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INDEPENDENT THEATRE Some of my favorite projects in New York's indie theatre spaces WM.SHAKESPEARE Arclight Theatre THE TEMPEST Staging Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Archlight demanded more than conjuring a storm in a teacup. I set out to explore the play’s grand themes—revenge and forgiveness—within the most intimate setting imaginable: the human mind. G A L L E R Y C L O S E Koteles and Jacobs, who also brought the award-winning comedy Bald Diva! The Ionesco Parody Your Mother Warned You About to the very first Fresh Fruit Festival 10 years ago, are returning with another Ionesco-inspired play." Broadway.com DAVID KOTELES Fresh Fruit Festival AFTER THE CHAIRS Inspired by the Eugene Ionesco absurdist tale, David Koteles' After the Chairs tells the story of two men, Marc and Richard, alone in a quiet hospital room waiting for what happens next. A visit from friends? The telling of stories? Results from a doctor? A big performance? End of life as they know it? It is a play about family, marriage in sickness and in health, death, drag, drugs and (like the Ionesco play) many, many, many chairs. WINNER! Best Direction, Fresh Fruit Festival 2013 G A L L E R Y C L O S E An afternoon of pleasantries quickly turns into a boiling teakettle of tension...the ending of the play is subtle and numbingly powerful." Letters From the Mezz I want the audience to look at the Founding Fathers through a lens that includes class, race and gender." Call Me Adam DAVID KOTELES Metropolitan Playhouse M Y FIRST LADY Presented as part of the Metropolitan Playhouse Founders Festival, My First Lady takes a funny and unexpected turn towards a battle of race, class, and gender in the new American republic when First Ladies Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and Thomas Jefferson’s daughters gather for a "friendly" tea. The gloves come off when Jefferson's enslaved mistress Sally Hemmings claims her rightful place at the table. The REAL First Ladies of Washington City give the dish on the 1801 Election." G A L L E R Y C L O S E Jacobs believes the choice of first-person perspective gives the audience an immediate point of entry. It's "that very human, individual response" missing from statistics-heavy news stories." Seven Days KATHRYN BLUME Arclight Theatre THE BOY COTT Inspired by the ancient anti-war comedy Lysistrata, actor-activist Kathryn Blume plays Kathryn Blume, a woman trying to fight global warming and save the world — by writing a screenplay about the First Lady of the United States launching a national sex strike to fight global warming and save the world. Aided by her impassioned daughter, a high tech Secret Service agent, and a plucky Brazilian tree frog she meets on the Astral Plane, Lyssa bumps and lurches her way into an unexpected, wildly comic, and ultimately successful campaign. G A L L E R Y C L O S E As the story quickly moves from situation to situation, cleverly staged by Jason Jacobs on a minimalistic set ... (Sheinmel) begins to discover the meaning behind initially irrelevant occurrences and that life is full of the unexpected." Theatre Is Easy BY RICHARD SHEINMEL LaMama POST-MODERN LIVING /LOST IN STATEN ISLAND I had the pleasure to direct two installments of Sheinmel's "Modern Living" play cycle, which began in 2006 at La MaMa. Much like Armistead Maupin's "Tales of The City", this series of related plays center on Mitch, a gay "downtown" New York performance artist (played by Sheinmel), as he writes plays about his life. The plays incorporate original songs and music by Clay Zambo. The antidote to the surfeit of soulless synthetic musical comedies on Broadway awaits you at La MaMa, in the form of Post Modern Living, [...] whose casual informality, honesty, and warmth are rivaled only by its dazzlingly high entertainment quotient." Martin Denton, NYTheatre.com G A L L E R Y C L O S E An evening of Jewishly inflected, queer songs brings Weimar Germany back to life