The Management

The Sluts of Sutton Drive in London!

My play The Sluts of Sutton Drive had a very wonderful, very frightening workshop production at Ensemble Studio Theatre in 2011 and now its getting its world premiere at The Finborough Theatre in London this summer.

Please take a moment to donate if you’re able. It’s important that bold (even potentially divisive) work gets produced.

Donate here.

Next up we just need to get an American theater to do this play about the lives of working class American women, but that may prove difficult since it’s not a subject American theaters are interested in. *EYE ROLL*

Fab Minute With Larry Kunofsky.

Oh my god, y’all. Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary opens TOMORROW. Here is playwright Larry Kunofsky in a fab minute about… um… awkwardness.

Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary runs at UNDER St. Marks April 5th-28th.

Buy tickets here.

Donate to the show here.

Follow us on Twitter. @ManagementTheaterCo

Kirsten Hopkins, Actress.

Kirsten Hopkins is a Management regular (fans will recognize her as Avery from Lonesome Winter), Upper West Side-er, and musical theater enthusiast. We sat downtown to have an intimate, fireside chat. (Okay, it was all over email.) Herein we discussed sad eyes, men and musicals.

The Management: You play Beth, a sort of adversary to Marci. For such a sweet person, you sure do play a lot of unpleasant b*tches. Why do you think that is? Or is it just The Management that casts you this way?

Hopkins: I do get cast as that kind of girl a lot. That, and male characters. Whenever there’s girls playing guy roles, I’ll be cast in the guy role, without fail. I think it’s my weird face and flat chest? I don’t really know. A review ofLonesome Winter described me as “sad-eyed”. I guess people see my face and think, “This girl’s more sour than sweet”?

The Management: Do you find any pleasure in playing characters that have no filter or are aggressive or outwardly unpleasant? Is it freeing in some way?

Hopkins: Oh absolutely. It’s fun. It’s my inner child getting to come out and play. And by child I mean, bossy big sister. Which I usually keep well-hidden. Though my brother would probably tell you different.

The Management: This is a really a comedy about missed connections and loneliness, especially between people in their 30s. Not to get too personal or too Sex and the City about it, but what do you think are the unique trappings of being a single woman in her 30s in this city? What’s so great or awful about it that people document it in plays and films and TV shows and books?

Hopkins: Well, it’s a well known fact that us straight single girls do vastly outnumber the straight single guys here in New York. So that’s a challenge I guess…My fellow cast member Penny and I were just recently talking about how it seems like all our friends back home (our respective smaller towns from whence we came) are married and having babies now. We’re just at that age. But in New York it’s totally normal to be a gal in your thirties and be single and pursuing your career so fervently that you don’t really have the time or energy to pursue a relationship as well. But of course the catch is—wah wah—loneliness.

You know the Petula Clark song “Downtown”? That is my theme song for New York. Because life can get really lonely here. But sometimes all it takes is a trip to a different neighborhood and the city itself just cheers me up. “Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city. Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty…”

The Management: What kind of play exhilarates you? Also, what’s your dream role?

Hopkins: I don’t know if I can define what it is that makes a play exhilarating to me. I guess it’s a combination of tight writing, great acting and whether the particular subject matter is something I care about. And music that moves me, if it’s a musical. Some specifics that leap to mind without me going to reference my Playbills are Ragtime, Sunday in the Park with George, your own MilkMilkLemonade, The Pride by Alexi Kaye Campbell, Hand to God by Rob Askins, the first act of By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (the second act not so much)…Oh, and I LOVED the staged reading The Management did of Josh Beerman’s play this past winter…The brilliant Meg Sturiano directed that, as well. As I told her at the time, I forgot it was a reading, I got so drawn into the story.

There are a lot of roles I’d like to play some day but my one big dream role is (not to sound lofty, but it is my dreamrole after all), Shaw’s Saint Joan. I love, love, love what Shaw/Joan says in that play. And she’s right up my alley in terms of characters I’ve been playing lately, right? I mean, she looks a bit like a boy and she’s not afraid to be unpleasant to get what she wants.

