Episode 014 – Hamilton Clancy of The Drilling Company – part 2

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DrillingCompanyInterviewClancy2In the second part of the Hamilton Clancy interview we visit stories about the Theater Ghost, a horrible audition story, how Drilling Company helped to raise money for the kids at PS87, and actors teaching Sunday school.

Don’t forget that Drilling Company is now running The Norwegians by C. Denby Swanson and directed by Elowyn Castle with the following cast:  Hamilton Clancy, Veronica Cruz, Karla Hendricks, and Dan Teachout. The stage manager is Mary Linehan, and the house manager is Milena Davila. Go to the website for more info:  www.drillingcompany.org.

Topics covered in the interview:

  • Intro  (0:00)
  • The Drilling Company Theater Ghost as told by Dan Teachout (5:19)
  • History of space – Mark Zeller (10:03)
  • The new one-act read-aloud, Stephen plays a trick (12:25)
  • The Drilling Company starts producing full-length plays (15:25)
  • The haunted house at PS87, Zombie Labs (16:58)
  • The Discovery Series for developing new plays (19:15)
  • In Memoriam: Edwin Owens and Richard Harden (21:58)
  • Actors teaching Sunday school (25:24)
  • Now playing over 100 performances, The Norwegians (32:08)
  • Hamilton’s bad audition story, the toy fair (35:24)

As usual my buddy Sal Clemente (of Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra) who wrote the podcast theme song, “Here We Go Again,” plays us out.

Episode 013 – Hamilton Clancy of The Drilling Company – part 1

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Stephen Bittrich & Hamilton Clancy on stage of The Drilling Company Theater

In 2000 I was introduced to a theatre company called The Drilling Company which at that time produced new one-acts in themed evenings.  They’ve since branched out into full-lengths, play development and even Shakespeare in the Parking Lot on the Lower East Side.

I can’t think of many plays I’ve written in the past 14 years which have not been in some way inspired or nurtured by The Drilling Company, which is helmed by my friend, Artistic Director, Hamilton Clancy.

In part 1 of this two part interview, Hamilton and I talk about the history of the company as they begin their 16th season.

Don’t forget that Drilling Company is now running The Norwegians by C. Denby Swanson.  Go to the website for more info:  www.drillingcompany.org.

Topics covered in the interview:

  • Welcome Hamilton and audience  (1:49)
  • How the company began, and the first show (7:00)
  • Second show Neighbors and how I met Drilling Company (12:59)
  • Company member Scott Baker’s Kringled (15:15)
  • The one-act evenings and the themes (18:58)
  • The Drilling Company Theater space on 78th Street (22:12)
  • Why is the company called The Drilling Company (25:08)
  • Political theatre, George Bush years (27:53)
  • A man of many hats, including writer (31:27)
  • Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, crap on the moon (37:33)
  • Dave Marantz’s story about the sword/knife fight in the parking lot (45:53)
  • In the Car stories, the birth of the read-aloud (49:48)

As usual my buddy Sal Clemente (of Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra) who wrote the podcast theme song, “Here We Go Again,” plays us out.

Episode 012 – Gioia De Cari of Truth Values

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Photo by John Olson

My friend Gioia De Cari created a very successful one-woman show called Truth Values: One Girl’s Romp Through M.I.T.’s Male Math Maze which has had 95 performances in 45 theaters in 17 states with over 17,000 audience members.

In this interview we talk about the development of her show as well as her background as a mathematician at M.I.T.  The show has create a serious discussion about women in STEM fields.  The writing of the show was in part spurred on by a quote from the former president of Harvard, Lawrence Summers who infamously (and publicly) suggested that the reason women weren’t more represented in STEM fields was because of innate gender differences.

[Please note: Gioia wrote me in horror after the interview realizing that she had had a brain fizz and said “Bill Clinton” when she meant “Barack Obama” at the 9:20 mark of the interview.]

If you’ve ever wanted to write and perform your own one person show, certainly Gioia may be held up as a model of success.  Or if you’re interested in the topic of gender inequality in education, you’ll enjoy her point of view!

