Name: Chip Bolcik
 
Hometown: I live in Thousand Oaks, CA

Education: University of Maryland

Favorite Credits: Strawberry One Act Festival, The Seven, Scenes from the Staten Island Ferry.

Why theater?: Everything else bores me.

Tell us about Ferry Limbo: My friend John Duvall died from a rare bone cancer 21 years ago, and I have always wanted to write a play to honor him.  In the past, I have always included his name in my plays, but this play is a tribute to him. It is not about him specifically.  It just honors his life.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theater that makes you laugh and cry inspires me.  As an artist, I am inspired by the audiences that come to see my work.  It is just incredible to me that something that comes out of my brain is performed in the theater, and goes into their brains so we have a shared experience .

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Meryl Streep, Sean Penn, Robert DeNiro, Bradley Cooper and George Clooney all come to mind.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Mine.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: George Clooney comes to mind.  He's funny, smart.  He's way more handsome than I am, but what the hell, you asked.  The movie would be called, "Why is George Clooney Playing Chip Bolcik?"

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Peter Pan with Cyril Richard and Mary Martin.  I saw the kinescope, but I would have loved to be in the audience and see it in person.  Also, A Streetcar Named Desire with Marlin Brando.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Sugar.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be ______?: I would be traveling the world on a sailboat, or living on an island far, far away.  Somewhere cheap, and beautiful.

What’s up next?: Next, I go back to LA and keep writing.  A writer writes and that's what I do.

Name: Tommy Jamerson

Hometown: Portage, Indiana

Education: BS & MFA in Playwriting

Favorite Credits: Being selected to write for the Gender, Hate, & Violence Conference in 2007, the Cher-themed jukebox musical I was asked to draft for the Georgia-based Horizon Theatre Company, and getting to adapt a theatrical Choose Your Own Adventure version of The Wizard of Oz.

Why theater?:  Because with theatre you can do anything, say everything, and unlike film, it can change and evolve day-to-day, performance-to-performance, and it’s never the same experience twice.

Tell us about Rags to Bitches: A Battle of Wits & Wigs:  On its sparkly surface, Rags tells the tawdry and bawdy story of two long-time drag rivals duking it out backstage at the US Open… Legs Drag Pageant. But “tucked” under the sequins and just beyond the duct tape, there’s also a tale about insecurity, friendship, and learning to admit when you’re wrong. It’s basically an educational show for children, but with female illusionists… and cursing.

What inspired you to write Rags to Bitches: A Battle of Wits & Wigs?: When am I not inspired by drag queens? They’re truly living, breathing works (and werks) of art. But if I had to pinpoint an exact instance, I would say it came while watching the feud between rival queens Coco Montrese and Alyssa Edwards during the fifth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race.  That was one for the reality TV record books.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: All theatre speaks to me really, but primarily my motto is, the campier the better. As far as my theatrical heroes are concerned, Charles Ludlam and Christopher Durang are my inspirations, mentors, imaginary best friends, and literary crushes (but don’t tell my husband).

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Too many to name, but if I was forced to only pick four:  RuPaul, Liza Minnelli, Kristin Chenoweth, and Britney Spears. Now if only I could get all of them in the same room at the same time – that in itself would be one heck of a play!  Someone out there, please make it happen!

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Last year’s revival of The Color Purple. I can’t praise or recommend it enough. Truly a gorgeous, sumptuous, life-affirming piece of theatre.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Channing Tatum, hands down. Who wouldn’t want to be played by him? As for a title? "Straight to VHS: Stories from a Gay Writer"

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Bernadette Peters in the 2003 revival of Gypsy. I’ll never forgive myself for missing that one. Thankfully I was able to see her in Follies in 2011.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Honestly I think my life is nothing but guilty pleasures. From my taste in music (bleach blonde pop tarts of the lip-synching variety), to my diet (the “faster” the food, the better), to my taste in movies (all things Lindsay Lohan), to television (Real Housewives of EVERYTHING).

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be… ?: There’s a part of me that’s always wanted to be a dentist. I can’t for the life of me explain why, but it’s always been there, simmering on the backburner.