The Management: Time to smack talk. What would you like to see way less of in theater? What drives you crazy?

Hopkins: Movies being turned into musicals. Okay, sometimes it works in a great way. See Hairspray. But it is getting out of hand. Dances with Wolves? No. Just no. Watch, it’ll probably end up being a great show and I’ll probably end up regretting saying that…

Oh, you know what drives me crazy? Intimate plays being put on in houses that are way to big for them. I was in the balcony when I saw Red on Broadway, and there were more than a couple moments when the two actors were just standing there looking at each other, and I thought, “Gee, I bet this would be a lot more moving if I could see the expressions on their faces!”

The Management: Do you have any theater guilty pleasures? Any plays you feel are misunderstood or that you have to stick up for?

Hopkins: Geez, I feel like I have to stick up for Ragtime and Sunday in the Park with George all the time. And, okay, I’m going to take a big breath and admit this: I stick up for Andrew Lloyd Webber. I KNOW, I KNOW. The thing is, though I agree with most of the dismissive comments that are made about him and his shows, he’s one of the reasons I’m in theater today. I think I was twelve when I first saw The Phantom of the Opera and it rocked my world. And I recognize all it’s faults now but back then, that experience of live theater on that kind of scale just grabbed my heart and made me think, I want to be a part of THAT!

The Management: Do you like parties?

Hopkins: Ha, not really, no. I have major anxiety about striking up conversations with strangers and I don’t like getting drunk, doing drugs, loud music; you know, basically everything that makes up a party. In terms of party-going, I think the character in this play that I most relate to is Carl. He went to his coworker’s party hoping that he would get to actually have a real conversation with the guy, but of course he never does and he just ends up feeling incredibly uncomfortable and out of place. That’s generally my experience at parties too. I’d rather just meet a couple of friends for brunch or a game of Scrabble or something.

The Management: What’s the recipe for a perfect party?

Hopkins: As someone who’d generally like to be in bed asleep before midnight, I am obviously not the right person to answer this question. But I guess, for my version of a party, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, tea, scones. Woo hoo, party girl.

Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary runs at UNDER St. Marks April 4th-28th.

Buy tickets here.

Donate to the show here.

Follow us on Twitter. @ManagementTheaterCo

Simply Unproducible.

Congratulations to The Management’s Joshua Conkel who took home both the Audience Favorite and Judges Favorite in Studio 42’s Unproducible Smackdown this weekend.

Conkel’s play Wunders of the Wurld: A Play in Three Acts Inspired by Madonna’s Superbowl Halftime Show and also a Little Bit West Side Story was deemed the most ludicrously unproducible of the evening and he annihilated the competition: Crystal Skillman, Greg Moss, Nick Jones, Rob Askins and Bekah Brunstetter.

Maya Lawson, Actress.

The Management had a little chat with our dear old friend and Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary co-star, Maya Lawson. To know Lawson is to fall in love with Lawson:

The Management: Hey, Maya. You just moved to new York from Los Angeles. What’s it like to be an actor here as compared to California?

Lawson: For me, being an actor in New York is like coming home to my natural environment because I value the theater. I am still astounded when I go to see a show and the entire house is packed, even though there’s a hurricane outside and it’s a Wednesday night or whatever — people come. I sit in the audience before the show and stare at all those people and think, Bless You People. I mean, who are they? They come from everywhere, to see a play! It’s different. The focus of the industry in L.A. is obviously elsewhere. I had agents there tell me once that, ‘the only people who do theater are out of work actors’. Um. Yeah, that was more a reflection of their ineptitude than a of the culture of Los Angeles as a whole, because some of my favorite artists and the smartest people I know are making work in L.A. right now. But I feel validated, I feel elated, to be in New York… even if I do miss the hummingbirds and coyotes and watering my tomatoes barefoot in the morning.

