Flux Theatre Ensemble

What is The Imagination Compact?

And how can I learn more about Flux's Misdummer?

Jeremy Basescu

Playwright, The Mechanicals, May 19th

Flux History: Plays developed at Flux Sunday include A Wonderful Wife and Calling CQ

1. What is your favorite Shakespeare play?

*King Lear.* It creates such a complete, compelling world that I can't help
but get sucked into it every time I start reading. Nature and artifice,
family and bastardry, sex and insanity… and it's often a mess, but such a
fantastic mess that I just want to roll around in it, run through a
torrential storm, and howl.

2. What is your favorite line of text?

"If music be the food of love, play on." ~*Twelfth Night*


3. Does Shakespeare influence your writing at all?

Shakespeare influences how I breathe, how I think, and how I live my life.
Writing plays is an extension of each of those, and his influence is
inextricable from my imagination.  I grew up with the Charles and Mary Lamb
versions, played Sebastian in the second grade, and went to see
*Midsummer *outdoors
before I learned how babies are made.  Shakespeare's characters are more
real to me than most of the people I know, and they are just as likely to
show up in my plays.  Having said all that, I still haven't read through the
histories.  Someday.

4. If you had to date one of the Midsummer lovers, whom would you date and
why?
Helena.  Totally.  Aside from that I have a soft spot for hard-luck cases, I
don't think there'd be a dull moment.  Also, I'm pretty sure she's hot.

5. What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word "flux"?
A trampoline.

6. Fairies: colorful playmates or dangerous tricksters?
Both (the best kind).  I think I might stay out of any long-term romantic
entanglements, though; last thing I need is a bad break-up followed by
waking up the next morning with a wombat for a head.

7. If the Flux Capacitor made time travel possible when the DeLorean reached
88mph, what do you think would happen if Flux Theatre Ensemble got theatre
up to 88mph?
Marty McFly would play Hamlet.  This would officially signal the death of
theater.  On the bright side, all you need is a DeLorean to sneak into the
world premiere of *Titus Andronicus*.

8. Complete this sentence: "It's too late to go back now, I'll just have to
do without my _______"
Sense of self-worth

9. If a capricious fairy turned you into an animal against your will, what
animal would you be and why?
An anteater.  I've always secretly wondered what those things are thinking.
I'm guessing it has something to do with ants, but there's only one way to
find out.

10. Which would win in a fight - the forest of Midsummer or the forest of
Arden?
Never bet against sweet Puck.

11. How many licks does it take...?
As many as possible.

12. Would you rather have a beer with Richard Burbage or William Kemp?
Clearly Kemp.  Burbage was a pompous twit; Kemp was the funniest drunk
alive.  However, if we were going on a hunting trip, I'd take Burbage,
because Kemp would be much likelier to pull a Dick Cheney.

13. If we could compact your imagination, what color would it be and why?
Brown.  Put lots of colors together, and you get brown.  (I have no
imagination.)

What is The Imagination Compact?

And how can learn more about Flux's Misdummer?

Gretchen Poulos

Flux History: Icarus of Ohio at Have Another 2, many Flux Sundays

1. What Shakespeare role would you like to play next?
I have a number I'd like to play, but I think Joan of Arc in any of
the plays or Queen Margaret (in 50+ years), or Katherine in Taming of
the Shrew.

2.  What Shakespeare role would you like to play that no one will ever
cast you in?
Hamlet because it's a ridiculously awesome role. Or Juliet. Something
like that. I don't think I exactly come across as the ingénue, but
it'd be fun, just once to play that.

3. Describe the best Shakespeare production you've seen.
Pericles, Prince of Tyre

4. If you had to date one of the Midsummer lovers, who would you date and
why?
I would date either Oberon because he's kind of possessive and really
fights for what he wants, and I think that's a little dysfunctional
but kind of hot, or I would date the mechanical that roars like a lion
because he's got a sense of humor. I wouldn't date Demetrius or
Lysander – I think they're both lame.

5. What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word "flux"?
In transition. Movement. Sunday fun.

6. Fairies: colorful playmates or dangerous tricksters?
Neither – I like to think of them as Titania's secret service – in disguise.

7. If the Flux Capacitor made time travel possible when the DeLorean
reached 88mph, what do you think would happen if Flux Theatre Ensemble
got theatre up to 88mph?
Errgh…we would be flying? 

8. Complete this sentence: "It's too late to go back now, I'll just
have to do without my _______"
Pants.

9. If a capricious fairy turned you into an animal against your will,
what animal would you be and why?
I would be a chameleon because they can go anywhere and blend in, and
I think it's fun, sometimes, to be able to scoot around with no one
knowing you are there.