with humor and music." Tablet a beautifully realized evocation of a club in Germany in the ‘30s ... a thrilling reminder of the power and strength of cabaret at its best.” NitelifeExchange.com JEREMY LAWRENCE PANGEA LAVENDER SONGS 2008 Bistro Award Winner! Originally produced in 2008 and revised in 2016 in response to the Trump ascendency, this cabaret theatre piece had an extended run at Pangea. Featuring songs originally written and performed by queer aertists in Weimar-era Berlin (with new English lyrics by Jeremy), the piece was based on an evening created by Alan Lareau for the U.S. Holocaust Museum om Washington DC. Out of this minimal landscape, director Jason Jacobs creates a vibrant, small-scale panorama with his precise staging. Lawrence glides around, often stands still totally, but remains mesmerizing due to Jacobs’ command of visual technique." G A L L E R Y C L O S E OTHER VENUES POST-LIU VERMONT THEATRE CO THEATRE ASKEW ORIGINAL WORK TEMPEST WM.SHAKESPEARE Arclight Theatre Staging Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Archlight demanded more than conjuring a storm in a teacup. I set out to explore the play’s grand themes—revenge and forgiveness—within the most intimate setting imaginable: the human mind. G A L L E R Y C L O S E CHAIRS DAVID KOTELES Fresh Fruit Festival Inspired by the Eugene Ionesco absurdist tale, David Koteles' After the Chairs tells the story of two men, Marc and Richard, alone in a quiet hospital room waiting for what happens next. A visit from friends? The telling of stories? Results from a doctor? A big performance? End of life as they know it? It is a play about family, marriage in sickness and in health, death, drag, drugs and (like the Ionesco play) many, many, many chairs. Koteles and Jacobs, who also brought the award-winning comedy Bald Diva! The Ionesco Parody Your Mother Warned You About to the very first Fresh Fruit Festival 10 years ago, are returning with another Ionesco-inspired play." Broadway.com WINNER! Best Direction, Fresh Fruit Festival 2013 G A L L E R Y C L O S E FIRST LADY DAVID KOTELES Metropolitan Playhouse Presented as part of the Metropolitan Playhouse Founders Festival, My First Lady takes a funny and unexpected turn towards a battle of race, class, and gender in the new American republic when First Ladies Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and Thomas Jefferson’s daughters gather for a "friendly" tea. The gloves come off when Jefferson's enslaved mistress Sally Hemmings claims her rightful place at the table. An afternoon of pleasantries quickly turns into a boiling teakettle of tension...the ending of the play is subtle and numbingly powerful." Letters From the Mezz The REAL First Ladies of Washington City give the dish on the 1801 Election." I want the audience to look at the Founding Fathers through a lens that includes class, race and gender." Call Me Adam G A L L E R Y C L O S E BOY COTT KATHRYN BLUME Arclight Theatre Inspired by the ancient anti-war comedy Lysistrata, actor-activist Kathryn Blume plays Kathryn Blume, a woman trying to fight global warming and save the world — by writing a screenplay about the First Lady of the United States launching a national sex strike to fight global warming and save the world. Aided by her impassioned daughter, a high tech Secret Service agent, and a plucky Brazilian tree frog she meets on the Astral Plane, Lyssa bumps and lurches her way into an unexpected, wildly comic, and ultimately successful campaign. Jacobs believes the choice of first-person perspective gives the audience an immediate point of entry. It's "that very human, individual response" missing from statistics-heavy news stories." Seven Days G A L L E R Y C L O S E LIVING /LOST BY RICHARD SHEINMEL LaMama I had the pleasure to direct two installments of Sheinmel's "Modern Living" play cycle, which began in 2006 at La MaMa. Much like Armistead Maupin's "Tales of The City", this series of related plays center on Mitch, a gay "downtown" New York