What’s up next?: A couple things actually. A gay, 80s-tinged fantasy I co-wrote titled Eternal Flame: The Ballad of Jessie Blade is being produced through the AlphaNYC Theatre Company at the Corner Office Theatre in Times Square. I also have a children’s play, Once Upon A Pine: The Many Misadventures of Pinocchio, premiering in April in New Orleans, and this summer my alma mater, Indiana State University, is mounting a production of my play, The Big Bad Bullysaurus.

For more on Tommy, visit tommyjamersonplays.com

Name: Anghus Houvouras

Hometown: Wilmington, NC

Education: Marshall University (Studied Theater and Broadcasting)

Favorite Credits: Screenwriter: Dead Heist (Released 2007 through First Look Entertainment)

Why theater?: I got my first taste of creativity on the stage and have always been drawn to live performances.  My earliest and fondest memories of performance was watching live comedy like Monty Python, SCTV, and of course SNL.  I loved the electricity of live performance and it sent me looking to recreate that experience on stage.

What inspired you to write Dine & Dash?: I was traveling with my wife in Budapest and we visited this restaurant called Museum.  I was marveling at the waiter who could speak five different languages and worked the room like the most talented performer.  His stage was every table he spoke with, and he worked the audiences like a seasoned pro.  The waiter was, by far, the most talented man in the room.  I kept thinking about the inherent comedy between an educated, refined waiter at a great restaurant and an oafish lout dining there, which in reality probably more accurately describes me.  The idea for the story kept circulating in my head all the way home and as soon as i got off the plane I hammered out the first draft.   While writing it i had an idea that turned it from straight comedy to a dark comedy which revolves around a twist ending.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I'm a comedy man.  The cadences, the rhythms, and the language all speak to me.  The fun of a well written line.  The laughter than can be produced by a well timed silence.  There's so many things that go into a perfect piece of comedy.  I find myself lately inspired by Louis CK who has evolved as a traditional comedian and writer to more of a chronicler of the surreal and I don't think anyone right now is doing a better job of capturing the melancholy of everyday life which can be both heartbreaking and hilarious.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?:  I have a ridiculous obsession with Stephen Colbert who seems to be the kind of showman that doesn't exist much anymore.  Stage, screen, live comedy... razor sharp wit.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: The last show I remember recommending was a performance of David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Zach Galifankis and the title would be My Career Suicide Note.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: The vaudeville era.  Seeing performers like Laurel and Hardy or the Three Stooges.   I'm such a fan of that era of performance.  I would love to spend a day going from nickel theater to nickel theater watching variety shows.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Video Games.   I can't even tell you how many quality hours of my life have been lost to video games.  If i saw the actual number, i might have an aneurysm.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Tap-dancing for nickels on a street corner or curled up in a fetal position waiting to die.

What’s up next?: Working on a new play called Beard which looks at the life of an aging gay actor trying to control his rapidly disintegrating career.

Name: Dr. John Shévin Foster

Hometown: Norfolk, VA

Education: BA in Theatre & Education, MA in Ed Theatre, Phd in Theatre. And I am an August Wilson scholar.

Favorite Credits: Seeing my play Plenty of Time on 42nd Street. Producing at BAM/Brooklyn Academy of Music for 9 years.

Why theater?: It’s the only medium I ever wanted to do. I love the energy shared between artists and the audience - there's something truthful about it.

Tell us about Flip-in: Well here’s the description: “What happens when down south, back woods, magic hits a young NYC couple? In this urban Hip-Hop comedy lovers caught in a spell must take on the themes of love, sex, and, “what it is like for a woman to live in a world designed specifically for men.”” Anything else I want to save for the audience. Smile.

What inspired you to write Flip-in?: I wanted to write a short, light, fun play and I’d had the initial idea, the impetus of the play, for a while. I didn’t expect the characters to take me where they did but sometimes they let you know they have something more, something important, to say.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theatre that comes from my community, which is Black theatre. I’m inspired to create works for artists of color that allow them to stretch beyond the typical roles and subject they/we are afforded --everything from creating pure art to speaking to human, social issues. I focus on accurate portrayals of contemporary African-American life.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Phylicia Rashad

What show have you recommended to your friends?: In this festival? Mine! Otherwise Dominique Morriseau's Skeleton Crew at the Atlantic Theatre.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I had to ask my friends this and they said, Terrence Howard, Jessee Williams or Brian Stokes-Mitchell. What would it be called? “Searching for Soul.”

