Who's Who In Teeth Of The Sons (Production Blog Entry)

Niluka Hotaling (Lighting Designer) Niluka works as a Set and Lighting designer for theatres around NYC. She holds an MFA in Design and Technical Production from Brooklyn College. She served as resident set designer for the theatre department at Henry Street Settlement Abron’s Art Center’ from 2002 to 2009, and continues to work for them on a free lance basis. Niluka has designed for Arts Connection, Artis Smith Dance Troupe; The Touring Company; Four Chairs Theatre Company; White Horse Theatre Company; Sackett Group; Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts; The New School; Brooklyn Children’s Theatre, Brooklyn College; shows that appeared in The NY Fringe Festival, newfangled theatReR- where she is a founding member, and resident set designer. She has also worked for several other theatres as stage manager, scenic charge, carpenter and stage technician. Niluka teaches for the Theatre department at Brooklyn College. She is a recipient of an Individual Artists Grant from NYSCA in 2005 for her design work at Henry Street and is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 in the set design category.

Who's Who In Teeth Of The Sons (Production Blog Entry)

Our Load-In / Tech / Opening Week was a great success!!! Thank you all who attended!

Josh Iacovelli (Scenic Designer)

Josh is an actor and has also been designing Off-Broadway productions for the past ten years. He is the in-house Technical Director for the Players Theatre, St. Luke's Theatre, and the Actors Temple Theatres in NYC . Recent design credits include: The Zero Hour, Phantom of the Opera, Black Angels over Tuskeegee, One Night With Fanny Brice, Sam's Romance, Danny and Sylvia, Lansky, Don't Leave It All to Your Children, Joseph and The Amazing..., Cabaret, The Rise of Dorothy Hale, Eightballs, At War, Give'Em Hell, Harry!, Loader #26, and Annulla. He most recently designed lights for Barefoot Theatre Company's World Premiere production of Emergency Used Candles directed by Victoria Malvagno. Josh has a B.A. from Stockton College and an MFA from The Actors Studio Drama School at The New School University. Barefoot Theatre Company Member Since 2010.

Teeth Of The Sons Production Blog Entry (A Rehearsal Blog)

Here's a rehearsal blog entry from one of our Actors, Shayna Padovano in the New York Premiere of Teeth Of The Sons opening this week!

The rehearsal process for TOTS has encouraged me to think about my relationship to religion, my sense of spirituality, and the complexities of forgiveness, redemption, and love. The play weaves together so many of these important themes and realizing my characters role in the tapestry has been a wonderful adventure.

Nicole is one of the most intelligent and perceptive directors I have ever worked with. She has been an incredible leader and guide. Along with Joe, Will, and Cass, every evening has been a journey in itself.

With dedication, focus, and a dose of dirty humor, it has been a thrill to watch this piece come to life. I am really looking forward to sharing it with an audience!

http://www.telecharge.com/BehindTheCurtain.aspx?ProdID=8498

http://barefoottheatrecompany.org/teeth-of-sons.php

Who's Who In Teeth Of The Sons (Production Blog Entry)

Here's a look at our fourth and final cast member for our upcoming New York Premiere of Teeth Of The Sons by Joseph Sousa, directed by Nicole Haran.

Shayna Padovano (Evelyn) is thrilled to be working with the Barefoot Theatre Company. Credits include: her solo show, The F Factor (Manhattan Repertory Theatre) Give Us Bread with The Anthropologists (Milagro Theatre at the CSV, Berkshire Fringe) Chameleon: The Experience of Global Citizens (University Settlement, Washington D.C. Fringe). Lola Got Bite (Gene Frankel) The Cherry Orchard, The Winter's Tale(Columbia Stages) Don Juan in Chicago (Kirk Theatre at Theatre Row). Training in Italy: Scuola Internazionale della Commedia dell'Arte (Reggio Emilia, with Antonio Fava) The Accademia dell'Arte (Arezzo) La Mama ETC International Director's Symposium (Spoleto). Shayna holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University.

http://www.telecharge.com/BehindTheCurtain.aspx?ProdID=8498

http://barefoottheatrecompany.org/teeth-of-sons.php

from Ensemble Member, Will Allen (Production Blog)

Will Allen is currently in rehearsals for the New York Premiere of Teeth Of The Sons by fellow Ensemble Member, Joseph Sousa, directed by Nicole Haran. Previews begin one week from today at The Cherry Lane Theatre.

