorite thing about this role? (No spoilers!)

I’m playing Margo, the third of four sisters. While I don’t have any sisters of my own, I think it is really interesting to explore the complexities of female relationships and the way loyalties shift by the minute. I also like that Margo is outwardly much more unapologetic than I am; I hope to push myself a little further down that path. 

This is a play that deals with – among other things – hoarding belongings. What’s one thing that you really should release from your own personal stash of objects? 

I probably hang on to clothes I don’t love, wearing them longer than I should...I’m always convinced my opinion might change...it usually doesn’t. :) 

When did you know that you wanted to be an actor? How did you get started? 

I’ve really wanted to act since I saw The Sound of Music in second grade; I really wanted to be Julie Andrews. Luckily, I learned that you don’t have to be able to sing well to be an actor (though it’s still a skill I wish I had!). 

Who or what do you consider to have been your biggest creative influences to date? 

I’ve been so, so lucky to have studied with so many wonderful teachers, during both my undergrad and graduate training, and I think I’ve really pulled a little something from all of them. I’ve also been blessed with opportunities to work with actors and directors, both in and out of school, who have created a safe environment to explore. I feel like an open, supportive room is key. Otherwise, I feel my biggest lesson always comes down to be specific and take the risk to really be myself. Wow, that sounds super cheesy...

We’d love for our audience to get to know your work a little more. Could you tell us a little bit about your last project? 

The last stage project I worked on was called The Basement Plays, co-produced by The Barrow Group and Anthropological Theatricals. In this piece I actually was part of an ensemble of clowns (we appeared on stage in nose). It was a really interesting experiment for me to combine the theatrical clown work I’d experienced in a class setting with the necessary recreation/repetition required in performance. 

Are you working on any additional projects at the moment? Is it something you can tell us about? 

I recently shot a small part in two different student films, which are both currently being edited. I’ll also be participating in Writopia Lab’s World Wide Plays festival in May, which showcases the work of playwrights from ages 8-18.

Keep begins previews at The Barrow Group Theatre on April 7 and runs through April 30. Get your tickets here.

Meet the Cast: Kim Krane (KEEP)

Kim Krane is a co-founder of Mastodon Theatre Company, a production company dedicated to fostering the work of emerging artists. With Mastodon, she recently produced Pint Size Plays, an evening that included nine new works with a company of 22 writers, directors and actors. NY credits include: Emily Weldon in Butcher (Harold Clurman Lab Theatre), Simone in Elemeno Pea (Access Theatre), The Lost Girl in The Mirror Show (NY Fringe) and Karin in Die Kleinen (Access Theatre). She works for New York Shakespeare Exchange with ShakesBEER as an actor, director and producer, and has performed such roles as Juliet, Ophelia, Beatrice, Helena and more during her time with them. She has performed with Amios’ Shotz at the Kraine Theatre and Off-Broadway on Theatre Row as part of Athena Writes with Athena Theatre. Favorite regional credits include: Virginia Galilei in The Life of Galileo (Cleveland Play House), Anna in A Bright New Boise (DOBAMA Theatre) and Alice in Closer (Knockabout Theatre). Kim is a graduate of the Case Western Reserve/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting program. www.kimkrane.com

You’ll be performing in the upcoming world-premiere production of Keep, which we are co-producing with Mastodon Theatre Company. How are rehearsals going? Can you tell us a little bit about the character you’ll be playing, and your favorite thing about this role? (No spoilers!)

Naomi is the youngest sister and she's a hoarder, though I don't think she would call herself that. She’s very different from me, so finding a way into understanding how she operates has been incredibly challenging. It's one of those roles that stretches your understanding of humanity. She's unique, smart and feels misunderstood.

Rehearsals have been great! To me, the set is the fifth character of the play and we've been only imagining it so far, so I cannot wait to get on the stage and really discover Naomi's space.

This is a play that deals with – among other things – hoarding belongings. What’s one thing that you really should release from your own personal stash of objects?

Clothes! I have too many. I'm always waiting for them to come back in style. Also, sentimental possessions like old programs, ticket stubs, things that remind me of people I love or a great time. I recently watched one of my best friends originate a role on Broadway and couldn't bring myself to throw away the ticket as I was cleaning my room, just today. And there's more where that comes from. Old scripts, sides...I have so many. Once this show closes, I'm going to do a major purge!

When did you know that you wanted to be an actor? How did you get started?

Kalamazoo has a large community theater scene that really fosters their young artists. I went through a stretch going into my senior year of consistently being in shows and when it came to an end and the next show wasn't on the horizon I was devastated. I realized then that if something fulfilled me that much, it was worth pursuing, against the odds.

Who or what do you consider to have been your biggest creative influences to date?

So many. Everyone I meet, what I read, what I see, my friends, my family. I have had so many amazing teachers along the way. Mark Liermann was my directing professor at Western Michigan University and his passion for story telling is so effusive. He has an ability to make you feel like what we are doing has the capacity to change the world. It was actually talking about his class that was the first time Jenna, Madison (the co-founders of Mastodon, also performing in Keep) and I talked about producing our own work.