The Management: You play Denise, a woman who is somewhat fixated (a massive understatement) on her friend Marci. Have you ever had an intense female relationship like this? What is special about friendships between women?

Lawson: I do have intense female friendships wherein the love runs really deep, and we are very connected even if we don’t talk to each other for months on end. There were times early in the rehearsal process where I questioned if Denise was in love with Marci — and she actually is in a way, but it’s not a sexual love. It’s more powerful than that. It’s friendship. Which I think is a kind of true love. The best way I can understand it is to think of my best friend from college, who I would pretty much do anything for. We tried to make out once, like fifteen years ago, but we couldn’t do it. We just rolled around on the carpet of our apartment and laughed a lot. But to this day I think she a genius and the most graceful, glamourous, talented person I know. And because I am very loyal, I can imagine easily doing the things Denise does for Marci. It’s a pretty fine line between her wackiness and my own.

Friendships between women are intimate. The level of trust and sharing is special. I think my closest women friends are people I admire and strive to be like and also to protect. And I think there is a quality to them that I relate to, kind of like on a base level we’re cut from the same cloth. That is true for Marci and Denise, they are very different people, but the way they are wired presents them with a similar struggle, and in the end of the play they are closer for it.

The Management: You and I went to Cornish in Seattle along with BF co-star Kirsten Hopkins and Management member Megan Hill. What was your experience of that program? How was it special and do you see differences in how we work as compared to other actors?

Lawson: Cornish was incredible training. The faculty there are extremely dedicated and passionate about the work. And smart. But beyond that, the bonds we made with our classmates run real deep. I haven’t seen you, Nicole, and Megan for most of the last ten years, but we still share a language, a vocabulary, and have the same references from our teachers that mean that we can make work together in a really cohesive way. We also know each other super well. As far as differences to other actors… I don’t know…I think as Cornish grads we had a lot of exposure to ensemble generated work, and original work, so there tends to be a natural openness to collaboration and also a very high regard for the playwright. Maybe other actors didn’t wrap themselves in cellophane during performance or perform Brecht poetry in white face or feed invisible sheep or play Orestes covered in mud and red corn starch or have mean clowns for alter egos? I don’t know, maybe they did. Acting schools everywhere make you do weird shit.

The Management: Do you like parties?

I think I dread going to parties. People are so annoying when they talk. I will walk away in the middle of someone’s sentence if they start to make my brain feel like fried eggs, remember that commercial in the 80’s? I mean, maybe I’m just a little sleep deprived…but if you were like, Oh Maya there’s going to be a party tonight where no one talks we just get on an enormous heated water bed and sleep for hours then someone comes and rubs your feet and brings you coffee and french toast, I’d be like, word let’s roll.

The Management: What’s the recipe for a perfect party?

Lawson: Well, if not the sleeping bed and french toast recipe, then I’m happiest at a party when there’s good hip hop playing and I can let all my ya-ya’s out on the dance floor. I like to get a little raunchy. But you already knew that about me.

Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary runs at UNDER St. Marks April 4th-28th.

Buy tickets here.

Donate to the show here.

Follow us on Twitter. @ManagementTheaterCo

Larry Kunofsky and the Happiest Medium.

Our Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary playwright, Larry Kunofsky, gives an epic interview to The Happiest Medium and name drops everybody in downtown theater.

Oh, Larry.

Anyway, you should read it. It’s kind of the shit.

Two Joshes.

The Management’s resident playwrights, Josh Beerman and Joshua Conkel, both have projects we want to pimp.

Josh Beerman’s short play Mountain Song is being published in Samuel French’s 36th annual anthology of short plays and there’s a fancy book party you can come to.

When: Wednesday, March 28th at 6:00pm

Where: Samuel French, Inc., 45 W. 25th Street, 2nd Floor

What: Excerpts from the winning plays, FAQ about the Festival, wine, cheese, autographs and MORE!

Click here for more info.