Topics covered in the interview:

  • Introduction.  Welcome to New York!  (0:00)
  • Hello Gioia De Cari.  The acting impulse.  MIT. (2:52)
  • The beginning of her one-woman show, Truth Values (7:15)
  • Tips from Wynn Handman about writing a one person show (11:43)
  • Gioia trying to fit in at MIT (14:49)
  • How she started booking the show into theatres around US (20:43)
  • How she figured out the business end of touring (24:30)
  • Political writing, can art change people or policy? (31:31)
  • Stephen didn’t realize he was sexually harrassed in the workplace (34:39)
  • Writing again after a hit (39:37)
  • Gioia’s most horrible or bizarre or interesting audition experience (46:15)
  • Go eat at Chirping Chicken at 77th and Amsterdam! (51:44)

As usual my buddy Sal Clemente (of Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra) who wrote the podcast theme song, “Here We Go Again,” plays us out.

Episode 011 – Off Off Topic – Midnight Cobbler

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The Empire State Building – NYC

I’m heading to New York City in less than a week to capture a bunch of podcast interviews and see old friends.  Here’s a shot of one of the most beautiful buildings in the world on a night when it was showing off my favorite colors — the deep blues.

In this short and sweet episode I tell one of my New York stories — about going to a midtown luxury apartment building at midnight to meet a complete stranger for freshly made peach cobbler!

Don’t forget the upcoming “live” podcast event at The Drilling Company Theater, 236 West 78th Street, 3rd floor on February 11th, 2014.  I’ll be interviewing Artistic Director, Hamilton Clancy.  The event is free. Donations welcome.  Come be a part and then hang out afterwards.

Topics covered in the podcast:

  • NYC here I come! (0:00)
  • The flood (6:27)
  • Live Podcast at the Drilling Company of Tuesday, February 11th at 7 PM (9:44)
  • The midnight peach cobbler story (10:28)
  • Exceptional people in New York (16:20)

As usual my buddy Sal Clemente (of Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra) who wrote the podcast theme song, “Here We Go Again,” plays us out.

Episode 010 – Off Off Topic – Pulmonary Embolism and Bad Dating Story

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From THE NORWEGIANS by C. Denby Swanson at The Drilling Company. Hamilton Clancy, Dan Teachout, Veronica Cruz. Photo by Lee Wexler.

I’d like to announce a “live” podcast event at The Drilling Company Theater, 236 West 78th Street, 3rd floor on February 11th, 2014.  I’ll be interviewing Artistic Director, Hamilton Clancy.  The event is free. Donations welcome.  Come be a part and then hang out afterwards.

And go see the play that’s running there at the theater right now, The Norwegians by C. Denby Swanson.

In this Off Off Topic episode I tell two stories…

… the day I felt like I might die from shortness of breathe and ended up having a pulmonary embolism!

… and one very uncomfortable and awkward online dating experience where I made a fool of myself!  Well, it was more of an almost date because we actually didn’t ever go out.

Topics covered in the podcast:

  • The introduction (0:00)
  • The day I almost died (4:03)
  • Hello mortality! (13:49)
  • Why online dating sucks (16:45)
  • What to never do with someone you meet at an online dating site (20:56)

As usual my buddy Sal Clemente (of Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra) who wrote the podcast theme song, “Here We Go Again,” plays us out.

Episode 009 – Storyteller Saundra Kelley of Jonesborough TN

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saundra_kelley_storyteller_03In this episode of Off Off Pod, I interview storyteller, Saundra Kelley.

As many of you probably know, I’ve been staying with my parents in Tennessee for a while since my mother’s been going through treatments for cancer.  And while here, I wanted to find some local artists to interview.  Jonesborough, Tennessee is THE place to go for storytelling.

Saundra is the President of the Storyteller’s Guild, an organization in the Jonesborough area, and she and her group perform in a beautiful complex built just for storytelling.  Besides the local “tellers,” performers come from all over the world to Jonesborough to perform.  The height of the excitement happens in October during a yearly storytelling festival.  There are links below if you want to find out more about the area.