performance artist (played by Sheinmel), as he writes plays about his life. The plays incorporate original songs and music by Clay Zambo. As the story quickly moves from situation to situation, cleverly staged by Jason Jacobs on a minimalistic set ... (Sheinmel) begins to discover the meaning behind initially irrelevant occurrences and that life is full of the unexpected." Theatre Is Easy The antidote to the surfeit of soulless synthetic musical comedies on Broadway awaits you at La MaMa, in the form of Post Modern Living, [...] whose casual informality, honesty, and warmth are rivaled only by its dazzlingly high entertainment quotient." Martin Denton, NYTheatre.com G A L L E R Y C L O S E LAVENDER SONGS JEREMY LAWRENCE PANGEA 2008 Bistro Award Winner! Originally produced in 2008 and revised in 2016 in response to the Trump ascendency, this cabaret theatre piece had an extended run at Pangea. Featuring songs originally written and performed by queer aertists in Weimar-era Berlin (with new English lyrics by Jeremy), the piece was based on an evening created by Alan Lareau for the U.S. Holocaust Museum om Washington DC. An evening of Jewishly inflected, queer songs brings Weimar Germany back to life with humor and music." Tablet Out of this minimal landscape, director Jason Jacobs creates a vibrant, small-scale panorama with his precise staging. Lawrence glides around, often stands still totally, but remains mesmerizing due to Jacobs’ command of visual technique." a beautifully realized evocation of a club in Germany in the ‘30s ... a thrilling reminder of the power and strength of cabaret at its best.” NitelifeExchange.com G A L L E R Y C L O S E OTHER VENUES POST-LIU VERMONT THEATRE CO THEATRE ASKEW ORIGINAL WORK THE TEMPEST WM.SHAKESPEARE Arclight Theatre Staging Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Archlight demanded more than conjuring a storm in a teacup. I set out to explore the play’s grand themes—revenge and forgiveness—within the most intimate setting imaginable: the human mind. G A L L E R Y C L O S E AFTER THE CHAIRS DAVID KOTELES Fresh Fruit Festival Koteles and Jacobs, who also brought the award-winning comedy Bald Diva! The Ionesco Parody Your Mother Warned You About to the very first Fresh Fruit Festival 10 years ago, are returning with another Ionesco-inspired play." Broadway.com WINNER! Best Direction, Fresh Fruit Festival 2013 Inspired by the Eugene Ionesco absurdist tale, David Koteles' After the Chairs tells the story of two men, Marc and Richard, alone in a quiet hospital room waiting for what happens next. A visit from friends? The telling of stories? Results from a doctor? A big performance? End of life as they know it? It is a play about family, marriage in sickness and in health, death, drag, drugs and (like the Ionesco play) many, many, many chairs. G A L L E R Y C L O S E MY FIRST LADY DAVID KOTELES Metropolitan Playhouse An afternoon of pleasantries quickly turns into a boiling teakettle of tension...the ending of the play is subtle and numbingly powerful." Letters From the Mezz The REAL First Ladies of Washington City give the dish on the 1801 Election." Presented as part of the Metropolitan Playhouse Founders Festival, My First Lady takes a funny and unexpected turn towards a battle of race, class, and gender in the new American republic when First Ladies Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, and Thomas Jefferson’s daughters gather for a "friendly" tea. The gloves come off when Jefferson's enslaved mistress Sally Hemmings claims her rightful place at the table. I want the audience to look at the Founding Fathers through a lens that includes class, race and gender." Call Me Adam G A L L E R Y C L O S E THE BOYCOTT KATHRYN BLUME Arclight Theatre Jacobs believes the choice of first-person perspective gives the audience an immediate point of entry. It's "that very human, individual response" missing from statistics-heavy news stories." Seven Days Inspired by the ancient anti-war comedy