Ross Williams is the artistic director and founder of New York Shakespeare Exchange and he was incredibly helpful when we started Mastodon and continues to be a huge support. Sarah Nedwek started a company called Partly Cloudy People, and early in my time living here I saw a production she had produced and starred in and the work was so high caliber. I couldn't believe what she had put up in New York City. It seemed impossible. These examples of people generating work (and their are many more) helped inspire the creation of Mastodon.

We’d love for our audience to get to know your work a little more. Could you tell us a little bit about your last project?

Recently I went to Bryan, Texas with New York Shakespeare Exchange to perform with ShakesBEER, NYC's original Shakespearean pub crawl. I have been producing and performing with ShakesBEER for the past two years, it's very close to my heart, so it was wonderful to share it with a different part of the country! I also recently filmed Sonnet 110 for The Sonnet Project, another facet of New York Shakespeare Exchange.

I also regularly perform with Amios' Shotz, which is a monthly pressure cooker that presents six new shorts plays the first Monday of every month at The Kraine Theater. Recently they expanded four of the short pieces from Shotz and a different one each Monday of March. I was lucky enough to be in "The Loneliest Number" by Lizzie Vieh under the direction of Maria Dizzia. It was one of those 'pinch me' moments. (I'm a huge, huge Sarah Ruhl fan.)

Are you working on any additional projects at the moment? Is it something you can tell us about?

Besides Shotz and ShakesBEER nothing is currently on the horizon, my focus has been on this role! Once we get Keep up and running, we will have to decide what Mastodon's next move is. We've got a couple ideas we're tossing around, but nothing is finalized. Once we know, we'll share it with you all. Stay tuned!

Keep begins previews at The Barrow Group Theatre on April 7 and runs through April 30. Get your tickets here.

Cast Announcement for Wide Eyed WEST's production of "theMumblings"

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a cast!

We are pleased to announce that our first Wide Eyed WEST venture has been cast. Our production of Dan Kitrosser's play theMumblings will be coming to Denver this fall.
Kristin Skye Hoffmann will direct.

Look out, Denver - We'll be seeing you soon!

Lauren Bahlman as JODIE

Lanny Boyer as ALLEN

 Congratulations to all!

A cast worth KEEP-ing

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a cast!

Please join us and Mastodon Theatre Company in welcoming the players in our co-production of the world-premiere of Francesca Pazniokas' play Keep. Stephanie C. Cunningham is slated to direct the show at the Barrow Group Theatre this spring.

Kim Krane as NAOMI

Jenna D'Angelo as KARA

Madison Comerzon as JANE 

Leslie Marseglia as MARGO

 Congratulations to all!

Meet the DEAD SPECIAL CRABS Cast: Amy Lee Pearsall

 

Amy Lee Pearsall is a long-time member of Wide Eyed Productions, having appeared with the company in The Trojan Women, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, and their inaugural production of The Medea, among others. She was named as one of Indie Theater Now’s People of the Year for 2013. NYC stage credits include: Picture Ourselves in Latvia (New Light Theater Project); King Kirby (Comic Book Theater Festival/The Brick); Lickspittles, Buttonholers, and Damned Pernicious Go-Betweens (Boomerang Theatre Company); Blast Radius (The Honeycomb Trilogy) (Gideon Productions). A member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and the League of Professional Theatre Women, Amy Lee has served as a member of the nytheater now (née nytheatre.com) reviewing squad since 2010. www.amyleepearsall.com

• You’ll be performing in our upcoming world premiere production of Dead Special Crabs. What was your history with the piece before coming on board for the full production (if any)? 

Wide Eyed Productions produced a staged reading of Dead Special Crabs during our WINKS staged reading series, season one. It was a real crowd pleaser. In that incarnation, I read the part of Aunt Missy, and had a great time with it. And the company just fell in love with Dan's play; it is so ridiculously funny. This time around, I’m playing Kathy - a different experience, but equally delightful.

• How are rehearsals going? Can you tell us a little bit about the character you’ll be playing in Dead Special Crabs, and your favorite thing about this role? (No spoilers!)

Rehearsals have been a hoot. (Yeah, I said it.) It’s a fantastic cast and creative team - just a great group of people - and I’m delighted to be a part of it. I mean, really, just look at this photo. Those are not the faces of abject misery. We are clearly having a good time.

photo by Al Foote III

As for what I can tell you about Kathy…she’s a religious cult leader with a complicated past, and maybe some rage issues. But I think she operates from a place of deep conviction, and believes that her actions are for the greater good.

• This is a road trip play, and the leaves are starting to change, so we have to ask: What’s your favorite place to go for a quick road trip getaway on the east coast?

For a complete change of scene a little over an hour from the city, I'm going to have to go with Cold Spring. You can drive up historic Route 9D, but for the car impaired, Metro-North also takes you right there. I lived there for a year. It was lovely; the commute every day just wore me down after a while. But when the leaves are changing, the fog's rolling on the Hudson in the morning, the hum of passing boats and trains are bouncing around Crow's Nest and Storm King mountains across the way, and you've got a mug of coffee in your hands and a date with a kayak, it's just kind of magical.

• What’s your favorite work by Edgar Allen Poe? You know you have one.

I’m rolling with “The Raven.”

• And while we’re on the subject: Crustaceans. Friend or food? Allergies? Assuming you eat them, which is your favorite one to eat? Any restaurants we need to know about?

