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!

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!

Trying new things out

So, we had an extremely successful reading on March 31st at Space on White (pictures to come!). This was a different venue, we usually do our readings at the Director's Studio. The space was beautiful, but we hadn't really realized how much smaller it would be than what we were used to. As flattering as it is to turn people away, it's not good for business so for now, it's probably back to the Director's Studio for those types of events.

Meanwhile, we're getting ready for our next event. It's our retooled improv battle, now called The Ring. The date is April 14th, the time is 8pm and the new space will be Nuyorican Poets Cafe!

So here's hoping that works out. We have a lot planned to make this a very big event. There's even page all about it on our Improv Director (Samantha Jones)'s website.

The Ring