Lysistrata, actor-activist Kathryn Blume plays Kathryn Blume, a woman trying to fight global warming and save the world — by writing a screenplay about the First Lady of the United States launching a national sex strike to fight global warming and save the world. Aided by her impassioned daughter, a high tech Secret Service agent, and a plucky Brazilian tree frog she meets on the Astral Plane, Lyssa bumps and lurches her way into an unexpected, wildly comic, and ultimately successful campaign. G A L L E R Y C L O S E POST-MOD ERN LIVING BY RICHARD SHEINMEL LaMama As the story quickly moves from situation to situation, cleverly staged by Jason Jacobs on a minimalistic set ... (Sheinmel) begins to discover the meaning behind initially irrelevant occurrences and that life is full of the unexpected." Theatre Is Easy The antidote to the surfeit of soulless synthetic musical comedies on Broadway awaits you at La MaMa, in the form of Post Modern Living, [...] whose casual informality, honesty, and warmth are rivaled only by its dazzlingly high entertainment quotient." Martin Denton, NYTheatre.com I had the pleasure to direct two installments of Sheinmel's "Modern Living" play cycle, which began in 2006 at La MaMa. Much like Armistead Maupin's "Tales of The City", this series of related plays center on Mitch, a gay "downtown" New York performance artist (played by Sheinmel), as he writes plays about his life. The plays incorporate original songs and music by Clay Zambo. G A L L E R Y C L O S E LAVENDER SONGS JEREMY LAWRENCE PANGEA An evening of Jewishly inflected, queer songs brings Weimar Germany back to life with humor and music." Tablet Out of this minimal landscape, director Jason Jacobs creates a vibrant, small-scale panorama with his precise staging. Lawrence glides around, often stands still totally, but remains mesmerizing due to Jacobs’ command of visual technique." 2008 Bistro Award Winner! Originally produced in 2008 and revised in 2016 in response to the Trump ascendency, this cabaret theatre piece had an extended run at Pangea. Featuring songs originally written and performed by queer aertists in Weimar-era Berlin (with new English lyrics by Jeremy), the piece was based on an evening created by Alan Lareau for the U.S. Holocaust Museum om Washington DC. a beautifully realized evocation of a club in Germany in the ‘30s ... a thrilling reminder of the power and strength of cabaret at its best.” NitelifeExchange.com G A L L E R Y C L O S E OTHER VENUES POST-LIU VERMONT THEATRE CO THEATRE ASKEW ORIGINAL WORK

GALLERY MARAT / SADE Video Images NO VIDEO AVAILABLE MARAT / SADE Add a Title Peter Weiss The year is 1808: France is a powerful empire ruled by Napoleon. Outside of Paris, in the mental asylum of Charenton, the Marquis de Sade has been inprisoned for seven years because of his outrageous writings ... Tonight, Sade presents a play, performed by the institution's patients, dramatyixing the assassination revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat during the French Revolution. He is glad to have you with us. Peter Weiss MARAT / SADE MARAT / SADE The year is 1808: France is a powerful empire ruled by Napoleon. Outside of Paris, in the mental asylum of Charenton, the Marquis de Sade has been inprisoned for seven years because of his outrageous writings ... Tonight, Sade presents a play, performed by the institution's patients, dramatyixing the assassination revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat during the French Revolution. He is glad to have you with us. Peter Weiss MARAT / SADE MARAT / SADE The year is 1808: France is a powerful empire ruled by Napoleon. Outside of Paris, in the mental asylum of Charenton, the Marquis de Sade has been inprisoned for seven years because of his outrageous writings ... Tonight, Sade presents a play, performed by the institution's patients, dramatyixing the assassination revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat during the French Revolution. He is glad to have you with us.

