Flux Theatre Ensemble

Walls play a major role in all three plays of our Season 4: Don't Look Away. In Dog Act, the legacy of a breach in a walled city defines the conflict. In Menders, we follow the arc of two student guards watching the wall of a post-apocalyptic city. In Ajax in Iraq, the walls are more metaphorical, as cracks appear in the borders between past and present, soldier and civilian, and heroism and cruelty.

Much of our marketing discussion has therefore centered around walls as a visual motif for the season. So I was particularly struck by this article Kelly O'Donnell forwarded me about art on the blast walls of Baghdad. As photo-essayist Holly Pickett writes:

Baghdad’s blast walls are a blank canvas. They reflect Iraqis’ shared history — both proud and painful facts of life here in the capital.

Beauty and violence; security and anxiety; the art in her photos connects with the themes of our season in a powerful way. We'll talk more on this blog about the further variations of this theme, but first, check out her photos and let us know what you think. Do you know of other examples of walls being repurposed as canvases for art? Read the full story

Doors open at 7:00pm, Feud starts at 8:00pm!

Join us on Monday, Nov. 15 for a benefit to support our fourth season: Don't Look Away.

Teams of select NYC theatre professionals will compete in a game of theatre-themed Family Feud at the beautiful North Cabana rooftop of the Maritime Hotel (88 9th Ave @17th Street). Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door, and include free food!

Just like the TV show the most important part of the game is the survey! We've already had over 50 theatre lovers respond, but we're shooting for at least 100, so please fill out this fun theatre survey here. It only takes a few minutes! The answers will be used at the benefit on the 15th.

Can't join us on the November 15? That's OK! You can still support us by buying raffle tickets. Prizes include hand-made jewelry, free headshots and a paid walk-on role on a new feature film starring Jim Carrey! Learn more and purchase raffle tickets here.

Your game show host, Matthew Archambault
(recently seen in Jacob's House)

Contestants to be announced soon!

Read the full story

We hope that you are able to attend our 2010 Fundraiser for our upcoming fourth season “Don’t Look Away” to be held on Monday, Nov. 15th (event information here). If you can't join us, we will miss you, but you can still participate in our raffle! The money made from the raffle will go directly towards supporting our season. Drawing will take place at the event on November 15th. You DO NOT have to be there to win. We greatly appreciate all of your support.

Raffle ticket prices are as follows:

$3 gets you 1 ticket
$5 gets you 2 tickets
$10 gets you 5 ticket
$20 gets you 13 tickets (wow, that really increases your chances!)
and the ultimate deal: $40 gets you 30 tickets (insane!)

Back by popular demand, you can increase your chances of winning by CHOOSING which prizes you want to win! For example, if you buy 5 tickets, you can put 2 tickets into the running for City Acupuncture of New York, 2 tickets for Ryan Andes Jewelry and 1 ticket for paid background work on Law and Order SVU or a Jim Carrey film (winner of this prize gets to choose), or you could put all 5 into one prize - however you want to do it!

First purchase your raffle tickets HERE (there is no service charge) then email tiffany@fluxtheatre.org to identify which prizes you want to put in for.

Here Are The Prizes!


Be a Star for the Day. Work as a background player and get paid! Winner gets to choose to be on Law and Order SVU or a Jim Carrey film!
(must be 18 years of age or older to win this prize)



City Acupuncture of New York Includes: Two Acupuncture Treatments (Two winners; each get two treatments) Check out their website Here




Ryan Andes Handmade Silver Charm(includes chain) This charm symbolizes “Awareness and Change”. Check out Ryan's online store Here







Ryan Andes Handmade Leather Bracelet. Your very own Fluxified Leather Bracelet. You may have seen Flux member Gus Schulenburg, sporting his. (Ryan will size the bracelet to the winner)





A personal tour of Google's New York City headquarters Flux member Kelly O'Donnell takes you on a tour of the NYC Googleplex. Learn about the little startup that grew into a search giant whose name has become a verb. Tour finishes with a lunch in one of their famous cafeterias. Yum!


2 tickets to Epic Theatre Ensemble's staged reading of Hannah & Martin by Kate Fodor, featuring Oscar-nominated David Strathairn ("Good Night and Good Luck") for Wednesday, Nov. 17th at 7:00pm.
Learn more about EPIC Here.



The Colbert Report Includes: 4 tickets to a live taping of the show on January 5, 2011. Everyone attending must have a photo I.D. and must be at least 18 years old. You need to be in line by 5:15pm.






