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Raquel Loving, Carsen Joenk, & Molly Bicks: JUDY DOOMED US ALL

Are you ready to get into the minds of a new directing team showcasing their work at the 2019 Ice Factory?

Next up are Raquel Loving, Carsen Joenk, & Molly Bicks, directors of “Judy Doomed Us All.” Nancy Reagan is on a "Grand National Tour” when a 4th of July tornado traps her and her speechwriter in an unsavory town. As class lines blur during the statewide-emergency, they are forced to reckon with the local 'degenerates'.

July 24 - 27 @ 7 pm Tix & Info: http://newohiotheatre.org/judy-doomed-us-all.htm

Raquel Loving, Molly Bicks, and Carsen Joenk

Describe your show in 3 words. Party City Americana-Musical  What makes your play stand out? Right now there is a lot of art coming out about the 80’s, and we think, respectfully, that we’re doing it in a pretty weird way. In particular, we’re excited about the way the 80’s manifested in our music. The 80s was such an odd and fascinating time in terms of music. Of course, there was the hallmark synth sound. There were songs that have become timeless classics, (“Born in the USA”, “Let’s Go Crazy” just to name a few) and then there were songs that became 80s  classics specifically (“Don’t You Want Me?”) When we were deciding what the music should sound like, we were really into pulling from all these various genres that made the 80s such an eclectic decade (electro-pop, post-punk, rock, country). Our composers did a wonderful job of making those connections while not making it cartoonishly 80’s.   Call someone out by name: who must come see this production? Anyone who romanticizes the Reagans as a more ‘civil’ moment in political history, liberal people who are still supporting politicians who were in power during the war on drugs   Who is your favorite character in the show? One of our favorite characters in our show is Kitty Kelley, an infamous biographer trying to get a story out of Nancy Reagan. Kitty Kelley, is based on a real person of the same name, who wrote the trashiest, nastiest, unauthorized biographies of celebrities ever made. One of the fun things about writing Kitty was how over the top our real-life inspiration was (She drove a pink convertible with the words ‘meow’ on the license plate for example). Kitty frames feminine power in a way that’s so contrasting to the ‘proper’ image of Nancy Reagan. The idea that this loud, over the top, celebrity biographer was able to scare the Reagans (as she was in real life) is really fun. We hope that she would get a kick out of us writing one of our own unauthorized biographies. Why is your play important right now? Right now everyone is enraged at the nature of the world and they should be. The current political state of things is an absolute disgrace. However, in many ways, this isn’t anything new. Kennedy’s administration funded terrorist camps that killed thousands of innocent citizens in Cuba.  We are disgusted by Trump's wall however Bill Clinton's massive border fence escapes conversation almost entirely.   We hope that our play encourages people not to look at the current political moment as a blip, but as a continuation of a system, the foundation of which is genocide, racism, and inequality. There is so much emphasis on the self in America, which is one of the most lethal tools in perpetuating inequality. This kind of narrative allows for lucky people to believe they’re special and deserving. It suggests that people who aren’t systematically favored should stay quiet. It’s a system that feeds into itself. We hope that this play reads as a criticism of the American idea of individualism and the way that it causes people to destroy themselves and each other. What sort of person is going to love this show? People who like bad puns, fourth of July decorations and conspiracy theories.

Photography by John Keon Photo

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Samantha Sheppard, Jenny Reed, & Charly Evon Simpson: SEX PLAY

It’s time for a new interview with a team of directors who are showcasing their work in the 2019 Ice Factory!

Next up are Samantha Sheppard, Jenny Reed, and Charly Evon Simpson, directors of “Sex Play.”  Navigating the complexities of contemporary dating rituals, unconventional therapy sessions, and the erotic intimacy of fantasy exploration, Serena, Nic, Paloma, and Ella discover the joys—and anxieties—of asking for what we want.

July 17 - 20 @ 7 pm Tix & Info: http://newohiotheatre.org/sex-play.htm

Samantha Sheppard, Jenny Reed, and Charly Evon Simpson

Describe your show in three words.

Steamy, visceral, and human

What makes your play stand out?

I have to shout out the work that my co-Artistic Director Samantha Sheppard has done as the Intimacy Director. The desire to make a show that deals with sexual expression and communication was largely driven by our frustration with most representations of “sexuality” on stage and in popular media—and the impulse to create something new. She has helped me create a space where consent is always present and where the sexual expression on stage feels very raw and organic. I can't wait to share our collaboration with and audience!

Why is your show important right now? 

We began making this show right before the #MeToo movement and at that moment in time all we were seeing on stage was sex being portrayed as either violent and triggering; as a device to shock the audience; or using sexual subcultures like kink as a gimmick. We are happy to report that in the past two years we have seen a lot of amazing artists challenge that representation as well. With Sex Play it was important for us to show audiences an exploration of sex and pleasure regarded as celebratory, messy, human, playful, and visceral. We hope that Sex Play can be a safe space to remember the joys of sex and for a moment escape this toxic politic climate where it feels like every day there is a new story about how sex can be transformed into a tool for violence and oppression.