10. Which would win in a fight - the forest of Midsummer or the forest of
Arden?
The forest of Arden – definitely. No, no, I take that back – neither –
the forest of DITKA!!!

11. How many licks does it take...?
Depends on what you're up to – but I'd say at least 80.

12. Would you rather have a beer with Richard Burbage or William Kemp?
I don't like beer.

13. If we could compact your imagination, what color would it be and why?
It would be rainbow colored, but mostly orange, because of the energy
and passion and warmth and love of creation behind it.

And how can learn more about Flux's Misdummer?

Brian Pracht

Playwright, The Mechanicals, May 19th

History with Flux: Demetrius in Midsummer Night's Dream, frequent participant in Flux Sundays and Retreat 2007

1. What is your favorite Shakespeare play? OTHELLO

2. What is your favorite line of text? "Gertrude, do not drink." from HAMLET Act 5, Scene 2

3. Does Shakespeare influence your writing at all? If by "influence" you mean "stealing", then yes.

4. Fairies: colorful playmates or dangerous tricksters? Dangerous playmates

5. If the Flux Capacitor made time travel possible when the DeLorean reached 88mph, what do you think would happen if Flux Theatre Ensemble got theatre up to 88mph? I can't tell you; it would disrupt the space-time continuum. Oh, what the hell. All I can tell you is: don't trust Heather.

6. Complete this sentence: "It's too late to go back now, I'll just have to do without my _______" Cossacks

7. How many licks does it take...? How much alcohol's involved...?

8. Would you rather have a beer with Richard Burbage or William Kemp? Definitely Kemp. Think about it. Shakespeare wrote HAMLET, OTHELLO, RICHARD III, and LEAR for Burbage, so, Dick's probably not the happiest drunk.

What is The Imagination Compact?
And how can I learn more about Flux's Midsummer?

David Ian Lee

Actor, The Lovers, May 12th

Flux History: Flux Sunday regular as actor, director and playwright; plays developed include Sleeper and Dog Show

1. What is your favorite Shakespeare play?
Tough call. Possibly Two Gentlemen of Verona, though Hamlet will laways hold a special place in my heart.

2. What is your favorite line of text?
Top three (I'm bad at choosing)

HAMLET: There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

CHIRON: Thou hast undone our mother.
AARON: Villain, I have done thy mother.

JAQUES: I can suck melancholy out of a song as a weasel sucks eggs.

3. Does Shakespeare influence your writing at all?
No doubt unconsciously: His work is profuse and masterful, and if you take into account his ghost-edit of the King James Bible, Shakespeare's writing has likely had more influence on Western literary culture than any wordsmith imaginable. And, come to think of it, the play I'm working on is a revenge-thriller in the Five Act model, so...

4. if you had to date one of the Midsummer lovers,
whom would you date and why?
Titania. 'Cause.

5. What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word 'Flux'?
Good times.

6. Fairies: Colorful playmates or dangerous tricksters?
How about dangerous playmates? Ain't that the best kind?

7. Complete this sentence: "It's too late to go back now,
I'll just have to do without my _____"
Pants.

8. If a capricious fairy turned you into an animal against your will,
what animal you be and why?
Hmmm...well if its against my will, I suppose it'd have to be something
that I really have no interest in being...mollusks seem to have a tough life.
Nope, don't want that. So...I'm going with mollusk.

9. Would you rather have a beer with Richard Burbage or William Kemp?
Kemp, though amusing, would no doubt start to be a pain in the arse after a while.

10. If we could compact your imagination, what color would it be, and why?
Not sure of the color, but I'm sure it would be sticky.
Read the full story

What is The Imagination Compact?
And how can I learn more about Flux's Midsummer?

Jeff Lewonczyk

Playwright, The Royals, May 12th

(None of the women above are, in fact, the Jeff Lewonczyk. All three do, however, appear in his play Babylon, Babylon, which you should see.)

1. What is your favorite Shakespeare play?
I've always felt like my favorite Shakespeare play is one that I haven't read yet, maybe even one that hasn't been discovered or doesn't exist. I've stopped reading any Shakespeare plays that I'm not already familiar with, so I can have the opportunity to discover them onstage first. It's nice to leave something unknown to look forward to.

2. What is your favorite line of text?
Weirdly for a writer, I'm bad with quotations. Though when I look at something like the "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" speech from Macbeth, and see that pretty much every line in it has been used as a title for something else, I'm pretty damn impressed.

