A new friend, a demonic workshop and a heartfelt plea...

A lot's going on right now with Between Us and I wanted to update you all about it. First of all, Tierney Nolen, an actor we have worked with on three straight full productions and truly love do to her attitude and talent, has become an official member of the company as our Social Media Director! Please welcome Tierney and please remember that this was our first introduction to her!:

Long live the Sheep!

In addition, we are having a workshop this Saturday, July 26th, at our old spot, the Director's Studio (311 West 43rd St, 4th floor) of Hell-Bent, a new horror-comedy one act by Sander Gusinow, the winning playwright from this year's Take Ten festival. Here's a reminder of his incredible work:

The play will be directed by Lourdes Uno, another artist we've been pleased to work with during the last few years, who wrote and directed another play in this year's festival. They were the only two horror authors to qualify for the festival and we really feel like their voices are a natural match. Here's a look at her work from the festival:

So join us while we celebrate these two unique voices. The whole thing will only be ten dollars, there will be refreshments for sale and you will be supporting a company doing new, diverse work! Plus, it will be scary!
Here's the facebook event.

And speaking of new work...I've been hinting for some time about the labor play we are producing in September. Well, in case I haven't put all this up here, or you forgot, Samantha and I collaborated on a historical fiction/multimedia event called Uprising and it will be playing September 2-8 at Shetler Studios. You will be hearing a lot more from me about this as it gets closer, but for right now, we are doing an indiegogo campaign and we really need the support in order to provide our cast with the sets and costumes they deserve to make their work look professional. Please donate and share! We only have twelve days left!

Parables Pics and Take Ten

Wow, it's been awhile. Sorry I haven't been keeping up with this. Well, first of all, here are some pictures from Parables for the One Percent, taken by Allie Trimboli.

Ari Vigoda and Casey Bartolucci

Tierney Nolan and Stephanie Alvarez

Cameran Hebb and David Weinheimer

We also got two some lovely reviews for the show here and here. All in all it was a lovely experience. The cast, crew and theatre were all people we would work with again, we were incredibly proud of the result and turn out and we know we will continue to move even higher.

Some sad news, however. Allie Trimboli and Brittany Remington are no longer official members of the company. We were very happy working with them however, and look forward to any opportunities to do so in the future.

Ok, now that we've covered the past on to what's currently going on. We have Take Ten coming up...next week! Yikes! The festival is running April 8th-13th at Roy Arias Stage II. Here is our official image.

Round 1: April 8th & 9th 7pm & 9pm
Round 2: April 10th & 11th 7pm & 9pm
Semi-Finals: April 12th 2pm and 8pm
Finals: April 13th 3pm

Roy Arias Studios, Stage II
300 W 43rd St, 4th Floor
Between 8th & 9th Avenues
New York, NY

The Competitors:

Phenomenals Anonymous by Rex McGregor
Soft and Shiny by Lourdes Natalie Uno
The Girls Night by Joette Spinelli
Push-Up by Sam Graber
Echo by Jessica Krause
Sober Shower by Maria DeCotis
Hansen and Greta by Sander Gusinow
Manere Fortis by Luke Wise
Green Wedding by Sarah Chichester
Splits in the Alley by Graham Shelton
How Persephone Learned to Listen by Brandon Monokian
Waking Dream by Matt Russak
Hypotheitcals by Miriam Smith
The Pheasant Plucker's Son by David Munetti
Vultures by Greg Abbott
Drinks, Dinner, and DNA by Seth Freeman

Tickets are available here, the website is here and the facebook event is here. 

And why don't I give you the schedule so far? 

April 8th 7pm
Series A

Green Wedding
Sober Shower
The Pheasant Plucker's Son
Waking Dream

April 8th 9pm
Series B

Echo
Push Up
Soft and Shiny
Phenomenal Anonymous

April 9th 7pm
Series C

Manere Fortis
The Girls Night
Splits in the Alley
Hansen and Greta

April 9th 9pm
Series D

Hypotheticals
Drinks, Dinner and DNA
Vultures
How Persephone Learned to Listen

April 10th 7pm
Series A

Green Wedding
Sober Shower
The Pheasant Plucker's Son
Waking Dream

April 10th 9pm
Series B

Echo
Push Up
Soft and Shiny
Phenomenal Anonymous

April 11th 7pm
Series D

Hypotheticals
Drinks, Dinner and DNA
Vultures
How Persephone Learned to Listen

April 11th 9pm
Series C

Manere Fortis
The Girls Night
Splits in the Alley
Hansen and Greta

Ok, I think that's enough stuffed into one entry. As always, don't hesitate to contact and ask questions!