I’m kind of a big fan of anything that comes out of the ocean looking like an armored car; it's usually protecting something delicious. In the city, I’m partial to Grand Central’s Oyster Bar, Cull and Pistol at Chelsea Market, and Lobster Place right next door.

• Are you working on any additional projects at the moment? Is it something you can tell us about?

There is some talk of Boomerang Theatre Company reprising Johnna Adams’ verse play Lickspittles, Buttonholers, and Damned Pernicious Go-Betweens next year, and I'm excited about that. There’s also a film project that I’m super stoked about, but I can’t talk about it quite yet (details soon, I promise – keep an eye on my website). Other than that, my fellow Wide Eyed company member and buddy Andrew Harriss has informed me that I’m bringing brussels sprouts to potluck Thanksgiving. So I guess that’s my next big thing.

Meet the DEAD SPECIAL CRABS Cast: Greg Carere

Greg Carere is a New York-based, Canadian-born actor and writer. New York credits include: The Downtown Loop (3LD), If You Can Get To Buffalo (Incubator Arts Project), The Party Play (The Brick), The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome (FringeNYC), King John (The New Ensemble Workshop). Regional credits: Merchant of Venice, Pericles, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Twelfth Night (Shakespeare by the Sea), Rudy vs the World (OLS). He holds an MFA from The New School for Drama. Love to his family, friends, and Rose.

• You’ll be performing in our upcoming world premiere production of Dead Special Crabs. What was your history with the piece before coming on board for the full production (if any)? Could you tell us a little bit about your last project?

I didn’t really have a history with Dead Special Crabs before I auditioned, but I’ve been friends with and a fan of both Dan Kitrosser and Kristin Skye Hoffmann for the past few years since they showed up at The New School for Drama. I’ve helped out a little with Wide Eyed WINKS, from whence Dead Special Crabs had an early reading, and I was really excited to have a chance to work with Dan and Kristin and the company.

My last project was with Fringe NYC and Outside/Inside: The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome, by Michael Ross Albert (who, actually, now that I think about it, also has a bit of a history with Wide Eyed). It’s a tight little dramatic comedy about a group of artists in the aftermath of a gala, in which one of the artists had a psychotic break and destroyed almost every piece in the show. I played Marshall, a painter who’s trying to find his identity in the wake of his father’s death, and whose work was the catalyst for the aforementioned psychotic break.

I mentioned it was a comedy, yes?

• How are rehearsals going? Can you tell us a little bit about the character you’ll be playing in Dead Special Crabs, and your favorite thing about this role? (No spoilers!)

Rehearsals are going terribly! Kristin is a tyrant! Dan is a talentless hack! The rest of the cast are all hideous trolls who wouldn’t know acting if it walked up and stabbed them in the gut! My character, Virgil, is a depressed misanthrope and I can’t seem to break character! My favorite thing about this role is NOTHING! NOTHING MATTERS!

• This is a road trip play, and the leaves are starting to change, so we have to ask: What’s your favorite place to go for a quick road trip getaway on the east coast?

I don’t get to take quick road trips all that often, but I was just on Bear Mountain to watch two of my very good friends get married, and so if I was going to recommend anything, I’d say go watch two very good friends get married on Bear Mountain in the fall.

• What’s your favorite work by Edgar Allen Poe? You know you have one.

It’s probably a little cliche, but it’s hard to deny “The Tell-Tale Heart”. It so perfectly captures madness and obsession and guilt, and the sequence where the narrator creeps into the old man’s room and opens the shutter of his lantern to have the beam fall on the eye (the eye!) has stuck with me since I was a kid. But, in some ways, I think “The Cask of Amontillado” captures a lot of the horror and obsession of “The Tell-Tale Heart” in a tighter, more efficient story.

• And while we’re on the subject: Crustaceans. Friend or food? Allergies? Assuming you eat them, which is your favorite one to eat? Any restaurants we need to know about?

Friend AND foe! My favorite one to eat is ALL OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME, but if I had to choose, I would probably say lobster. And, speaking of which, the Red Hook Lobster Pound (which has locations in Red Hook, on the LES, and at Smorgasburg) does just about the best lobster roll I’ve ever had.

• When did you know that you wanted to be an actor? How did you get started?

I don’t know if I really knew that I wanted to be an actor until somewhere near the end of my time at grad school, where I was getting an MFA in Acting. It wouldn’t be exactly fair to say I fell into it, but it was certainly something that kept pulling at me despite my best efforts to ignore it. I got “started” when I took a drama class in high school, because I needed an arts credit and thought it would be a bird course. And then I ended up majoring in theater in college, despite enrolling in a university without knowing they even offered theater. And then, after I graduated, I spent a lot of time trying to be a freelance writer and working as an administrative assistant in a government office before finally applying to grad schools, primarily as a playwright. Even The New School for Drama, where I ended up going to study acting, I had originally applied to as a playwright. Acting hunted me down, and I don’t know if I really gave in until just a few years ago, and at that point I’d been doing it on and off for 10 years. 

• Who or what do you consider to have been your biggest creative influences to date? Why?

