BOOTH ONE - Celebrating Culture and Conversation

https://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/breonarzell.jpgBooth One first encountered Breon's work seeing The Total Bent, produced by Haven & About Face Theatres. We were all blown away by Lili-Anne Brown's direction and the marvelous performances, including friend of the show, Robert Cornelius and new friend, Breon Arzell, who also choreographed this great musical. Here are some of the https://www.theatreinchicago.com/the-total-bent/10200/. The production design was extraordinary. We were especially wowed by the choreography and costumes, designed by previous guest and friend, Christine Pasqual. You can catch some of his brilliant work in the remote production of https://timelinetheatre.com/ Absolutely not to be missed. We have seen a lot of attempts to capture great theatre on video and this is exceptional. A true masterpiece, directed by dear friend of the show, Wardell Julius Clark. Read one of the https://chicago.suntimes.com/2020/2/21/21145802/kill-move-paradise-review-timeline-theatre-chicago-james-ijames here. Much more to say, but we want to get the audio published now. Will write more ASAP.

https://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/mission_theater-337-1.jpgWe always love our amazingly talented guests, but this time we were Star Struck! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Pasquesi is a brilliant artist and one of the nicest people you're ever likely to meet. He is a master improvisor and has created memorable performances in many movies and TV series. He was excellent as Julia Louis Dreyfuss's ex-husband, Andrew in VEEP and had a great role as the "local alchemist" on the weird and wonderful Lodge 49. He also has done some infamous and long running voice-over spots for clients like McDonalds and Anheuser Busch. We have included his remarkable commercial reel in this episode. You can also go to https://www.davidpasquesi.com/ to check out his work. David studied with the legendary improvisation pioneer https://www.ioimprov.com/about-us/del-close/ who created the Harold and was part of the first ever Harold team, Baron's Barracudas. David describes the Harold as a "long form group improvisation that was developed as a performance piece itself as opposed to using it to create material for revues...The aim is that the work is consistently good enough to be able to warrant a ticket price." We talk about Del's ideas about working genuinely in improvisation. Gary reads from David and TJ Jagodowski's book, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25268990-improvisation-at-the-speed-of-life. "Del taught us to play slowly without worrying about entertaining the audience. He stressed the importance of playing at the top of our intelligence...Another big lesson I took from Del was not to talk too much because overusing words diminishes the power of each one. Del taught us to dare to be poets...Don't be afraid of silence." https://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Print_File_BestOfBothPix-scaled.jpgTJ & Dave have been doing long form performances athttps://www.ioimprov.com/ and Barrow Street Theatre in New York since 2001. Stephen Colbert says of them, "One of these guys is the best improvisor in the world. And the other one is better." The New York Times calls their work, "...a creative tour de force, an intellectual high-wire act as astonishing as it is entertaining." They met on a team at the Chicago Improv Festival and found they shared a reverence for the same kind of work. They make it "more about discovery than invention...The work can be funny, but also sad, heartwarming, kind, scary, brutal. It's unlimited." David talks about the important role of the audience. TJ & Dave "requires interested people watching it." David and our co-host Frank talk about teaching improvisation. "The most important thing is listening and paying attention...Be genuine moment to moment and the rest of it takes care of itself." Gary asks about another of David's teachers and mentors, https://www.ioimprov.com/?s=Charna+Halpern who built ImprovOlympic with Del, has taught so many magnificent actors and writers, and now owns the marvelous iO Theatre at 1501 Kingsbury. There are 4 performances there every night of the week, a nice bar, and good food. Charna gave us great backstory on a few things. Such as: David camped out at her place when he was a student without an apartment and cooked dinner in exchange for his room. She also told us about him juggling apples in his stand up act and that he does great impersonations (not). Learn more about the force of nature that is Charna onhttps://booth-one.com/2016/11/truth-comedy-charna-halpern-io-founder-artistic-director-episode-47/of our show, performed live at Steppenwolf Theatre. Frank reviews the superb production of

https://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/denniszacek3.jpgDennis Zacek, founding member and Artistic Director of https://victorygardens.org/ Theatre for 34 years, joined us in the Booth for a fascinating conversation about playwrights, directing, and the history of Chicago theatre. He shares his experiences directing over 250 productions, including his current production of https://victorygardens.org/event/waiting-for-godot/, which runs at Victory Gardens through December 15. Dr. Z is an icon of the Chicago theatre community, having been at the forefront of the storefront theatre movement in the mid-1970s. In 2014, Victory Gardens received the special Regional Theatre Tony Award for outstanding contributions to the American theatre landscape. More notes to come... Kiss of Death https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessye_Norman, American opera singer and recitalist. A dramatic soprano, Norman sang a broad repertoire and avoided being limited to one kind of genre. She famously stated that "pigeonholes are for pigeons” and that she was "attracted to the unusual". A towering figure on operatic, concert, and recital hall stages, Norman leaves a vast catalogue of recordings. NY Times music critic Edward Rothstein described her voice as a "grand mansion of sound”, and wrote that “it has enormous dimensions, reaching backward and upward. It opens onto unexpected vistas." Jessye Norman was 74. Read the full NYTime obit https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/obituaries/jessye-norman-dead.html.

