Mill 6 Collaborative

88 is # 1

2011-08-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

It is final. Under the watchful eye of attentive audience members the last ballots were counted for The T Plays III. The 88 bus (88 is the 88th Loneliest Number) eked out a victory by 4 votes. The Mattapan Trolley (Stolen Breath) was second and continuing its rapid ascent The Red Line (Not My Mormons) was third. Silver, Blue, Green and Orange was the placing for the final four.

Special thanks to all the writers, actors, directors and techies who made this show so much fun. And special thanks to all who came out to see it. It would have been lonely performing without you.

Now to figure out The T Plays 4.

One more audience to go

2011-08-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

Tonight's sold out crowd have voted. And the current standings:

The 88 is 5 votes ahead of Mattapan Trolley. The Red line continues to have strong nights is a few votes back. The Blue and Silver keep flipping a little ways back and the Green and Orange both had strong showings. I would not want to be one of those "talking heads" on CNN trying to handicap this election. (As I am sure there will be tomorrow). 6 seats left for our final performance.

The Home Stretch

2011-08-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

It is clear that it will come down to each and every last vote. The top two keep flipping (when not tied) and spots 3-7 all switched tonight.

After 6 shows....the 88 bus has a narrow lead. The Mattapan Trolley is two votes behind. The Red Line doubled it's points this evening (was Mitt Romney in the audience?). The Silver and the Blue have one vote separating them as does the Orange and the Green.

Two more chances to see what all the fuss is about. And trust me there is a lot of fuss.

How to make a T Play

2011-08-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

A behind the scenes video showing the quick process of the T Plays III. Special thanks to Barlow Adamson for making the video and all the artists of the T Plays for being willing subjects.

Once again....Mr. Rick Park....

2011-08-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

So I went to the T Plays last Saturday. And as usual, I was freaking nervous. It is always nerve wracking to see one of your plays for the first time, with an audience. What if they hate it? What if I hate it? As always, I am my own worst critic and hear things that may not be heard by others, things that make me cringe inside. But I didn’t get that feeling this time. My writing made me happy. Not only my writing, but also the wonderful actors who brought my words to life. Sometimes the synergy between word and actor is so in sync, it amazes me. It also amazes me when it seems that the writers have a shared collective consciousness. Of the seven plays, three featured the word “douchebag”. Two involved bodies of water, three mentioned babies. More than one featured people (and some non-humans) trailing or spying on someone. Also making appearances in more than one play: lesbians, donuts and candy, and religious prayer and/or personnel. But what really stood out for me was how lucky all of us writers were to have this group of highly skilled and dedicated actors. In the T Plays, the writers have the pressure for the first 24 hours. After that, everything switches to the shoulders of the director and the actors. The directors have to act as the “glue” between the script and the actors and have to make some very quick and calculated decisions on blocking, lighting, and all that director jazz. But the lynch pin is the actors. The actors have to memorize 10 pages of dialogue in about 2 days. They have four hours of rehearsal on the Sunday before opening and then they go right into tech. Learning lines is on their time, time outside of the theatre. They exist in a pressure cooker where they must absorb words, movement and a relationship with their fellow actor, all in 3 days before they are performing in front of an audience, with maybe 2 run throughs in the space if they are lucky. If a play has some flaws (and I think my fellow writers will agree that all of our plays do, if only in our minds), it is the actors who must navigate around them the best they can, for 9 performances. They are on the front line, every night, a mere few feet from the audience who is voting for their favorite play. In the words of Project Runway’s Tim Gunn, they have to “make it work”. And for that, we writers (and audience members) are extremely grateful. So I want to give a public shout out to the 14 amazing actors in this year’s T Plays: Brian Bernhard, Shelley Brown, Matt Chapuran, Lindsay Eagle, Kelley Estes, Derek Fraser, Nate Gundy, Louise Hamill, Molly Kimmerling, Robyn Linden, Jeff Mahoney, Mal Malme, Kim Myatt, and Greer Rooney. If it weren’t for you all, what we write wouldn’t matter. So thanks. A lot.

Railroad Ties

2011-08-14T16:42:00.000-07:00

After one week and five performances the standings are filled with ties.

Mattapan and the 88 lead the pack and are tied. The Red line made a huge jump forward and almost doubled its total. Silver and Blue are also tied. Green and Orange while not tied only have 3 votes separating them. And one vote for the curtain speech (Thanks, Mom).

A veteran T Play attendee complained that it was too difficult to pick just one. I think that is good. We have seven strong plays that all challenge and entertain. I think how close the standings are show how strong all the pieces are this round.

Updated Standings

2011-08-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Another full house (all right there were two empty seats). And the votes have been counted.

Mattapan Trolley has pulled ahead of the 88 bus, but there is just a few votes separating them.

The Red Line took a big jump up and the Blue Line follows just a few votes behind. The Silver, Green and Orange all gained and just seven votes separate them.

We have a 3PM matinee tomorrow. And as of right now we have about 24 seats available. It's supposed to be a rainy Sunday and next weekend will be crowded as it is our closing. Come out and check out the plays.

After Three shows....

2011-08-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

...we have a tie....

Between the Mattapan Trolley and 88 bus. The Silve Line follows. The Blue and Red Line are both neck and neck a few votes back. The Green and Orange round out the field and still are within striking distance. So far this is the closest T Play voting there has been. What will happen tomorrow? Come to the show and let your vote be counted.

2 Shows down and new standings.

2011-08-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

After our second show the standings have shifted slightly.

The 88 has pulled just ahead of the Mattapan trolley and the Silver Line is just one vote behind that. The remaining four (Blue, Orange, Green and Red) are tied.

Each line is going to need every vote to be the favorite. Do your part and come and enjoy T Plays III.

T Plays III opens to a full house

2011-08-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

And a very warm and receptive audience they were.

They voted and the current standings are:

The Mattapan Trolley is in the lead, but with only two votes separating it from the 88 bus which itself is just one vote ahead of The Silver Line. Blue, Red, Green and Orange are all very tightly packed next with just 5 votes seprating 4th-7th. And with seven more performances to go - The Golden Dolphin Award for Audience Favorite could end up on any line.

Oh, and did we mention the house was completely sold out? Make your reservations now.

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/185712

More behind the scenes

2011-08-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

More thoughts from John Greiner-Ferris.

http://tinyurl.com/3e29tvt

Newsworthy

2011-08-09T21:22:00.000-07:00

The Boston Metro spoke to Artistic Director John O'Brien and writer Dawn Simmons about The T Plays III. If I read this in a pre-caffeinated morning rush hour commute I would definitely reserve some tickets.http://www.metro.us/boston/local/article/939064--the-return-of-the-t-plays

More thoughts from John Greiner-Ferris

2011-08-07T07:14:00.000-07:00

John shares some more on The T Plays.

http://tinyurl.com/3wkdata

T Plays III Match ups....

2011-08-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

are in!!!!

Red Line
Writer: Richard Snee
Director: Melanie Garber
Actors: Brian Bernhard and Lindsay Eagle

Blue Line
Writer: John J King
Director: Matthew Woods
Actors: Louise Hamill and Molly Kimmerling

Green Line
Writer: John Greiner-Ferris
Director: Meg Taintor
Actors: Matt Chapuran and Derek Fraser

Orange Line
Writer: Jess Martin
Director: Barlow Adamson
Actors: Shelley Brown and Kim Anton Myatt

Silver Line
Writer: Dawn Simmons
Director: Darren Evans
Actors: Jeff Mahoney and Greer Rooney

Mattapan Trolley
Writer: Rick Park
Director: Chris Anton
Actors: Robyn Linden and Mal Malme

"WildCard" - We'll see what they pick
Writer: Dan Milstein & Kristin Baker
Director: Antoine Gagnon
Actors: Kelley Estes and Nate Gundy

All signs point to an awesome set of plays.

More writers heard from

2011-08-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

John Greiner-Ferris shares his thoughts about the upcoming T Plays on his blog. He also wonders about the dressing habbits of his fellow writers.

http://tinyurl.com/3sqr76k

Further Thoughts from Rick

2011-08-03T10:01:00.000-07:00

Working as a writer on the T plays is like playing the slots at Foxwoods. Except these slots have actors and directors instead of lemons and cherries. Pull the arm and you suddenly see who and what you have to work with. Completely random. And John O'Brien, the evil genius behind the T Plays, is always mixing it up on us. New actors, new directors, new bus lines are thrown in every year. So which is most important to a writer: the actors? the director? the T line? It is an interesting question.