I’d say the people I met while at NSD, both students and teachers. It was a wonderful little laboratory, full of mad scientists, and everything, every breakthrough and mistake and blank out and triumph, that anyone made, was something that I learned from and that influenced me, and I’m guessing will continue to do so for a long time.

• Are you working on any additional projects at the moment? Is it something you can tell us about?

Yes! A number of things! But almost none of which I can talk about! There are a couple of plays in development, and a TV pilot, and maybe a movie. But most imminently: keep an eye out for Hazard Rep’s first production, Cliff by Ryan Feyk. We’re developing it right now, and I think it’s going to be something special.

Meet the DEAD SPECIAL CRABS cast: Lee Seymour

Lee Seymour is an actor, writer, and producer. Highlights as an actor include Triassic Parq (Off Broadway) and As You Like It (Stratford-Upon-Avon); as a producer they include Godspell (Broadway) and BALLS: The Musical (Off Broadway). He has written two novels and is working on a trilogy of Young Adult books about supernatural creatures hiding out on Cape Cod. He sits on the board of the artist residency SPACE on Ryder Farm, and enjoys Scotch smoky enough that you could mistake it for bogwater. MA from LAMDA, BA from Yale.

• You’ll be performing in our upcoming world premiere production of Dead Special Crabs. What was your history with the piece before coming on board for the full production (if any)? Could you tell us a little bit about your last project?

I have absolutely no history with the piece (I think I’m [one of the few] on board for whom that is true). I was connected to it by the wonderful casting director Kate Murray, who suggested me to our wonderful director Kristin Skye Hoffmann. The rest is wonderful history.

• How are rehearsals going? Can you tell us a little bit about the character you’ll be playing in Dead Special Crabs, and your favorite thing about this role? (No spoilers!)

Rehearsals have been a blast. We’re two weeks from previews and I still crack up watching the play. Everyone involved is massively talented and hilarious. My character is Barney Horntub, a detective from Western Massachusetts who is really not very good at his job, but does it with all the gusto he can muster. Like so many, deep down he’s just looking for a little bit of love.

• This is a road trip play, and the leaves are starting to change, so we have to ask: What’s your favorite place to go for a quick road trip getaway on the east coast?

Cape Cod, no doubt. Nothing like a weekend by the sea with a solid lobster roll in hand (even though the play is about people from Maine, I’ve got to say Cape Cod does lobster better – heresy, I know…)

• What’s your favorite work by Edgar Allen Poe? You know you have one.

"The Raven" is so beautiful that it excites me inappropriately.

• And while we’re on the subject: Crustaceans. Friend or food? Allergies? Assuming you eat them, which is your favorite one to eat? Any restaurants we need to know about?

Friend and food. I love a good snorkel, and nothing delights me more than finding a big friendly lobster peering out from under an overhang. Nothing…except, of course, for eating lobster afterward. I do love me some delicious arthropods. The best seafood place is in Chatham, MA: The Impudent Oyster. They serve lobster rolls that are basically a pile of fresh meat with a bun buried somewhere underneath. Flawless.

• When did you know that you wanted to be an actor? How did you get started?

When I set myself on fire in chemistry class by accident and turned it into a silly dance that entertained everyone. I thought, “I wonder if people get paid for this kind of thing.” Turns out the usually don’t, but that doesn’t stop it from being a fun thing to do with your nights.

• Who or what do you consider to have been your biggest creative influences to date? Why?

Eddie Izzard, Robin Williams, Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench. Stand-up comics and Knights of the British Empire, basically.

• Are you working on any additional projects at the moment? Is it something you can tell us about?

I sit on the board of SPACE on Ryder Farm, a phenomenal artist residency program just north of NYC in Brewster. We host hundreds of artist every summer – from multiple Tony, Pulitzer, and Emmy winners to brand new up-and-comers – on our 130 acres of woodland. I’m hugely passionate about it and encourage anyone reading this to apply for our upcoming 5th season next year. (Also to donate to our organization, if that’s your thing. Art ain’t cheap, yo.)

Meet the DEAD SPECIAL CRABS Cast: Nic Marrone

A Georgia native, Nic Marrone made his own cross country road trip three years ago to attend the Master’s program at The New School for Drama. He is saddened knowing that after working on this piece, with this writer (Dan Kitrosser), and this director (Kristin Skye Hoffmann), and this incredible group of actors and crew, there just won’t be another opportunity quite as amazing as this one for a long, long time. www.ndmarrone.com

• You’ll be performing in our upcoming world premiere production of Dead Special Crabs. What was your history with the piece before coming on board for the full production (if any)? Could you tell us a little bit about your last project?

I was fortunate enough to do a reading of Dead Special Crabs a couple years ago under the direction of Kristin, and amazingly enough I got the chance to work with the dynamic duo (Kristin and Dan) on Dan’s thesis project The Old Forever New Things at The New School for Drama. These two create the perfect balance in a room with tons of hard work combined with incredible bouts of laughter and play.

• How are rehearsals going? Can you tell us a little bit about the character you’ll be playing in Dead Special Crabs, and your favorite thing about this role? (No spoilers!)

I’m playing Loomer, and rehearsals have been a blast as expected! I’m usually cast as the weirdo or the comedic relief so my favorite thing about this role is getting to play the straight man. It’s a challenge because I have to constantly react as if everything is happening for the first time and I have to somehow keep from laughing at the brilliant comedians in the room.