Jekyll and Hyde Restaurant and Bar Includes: 2-for-1 entree deal for up to a party of 4 (ie 2 free entrees, entrance is usually $15-30 pp). Jekyll and Hyde offers the most unique dining experience in the world! Enjoy continuous live entertainment and spooky special effects.



NATURALS Banana & Coconut bath and body line. Includes: A gift basket containing full size bottles of body spray, lotion, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. Check out their website Here (Donated by Avon rep., Maryilyn Matarrese).

The Mystery Box Just what is inside this box? Shh... it is a secret but it is something really awesome and powerful. Buy some raffle tickets and you may find out.

August Wilson Century Cycle Box Set a $200 value! A 10 volume, hardcover, slipcased edition. August Wilson’s epic dramatization of the African American experience and heritage in the twentieth century
Donated by Theatre Communications Group, check them out Here


the 2

Signed Hard Cover Copy of the Pulitzer Prize-Winning Play Ruined by Lynn Nottage. Donated by Theatre Communications Group






Signed Plays From Flux's Season 4, “Don’t Look Away”, Playwrights Includes: The Greek Plays by Ellen McLaughlin; Dog Act by Liz Duffy Adams and Trying by Erin Browne.




Signed Plays from Flux’s Past Seasons Includes: Pretty Theft by Adam Szymkowicz; Angel Eaters Trilogy by Johnna Adams and The Lesser Seductions of History by August Schulenburg.


Headshot Session with Flux Member Isaiah Tanenbaum ($100+ value) Includes: A two-hour on-location photoshoot featuring as many looks and poses as you like. The best shots will be edited (so they are ready to print), burned to a disk for you to keep, and hosted online for easy access. Check out more of Isaiah's work Here At left is a recent session with Friend of Flux Ingrid Nordstrom




Press Photography with Flux member Isaiah Tanenbaum ($100+ value). Let Isaiah help you promote your next show! Choose one of the following options: rehearsal room photos, special photo-shoot, tech/dress rehearsal, or performance (non-showcase code only). The best images will be edited, burned to a disk and hosted online for your convenience. Isaiah's photographs have been featured in The New York Times, Backstage, The Village Voice, and countless other blogs and theatre sites. At left is from Flux's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Captain Rapps Seasonings: The Freshest and Finest Super-Premium Micro Blended Seasonings. Captain Rapps Seasonings can be used on all types of meats, vegetables, Dips, and just about anything.... Not just fish! Includes FIVE different seasonings and a recipe card. Flux Member Tiffany Clementi, cooks with these spices on a weekly basis, yummo!
Check out his online store Here



Two Free Seasons with NYC Social Sports Club. Gift certificates are each redeemable for any 7-week season offered by NYC Social Sports Club. Sports include Kickball, Ultimate Frisbee, Inner Tube Water Polo, and more. All sports are casually competitive, and all games are followed by post-game parties.



Click HERE to purchase raffle tickets! Raffle drawing will take place on November 15th. You DO NOT have to be there to win!

New Raffle Prizes may be added before the event, so never fear if you've already purchased them, because you can just email Tiffany to switch your choices!

If you have any questions about a particular prize, contact Tiffany at tiffany@fluxtheatre.org

Read the full story

After a long weekend of late nights, we're nearly done wading through the 1,000+ (and still incoming) headshots and resumes submitted for our upcoming auditions for our 4th Season:Don't Look Away. Heather, Kelly and I ended up splitting the huge e-stack (we looked over all submissions online for the first time) into thirds after communicating our unique needs of each three plays.

Some take-aways from reading all those resumes:

• A black and white headshot is rarer than ever, but they're still out there.
• There is a new craze for describing yourself through comparison to three movie stars, i.e. "I combine the offbeat charm of Nick Cage with the unsettling humor of Gene Wilder and the rebellious heat of a young Judd Nelson."
• People continue to put the name of the space, instead of the name of the producing organization, which can make it trickier to parse their actual history.
• It's great when people read the casting breakdown carefully and choose roles for themselves that make sense; it's especially cool when you can tell they've read the website/blog and make informed statements about the work we do. Its not always enough, but it does make a difference.
• For the first time, I'm noticing a number of actors who have worked on shows I've written that I've never seen, which is both weird and cool.
  