Here's a blurb about his rehearsal process:

"Rehearsals have been super inspiring. I've spent years with this play, reading every draft along the way, giving Joe input wherever I can, acting in each different manifestation of it, and after all this time it's incredible how many new discoveries I've been making in this rehearsal process. Nicole Haran is incredible and through her, Casandera, Shayna and the whole creative team, I feel like I'm seeing this story with new eyes. It is so much fun to be doing this with such talented and focused people it just makes me wanna fart Vivaldi's Four Seasons or something! I can't wait for everyone to come see it and share the joy of the story with us!"

Pictured: with Casandera M.J. Lollar (Maddy in Teeth Of The Sons) during photo session for Poster Design.

Be sure to get your tickets today! http://www.telecharge.com/BehindTheCurtain.aspx?ProdID=8498

FEATURED ENSEMBLE MEMBER, Joseph Sousa Q&A (PART 2)

Here's PART 2 of our interview with Joseph Sousa:

Q: How did Barefoot Theatre Company get involved with Teeth Of The Sons?

A: Will Allen, who was in my BFA Acting program, was in Barefoot's production of Steven Gracia's play Next!. I had been writing the part of Sam for Will and the part of Jacob for myself.

Tailoring the two brother roles, adding as much specificity as possible, so that it would be exciting for the audience to see two actors who know each other as well as brothers, bring that kind of history, chemistry, and familiarity onto the stage. So Will handed an early draft of the play to Barefoot one night after a Next! rehearsal. I think it took almost a year for me to hear back that Frank Solorzano, the Artistic Director of Barefoot, had read the play, and wanted to meet with me. I think at that point, I had nearly given up on the play. We had performed it at Brooklyn College's New Workshop Theater, and we had a staged reading at the 78th Street Theater Lab, run by Brooklyn College Alumni Eric Nightengale, but I was at an impasse with the story. It being my first play I couldn't figure out an effective ending, and needed some strong guidance in order to finish it.

Q: Were you able to receive that guidance?

A: Yes. Frank told me he really enjoyed the draft. He agreed the story could go deeper, and encouraged a new draft. I wrote another draft, feeling an immense pressure to impress Frank and the Barefoot Company, and of course, I failed. But in a good way. Frank felt this new draft was sensationalized and was avoiding some of the more challenging themes that the original draft was beginning to tackle. He gave me fantastic notes, and I was able to move forward and develop the complex story of Faith and Family I had originally set out to write.

Q: What happened after that?

A: Barefoot decided to make Teeth Of The Sons their inaugural bareNaked Reading Series play. Barefoot company member Michael Loporto did a fantastic job directing the staged reading at The 45 Bleecker Street Theater. The cast included Chris Whalen reading Jacob, Anna Chlumsky as Maddy, Will Allen as Sam and Jessica Langer as Evelyn.

Q: Why decided to not read the role you had created for yourself?

A: At that point, the play and process was so much about the writing, that I wanted to experience the result of the work primarily as a playwright.

Q: How did that feel?

A: Incredible. I thought acting in front of an audience was nerve racking, but it's nothing compared to sitting in the back of a packed 400 seat theater, hanging on every line, hoping the audience enjoyed the story. As an actor, you are there supporting the text, bringing it to life. Good stories can survive mediocre acting, but Great acting can't compel an audience if the story is weak. So that night, I had nothing to hide behind. Every time a joke didn't land I felt it in my stomach. But also, every time it did, I felt a greater sense of connecting with the audience than if I was the actor delivering the line in front of them. At the end, as Chris delivered the final lines of the show, and the audience began applauding, I felt the greatest sense of connection with an audience that I've ever felt in my life.

Q: How did that change you as a performer?

A: I began this process as an actor trying to create acting work for myself. By the end of that night, I had become a playwright first and foremost.