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: LOL! Hamilton at The Public, Raisin, the musical of A Raisin in the Sun.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: "Hot Now" Krispy Kreme glazed donuts made in-house at a Krispy Kreme down south, like in Virginia or North Carolina!

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____.?: a composer/musical director.

What’s up next?: Well now that Flip-in is on its feet for DUTF I plan to submit it for the National Black Theatre Festival. My play Plenty of Time is going up at the Ensemble Studio in Houston in May. I'll be running the BTN/Black Theatre Network National Conference this summer in Chicago - I serve as the VP, and also become National President in August, somewhere in between I've got a short book to finish, and I think I now have the inspiration for my next play. I think that's enough.

Name: Dean Preston

Hometown: Millburn, NJ

Education: New School

Favorite Credits: Nicholas III: In Search of a Comet (LaMAMA 2012), The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol (StrangeDog Theatre Co. Reading Series)

Why theater?: I love live storytelling, and theatre is an incredibly flexible medium with an immense range of capabilities.

Tell us about Canned Laughter: Canned Laughter is a modern American play about why we choose to believe in the things we do, the reasons we value them, and how those things and beliefs come to shape who we are.

What inspired you to write Canned Laughter?: I initially wrote the play in class as a writing exercise to try out an alternative narrative style and to flip the cliche formula of 'people at a table talking about edgy issues' on its head. But over the years, the play grew and developed from there and I feel it has become something unique in it's own right.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: The kind of theatre that speaks to me is theatre with a smart, modern perspective and memorable characters. I love a unique comedic tone. I'm very much inspired by those artists who don't take themselves too seriously but take their craft and vision with the utmost seriousness.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Probably Spike Jonze or Kermit The Frog

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Hand To God by Robert Askins

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Goddammit Michael... I don't know. Probably Jason Schwartzman in a remake of "Chocolat" but just about a guy who loves chocolate. Or Ryan Gosling.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: So many... Annapurna by Sharr White with Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, 2000's True West by Sam Shepard with Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly, 1988's Waiting for Godot with Steve Martin and Robin Williams, and the original 1937 performance of The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein and/or the first staging of the Oresteia.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Chocolate.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A screenwriter

What’s up next?: I'm hoping to find a professional home to stage a run of Canned Laughter, but I am currently working on two features in pre-production and pitching number of projects for TV.

Name: Matthew Widman

Hometown: Portland, Oregon

Education: Williams College, BA in Religion, Columbia University Writing Program, HB Studio Playwriting Workshop

Favorite Credits: The intense audience talkbacks after my play In the Garden (memorycareplays.org), about a family struggling with Alzheimer’s disease.  The play seems to resonate and bring out very strong passions and emotional responses from so many people who are dealing with loved ones battling dementia – a disease that ravaged my father and a number of members of my family.  These are heartbreaking and incredibly moving evenings.

Why theater?: There’s something unique and primal when humans congregate and share a common experience.  When actors and words connect with an audience, I’ve found live theater, at least for me, to be one of the most powerful storytelling experiences.  In a few incredibly lucky instances, I think it can be transformational.

Tell us about Stop and Frisk: Stop and Frisk is a social drama about a stop and frisk encounter in an urban park between two plainclothes police officers and two young men heading to work.  It’s a fictional event – a composite based on media accounts, posted footage, personal experience and the experiences of friends and acquaintances.  The play is about the abuse of power that has made Stop and Frisk such a controversial policing policy. It’s a study of one account of what happens when human nature meets public policy and the potential dangers of these intense human interactions. I’m very fortunate to be part of DUAF and to be collaborating with an exceptional director, Gwynn MacDonald, and four terrific and talented actors, Paul Eisemann, Lenny Thomas, Pharaoh King Champion and Misha Braun.