As a writer, knowing the actors I am writing for is very important. For the past two T Plays, I have not known any of the four actors I have been assigned. Had never seen them onstage. The first year, I didn't even get a chance to meet them until their first rehearsal, by which time it was too late to change anything in the script. But the actors that Mill6 uses, not only for the T Plays but for their other productions, are all talented, confident people. I mean, come on, you don't agree to sign on to a project where you get the play on a Saturday night and you open that play on a Wednesday without a pretty large set of cojones (or the female equivalent, whatever that may be...). These actors have to be able to memorize a 10-minute play in a couple of days and then be able to run with it through a dizzyingly quick rehearsal and tech process. So while I sometimes get nervous wondering if I will be assigned 2 actors or 3 (since plays for two people have a completely different dynamic than those for three), I never really worry about the quality of the actors in the pool. I know John has assembled a terrific group of thespians from which to draw from and it is always fun to meet a new actor and immediately get some kind of vibe from them, some kind of odd inspiration to arm yourself with when you get on the T the day after meeting them. So, getting good, hardworking and talented actors is a given.

The same thing can be said about the directors working on the T Plays. They are all good, solid creative people who have already proven their mettle in the Boston theatre scene. I have been extremely fortunate in the past with having been able to work with two terrific women who immediately understood what I was going for in the plays I have written. Meg Taintor brought to life my two star-crossed gay dolphins and Dawn Simmons nary blinked an eye when I wrote "A mirrored ball drops into the Red Line car as the disco music thumps loudly". Again, it was two completely different working situations with Meg and Dawn. Meg I had never met until the one rehearsal I was able to get to for "Please Report Any Suspicious Activity", whereas I was able to sit with Dawn the Friday night of the pairings, as well as sit with her after the first read thru. Both did incredible jobs, enhancing my play in ways that a playwright can only dream of and I never had any reason not to fully entrust them with my words. So, to paraphrase myself, getting a good director is also a given in the T Plays.

Which brings us to the actual T line that one is assigned. Here, in my opinion, is where things get really interesting. The T lines are, of course, Red, Blue, Green, Orange and Silver. Last year, two bus lines were added in (joining the Silver line). Each of the subway lines holds its own special qualities, some good and some bad. The Blue line seems to have the most wonderfully character-laden stops of any of the lines: Wonderland, Revere, Airport, Aquarium. I also like the Red line because of its diversity of people at its many stops. I mean, the character differences between someone riding to Broadway versus someone riding to Harvard Square versus Charles MGH versus Ashmont: the whole range of the human condition is traversed by the Red Line. The Orange Line is a bit of a mystery--all the different types of folks living from JP to Malden, with some basic cityscapes (Back Bay, State) thrown in for good measure. The Green Line is the line that gives me ADD. Too many arms of the Green Line, too many stops that are too similar. It would seem a cop-out to use something like Copley or Arlington if assigned the Green Line but I can't seem to get a grasp of which line (B, C, D or E) to choose to ride on the Green Line. The Green Line also has a whole lot of stops relatively close together. It lacks the trip out of JFK/Umass on the Red Line that is a full 4 or 5 minutes with no stop, for example. The bus lines bring up a whole different set of problems (for me), the biggest being that on a bus, you are never more than 35 feet from the driver, the same driver who you had to pass in order to get on the bus, the same driver that can see you in his mirror. On the subway, the driver is in his own closed off compartment (unless you are in a car that has no driver). You often don't see the driver when you get on the train. On a bus, there is no doubt that your presence has been noticed and noted. It would be hard to write a play set on a bus, then, where something overtly suspicious is happening, since the driver can SEE you. Busses (which include the Silver Line) seem better for plays about quieter moments, about conversations rather than events. Two gay dolphins having a lover's quarrel would never make it on the #39 bus the way they would on the Blue Line.

So what do I hope for in the next drawing of the T Plays? I try not to think about it too much. I try not to psych myself out about what will happen if I get three actors versus two (and I haven't even touched on gender issues here!) or whether I get the Green Line or a bus. The key to the T Plays is to just go with it, like a runaway train that you know will eventually stop and let you off. You just don't know where you'll end up.

You can't get T Play Tickets from a Charlie Card machine...

2011-07-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

but you can get them at
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/185712

Guest starring: Rick Park as The Blogger

2011-07-29T04:41:00.000-07:00

I am about to embark on my third journey with the T Plays and it never gets any less terrifying. The pressure is incredible. On a Friday night at around 7 you get together--actors, writers, directors--and are randomly thrown together, along with a T line. In less than 24 hours, you, as a writer, are expected to have a 10-minute play ready to go. All the pressure, at this point, is on you. Sure, as soon as the play is read aloud in the group, the pressure is on the actors and director, but at the beginning, it is all about the writer. How clever can you be? What person or thing or smell on your T line will invoke the muses and allow you to write, quickly, an entertaining piece of theatre? A piece worthy of a paying audience? There is no time for self-doubt or self-pity. You have to jump in, both feet, and just run with whatever idea you come up with. There are few instances as a playwright that test your confidence and ability more than writing for the T Plays.

The first year, I wasn't there for the actor/director/writing assignments I was acting in Shear Madness at the time and came home at 1030 on that first Friday to an email telling me I was working with a director I had never met and writing for two actors I had never met and I had the Blue Line, which I at least knew a little. I also knew that I would have to have my piece done early, since I had a matinee at Shear that Saturday. Even writing this now makes my heart start to beat a bit faster. Up early the next day, I jumped on the Blue Line with one thing on my mind: what the fuck was I going to write? On the T, in a car by myself. Nothing. The mind starts to scramble, to come up with something, ANYTHING that strikes a chord in me. Nada. I know I have a bunch of stops still to go, more places from which I could draw inspiration, but I also knew that time was of the essence. I try to keep the brain open to new thoughts and ideas and not allow the pressure of time and pride to strangle any creativity that might somehow, miraculously, appear out of thin air. And then it happened. A moment of complete and total kismet for my already weary brain. I hear the pre-recorded announcement telling us to "Please report any suspicious activity to the nearest T employee" followed by "Next stop: Aquarium". I start imagining something suspicious happening on the train. Two mysterious people come on. Or maybe one guy is already on the train and something suspicious happens. Or...or...or...and then I am stuck. But just for a moment. I remember a trick I learned many years ago, when writing comedy: take the situation to the extreme and work backwards. My mind starts thinking of the words: report...suspicious...Aquarium...and then I have it. A man, an everyman, sits alone in the Blue line car, reading and minding his own business. He hears the announcement, the same one I heard and ignores it. Next stop is Aquarium and who gets on? Someone suspicious. I go way out and make it two dolphins, who, with their permanent little smirks have always seemed suspicious to me. I remember my actors (I had been sent their headshots and physical descriptions from Irene Daly), two men I had never met before. I make the dolphins gay lovers having a fight. I know one of my actors is originally from Brazil and has an accent. This means, to my now-flying brain, that one character needs to be more flamboyant, more full of that South American passion. And he has to have a lot of fun words to say. Hard words to say without a Brazilian accent.

I got off the train and ran home and sat down and wrote what was to become "Please Report Suspicious Activity", where a lover's quarrel between two dolphin lovers, Antonio and Dirk, grows more and more heated and out of control as each tries to get the Everyman on their respective side. Antonio, upset that Dirk's former lover, Rusty the Hammerhead shark ("Rusty is not a hammerhead, "Dirk explains. "His eyes are just really far apart!") is now the star of the new Aquarium exhibit and is appalled that Dirk would date "the sworn enemy of their species". This leads to comparisons to West Side Story and Antonio begins singing songs from "Sea Side Story", until Dirk stops him and explains that he has eyes for no one but Antonio and his fluke.

I hit send and wonder if this play is at all funny. It is hard to gain perspective when you are working under such time constraints. I never actually got to see this play that season. I was doing 8 Shear Madness shows a week. But I was updated by the wonderful director Meg Taintor about audience reaction and by John O'Brien, who oversees this entire nutty experiment. And I have to tell you: the adrenaline rush is addictive. It has to be or why would I be about to do this for the third time?

The next round of T Plays is now approaching...

2011-07-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

And who exactly will be joining us for this crazy ride of theatrical hi-jinks? I am so glad you asked.

T Plays III will feature 7 new plays written by: John Greiner-Ferris, John J King, Jess Martin, Dan Milstein & Kristin Baker, Rick Park, Dawn M. Simmons and Richard Snee.

There will be stellar direction provided by Barlow Adamson, Chris Anton, Darren Evans, Antoine A. Gagnon, Melanie Garber, Meg Taintor and Matthew Woods.