Q: How did the show go from a bareNaked play to a full scale Barefoot Theatre production at the Cherry Lane Theatre?

A: That night of the reading at Bleecker Street, Jason Zimbler (also a Barefoot Ensemble Member), a fellow Brooklyn College alum, who ran a theater company in Portland, Oregon, expressed his interest in taking the play to Portland, and giving it a full production. Frank Solorzano flew out to see that production, and a year and a half later, Barefoot Theatre is producing it.

Q: Was the Portland production a success?

A: Very much so. We had a very limited budget, and the space was a warehouse that had not been used as a theater, and was very hard to find. Nonetheless the show went on to receive unanimous critical acclaim, and we won Portland's Drammy Award for Best New Play, and I was also fortunate enough to receive a Drammy for Leading Actor in a Role.

Q: What did the critics mostly respond to?

A: The overall story and production. And the beatboxing. Also the connection between Will and myself. I think the desire to put two actors who are great and old friends, playing brothers on the brink of walking away from each other, but who ultimately possess a lot of love for one another, really paid off for the audience.

http://barefoottheatrecompany.org/teeth-of-sons.php

http://www.telecharge.com/BehindTheCurtain.aspx?ProdID=8498

FEATURED ENSEMBLE MEMBER, Joseph Sousa Q&A (PART 1)

Here's an Interview with our Featured Ensemble Member this month, Joseph Sousa...also our Resident Playwright and Literary Associate. His Off-Broadway debut as Actor and Playwright will take place this April 20th at The Cherry Lane Theatre.

Q: How long have you been a Barefoot Theatre Company ensemble member?

A: Since 2009.

Q: Where are you from?

A: I'm from Hanford, California, a small farm town about thirty miles south of Fresno.

Q: What kind of community did you grow up with there?

A: My parents are both Portuguese immigrants, who immigrated from the Azores islands. So I grew up with a very strong Portuguese, Catholic community. My mother is the choir director, my father is a deacon, and my uncle is a priest at one of the largest Portuguese communities in America, (Turlock, California).

Q: So how did you end up writing a play about Jewish brothers in Midwood, Brooklyn?

A: I was attending Brooklyn College for undergrad, and I was

mesmerized by the thriving Orthodox Jewish community in

Midwood. I wanted to write something about a close knit community, dominated by a strong faith, something I knew very well on a personal level. But I also wanted to open up the story, to not limit it to something strictly autobiographical. My fiance, Jessica Langer and I had just started dating five years ago when I first began writing Teeth Of The Sons. She is Jewish, and getting to know her, I was fascinated by the similarities that our cultures shared. But I was also intrigued by the effects the Holocaust had on her upbringing. Her grandmother, a holocaust survivor, persevered through so many unbelievable challenges. Giving the feuding brothers in this play an aging grandmother who survived the holocaust, really brings into question the cost of abandoning, or embracing their family and faith.

Stay Tuned for Part 2 of this interview...in the meantime, be sure to get your tixs to Teeth Of The Sons at The Cherry Lane Theatre with previews beginning on April 20th...

http://www.telecharge.com/BehindTheCurtain.aspx?ProdID=8498

http://barefoottheatrecompany.org/teeth-of-sons.php

LIVE on the Sissy Gamache Show TONIGHT!!!

Sissy sinks her TEETH into theatre producer Francisco Solorzano and playwright Joseph Sousa LIVE!

Barefoot Theatre Company Artistic Director Francisco Solorzano and playwright/actor Joseph Sousa sit with Sissy to discuss their latest Off Broadway venture, TEETH OF THE SONS Friday night LIVE 7:30pm EST MNN Ch 56 TWC or www.thesissygamacheshow.com

http://www.thesissygamacheshow.com/

Joseph Sousa (Playwright / Jacob)
Recent Barefoot performances include Israel Horovitz' Unexpected Tenderness (opposite Michael Stuhlbarg), and Barking Sharks. Favorite NY credits include Davis in Red Light Winter, Rev. Hale inThe Crucible, Fedotik in LaMama's Three Sisters, and Soldier in Shakespeare in the Park's Mother Courage. Teeth Of The Sons is Joseph's first play. It received a staged reading at 45 Bleeker as Barefoot's first Barenaked Reading. Teeth went on to be produced in Portland, Oregon by the Retheater Instrument. Joseph was awarded Portland's Drammy Award for both Original Script, and Lead Actor in a Role. He would like dedicate this play to Jessica Langer, and Esther Wasserman for inspiring the love these characters are desperate to find. Joseph is a proud member of the Barefoot Theatre Company Ensemble Since 2009.