What inspired you to write Stop and Frisk?: I came across some footage recently on the web of some stop and frisk incidents that really incensed me.  It made me realize that this story - of what’s going on with the hundreds of thousands of these kinds of police stops all over the country – is a story that just can’t be told enough. In the particular, every individual stop can be dangerous and risky – men, guns, authority, respect, dominance, power - like putting together matches and gasoline.  As the many recent tragic events have shown, implementation of public policy really comes down to how people interact on the streets, to the decisions that are made, often in the spur of the moment and to all the personal factors that inform the actions - and reactions - of the (mostly) men involved. Universally, this policing policy begs a broader question of what happens to the bond of trust between citizens and those who we hire to protect us.  We’re a society built on laws that are designed to safeguard our democracy. Ultimately, it’s about trust – we need to trust our public servants – and our law enforcement officers need to be able to do their jobs.  But bad government policy and/or bad enforcement techniques and attitudes can have tragic consequences and can corrode the very respect for authority and the law that’s so crucial to protecting all of us.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theater that’s honest.  By that I mean that it aspires, successfully or not, to push the conversation.  This could be in a way that’s emotional or social or experimental or just entertaining, as long as it’s not derivative or cynical but is fresh and original and attempts to either say something new, or say something in a different way.  When I go see a play I want to be taken on a bit of a journey, I want to leave the theater with something more to think about, or laugh about, or cry about than I had when I came in.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: So many.  The great part about the project-oriented nature of theater, film, music and much of the arts, is that it allows you to meet and interact with new artists all the time – which means learning new things, new processes, different perspectives.  It’s a process of constant learning and, hopefully, continuing growth.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Shaun Leonardo’s I can’t Breathe, an extremely powerful art/performance art participatory piece of theater that viscerally conveys the sense of fear, anger and violation that’s unleashed in physical confrontation.  Shaun is an important new American artistic voice whose work takes on issues of masculinity, the body, violence, and violation and puts them into the political and social context of our time.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: It would be called "My Life as a Human" – I’d be played by Wilbur, our dachshund, and the entire movie would have Swedish subtitles.  This would be a slice of life film, a dog’s-eye view of human behavior.  Besides lying around in the sun all day, I’d observe (as the dog) how human behavior pretty much too revolves around food, sex, sleeping and the occasional treat.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: My theatrical fantasy would be to see all ten of August Wilson’s plays - with original cast and direction - in chronological order, ten days in a row.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Kettle corn.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Probably teaching humanities in middle school, a high-energy environment where there’s both preponderance of drama and of truly iconoclastic and creative thinking.  The question of “why?” comes up a lot – a question which we, as adults, often stop asking…

What’s up next?: Two full length plays, a comedy, Kill the Dog, about parenting, self-absorption and community with director Gwynn MacDonald and a dark comic drama examining the current state of anger that seems to be so pervasive American politics and society.  A couple of screenplays are in the works as well.

Name: Afrika Brown

Hometown: Hillside, NJ

Education: Kean University

Favorite Credits: I’m a playwright and screenwriter so I’m not quite sure how to answer this.  I guess Strange Fruit Redux because it was the first time I took on the task of directing.

Why theater?: Theater gives the audience an intimate experience that brims with energy and emotion.  Each time it’s different because the audience is different.  I find it utterly amazing to share my work in a live environment.  Anything can happen and that knowledge creates its own type of magic.

Tell us about Strange Fruit Redux: Nathan Strange is a 25-year-old visual artist out of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn who is on the verge of becoming the latest sensation in the NYC art scene.  While working on his final painting, Nathan expresses his views about black culture and what it means to be black in the new millennium moments before a confrontation with NYPD.  Strange Fruit Redux is a series of poem monologues mixed with music and sio-political, pop culture sound bites geared to show the fears and frustrations of the modern day black man.

What inspired you to write Strange Fruit Redux?: Wow…that is such a complex answer.  The title began as an art exhibit I wanted to curate, which I still may do very soon.  The show itself was inspired by what almost seems to be an epidemic of black men and women dying by the hands of police or in police custody.  Eric Gardner’s death enraged me, but Freddie Gray’s death struck something deep inside of me.  I knew I had to do more than just march in the streets.  I knew I had to use my voice as an artist to create a work that could be thought-provoking and could inspire dialog and hopefully change.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I am drawn to the kind of theatre that stirs the soul or creates a one-of-a kind experience.  I love the kind of theater provides a memory that you can carry with you for the rest of your life like a great meal at a five star restaurant. I have been inspired by lots of people, but my first and most indelible inspiration is my father.  I was born later in my dad’s life, when he was middle aged.  He was born in the depression era; people of that era were far more practical than we are.  People from that era grew up doing what they had to do instead of what they wanted to do.  My father was a great creator that never got to live out his true purpose in this life.  It is my vow to him and myself to live in my truth and do what I believe is my life purpose.  I owe him that, I am an artist because of him.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Spike Lee.  He is my idol.

