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Articulating the Arts:
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Panel Discussion
On Wednesday, April 26th, we started our show an hour early (7pm) so that we could have a panel discussion about the value of story-telling in our society today. Joining us are three very talented people with diverse, though interrelated perspectives on why story telling is an essential part of our communities: a story-teller who uses folklore to heal, a writer (play and screen) who frequently finds inspiration in mythology and fairy tales, and a Broadway producer who attracts audiences to the stories on his stage through creative uses of story in his marketing (and then shares that with others in our community!) Read below to learn more about Regina Ress, Douglas Carter Beane and Ken Davenport!
Click to pause.
A Bit About Our Panelists
Ken Davenport, Producer
KEN DAVENPORT, Producer
Ken Davenport is a Broadway producer whose credits include Groundhog Day, The Play That Goes Wrong, Deaf West Theatre’s Spring Awakening (Tony nomination), It’s Only a Play, Macbeth starring Alan Cumming, Godspell, Kinky Boots (Broadway - Tony Award, National Tour, Toronto, Australia, and West End), The Visit (Tony nomination), Mothers and Sons (Tony nomination), The Bridges of Madison County (National Tour), Allegiance, Chinglish, Oleanna starring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles, Speed-the-Plow, Will Ferrell's You're Welcome America (Tony nomination), Blithe Spirit starring Angela Lansbury (Broadway, West End and National Tour), and 13.
Off-Broadway, Ken has produced Daddy Long Legs, Altar Boyz (Co-Conceiver), My First Time (Author), The Awesome 80s Prom (Creator), That Bachelorette Show! (Creator), and Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating, & Marriage (Author). Ken's productions have been produced internationally in over 25 countries around the world. Ken was recently named the Executive Producer for North America for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group.
Ken’s unique production and marketing style has garnered him international attention, including two front page articles in the NY Times and features on MSNBC, Rock Center, Fox News, BBC, and his favorite, a mention in Jay Leno’s monologue on “The Tonight Show.” Ken was named one of Crain's “40 Under Forty,” is one of the co-founders of TEDxBroadway, and was featured on a national commercial for Apple's iPhone. He created the best-selling Broadway board game Be A Broadway Star and runs a number of theatrical websites including DidHeLikeIt.com. His blog, TheProducersPerspective.com, has been featured in Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, The Gothamist and more. He has written articles for Forbes, Mashable, and many others.
He produced the award-winning These Magnificent Miles: On the Long Road with Red Wanting Blue, a documentary on one of the top unsigned rock bands in the country, and an award-winning TV pilot entitled The Bunny Hole which has appeared in the LA Indie Film Festival, the Orlando Film Festival, the LA Comedy Festival and more.
Upcoming projects include his original musical Gettin’ The Band Back Together, which premiered at George Street Playhouse, Do This, and revivals of Once on This Island, The Great White Hope and Mass Appeal, as well as the movie, Band Dorks.
Prior to his career as a Producer, Ken was a Company Manager and General Manager for Broadway shows and National Tours including Show Boat, Ragtime, Jekyll & Hyde, Chicago, Candide, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Gypsy and many others. For more information, visit www.KenDavenport.com.
Ken Davenport is a Broadway producer whose credits include Groundhog Day, The Play That Goes Wrong, Deaf West Theatre’s Spring Awakening (Tony nomination), It’s Only a Play, Macbeth starring Alan Cumming, Godspell, Kinky Boots (Broadway - Tony Award, National Tour, Toronto, Australia, and West End), The Visit (Tony nomination), Mothers and Sons (Tony nomination), The Bridges of Madison County (National Tour), Allegiance, Chinglish, Oleanna starring Bill Pullman and Julia Stiles, Speed-the-Plow, Will Ferrell's You're Welcome America (Tony nomination), Blithe Spirit starring Angela Lansbury (Broadway, West End and National Tour), and 13.
Off-Broadway, Ken has produced Daddy Long Legs, Altar Boyz (Co-Conceiver), My First Time (Author), The Awesome 80s Prom (Creator), That Bachelorette Show! (Creator), and Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating, & Marriage (Author). Ken's productions have been produced internationally in over 25 countries around the world. Ken was recently named the Executive Producer for North America for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group.
