mONSTER opening soon!

Come one, come all! Starting Wednesday, our new show is on and we want you there!

mONSTER

“Blaming Technology for human failure is such a human failure...”

Written by Sam Graber
Directed by Samantha Lee Manas
Produced by Samantha Lee Manas and Jasmine Brown

Starring: 
Rafi Abramowitz
Riley MacIsaac
Lauren Vernea

Wednesday, December 12th at 8pm
Thursday, December 13th at 8pm
Friday, December 14th at 8pm
Saturday, December 15th at 3pm & 8pm
Sunday December 16th at 2p

AT

The Jewelbox Theater at the Workshop Theater
312 W 36th St, 4th floor
New York, NY 

Buy tickets now!

Oh, and by the way...Happy Holidays from the cast and crew!

Take Ten tomorrow

My gosh, it's been awhile. My goal was to update this blog at least once a month, but that didn't happen. A lot has been going on with Between Us, namely that we have the fifth annual Take Ten is happening tomorrow. It was harder than usual to organize this year and Samantha and I are trying to figure out why that is (perhaps life is just feeling more stressful for everyone lately) but our commitment is still to have a quality experience for all involved and we can't wait for tomorrow night. Come on by to cast you ballot for some new artists, all at a new location, the Workshop Theatre Jewel Box. Here is the facebook event if you want more information. Hope to see you there!

2016 photodump er...retrospective

Happy New Year, Betweenies! I'm taking this chance to post a photo retrospective of all the work we've shared with you in 2016. This year saw us having to say goodbye to members of the company as permanent fixtures in the Between Us story, but also had us continue work in a larger way with some artists we'd only briefly interacted with and meet new ones. It is always challenging trying to run a theatre company in New York, stick to your values and keep a day job, but this year Samantha, Grady, Paulina and I (Jasmine) were still up to the task and 2017 looks even brighter. Now, onto the pictures! As always, check out our facebook for more pictures and information about the events honored here.


First, at long last I will share here the pictures from our forth annual Take Ten Festival way back in April. One from each play, as per tradition.

Good Corporate Citizen by Sam Graber

The Authoress by Seth Freeman
Semi-Finalist for Best Play

Sunset by Gary Jaffe

Finalist for Best Play

Finalist for Best Director: Noelle Franco

Finalist for Best Actor: Brian Bradley

Grieving with Gary by Laura Townsend

Finalist for Best Play

Captain Samaritan: The Battle of Negrophobia by Jeremy Holloway

Mama I don't want to be mediocre by Monica Mikell

Division of Assets by Krysten Louchen

You Are Could I by Steve McMahon
Finalist for Best Actress: Helen McMillian

Friable by Alisha Espinosa

Winner Best Play and Best Actress: Alisha Espinosa

You and Me (and Ruby) by Alexandra Ley

Finalist for Best Actress: Jo Chiang

Semi-Finalist for Best Play

The Procrustes Pitch by Vishesh Abeyratne

Swept by Gina Doherty

Finalist for Best Director Florence La Bas

Finalist for Best Actor Harrison Wilkie

Finalist for Best Actress Tess Howsman

Semi-Finalist for Best Play

Edward's Closet by Jenn Dlugos & Charlie Hatton

Threatened Panda Fights Back by Rex McGregor

Finalist for Best Director: Susane Lee

Semi-Finalist for Best Play

I Never Heard Such Silence by Marlin Thomas

Hangman by Gregory Fletcher

Winner Best Actor: Dino Petrera

Winner Best Director: Marshall Mays

Finalist for Best Play

Finalist for Best Actor: David Spadora

I'm so pleased, as always to be able to share a little moment from each of the 16 plays with you, though I wish I had gotten to it earlier this year. Everyone involved in those productions has hard work and talent to be celebrated, so please look for them in the future.

Next we have some gorgeous pictures from Detainee, the full length play we produced in July.

Detainee

Written by Sam Graber
Directed by Samantha Lee Manas

Starring:
Francesca Ferrara*
Niceto Darcey Festin
Galway McCullough*
Roxy Reynolds
Angie Tennant*
Stage Manager: Paulina Ruiz
*appearing courtesy of Actor's Equity Association

This production was an incredible source of pride for everyone involved, especially playwright Sam Graber who we met in person for the first time that weekend. We hope to keep up this caliber of work and collaboration.