Joshua Conkel’s new play Sprawl is having its first reading as part of Soho Rep’s Writer/Director Lab, directed by Jen Winem and and featuring Management member Megan Hill.

A group of well-to-do acquaintances gathers for a book party in suburban model house the same night the Earth splits open and belches out a plague of deadly insects. What happens next is somewhat unexpected. Sprawl is a dark comedy that asks: what exactly are you hiding deep, deep down in the darkest part of you? Furthermore, on a scale of one to ten- one being the worst- just how dangerous is it?

Monday, April 9th @7pm

Soho Rep

46 Walker St, New York, NY 10013

Darcy Fowler, Actor/Playwright

The Management is pleased to have sat down with actor/writer Darcy Fowler to discuss both her role in Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary and her career at large.

The Management: You play Marci, a somewhat neurotic woman in search of her off-the-grid, political activist boyfriend. How are you similar to Marci, if at all? How are you finding the character?

Fowler: Marci and I are similar in many ways, and the more I dive into her character, the more I realize she is the person I strive to be. She’s brazenly honest at all times, doesn’t feel the need to prove anything to anyone, she recognizes her fragilities, and is stronger because of it. I believe there’s something inherently lonely to being a human and there’s a lot of layers we cover ourselves in to keep afloat. Marci’s stripped herself of all that and is just like, “here I am, sans layers.” I think that’s pretty damn cool.

The Management: Fess up. Do you yourself have a history with unavailable men?

Fowler: …

The Management: Moving on. You’re also a playwright. Do acting and writing feel like competing careers to you, or do they feed one another in some way?

Fowler: Oh jeez. Writing and acting at times feel like competing careers, and at times they totally feed each other. I don’t know. I’m still figuring that one out. I don’t sleep enough.

The Management: You also have a web series. How is making work for the internet different than making plays? What are the benefits or trappings of having a web series?

Fowler: The web series was and is, for me as a writer (and as an actor I guess), a fun way to start exploring my voice in more of a “sketch” and “short form” way. It’s a way to work with friends, and for all of us to explore our comedy together. The only trapping is keeping the web series going, which gets harder the busier I, and everyone else gets. Check it out!

The Management: What’s your favorite play of all time? Do you have any favorites that are unpopular or that you find yourself defending?

Fowler: I can never pick a favorite. I have a bunch that are very close to my heart, ranging from The Glass Menagerie, to Shockheaded Peter, to this one. I can say that there are certain New York productions I’ve seen recently that have had a huge impact on me. Baby Universe, by the theater collective Wakka Wakka, Buddy Cop 2 by the Debate Society, MilkMilkLemonade, by you guys. Also, I am in Youngblood, a writer’s group for playwright’s under 30, and I have the unbelievable pleasure of reading some of the most exciting new plays from everyone there every Wednesday night.

The Management: Marci attends three parties over the course of one night, and has fun at none of them. How does Darcy Fowler like parties? Are you a wallflower or a social butterfly?

Fowler: I’m a social butterfly. I like parties, although I don’t make it to sunrise nearly as often as I used to.

The Management: What, in your opinion, is the recipe for a perfect party?

Fowler: Comfort. Friends. I just need the basics.

Your Boyfriend May Be Imaginary runs at UNDER St. Marks April 4th-28th.

Buy tickets here.

Donate to the show here.

Follow us on Twitter. @ManagementTheaterCo

Joshua Conkel, Playwright.

The Management’s own Joshua Conkel gives a great interview to actor/filmmaker Katherine Scharhon. Check it out.

Studio 42’s Unproducible SmackDown

The Management’s Joshua Conkel is writing a play for Studio 42’s 1st ever Unproducible Smackdown. He’s bound to win, as nobody’s plays are as unproducible as his. Just ask his agent. Oh!

Also competing are Management friends Crystal Skillman (The Management’s Cut) an Robert Askins (EST’s Hand to God.)

Buy your tickets in advance.