Ken’s unique production and marketing style has garnered him international attention, including two front page articles in the NY Times and features on MSNBC, Rock Center, Fox News, BBC, and his favorite, a mention in Jay Leno’s monologue on “The Tonight Show.” Ken was named one of Crain's “40 Under Forty,” is one of the co-founders of TEDxBroadway, and was featured on a national commercial for Apple's iPhone. He created the best-selling Broadway board game Be A Broadway Star and runs a number of theatrical websites including DidHeLikeIt.com. His blog, TheProducersPerspective.com, has been featured in Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, The Gothamist and more. He has written articles for Forbes, Mashable, and many others.
He produced the award-winning These Magnificent Miles: On the Long Road with Red Wanting Blue, a documentary on one of the top unsigned rock bands in the country, and an award-winning TV pilot entitled The Bunny Hole which has appeared in the LA Indie Film Festival, the Orlando Film Festival, the LA Comedy Festival and more.
Upcoming projects include his original musical Gettin’ The Band Back Together, which premiered at George Street Playhouse, Do This, and revivals of Once on This Island, The Great White Hope and Mass Appeal, as well as the movie, Band Dorks.
Prior to his career as a Producer, Ken was a Company Manager and General Manager for Broadway shows and National Tours including Show Boat, Ragtime, Jekyll & Hyde, Chicago, Candide, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Gypsy and many others. For more information, visit www.KenDavenport.com.
Regina Ress and Hans Christian Andersen statue, Central Park
REGINA RESS, Storyteller
Regina Ress is an award winning storyteller, actor, author and educator who has performed and taught for over forty years from Broadway to Brazil in English and Spanish in a wide variety of settings from grade schools to senior centers, from homeless shelters and prisons to Lincoln Center and the White House. She has told a wide range of stories across the US, Latin America, Europe and India. This summer will mark her 25th year in the Hans Christian Andersen storytelling series in Central Park. She produces a long running storytelling series at the historic Provincetown Playhouse in NYC and teaches Storytelling at New York University.
Regina has performed and/or given workshops at the National Storytelling Conference Sharing the Fire, The Connecticut Storytelling Festival, Reading the World, Celebrate Story, The Power of Words and the National TESOL conference. She has presented at Expressive Arts conferences in NYC and India. International performances and workshops include festivals in Madrid, Tenerife, Zacatecas, Rio de Janeiro, and most recently in Chennai, India.
Regina teaches graduate courses on storytelling/storytelling in the classroom for NYU’s Program in Educational Theatre and for the TESOL/Foreign Language Program. She has taught numerous professional development workshops on using storytelling to teach language and literacy and including for English teachers from abroad through the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitors Program.
She has performed and led workshops at women’s prisons in NY, DE, CT and NM. In the aftermath of 9/11, under the auspices of Mercy Corps, she facilitated workshops for adults on the issue of children and trauma. She has published numerous articles, including an article for the Healing Stories Alliance about working with formerly incarcerated women. She is on the Board of Healing Voices-Personal Stories which produces films to raise awareness of domestic violence (hv-ps.org). Regina was awarded National Storytelling Network Oracle Awards in 2003 and 2015. In 2014 she received a Storytelling World Honor award for her CD of New York Stories which were written for and broadcast on NPR affiliate WFUV-NY.
Regina’s theatre work ranges from regional theatre and tours to Broadway, on and off. She played Jane, Kim Hunter’s Irish Maid in an all star revival of The Women at the 46th Street Theatre and toured in the farce See How They Run doing comic scenes with Mickey Rooney. She sang in Italian as Geovanna in a tour of Do I Hear a Waltz staring Patrice Munsel and most recently played the Maggie Smith role of Lettice Duffet in Lettice and Lovage. In a production of Blithe Spirit with Articulate Theatre Company’s Joanne Dorian, Regina played Madame Arcati to Joanne’s Elvira. They both report that it was great fun! www.reginaress.com; https://www.facebook.com/ReginaRessStoryteller/
Regina Ress is an award winning storyteller, actor, author and educator who has performed and taught for over forty years from Broadway to Brazil in English and Spanish in a wide variety of settings from grade schools to senior centers, from homeless shelters and prisons to Lincoln Center and the White House. She has told a wide range of stories across the US, Latin America, Europe and India. This summer will mark her 25th year in the Hans Christian Andersen storytelling series in Central Park. She produces a long running storytelling series at the historic Provincetown Playhouse in NYC and teaches Storytelling at New York University.