Not to mention the exciting performances of Brian Bernhard, Shelley Brown, Matt Chapuran, Lindsay Eagle, Kelley Estes, Derek Fraser, Nathaniel Gundy, Louise Hamill, Molly Kimmerling, Robyn Linden, Jeff Mahoney, Mal Malme, Kim Anton Myatt, Greer Rooney and Brian Turner.

Stay tuned for more details.

How the T Plays team gets assembled

2011-07-05T05:01:00.000-07:00

Recently on our facebook group and our email there has been some discussion about how one can become involved with the T Plays. It has been an evolving process (and will change a bit before the next round), but we thought we would share how it has worked.

We were trying to fill 7 writing slots, 7 directing slots and anywhere from 15-20 actors.

The Audience favorites (writer,director,actors) all get invited back - they don't have to accept - but let's assume they do. So with the 6 remaining writers and directors we try to divy them up in thirds. Two folks who have previously worked with Mill 6, two folks who are new to Mill 6 and two folks who have worked with us but in a different capacity (i.e. someone who has directed for us before may come aboard as a writer etc).

We try to have a similar breakdown with the actors, but it is a bit easier there since there are more of them needed and a range of them not a specific number.

The above are just the starting guidelines. Obviously we have to consider people's schedules and other commitments. If we have difficulty finding a second "new" director we would ask someone to return.

This round it has worked out pretty well. We have 30 artists on board. 16 of them are making their Mill 6 debuts. 14 are returning with 4 of the 14 working in a new capacity.

We are looking at ways for writers,directors and actors to be able to submit themselves for consideration for future rounds of T Plays. We'll have more info on that later this fall when we regroup for Season 14.

Lovely, gorgeous and delightful...

2011-05-18T08:39:00.000-07:00

are just some of the adjectives being used to describe The Monster Tales. Please check out some of our reviews

http://bostonartsreview.blogspot.com/2011/05/monster-rally-by-beverly-creasey.html

http://www.edgeboston.com/entertainment/theatre/reviews/performance/119700/the_monster_tales_

And then come and check out the show. We have only three seats left for tonight's show, but we have plenty of room for Friday evening's show and Saturday's matinee.

Promo video online

2011-04-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

Hey there -

We have been so busy working on The Monster Tales (opening next week) that the sum total of our posts about include our cast list and this promo video. It's a great show with some funny parts and some sad parts and all six actors are knocking it out of the park. Watch the video and then order your tickets. The Monster under your bed would want you to.

Congrats to Pat, Rick and John

2011-03-22T15:43:00.000-07:00

Three of The T Plays 2010 have been selected to be part of The Boston Theater Marathon this May. Pat Gabridge's Escape to Wonderland (Blue Line); Rick Park's Birdbaths, Twilight and Other Sundry Topics (Red Line); and John J King's M. Riverside (Green Line) will all be part of the 50 plays performed on May 21, 2011. We are pleased as punch that this is the case. And it continues a fine tradition. Three T Plays from our first round of plays made the Marathon two years ago. It's nice that these plays get a second chance to be seen in Boston.

A Life's Work at Wellesley

2011-03-20T12:49:00.000-07:00

Mill 6 friend Marc Harpin (Bunbury) has a new play that is being read Monday March 28th at Wellesley Theater.

"A Life's Work."

It's a full-length comedy about how people build and hold on to their families in the face of societal pressures.

Nora Hussey at Wellesley Summer Theatre, the Equity company-in-residence at Wellesley College, has kindly offered to host the reading in the Barstow Stage in Alumni Hall at Wellesley at 7:00PM on Monday, March 28th. The reading is free.
We have a terrific cast including: Danny Bolton,* John Davin,* Lisa Foley,* Christine Hamel,* Eric Hamel, and Charlotte Peed.*

Monster Tales Performance Schedule

2011-01-24T10:46:00.000-08:00

This spring's production of The Monster Tales brings a number of changes to how Mill 6 has put together shows. For example this show will have an intermission. You would have to go back to 2005 and Sean Michael Welch's Trojan Whore to find the last time we took a break of 12-15 minutes mid show. Another large change is we will be performing this show in rep with Whistler in the Dark's production of Aunt Dan and Lemon. This means that we will be alternating performances. And while it may make our schedule a little more confusing at first, it does allow us to run for four weekends something we haven't done since Cafe Society in 2000. One of the most common critiques I've received about our shows is that the runs are too short. Hopefully this performance schedule will allow more folks to attend. Plus we'll be offering some price incentives for people to see both shows. We will be posting the full schedule on our website once it is updated but for now for all of you who like to plan things well in advance here are the days and times Monster Tales will be performing:

Sat April 30 - opening night 8:00PM

Thurs May 5 - 7:30 PM

Sat May 7 - 8:00 PM

Sun May 8 - 3:00 PM

Wed May 11 - 7:30 PM

Fri May 13 - 8:00 PM

Sat May 14 - 3:00 PM

Wed May 18 - 7:30 PM

Fri May 20 - 8:00 PM

Sat May 21 - 3:00 PM

Monster Tales Cast

2011-01-23T17:16:00.000-08:00

We at Mill 6 are pleased as punch and slow as molasses to announce the cast for The Monster Tales. Without further ado the talented sextet of actors:

Sasha Castroverde as Gisella, Raisa and Shileen
Irene Daly as Maria Anita, Mother and Juno
Nathaniel; Gundy as David, Boy and Raji
Becca A. Lewis as The Monster
Lonnie McAdoo as Samson, The Voices and Alexander
Liz Rimar as Mimi

Thanks to all who auditioned. We are currently gathering the designers and production team and look forward for the Tales to begin.

Lucky Season 13

2010-08-03T06:26:00.000-07:00

Mill 6 is decked out in their finest rabbit's feet and carefully avoiding the cracks in the sidewalk as we head into our 13th season. We are pleased to announce our mainstage shows.

The Monster Tales
by Mary Jett Parsley
co-directed by Barlow Adamson and John Edward O'Brien
April 27-May 14, 2011 at the Factory Theater
(performing in rep with Whsitler in the Dark's production of Aunt Dan and Lemon)

The T Plays III
All of the drama, comedy, tragedy and romance a T ride provides.
August 10-20, 2011 at the Factory Theater

And there may be a few other surprises thrown in as well. Stay tuned for details.

Scenes from the T Plays

2010-08-03T06:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Meg Taintor we have many wonderful photos from The T Plays 2010. Here are a few we'd like to share. As a character once said "Thanks, Meg."

And the Audience Favorite for the T Plays 2010

2010-06-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

is Green. John J King's play M. Riverside with Nate Gundy and Forrest Walter are the proud recipients of the (blank) - there is still time to vote on the name for the award (see poll at left). This year's voting was very close with only 7 votes separating the top three. And sinlge votes separating the some of the other four. We will be posting some photos soon (Thanks, Meg) and will have the vote percentages. Thanks to all the artists involved and to all the audience who attended. The T Plays will return.....

Coming around the final turn it's....

2010-06-26T20:48:00.000-07:00

Green ahead by a sack of nuts. Followed a few skittles behind by the # 1 bus. The Silver Line's 3 ladies are in third. Barry White says "Next play....Red Line". #39, Blue and Orange are still within striking distance. Confused by these inside references? Well get yourself to the last two performances of The T Plays 2010. At 1PM (a goodly number of seats still available) or 4 PM (about 8 seats available).

Half way there

2010-06-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

The standings are even closer than ever. Currently after three shows: The Green, Silver and #1 Bus are separated by 4 votes. The Red, #39,Blue and Orange are quite close behind. It will go down to the final show for certain. No one is walking away with the prize. Our Saturday show is one or two seats away from ebing sold out but at the moment there are seats available for Sunday, so come out and view.

What is in a name?

2010-06-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

All the cool awards have nicknames. The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre is just called a Tony. The American Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences have their Oscar. So what should the nickname for the T Plays Audience Favorite be? We have listed several options in the poll to the right. Take a moment and vote. If you chose other feel free to drop us an email at mill6theatre@gmail.com and tell us.

A bit of a teaser

2010-06-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the lovely Meg Taintor we have a few photos from The T Plays 2010. We're going to share just one right now. Intrigued? Want to see more? Come see the show.

(Pictured are Anthony Dangerfield and Kevin LaVelle in Melanie Garber's play You Say Tomatoes, I Say Tahmatoes, Let's Call the Whole Thing a Dude in a Dress and a Guy Who Likes to Eat Organic Foods...Off directed by Antoine A. Gagnon and written and set aboard #39 bus. Photo by Meg Taintor) That has to be the longest caption ever.

