Magic Trick
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Christina Roussos
July 11, 2012
What is your job on this show?
Director.
Are there boundaries as to what kind of theatre you will take part in?
I'll take part in any type of theatre as long as its goal is to explore truth. I love theatre that is created because of a need to go deeper into something, to expose all of the beautiful and ugly bits, be it an event or a feeling or a human being or anything really.
Complete this sentence: My show is the only one in FringeNYC that...?
has twirling boobs, goes back in time and will hopefully make you think "oof, I've felt that.'
Why did you want to write/direct/produce/act in/work on this show?
I wanted to direct this play because it deals with everyday growing up things like "do I want to be with my boyfriend/girlfriend?" and not so everyday things like "how do I do a striptease from a wheelchair?" though maybe the second question is an everyday thing when you frame it as "how do I get my stockings off by myself in a wheelchair?" or "how do I do a striptease?" (the striptease one would be a major problem for me). I love this play because it approaches disability as a fact of living for an individual, as opposed to a source of conflict for others, is the kind of story that illuminates the human being and the disability. We need more funny, sad, sexy stories about fully realized human beings with disabilities and MAGIC TRICK is one of them.
Which cartoon character would you identify your show with: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Mickey Mouse, Marge Simpson?
MARGE! Marge! She's sweet and strong willed, and according to an episode I saw a few years ago, she's no slouch in the bedroom. I think she and our show are kindred spirits.
Theatre is a necessary ingredient in democratic societies. Do you agree or disagree, and why?
I agree because theatre creates empathy, and I think we need all the empathy and compassion we can get.