What will the audience be thinking about in the car as they drive home after this show? 

Hopefully their favorite sexual fantasy!

photography by John Keon

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Taylor Reynolds & Rebecca Martinez: SONGS ABOUT TRAINS

Welcome to another look at the creatives behind the Ice Factory Festival! Check back every Wednesday for a new interview with a team of directors showcasing their work in the 2019 Ice Factory!

Next up are Taylor Reynolds and Rebecca Martinez, directors of “Songs About Trains.” This twist on a conventional musical explores the multiethnic history of the laborers who built the US Rail system.

July 10 - 13 @ 7 pm Tix & Info: http://newohiotheatre.org/songs-about-trains-if19.htm 

Rebecca Martinez and Taylor Reynolds

Describe your show in 3 words.

Rebecca:  Songs about trains. But seriously... folk-inspired, joyful, alive.  

Taylor: Thoughtful, revealing, folksy

What makes your play stand out?

Taylor: “Songs About Trains” primarily uses folk songs about trains/railroads as our mode of storytelling. These songs interweave with texts based on historical quotes and stories from railroad workers and organic movement to create an emotionally engaging look into the lives of the people who actually built the railroads. We combine song, text, and dance to stretch and reform the idea of a "traditional" musical.

What’s challenging about bringing this script to life?

Rebecca:  The canon of railroad songs is HUUUUUUUUUUGE. For us the challenge has been, and still is, which songs do we want to sing and why?  What is the journey we are hoping to bring audiences on? How do we approach this music, not as historians and musicologists, but as contemporary folx who are living with the legacy of these workers and their labor? And living in a country where white supremacy has decided what is recorded in the history books, how can we use music to tell stories that have often been kept invisible by dominant culture? In this iteration, we continue to wrestle with these questions.

Why is your play important right now?

Taylor: We are interrogating who gets to write history and whose stories are erased when history is written through the lens of white supremacy.

Why did you want to be involved in this production?

Rebecca: Joy. In his youth, my grandpa worked on the D&RGW Railroad as a fireman, shoveling coal to keep the engines going. My nephew works for Union Pacific, maintaining tracks all over the country. For both, the railroad meant steady employment and a way to provide for themselves and the family. In that is joy. I’ve been reflecting a lot on the circumstances surrounding the creation of these songs - times were tough, the work was hard and dangerous, workers were often isolated from family and loved ones for long periods of time. But for many, these songs were an act of resistance and a way to tell the story of what was happening in their moment in time. I’ve been thinking how so many of these songs are joyful and how joy itself can be an act of resistance.

What will the audience be thinking about in the car as they drive home from this show?

Rebecca: Car, train, bike, walk - however people get home - I hope people think about the unseen labor and laborers that has and is and will continue to build this country. For those who are engaged in this labor, I hope that maybe, just maybe, they see something of themselves reflected on stage.

Taylor: Who are the people who work to build the things we take for granted? What are the sacrifices they've made that we don't think about or know about? How can we uplift and honor their stories?

photography by John Keon

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Helen Banner & Grace Oberhofer: OUTSIDE OF EDEN

Interested in the minds behind the original works of the Ice Factory? Check back every Wednesday for a new interview with a team of directors who are showcasing their work in the 2019 Ice Factory!

First up is Helen Banner and Grace Oberhofer, directors of “Outside of Eden.” Travel back to in time as Empress Irene struggles to set up a legacy for her grand-daughters to rule as future Empresses of the Byzantine Empire.

For tix & info, click here! 

Helen Banner & Grace Oberhofer

Describe your show in 3 words.

Beautiful, powerful, iconic 

What makes your play stand out?

outside of Eden is an epic piece of story-telling that flows quickly between play and song. With over 30 songs performed by 10 women+, it’s a very engaging world, with multiple characters pushing right until the end for their ideal Emperor. No one’s wrong and no one’s right, but you’ll care who wins.

Why is your play important right now?

There’s a serious intent to our work and a reason we wanted to track Empresses across decades. We’re fascinated at how women manage to craft political lives in cultural climates hostile to female power. Icons/Idols: outside of Eden explores women in power and the ongoing bargains and sacrifices they make to stay in power. Irene’s position is deeply reminiscent of our own time, where even in democracies, there is still a drive to create “first families” and hand on power to wives or children of popular rulers, clinging to rigid traditional structures over everything else.

Why did you want to make this show?

We’ve crafted a unique style together in our music, language and staging.The Byzantine Choral Project wants to give you moments where you are totally transported by the music. Come if you enjoy the sheer visceral experience of a song lifting you with its emotion, come if you want to hear what power sounds like. We have some amazing performers on stage with us, and it is a real joy to hear the stage filled with their voices. 

What sort of person is going to love this show?

Everyone who has an inner Empress and loves a good power ballad.

photography by John Keon