Regina has performed and/or given workshops at the National Storytelling Conference Sharing the Fire, The Connecticut Storytelling Festival, Reading the World, Celebrate Story, The Power of Words and the National TESOL conference. She has presented at Expressive Arts conferences in NYC and India. International performances and workshops include festivals in Madrid, Tenerife, Zacatecas, Rio de Janeiro, and most recently in Chennai, India.
Regina teaches graduate courses on storytelling/storytelling in the classroom for NYU’s Program in Educational Theatre and for the TESOL/Foreign Language Program. She has taught numerous professional development workshops on using storytelling to teach language and literacy and including for English teachers from abroad through the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitors Program.
She has performed and led workshops at women’s prisons in NY, DE, CT and NM. In the aftermath of 9/11, under the auspices of Mercy Corps, she facilitated workshops for adults on the issue of children and trauma. She has published numerous articles, including an article for the Healing Stories Alliance about working with formerly incarcerated women. She is on the Board of Healing Voices-Personal Stories which produces films to raise awareness of domestic violence (hv-ps.org). Regina was awarded National Storytelling Network Oracle Awards in 2003 and 2015. In 2014 she received a Storytelling World Honor award for her CD of New York Stories which were written for and broadcast on NPR affiliate WFUV-NY.
Regina’s theatre work ranges from regional theatre and tours to Broadway, on and off. She played Jane, Kim Hunter’s Irish Maid in an all star revival of The Women at the 46th Street Theatre and toured in the farce See How They Run doing comic scenes with Mickey Rooney. She sang in Italian as Geovanna in a tour of Do I Hear a Waltz staring Patrice Munsel and most recently played the Maggie Smith role of Lettice Duffet in Lettice and Lovage. In a production of Blithe Spirit with Articulate Theatre Company’s Joanne Dorian, Regina played Madame Arcati to Joanne’s Elvira. They both report that it was great fun! www.reginaress.com; https://www.facebook.com/ReginaRessStoryteller/
DOUGLAS CARTER BEANE, Playwright, Screenplay Writer
Beane's Broadway play The Little Dog Laughed received the GLAAD media award for best play, and was also nominated for a Tony for best new play. His other works include As Bees In Honey Drown (Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award), Music From A Sparkling Planet and The Country Club. He wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of his play Advice From A Caterpillar which won Aspen Comedy Festival's best feature. His film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar was produced by Steven Spielberg, was the number one film in America for a month and is now a television favorite. The Big Time, Beane's first musical, received rave reviews last year and his next musical, a stage adaptation of the film The Bandwagon is slated to open on Broadway later this season. Fascinated by non-traditional forms of theater, Beane has written the revues, White Lies and Mondo Drama and this season a live theatrical soap opera, The Cartells. As artistic director of the New York theater company Drama Dept. he produced over forty productions, including acclaimed revivals of As Thousands Cheer, June Moon and The Torchbearers and world premiere works by Paul Rudnick, David Sedaris and Wendy Wasserstein. His new play, Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost, Too will open next season in New York and he is currently developing a television series for producer Lorne Michaels. He resides in New York City with his partner, composer Lewis Flinn and their son, Cooper.
Beane's Broadway play The Little Dog Laughed received the GLAAD media award for best play, and was also nominated for a Tony for best new play. His other works include As Bees In Honey Drown (Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award), Music From A Sparkling Planet and The Country Club. He wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of his play Advice From A Caterpillar which won Aspen Comedy Festival's best feature. His film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar was produced by Steven Spielberg, was the number one film in America for a month and is now a television favorite. The Big Time, Beane's first musical, received rave reviews last year and his next musical, a stage adaptation of the film The Bandwagon is slated to open on Broadway later this season. Fascinated by non-traditional forms of theater, Beane has written the revues, White Lies and Mondo Drama and this season a live theatrical soap opera, The Cartells. As artistic director of the New York theater company Drama Dept. he produced over forty productions, including acclaimed revivals of As Thousands Cheer, June Moon and The Torchbearers and world premiere works by Paul Rudnick, David Sedaris and Wendy Wasserstein. His new play, Don't Follow Me, I'm Lost, Too will open next season in New York and he is currently developing a television series for producer Lorne Michaels. He resides in New York City with his partner, composer Lewis Flinn and their son, Cooper.