• This is a road trip play, and the leaves are starting to change, so we have to ask: What’s your favorite place to go for a quick road trip getaway on the east coast?

Georgia, baby! Always! Savannah is the East Coast king!

• What’s your favorite work by Edgar Allen Poe? You know you have one.

"The Tell-Tale Heart"!

• And while we’re on the subject: Crustaceans. Friend or food? Allergies? Assuming you eat them, which is your favorite one to eat? Any restaurants we need to know about?

My family traditionally has lobster for New Year’s Eve! And there’s no better NYC dining than the Red Lobster in Times Square…

• When did you know that you wanted to be an actor? How did you get started?

I played the Owl in my kindergarten’s production of Hoo Hoo Who Lost a Shoe. Never looked back.

• Who or what do you consider to have been your biggest creative influences to date? Why?

I’m actually in a weird place to be asked this question, haha! Lately I’ve been very interested in the transfer of energy (both physical and abstract) and the span of its ripple effect. So I guess I would consider everything that has ever happened to me ever as a creative influence. That’s a lil too deep, but here we are.

• Are you working on any additional projects at the moment? Is it something you can tell us about?

Haven’t signed the official contract, but I’m on board as the male swing in the national tour of Peter and the Starcatcher! Hooray!

Meet the DEAD SPECIAL CRABS Cast: Ellen David

Ellen David is the proud recipient of the 2006 New York Innovative Theater Award as Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role for Working Man's Clothes' production of To Nineveh by Bekah Brunstetter. After studying in London at Guildhall, she moved to Israel where she appeared on Israel National Television, toured with The English Theater of Tel Aviv, portrayed Pilate's Wife in the Norman Jewison film Jesus Christ Superstar, and dubbed numerous international movies. In New York, she was a founding member of the sketch comedy group "Rubber Feet". Regionally, she has performed at The Cleveland Playhouse and the Hanna Theater. At The Schoolhouse Theater, she played Geneva in Landford Wilson's Redwood Curtain and the fabulous Bunny in Albert Innaurato's Gemini. She had the title role in Clifford Odet's Country Girl at Fleetwood Stage where she also performed Love Letters with Matthew Arkin. She can be seen in the Law & Order episode "Kid Pro Quo." Last season, she played twelve characters in The A is for Abortion Play at FringeNYC. Recently, she took part in the HB Studios' Ten Minute Plays, where she played the scientist, Lise Meitner. She has recorded numerous Talking Books for the blind and visually impaired. www.ellendavid.com

• You’ll be performing in our upcoming world premiere production of Dead Special Crabs. What was your history with the piece before coming on board for the full production (if any)? Could you tell us a little bit about your last project?

I had the great pleasure of meeting the author, Dan Kitrosser, through a director friend, Isaac Byrne. About four years ago, Dan asked me to do a table read of Dead Special Crabs, which was followed at a later date by a staged reading. I was delighted when I was asked to audition for the world premiere! And this past spring, I portrayed Lise Meitner in Maria Torres' The Job Offer at HB Studios' Ten Minute Play Festival.

• How are rehearsals going? Can you tell us a little bit about the character you’ll be playing in Dead Special Crabs, and your favorite thing about this role? (No spoilers!)

Rehearsals for Dead Special Crabs are fun, exciting, and daunting. I play Aunt Missy, a cantankerous Maine crabber with a mission. Mayhem ensues! I love finding the shades of Aunt Missy…just when you think you know what she's about…she throws you a curve. The company is so talented and director Kristin Skye Hoffmann has a bold and zany vision that she happily shares with us all.

• This is a road trip play, and the leaves are starting to change, so we have to ask: What’s your favorite place to go for a quick road trip getaway on the east coast?

At this time…or any time…I like to head up to Boston to see my sister!

• What’s your favorite work by Edgar Allen Poe? You know you have one.

My favorite work by Edgar Allen Poe is "The Pit and The Pendulum." I recently reread it and got all shivery.

• And while we’re on the subject: Crustaceans. Friend or food? Allergies? Assuming you eat them, which is your favorite one to eat? Any restaurants we need to know about?

Yum! I love shrimp, scallops, lobster, and crab! Joe's Stone Crab in Miami is my favorite! Nothing raw though!!!

• When did you know that you wanted to be an actor? How did you get started?

I knew I wanted to be an actor from the age of twelve, though it took me till age fifteen to get enough courage to actually audition. That first role was Mary Warren in The Crucible, and I was hooked!

Meet the DEAD SPECIAL CRABS Cast: Samantha Cooper

Samantha Cooper is tickled pink to work with this hilarious, talented group of artists. Recent credits include: Leah In Vegas (FringeNYC, dir: Kristin Skye Hoffmann), the award-winning Goliath (Culture Project, Wild Project, California tour); Worldwide Plays/Writopia Lab ‘13 & ‘14 (Theatre Row, June Havoc); Ok! Cupid! The Musical, Foreign Bodies (Women Center Stage/Culture Project); And Then They Came For Me (NCTC); Twelfth Night (BoCoCa Festival); The Killing of Jacob Marr (221 Films). Samantha received her B.A. from UC San Diego, and has trained at Shakespeare Santa Cruz, A.C.T., Circle In The Square, and the Lorenzo de’Medici school in Florence, Italy. Administrative Director/Company Member - Poetic Theater Productions. Founding Member - Brass Tacks Theatre Collective. For Toby, always. www.samanthafcooper.com 

• You’ll be performing in our upcoming world premiere production of Dead Special Crabs. What was your history with the piece before coming on board for the full production (if any)? Could you tell us a little bit about your last project? 