Tune in your wireless set today at 3PM

2010-06-24T09:12:00.000-07:00

WBUR radio (90.9 on your FM dial) will be doing a feature on The T Plays 2010 today June 24th at 3PM. Jessica Alpert followed writer Patrick Gabridge on his journey on the Blue Line and gets a first hand look how his play Escape to Wonderland came to be. Jessica also came by rehearsals for the play and popped in to several different shows, so there's bound to be plenty of Mill 6 goodness to hear. Plus I've always been told I have a face for radio. So tune in.

Some early results

2010-06-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

With one show under our belt we have tallied the votes on our way to finding out who the next audience favorite is. Having counted and recounted the ballots I can say it will be a very tight race. Currently the Green Line is in the lead followed very closely and in a tight pack by #1 bus, The Silver Line and #39 bus. The next batch is also very tightly grouped: Red Line, Blue Line and Orange Line. Remember this is still early in the voting process (it would be akin to announcing the Presidential election results with just Delaware and Rhode Island reporting). I suspect we're in for a real horse race. Hmm maybe next time we could have the playwrights write while racing a horse....

We're in Today's Metro!

2010-06-23T08:52:00.000-07:00

An interview with the terrific Rick Park, who wrote on the Red Line for us!

Metro - Whose Red Line is it anyway?

Photo: NICOLAUS CZARNECKI/METRO

Opening Night

2010-06-23T06:20:00.000-07:00

The T Plays are like a box of chocolate. You never know what you're going to get. Comedic hi-jinks? Angry confrontations? Sweet romance? Gay Dolphins? The one thing I will divulge that you will see is some pretty amazing plays. Our writers, actors, designers and directors have really put together a great evening of theater-on-the-fly. Or perhaps on-the-rail is more appropriate? Get your tickets now. http://www.mill6.org/ There are fewer than 10 seats available for tonight, but we have 5 more shows, so don't be left at the station. Pictured are Rodney Raftery and George Saulnier III with a great big box of T Plays.

Guest Starring: Mikkel Raahede as The Blogger (part 2)

2010-06-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

I just came home after the dress rehearsal.
WOW!
To think that Boston holds that much talent! A huge hot pile of talent that is able to create something so special and diverse in so little time. And all so wonderfully orchestrated by the lovely John O’Brien (I write this because it makes me earn more money. And because he has done a helluva job!)
This years T-Plays is full of drama, soaked in humour and every now and then sparkles with the most intimate and touching moments.

All I can say is wow. So can I say it again? OK? WOW!

Go see it.

M

Rumors of Publicity

2010-06-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

Eagle eyes readers of this blog may have noticed Pat Gabridge mentioned a reporter was at his rehearsal. Less eagle eyed readers can scroll one post back and read it there. Jessica Alpert of WBUR radio will be doing a feature on the T Plays this week. When you ask? Stay tuned to the blog and we will let you know...

Once again Guest Starring: Patrick Gabridge as The Blogger

2010-06-20T19:30:00.001-07:00

We had a great rehearsal for my T play this afternoon. The actresses, Ally and Jen, were zeroed in on their roles, and Barlow Adamson, my director (who is actually co-directing with John ), seemed to completely understand these two characters I'd created. It was a pretty inspired rehearsal, actually. Intense time pressure can truly focus the mind.

We had a read through of all the plays last night, and the other plays were so funny and got great response, and of course, I had to go and write a drama, and so I felt like the guy who brings a cat to an all-dog party. I was a little concerned I hadn't managed to write what I'd intended (in terms of quality, at least. Playwrights can be so damn insecure.). But today set my mind at ease and got me very excited about this play. The evening is going to be a lot of fun to watch

The WBUR reporter was there again briefly. I wonder what she thought of the piece. This was a rare instance where we were actually chatting about the idea I had for this script, almost exactly as it was still gestating in my mind but before I'd written a word yet.

I'll miss tomorrow's rehearsal/tech, but hope to see a run through on Tuesday before the show opens on Wednesday.

Guest Starring: Patrick Gabridge as The Blogger (part 2)

2010-06-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

I turned the first draft of my T Play, "Escape to Wonderland," in with a whole 25 minutes to spare. Whew.

I had a good time riding the Blue Line with WBUR reporter Jessica Alpert for a while this morning--mostly taking notes and getting a sense for the line and trying to think about how my actresses could fit best into something on this line. She left after an hour or so, and then I wrote for a few more hours, back and forth from Wonderland to Maverick (and sometimes Govt. Center).

In the end, I wrote about 9 handwritten pages (some of it in a burrito place in Maverick Square, rather than on the T, because I was dying from hunger). Basically, I rode the T from about 10:30 to 4pm (green and blue lines). Then I hurried home and typed it all up--it comes to about 11 pages. I think it'll run closer to 12-14 minutes, but we'll see. I like the characters a lot and think they'll suit the actresses very well. Our talk at Doyle's last night gave me a lot to think about when trying to write roles for them.

I'd hoped for a comedy, but it just didn't turn out that way (I put my back out this morning, and I might be less inclined towards comedy with a bad back...). Everyone was pretty well behaved and quiet on the Blue Line today, so they weren't especially inspirational. (Come on people, let's get rowdy.)

Now I'm off to the read through at Suffolk University. Can't wait to see what everyone has written. (It's easy to have a lot of doubts about my stuff, but I have hopes it'll turn out all right. I'm positive Rick Park will have written something positively hilarious again.)

All Matched Up

2010-06-19T05:42:00.000-07:00

So here are the Match ups for The T Plays 2010

The Red Line
Writer: Rick Park
Director: Dawn Simmons
Cast: Adam Kassim and Jason Myatt

The Blue Line
Writer: Patrick Gabridge
Director: Barlow Adamson
Cast: Jen O'Connor and Ally Tully

The Orange Line
Writer: Terry Byrne
Director: Kristin Baker
Cast: Melissa Barker, Casey Preston and Greer Rooney

The Green Line
Writer: John J King
Director: John Edward O'Brien
Cast: Nate Gundy and Forrest Walter

The Silver Line
Writer: Bill Doncaster
Director: Mikkel Raahede
Cast: Sasha Castroverde, Juliet Gowing McGinnis and Marie Polizzano

The # 1 Bus
Writer: Sean Michael Welch
Director: Meg Taintor
Cast: Jim Barton and Jason Lambert

The # 39 Bus
Writer: Melanie Garber
Director: Antoine Gagnon
Cast: Anthony Dangerfield and Kevin LaVelle

There you have it. More to come later on...

Guest Starring: Patrick Gabridge as The Blogger

2010-06-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

So, we're off. Or almost. Tonight we had the meet and greet and pairing up session at Doyles, which meant drinking beer and eating French fries, while shouting over the hubbub to meet new actors and catch up with actors, directors, and writers that I already knew. I sat next to Rick Park, whose play stole the show last year. (I was thinking maybe I could do a play about two greyhounds, having a spat on the way to Wonderland...) It was good to find out that I'm not the only one a little nervous about tomorrow--it's hard not to approach the day without a lingering suspicion that I'm going to ride the T and ride the T and ride and come up with a big, fat goose egg. Lots of pleasantly blank paper. But I've done enough of these to know that it'll be fine (not necessarily brilliant, but it could happen). I can't get started riding until after 10am, and really not until closer to 10:30 or 11. We have until 6pm to turn in our final drafts, so that means I need to have a draft by 3:30, so I can get home, type it up, revise it, and turn it in. (Just writing that is making me more nervous than before.)

The fun of the day is seeing what inspiration is lurking out there, but I'm sure I'll be thinking up a few back up ideas, just in case the well suddenly runs dry. It'll probably take an hour or two to get warmed up, and I had better be writing by 12:00 or 1 o'clock.

John and company actually picked all the matches out of a hat tonight (vaguely reminiscent of Harry Potter). I've got the Blue Line, Barlow Adamson is directing (he and I have known each other for ages), and my actresses are Jen O'Connor and Ally Tully. The actresses seem great (I'd met Jen before), with a very positive energy. I asked questions about special skills (musical instrument skills, languages, etc.) and just chatted for a while, to get a sense of voice and energy. Getting to know the actors beforehand it critical for this kind of project.

Now I'd better get some sleep, so I'm ready to crank out some pages tomorrow.

Guest Starring: Mikkel Raahede as The Blogger

2010-06-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

I’ve been nervous for days. Or maybe excited is a better word. Or nervcited. Is that a word? I don’t know.

What I do know is that my American directing debut is getting closer, and tonight just made all the anxiety vanish completely, leaving only place for joy. Briefly.

Maybe I should back up a bit. I am Danish, and though I currently live in Copenhagen, I jump at every chance I get to work with Mill6. In Denmark I have been directing and acting for years, but somehow it is always new and different here in Boston. All my primal fear of not being understood and being the new kid in the class comes rushing back.