• We have around 120 slots available, meaning we're going be seeing 10-12% of those 1,000 people who took the time to submit. That really sucks, especially when a resume is not a reliable guide. We've taken steps to change the way Flux gets to know artists, primarily through out Flux Sunday workshops, but they simply can't handle that kind of volume. While it might not be our job to see every single interested actor, there has to be a better way.
  

We'll finish sorting though them tonight! Read the full story

Flux is throwing a benefit party for our 4th Season: Don't Look Away on Monday night, November 15th, at the crazy beautiful North Cabana at the Maritime Hotel. As if the location and company weren't reason enough to enter 11/15 as booked in your google calendar or old-school-date-book; we're planning an unusual theme for the night:

Flux Family Feud.

That's right, a theatre-specific Family Feud style game, with teams made up of Indie theatre luminaries and theatre-specific questions. Survey says? Awesome.

So now here's the other way you can help - brainstorm some questions! We've come up with around 50 ourselves, but in the crowdsourced spirit of our viral age, we turn to you, dear reader, for more ideas.

Here are some examples to get your creative juices flowing:

1. Name something that would upset a stage manager
2. Name a common question asked an actor
3. Name something annoying an audience member may do during a performance
4. Name an actor’s biggest fear
5. Name a character in Shakespeare whose name starts with the letter ‘M’
6. Name something you would find backstage
7. Name something that drives you crazy about the Showcase Code
8. Name a rule of comedy
9. Name something to do on stage when carrying a spear
10. Name something you love about Indie theatre

Leave your brainstorming genius in the comments below!

What are the rules of Family Feud? || Watch a video of the game. Read the full story

It's that time again! Flux is holding invited auditions for our 4th Season: Don't Look Away. Casting info for all 3 shows is below.

Flux Theatre Ensemble is casting for its production of Dog Act by Liz Duffy Adams, a post-apocalyptic comedy with music. First rehearsal, January 3. Production runs February 3-20
AEA Showcase (approval pending). Small stipend. Seeking Equity and Non-Equity Actors. Directed by Kelly O'Donnell.

Seeking: ROZETTA STONE - 30s, Female, actress of color. a performer and entrepreneur, a steadfast survivor, ability to play a musical instrument and comfort with light singing and dancing a plus; DOG - 20s to 30s, Male, any ethnicity, sensitive and vulnerable, a Dog by choice, not yet a man but no longer a boy, ability to play a musical instrument a plus; VERA SIMILITUDE - 30s-50s, Female, any ethnicity, Manipulative, resilient and power-hungry woman fighting for survival; JO-JO - 20s/30s, Female, any ethnicity, a semi-feral teenage girl; COKE & BUD - any age or ethnicity, Scavengers, savages who are underfed and vicious, must be both terrifying and comic.

Email submissions strongly preferred. Please send headshots and resumes to casting@fluxtheatre.org or Kelly O'Donnell, 76 9th avenue, 4th floor, New York, NY 10011.

Flux Theatre Ensemble is casting for its production of Ajax in Iraq, by Ellen McLaughlin, a tragedy overlapping the stories of Sophocles' Ajax and a female solider in the Iraq war. First rehearsal, April 29th. Production runs June 3rd-26th. Directed by August Schulenburg.
AEA Showcase (approval pending). Small stipend. Seeking Equity and Non-Equity Actors.

Seeking: A.J. - 20-early 30s, Female, any ethnicity, a soldier in Iraq, her natural power made dangerous by the betrayal of another officer; AJAX - 20-30's, Male, any ethnicity, a physically commanding Greek soldier made bitter when Athena takes his mind; CONNIE MANGUS - 20's to 30's, Female, African-American, A.J.'s closest friend, a smart soldier wrestling with grief and regret; ATHENA, any age, Female, any ethnicity, the capricious Goddess of War and Wisdom; ODYSSEUS/PISONI, 20's-40's, male, any ethnicity, in the Greek world, the trickster who takes the armor that should pass to AJAX, in the Iraq world, the wisecracking soldier who sticks up for A.J.; CHARLES, 20's-30's, Male, any ethnicity, a soldier in Iraq and friend of Pisoni's; SERGEANT/TEUCER, 30's, Male, any ethnicity, the superior officer who betrays A.J. and in the greek world, Ajax's brother; TECMESSA: 20's-30's, female, any ethnicity, Ajax's wife, a captive who retains her formal royalty; GERTRUDE BELL/REBO, 20's-30's, Female, any ethnicity, early 20th century British archeologist and administrator and in the Iraq world, a soldier; SICKLES, 20-30's, Female, any ethnicity, a soldier; LIEUTENANT/MINISTER: a solider and minister in Iraq. All roles but A.J., AJAX, and ATHENA play multiple roles. Experience with heightened language and physical theatre a plus. Actors of color strongly encouraged to submit.