Starting 2014 right with Parables for the One Percent!

Happy New Year, Between Us Friends and Fans!

           This is our year, guys! We mean it! WOO! *cue inspirational music*

No, but seriously, folks. This is a year with a lot going on for the Between Us crew and I am all for letting you guys know about it.

First of all, as some of you may know, we had a holiday bash at Traffic Bar and Grill. It was a really nice time to spend with some of actors, crew, friends and family. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of the event to share at the moment.

Okay, so it's not that bad. Not quite as epic as I had hoped, but what can you do? At least you can see what a fun bunch we are and hopefully make it out next time to party with us!

But on to more important and pressing matters. Parables!

Yes, Parables for the One Percent got funded and we are all set for January 8-11. (Well, we were booked before, but the money is the part the makes it actually happen). We are so grateful to everyone who joined on to back us in this project, which is in some ways our most ambitious. Rest assured that you will see your rewards if you haven't soon!

So, okay, what's the deal with Parables? (You may be asking). Here is the whole deal! Every bit of the deal!

Parables for the One Percent is a satirical comedy that explores what we have never heard; the interior monologues of the richest people alive today. It's safe to laugh, but the facts are nothing but dire. For the first time, the richest in our world have bought a commodity we can't take back: our futures.

January 8-11: 8pm
January 11: 2pm
January 12: 3pm

Theatre Row - The Studio Theater
410/412 W 42nd St
New York, NY 10036

Tickets $18
Buy in advance:
Here

Parables for the One Percent
Written by Karl Custer
Directed by Samantha Lee Manas
Produced by Jasmine Brown, Graydon Gund, and Brittany Remington

Starring:
Stephanie Alvarez as Jackie
Casey Bartolucci as Pharaoh
Cameran Hebb as Ann
Tierney Nolen as Jaquelyn
Ari Vigoda as Slave
and
David Weinheimer as Robert

Costume Design by Carolann Voltarel
Lighting Design by Lauren Bremen

Between Us Productions Staff:
Co Artistic Directors: Samantha Lee Manas and Jasmine Brown
Associate Artistic Director: Graydon Gund
Associate Producer: Brittany Remington
Artistic/Literary Assistant: Karl Custer
Artistic/Marketing Assistant: Abby Rose Leigh
Graphic Designer: Allie Trimboli

Oh, yes and speaking of Allie...here is the final image for the show

I'm kind of crazy about it, I don't know about you guys. Like the last image, that is a quote from the show. This one gives a bit more of a peak into the characters and themes, though.

So, in short, come one, come all. It's going to be an incredible show, showcasing amazing talent and will make you laugh in some uncomfortably real ways (which are the best ways, in my opinion).

And stay tuned for more, because not only is Take Ten fast approaching with an insane batch of plays this year, but Sam and I are cooking up something extra special for later on...a full length historical drama!

But more of that later...

Thanks for reading, lots of love...


...and come see Parables! ;)

Catching up and pimping Parables

Hi, all!

Well, we've had a lot going on since we last updated you. First of all, we had a Halloween Variety Show party. Unfortunately, I wasn't there. I know, I know, awful, right? But luckily, my Co-Artistic Director, Sam, was and she was decked out in a fabulous Anne Boleyn costume.

Samantha Lee Manas in a costume designed by Irina Fialko, pictured with the incomparable Anna Stefanic.

There was stand up, bellydance, music, drinks...the works! You know Between Us has a good time, so don't forget to drop by next time we're having an event. We'll make it worth your while. 

Besides that, we also had a belated welcome party for the new staff at Traffic Bar and Grill in Hell's Kitchen. It was there that we officially met our new graphic designer, Allie Trimboli, though we've already met her through her fabulous work. Unfortunately, the other new staff members that are still working with us (Brittany Remington, our Associate Producer and Abby Rose Leigh, our Artistic/Marketing Intern) were not able to attend, but we hope to see them at our new Traffic Bar and Grill party, which will be a holiday bash on December 20th...but more on that later!