So when I sat in the plane last Monday on my way here, I was convinced that I would not understand the script given to me, and I would not be able to make myself clear to the actors.

This night we all met, and the matches were made by draws from a hat. Getting there made me nervous. Again. Here I was in all my pastel glory, and I had to get past more than a couple of guys in tattoos and leather jackets. With the same drawings on the back.

I made it past them and was greeted by so many familiar faces, and a couple of new ones. All looking very talented. Way more talented than I can ever become. I considered turning around and abandon the whole thing, but that would mean getting past those leather-clad men again. So I stayed.

Boy was I lucky. I was matched up with two girls that I already know are brilliant, plus one more actress that I have all the confidence will shine throughout this experience, and a playwright that realised that none of the thoughts he had going in to this could still could apply. So we really start at a blank page, and we will truly go through this together.

And I can’t wait!

M

Match Ups a'comin'

2010-06-18T09:07:00.000-07:00

It's 7 hours or so till the match ups. Excitement is building. The hat from which names are drawn is being looked for (Where is it?) Adventurous theater goers are already staking out seats. Vegas is weighing odds on this years winner. The Blue Line (last years winner) is a favorite by almost 2 to 1. When asked why she placed her rent money on the Blue Line Miss Mildred Sweeney said "Well it ends up in Wonderland and that really sounds wonderful."

Some special guests

2010-06-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

The blog is about to become crowded. Several artists while working on the T Plays 2010 will simultaneously and at the same time blog their thoughts about their experience. We're hoping to get tidbits from Pat Gabridge who already has a blog of his own http://writinglife3.blogspot.com/ Pat promised us all new blog entries. If you find he's just copying older posts from one blog to another be sure to send us a comment. Also Juliet Gowing McGinnis, star of one of Mill 6's first big hits Cafe Society returns to our acting troupe and our blog, and Mikkel Raahede will share his thoughts on taking an eight hour flight to direct a ten minute play. And we may even have a few more contribute. Keep and eye on the blog for these posts and all your T Plays 2010 needs.

Attention Audience the next round of T Plays is now approaching.

2010-06-13T17:04:00.000-07:00

June 23-27th (Wed-Sat @ 8PM; Sun @ 1PM and 4PM)
The Factory Theater
Tickets are $15.00 general admission (June 23rd is pay what you can $5.00 minimum)

Back by Popular Demand! Chance will team up a playwright, director, actors and a T line (and we're including buses this time too). The playwright will board the T knowing only the number of characters and the setting (the very T line they are on). At the end of the round trip they turn their freshly written script over to the director and actors. Three days later the shows go up!

Every night we'll be asking the audience to vote for their favorites. At the end of the week the Audience Favorite will be announced.

Contributing artists:

Barlow Adamson, Kristin Baker, Melissa Barker, Jim Barton, Terry Byrne, Sasha Castroverde, Irene Daly, Anthony Dangerfield, Bill Doncaster, Melanie Garber, Patrick Gabridge, Antoine A. Gagnon, Nathaniel Gundy, Benjamin Janey, Adam Kassim, John J King, Jason Lambert, Kevin LaVelle, Kathy Maloney, Juliet Gowing McGinnis, Jason Myatt, John Edward O'Brien, Jennifer O'Connor, Rick Park, Marie Polizzano, Casey Preston, Mikkel Raahede, Rodney Raftery, Greer Rooney, Dawn M. Simmons, Meg Taintor, Ally Tully, Forrest Walter, Sean Michael Welch.

Mill 6 at the Boston Theatre Marathon!

2010-05-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

Mill 6 is thrilled (THIS SUNDAY!) to produce William Donnelly's Strangers on a Playground at this year's Boston Theatre Marathon. We're in the closing slot for the 5-6 hour, so let's say 5:45pm.

Barlow Adamson directs, and the cast includes Irene Daly & Kevin LaVelle.

OH how we love LOVE doing Bill's plays.

Our friends Rough & Tumble will be performing their new show Talky Talk, directed by Dan Milstein and featuring Barlow Adamson, Kristin Baker, Irene Daly, Jason Myatt, Kevin LaVelle & Jim Barton - who have ALL been in Mill 6 shows, what can we say, we've got good taste.

The T Plays Return

2010-04-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

And this time it's personal. And this time there is a video promoting it. Extra special thanks to all those who helped in making it happen. We are currently gathering actors, writers and directors and soon will let you all know who will be riding the T this year. In the mean time please enjoy this youtube video. Oh and writers - if your play involves ice cream we know where you got that idea from.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Mill6Collaborative#p/a/u/0/1hkX49YZjyM

Next up....

2010-03-13T12:28:00.000-08:00

is A Stone on the Water written by Chris Keating. Keating is the man behind the sooper-delishous blog http://analog-nation.com/ that we have repeatedly pillaged from for material. If you recall The Mill 6 Jamboree from a few years back - all those bumper bits where actors recited poems or "Little known facts" and such - those were all written by Chris. And now we have a short play from him. In three parts. We will be presenting this very funny piece about dating as part of UnReliable Narrator's fundraiser UnVaudeville. The event is helping UnReliable Narrator raise some funds to do a full show this summer. We're glad to help and fully intend to borrow $10.00 from UnReliable Narrator the next time we're out because we know they'll soon have some cash. Here are some details about the event:

This spectacular evening will be hosted by K’Tharr (played by Neal Leaheey), an interstellar warrior-bunny last seen in last year’s production "Paranormal." It is a fundraiser for the next Unreliable Narrator production, a sci-fi musical comedy in August.

Total COMEDY:

--Frank Cyrano of the Byfar Hour
--Honey Suckle Duvet
--The Artist Known as Cher
--Donny Soares
--The Unreliable Narrator Podcast Group

Absolute MUSIC:

--Audrey Ryan
--Andy Hicks' the Pluto Tapes
--Uncle Shoe and the Psynging Psychologist
--Horatia and Her Hornblower

Full-blown THEATER:

--Happy Medium Theater Group
--Mill 6 Collaborative

Unmitigated BURLESQUE:

-Penny Candy
--Bitches of Destiny

...and much, much more.

Admission price: $10.00.
Johnny D's in Davis Square Somerville. http://www.johnnyds.com/

Above are Mill 6 favorties Jonathan Michael Anderson and Greer Rooney in A Stone on the Water

A Pat on the back...

2010-03-03T12:54:00.000-08:00

to Pat Gabridge. Pat (on the right in the photo) has been selected along with Ryan Landry and Martha Jane Kaufman as the 2010 Huntington Theatre Company Playwriting Fellows. The two year residency will allow Pat and the others the opportunity to write and develop new scripts using some of the resources of the Huntington Theater.

Pat's play Constant State of Panic also just finnished successful run down in Washignton D.C. So, congratulations on both achievements.

Eat, Pray, Smoke this Sunday for FREE

2010-02-02T18:11:00.000-08:00

Sunday, February 7th, 2010
6pm
The Factory Theatre

Mill 6 is very pleased to present three short plays by local writer William Donnelly. Presented as part of Whistler in the Dark's Second Act Series this one night only performance features the plays Divorce Ribs, Sugar Glider and Aether.
A divorce.
A lost pet.
A furtive smoke.
The starting off points for these plays about how easy it is to lose; how easy it is to become lost and how magical it can be to find out you are not alone.

Directed by Barlow Adamson and John Edward O'Brien

Cast: Jim Barton, Sasha Castroverde, Irene Daly, Rodney Raftery and John Sorice
Please come and experience how good ten minute plays can be. The event is free (although donations are always welcome, appreciated, and given very good homes).
For reservations just write us at info@Mill6.org Or give us a call at 617-240-6317

The photo above was taken by the lovely Ms. Meg Taintor and is from our original production of "Aether" at Whistler in the Dark's "Fever Fest"

Anyone Can Whistle

2010-01-21T14:42:00.000-08:00

No, Mill 6 is not staging a revival of the Sondheim musical. A number of Mill 6 regulars are working with Whsitler in the Dark Theater on their next Whistler Wednesday play reading series. Directors Barlow Adamson and John Edward O'Brien along with actors Irene Daly and Lonnie McAdoo (plus non Mill 6 actors Hannah Husband, Tim Hoover, Marie Polizzano and Tom Giordano) will present readings of six new short plays. The plays all written by local authors (Kelly DuMar, Melanie Garber, Carissa Halston, Meron Langsner and Elizabeth Rapoza) deal with topics as large as identity and warfare and items as common as a misplaced umbrella. Oh and the world just might end in one of them too. These plays are all new and exciting and just one night only. Wednesday January 27th 2010. 7PM at the Factory Theater. Tickets are free but seating is limited. (I am told the event is close to -if not already - sold out). Make your reservations today at Whistler in the Dark's website. whistlerinthedark.com

Mmrmmph (yawn) what time is it?