THE BOYCOTT Video Images NO VIDEO AVAILABLE

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MORNINGSIDE CENTER PROJECT MORNINGSIDE CENTER WEBSITE

2d5b17f3-8291-4563-99fe-969456c4154b HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH POST THEATRE COMPANY: LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY GALLERY

INDEPENDENT THEATRE INDEPENDENT THEATRE Some of my favorite projects in New York's indie theatre spaces

Oliver Twist Promo for Vermont State Company

GALLERY AS YOU LIKE IT Video Images NO VIDEO AVAILABLE AS YOU LIKE IT Add a Title Wm. Shakespeare It's a journey into the forest. It's a forest of discovery, a forest of liberation." From the opening invocation of “all the world is a stage” to the final prologue, which seals the compact of cast and audience, the production illuminates the reality of theatrical space, the transformative power of the actor, and role of the viewer’s imagination to create the theatrical event. Starting as the victim of oppression, Shakespeare's Rosalind embraces theatrical strategies to face her challenges: through improvisation and performance, she discovers her strength and power. Leaving a troubled everyday world to venture into the unknown, Rosalind becomes actor, director, stage manager, and spectator. The production celebrates the power of the actor at her/his most joyous best, and suggests that real liberation is not about disguise, but how we bring ourselves – body, hear, and soul, to play our part in the world. Personal transformation is a focus of director Jason Jacobs’ interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedy…The 16-character cast is played in this production by just seven actors, some of whom play cross-gender roles.” Wm. Shakespeare AS YOU LIKE IT AS YOU LIKE IT From the opening invocation of “all the world is a stage” to the final prologue, which seals the compact of cast and audience, the production illuminates the reality of theatrical space, the transformative power of the actor, and role of the viewer’s imagination to create the theatrical event. Starting as the victim of oppression, Shakespeare's Rosalind embraces theatrical strategies to face her challenges: through improvisation and performance, she discovers her strength and power. Leaving a troubled everyday world to venture into the unknown, Rosalind becomes actor, director, stage manager, and spectator. The production celebrates the power of the actor at her/his most joyous best, and suggests that real liberation is not about disguise, but how we bring ourselves – body, hear, and soul, to play our part in the world. It's a journey into the forest. It's a forest of discovery, a forest of liberation." Personal transformation is a focus of director Jason Jacobs’ interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedy…The 16-character cast is played in this production by just seven actors, some of whom play cross-gender roles.” Seven Days It's a journey into the forest. It's a forest of discovery, a forest of liberation." Wm. Shakespeare AS YOU LIKE IT AS YOU LIKE IT From the opening invocation of “all the world is a stage” to the final prologue, which seals the compact of cast and audience, the production illuminates the reality of theatrical space, the transformative power of the actor, and role of the viewer’s imagination to create the theatrical event. Starting as the victim of oppression, Shakespeare's Rosalind embraces theatrical strategies to face her challenges: through improvisation and performance, she discovers her strength and power. Leaving a troubled everyday world to venture into the unknown, Rosalind becomes actor, director, stage manager, and spectator. The production celebrates the power of the actor at her/his most joyous best, and suggests that real liberation is not about disguise, but how we bring ourselves – body, hear, and soul, to play our part in the world. Personal transformation is a focus of director Jason Jacobs’ interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedy…The 16-character cast is played in this production by just seven actors, some of whom play cross-gender roles.” Seven Days

A cumulative story-telling exercise performed by the kids of Theatre Askew Young Person Program, edited by Rob Tate. JACQUELINE KENNEDY-ONASSIS 2020 HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT SPEECH

fc5a951b-14ba-42b8-a2de-20b2751b17d3 AS YOU LIKE IT VERMONT STAGE COMPANY GALLERY: Promotional Video