This run is my introduction to the world of Dead Special Crabs, although I have worked with many members of our hard-working team. The lovable Dan Kitrosser directed me in the Writopia World Wide Play Festival a few years ago, and I have been craving to be in something he has penned. The incredible Rosie Kolbo has stage managed the past three projects on which I have worked and I never want to part with her. And this past summer, the effervescent Kristin Skye Hoffman directed Kara Ayn Napolitano's new piece, Leah In Vegas, for FringeNYC. I played two challenging roles; the work was hard, fast, fun, and complemented by a very talented cast and crew. 

• This is a road trip play, and the leaves are starting to change, so we have to ask: What’s your favorite place to go for a quick road trip getaway on the east coast? 

It's funny because Leah In Vegas was also a road trip play, although I did not partake in the road trip (and now I am - thanks, Dan - I finally get to hold the steering wheel!). My favorite NY getaway is Fire Island. I was lucky enough to spend my summers there as a kid. It is the only place I can fully relax (yes, relaxing is hard for me, hush) but hand me a Corona with lime and a beach chair and I'm good to go. 

• What’s your favorite work by Edgar Allen Poe? You know you have one. 

The Tell-Tale Heart. 

• And while we’re on the subject: Crustaceans. Friend or food? Allergies? Assuming you eat them, which is your favorite one to eat? Any restaurants we need to know about?

Crustaceans. Huge fan. Shrimp, crab, lobster with some lemon butter sauce...I'm hungry. Lobster is my true favorite and if you put it in a bisque, I'm yours. A great old-time favorite is The Oyster Bar in Grand Central. My dad and I go there when we're feeling particularly skinny and need to rectify that situation. 

• Who or what do you consider to have been your biggest creative influences to date? Why?

You know, during rehearsal, we keep bringing up certain films that are reminiscent of the comedic style of Dead Special Crabs. Clue is one of them, and we randomly break into quotes (which I do in my daily life, as well). So I think I finally have to come out and state for the record that Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Michael McKean and the rest of that zany cast influenced my humor and timing more than any other ensemble of actors...with cast of Robin Hood: Men In Tights coming in as a close second. 

• Are you working on any additional projects at the moment? Is it something you can tell us about? 

I am a company member of Poetic Theater Productions, and they are about to open Back, by Mickey Bolmer and directed by Andrew Willis-Woodward, at the cell on 23rd Street. I can't wait to see it; audiences are definitely in for a party. In November, I'm set to shoot a role in the film I Fell in Love with a Psychopath by Whitney Ellis.

Meet the DEAD SPECIAL CRABS Cast: Andrew Harriss

Andrew Harriss is an actor and writer who has been a member of Wide Eyed Productions since its inception in 2007. Company credits include The Medea, Much Ado About Nothing, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, A Devil Inside, The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot, Henry VI (Part III), and Plight Of The Apothocary in 2011’s A Girl Wrote It. Other credits include Gorilla Rep's Hamlet, The Jack Johnson Project, and All For Love with Boomerang Theatre Company. Andrew is also the writer, producer, and star of the webseries White Liars, and the short films The Friday Before Christmas, Moroccan Birdhouse (co-wrote), and Best Friends Club. He is originally from Irvine, California and holds a BFA from Hofstra University.

• You’ll be performing in our upcoming world premiere production of Dead Special Crabs. What was your history with the piece before coming on board for the full production (if any)? Could you tell us a little bit about your last project?

I was asked by (director) Kristin Hoffmann to participate in a reading of Dead Special Crabs for the 2013 Wide Eyed WINKS reading series (season 1). She wasn’t sure which role she wanted me to read for, so I read the script on my flight home for Christmas, and by the time I got to page 37 I was like, “oh, oh, yes, I would very much like to play Walter.” So I texted Kristin as soon as we landed, and luckily for me she felt the same way.

• How are rehearsals going? Can you tell us a little bit about the character you’ll be playing in Dead Special Crabs, and your favorite thing about this role? (No spoilers!)

Rehearsals are going well. Coming from the reading, which was now over a year and a half ago, it’s been interesting to expand on the choices that were made and to put Walter into a deeper context within the play as a whole. I absolutely love playing him. I think of any character I’ve ever played he has the most positive outlook on life.

• This is a road trip play, and the leaves are starting to change, so we have to ask: What’s your favorite place to go for a quick road trip getaway on the east coast?

Well, I’m from the west coast, so my first thought is, “What is this word…fall?” which is ridiculous because I’ve lived here for almost 15 years. I just went to Boston for the first time and had a blast there. I don’t know, I love DC, and Vermont seems like it might be nice. I imagine you could probably get an amazing cozy fall breakfast in Vermont.

• What’s your favorite work by Edgar Allen Poe? You know you have one.

I really like the version of ‘The Raven’ The Simpsons did. That pretty much sums up my experience of EAP.

