Alice & The Bunny Hole
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Alex DeFazio
July 12, 2012
What is your job on this show?
Playwright.
When did you know you wanted to work in the theater, and why?
In high school, only the strangest kids did theatre. These were also the kids who, it was rumored, did drugs and held bisexual orgies at cast parties, and who mostly seemed bizarrely immune to whatever us non-theatre kids thought about them. I was envious and in awe. These kids were Artists who Knew Things About Life. I saw a few of their productions, one of which was an original performance that told the story of Pan and a goddess-nymph entirely through music and interpretive dance. (This performance continues to be one of the most powerful experiences in theatre that I've ever had.) My fear of these kids, and my attraction to their strangeness, and the idea of making a magic world in the dark - these were the things that drew me to theatre.
Complete this sentence: My show is the only one in FringeNYC that...?
Asks people to celebrate and laugh at their sexuality while pondering tough questions about what makes romantic relationships last. It’s Dan Savage crossed with Shakespeare and, of course, the Alice books. My show is probably NOT the only one at FringeNYC inspired by the Alice books, but it IS most definitely the kinkiest.
How did you meet your fellow artists/collaborators on this show?
My collaborators are mostly people I’ve worked with for no fewer than five years and, in one case, as many as fourteen years. I trust them unequivocally. The actors in particular, because their work is most visible to people in a context like FringeNYC, are absolutely worth the (small) price of admission. I don't tell them that I hope not too many industry people will see them; the more high-profile opportunities they’re offered, the more difficult it will be to snag them for the next show!
Which “S” word best describes your show: SMOOTH, SEXY, SMART, SURPRISING?
I think "smart." But "smart" is also "sexy." So now I’m torn. Can my show be smexy?
Why should people come to FringeNYC this summer, rather than the beach, mountains, or the latest movie blockbuster?
Blockbusters come out on video; that one's easy if you really think about it. Theatre happens once; the thing that can make it magical is also bound to time, and whereas movies, like diamonds, are forever, theatre is more like ice cream. And I tend to have more fun doing something that I know I can never do again than doing something repeatable, like a watching a movie. If you’re that kind of person and you don’t usually see theatre, you absolutely MUST come to the festival.
As for the rest, I would never advise against beach days or mountain climbing. BUT, on the way back from the beach or the mountains, you should come to FringeNYC.
