DRACULA

I directed DRACULA by Hamilton Deane and John Balderston for the Amateur Comedy Club. We set the play in 1924 and added special effects, original music, fight choreography and a magic consultant! We wanted to make the show an "immersive experience." To that end, we had two pre-show events. 

The first was in Sniffen Court (the ACC is part of this historic mews). Dracula's undead "wife," Mina Weston (Julia Duffy), could be seen hovering near her photo, at her wake.

Julia Duffy played Wilhelmina Weston.

The second experience was in the theatre, itself. We positioned Renfield's cell in the audience, where he  could be viewed catching and eating insects through the window in his cell door. 

Richard Adler as Renfield

Alexa Poller as Van Helsing and Eric Kuzmuk as Dr. Seward

With the strength of 20 men, Dracula (Christopher Galiardo) hoists Renfield (Richard Adler) in the air, with the intention of killing him.

Welles (Alice Hale) is Dracula's minion where Lucy (Ziggy Schulting) is concerned.

The show ran October 26th--November 12th.

Review of "The Amorous Ambassador" by Michael Parker

We got a rave review in the CallBoard!

"The Amorous Ambassador" is intended to do nothing more than provide an evening of hilarity to its audiences and the Comedy Club's expert production delivered everything promised."

"The ACC cast was exceptional in every way."

 "Director Whitfield (assisted by Gautam Kannan) expertly kept everyone running around the stage, mining every laugh there was to be had."

You can read the entire review below.

 

THE AMOROUS AMBASSADOR at The ACC

I had such an amazing time directing "The Amorous Ambassador" by Michael Parker at the Amateur Comedy Club. We moved the setting from the '90's to the '60's, which opened the door to fabulous "British Invasion" music and Carnaby Street fashions. I also added a few more risqué bits of business, to spice up the already sexy romp. The play ran from May 2nd-May 14th, at the charming theatre located in historic Sniffen Court. The cast below included Sam Fortenbaugh, KellyRose Marry, Leah Schwartz, Stan Goldberg, Kaitlyn Mitchell, Alex Craven, Alice Lustig and Chris Galiardo.

Photo Credit: Rob Klein

THE KNITTING CLUB by Sean O'Connor

It was great collaborating with Sean O'Connor on his bittersweet play, "The Knitting Club." It was part of the short play festival at the Seat of Our Pants (SOOP) Theatre in Pelham, NY.  The play starred Sean, as Lou and Jeff Rubino, as Bud. Alex Acosta served as our Stage Manager and also played Bud's daughter, Dinah.

DECEPTION, PARTS ONE & TWO

We had such a wonderful time recording my new psychological thriller audio play, DECEPTION for PROJECT MERCURY. I couldn't have asked for a better cast:

Jason O'Connell, Melissa Hurst, Russell Jordan, N'Kenge, Paul Page, Angela Pierce and yours truly. :)

Robert Laconi served as Associate Producer, Ed Matthew composed original music and SFX and Tom Camuso was our intrepid Sound Engineer.

New York City, 1916: Wealthy newlywed Cora Mack Slade is madly in love with her handsome husband, Doc. She ignores his hobby of researching communicable diseases and focuses only on making her marriage work. When deadly suspicions begin to swirl around her secretive spouse, Corry seems oblivious. Are her family's concerns about Doc unwarranted or is Corry's life in real danger?

Here is a link to the podcasts: https://projectmercury.buzzsprout.com

PROJECT MERCURY and THE MAN IN THE WINDOW

I'm so excited to announce the formation of a new branch of my company, Chatillion Stage Company: PROJECT MERCURY. It's a new anthology series of original audio plays, which are inspired by Orson Welles' The Mercury Theatre on the Air. This series focuses on works about, by and for women.

The first installment is my play, "The Man in the Window."

It's 1882 and civil engineer, Colonel Washington Augustus Roebling and his resourceful wife, Emily must overcome his ill health and contentious City Hall, in their quest to finish building the "Eighth Wonder of the World," The Brooklyn Bridge.

Featuring Paul Page, Wayne W. Pretlow and Debra Whitfield.

Robert Laconi served as Associate Producer, Ed Matthew composed original music and SFX and Tom Camuso was our Sound Engineer.

Here's a link to the podcast: https://projectmercury.buzzsprout.com

"The Invisible Thread" for Primary Stages

I was commissioned by Primary Stages ESPA to write a stand alone monologue for their live streaming event on May 8th @7:00, "50 Shades of Detention." I wrote the piece, "The Invisible Thread," specifically for actress, Thanh Ta. My "prompt" was "Through the Looking Glass--"imagine what our lives will be like one year from now." I decided to use blank verse because of the heightened situation. The piece was directed by Steven Kanner.

To view the monologue, click on the link below. It is located at 1 hour, 20 minutes and 50 seconds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcxCVtCzO5w&feature=youtu.be

                 

THANH TA

STEVEN KANNER