Francisco Solorzano (Sound Designer / Producing Artistic Director)
Has created Sound Design for Barefoot Theatre Co. for the past 12 years including Does A Tiger Wear A Necktie? and the award winning production of De Donde? which he also directed. As an Actor: Currently in the NYC Revival of Metcalf's Strange Snow produced by East 3rd Productions. Theater: Most recently seen in Sins Of The Mother at Florida Stage following the Gloucester Stage Company production. Adapted, acted and directed in the workshop and world premiere of Dog Day Afternoon(Theatre Row Theatres). Select acting credits: World premiere of Horovitz's What Strong Fences Make(Bleecker Street Theatre, Boston Theatre Marathon), Nilo Cruz's Bicycle Country (Spanish Repertory Theatre, Theatre Row Theatres), The Water Engine (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Edinburgh, Scotland), Horovitz's The Indian Wants the Bronx (Gloucester Stage Company/78th Street Theatre Lab) & A Mother's Love (Boston Playwrights Theatre), Beirut Rocks (EST Marathon, dir Jo Bonney), Sins of the Mother (with Ethan Hawke as well as Bobby Cannavale, Michael Stuhlbarg and John Doman, dir by Jo Bonney at numerous locations including The Actor's Studio, Bleecker Street Theatre, 59E59), 45th anniversary revival of Lanford Wilson's Balm In Gilead. Film: And The World Goes Round (Cannes Short Film Corner), Love Simple (HBO NYC Latino Film Festival) and Between Something and Nothing (NYC's NEW FEST Film Festival.) BFA: CUNY'S Brooklyn College; a founder and Producing Artistic Director of the Barefoot Theatre Company since 1999. Recipient of the Graduate Theater Organization of Brooklyn College, CUNY's Alumnus of the Year Award.

Who's Who In Teeth Of The Sons (Production Blog Entry)

Here's a look at our Maddy in Teeth Of The Sons, Casandera M.J. Lollar, directed by Nicole Haran at the Cherry Lane Theatre opening later this month! We are thrilled to have her working with us for the first time!!!!

Casandera M.J. Lollar (Maddy) Casandera is extremely excited to be working with Barefoot and the Brooklyn College family. She is a native Texan and received her A.A. in Theater Arts at Angelina College in Texas, and moved to New York to attend the BFA program at Brooklyn College. She is a proud member of Retro Productions, where she has recently been seen in Women and War, Holy Days, When Ya Comin' Back, Red Ryder?, and The Tender Trap. Other favorite credits include Lend Me a Tenor, Rumors, June Moon, and Side Man. She was directed by the truly inspirational and Obie Award-winning director Mary B. Robinson as Nina in The Seagull. She was also nominated for a 2010 New York Innovative Theater Award. www.casandera.com

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From the award-winning, Off-Broadway Theatre Company that brought you Dog Day Afternoon

Barefoot Theatre Company

presents the New York Premiere of

TEETH OF THE SONS

by Joseph Sousa

directed by Nicole Haran

Featuring Will Allen, Casandera M.J. Lollar, Shayna Padovano, Joseph Sousa, Donald P. Flores (u/s)

THE CHERRY LANE THEATRE

38 Commerce Street (7th Ave. South & Hudson)

April 20th-May 14th

Tuesday thru Saturday at 7pm with Saturday Matinee at 3pm.

Wednesday, April 20th & Thursday, 21st: PREVIEWS

Friday, April 22nd: RED-CARPET OPENING NIGHT

No Performances on Sundays & Mondays.