VERMONT THEATRE CO A smart, funny, respectful treatment of Uncle Vanya...An impressive achievement." Burlington Free Press ...a delightful piece of theater - witty, touching, fun and sad, in that order." Rutland Herald ADAPTED FROM CHEKHOV BY KATHRYN BLUME VANYA VERMONT I got a perspective on how Vermont is so different from anywhere else in America. I wanted to work on something that would speak specifically to this community in a really visceral, valid way. Jacobs has staged the piece to take full advantage of the intimate playing space. We are caught up in the intensity of communication between the characters." Connie Meng, North Country Public Radio G A L L E R Y C L O S E Jacobs conducts the talented ensemble cast with taut precision, which makes Hollinger’s smart script sing.” Seven Days A behind-the-scenes look at a string quartet: every scene, the stakes get higher." MICHAEL HOLLINGER OPUS As a world-renowned string quartet prepares for their highest-profile performance, passions rise, personalities clash, and the artists confront the ephemeral nature of their life's work. ...feels amazingly authentic and is one of Vermont Stage's most even and consistent productions in recent memory." G A L L E R Y C L O S E One of the Burlington professional company's most compelling and entertaining productions to date” Times Argus Dickens — and Bartlett in this adaptation — focused on the brutality toward the poor by 19th C society." Times Argus ADAPTED BY NEIL BARTLETT OLIVER TWIST An adaptation that really embraces 19th-century theatrical storytelling: theater as spectacle, theater as melodrama. The parallels between the Victorians and how we're treating immigration today, as if it's somehow these people fault..." G A L L E R Y C L O S E OTHER VENUES POST-LIU THEATRE ASKEW ORIGINAL WORK INDEPENDENT THEATRE VANYA VERMONT ADAPTED FROM CHEKHOV BY KATHRYN BLUME I got a perspective on how Vermont is so different from anywhere else in America. I wanted to work on something that would speak specifically to this community in a really visceral, valid way. A smart, funny, respectful treatment of Uncle Vanya...An impressive achievement." Burlington Free Press Jacobs has staged the piece to take full advantage of the intimate playing space. We are caught up in the intensity of communication between the characters." Connie Meng, North Country Public Radio ...a delightful piece of theater - witty, touching, fun and sad, in that order." Rutland Herald G A L L E R Y C L O S E OPUS MICHAEL HOLLINGER As a world-renowned string quartet prepares for their highest-profile performance, passions rise, personalities clash, and the artists confront the ephemeral nature of their life's work. Jacobs conducts the talented ensemble cast with taut precision, which makes Hollinger’s smart script sing.” Seven Days ...feels amazingly authentic and is one of Vermont Stage's most even and consistent productions in recent memory." A behind-the-scenes look at a string quartet: every scene, the stakes get higher." G A L L E R Y C L O S E OLIVER TWIST ADAPTED BY NEIL BARTLETT An adaptation that really embraces 19th-century theatrical storytelling: theater as spectacle, theater as melodrama. One of the Burlington professional company's most compelling and entertaining productions to date” Times Argus The parallels between the Victorians and how we're treating immigration today, as if it's somehow these people fault..." Dickens — and Bartlett in this adaptation — focused on the brutality toward the poor by 19th C society." Times Argus G A L L E R Y C L O S E OTHER VENUES POST-LIU THEATRE ASKEW ORIGINAL WORK INDEPENDENT THEATRE VANYA VERMONT ADAPTED FROM CHEKHOV BY KATHRYN BLUME A smart, funny, respectful treatment of Uncle Vanya...An impressive achievement." Burlington Free Press Jacobs has staged the piece to take full advantage of the intimate playing space. We are caught up in the intensity of communication between the characters." Connie Meng, North Country Public Radio I got a perspective on how Vermont is so different from anywhere else in America. I wanted to work on something that would speak specifically to this community in a really visceral, valid way. ...a delightful piece of theater - witty, touching, fun and sad, in that order." Rutland Herald G A L L E R Y C L O S E OPUS MICHAEL HOLLINGER Jacobs conducts the talented ensemble cast with taut precision, which makes Hollinger’s smart script sing.” Seven Days ...feels amazingly authentic and is one of Vermont Stage's most even and consistent productions in recent memory." As a world-renowned string quartet prepares for their highest-profile performance, passions rise, personalities clash, and the artists confront the ephemeral nature of their life's work. A behind-the-scenes look at a string quartet: every scene, the stakes get higher." G A L L E R Y C L O S E OLIVER TWIST ADAPTED BY NEIL BARTLETT One of the Burlington professional company's most compelling and entertaining productions to date” Times Argus The parallels between the Victorians and how we're treating immigration today, as if it's somehow these people fault..." An adaptation that really embraces 19th-century theatrical storytelling: theater as spectacle, theater as melodrama. Dickens — and Bartlett in this adaptation — focused on the brutality toward the poor by 19th C society." Times Argus G A L L E R Y C L O S E OTHER VENUES POST-LIU THEATRE ASKEW ORIGINAL WORK INDEPENDENT THEATRE