The Plays
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Equity Approved Showcase
* - Actors appearing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association § - designates an Articulate Member Eileen O'Malley and the Changeling, written by Eric Percival §
inspired by "Jamie Freel and the Young Lady" (Ireland) Directed by Katrin Hilbe § A child is lost, a mother grieves. Is she dead or taken by the 'fay folk?' Only the strange woman in the woods knows for sure. Featuring: Isabelle Dungan §, Kelly Zekas §, Adam Perabo § And Then the Elements Spoke, written by Robin Rice § inspired by "The Boy Who Drew Cats" (Japan) Directed by Brock H. Hill A Kalahari Desert native draws icons in the sand to protect the land. A prospector seeking wealth tries to take over. Forces greater than either of them will decide the future. Featuring: Shetal Shah*§, Michael Gnat*§, Arianna Ennis No Mockingbirds on Friday, written by Andrea Frierson § inspired by "No Mockingbirds on Friday" as told to Zora Neale Hurston (Florida) Directed by Cat Parker § According to legend, Mockingbirds spend Fridays putting out fires to save a friend. Funny thing is, fires often lead to burns...burns worth singing about? Featuring: Arianna Ennis, Sojourner Brown, Jasmine Saunise White House Fairy Tale, written by Jenny Lyn Bader inspired by "One Thousand and One Nights" (Persia/Arabia) Directed by Joan Kane The new President wants advice - but only if he likes it. Can Zadie make the cut, or will the sun rise over the White House without her? Featuring: Sharon Talbot*§, Carolyn Seiff *§, J. Dolan Byrnes Power Suit, written by Leviticus Jelks inspired by "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans Christian Anderson (Denmark) Directed by Cat Parker § What would you do if asked to create a suit for a man you despise, especially if he's the most powerful man in the world? Featuring: Desmond Dutcher* §, Carla Cantrelle* § Small Group, written by Tom Slot inspired by "Odin and the Mead of Inspiration" (Norway) Directed by Isabel Quinzanos Alonso Join two Asgardians gods, a burnt-out Queen of Camelot, and the lady who bit the apple, as they try to work through a plethora of personal issues. Featuring: Stark Wilz §, Cynthia Shaw §, Denise Pence*§, Laurence Cantor*, Joanne Dorian *§ The Wisdom of Salmon, written by Jim Moore inspired by "The First Salmon Story" (Alaska) Directed by Joan Kane Two couples make an unusual new friend while vacationing in the Pacific Northwest. Featuring: Desmond Dutcher* §, Shetal Shah* §, Tommy Boyd, Emily Chastain Hindsight, written by Audrey Webb inspired by "Enchanted" retold by S.E. Schlosser (New Jersey) Directed by Aimee Todoroff A bump on the head sends a man to his doctor to check on his improving eyesight. The diagnosis may leave him with more questions than answers. Featuring: Crystal Peterson §, Kevin Gilmartin*, Sarah Okada Still, written by P.C. Allan inspired by "Enchanted" retold by S.E. Schlosser (New Jersey) Directed by Eric Siegel § A favorite photo comes to life, revealing more about its subjects than meets the eye. Featuring: Alex Tavis*, Cynthia Shaw § |
Plays Inspired by World Folklore
Here's how it works:
- ATC members select the discipline/category that they wish to work with - in the past we've used classical paintings and music - this time it's World Folklore, including fables, fairytales, myths and legends from around the globe.
- Then we share the stories with our member playwrights, as well as guest playwrights. These playwrights submit short (8-10 minute) plays inspired by these selected stories.
- Our reading committee goes to work reviewing the submissions, and selects the top plays.
- These nine plays are shared with every member of our company, including our directors and designers, and cast with members from our acting ensemble.
- On April 24-27, 2017, we bring the plays to our audience!