TICKETS

Telecharge: (212) 239-6200

http://www.telecharge.com/

Admission: $30; $25 students/seniors (at box office w/ valid i.d.)

SYNOPSIS

The last time Sam saw his brother Jake, they were cruising Brooklyn as one another's ultimate wing man. Years later Sam returns to Brooklyn in need of refuge for him and his pregnant girlfriend, only to find the fun loving Jake has transformed into a studious born-again Jewish scholar. The homecoming incites a clash of brotherhood, divided family loyalties, and a revelation that beyond a love for their aging grandmother, perhaps all they share in common is a past Jake is desperately trying to bury. Their reunion will bring into question faith's superiority to family. Can a change of identity come without the cost of destruction through dogmatic militancy?

http://barefoottheatrecomp

any.org/teeth-of-sons.php

Who's Who In Teeth Of The Sons (Production Blog Entry)

Here's a closer look at Ensemble Member, Will Allen, currently in rehearsals for our NY Premiere production of Teeth Of The Sons by Joseph Sousa, directed by Nicole Haran at the Cherry Lane Theatre this April/May.

Will Allen (Sam) Barefoot Theatre credits include: Teeth of the Sons by Joseph Sousa, Next by Stephen Gracia. Other Theater credits include: Suburbia, Burial at Thebes, The Littlewoods, The Crucible, What's in Chicago, The Cataract, Blood Wedding, and others. Film credits include: Landing, The Landlady, and others. Will holds a BFA in Acting from CUNY Brooklyn College. Will works out of Los Angeles as a film and video editor/director/producer, and on occasion, an animator. He is a proud member of Barefoot Theatre Company.

Will would like to thank his family for their constant encouragement and unyielding acceptance, Cristina for her support, love, and courage, and Joe for offering his perspective and sense of morality so openly to the world, theatrically and otherwise. Finally, thanks to the entire Barefoot family. Barefoot Theatre Company Member Since 2009.

Will Allen originated the role of Sam in Teeth Of The Sons. Pictured above from Left to right are Ensemble Members, Jessica Langer, Will Allen and Joseph Sousa during the inaugural bareNaked Reading Series which featured Sousa's drama.

http://barefoottheatrecompany.org/teeth-of-sons.php

http://www.telecharge.com/BehindTheCurtain.aspx?ProdID=8498

BECOME PART OF THE FAMILY!!

We are close at reaching our goal and need a little extra help. THANK YOU TO ALL OUR CURRENT DONORS!!!

We raised $2,500.00 in the last two days!

Please help us spread the word and support the Barefoot Theatre Company, now in our 12th Season and at the legendary Off-Broadway venue, The Cherry Lane Theatre!

There are two easy ways to help out:

1) click(or copy & paste) link below to make a paypal donation:

http://barefoottheatrecompany.org/donate.php

2) mail a check made out to: Barefoot Theatre Company, Inc.

and send to 619 East 17th Street, # 1S

Brooklyn, NY 11226

Barefoot Theatre Company is a 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent provided by the law. Please make your check or money order payable to theBarefoot Theatre Company, Inc.

Any and all dollar amount helps. Thank you in advance to all of our donors this year. We have been able to reach most of our goals. Here's a closer look at our current Production Budget Needs:

RENTAL

General Insurance Liability: $500

ADVERTISING / MARKETING:

$2,715.00 (publicity, posters, programs)

PRODUCTION / TECH / DESIGN

Artists: $500

Tech/Crew: $1,500.00

Tech/Load-in/Strike (supplies, lunch, transportation): $500.00

Total: $5,715.00

BENEFITS OF GIVING PROGRAM

The Barefoot Theatre Company appreciates the support of all of its contributors and makes every effort to recognize their donations appropriately.

