Update from Elixirland

It’s been two months since our last production, To Be Loved (Version 1), ended its 4-week run at chashama in NY, and all of us at Elixir are still in recovery. (Thankfully we never ended up in Britney-ville, but there were still plenty of moments when we sat in front of a mirror with hair clippers in hand.) Given that we only produce one or two shows per season, it will be awhile before we have a new project to announce. But we do enjoy breaking the silence periodically, if only to let everyone know we’re still here! And so, to whoever is reading, here’s some of what’s been going on since last we posted.

First of all, the company. The roster of members has been shuffled a bit, partly to make room for new additions and partly because our individual artists are so busy with their own endeavors. Kelly Markus (who played “Dorian” in To Be Loved) is currently performing in The Butane Group’s Operation Ajax: A Game of Skill & Chance, after which she plans to focus her full attention on relaunching The Fall Collection, a festival of theatre, music, and film that debuted in 2004 and promises to make huge Lower-East-side waves when it returns in October 2007. Also joining The Fall Collection is Elizabeth Sugarman (”Anon” in To Be Loved), who will help curate the festival’s theatre leg. The Fall Collection is Kelly’s baby and Elizabeth’s godchild; we wish them the best and look forward to helping in any way we can.

New to the company are Michelle Wood and Nick Chase (also a Fall Collection alumni). Michelle is a graduate of the A.F.A. Theatre Program at Mercer County Community College, where Jody and Alex spotted her and demanded she join the fold. Michelle read the role of “Anon” in the Luna Stage reading of To Be Loved; her first priority continues to be completing her education, but Alex is already writing roles for her and we can’t wait to introduce her to NYC theatregoers in our next show!

Nick is something of a Renaissance man. An actor, a comedian, and a novelist, he created the two-man show Broes Before Hoes with comedy partner Rosalyn Hart, and together they have been selling out performances at Mo Pitkin’s House of Satisfaction. Nick is also a profoundly talented dramatic actor. Alex worked with him during Fall Collection 2004, where Nick appeared in “Mountainlight,” and we at Elixir have been itching to get him on board ever since.

Life is crazy as ever for our core members. In addition to directing To Be Loved, Jody just finished producing the second of this season’s three Mercer College productions. The third, which he will also direct, comes courtesy of 19th century Germany (via 21st century New Brunswick) in the form of Georg Buchner’s Woyzeck, newly translated by Inga Meier, Elixir’s Resident Dramaturg. The translation has been a five-year odyssey for Inga: She began it as a Rutgers undergrad, and the Mercer production this spring will mark its World Premier. In the years between, she did everything short of exhuming Mr. Buchner’s corpse to find the original intentions of his play and translate them, as simply and exactly as possible, for today’s English-language audiences. Last week Jody approached Alex (who has been known to moonlight as a sound designer) and asked him to build an elaborate sound effect to underscore a scene at a local watering hole where, near the end of a festive dance, everyone on stage turns into bugs! If that doesn’t make you want to see it, we don’t know what will!

As a playwright (his other night job), Alex continues to work on a new play which (we hope) will see the light of day not too far in the future. It concerns a gay couple and the media frenzy that erupts when they announce, very publicly, that one of them has become pregnant. In a major departure for Alex, it’s a comedy!

And that’s about all for the goings-on of the last two months. To Be Loved’s nights at chashama may be over, but as that production was far from definitive (and Alex is still tweaking the text), we hope to announce a second coming in the near future. UPDATE: To Be Loved (Version 2) will premier at the 11th Annual New York International Fringe Festival in August 2007!

Again, thank you so much to everyone who came out to see it. The production marked several milestones for us, not the least of which was our introduction to MySpace and the opportunity it gave us to meet so many fascinating people. Whoever is reading this, we hope you’re well and enjoying the first few months of the new year!

As always, our best,

Jody, Alex & Faye
Elixir Productions Theatre Company

February 25, 2007 | Filed Under Company Members, Musings, News 

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