What show have you recommended to your friends?:  Fuerza Bruta: Look Up.  I thought it was an exciting, unique theater experience.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: It would either be Mary J. Blige or Angela Bassett and the movie would be called "Shenanigans" because that would be the title of my autobiography.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: The original West Side Story, it’s my favorite musical bar none.  However, right behind that would be A Raisin In the Sun with the original cast.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Toll House chocolate chip cookies.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A lifetime patient in an insane asylum.

What’s up next?: I would like to take Strange Fruit Redux on a national college tour.  I have received great feedback from college students, and I think it is the best venue for the show.  Also, I’m working on a new show titled Slow Bullet, My Three Loves that will make its debut in Manhattan in May, along with shopping/pitching my movie scripts.  Maybe one day I’ll get to sleep.

Name: My name is Clyve Lagerquist

Hometown: From Onekama, MI

Education: B.A. in English, Writing from Michigan State University

Favorite Credits: Excited to have my first show produced (as in, prior credits N/A)

Why theater?: Theater intrigues me as the most immediate and relatable living art form.

Tell us about In the Library: In the Library is a brief but charged meditation on the nature of suspicions and the roles adopted by the skeptical, the grieving the outraged and so forth in the immediate aftermath of that most specific and unfortunately common of mass killings, the school shooting.

What inspired you to write In the Library?: Apart from just the news, it was a fascination with the way we as a culture perceive the victim of any given situation, and our often biased judgments in that regard, and whether these predilections require a more accurate analysis.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Theater that can speak to a moment on the surface while reiteration lasting truths always hits me hardest. I am inspired by classics of course, Moliere to Beckett, and currently really enjoy the reflection of how jaded culture has become in the dark comedy of Martin McDonagh, a favorite of mine.

Who would you like to work with that you’ve yet to work with?: Difficult question. I've worked with no one but a few friends thus far, so any new contacts and any way to make my art better would be phenomenal.

What shows have you recommended to your friends?: I was very excited when I saw Spring Awakening was doing a revival, I mention that pretty frequently.

If there were a movie made about your life who would play you and what would it be called?: If there were a movie about me it would probably be called "Insomnia: The Wikipedia Trap", because of how much sleep I don't get from being sucked into reading or watching random things on the internet. And I have been mistaken for Paul Dano in public several times, so I suppose he could play me.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: If I could see any opening night of any show, I would have to see the 1957 London premier of Beckett's Endgame.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Drinking in the morning, I guess?

If you weren’t doing theater you would be _____?: I actually write in other avenues as well. I can't stop writing, it's ingrained in me. But I have done a lot of bartending to pay the bills.

What’s up next?: I am currently working on a full length play that I'd love to get into another theater festival or DUTF next season, or into a theater company's hands. I'm also working on the pilot of a TV comedy and several film scripts.

Name: Nelson Diaz-Marcano

Hometown: Gurabo, PR

Education: BFA in Cinema and Cultural Studies from Stony Brook University

Favorite Credits: Prison Song (DUTF 13, Midwinter Madness Festival), Revolucion: A Love Story (The Secret Theater), Sweating Bullets (Thespis Theater Festival, Ophelia Theater Workshop Series)

Why theater?: That has a simple answer: Some stories are better told on stage. The funny part is theater was not ever on my radar till I decided to take an acting class out of nowhere. I took the class when I was 19 because I was thinking of becoming a film director and thought I needed to know how to act. Valeri Lantz-Gefroh was my professor and she changed the course of my life. From my involvement in theater I started to write regularly, grew as an artist, and got experience in the power of many art forms.  This helped me realize how they are just all tools to ultimately achieve the same goal, which is to tell these stories. I know who I am because of theater.

Tell us about Radical: Radical is a dark play, probably my darkest, because it is about the loss of hope. It is about the crumbling of a society made by its own people, created by the fact that the upper classes did not want to include anyone else. The only thing the poor have over the rich is hope for something better; on September 11, 1973, they took that away from the lower classes in Chile.  Having said that, it is definitely the most intense and fast paced play I have ever written. It’s not a snorefest, the darkness is there, but you won’t be able to acknowledge it since you will be too busy catching your breath.

