Sidling up to the Stage for CockTales…
The NextStage bi-weekly play-reading series has generated some interesting moments and conversations over the course of the last few months. Some hilarious, some tragic and some down-right weird but all have been brand-new, never seen before, and very ripe. We read work ranging from full-length plays to rough unfinished scripts in a casual, open session. When one of these little gems sparkles in our eyes, we’ll take it to the next step and “play” around with it. Such is the case with a delightfully funny and fun script called “CockTales” by the fairy sorceress, Lavinia Roberts.
After reading Lavinia’s play in lab we decided we had to muddle, stir, shake and taste-test it. We brought in director Irene Kapustina to mix this refreshing look at 4 NewYorkers in a swanky cocktail den, each looking for comfort in their own skin and in this city full of sin. We decided we would present a staged reading with basic props and set at The Big Studio in Long Island City.
NextStage Core Artists Dana Jesberger and myself teamed up with 2 talented newcomers, Michelangelo Milano and Alison Skye Bennet, to round out a strong and diverse cast. Irene’s process was very fluid from the table to the stage and came from a very natural place. She brought an excited, motivated creativity to the room and we all followed her lead. We met just twice to rehearse but something clicked right from the start, these characters jumped off the page and onto our stage and the 5 of us really explored some fun moments.
What culminated was a fun and energetic night at The Big Studio with friends, family, fellow collaborators and some fresh faces in the crowd. Bringing this script to life was a joy and hopefully very productive for the playwright, as is our mission.
A big thanks the Magic Sorceress Lavinia Roberts, Irene Kapustina, my fellow actors and of course the always fearless, never cheerless Bob and Anastasia.
– Adam Perabo