Life Stories at Stick Fly

22 Dec 2011, 5:18 PM by frank

The Life Stories and Media Lab students went to see "Stick Fly" on Broadway by playwright Lydia R. Diamond at the Cort Theater on Wednesday, December 21.

The play follows the LeVays, an affluent African American family who come together to spend a summer weekend at their Martha's Vineyard home. Themes of class, race and identity politics intersect in this contemporary comedy. Starring Dule Hill, Mekhi Phifer, Tracie Thoms, Ruben Santiago- Hudson, Rosie Benton, Condola Rashad and direction by Kenny Leon with producer and  composer Alicia Keys.

 I was immediately captivated by the storyline and the plot twists which kept me engaged and intrigued as it unfolded. My fellow ensemble members loved the play as it related to some of the themes we are exposed to and exploring in our own work.

After the play we had the opportunity to take a stage tour-the set was so unique because a lot of it was functional and the design of the rooms allowed us to view what was occuring in more than one room simultaneosly.

We were so lucky because acclaimed actress Tracie Thoms gave us an exclusive talk back on the set; and invited her co-stars Mekhi Phifer and Dule Hill to say hello, answer some questions about their experience in this show, and take a photo.

We learned so much from speaking with Tracie. It was amazing to find out how complex and time consuming it can get as a working actor on such a big production like this one. Tracie also pointed out that she is still discovering and evolving her character which was interesting to find out because I had this misconception that once you start performing your piece, then there is no more room for enhancement of your character. I remember first seeing Tracie in he movie "Rent" and was so moved by her performance and talent, as well as in "Stick Fly." All of us were blown away by her many skills humor, honesty, and overall how down to earth she is.

What made the night even more special was being able to tell Tracie how her peformances inspire me personally and help me develop as an actor.

Everyone should see this show!

THANK YOU TRACIE!!!

written by Devin Mojica

Life Stories Acting Students Perform Original Plays Created by Playwriting Students

02 Aug 2011, 5:09 PM by frank

Students in the Life Stories Youth Ensemble recently performed at the Lucille Lortel Theater to debut seven new original plays created by their peers in the Naranjo-Golder Playwriting program.  Developed during the winter and spring through the advanced playwriting program, these new works represent the unique voices of our young playwrights.  The plays explored a wide range of themes, including love and relationships, family struggles, mental illness and issues around identity.  We are proud of all the hard work of the playwrights and the actors to bring to these works to the stage for an audience for the first time.   

To view more photos from the performance, please check out the

Rated (R)eal - Life Stories and Playwriting album on Facebook.

THE NEW GROUP and URBAN ARTS PARTNERSHIP present

Rated (R)eal

DIRECTED BY: IAN MORGAN AND JULIA GROB

TWO SIDED GIRL
By Petra Wimer
Mercedes Alvarez…………………………………………………………………Sam
Devin Mojica…………………………………………………………………………Andre
Kayla Robinson………………………………………………………………………Idesebal

BROKEN
By Sarwat Siddiqui
Jorge Garzon………………………………………………………………………Yasser
Genesis Urena……………………………………………………………………Janine
Petra Wimer………………………………………………………………………Aqsa

FINAL ROUND
By Lorenzo Jackson
Isaiah Alicea………………………………………………………………………Justin
Stephanie Diaz……………………………………………………………………Yvette
Devin Mojica………………………………………………………………………Derrick

PANICA
By Anthony Naranjo
Isaiah Alicea…………………………………………………………………………Johnny
Maxine Batchler…………………………………………………………………Conner
Lorenzo Jackson……………………………………………………………………Jack

MIRACLES
By Anurahda Golder
Sydney White…………………………………………………………………Laura
Hannah Dahm…………………………………………………………………Nurse
Anthony Naranjo……………………………………………………………Javier

THERAPIST
By Jorge Garzon
Sydney White………………………………………………………………………Lisa
Hannah Dahm………………………………………………………………………Stacey

OH COMMITMENT
By Genesis Urena
Haskiri Velazquez…………………………………………………………………Cassie
Stanley Mercedes…………………………………………………………………Father
Anthony Naranjo.…………………………………………………………………Aiden

Life Stories Open Class and Semester Round Up!

18 Jan 2011, 10:51 AM by Juliagrob

        Life Stories has rocked the past semester after a stellar finish over last summer. We return with some new cast members, some returning faces and more vigor than ever to one-up the past year and continue the study of acting!

        This year the main focus is using the students to portray stories of their generation. While in the past Life Stories has been about the study of individuals and the performance of those real people in students lives, we have been overlooking their expert knowledge of their own experiences and lives that we see through their hard work and performances, but not through their voices. This year their study is concentrated on extracting that expertise.

       This past semester has been spent ensemble building and using exercises that, while fun, get to the root of what our students desire and want in their lives. As we built up this understanding, we shifted to working with existing scripts about young people. We used master works She Like Girls by Chisa Hutchinson and Ordinary People by Judith Guest to workshop student performances and make the connections between the young people in the play and our own burgeoning actors.

        After several classes of script reading, students were assigned two person scenes from either play and given a single session and the rest of the week to practice it leading up to the open class this past week. Though this was just a showcase of the work we've done so far, the students went all out and performed intimate, personal and well realized scenes that conveyed the power of their voices and the skill they have honed over the years. 

