Halloween Party

Hello, friends!

      We're having another Halloween party this year and you're invited. And in case you don't remember how seriously we take this holiday, here's a pictoral reminder from last year.

The staff and some audience participants at last year Zombie vs. Vampires party. Look at some of the costumes people came up with!

So what are the details for this year? Well, it's all going down at 8pm on Saturday, October 26th at the Director's Studio, 311 W. 43rd St, 4th fl.

It will be a spooktacular evening of singing, dancing, improv, comedy, and other fantastic performances.

Tickets $20 and come with 2 free beverages of your choice!

Wear a costume because the Costume Contest winner will win a gift certificate to a nearby bar to continue the festivities!

Yep, that's right. Two drinks and excellent performances for only $20.

All proceeds will go toward paying for the 2013-2014 season.

Performances by:
Naomi Ekperigin
Benjamin Freeman
Kevin Froeliks
Anna Stefanic
Cynthia Vasquez
Jay Welch
Sarah White
Sharon Zaslaw
And Maybe More!

Look at the lovely flyer Allie Trimboli designed for us.

 So, check out our facebook event and come on down!

Other than that, we've been in meeting about all kinds of events, so stayed tune for more!

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!

Pics and a plea

How was everyone's thanksgiving? One thing we know that we're thankful for is the incredible community of artists and audience members and for those of you who read this blog! Let us know if there's more we can do to make it more interesting.

One thing we can share are some pictures from our last two events!

First of all, on October 20th, we had a Halloween themed improv night:

Elise Baker, Jeremy Rafal, Karl Custer, Samantha Lee Manas and Chris Barber

Chris Barber, Elise Baker and Veronica Dang

Elise Baker, Chris Barber, Veronica Dang and Jasmine Brown

Samantha Lee Manas and Jeremy Rafal

Elise Baker and Jeremy Rafal

Karl Custer, Jasmine Brown, Samantha Lee Manas, Veronica Dang, Jeremy Rafal, Elise Baker and Chris Barber

Elise Baker, Karl Custer (aka Uncle Yo) and Chris Barber

We also have pictures from our November Notes Between Us:

Alaska in the Summertime by Anna Fox.
Pictured: Anna Stefanic. 

Lily by Caity Shea Violette.
Pictured: Anna Stefanic, Scott Klavan, Lisette Espaillat and Amelia Huckle-Bauer

High Hard Ones by Charles O' Connor
Pictured: Ivan Perez, Elliot Crown and Emile Lafond.

High Hard Ones by Charles O' Connor
Pictured: John E. Simes.

The Sub by Vincent Gomez
Pictured: Ivan Perez, Emile Lafond and Jasmine Brown. 

Now, of course, this is all leading up to our festival and performances in the spring, but we need your support to make those things happen. We're getting there, but we need a lot more and the campaign is ending in 15 days!( link to the indiegogo campaign).  Please donate and/or promote! We really need you!

Stay tuned because we will have the official list of the 16 plays for our festival up shortly (we have 14 confirmed, but I wanted to give you the full list), plus what events we have going on this winter. We can tell you that the festival will be from March 18-24 at Roy Arias Stage II. It's all booked, baby!

Tricks, Treats and Indiegogo

Hey, Between Us Fans!

     First of all, we wanted to update you on our Halloween themed improv battle going on Saturday, October 20th. It will be at 8pm at the Directors Studio and will include costumes, makeup, music, candy, drinks, chances of audience involvement and of course, comedy!

So far the teams are:

The Vampires:
Elise Baker
Jeremy Rafal

and

The Zombies
Chris Barber
Veronica Dang

Improv-Or-Treat!

And of course, our indiegogo campaign is still going. Please donate as soon as possible to keep the momentum on indiegogo up! We're working really hard to get ready for the festival in March as well as the One-Acts in June and we want to be able to give this work the financial support it deserves.

Now things are getting serious!

All of our meetings, all of our readings, all of our hits and our (few) misses, everything we've been doing has been leading up to this:

Between Us Productions is going to have staged performances within the year! First, we're going to have a Ten-Minute Play festival on March 18-24th. We are just finalizing the 16 plays we're going to be using right now and I have to tell you, they're pretty terrific. Between Us Productions has a commitment to support compelling original work and we intend to live up to our own standards. 

We're also going to be having an Evening of One-Acts in June. This will include some of our most well received work, finally staged and given the attention they deserved.

St. Patrick Battles the Bearded Serpent, by Karl Custer, Inalienable Rights by Samantha Manas, Three Bites From the Underworld by Jasmine Brown (me) and a forth play written by the winner of our Ten-Minute Play Festival!

To fund all of these things, we have launched an awesome Indiegogo campaign. Please check it out! Donate, share and show some love! 

Awesome Indiegogo Campaign

We're also going to be having a really fun Halloween Themed Improv Battle on October 20th. There will be candy, drinks, costumes and more. But more info on that later. ;)

Get ready, Between Us is taking New York by storm!

Hi, all! It's been awhile, but our summer is in full swing. Sadly, we had to postpone our writing class, but there's still a lot of excitement going around.

