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. ;)

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!

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!

Kicking off the summer of Between Us!

Hello, Between Us fans! It's been awhile, hasn't it? With all the changes going on in our company, we decided to take a break from events in March, but don't worry...we're coming back with a vengeance!

First of all, we're having a reading on June 23rd back in our old stomping ground (the Director's Studio), which will be featuring new work from many talented writers and actors, but especially our Co-Artistic Director, Samantha Manas, who wrote a piece about zombie rights ( yes, you read that right). You wont want to miss this one!

Secondly, we'd like to formally announce our fundraising picnic on July 14th at the Turtle Pond in central park. We'll have food, dancing, improv and a whole lot more for just a suggested donation. So mark your calenders, folks. Come out and support the work we're doing and enjoy a summer day in New York City while doing so!

Finally, we want to take another chance to remind you about our Playwriting Workshop starting on July 12th. This is the time to start creating your own work! Come out of this summer with a ten minute play all your own, telling your stories, starring you! You may be able to get it featured in our first ever festival...but more on that later. ;)

Announcing our first ever workshop

Storytelling is easy. Everyone I've ever met who found out that I'm a playwright has been more than happy to pour me a drink and tell me what I should write about next.  But, writing is hard. There's a process, it takes time. There are rules, those you follow and those you can break once in a while. 

So many actors I know struggle to find the part that would showcase their talent, so many directors struggle to find work that fits their vision. But with the tools and the practice, they could easily be writing it themselves. 

That's why Between Us Productions is hold our first ever workshop. 

Writing for Actors, Directors and Other Creative Folk

The class will be held on Thursday evenings this summer from July 12th-August 16th, 7-9pm in a midtown location TBD. It will end with a reading of the original work developed, with actors and directors being encouraged to cast within the class but with Between Us Productions providing additional casting support. Though there will be a few surprise guests, the class will be primarily taught by me, Jasmine Brown. 

Besides being Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Between Us Productions, I have a BFA in Dramatic Writing with a focus in Playwrighting and have had my work produced all over Manhattan, including the Director's Studio, Nicu's Spoon, Manhattan Repertory Theatre, the Signature Theatre, Where Eagles Dare and with the Strawberry Festival. I am also a certified substitute teacher for the Board of Education of New York. 

Classes will be $150 for six weeks.  We will only be accepting ten students for this class so contact us now if you want to reserve a spot and please forward this to anyone else you think might be interested. 

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!