The big thing that's going on right now is our Indiegoo campaign for our winter production, Parables for the One Percent. Parables is written by Karl Custer Jr., aka Uncle Yo, our Literary/Artistic Assistant and I personally feel it's some of his best work, outrageously funny and desperately real, it really hits home in some uncomfortable ways. It's directed by the above pictured Samantha Lee Manas and the actors are some of our favorite artists, whose talents have inspired us over the past few years.

Allie drew us a sample ad for the show and even though it's not the finished design, we wanted to give you a peak to get an idea of the direction we're going in.

Kind of political cartoon feel, ya know? And yes, that's an actual line from the show.

But here's the thing, we really need support to produce this play. We have a beautiful space booked and really want to give this work the attention it deserves. We only have 10 days left on our Indiegogo campaign and we're not even halfway to our financial goal. Every little bit helps, so please donate and share! Click the link and watch the video!

Okay, so that's all for now, but stay tuned. Next update should be more about our holiday party, first updates on Take Ten 2014 and Parables, Parables, Parables! And maaaybe you'll hear about some of our other upcoming projects, who knows?

Oh, and of course, happy Channukah and Thanksgiving to anyone celebrating!

After a busy few months, let's party in the park!

Hello, all!

A lot has happened since I last updated you and I want to give you the skinny on all of it! The short and sweet of it is, we are having a fundraiser, this Sunday, September 22nd in Washington Square Park from 3-6. But, I wanted to make sure everything we've done in the last few months is up here, so more on that later.

First of all, Behaving Badly was AMAZING! Here are some pictures from each of our plays, and you can of course, find more on our facebook page.

Millions & Millions & Millions by Cathy Earnest, directed by Graydon Gund
Alyssa Simon (courtesy of Actor's Equity), Catherine LaClair and Cain Duminski pictured

Inalienable Rights by Samantha Lee Manas, directed by Veronica Dang
Anna Stefanic, RG Lagonda and Wes Hager pictured

Three Bites from the Underworld written and directed by Jasmine Brown
Sharon Zaslaw and Molly Garbe pictured

St. Patrick Battles the Bearded Serpent by Karl Custer Jr., directed by Samantha Lee Manas
Tierny Nolan, Casey Bartolucci and Ari Vigoda pictured

Above photos courtesy of Vladimir Weinstein.

But all of that is old news. The big news is that of all the new staff we've added! Firstly, we'd like to welcome our interns for the season: Abby Leigh Rose for Artistic/Marketing, Nick Salidivar for Directing, Meghan Sullivan for Literary and Cresent Haynes for Sound Design. They are all super talented and you will be seeing a lot of work from them in the coming months.

Additionally, we've added Brittany Remington to the full position of Associate Producer. For her, I'm gonna add her headshot, because she's pretty big deal. She may be taking over this blog, at least partially, because we know the updates aren't exactly...consistent. But either way, she is truly great and we're very excited to be working with her.

It's Brittany!

Before I get to our final and most pressing announcement, I do want to go back in time and give you a few photos I promised. Yes, these are some looks are our Cinco de Mayo variety show from the spring. All of the rest (and there are a lot!) are up on facebook.

Anna Stefanic and Samantha Jane Williams

Karl Custer aka Uncle Yo

Calixta Star

Jeremy Rafal

So, now that you're reminded what kind of party we can throw, why not join for a Sunday in Washington Square park?

There will be sing, dancing, fun and even refreshing drinks for sale. Suggested donations are ten dollars, but stay as long as you like and give what you're able.

Again, it's 3-6 in Washington Square Park, September 22nd. We will be in Garibaldi Plaza.

The featured acts will be: Anna Stefanic, Abby Leigh Rose, Sharqui and the Bellyjazz Dolls (featuring me!), Art Brown, Cynthia Vasquez, Boogie Bogz and maybe some other surprises.

Come one, come all! 

Oh, and by the way, Washington Square Park has a special meaning to us because of our projects later in the season...but this post has been long enough. More updates much sooner next time, I promise!

Lots of love!

Looking back and getting ready for an awesome week!

Since Behaving Badly is coming up this week (wed-sun!) I wanted to give you a chance to see how far we've come in the past few years leading up to this. We've really striven to be a resource for the upcoming community of artists and as such, you will see a lot of familiar names and faces throughout the years. 