https://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/wardellregina1.jpgWardell Julius Clark and Regina Victor are stars who just keep growing in our Chicago theatre community. We had an amazing time talking with them recently about all of their adventures. They are work and life partners and as Gary said, "extraordinary creative artists and human beings." They also did a beautiful job introducing the show. Voice over agents, take note. http://www.reginavictor.com/ works as a theatre director, producer, dramaturg, arts journalist, and mentor. Regina is a non-binary femme who grew up in Oakland, now residing in Chicago. Regina attended boarding school at Phillips Exeter, then studied theatre, religion, and dance at Santa Clara University. They have worked with and been mentored by, among others, Phylicia Rashad, Anna Shapiro, Raelle Myrick-Hodges, and Danya Taymor. Victor has helped develop world premieres by Antoinette Nwandu (Breach:...), Brett Neveu (To Catch A Fish), Sarah Ruhl and Morgan McNaught (A Persephone Pageant), and https://newplayexchange.org/users/18435/loy-webb(The Light, His Shadow). Regina will be direct a world premiere of http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Sideshow-Theatre-Company-2019-20-season-to-premiere-X-Pro-Am/66593.html in May. They have recently been named to be the first Associate Producer ever at Court Theatre. Regina founded an arts criticism platform called http://rescripted.org/ in 2017. Rescripted’s mission is "to reprogram the way we critically engage with each other using an empathetic lens, while cultivating critics and adding new voices to the field." It is a collective of artists who engage with each other's ideas and opinions openly. Regina mentors young critics through a program called http://rescripted.org/the-key/ which has produced some terrific new critics. It is produced in partnership with the Chicago Inclusion Project and is hosted by Steppenwolf Theater Company. https://timelinetheatre.com/person/wardell-julius-clark/ was raised in Fairfield, Alabama, where he toured the country as a child with the amazing Sparkle Dance Company. Read about their mission and programs http://www.sparklelearningcenter.com/. He went on to audition for DePaul University's acting program, which is extremely competitive. He got in to the program, didn't get cut, and has been working here in Chicago ever since. He was a very successful actor for the first 10 years of his career, then asked Ron OJ Parsons if he could assist him on directing Gem of the Ocean at Court. He tells a wonderful story about his first (triumphant) directing gig on https://www.broadwayworld.com/chicago/article/Review-Roundup-INSURRECTION-HOLDING-HISTORY-at-Stage-Left-Theatre-20180117at Stage Left. Next up was Wardell's hugely acclaimed production of https://www.newcitystage.com/2018/09/11/youre-not-ready-a-review-the-shipment-red-tape-theatre/. He has been booked as a director since... https://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/reginawardgary2.jpgWe recently saw and were blown away by https://www.theatreinchicago.com/his-shadow/reviews/10647/, which Wardell (with Sydney Charles) directed, with Regina serving as Dramaturg. It was truly not to be missed.

https://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/EricaDaniels-768px.jpg We were thrilled to have https://victorygardens.org/people/erica-daniels/ join us in the Booth, starting our next 100 episodes off in style! She has been an agent, casting director, Associate Artistic Director, president, and now Executive Director. All at top-flight companies. Erica has so many dear friends in the Chicago theatre community. She helped us all out when we were with small companies who needed casting help and couldn't afford our own casting directors. Her email response would come back pronto with a list of really great suggestions for a role. Early in her career, she joined her close friend and mentor, https://www.steppenwolf.org/ensemble/member-pages/martha--lavey/ in choosing to make the effort to pay attention to smaller companies and emerging talents and to lend a hand up. A graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in Performance Studies, she studied with an amazing group of artists, including Martha Lavey, Frank Galati, Mary Zimmerman and Dwight Conquergood. When she graduated and was planning to start auditioning, Erica broker her foot. While she was recuperating, she thought maybe she could help out in a casting director's office. She worked in Jane Brody's office, then Shirley Hamilton's, two of the best casting people in Chicago. Then, after an exciting stint as the Theatre Department coordinator at William Morris in New York, she went to work for Steppenwolf as their in-house casting director. She was then promoted to Associate Artistic Director and did a wonderful job in that capacity while continuing to do their casting. https://booth-one.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ericamic.jpgShe is providing great leadership at https://victorygardens.org/, collaborating with her partner, Artistic Director https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chay_Yew Erica is eloquent about Victory Gardens' mission to "be a leader in developing and producing new work and cultivating an inclusive theater community." We have seen so many marvelous productions there, most recently, https://victorygardens.org/event/tiny-beautiful-things/. Erica and Chay were listed as #1! in New City Stages' feature: https://www.newcitystage.com/2019/01/02/players-2019/6/ Gary talks to Erica about getting her start in the business, what she looks for in an actor, the audition process, working with directors to cast just the right actor for the role, and what challenges an Executive Director of a Tony Award-winning Chicago off-loop theatre faces on a daily basis. You'll find Erica to be eloquent and forthright in her responses. Just a joy to have as a guest in the Booth. Kiss of Death: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/15/arts/music/franco-zeffirelli-dead.html Italian director with a penchant for excess. Renowned for his extravagantly romantic opera productions, immensely popular film versions of Shakespeare and an active and sometimes controversial social life. Wiki tells us he was one of the only living people traceably consanguineous with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonardo_da_Vinci. Mr. Zeffirelli was 96. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/15/arts/music/franco-zeffirelli-dead.html