2009-12-11T05:10:00.000-08:00

December?! Ah how time flies when not blogging. I apologize to all our faithful readers (both of you). We had some major technical problems here at Mill 6 Central that prevented us from doing anything connected with the world wide web. But now we are back. And there's not too much to report. Mill 6 will be gearing up for season 12 after the New Year's with website updates (hooray), regular blogging (yippee) and another round of T Plays in June. Plus hopefully we'll squeeze in another theater marathon and maybe a few other surprises.

What I would like to do is plug a few projects some Mill 6 alum are involved in. It is a bit short notice as many of these shows close soon and by soon I mean this weekend! Instead of being a despicable director Barlow Adamson is playing a despicable character in Speakeasy's production of Reckless. http://www.speakeasystage.com/ As an added Mill 6 bonus Maureen Keiller (The Polish Pictures) is in the cast this weekend filling in for Paula Plum. It's at the BCA tonight and tomorrow.

Sasha Castroverde continues her tearing through the Wilde Canon. She plays four different characters in Bad Habit's production of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband. It should be noted that only four actors play all the roles in this play and do so, I think, with quite a bit of flair. Be sure to check out some of the artwork they have displayed along the walls of the theater. http://www.badhabitproductions.org/ Performances are tonight, Saturday and Sunday.

Another Bunbury alum, Marc Harpin, is appearing in The Christmas Belles, a co-production of Company One and Phoenix Productions. http://www.companyone.org/ This is playing at the Playwrite's Theater at BU and runs this weekend and next. (It's almost a lot of notice considering).

Our lack of internet has left a few projects go by unmentioned. T Play audience favorite Meg Taintor just finnished directing In On It for Whistler in the Dark Theater. The author of the piece is Daniel MacIvor whose play This Is A Play was part of Mill 6's four. Hmmm maybe we should revive that one. Also Mill 6's trusty black IKEA chairs made their first non-Mill 6 appearance.

The Gold Dust Orphanage increased it's membership by one waif when Becca A. Lewis (Rosaline in Bunbury) appeared in their production of Valet of the Dolls.

There is also some news from Mill 6 writers. Pat Gabridge's play Counting Rita presented a few years back at the Theater Marathon by Mill 6 was produced out in L.A. in October by Theater Unleashed. His play Constant State of Panic will be performed this January in Washington D.C. by the Madcap Players. http://www.madcapplayers.com/

Please Report Any Suspicious Activity, Rick Parks' hilarious and audience favorite T Play has been accepted in the 2010 SnowDance Festival in Racine WI. Rick has had success at this festival before and we wish him and his gay dolphin stars the best of luck. http://www.overourheadplayers.org/

OK. I think that brings us up to date.

Proof of Sunshine

2009-07-03T05:50:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back we performed My Name is Leslie as part of River Fest in Cambridge. The show went well and we had a great time in the first al fresco production of Mill 6. In reviewing the photos from the show we also realized this was the last nice day weather wise that we've had. Maybe we need to get ourselves back down to the Charles and perform. Maybe that will make the rain go away.

In the photo are John Edward O'Brien, Jonathan Michael Anderson, Becca A. Lewis and Meg Taintor.

Van down by the River

2009-06-11T17:29:00.000-07:00

OK, so it's not a van. It's a stage. But we will be participating in The 30th Cambridge River Festival this Saturday June 13th. We will perform Larry Blamire's My Name is Leslie. Our performance starts at 4:30PM on the theater stage (near Putnam Street).

My Name is Leslie is a comedy about bad service and its consequences. Part Twilight Zone episode, part after school special and part WWII movie = all comedy. Featuring Jonathan Michael Anderson and Becca A. Lewis (both recently in Bunbury) plus rare acting appearances by Whistler in the Dark Artistic Director (and T Play audience favorite director) Meg Taintor and Mill 6's own artistic director John Edward O'Brien.

Check out http://www.cambridgema.gov/CAC/Community/river.cfm for more info and complete schedule.

Bunbury: from rehearsal to performance #3

2009-05-10T18:13:00.001-07:00

I suggest instead of a harsh florescent light, maybe a gorgeous moon could hang over their shoulders. (rehearsal photo by Becca A. Lewis; production photo by Chris Engels

Bunbury: From rehearsal to performance #2

2009-05-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

One of the actors suggest "Maybe we could pant like dogs." (rehearsal photo taken by Becca A. Lewis; production photo by Chris Engels.

Bunbury: From rehearsal to performance #1

2009-05-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

Barlow suggested that the butler stand on the other side. (rehearsal photo by Becca A. Lewis; production photo by Chris Engels).

A loss for Boston Theater

2009-04-14T15:27:00.000-07:00

Boston Theater suffered a loss last week when Lesley Chapman former Artistic Director of The Theater Cooperative passed away. Lesley was always a friend to us at Mill 6. She helped us out numerous times the most obvious being supplying us with a home during the time that the Piano Factory was out of commission. She was a passionate supporter of small theater in Boston and one whose time was cut far too short. Below is a link to a tribute blog for Lesley. Please feel free to post a message there if you knew her, and if you didn't please take a few moments to read some of the comments people have left. It does provide a little comfort to see how fondly she is remembered and how far her reach went. Rest in Peace, Lesley.

http://www.lesleychapman.blogspot.com/

Be The First On Your Block...

2009-04-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

...to get tickets to Bunbury. Our theatermania ticket page is online and ready to take orders.

http://www.theatermania.com/boston/shows/bunbury-a-serious-play-for-trivial-people_153859/

Above is Mikkel Raahede and Nathaniel Gundy rehearsing a scene from Bunbury.

Rosie Ruiz Redux

2009-03-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

It seems Rosie Ruiz is not the only person to combine a marathon and public transportation - three T Plays - Pat Gabridge's Recognition, Rick Park's Please Report Any Suspicious Activity and Ken Urban's White People will all be part of the eleventh Boston Theater Marathon happening Sunday May 17, 2009 at the BCA. Also our long time collaborator William Donnelly will have his play Sugar Glider presented. Our friends from Rough and Tumble will also be one of the presenting companies, and Mill 6's Artistic Director John Edward O'Brien's play If at First will be Mill 6's official entry in the marathon. It's always a great day with almost every theater company in Boston involved with one of the 50 ten minute plays. The entire event is a fundraiser for the Theater Community Benevolent Fund. For more information on the marathon please visit http://www.bu.edu/bpt/btm/index.html

Hope to see you there.

Additional Casting

2009-03-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

Joining Mikkel Raahede in the cast of Bunbury: A Serious Play for Trivial People are (in alphabetical order) Jonathan Michael Anderson as Hartley/Romeo and Vladimir; Shelley Brown as Lady Bracknell/Olga/Martha and Older Cecily; Sasha Castroverde as Juliet/Cecily/Irena and Blanche; Nathaniel Gundy as Algernon/Allan and Jim; Marc Harpin as Jack/Estragon; Becca A. Lewis as Rosaline/Gwendolyn and Masha; Forrest Walter as Friar Lawrence/The Lawyer/George and Older Algernon.

It's a great mix of Mill 6 veterans and new blood. We are very pleased to have folks aboard and start rehearsals next week.

AUDITIONS for our May 2009 Show!

2009-02-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

Mill 6 is pleased to announce that we are holding auditions for Bunbury: A Serious Play for Trivial People by Tom Jacobson.

Reviews from previous productions:
“In essaying a `play for trivial people’, Tom Jacobson has delivered a seriously clever meta-theatrical comedy and an unexpectedly moving ode to the mysterious powers of art and love in BUNBURY. …Jacobson’s antic yet humane wit harpoons some of the biggest leviathans of the theatrical sea, from Wilde to Chekhov to Albee, with an impressive range and a nimble touch that recalls the young Tom Stoppard….”
Terry Morgan, Daily Variety

“…Jacobson’s latest play is his most magnificent to date…. As Bunbury and Rosaline sweep through time and literature, his audience’s collective imagination is also swept up in ways in which the world can change.”
Travis Michael Holder, Back Stage West

Auditon Info:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We're seeking three males (20's-30's) and three females (20's-40's)

Synopsis:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tired of being swept to the sidelines of drama, Bunbury, Algernon's off stage friend from The Importance of Being Earnest and Rosaline, Romeo's off stage first love are determined to make an impact. By stepping into their own plays and then crossing through literature they set drama on its head as play after play is changed and characters previously unseen take center stage.