What inspired you to write Radical?: I wrote a play before this one, Revolucion: A Love Story, that dealt with the Cuban revolution and how families were destroyed. From my research on that play I became fascinated by communism, socialism, Operation Condor, but more importantly, Salvador Allende. I wanted to tell this story because I thought it was amazing how little Americans know about him, about 9/11/73, the United States’ involvement,  and what that country went through after. But I think more importantly here is what inspired me to submit it to this festival, and that was how incredibly poignant it is now. I didn’t set to write something this relevant, but it is, and that scares the hell out of me. The class division, the gun debate, the rise of the military, an insane person with power… I mean Trump could easily become another Pinochet.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: Innovation. Importance. As artists we have a responsibility, it’s not all lights and curtains. It’s about using what you have and educating when you can. We have a weapon, our talent, and we get to use it as we want in this country. Everyone nowadays is pointing fingers and accusing, screaming, assuming… we have the power to entertain them while letting them know that all of that is pointless. Through our stories we can reach whole communities. Yes not everything has to be that serious, but who says telling the truth has to be dramatic. So that kind of theater, innovative and bold theater that uses stage magic to wow us and at the same time makes us pick up a book after. I like to be rattled. And those who follow this; Spike Lee, Edward Albee, Paul Thomas Anderson, Alejandro G. Iñarritu, Neil Gaiman… they inspire me to always think outside the box but inside society.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: In an ideal world Paul Thomas Anderson would ask me to write a movie for him or I would get to have Ian McKellen do a show of mine. I would co-write with Neil Gaiman or let Ennio Morricone do the music to my show. But in a more realistic way, I would love to work with this actor who used to go to college at the same time as me, his name is Andy Lucien. He’s taking NYC by storm.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: From the festival? or in general? If it’s from the festival there are many plays I want to see, and I have different friends willing to come! I have a broken foot at the moment so we’ll see to how many I can go to in the end. If it’s around now, anything by Mind The Arts Entertainment. Also there’s two shows coming this month that peaked my interest Locust Have No Kings by J. Julian Christopher and When We Wake Up Dead by Dennis A. Allen II. These are very good writers, and if you are not following them you are missing out.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Adam Driver, hands down. Look at the picture. Tell me you don’t agree. It will be called “Those Big Old Ears and What was Between Them”

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: The original production of The Pillowman definitely. So many, but I always regret missing that one.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: B-movies, b-anything. I love the unaltered, craziness that comes from it, and the freedom of expression. Even if they are terrible!

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A filmmaker, journalist, or editor.

What’s up next?: Who knows, the world? Ha! I have a webseries in development at the moment with the fantastic Xavier Rodney, and a couple of projects being discussed in film. But my biggest drive right now, and it happened because of working on this play again, is to finish the Latin American trilogy of Revolucion and Radical with a play called Revolt. It will be my most personal work, since it has to do with Puerto Rico and its identity after the United States took us over. To say I’m both excited and scared is an understatement.

Name: Paul-Cosma Cimpoieru

Hometown: Bucharest / Romania / Europe

Education: Off the street

Why theater?: There is no theater, or dance, or non-verbal.... it's just a way to "speak", to show and to share dreams, messages, emotions, etc...

Tell us about Homo Americanus: Homo Americanus is an American experience. It is a total experience. Using music and dance, the Hero fervently explores a Romanian/Artist immigrant’s experiences in the Big Apple. From the subways, bodegas, tourists, Uptown, Downtown, he reveals through this interpretive dance work what it feels like to wake up in the city that never sleeps and strive to be a part of it.

What inspired you to write Homo Americanus?: Homo Americanus is about Life....  and is like writing a book: never know where is the border between real life and fiction, between me and the projections of me... in 2015 I got a fellowship @ Actors Studio as a performer / non-verbal actor (not usual for their policy) and so I came and lived in NYC for about 6 months.... This show is a story about any new comers arrived in New York with their goals, dreams, hopes... it's clash of cultures, civilizations told with a lot of humor and sensibility! There is a lot of empathy with the Hero cause, in a very unusual way, in NYC we are all immigrants!

