GIRLS’ SPORTS
by Emily Kaye Lazzaro
Directed by Jeffrey Mosser
Fresh Ink Theatre
Factory Theatre, Boston, MA
April 5-20, 2013
Fresh Ink Theatre Facebook Page
Reviewed by Becca Kidwell
(Boston) New drama is a tricky game that needs to be practiced over and over again. Even after all of that practice, the playing field is the only true test of its mettle. Girls’ Sports has gone to court to test itself and it’s come up short. Continue reading
A Dream Play
Presented by Heart & Dagger Productions
By August Strindberg, Translated by Harry G. Carlson
Directed by Melanie Garber
Directing Profile by Becca Kidwell
photo credit: Drew Linehan
Melanie Garber has a dancer’s sensibility of direction with Heart & Dagger Productions’ A Dream Play, but this is not a surprise. She has shown this intricate direction in Actor’s Shakespeare Project’s Medea, Fresh Ink Theatre Company’s Priscilla Dreams The Answer, and Heart & Dagger’s Crave. Not only does Ms. Garber make words come alive, but she also brings life to words. From the initial moments of each of the productions, she chooses specific, distinct movements that create the environment of the play. Continue reading
Photo by Rebecca Bradshaw, with James Fay, Bob Mussett and Omar Robinson
Written by Patrick Gabridge
Directed by Rebecca Bradshaw
The Factory Theatre
Boston, MA
February 1-16, 2013
Fresh Ink Theatre Facebook Page
Review by Gillian Daniels
WARNING: Scenes of torture.
(Boston) I’ve always been skeptical of the “martyr” concept but enjoy it when it’s depicted well. A martyr trades one life for an immortal one, living beyond death through the ideas he championed in life. He’s not always a hero and he doesn’t always come from a selfless place, but he sacrifices himself all the same.
In Patrick Gabridge’s Fire On Earth, William Tyndale (Bob Mussett) works to translate the Bible into English. It’s 1524, King Henry VIII is contemplating divorce from his first wife, and the Catholic Church has a stranglehold on the Latin Bible. The Church decides when it’s read, who’s able to understand it, and what it means to the largely illiterate English masses. Religion isn’t personal, it’s a business. Mussett’s Tyndale, with a blissful naïveté in his face, opts to preach with his new translation. Sir Thomas More and the bishops are not pleased. Continue reading
Photo credit: Fresh Ink Theatre
Mommy and Daddy don’t like fast food.
presented by Fresh Ink Theatre Company
Written by Ginger Lazarus
Directored by Dawn M. Simmons
Dramaturg: Tyler J. Monroe
The Factory Theatre
November 30-December 15, 2012
Fresh Ink Theatre Blog, Facebook Page
Review by Kitty Drexel
(Boston) There are many valid reasons to become a parent. Some “adults” feel that it is their life’s mission to procreate; some couples want to share their love organically; and others accidentally drop a cheeto into their partner’s lap, live in the moment and welcome a baby 9 months later. To each their own. Ginger Lazarus’ nugget of hilarity, The Embryos, offers a surrealist viewpoint on parenting that investigates topical politics as well as the extent of delusion only unconditional love enables. Her characters begin their journey hoping for a larger family. They end it on the wrong sides of the law and the greater Shawarma community. Continue reading
The ensemble of Priscilla Dreams the Answer. Left to Right: Bob Mussett (Harry), Dakota Shepard (Zop), Caroline L. Price (Priscilla), Michael Caminiti (Simon), Emily Kaye Lazzaro (Zip). Photo Credit: Sarah E. Farbo
Priscilla Dreams The Answer by Walt McGough, Fresh Ink Theatre Company, The Factory Theatre, 12/8/11-12/17/11, http://www.freshinktheatre.com/on-stage.html.
Reviewed by Becca Kidwell
(Boston, MA) Douglas Adams would be proud of Walt McGough. While Priscilla does not have to deal with a world that is already destroyed, she does have to find the answer to save both the Earth and another planet that has a close relationship with the Earth. This clever and witty play takes the audience on a journey through space and time but never loses sight of the core humanity, which is the test of well-crafted science fiction. Continue reading