Actors will be portraying multiple roles from these classic plays referenced during the show:

The Importance of Being Earnest
Romeo & Juliet
Waiting for Godot
A Streetcar Named Desire
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
The Three Sisters

Roles Available (please note: the role of Bunbury is cast):
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Actor 1 Algernon Moncrief/Allan (Blanche DuBois' naive husband)/Jim (George and Martha's living son) - please note: the role of Allan involves a brief nude scene
Actor 2 Hartley (Bunbury's faithful butler)/Romeo/Vladimir
Actor 3 Jack Worthington/Estragon
Actress 1 Rosaline (Romeo's first love)/Gwendolyn Fairfax/Masha
Actress 2 Juliet/Blanche DuBois/Cecily Cardew/Irena
Actress 3 Lady Bracknell/Martha/Olga/Older Cecily

Time and Date:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Auditions will be held Tuesday February 24, 2009 from 7-10PM.
Callbacks will be held Wednesday February 25, 2009 from 7-10PM.

Location & Reserving an Audition Slot:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Both nights are at the Factory Theater 791 Tremont Street in Boston (the entrance is at the rear of the building through the parking lot). Appointments are required and will be set on each quarter hour. Please prepare a 1-2 minute monologue. There may also be readings from the script. To set up an audition appointment please email info@mill6.org with your preferred time. You will receive a confirmation email.

Other Information:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rehearsals will begin mid-March. Performances for Bunbury: A Serious Play for Trivial People are May 1-17, 2009 and will be directed by Artistic Director John Edward O'Brien and IRNE nominee Barlow Adamson. There is a stipend for all actors. All roles will be filled with non-equity actors.

Hope to see you there!

Ginger's Working Overtime

2009-02-04T20:46:00.000-08:00

Mill 6 friend and T Play writer Ginger Lazarus has several new projects underway. A new website gingerlazarus.com is currently under construction. I was able to get a sneak peek at it, and it looks really great. Many photos from Ginger's shows. Plus information on her short plays and full length pieces. And Ginger has a new show opening this spring. It's called A Blessing and a Curse: A Duet of Plays on Motherhood, and it's at the Boston Playwright's Theatre. www.bostonplaywrights.com March 6-15

So check out what's new with Ginger over at her site, and check out her shows in March.

So what did I miss?

2009-01-18T13:55:00.000-08:00

So I took a short nap after the T Plays closed and I wake up and find out it's 2009?! Well, that was quite a nap. Now refreshed I can tell you that our next production will be Bunbury: A Serious Play for Trivial People written by Tom Jacobson. Yes, this was the show we were going to produce last fall, but due to some crazy scheduling we had to put it off until now. Or rather until May. May 1-17 to be exact. It will play at the Factory Theater. I will post exact dates and times in the next few weeks. I can say it will be co-directed by Artistic Director John Edward O'Brien and IRNE nominee Barlow Adamson. Mikkel Raahede (shown in photo) last seen as the Artist in Match will play Bunbury. We will be posting here and elsewhere when our audition dates and times are set. Our website will soon be updated with more photos from The T Plays, so be on the lookout for these changes. Mill 6 is also working with some other small theater companies in Boston to help promote - what else - small theater in Boston. So, it looks like that long nap was needed because it should be a busy and fun winter and spring. Stay tuned.....

And the envelope please....

2008-10-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

And the 2008 T Plays Audience Favorite goes to....

PLEASE REPORT ANY SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY

Blue Line Week 1

Written by Rick Park

Directed by Meg Taintor

with Tony Dangerfield as Drik; Rafael Marinho as Antonio and George Saulnier as Reading Man

Congrats to the winners and to all the artists who made the past three weeks a big success.

T Plays Are Almost Sold Out!

2008-10-03T15:02:00.001-07:00

Saturday night's performance that is, there are tickets left for tonight - we'd hate to turn anyone away, so if you can make it to tonight's (Friday) performance we'd love to see you!

Audience Favorites

2008-09-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

So the ballots have been counted and recounted. And here are the audience favorites for the T Plays.

Please Report Any Suspicious Activity by Rick Park

Permissive Signals by William Donnelly

La Vie Orange by Ginger Lazarus

A Single Look Back by John Edward O'Brien

The Quiet Desperation of White People by Ken Urban

I Could Not Stop the Silver Line so It Kindly Stopped for Me by Kristin Baker and Dan Milstein

Yes, we said there would be five. There was a tie, so all six will move on. Performances will be Oct 2-4 all at 8PM.

Scenes from Week Two

2008-09-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

As noted below week one had gay dolphins...what does week two offer? Here's a sneak peek of some of the shows this week. And again thanks to Meg Taintor for the photos.

Pictured are Faith Imafidon and Giselle Ty in 6AM: Violin/Viola written by Matt Chapuran and directed by Barlow Adamson. And Forrest Walter and Bonnie Duncan in The Quiet Desperation of White People written by Ken Urban and directed by Antoine A. Gagnon. Hope to see you this week.

Early Results are in...

2008-09-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

and as the late Tim Russert demonstrated we live in a blue state. Last week's Blue Line Play - Please Report Any Suspicious Activity was hands down the audience favorite. It received almost twice as many votes as the other plays. And looking ahead to this current week it would be mathematically impossible for five plays to do better than it. And so it is safe to declare (even though the polls for this week have yet to open) that Please Report... - the play about two gay dolphins having a fight on the blue line (or if you ask George the play about a man whose reading is interrupted by two gay dolphins) will be a part of the audience favorite week Oct 2-4. Congrats to writer Rick Park, director Meg Taintor and actors Tony Dangerfield, Rafael Marinho and George Saulnier. The other four plays from last week are still in contention and we will wait until voting for this week has concluded on Sunday before posting the full breakdown.

Our Outbound Run for the T Plays! Opening Tomorrow!

2008-09-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

We are deep in rehearsals for week two and we have our tech/dress tonight at the Factory Theatre. Here is our line up!

6 AM: Violin/Viola
Written by Matt Chapuran on the Orange Line
Directed by Barlow Adamson
With: Faith Imafidon & Giselle Ty

Recognition
Written by Pat Gabridge on the Green Line
Directed by John Edward O’Brien
With: Leah Fine & Ellen Powers

The Quiet Desperation of White People
(with apologies to the people of Boston)
Written by Ken Urban on the Red Line
Directed by Antoine A. Gagnon
With: Bonnie Duncan & Forrest Walter

Because I Could Not Stop For the Silver Line, It Kindly Stopped For Me
Written by Kristin Baker & Dan Milstein on the Silver Line
Directed by Dan Milstein
With: Rachel Cummings, Michael Jorgensen & Kim Anton Myatt

A Single Look Back
Written by John Edward O’Brien on the Blue Line
Directed by Dawn Simmons
With: Rachel Cummings, Nate Gundy, Lonnie McAdoo & Casey Preston

Final Night of Week 1 - the Inbound Run!

2008-09-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

Cannot believe our first week is over and that our second week writers are currently finishing their scripts for week 2! We'll have info on just who got matched up with who (whom? ah, that's why I'm not a writer) very soon. In the meantime, we wanted to leave you with photos from 2 more "Inbound Run" plays. Both photos taken by the lovely Ms. Meg Taintor:

from: "Please Report Any Suspicious Activity" written by Rick Park on the Blue Line. Directed by Meg Taintor, with (from left to right) Tony Dangerfield, George Saulnier III and Rafael Marinho.

"Jaggedly Edged" written by Carl Danielson on the Silver Line. Directed by Jeremy Johnson with (from left to right) Brashani Reece and Irene Daly.

The Train has left the Station

2008-09-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

So the T Plays opened this evening. It was probably one of the smoothest openings in Mill 6 history. Perhaps we need to do these intense thematic festivals more often. All five plays were performed well and warmly received. And remember only 3 more days to catch this line up. Here is another photo taken by the talented Meg Taintor. What's in the box you ask? Well see the T Plays and find out. In the photo are Rodney Raftery and George Saulnier in Lost in Transit written by Forrest Walter on the Green Line.

T Plays in the Press!

2008-09-17T15:13:00.001-07:00

It turns out the Papers have found "The T Plays" a pretty interesting concept as well. For Bay Windows, writer Brian Jewell accompanied Playwright Ginger Lazarus (Thanks Ginger!) for her trek on the Orange Line.

Jenna Scherer wrote a nice feature on us for the Boston Herald - always appreciated!

Photo is of Ginger Lazarus on the Orange Line and is courtesy of Bay Windows.

T Plays "Inbound Run" Opens Tonight!!

