Flux Theatre Ensemble

In the spirit of this post regarding plays that need doing in NYC, I thought it might be fun to give a shout-out to actors I want to write for.

Playwrights, I'm sure you've had this experience - you see an actor perform and start test driving them in your mind - writing little scenes for them or trying them out in parts already written. In The Lesser Seductions of History, I've had the opportunity to write for most of the actors in the Ensemble, and I confess that I'm addicted now. (Have actors? I want to write for them).

And lately I've been seeing some amazing actors that (Athena-like) are knocking on my brain. So while writing for the Ensemble is my happy priority, here are some of the artists (some I know, some I don't) I'd love to moonlight with. I've left off Ensemble Members and those amazing artists who are regulars at Flux Sundays (Jane Taylor, Ken Glickfeld, etc.) because you've heard about me rave about them before.

Jessica Angleskhan: She played a fierce and vulnerable Marisol in our Food:Soul of Volleygirls , and I've wanted to work with her again since. She has a natural ease with heightened language; and is one of those actors that you can drop just one word in and she'll take it and build a house with it.

Amir Arison: His virtuoso portrayal of an extremely confident Iraqi dermatologist in Aftermath was somehow both completely ridiculous and utterly sincere.

Kira Blaskovich: I still vividly remember the Shepard monologue she did in her first audition; all whiskey and smoke and nails. One Flux Sunday (the only one she's even been to, sigh) I cast her as the dangerously charismatic dude Donny because I knew she had more dangerously charismatic dude in her than all the men present.

Havilah Brewster: After her work in our Poetic Larceny, everyone in Flux was struck by her hilarious precision and that slight edge of danger that all interesting actors have. Watching her act is a little like watching a knife thrower.

Adam Driver: Adam's work in Slipping had an easy menace that was absolutely riveting. That old adage (that I may have made up) is never put a cat on stage, because its focus in the moment will always exceed the presence of the helplessly acting actors; with Adam, I would fear for the cat.

Aidan Kane: We worked with Aidan on Poetic Larceny and have very nearly cast him in three wildly different roles, a testament to his wide range. His natural charisma and good looks hide a willingness to push himself to ugly and foolish extremes.

Kelli Holsopple: Kelli's acting has a transparency like a pool of clear water; you can see clear to the bottom, and the slightest movement sets off ripples that reach to the back of the house. We've cast her in the Imagination Compact and Poetic Larceny, and both times were stunned by how much she was able to achieve with so little.

Rebecca Lingafelter: Rebecca's energy as an actor could power a small town, and she filters it through a ferocious precision that is exhilarating to watch - her performance in Artifacts of Consequence was one of my favorites this year.

Keith Powell: You might know Keith from his role as Toofer on 30 Rock. What you might not know is he is also an astonishingly talented theatre actor, director and playwright. One of my principal collaborators on my plays Kidding Jane and Good Hope, Keith is one of the most restlessly intelligent artists I know, and makes any script he works on better.

Patrick Shearer: You've heard me rave about him A Colorful World - he was able to achieve power through a simplicity that made you worry the whole stage might be crushed inward by his gravity.

Raushana Simmons: Raushanah recently took over the role of Martha in The Lesser Seductions of History, and I have been amazed by her curiosity as an artist; the way she peels back layer after layer of character until she gets to the core of it; and then how that core powers her performance with strength and simplicity.

Nitya Vidyasagar: Our Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Nitya is one of those special actors who can make the most outlandishly heightened and magical text completely human and present. She also has that lighthouse affect on stage - where she looks is illuminated, and where she doesn't is darkness.

DeWanda Wise: Our original Martha, DeWanda is just plain radiant. She can be pure sweetness and terrifying rage but underneath it all is a generosity of spirit that makes it hard to stop watching. I like the way my words sound when she speaks them, and I'm hoping she can be a part of my next play Stepping.

Well, a lot has happened since our last rehearsal report. The biggest news is that we needed to replace our extradordinary Martha, DeWanda Wise. Though DeWanda had to drop the show, we all still adore her and look forward to working with her at every opportunity. Those of you who saw her in Volleygirls or at our annual retreat know what a force of light she is on stage and in life, and we miss her in rehearsal every day.

BUT! The good news is we found a wonderful actor to step into the role. Raushanah Simmons walked into our hastily assembled audition and immediately clicked, both with the role of Martha and Michael Davis, the Fluxer playing her brother in the show, George.

Raushanah stepped into a rehearsal process already under way, with actors who'd been living with the role for over a year, and with humor and focus, fit right in. We are so lucky to have found her on short notice - thank you to all of the wonderful actors who auditioned (crazy how many talented actors there are out there) and to everyone in the community who passed on our call.

Tonight we finish staging the play with 1969, which ends here with the walk on the moon. Watching this video tonight, we were all reminded of how strange and impossible this event was in our history. We talked about the character in the play who doesn't get to see it; about what it means to give your life to a cause you don't get to see completed.

Last night working on 1968, we were thinking about Martin's assassination and these words:

What a rare vision, to know that the impossible thing you're fighting for will come true; what a rarer thing to know - to be at peace with the fact - that you won't be there when it happens.

All day today (I don't know why) I was having that feeling I think all artists have (from time to time), that grey dread that our work doesn't really matter, that whatever we have to give isn't enough. Sometimes it feels like our world of theatre isn't even a mountain, but a slippery hill, barely tall enough to be worth the effort, and yet here we are, spending all our lives falling down.

But I think if our play can capture a little of the difficult hope of that moon and mountain, and pass that into the audience; then, that would be all right. And man, I love watching Lizzie and Bobby, and Marie and Barry, and Lee and Isaac, dancing; and Marth and George playing; and that's something to stand against Anisa and Tegan and everything that happens.

And tomorrow, our first stumble-through!