Here's a shot from Sweet Prince, written by me, Jasmine Brown and directed by Samantha  Lee Manas. The night after this show ended, Sam and I decided that we we would start producing on our own and thus, Between Us Productions was born. Besides being Co-Artistic Directors of the company, Sam has written a play (Inalienable Rights) as well as directed one (St. Patrick Battles the Bearded Serpent) for Behaving Badly. I'm the writer and director for Three Bites from the Underworld.

Back in 2010, during one of our first readings, we read Three Bites from the Underworld. Note Karl Custer, writer for St. Patrick Battles the Bearded Serpent and Assistant Artistic Director, reading stage directions. Also note that it was the holiday season and we were trying to be festive. 

Here's a reading we did for Inalienable Rights. We can see Anna Stefanic , who stars in it now, but plays Kelly instead of the human, as well as Casey Bartolucci, who now stars in St. Patrick Battles the Bearded Serpent (as St. Patrick, of course). I think the mess of furniture behind them really adds to the zombie apocalypse ambiance. 

Here's a reading we did of St. Patrick Battles the Bearded Serpent, featuring Casey Bartolucci, the current star and Veronica Dang, the director of Inalienable Rights. Aren't the props and decorations fun?

Here we have a beautiful picture from Disappearing, Cathy Earnest's play in our Take Ten festival, which won Best Play and earned her a spot in Behaving Badly, with Millions & Millions & Millions.

Here is Cathy, receiving the award for best play, from Samantha and I. 

Speaking of the Take Ten Festival, here we see Molly Garbe, Stephanie in Three Bites from the Underworld, in Maturity, directed by Associate Producer, Graydon Gund, now director of Millions & Millions & Millions.

Here we see another peak from the Take Ten Festival,  Ari Vigoda, who now stars in St. Patrick Battles the Bearded Serpent as the Narrator, performing in Psycho Therapy, a semi-finalist for Best Play.

Another moment from our Take Ten festival, here's Scars, finalist for Best Play, directed by Veronica Dang.

Here we see Emile Lafond, currently starring as Harold in Three Bites from the Underworld, in a reading of The Sub, a play we received as a submission for Take Ten but that was unable to participate. Note me at the edge of frame there, reading stage directions and generally being amused.

Here we have Sharon Zaslaw, aka Sharqui and her Bellyjazz Dolls, at our fundraiser in Central Park last summer. Sharon is now starring as Celeste in Three Bites from the Underworld. 

Here we are with some friends and fans at our Improv-or Treat event this year. You can spot Alia Berezov, assistant/wardrobe for Three Bites from the Underworld, as well as me, Karl, Sam, Veronica and even Grady (first pic of him up here!) in the crowd. Note that our love of zombies was not a passing thing. 

So, come on! See what all the fuss is about and Behave Badly with us this week!

Wednesday, June 26 - 8pm
Thursday, June 27 - 8pm
Friday, June 28 - 8pm
Saturday June 29 - 2pm & 8pm
Sunday June 30 - 3pm

at Roy Arias Studios, Stage II
300 W 43rd St, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10036

Plays:
Inalienable Rights by Samantha Lee Manas
Millions & Millions & Millions by Cathy Earnest
Saint Patrick Battles the Bearded Serpent by Karl Custer
and
Three Bites from the Underworld by Jasmine Brown

Directed by: Jasmine Brown, Veronica Dang, Graydon Gund, and Samantha Lee Manas

Starring:
Casey Bartolucci
Emile Lafond
Tierney Nolan
Ari Vigoda
Sharon Zaslaw
Molly Garbe
Catherine LeClair
Alyssa Simon*
Cain Duminski
Evan Cory Zimmerman
Anna Stefanic
Jonathan Zipper
Alex Witherow
RG Lacandola
Wes Hager
David Weinheimer

Tickets $18 CASH ONLY AT THE DOOR

*Appearing Courtesy of Actors Equity


So, hey, Check out our facebook event or just buy tickets in advance!

What's Happened and What's Coming Up

First of all:

We're proud to officially announce the 16 plays for our Take Ten Festival on March 19-24 at Roy Arias Stage II.