       Moving forward, we begin our character building and start to build for our show in the Spring. We have some surprises, more exciting developments and great performances to come this year, so check out the photos below of this past weekends work and stay posted for more updates!

Life Stories Exchange with High Meadow Arts!

04 Aug 2010, 1:48 PM by UrbanArtsAdmin

We are excited to report on Life Stories’ first Exchange experience with High Meadow Arts’ Youth Ensemble Theater!
 
Founder of Urban Arts Partnership, Amy Poux, now lives in Stone Ridge, NY where she developed and runs High Meadow Arts, Inc.
 
The idea for both companies to join forces, provide students with new performance opportunities, and initiate an Exchange was born.

"Summer Shorts" was the culmination of the year long development of the actors and playwrights in the Life Stories program. Starting in the fall of '09 with the beginning of the acting and playwriting classes, students worked through to the next year studying theater as actors and refining original scripts as playwrights. Julia Grob and Zac Kline taught the classes all the way through to the spring '10, when the actors and plays were handed over to New Group Associate Director Ian Morgan, who directed "Summer Shorts."

“Rectify” was developed by High Meadow Arts’ Youth Ensemble Theater in Stone Ridge, NY.  Using an improvisational process, this ensemble worked together tirelessly over two weeks to develop this play about the terms of friendship and what it means to be human.
--------------------
Life Stories met up early Saturday morning and boarded a yellow 'cheese' bus to take all 23 members of the cast and crew upstate on the two and a half hour drive.

The young group (Y.E.T.) that makes up the Youth Ensemble Theater greeted us with open arms at the High Meadow Performing Arts Center. After taking in the fresh country air and the beautiful surroundings, both groups came together to engage in some ice-breaker and warm-up games.

 
Then it was time to get down to working: the groups rehearsed and tooks turns teching in the new space--a converted red barn!

 
We had a full house for the first full performance of both our shows. We wish we could have stayed longer, but Life Stories had to jump back on the cheese bus for the return journey to prepare for the next day’s hosting duties and show.
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Even after a long Saturday, Life Stories was up and ready to go on Sunday at the 52nd Street Projects 5 Angels Theater. Students immediately began a tech run in the new space.

 
We were eager to greet our new High Meadow Arts’ friends who arrived from their journey and  began teching their show. 

The final performance of the combined shows was powerful! The packed house gave us a standing ovation!

We then celebrated the Exchange’s success with a Reception—where New Yorkers from Stone Ridge and the city mingled and spoke with us about our process and our plays.

The Life Stories 24 Hour Plays!

30 Jul 2010, 5:09 PM by UrbanArtsAdmin

Life Stories kicked off its summer program with The 24 Hour Plays at the
Studio Theater. 20 students, six directors, four writers and educational professionals met up on July
10th at the Studio Theater at Theater Row and prepared for the madness that
would be the following two days of creation and rehearsal. First order of
business was Orientation: a prop and costume piece was presented by all the
participants, as well as their secret talents and onstage desires. After the
eclectic props, (including a gas mask, boxing gloves, chinchilla fur coat
and Uno cards) were set aside and talents revealed, the actors were split
into their casts.  The playwrights (all Life Stories alum) worked with their
casts to develop characters and story lines, informed by what was shared
during Orientation.

The writers worked separately in the New Group office for the rest of the
day on their scripts while the actors received a Technical Theater Workshop
taught by 24 Hour Plays Technical Director, Philip Naude. After the class
was over, the actors left to rest up for the day ahead while the writers
honed their scripts to 24 Hour Plays perfection (the last one out by 9pm).



On the morning of the 11th, the actors received their scripts:

Pop Some Pills, by Audasia Glenn, featured a cast of mental patients waiting
for a therapy session while revealing the reasons they are in the psych
ward, ranging from alien abduction paranoia to random fainting spells.

"We Don't Have to Talk About That." by Elizabeth Cruz-Cortez had the brother
and friends of demanding, leg-broken girl attempt to figure out whether she
was actually injured or not. Her demands ranged from, "Thomas, soda. NOW",
"Feed me popcorn!" and "Fan me now!"

The Five of Us by Manny Minaya chronicles the money troubles of five
roommates attempting to decide who was short on rent. Accusations fly as the
money spent is tallied up from gas masks, dresses and feline funerals.

The Alexandrite Diamond by Maynor Alas situated an oil tycoon with stakes in
Russia courting a mysterious Russian woman, only to be thwarted by upcoming
rap star "Ty-K47" and former child star "Lindsay Spears" and their wild
celebrity behavior.



Guest Directors: Hilarie Burton, Sarah Bisman, Tina Fallon (24 Hour Company
founder), Diane Neal, Helene Taylor and Lucas Steele all donated their time
and talents to work with students to rehearse and stage their plays

The mad rush from studio to theater, from rehearsal to tech and from
memorization to performance kept everyone on their toes until the 7pm
curtain, where all four plays were flawlessly performed and applauded.

Shout out to Clevins Browne who delivered poetry interludes commenting on
each of the plays that he conceived hours before curtain.

Special Thanks to our sponsor Montblanc for making this program possible!