I had asked Saundra if she had any local true ghost stories she could tell, and she delivered.  Afterwards I got a tour of some of the old buildings and locations.

Topics covered in the podcast:

  • The introduction (0:00)
  • Saundra Kelley, The Story Teller’s Guild http://storytellersguild.org (5:05)
  • The Jonesborough Storytelling Center http://www.storytellingcenter.net (6:50)
  • Beautiful Historic Jonesborough, Oldest Town in Tennessee (11:12)
  • A Master’s Degree in Storytelling ETSU (East Tennessee State University) http://www.etsu.edu/coe/stories (14:40)
  • The storytelling festival in October (18:15)
  • How Saundra Kelley made her way to Jonesborough from Florida (20:11)
  • Why I asked her for a ghost story (26:42)
  • Ghost Story: “Blood on the Floor” (32:51)
  • The seasonal ghost (48:41)
  • Andrew Jackson strolls around town (51:58)
  • Some of the mechanics of storytelling — using images (55:54)
  • How to partake in storytelling in your area http://www.storynet.org (1:03:17)

As usual my buddy Sal Clemente (of Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra) who wrote the podcast theme song, “Here We Go Again,” plays us out.

Episode 008 – Off Off Topic with Stephen Bittrich – Riding the Wave and the Dominatrix

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Erik Van Wyck and Stephen Bittrich at Lincoln Center

In this Off Off Topic episode I tell 3 of my classic New York stories…

The bad, out of focus photo to the left was taken by a beautiful stranger (who looked like a sexy librarian) and marked the beginning of a night of extreme culinary delights when we crashed an exclusive after party at one of the most expensive restaurants in New York, Per Se.  (You’re welcome Per Se for the free ad!)

In another story, I talk about being hired by a 6 foot Dominatrix, and in the last story you’ll hear how a beautiful French nanny picked me up in the Houston International Airport when I was 24.  (No really… really!)

Topics covered in the podcast:

  • The introduction (0:00)
  • An email from Malaysia about my play, MIME IN A BOX, getting paid by Paypal (4:13)
  • Coco the Cat (5:44)
  • Story #1  – The Dominatrix (6:50)
  • Story #2 – Eating for free at Per Se one of the most expensive restaurants in NYC (12:30)
  • “Riding the Wave” — is there meaning in the universe? — Whoah, heavy! (19:57)
  • The date — the mistake of taking her to my play, HOLE (22:18)
  • Story #3 – Getting picked up at the Houston International Airport by a beautiful French nanny (29:50)
  • The Cyclone Roller Coaster in Coney Island (33:30)

As usual my buddy Sal Clemente (of Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra) who wrote the podcast theme song, “Here We Go Again,” plays us out.

Episode 007 – Off Off Topic with Stephen Bittrich – Jail in NYC

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Fake Mugshot of Stephen Bittrich

Okay, that’s not really my mugshot.  That’s my tribute to Nick Nolte’s mug.  But like Nick, I also got sent to the clink — spent 24 hours in the New York City penal system.  Oh what an adventure!

In this Off Off Topic episode of the podcast I talk all about that fascinating experience.  Not something I’d recommend if you can help it, but it makes a good story.

 

Topics covered in the podcast:

  • My introduction (0:00)
  • Fender bender in high school  (4:16)
  • Pet peeve — reckless driving is like running down the street waving a sledge hammer (6:51)
  • Minivan in the suburbs (8:25)
  • Returning to NYC — alternate side of the street parking (10:00)
  • I get pulled over for broken tail light (14:20)
  • The sergeant demands my attention, fingerprinting snafus (16:42)
  • The trip to the downtown with the holy-rollers, stopping for breakfast (21:10)
  • The Tombs, making friends (24:07)
  • The bathroom situation in jail (27:51)
  • Somber moment, prisoners being lead back to Rikers (30:58)
  • Why Judge Judy sucks (33:27)
  • Paranoia sets in (36:00)

As usual my buddy Sal Clemente (of Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra) who wrote the podcast theme song, “Here We Go Again,” plays us out.