We'd also like to share some beautiful pictures from Dal Segno, the workshop production in November for the winner of Take Ten 2016.

Dal Segno

Written by Alisha Espinosa
Directed by Nilan Johnson

Starring:

Juliana Aiden
Tony Curtis
Brent Schultz
Kristi Stout

Dal Segno was a thrilling and emotional piece of theatre, staged so the audience was part of the actor and accompanied by an illuminating discussion afterwards. We hope to see more from and continue to work with the artists involved.


As 2016 rapidly draws to a close (yikes, I have to get dressed for NYE!) know that we are in the stages of finalizing our lineup for Take Ten 2017 (April 3-9! You heard it here first) and that there will be more challenging theatre, stimulating workshops and anything else we can sink our teeth into in the upcoming year. Hope to see you all in the audience, or maybe on stage with us!

Lots of love,
Jasmine

2016 mini update: Dal Segno and Detainee

Well, friends

We've had a busy and successful year, but with only 2 blog posts so far, you may have not been updated on it. Our goal is get our news out more effectively in the future and we even may have a new Between Us Family member joining us soon to support us with that.

First of all, Detainee happened and it was a wonderful success. I've changed our facebook cover photo to be this iconic image from Sam Graber's piece.

Roxy Reynolds as the Detainee

I am still going to hold off on sharing a picture from each of our Take Ten plays in April, but I swear you will see that before the next Take Ten (which we are in the midst of planning right now). More photos from both events are available on our facebook page. I will be making a dedicated post sooner than not, however, just honoring all the artists we worked with this year with pictures and accolades.

I'll give you a sneak peak for one our Take Ten photos, however. Alisha Espinosa's Friable won Best Play at Take Ten and was directed by Nilan Jonson. Here's one image from that electric piece.

Alisha Espinosa & Brandon Garegnani get into it

WELL. This weekend we are hosting a workshop of Alisha's newest work. It's the story of two souls connecting (or not) in a time of extreme violence...our own. Check out the facebook event for more information, but the main details are that it's 8pm at the Director's Studio on November 12th. 

Hope to see many of there and can't wait to share more news and pictures soon!

Detainee and other news

Hello, Between Us fans

      It's been a while since I've updated you. I didn't get a chance to do my yearly pictures and recap from Take Ten, but I haven't forgotten. I will do that at a later time. We are very proud of all the artists we had this year and I want a blog post primarily focusing on them. The winner of Take Ten, Alisha Espinosa, will be having a workshop with us in the fall (it's a pretty gripping play, I've already read it) and we will focus more on her and all the other participants that graced our stage (a great new venue too!) later on.

For now, I want to focus on Detainee, the full length production going up in just a few weeks. Detainee is a smart political thriller, written by Sam Graber, a writer who has participated in every one of our one act festivals even though he's from across the country. We were thrilled to be able to produce something longer of his. It's directed by our very own Samantha Manas and it's going to be a heck of a show. Here's the info

Detainee
Written by Sam Graber
Directed by Samantha Lee Manas
Produced by Jasmine Brown & Graydon Gund

July 20th-22nd at 7:30pm
July 23rd at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
July 24th at 2:30pm

The Fourth Street Theater
83 E 4th Street (between Cooper Square and 2nd Ave)
New York, NY

Starring:
Francesca Ferrara*
Niceto Darcey Festin
Galway McCullough*
Roxy Reynolds
Angie Tennant*

Stage Manager: Paulina Ruiz

*appearing courtesy of Actor's Equity Association

Tickets: $18 at the door and on Brown Paper Tickets!

I'm particularly excited by this play, not just because of the quality of writing, acting and directing and by the issues it is raising but types of female characters this story is showcasing. It's truly an important piece and I hope you all join us there.

AND it's not too late to support the play! Please donate to our indiegogo and help us fund this thing so YOU can continue to enjoy the quality work we put out by the amazing up and coming artists. There's only a few days left, so please click the link and donate!

Show us your support!

Finally, as a little taste, I thought I'd give you a teaser about the story.