Email submissions strongly preferred. Please send headshots and resumes to casting@fluxtheatre.org or Kelly O'Donnell, 76 9th avenue, 4th floor, New York, NY 10011.

Flux Theatre Ensemble is casting for its production of Menders by Erin Browne, a dark fairytale in which subversive storytelling is the key that breaks down the walls. Production scheduled for Winter 2011/12 – exact dates TBD. Small stipend. Seeking Equity and Non-Equity Actors of any ethnicity. Directed by Heather Cohn.

Seeking: COREY – 20’s, female, a “wall mender” or guard, ardent with a strong moral code; DREW – 30’s-40’s, male, also a wall mender & Corey’s teacher, a storyteller, subversive; TAM – 20’s-30’s, female, lives underground because she’s allergic to the sun; ASH – 20’s-30’s, female, a business woman turned subway guitarist by night; JEFF – late 20’s-40’s, male, a lonely farmer who falls in love with an angel; LILA – 20’s-30’s, female, otherworldly, slightly magical. For all roles, a familiarity with puppetry a plus.

Email submissions strongly preferred. Please send headshots and resumes to casting@fluxtheatre.org or Kelly O'Donnell, 76 9th avenue, 4th floor, New York, NY 10011.
Read the full story

Flux is thrilled to announce our fourth season!

Our fourth season explores the cost of a society remaining always vigilant. In our see something, say something world, what happens to empathy when we're always on guard?
What is our responsibility to those keeping watch?
And what happens when our defenses are breached?

Information on the plays:

Dog Act: A theatrical, post-apocalyptic dark comedy, Dog Act follows Zetta Stone, a traveling performer, and her companion Dog (a young man undergoing a voluntary species demotion) as they walk through the wilderness of the former U.S.A with their little troupe. They are heading toward a gig in China, if they can find it…and if a secret in Dog's past doesn't undo them.

"[A] delightful dark comedy…. It’s a bright dystopian blend of pop and high culture… peppered with astonishing and exhilarating eruptions of storytelling and wondrous plays within the play…. Adams’ vaudeville routines are each a stroke of genius…. The monologues by each of the performers are near classics of their kind. Best of all is ‘The Mortality Play...’ a blissfully eclectic history of humanity… Dog, as they say, has legs.” –Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle

Ajax in Iraq: Past and present collide in Ellen McLaughlin's mash-up of Sophocles' tragedy Ajax and the Iraq War. The play follows the intertwining paths of the Greek hero Ajax and A.J., a female soldier in Iraq, both undone by the betrayal of a commanding officer. The atrocities they commit as a result of those betrayals force us to look at our culpability in the actions of those keeping us safe.

Developed over 16 months in 2009 with the graduate acting students at A.R.T., Ajax in Iraq weaves together Sophocles' play with material based on interviews with veterans. Says McLaughlin, "[Ajax's] pain, however much we wish to turn from it, compels our attention and our empathy. Looking at this play in the light of our times, his agony suddenly seems terribly modern. His voice can be heard in the voices of veterans speaking now about their experiences in Iraq. I came to feel that this disturbing and impossible play might be the means of grappling with this disturbing and impossible war."

Menders: Corey and Aimes are new recruits mending the wall that guards their city from an unnamed threat. But as their teacher Drew tells them stories of the world outside, they begin to wonder at the real purpose of the wall. His subversive tales also unlock personal desires, until an unexpected act of passion tears the menders apart. Inspired by Robert Frost's poem, Mending Wall, Menders is a hauntingly lyrical look at what we're walling out.

Menders continues our development of Erin Browne's work. After developing plays like Trying and Return at Flux Sundays, and giving her Narrator One a Food:Soul, we knew it was time to share her work at the level of full production. We'll be developing this play with Erin over the next year, so stay tuned for updates from that process.

We are thrilled to be bringing you these three plays, that for all their differences, speak to a common question. We'll be talking a lot more about these plays over the next months, and the fascinating ways they work individually and together. We very much hope you will join us for our Season 4: Don't Look Away. Read the full story