2008-09-17T15:13:00.000-07:00

We depart the station tonight at 8pm (it's interesting to think how many subway-related terms you can plug into one post, and probably annoying for the reader) and we couldn't be happier. We have five terrific shows and even though they're all set on the T, they're all wonderfully different.

Here's a photo from our Orange Line show by Ginger Lazarus called "La Vie en Orange" taken by the lovely Meg Taintor. Meg is directing "Please Report Any Suspicious Activity", is Artistic Director for Whistler in the Dark Theatre Company and an EXcellent photographer.

Enjoy!

And thank you for riding the T Plays.

(couldn't resist)

All Aboard!

2008-09-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

So as I type this, our playwrights have scattered across the city and will soon be boarding their respective T lines. Tonight we will begin rehearsing Week 1 of the T Plays. Here is how the match ups went last evening.

The Red Line Play
Writer: William Donnelly
Director: Antoine A. Gagnon
Cast: Greer Rooney and Andrew Winson

The Orange Line Play
Writer: Ginger Lazarus
Director: Barlow Adamson
Cast: Mike Bash and Julia Specht

The Green Line Play
Writer: Forrest Walter
Director: Nora Long
Cast: Rodney Raftery and George Saulnier

The Blue Line Play
Writer: Rick Park
Director: Meg Taintor
Cast: Tony Dangerfield and Rafael Marinho

The Silver Line Play
Writer: Carl Danielson
Director: Jeremy Johnson
Cast: Irene Daly and Brashani Reece

Time to Name Names

2008-09-09T18:08:00.000-07:00

In a post below we used the phrase "players to be named later" to describe the group of not then quite confirmed actors for The T Plays. Well the time has come to names some more names. So joining the group of actors already mentioned below are: Anthony Dangerfield, Leah Fine, Rafael Marinho, Ellen Bates Powers, Greer Rooney, Giselle Ty, Forrest Walter, Andrew Winson. Welcome aboard folks.

Animoto Video

2008-08-28T17:22:00.001-07:00

So Who's Riding The T?

2008-08-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

Well the list is still being double checked and finalized, but here are a few folks who have signed up for The T plays this September. As always artists subject to change. Among the writers are several members of the playwriting group Rhombus: Carl Danielson, Pat Gabridge and Ginger Lazarus; Dan Milstein and Kristin Baker from Rough and Tumble Theater; Boston Theater Marathon playwrights Matt Chapuran and John Edward O'Brien; IRNE winner Forrest Walter; local acting favorite Rick Park and Ken Urban a reviewer for nytheatre.com

Among the directors are IRNE nominee Barlow Adamson, Meg Taintor from Whistler in the Dark, Jeremy Johnson and Dawn Simmons both from StageSource, co-managing director Antoine A. Gagnon and more.

Several Mill 6 regulars including Irene Daly, Lonnie McAdoo and Rodney Raftery will be acting plus George Saulnier, Nathaniel Gundy, Brashani Reece, Julia Specht, Mike Bash, Kim Anton Myatt, Bonnie Duncan, Faith Imafidon, Casey Preston, Michael Jorgensen, Rachel Cummings and in the parlance of baseball several players to be named later.

It is the largest production team we have assembled and we are quite excited about what they will produce.

Congrats to Pat

2008-08-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

A few months back Mill 6 produced Pat Gabridge's play Counting Rita for the Tenth Boston Theater Marathon. Well, we just heard that Counting Rita will be included in Best Ten-Minute Plays 2009, 2 Actors, to be published by Smith & Kraus. The book will be published next year. We wish Pat the best and are looking forward to seeing our name in print.

Where the &*%@!#$ is Bunbury?

2008-08-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

As faithful readers, you might find yourself asking...

Um...what the heck happened to Bunbury? The show that Mill 6 was so excited about? That they performed a snippet of at their Jamboree? That they raffled off TICKets for for Pete's Sake?

And you'd be right to ask, because all that is true. And we *will* be producing "Bunbury".

Just not this September.

How am I so sure that we will be performing it? Two reasons:

We really love it. "Bunbury" is a fantastic, funny play that has heart and is just...*different*.
We've already paid for the rights.

So it's really a good thing we like it so much.

But due to circumstances beyond our control, we'll bring it to you in 2009 - we promise.

In the meantime, we're thrilled to bring you The T Plays! A way we've come up with to work with some of our favorite people. More coming soon!

Fantastic "Aether" Photos

2008-07-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

Hey there, well we had an EXcellent weekend in our third time as part of FeverFest, hosted by the good people at Whistler in the Dark . Friendly audiences, and we met some terrific companies!

We also appreciate the wonderful photos taken by Ms. Meg Taintor, Artistic Director of Whistler, photographer extraordinaire and mean karaoke singer of "End of the World as We Know It". I've attached a couple below, and we'll be uploading all of them at our own Mill6.org.

"Aether" by William Donnelly
Directed by Antoine A. Gagnon, with Irene Daly & John Sorice

Thanks to all who came out to the show!

We Open "Aether" by Bill Donnelly tonight!

2008-07-23T12:01:00.000-07:00

Hey there, we're psyched to open "Aether" tonight as part of "FeverFest 08". It's our third year running and we're delighted to take part again. Plus we get to do a World Premiere by William Donnelly, yeah, life is pretty good.

Had a great dress rehearsal last night...wait...that's bad luck isn't it? Ahhh nuts.

Shows are Wed-Sat at 8pm and then a Saturday matinee at 2pm. Tickets and directions can be found at Whistler's snappy website or we've reaaaally been trying to keep you better at being informed at our own shiny Mill6.org

We hope to see you at the show! Pictures will be up soon!

Sooperdelishus on the Onion

2008-06-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

If any of you were at our Jamboree you remember the hysterical Sooperdelishus short pieces by our good friend Chris Keating. Well, in this video from the Onion the "VP of Blizzard" is none other than that same Mr. Keating.

Or as he said "here is proof that ANYone, and I mean ANYone, can get online."

Enough with the Jamboreeing...

2008-05-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

...it's time to run. That's right fresh from our weekend of Jamboree performances Mill 6 keeps up the pace by participating in the Boston Theater Marathon. We are pleased to be taking part in our fourth marathon. This year we present Counting Rita by Patrick Gabridge. The play is directed by Barlow Adamson and features Julie Jirousek and Elaine Theodore.

The Boston Theater Marathon is an all day affair presenting 50 ten minute plays. Monies raised go to the Boston Theater Community Benevolent Fund. Come check out part of the day or stay for all 50 plays. We perform in the 5-6PM slot. This Sunday May 11, 2008 at the BCA Calderwood Pavillion.

For more info

http://www.bu.edu/bpt/btm/index.html

Jamboree Opens Tonight!!

2008-05-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

It's been a full tech week, but we're delighted to open our Tenth Anniversary Jamboree Tonight. We run this Thursday, Friday & Saturday at 8pm!

A Whale of a Tale

2008-04-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

It's Moby Dick
that's right, with Ahab and Queequeg and Ishmael and THE White Whale.

Coarse Evening Style, on the Factory Theater Stage
May 1-3

All 720 pages in 7 short scenes.

Captain Ahab - Rodney Raftery

Ishmael - Michael DiLoreto

Queequeg - John Sorice

Mrs. Hussey and others - Brashani Reece

Elijah and others - Antoine Gagnon

Father Mapple and others - Lonnie McAdoo

Starbuck - George Saulnier III

Woman of Nantucket and others - Irene Daly

It's Alive!!!

2008-04-15T07:56:00.000-07:00

Our Website that is.

Thanks to Ernest we now know what Dr. Frankenstein felt like. Hopefully our little website will grow up without the maiming or the villagers following with pitchforks.

Unless they're ticket-buying villagers with pitchforks, in which case - Welcome!

Our 2008 Season

2008-01-09T12:10:00.000-08:00

We're quite excited about this year we have a show in April...wait...May? and our September show BUNBURY: A Serious Play for Trivial People by Tom Jacobsen which will be directed by our own Artistic Director John Edward O'Brien.

What's "Bunbury" about? After discovering that he is only a fictitious character in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, Bunbury joins forces with Rosaline, Romeo’s never-seen obsession from ROMEO AND JULIET. Together, they use their anonymity to infiltrate and alter classic literature, starting by accidentally giving ROMEO AND JULIET a happy ending. The resulting transformation of such classics as THE THREE SISTERS, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, WAITING FOR GODOT, and even Edgar Allan Poe’s THE RAVEN spawns a new sub-discipline in literary criticism and may even change the world. A comedy that proves everyone's life means something--even if they don't exist!

Both shows will be at the Piano Factory in Boston's Historic South End.