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I use to call my work in theater as "montage of emotions"! The emotions are the structure of the performance and they will conduct the story.. I am inspired by images, sounds, smells, colors.....

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: hahhaa! Would you introduce me to Robert (Bob) Wilson, Romeo Castellucci, Nederlands Dance Theater, Kim-Ki Duk, Wong Kar-Wai (film)

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Hey, Girl! (Romeo Catesllucci)... and some performances from NY Joyce Theater!

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: the movie - it was done already ;) title: "About the man and the fish"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkBPNMRtXZA There will be a big dilemma for me: casting between Johnny (Depp), Keanu (Reeves) or the fish!!!

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: I would die to see... A Streetcar Named Desire (Marlon Brando) and Looking for Richard (Al Pacino)

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: "Dolce far niente" - dreaming!

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be ______?: Rugby / Soccer Coach (I practiced for years and I have the skills to motivate the team to fight / to faith / to win)!

What’s up next?: DUAF Award !

Name: Mel Nieves

Hometown: New York City

Education: William Esper Studio/LAByrinth Theatre Company/Actors Studio Playwright-Director Unit

Favorite Credits: Producer of Tenn99, a 72 hour marathon reading celebrating the works and 99th birthday of Tennessee Williams for the LAByrinth Theatre Company

Why theater?: Why not?

Tell us about The Cost Of Exposure: The Cost of Exposure is s about two people at the crossroads of their lives who must confront a pass that they've both been running away from and can no longer. I'm sure there are other things to say about what the play is about, but I'll leave that to the audience.
                                                                     
What inspired you to write The Cost of Exposure?: I really don't know. I usually start a play by having two people talking and eventually as the conversation progresses certain issues and differences of opinions tend to pop up that have to be dealt with and hopefully what has to be dealt with is compelling enough to build a play on.
                                                                                       
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: The type of stories that respond to are the ones that evoke something that I experience in my everyday life, some are universal like love, loss, fear, wants and desires, etc. and some experiences may not be but they connect to you in some way. Various forms of music are quite inspiring, Marlon Brando, Arthur Miller, William Goldman, Aaron Sorkin, John Patrick Shanley, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Paul Cezanne, Roberto Clemente and Tom Seaver among others.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: As an actor Francis Ford Coppola and as a writer Elia Kazan

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Between Riverside and Crazy, Prodigal Son

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: A young Dustin Hoffman and it will be called "The Eternal Apprenticeship"

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Original production of A Streetcar named Desire

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Star Trek

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A much less interesting person

What’s up next?: A film I'll be acting in that's shooting at the end of April, a workshop of a new play of mine in May and a screenplay that I'm currently working on for a director/producer that shoots in Florida in September and last but not least teach my 3rd, 4th & 5th graders about storytelling.

Name: Ella Turenne

Hometown: Laurelton, Queens NY

Education: BA - Stony Brook University, MSW, Boston University

Favorite Credits: The Black List, Sister Mary Explains it all for You, and of course Love, Locs & Liberation!

Why theater?: Theatre has always been my original love. There's nothing like being on stage and being totally immersed in the world and in your character. That is a feeling I crave all the time. Also the connection it brings to people in the audience...it's viscral and it's a language everyone understands.

Tell us about Love, Locs & Liberation: This is a solo show that blends poetry, song and humor to unlock the hairstory experienced by Black women, revealing mishaps and triumphs. Through the eyes of 21 different characters which I play, including a 5th grade bully and Madam CJ Walker, I expose the hair connection - to politics, identity and culture - illustrating why hair is an intimate and essential part of Black life. Love, Locs & Liberation weaves together stories of struggles with identity and beauty. From rituals that Black women hold in relation with their hair, to my experience as an American woman with strong ties to my Haitian culture, this show asks the question: Is my worth tied to my hair?