3. Does Shakespeare influence your writing at all?
I mean, God, of course. Last year I directed a show called Macbeth Without Words, which was, sure enough, true to the title – a dance- and silent film-inspired reimagining of the play. I ended up getting quoted in the Times dissing Shakespeare, which was partly an exponent of the cheeky context in which I was speaking (as one of the producers of the Brick Theater's Pretentious Festival), but also with a grain of truth: I don't think any writer, even one as great as Shakespeare, should be forced to endure the mantle of perfection and supremacy that's been dropped on his shoulders. I find his poetry as fusty and obnoxious in certain places as I find it beautiful and indispensable in others. But what I'm most indebted to/in awe of in Shakespeare is his scope and audacity – how could anybody write such big plays about such big things and stay sane? This is partly a result of the Elizabethan dramaturgical tradition – all the reflective sub-plots, cascading scene structures, and jumbles of disparate elements, comic and tragic alike – but Shakespeare did some incredible things with the style of his times, things that I think still serve as boundaries for us to explore and, perhaps eventually, surpass.

4. If you had to date one of the Midsummer lovers, whom would you date and why?
Helena, no question. Hermia's a brat, and though she may be more superficially sane than her counterpart, I've always felt that Helena hid greater depths – like, once she got her shit together, she'd be way more interesting to go out with – and, yes, settle down with, etc. Also, my wife played Helena in high school, and I know which side my bread is buttered on.

3. Fairies: colorful playmates or dangerous tricksters?
Why must we choose?

4. If the Flux Capacitor made time travel possible when the DeLorean reached 88mph, what do you think would happen if Flux Theatre Ensemble got theatre up to 88mph?
If it were trying to do so on, say, the Taconic Parkway, it would most likely get heavily ticketed, as happened to me several times in college. And once the cops found the plutonium in the trunk, forget it. This is why so many of us make theatre in New York City – fewer State Troopers, and much easier access to plutonium.

5. If a capricious fairy turned you into an animal against your will, what animal would you be and why?
I obviously wouldn't have much say in the matter, so I'd have to say a jellyfish, because really, I have no interest whatsoever in being a jellyfish. They're gross.

6. Which would win in a fight - the forest of Midsummer or the forest of Arden?
Depends on the rules of the fight. In a public, televised, heavily refereed fight I think the forest of Arden would win – it's the "good guy" forest, and it plays fair. But if we're talking a back-alley bare-knuckle altercation, with no one else around, the Midsummer forest would wipe the concrete with Arden. I would not unduly provoke the Midsummer forest. Read the full story

What is The Imagination Compact?
And how can I learn more about Flux's Midsummer?

August Schulenburg

Playwright, The Royals, April 28th



1. What is your favorite Shakespeare play?

What is The Imagination Compact?
And how can I learn more about Flux's Midsummer?

Aaron Zook

Actor, The Fairies, April 28th



(Pictured here in Impetuous' 12th Night of the Living Dead)

1. What Shakespeare role would you like to play next? 
Hamlet.

2.  What Shakespeare role would you like to play
that no one will ever cast you in?
Aaron the Moor

3. Describe the best Shakespeare production you've seen. 
I've never seen a live production that fully satisfied me
(though I've been fortunate enough to perform in some good 'uns).
I've seen video of Trevor Nunn's Macbeth with Ian McLellan and Judy
Dench, and it fairly knocked my socks off. Spare, economical, unsettling.
No flash, no grand concept: just fantastic actors mining the text for all it's worth.

4. If you had to date one of the Midsummer lovers,
who would you date and why?
They're all schmucks. I'd rather be single.

5. What is the first thing you think of when 
you hear the word "flux"? 
"Acid re-"

6. Fairies: colorful playmates or dangerous tricksters? 
Depends on the phase of the moon
and the direction of the wind.

7. If the Flux Capacitor made time travel possible
when the DeLorean reached 88mph,
what do you think would happen if Flux Theatre Ensemble 
got theatre up to 88mph? 
It would engage the company's Improbability Drive,
and we'd all turn into sacks of yarn.

8. Complete this sentence: "It's too late to go back now,
I'll just have to do without my _______" 
OED.

9. If a capricious fairy turned you into an animal against your will,
what animal would you be and why? 
Since it's against my will, I suppose it's up to the
capricious fairy. If it were an ass, though,
I'd be more in the Eeyore vein.

10. Which would win in a fight - the forest of Midsummer
or the forest of Arden?
Unless Arden's fairies are just being coy,
the Midsummer forest by first-round TKO.

11. How many licks does it take...? 
I never made it without biting.

12. Would you rather have a beer with Richard Burbage 
or William Kemp? 
Feh. Give me some sack and Bill Shakes.

13. If we could compact your imagination,
what color would it be and why?
Complete absence of color.
Having achieved sufficient density to become a quantum
singularity, light would be unable to escape the
gravitational pull of my imagination.