• And while we’re on the subject: Crustaceans. Friend or food? Allergies? Assuming you eat them, which is your favorite one to eat? Any restaurants we need to know about?

I could eat lobster rolls for days. Crab rolls, too. Luke’s Lobster does a great job at both of those. Are oysters crustaceans? The oldest tavern in New York City, The Fraunces Tavern, has a special on weekends where you can get a pint of stout and 3 oysters for 12 bucks. Beer and oysters in a place where George Washington used to hang out? Yes, please.

• When did you know that you wanted to be an actor? How did you get started?

I have wanted to be an actor since I was about 9 years old. My mom signed me up for some drama-for-kids program at some local community center, and my first role was as a dog named Bowser who owned a pet shop.

• Who or what do you consider to have been your biggest creative influences to date? Why?

That’s a hard question to answer. Everything? I generally take influence from whatever is going on in my life, or whomever I happen to be spending time with. John Ritter was a big influence on me, and Robin Williams. My family is an endless source of creative influence, too.

• Are you working on any additional projects at the moment? Is it something you can tell us about?

I’m a member of Real.Good.Spies., Wide Eyed’s improv troupe, and I’ll be in a reading of Sam Byron’s play Butcher during one of our dark nights [at the TBG Theatre] when we’re not tearing it up with Dead Special Crabs.

Be sure to check out Real. Good. Spies. Improv Crabtacular on Oct. 23. All proceeds to benefit Dead Special Crabs!

A "Wink" & Smile with Broadway veteran Ken Jennings

Ken Jennings

Ken Jennings is working with Wide Eyed Productions for the first time, but his support of the company goes back to his days acting with co-founder Sky Seals in the Off-Broadway premiere of Sessions at the Algonquin Theatre. Ken originated the role of Tobias on Broadway in Sweeney Todd (Drama Desk Award – Outstanding Featured Actor), and was also on Broadway in Side Show, Urinetown, and Grand Hotel. Ken’s extensive film and television work includes “Law & Order” (NBC) and  “Mildred Pierce” (HBO).

• Youʼll be performing in our staged reading of Proof as part of our “Winks” series. No doubt many people in our audience will be familiar with your work on Broadway. Can you share with us a bit about your most recent project?  

Too early to say. Been offered one job; another in the works. But don’t know if negotiations will work out. My 10-year-old son, Brendan, is with me every weekend.  So every job has to work around him.  For most jobs, they have to be in NYC or close to it.  If they’re a bit away from NYC, I have to figure out how Iʼm going to get Brendan to me on the weekend. I never speak about possibilities until theyʼre definite. 

• I believe you are originally from Jersey City. Growing up, did you spend a lot of time at the theatre? When did you know that you wanted to be an actor? How did you get started? 

I was always doing plays and improvs. I didnʼt see any professional theatre until high school. But my friends and I were always acting out the movies weʼd seen and changing them to fit our tastes:  TV westerns from the 50s; the monster films; the Hercules movies. All such ideas (and more) were our source materials. We even gave out awards among ourselves each week. There were three of us: me, Johnny, and Billy. The other two boys usually gave me the acting award each week. Johnny was usually given the directorial award. Johnny and I usually split the writing award. Poor Billy rarely was awarded anything. But he always played with us. 

I chose the high school I attended because they did two full productions a year - most other schools did one. I attended college on a dramatic scholarship. I got my first Broadway show (All Godʼs Chillunʼ Got Wings) from an EPI - Equity Principal Interview. They didnʼt have to audition you in those days...didnʼt have to speak to you at all, just had to look at you and accept your picture and resume. They were looking for a short Irish gangster. I went to the EPI and got the part. 

• Who or what do you consider to have been your biggest creative influences to date? Why? 

Well, no doubt that a really big creative influence on me was George C. Scott. He directed All Godʼs Chillunʼ Got Wings  He also directed and starred in Present Laughter on Broadway (I replaced Nathan Lane in that one). George was so powerful. The best director of comedy Iʼve ever worked with. No one else has even come close. George was like a metronome. Heʼd tell you the exact timing - the exact beat - on which to get the laugh. He was exact and correct. And, oddly enough, often quite drunk. But heʼd get on that stage and it was as if a demon or angel suddenly possessed him. The audience never saw his drunkenness (even though he would often be quite literally stumbling backstage). And, when he directed the OʼNeill, he was like a locomotive. He showed one poor actor how he wanted a certain monologue done. But no one could do it like George. Only George could bring that power. I remember watching him do the monologue and feeling like I was pinned to the back of my chair. 

• Can you describe for us what your favorite part is of the creative process before a show opens? And once youʼve opened, do you have a particular pre-show ritual that you engage in before curtain? If so, is it something you can share with us? 

It varies. I love the shadowy, blue lights black stage. The darkness inches from the bright lights. The solitude, the quiet. I love dropping exhausted on a rehearsal floor, half-sleeping in the dust of a rehearsal floor, especially if the floor is quaking with tap dancers. 

• Do you have any additional projects coming up that youʼd like to tell us about? 