What inspired you to write Love, Locs & Liberation?: There was a documentary on HBO a few years ago called “The Black List.” Black celebrities were asked to tell their stories. In the second installment the producers asked for stories from the public. I decided to submit a story about my hair. It was one of the five pieces that they selected for the documentary. When I got to tell my story, it crystalized my thoughts about self-image and it encouraged me to write more stories. I also remember seeing Chris Rock’s documentary “Good Hair,” which made a big impression. But it was still telling the story from a man’s perspective and also it was feeding into the Hollywood image of what Black women “should be.” Black women are complex and I wanted to show that. Somebody else is always telling our story instead of us. I felt this was my chance to provide not just one image but the complexity of images we as women hold.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I love theatre that speaks to social justice issues...or just reflects real life. Plays that challenge you to think about what is going on in society. People like Anna Deavere Smith, Katori Hall, Dominique Morisseau, Roger Guenveur Smith, Paul Oakley Stovall, Sarah Jones and Dael Orlandersmith and the work they produce really inspire me. They are telling stories that need to be heard but don't often see the light of day. I also am a musical junkie. I love song and dance and the magic that happens when you put that on a stage. And I love Shakespeare. I enjoy the beauty of the language and the complexity of the stories.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I could fill a few pages on this one. If I could only pick one....Ava DuVernay. Although she's a filmmaker, her creative eye is phenomenal. I would love to see what she could do with a staged piece.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Inside the Creole Mafia Written and Performed by Mark Broyard and Roger Guenveur Smith. One of the best pieces of theatre I've seen in a long time. Not only well written and performed but does a great job of breaking the fourth wall and involving the audience in the ride! It challenges the audience to think about issues such as race and identity in really interesting ways.

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Queen Latifah or Jill Scott. It would be called "The Blerd Chronicles".

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: The Wild Party directed by George C Wolfe. I missed it when it was on Broadway and it's one I always wished I had seen.

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Singing "Defying Gravity" at karaoke.

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: A filmmaker. I have to get the stories out somehow.

What’s up next?: I'm really excited that I will be taking the show to Haiti in June! This will be a very different audience so I am curious as to how it will be received. Regardless, I know it will be a great time!

Name: Joe Gulla

Hometown: Bronx, NY

Education: Fordham University… oh and, of course, my “Nanny”

Favorite Credits: As a writer, The Bronx Queen, Faggy at 50, Daddy, Garbo, REEL WOOD, Knock Off!, Gayfever, Christmas Caroline

Why theater?: I saw The Wiz with Stephanie Mills in 1977. My parents bought us seats in the first row. When that young girl sang “Home”… inches away from my young ears, I took it as a “call to duty”!

Tell us about The Bronx Queen: Ah, The Bronx Queen… well, it’s an autobiographical monologue done in the spirit of Spalding Gray. I sit at a table, sip water and tell my story. One of the running themes is the fact that my Dad would take me on a fishing boat (weekly!) called… you guessed it… The Bronx Queen! This was in an effort to “make a man out of me”! Ha! Yeah, I know… irony in its ultimate form! But, I must say, this theme serves to propel my story!

What inspired you to write The Bronx Queen?: It was originally planned as a book. I had a few stories I would tell at family gatherings. They always got a great reception and lots of laughs. I thought I would tell some of those stories in an improvisational way at a festival or two. But, when I sat down to prepare, something special happened. The stories came together and had a lovely cumulative effect. The words/stories and their placement mattered… a lot! That’s when it became a fully formed, "serious business" piece.

What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I’ve already mentioned Spalding Gray. He’s always been a great inspiration to me. He taught me the power of words. He taught me how something so simple can result in something grand! I like when modern theater touches on historic/legendary themes. It’s great to enjoy something in the moment, yet walk away with something that resonates.

If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: EASY!… “HOT, INTENSE ,WELL-CRAFTED NEW MUSICAL", music and lyrics by Billie Joe Armstrong, Book by Joe Gulla.

What show have you recommended to your friends?: Way before there was a show called “Hamilton”, I was begging people to see “In The Heights”!

Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Well, if we did an animated version of The Bronx Queen and they wanted "a name"… Harvey Fierstein would be on my producer’s speed dial. If they went “live action”… then it would be "The Bronx Queen" starring Joe Gulla as himself.

If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Funny Girl… Barbra Streisand… I STILL resent my parents for their timing!

What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Sometimes I make the lady at Magnolia Bakery slather fresh vanilla frosting on my chocolate chip cookie!

If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: ...canceling my gym membership!

What’s up next?: My new play, Gayfever, has its World Premiere at Funky Little Theater Company in Colorado Springs, CO on March 4th! Catch the “fever”!

For more on Joe, visit http://www.joegulla.com/