The Oak Tree by Jay Koepke
Maturity by Aaron Leventman
Killing Cupid, Ok by Lindsay Bryde
Give Me Something Good To Eat by John Glass
Psycho Therapy by Tom Cherwin
Disappearing by Cathy Earnest
Driving Herd by Sam Graber
At Least He Didn't Die With Antlers On His Head by Thomas Levrier
Jumping In by Seth Freeman
Paul & Eddie by Ken Brisbois
Fade by Zachary Rufa
Last Call for Love by Shashone Lambert
Scars by Greg Abbott
Getting It Off in '08 by J D Wilcox
Waiting by Jeremy Rafal
The New Models by Rory Leahy

We've been having a lot of meeting in the past few months to get all the details down, so expect to hear even more from us about this very soon! Check out the website for the festival here. We are currently designing the logo and getting all of the directors matched up with the writers. 

Secondly, I'm happy to say that our holiday party/fundraiser was a great success! We've tried several venues for these types of events and although we enjoyed them all, we found a really good fit with Traffic! We'll likely be hosting future events there, so look out...and thanks to those who came out with us for this event a few weeks ago! You can check out the photo album we have on facebook for just a little slice of the fun we had!

Finally, we're going to be having a Mardis Gras themed event this february 16th. We don't have the venue or time info yet, but it will include dance, music, movement and comedy!

Check back with us soon!

Moving on since Sandy

Hi there, Between Us fans! It's been awhile!

First things first, I want to let you know that the Between Us Family rode out Superstorm Sandy safely.  As I'm writing this, however, many people in New York and New Jersey still have no power, have lost their homes and have had a host of other problems from the storm. This is our home and we're proud of the efforts made to help one and other and committed to staying strong for one and other. Please let us know what's going on in your community and if there is anything we can do to help.

Before the storm, as I mentioned before, we had a Halloween themed Improv battle. It was a great success, with audience members as well as Sam (Samantha Manas), Karl Custer (Uncle Yo) and me (Jasmine Brown) getting in on the action. Pictures to come!

Missed that? Well, luckily, we have an event coming up! This Saturday, November 17th, we are having a reading! It will be featuring for original plays, three of which were originally submitted as part of our upcoming ten minute play festival, so that will be a fun sneak peek as to the caliber of plays you should be expecting. The plays will be directed by myself, Samantha Manas and Graydon Gund. This will be Grady's directorial debut with Between Us Productions. He's our newest member of the company, but this will be a great time to really get to know his work. We're pretty excited about that!

As for the plays themselves, you'll meet such interesting characters as a submissive substitute, a Jewish gangster, grieving parents and the north wind, all played by some of the best actors in New York. It should be a memorable night! That's at 8pm at the Director's Studio.

 Check it out on facebook.

We are also still running are indiegogo campaign for our festival and stage productions in the spring. We really need the support, so if you can give anything please do. And do it soon, because the campaign is ending soon! And if you can't...at least share the campaign somewhere! Let's get the word out!

indiegogo campaign link

Picnic Pics and Drinky Drinks

It's been awhile, Between Us fans! How has summer been treating you? We've been having a somewhat relaxed summer, but we're really focusing reaching our goals for our festival and productions next year. We're just looking for ways that fundraising can be *gasp* actually fun!

Speaking of which, did any of you get to stop by our fundraising picnic in Central Park this July? We had a blast and got to enjoy the creative talents from many members of the Between Us family, including dancers, yogis, writers, actors and comedians. I've included a few pictures for you to get a taste of the day we had but feel free to check out the whole album on our facebook page.

 Calixta Star

Shakespeare's Players (with Jeremy Rafal)

The Bellyjazz Dolls

What's next? Well, this Thursday, August 23rd, we'll be hosting a fundraising party at Keats Bar in Manhattan. There will be karaoke, drink specials and a 50/50 raffle, all supporting our effort to support fresh voices in the theatrical community! Check it out!

Finally, I'd officially like to welcome Grady Grund, our new Associate Producer! You'll be hearing more from him, and all the rest of us, very soon!

Pictures and updates

Hi, all! It's been a while. First of all, I wanted to put up some pictures from our improv show, The Ring,  at Nuyorican Poet's Cafe (which is quite a fun space). There are more on our facebook page. 

 Samantha Jones, our host.

Unfortunately, we have decided to suspend our improv program for the time being due to refocusing our business, but Samantha Jones is planning on continuing with The Ring and we will be letting you know about that.

Finally, we are committed to advertising the work of members of the Between Us family in the future. The first spotlight is a reading featuring Elliot Crown, one of our favorite actors, going through May 11th.

http://www.facebook.com/events/425231784171185/

We also have a lot of new events of our own coming up, so stayed tuned!