Nothing I can share at this time (as I was typing this, I was interrupted by my agent with an update on negotiations). Iʼve had to say no to a number of things. Brendan has to fit into the picture. Brendan was born two weeks before my 55th birthday. Iʼve had a lifetime of being an actor - got my first professional job when I was 19 - but only 10 years of being a father. So Brendan gets priority.

3 Questions for: Nic Marrone

Nic Marrone hails from Georgia where he attended GCSU in Milledgeville, GA (a.k.a. the town where Honey Boo Boo is living). He's currently working towards his MFA at the New School for Drama. This is his first production with Wide Eyed and his second time working with playwright / friend Dan Kitrosser. Y'all enjoy the show! "We all become important when we realize our goal // Should be to figure out our role within the context of the whole // And yeah, rock and roll is fun but if you ever hear someone // Say you are huge look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun // Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky // And say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye." - Kimya Dawson 

• You’ll be performing in our upcoming staged reading of Dead Special Crabs as part of our “Winks” series. As this is your first time working with Wide Eyed, we’d like to get to know you a little better. Could you tell us a little bit about your last project? 

Well, I moved to New York to earn my MFA at the New School for Drama. With the 3-5 minutes of free time I get each week, I haven’t been able to do too much outside of school, but within the program, I’ve been all over the place. I actually just worked on a fantastic musical, Homos! As the World is Ending! also written by Dan Kitrosser. And through school, I get the rare opportunity to take on incredible roles that I’d never be cast in, like Martha Dobie in The Children’s Hour. 

• When did you know that you wanted to be an actor? How did you get started? 

I don’t know if I ever had that moment where I knew I wanted to be an actor, and to be honest I’ve realized that the more I delve into my theatrical studies, the more my directing bug awakens. However, if I get the chance to play awesome roles, I’m sure as hell not going to turn them down! And as far as getting started - I played the leading role of The Owl in the Church Street Elementary School’s spectacle production of Who, Who, Who Lost a Shoe? 

• Are you working on any additional projects at the moment? Care to share with us? 

One huge project I need to get done (ASAP) is new headshots…Maybe I should get cracking on a website, too…definitely. Other than that, I’m working towards getting an awesome internship this summer. This May, I’ll be in a production of As You Like It at the New School for Drama, and I’ll also be working on tons of new plays written by the unfairly talented Sam Byron, Molly Haas-Hooven, Matt Herzfeld, and of course Dan Kitrosser!

3 Questions for: Kevin R. Free

Kevin R. Free is a writer/performer whose work has been showcased on the Moth Mainstage and on NPR's "News & Notes." His full-length plays are Face Value (Henry Street Settlement Playwright’s Project Grant, 2000; Mill Mountain Theatre New Play Festival Finalist, 2003); A Raisin in the Salad: Black Plays for White People (FringeNYC, The New Black Fest Fellowship; Semi-Finalist, Eugene O'Neill Theatre Conference 2013); and The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual, or TRIPLE CONSCIOUSNESS (The Fire This Time Festival, 2012 and 2013). He is an alumnus of the New York Neo-Futurists, with whom he wrote and performed regularly in Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind (30 Plays in 60 Minutes) between 2007 and 2011. As an actor, he has performed regionally, Off- and Off-Off-Broadway, and is the narrator of over 80 audiobooks. He is the former Education Director at Queens Theatre in the Park and is now the Co-Executive Producer of The Fire This Time Festival. In 2010, He was named one of NYTheatre.com’s 15 People of the Year, because of his “outstanding, noteworthy contributions to the New York theatre scene.” 

• You’ll be performing in our upcoming staged reading of Dead Special Crabs as part of our “Winks” series. As this is your first time working with Wide Eyed, we’d like to get to know you a little better. Could you tell us a little bit about your last project? 

My last project was The Fire This Time Festival, which is a festival that features the work of early career African-American playwrights (or playwrights of the African Diaspora). I was the Co-Executive Producer of the festival this year, and I directed a new 10-minute play by Tracey Conyer Lee… Plus, I had a staged reading of my new full-length play, The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual, or TRIPLE CONSCIOUSNESS. I was busy! It feels good to be on the other side of the festival – and not to have to be so responsible for a few days! 

• When did you know that you wanted to be an actor? How did you get started? 

My older brother was an actor when I was in high school, and I wanted to be just like him! I moved to New York in 1995, after I got my AEA card at the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival. A mentor in NC hooked me up with Julie Hughes, the casting director whose big show had been "The Cosby Show." Her advice to me was to audition EVERYWHERE. Which I did. I even auditioned for things for which I wasn't right, just so that I could get my face out in the world. I was cast in an AEA Showcase that was written by Curtiss Cook and produced by the Present Company… I met my first agent at the cast party, started over as an actor/auditioner on a new level, did a lot of regional theatre, met my manager through a colleague – and then my career began. Again. I think my career began again last year, too, when I started being recognized as a playwright. I guess I'm looking forward to starting again again, which, it seems, is inevitable. 

• Are you working on any additional projects at the moment? Care to share with us? 

Yes! I am directing a new play by Michelle T. Johnson, who is an emerging playwright from Kansas City, MO, which will be performed in The Midwinter Madness Festival February 18, 21, and 23. I will also be performing in a new one-act musical by my brilliant friend Lori Fischer at Don't Tell Mama. All the info is on my website! www.kevinrfree.com