Friend ($1–$99)

• Recognition in program for full season
• Company pin with logo

Member ($100–$499) Above including…

• Invite to artists events
• Two (2) complimentary tickets to one (1) production

Patron ($500–$999) Above including…

• Special invite to readings/workshops of new plays
• Signed poster and program

Contributor ($1,000–$2,999) Above including…

• Company t-shirt
• Logo/Ads/Mention in Program

Partner ($3,000–$4,999) Above including…

• Special invite to an Opening Night gala

Benefactor ($5,000–$9,999) Above including…

• Additional invitation to an Opening Night performance (4 total)

Guardian ($10,000 or more) Above including…

• Signed copy of script
• Two (2) season tickets for all productions
• Verbal mention at gala event
• Invitation to dinner with ensemble members

Midwood, Brooklyn (Production Blog)

THE SETTING OF OUR PLAY - Teeth Of The Sons by Joseph Sousa, directed by Nicole Haran

MANY blocks in Midwood, with its rows of orderly detached homes and private driveways, give the feeling of a carefully planned suburb — a serene surprise after turning off a thoroughfare like Coney Island Avenue or Ocean Parkway.

Map

But closer inspection reveals that the landscape has, in fact, been altered: on virtually every block, at least one or two homes have been significantly expanded — built up, built out, even built down.

The larger homes blend in as best they can with their smaller neighbors, but their oversized shadows are hard to miss: they are evidence of the wealth and the larger families that a thriving Orthodox Jewish population has brought to Midwood in recent years.

“Midwood has always been Jewish, but it wasn’t always Orthodox,” said David Maryl, a broker at Jacob Gold Realty. “Now for every family that’s moving out, it’s an Orthodox family moving in.”

Midwood lies south of Flatbush and Brooklyn College, and north of Marine Park. Its eastern and western borders have expanded in recent years, pushing out to McDonald Avenue on the west and Flatbush Avenue on the east. “As people have moved in, they’ve expanded the boundaries,” said Raizy Brisman, the owner of Brisman Realty.

THE HISTORY

Settled in the mid-1600s, the area was forested and got its name from the Dutch for “middle woods.” Subways arrived in the early 1900s.

Famous residents include Woody Allen, who graduated from Midwood High School; Marisa Tomei, a Murrow High graduate; and Gil Hodges, a first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950s and a manager of the Mets.

- By VIVIAN S. TOY

(excerpt from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/realestate/06livi.html?pagewanted=1)

http://www.telecharge.com/BehindTheCurtain.aspx?ProdID=8498

http://barefoottheatrecompany.org/teeth-of-sons.php

Who's Who In Teeth Of The Sons (Production Blog Entry)

Here's a look at our Director for Teeth Of The Sons, Nicole Haran, also our Co-Artistic Director. Nicole directed the production of Lanford Wilson's Home Free! which featured Producing Artistic Director, Francisco Solorzano. Nicole's production, direction, and aesthetic of Lanford Wilson's short play sparked the beginning of Barefoot Theatre Company. Nicole Haran then went on to direct Lyle Kessler's Orphans which solidified the gritty and visceral quality that Barefoot is known for!

Nicole Haran (Director) Co-Artistic Director, Co-Founder of the Barefoot Theatre Company, holds a BA from Boston University and MFA from Brooklyn College. Some favorite plays she has directed include: Orphans by Lyle Kessler, Home Free & The Rimers of Eldritch by Lanford Wilson, Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley, and Indian Wants the Bronx by Israel Horovitz, which was presented last year at The Marvin Kaye Playhouse. Nicole directed the new play, West Ashville by Tim Plaehn presented in February as part Barefoot's LA reading series and looks forward to bringing it to NYC for a full production next season. She also directed Horovitz's Unexpected Tenderness reading at the Cherry Lane Theatre as well asLong Hard Rain by Jason Furlani with John Ventigmila and Sally Wingert, also at the Cherry Lane. She is a proud to be a member of The Actor's Studio Playwright/ Directors Workshop where she is helping to develop new plays every week. She is the writer and director of two short films: Shatzie and Ordinary Brooklyn. Her latest film project, in development with Barefoot Studio Pictures, will take her to Death Valley this summer where she is directing a documentary about world record holder, Christopher Bergland at The Bad Water UltraMarathon. In addition to directing & film making, Nicole has written several adaptation for the stage including Tom Sawyer & Pinnochio, which she also directed. Nicole lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children lovingly referred to by barefoot company members as "the interns".

http://barefoottheatrecompany.org/teeth-of-sons.php