Episode 006 – Erik Van Wyck Actor/Writer – Part 2

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This is part 2 of my talk with my good buddy, actor/writer, Erik Van Wyck.  In this interview Erik lets it all hang out in his assessment of Los Angeles, the good, the bad, and the ugly — why it can be intoxicating and also soul sucking to pursue the favored industry of the town.

Erik talks a bit about a movie he helped produce (and acted in) called Expecting (which you can watch now on demand) with Radha Mitchell and Michelle Monaghan.

He also talks about traveling the world as the host of the reality show Getting Abroad which was on for a season on the now defunct The Mojo Network.  The show explored mating and dating rituals around the world, and basically Erik traveled to a country, and he and a local wing man went around and tried to pick up women.  He started each show by sampling an (often disgusting) local aphrodisiac.

Erik also offers up some embarrassing and/or bizarre audition stories.

Topics covered in the interview:

  • My introduction (0:00)
  • What drew Erik to Los Angeles  (4:58)
  • Ryan Reynolds gets Blade Trinity (7:58)
  • Douchebag is born in the movie Expecting (8:41)
  • The reality tv show Getting Abroad goes abroad (12:33)
  • Disgusting aphrodisiacs of the world (15:45)
  • How to get lucky in Iceland (23:50)
  • Interrogated by Stana Katic and the pilot Drived (29:19)
  • Embarrassing audition story, hiding crotch with script (39:48)
  • Big bad casting director story (47:48)
  • Casting couch – keys to the apartment (54:18)
  • The management company, “Welcome to Hollywood” (58:25)
  • Being killed with kindness in LA — “Hope is fuel.” (100:35)
  • Seduced and Abandoned and The Hurt Locker party (104:58)

As usual my buddy Sal Clemente (of Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra) who wrote the podcast theme song, “Here We Go Again,” plays us out.

Episode 005 – Cameron Watson writer/director of film, “Our Very Own”

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cam_watson_our_very_own_posterThe multi-talented Cameron Watson wrote and directed the film, Our Very Own, which was a valentine to his small hometown of Shelbyville, Tennessee.

If you want to be truly inspired by someone who did not give up on his dream of making his indie film, listen to this interview.

cameron_watson_our_very_own_cameraIt has a happy ending… a deal with Miramax… and you can stream this film right now on Netflix.  It stars Allison Janney, Keith Carradine, Cheryl Hines, Jason Ritter, Autumn Reeser, and Beth Grant.

Cam’s latest project is a new weberies called Break a Hip which sounds hilarious and is in post production now.  Here’s the Facebook page.

Topics covered in the interview:

  • My introduction of Cam (0:00)
  • Sweet story about a high school kid doing a monologue from my play, Home of the Great Pecan  (4:58)
  • Interview with Cameron Watson begins (7:38)
  • Growing up in small southern town with supportive parents (19:44)
  • Spaced Out – Cam gets cast as the heroic captain of the “ship” (20:37)
  • Horton Foote campaigns for Cam in The Widow Claire (23:55)
  • The move to Los Angeles, a work-a-day actor (25:40)
  • The writer/director emerges — Cam performs a story about his hometown (27:19)
  • Cam forms a writing group/support group (31:24)
  • Our Very Own — the next steps, a great supportive core group (33:14)
  • Shelbyville welcomes the production; casting the film (40:51)
  • Allison Janney and the Independent Spirit Award (44:43)
  • What’s the film about? (46:57)
  • How Miramax found the film (48:45)
  • Mary Badham cameo – Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird  (52:18)
  • Keith Carradine comes on board and writes a song with Nancy Griffith (55:42)
  • The other musical number in the movie – shades of Pippin by Bob Stillman (58:50)
  • Shiny Shelbyville — shooting in the town and finding period cars (102:11)
  • The new webseries with famous friends, Break a Hip (105:35)

lbs_12_09_13I reached goal one in my weight loss quest (during Turkey month, no less).  Hopefully, more updates coming soon!  I’m shooting for the next 10 pounds.

Write me if you’re working to achieve one of your goals — OffOffWorld@gmail.com.