Aliee and Bettina's (sort of) Grown Up Sleepover
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Aliee Chan
July 16, 2012
What is your job on this show?
Writer, Performer.
Where were you born? Where were you raised? Where did you go to school?
All Jersey, all the time. I'm from the Bridgewater/Bound Brook area where I went to a performing arts high school part time. I continued my training as an actor at Montclair State University ('11) and began commuting to NYC to work in theatre when I was a freshman in college.
Complete this sentence: My show is the only one in FringeNYC that...?
Could potentially change my life forever, in a very real way (and maybe yours, too). We are playing with fire. The game of Truth or Dare is real and we are asking the audience to get involved - to hang out on a limb with us and hope for the best. It's risky and exciting, but ultimately very fun, like every sleepover should be. By the end of FringeNYC, I could end up finding true love, letting everyone in on one of my biggest secrets, and conquering one of my all time greatest fears, all in front of a live audience.
What was the most memorable/funny/unusual thing that has happened during the development and rehearsal process for this show?
Meg Bashwiner, our director, is 26-years-old. It's the age that Bettina and I declare in the show to be our deadline for becoming our ultimate grown up selves (whatever that means). One of our earlier development rehearsals was hosted at Meg's house and she was making all of us dinner. Bettina and I hovered in her kitchen, looking at each other like "Should we ask to help? How does she make this look easy?" and right after we asked about preparing the chicken for the grill, and is she sure that she doesn't want help, Meg goes "Relax, mommy's not mad at you." I went home and wrote making perfect chicken dishes into the script as a personal benchmark of finally achieving adulthood. And that Greek Salad was awesome (Thanks, Meg).
Which cartoon character would you identify your show with: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Mickey Mouse, Marge Simpson?
For the record, I would LOVE to have a sleepover with Lisa Simpson. I think Marge would be the ultimate sleepover mom and maybe let us be loud and continue to have fun after bedtime. I also have a feeling that the Simpson family has an awesome snack pantry.
Can theatre bring about societal change? Why or why not?
I'm a big believer in theatre for social change, especially if the audience is held accountable for what they've seen. I co-produced V-Day events during my college career and have witnessed incredible social change among my peers and professors first hand as a result of a piece of theatre. In regards to Aliee and Bettina's (sort of) Grown Up Sleepover, the audience is absolutely going to be held accountable: they're making major life choices for us, hopefully from a place of empathy. I think they will think twice before they're hyper critical of the millennials as a whole and other millennials will reevaluate these ridiculous deadlines we've all put on ourselves to "be successful." I feel like older generations are mad at us for being too successful too early and for not being on par with what they consider to be "real adults." Bettina and I are going to confront that head on, openly and honestly, engage the audience directly, and hope for a sense of community rather than judgment.