First off, there was our reading in June. Here's a few pictures from the event.

Almost Christmas by Arthur M. Jolly, directed by Samantha Lee Manas. 
Pictured: Eric Chase, Anna Stefanic and Chris Barber. 

Protocol by Ralph Greco Jr., directed by Samantha Lee Manas. 
Pictured: Charissa Bertels and Cheri Paige Fogelman. 

Melting by Eddie Zipperer, directed by Samantha Lee Manas.
Pictured: Casey Bartolucci, Charissa Bertels, Chris Barber and Cheri Paige Fogelman.

Inalienable Rights by Samantha Lee Manas, directed by Jasmine Brown.
Pictured: Anna Stefanic, Chris Barber, Casey Bartolucci, Eric Chase and Cheri Paige Fogelman.

There are, of course, more pictures on our facebook page.

But the big news is yet to come. Tomorrow, July 14th, we're going to be having a fundraising picnic in central park and we want to invite everyone down. It's all for suggested donations and will include yoga, belly dancing, Shakespeare, a reading of Samantha's zombie play (pictured above with different actors) Inalienable Rights, a reading of my tragic incest play Orion, improv and standup comedy. Oh, and did I mention there will be free food and drink? Yeah. Check out the event info here.

If you can't make that, just keep an eye out. We'll be having another fundraising party at a Manhattan bar in August, a Halloween themed improv night in October, lots of readings and an online fundraising campaign all leading up to...a play festival and full staged one acts coming next spring!

Look out for Between Us. We're moving up just like all our amazing artistic collaborators. Let us know what you think and what kind of events you'd like to see!

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!

Shiny pictures and shinier links! Check us out!

We finally have pictures from our amazing Saint Patrick's Day themed reading at Space on White. As you can see, we had a heck of a time!

Charissa Bertels and P.J. Tiberio in Something About Smoke and the Way it Rises by DJ Sylvis
Pictured with Zachary Tomlinson, Michael Schlapp and Co-Artistic Director Samantha Lee Manas

Charissa Bertels and P.J. Tiberio in Something About Smoke and the Way it Rises by DJ Sylvis

Charissa Bertels and P.J. Tiberio in Something About Smoke and the Way it Rises by DJ Sylvis

Charissa Bertels and P.J. Tiberio in Something About Smoke and the Way it Rises by DJ Sylvis

Jeremy Rafal, Stephanie Gail Ross, Samantha Jane Williams and  Casey Bartolucci in Excerpt from a Romantic Comedy by Co-Artistic Director Jasmine Brown

Jeremy Rafal, Stephanie Gail Ross, Samantha Jane Williams and  Casey Bartolucci in Excerpt from a Romantic Comedy by Co-Artistic Director Jasmine Brown

 Samantha Jane Williams, Casey Bartolucci, Elliot Crown and Zachary Tomlinson in Excerpt from a Romantic Comedy by Co-Artistic Director Jasmine Brown

Elliot Crown, Zachary Tomlinson and Michael Schlapp in Excerpt from a Romantic Comedy by Co-Artistic Director Jasmine Brown
Pictured with Charissa Bertels and P.J. Tiberio

Elliot Crown and Zachary Tomlinson in Stalemates by DJ Sylvis
Pictured with Stephanie Gail Ross

Elliot Crown and Zachary Tomlinson in Stalemates by DJ Sylvis
Pictured with Stephanie Gail Ross

Elliot Crown and Zachary Tomlinson in Stalemates by DJ Sylvis
Pictured with Stephanie Gail Ross

Elliot Crown and Zachary Tomlinson in Stalemates by DJ Sylvis
Pictured with Stephanie Gail Ross and Samantha Jane Williams

Samantha Jane Williams, Casey Barolucci, Thoa Dang and Michael Schlapp in St Patrick  Battles the Bearded Serpent by Assistant Artistic Director Karl Custer Jr aka Uncle Yo

Samantha Jane Williams, Casey Barolucci, Thoa Dang and Michael Schlapp in St Patrick  Battles the Bearded Serpent by Assistant Artistic Director Karl Custer Jr aka Uncle Yo

Samantha Jane Williams, Casey Barolucci, Thoa Dang and Michael Schlapp in St Patrick  Battles the Bearded Serpent by Assistant Artistic Director Karl Custer Jr aka Uncle Yo,
Pictured with Zachary Tomlinson

Samantha Jane Williams, Casey Barolucci, Thoa Dang in St Patrick  Battles the Bearded Serpent by Assistant Artistic Director Karl Custer Jr aka Uncle Yo

Co-Artistic Directors Samantha Lee Manas and Jasmine Brown get into the spirit of the event
Pictured with Casey Bartolucci

Want to see even more pictures from the amazing event? Check out our photo album at our facebook page.
Weren't able to catch this event? Good news! We have something even wilder going on Saturday, April 14th. It's an all out Improv Battle called The Ring at Nuyorican Poets Cafe, hosted by Samantha Jones. Here's the site all about it!