On the brink of their big night, I checked in with four of this year’s Ovation Awards nominated playwrights: Malcolm Barrett for Brain Problems with Ammunition Theatre Company; Jami Brandli for Bliss (or Emily Post Is Dead) at Moving Arts; Jonathan Caren for Canyon at Latino Theatre Company in association with IAMA Theatre; and Nate … Continue reading Ovation Awards Playwrights Roundtable
Writer: Roger Q Mason
La Virgen in Los Angeles – 17 Years And Counting- A Conversation with Playwright Evelina Fernandez
Lauded playwright Evelina Fernandez‘s gorgeous and long-running annual play pageant La Virgen de Guadalupe, Dio Inantzin (Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Mother of God), will perform at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Downtown Los Angeles for the 17th year on December 6 & 7, at 7:30pm. As she and the team prepare to … Continue reading La Virgen in Los Angeles – 17 Years And Counting- A Conversation with Playwright Evelina Fernandez
Dedicated to Camp: A Conversation with Justin Sayre about Ravenswood Manor and Much More
Writer, producer, performer Justin Sayre‘s episodic camp extravaganza Ravenswood Manor closes this coming weekend after a very successful run at Celebration Theatre. Between episode rehearsals, I buzzed with Justin to spill some tea on the show, it’s origins, the production process, and more. Catch the last week of Ravenswood because they are ending with a … Continue reading Dedicated to Camp: A Conversation with Justin Sayre about Ravenswood Manor and Much More
Interview with Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx, Director of “Charlotte Stay Close”
Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx‘s production of Charlotte Stay Close will receive an extension this weekend at Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA. At the beginning of the run, I sat down with Jonathan at the foot of the set’s bed and chit-chatted about the play, traditional and non-traditional roads to a life in the theatre, and the liberating power of … Continue reading Interview with Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx, Director of “Charlotte Stay Close”
Cino Nights Interview with Addie Talbott and Lovell Holder, hosted by Roger Q Mason
For one night only, Rising Phoenix Rep will present Cino Nights at Larry Edmunds Bookshop in Hollywood. This year’s theme: Haunted Hollywood. In the thick of rehearsals, director/producers Addie Talbott and Lovell Holder sat down with me to talk about the founding of Rising Phoenix Rep (Daniel Talbott, artistic director), the origin story of Cino … Continue reading Cino Nights Interview with Addie Talbott and Lovell Holder, hosted by Roger Q Mason
Lights Change: A Conversation with Writer Jacqueline Wright
About 10 years ago when I was an intern-turned-associate literary manager at Ensemble Studio Theatre/Los Angeles, I encountered the brilliant dramaturgical mind of Jacqueline Wright. What excites me about her work is that she is a writer and performer who constantly expands our minds as witnesses of the art-making experience. For her, like me, audiences … Continue reading Lights Change: A Conversation with Writer Jacqueline Wright
Sitting Here Today: A Homecoming Conversation with Opera Star Christopher Job
Baritone opera star Christopher Job is returning to Los Angeles to perform in LA Opera‘s new 1920s-set, multi-cultural production of La traviata. A native of Anaheim Hills and graduate of Cal State Fullerton, this production constitutes Mr. Job’s LA Opera debut. On the eve of his Angeleno opening, I had to find out – opera, … Continue reading Sitting Here Today: A Homecoming Conversation with Opera Star Christopher Job
Backstage with Roger Q. Mason: Mother/Daughter Mama Metal Magic; or Black Excellence 101, 201 and 301: A Podcast Interview with Lee Sherman and Courtney Sauls
Just returning to Los Angeles from a two-month stint in New York I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Sigrid Gilmer’s meta-theatrical send up to the “mama drama” genre, Mama Metal by the IAMA Theatre at the Atwater Village Theatre. After my rousing experience previewing the show, I spoke with the two leads backstage. And this … Continue reading Backstage with Roger Q. Mason: Mother/Daughter Mama Metal Magic; or Black Excellence 101, 201 and 301: A Podcast Interview with Lee Sherman and Courtney Sauls
It’s National See-A-Show Day!: SIX Questions with jackbenny
jackbenny, the dynamic musical duo comprised of twin brothers Jack and Benny Lipson, is exactly what the music industry and the world need right now. They are young, grounded in tradition, bounding towards what’s next in the world of sound, and always refreshing. On the eve of their upcoming show National See-A-Show Day!, debuting at … Continue reading It’s National See-A-Show Day!: SIX Questions with jackbenny
A Contemporary Glass Menagerie: Five Questions for Actor Rafael Goldstein
Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie is as classic and American a drama as they come. Most of us have had to study it – perhaps in drama school or high school literature class. It exists in a place somewhere between venerable literary text and dramatic playscript. Like memory, as Williams invokes it in the script, … Continue reading A Contemporary Glass Menagerie: Five Questions for Actor Rafael Goldstein
WE NOW KNOW WE ARE NOT ALONE: 5 Questions with Jesse Bliss
Writer. Director. Producer. Actor. Activist. Mother. Jesse Bliss does it all. I first met Jesse when we were both taking a writing course at UCLA under the tutelage of famed writer/instructor Leon Martell. What impressed me about her was how she USED theatre as a vehicle of social transformation and civic action. The nexus of … Continue reading WE NOW KNOW WE ARE NOT ALONE: 5 Questions with Jesse Bliss
Drama Ensues: 5 Questions for Boni Alvarez
My dear friend and playwriting hero Boni Alvarez is back at it, taking Los Angeles theatre by storm with his new play AMERICA ADJACENT, playing at Skylight Theatre. The run, helmed by Jon Lawrence Rivera, has been selling out, so get tickets if you can. This is one hot play. For tickets and info visit … Continue reading Drama Ensues: 5 Questions for Boni Alvarez
Five Questions for Actor Michael Manuel
A Noise Within is producing the Bard’s Othello as part of their 2018-2019 Season: Let Me In. I called upon actor Michael Manuel, who is playing theatre’s favorite miscreant Iago, to learn more about this Jessica Kubzansky-helmed presentation of the play. Roger Q. Mason (RQM): Othello. Everyone has produced it. Why now at A Noise … Continue reading Five Questions for Actor Michael Manuel
Five Questions for Joana Knezevic
Rising star Joana Knezevic is pounding the pavement in the City of Angels, forging a path for herself as an actor in theatre, television and film. When we last checked in with Joana, she had just graduated from Cal Arts’ MFA Acting Program. Let’s see what she’s gotten herself into since then. Roger Q. Mason … Continue reading Five Questions for Joana Knezevic
S.O.S.: Five Questions for Director Madeleine Dahm
I love going to The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. On a recent visit there, I happened upon a postcard for a new show called S.O.S. Looking at it closer, I learned that the Wallis had recently formed an acting troupe. Looking at it even further, I saw it was a new devised show … Continue reading S.O.S.: Five Questions for Director Madeleine Dahm
The Soul of Baby Eyes – A Conversation with Donald Jolly
Usually, I write an introduction to these interviews, contextualizing the artist, how I might have encountered them, and my reasons for sitting down with them to dig in and talk about their work. However, with this interview, playwright Donald Jolly and I laid it all out on the coffeehouse table. Donald, his work, his ideas about theatre, and the … Continue reading The Soul of Baby Eyes – A Conversation with Donald Jolly
What Happened When A Conversation with Daniel Talbott
Good people beget more good people. I was first introduced to Daniel Talbott by my esteemed friend and collaborator Lovell Holder. Upon first meeting, Daniel excited me as an interdisciplinary artist unafraid to allow all the facilities of his instrument (as writer, director, and producer) to inform his work as a theatre-making in a holistic, … Continue reading What Happened When A Conversation with Daniel Talbott
A Conversation with June Carryl
I met June Carryl back in 2010 when the two of us were participants in Directors’ Lab West. Her ideas about theatre mesmerized me because of their narrative specificity and rootedness in sound dramaturgical practices. In 2011, June was part of my playwright renaissance: I’d taken about 3 years off of writing in order to … Continue reading A Conversation with June Carryl
THE BALLAD OF THE BIMINI BATHS: 5 Questions for Tom Jacobson, Playwright
Almost a decade ago, I met Tom Jacobson during my transition from undergrad studies at Princeton back to Los Angeles theatre life. A few alumni contacts recommended I involve myself with Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA because it was one of Los Angeles’ premier theatre for new play development. Tom was active in the company’s artistic directorship … Continue reading THE BALLAD OF THE BIMINI BATHS: 5 Questions for Tom Jacobson, Playwright
Ibsen’s Ghosts at the Hollywood Fringe Festival: 5 Questions for Joana Knezevic
Hailing from Serbia, Joana Knezevic was already a noted actor in Europe before earning her MFA MFA in Acting from Cal Arts this year. I met Joana through my friend and collaborator Michael Alvarez. Getting to know her this past year, I have grown increasingly excited by Joana’s verve for the craft of acting, her ideas about the … Continue reading Ibsen’s Ghosts at the Hollywood Fringe Festival: 5 Questions for Joana Knezevic
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