Detainee is a political thriller about one woman balancing devotion to family against devotion to country.

Lindsey is a middle-aged college professor who drives a middle-aged van and lives in a middle-aged house. She's a middle-aged Mom with a middle-aged husband. She also has middle-aged problems, mostly stemming from her wayward teenage daughter, with whom she has a strained relationship.
Outside of home, Lindsey has another problem. The United States is reeling from a string of domestic bomb threats. But when the threats turn real, and the first bomb explodes, Lindsey is asked to return to her former identity. And ultimately Lindsey must choose between allegiance to country and the sanctity of her home.

At the core of Detainee is a family story which focuses on an individual torn between allegiance to country and regard for family. Isn’t the individual working on behalf of the state also an individual? What is that life like? What is impact on someone shuttling between a terrorist detainment center and home? When does the allegiance end?

Detainee is a play about a decision -- whether or not to torture a U.S. citizen.

Hope you enjoy!

Jasmine

Take Ten, Happening Again!

Hello, Between Us Fans!

A quick update. The forth annual Take Ten Festival is NEXT WEEK.

Here's the info:

April 26th - 30th at 7pm & 9pm
May 1st at 3pm

13th Street Repertory Co.
50 W 13th street
New York, NY

Tickets $20
http://m.bpt.me/event/2512198 or at the doorstep
...
For bios and more info:
http://betweenusproductions.wix.com/take-ten

FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 2016
7pm
Series A
Captain Samaritan: The Battle of Negrophobia by Jeremy Holloway
Mama, I Don’t Want To Be Mediocre by Monica Mikell
Division of Assets by Krysten Louchen
The Authoress by Seth Freeman

9pm
Series B
You Are Could I by Steven McMahon
Friable by Alisha Espinosa
Grieving with Gary by Laura Towns
Sunset by Gary Jaffe

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2016
7pm
Series C
Good Corporate Citizen by Sam Graber
You&Me(and Ruby) by Alexandra Ley
The Procrustes Pitch by Vishesh Abeyratne
Swept by Gina Doherty


9pm
Series D
Threatened Panda Fights Back by Rex McGregor
I Never Heard Such Silence by Marlin Thomas
Hangman by Gregory Fletcher
Edward’s Closet by Jenn Dlugos and Charlie Hatton

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016
7pm
Series B
You Are Could I by Steven McMahon
Friable by Alisha Espinosa
Grieving with Gary by Laura Towns
Sunset by Gary Jaffe

9pm
Series A
Captain Samaritan: The Battle of Negrophobia by Jeremy Holloway
Mama, I Don’t Want To Be Mediocre by Monica Mikell
Division of Assets by Krysten Louchen
The Authoress by Seth Freeman


FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016
7pm
Series D
Threatened Panda Fights Back by Rex McGregor
I Never Heard Such Silence by Marlin Thomas
Hangman by Gregory Fletcher
Edward’s Closet by Jenn Dlugos and Charlie Hatton

9pm
Series C
Good Corporate Citizen by Sam Graber
You&Me(and Ruby) by Alexandra Ley
The Procrustes Pitch by Vishesh Abeyratne
Swept by Gina Doherty


SATURDAY, APRIL 30 2016
7pm
Semi-finalists TBD
9pm
Semi-finalists TBD

SUNDAY, MAY 1 2016
3pm
Finalists TBD

We're very excited for the new artists (and a few old friends) we will be meeting and the new space we're going to be working in. And Paulina is back as our SM.

So come on, come one, come all!

ElliEli Happy Dance!

Just a quick update to let you guys know how ElliEli went. Pretty much...awesomely! The direction, acting and script of the workshop was really top tier. We're really thrilled to have been able to facilitate this. We're hoping to continue to work with these artists in the future and foster the new connections we made with the audience members who came out to see it. Stay tuned to hear more about ElliEli and more from Arlene. Not just with us...but hopefully with us too! And stay tuned to hear about all the things we're gearing up to do. We've got some new plays we're sifting through for the next seasons, Take Ten, some awesome new staff and a more focused mission. It's gonna be a blast!

Here's a little picture of the artists' getting ready for ElliEli. Thanks for coming if you were there, and if you weren't...we really hope to see you next time!