Michael Ross Albert

Michael Ross Albert is the author of several plays including Miss (FringeNYC; Unit 102 Actors Company); The Farmers Lit the Fields on Fire (Edinburgh Fringe Festival); The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome (FringeNYC, published by Applause in Best American Short Plays 2014-2015); and Karenin’s Anna (Toronto Fringe Festival, “Outstanding New Play,” — NOW Magazine).

Along with the Storefront Theatre, Michael produced the sold-out world premiere production of his play Tough Jews in the heart of Toronto’s Kensington Market. The production was nominated for 6 Dora Mavor Moore Awards, including Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Production.

His play Starfishes opened Off-Broadway at the Theatre at Dance New Amsterdam and is included in Best American Short Plays 2010-2011. It has since been performed across the United States and Canada.

Michael received an MFA in Playwriting from the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. Michael is an associate member of the Dramatists Guild of America, and a member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada.

Michael is the playwright of two shows in the 2018 Toronto Fringe: Anywhere and The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome.

Transcript

Welcome to episode 129 of Stageworthy. I’m your host, Phil Rickaby. Stageworthy is a podcast about people in Canadian theatre featuring conversations with actors, directors, playwrights, and more.

Like I mentioned last week, Fringe season is upon us, and the Toronto Fringe program is out there. Have you picked one up yet? I haven’t yet, but I’m going to be grabbing one this week. One of my favourite things to do before Fringe is to go through the program and take a look at the shows that are coming up and see who’s in, who I know who’s performing, who I didn’t know was in a Fringe show.

I’m in a Fringe show. If you listened last week, you will have heard about the show that I’m doing at the Mattie Eckler Community Centre, and that’s called Final Exam. So yeah, one of my favourite things to do is to go through and see who’s in, and I try to make a schedule so I can see as many shows as possible.

How many shows are you going to be seeing this year? I don’t know how many I can manage, but I always try to see as many as I can. You know, in the coming weeks, I’m going to be talking to a lot of amazing Fringe artists, so make sure that you don’t miss any. One way to make sure that you don’t miss an episode of Stageworthy is to subscribe to the podcast.

Subscribing is easy, so all you have to do is go to Apple Podcasts or Google Music and search for Stageworthy and click on the little subscribe button. And if you like the podcast, I would love it if you leave a comment or rating because those things help new people find the show. If you want to drop me a line, I would love to hear from you.

You can find Stageworthy on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at StageworthyPod, and you can find the website at stageworthypodcast.com. If you want to drop me a line, you can find me on Instagram and Twitter at PhilRickaby, and my website is philrickaby.com. This week, my guest is Michael Ross-Albert, who returns for his second appearance on the podcast. Michael has two plays being presented at the 2018 edition of the Toronto Fringe Festival. They are Anywhere and The Grass Is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome, and we talked about both of them on this episode.

How have you been? Good, yeah. Yeah, it’s been a good year so far. I quit my job in December.

Did you? I did. That’s awesome. Did you quit to concentrate on the art? Well, I took a teaching position at the University of Waterloo, and my job was in the process of moving their headquarters to Ottawa, so I knew I was going to stay here long-term, and this teaching opportunity was around.

So I went and I taught a university course for the first time. Well, share. What are you teaching at university? It was a new play development course where the students put on a one-act festival of new student-written and directed and performed works, so I came in to do workshops with the writing students developing the pieces that were going to be in the festival, and then in the winter semester taught a dedicated playwriting course and then did a workshop process about how directors and actors and designers work together on a new student-written piece.

That’s great. Yeah. Well, because that’s one of the pieces that I think is generally, our theatre schools have not historically done a great job of preparing people for producing their own work.

Yeah, that’s the impetus behind it, really, is that you typically leave an undergraduate setting and invariably find yourself trying to put on a show with your friends, and it’s a very sensitive relationship to start navigating, especially when you’re young and figuring out your own artistic voice, figuring out collaboration can be just as tough. So this is kind of like, in addition to graduating and being able to audition for a Shakespeare play, you have the beginnings of the skill set, the at least core foundation to work together to produce a show. Which has become one of the most really important aspects of having a career, at least in this city.

Yeah, of course. Even if it’s just fringe, doing your own stuff. And across all performance media, people are making web series, or their own short films, because you need to, I mean, one, stay active artistically and sort of feed that monkey, and also to make a name for yourself, and to say, hi, I’m here, and this is what I can do.

Yeah, the advantage is that now the technology is such that it’s a lot easier to make your own web series, or something like that. Theatre still has its own, like it’s not much easier to do theatre. You still need to rent space and things like that.

Yeah, there’s certain overhead, just like with making a professional-looking web series, you need the right equipment. Theatre’s got those inherent expenses to go with it, but I guess it’s finding ways to make do with what’s available. Which is what we are always doing.

Yeah. So how was teaching for the first time? Was that weird? It was a bit strange. One of the students in my class is a professional actor who has been at Stratford for 15 years, and was doing his BA, and was in my class, and we have like mutual friends, and he’s a bit older than I am.

So every now and then I would, you know, like shoot a look across the room of like, I don’t know what I’m doing. But I don’t think the other students, I hope they weren’t in on that joke. It was a really positive experience.

It was, you know, I was in the process of like working on some new stuff myself, and I could hear advice come out of my mouth, directed at people who were in their own process, that I realized I need to kind of into it, and take on myself. That’s a really interesting place to spot to be in, to be giving advice, and sort of realize, oh yeah, yeah, I have to remember that. That’s something I should do myself.

And you know, eventually, I had one student who would like always turn it around on me. We’d kind of say like, I would talk about how I’m procrastinating, and not really, I was like unhappy with the amount of work I was getting done. And she said, you know, early on in the semester, you said procrastination is very healthy.

And I was like, I did say that. You’re correct. Thank you.

Thank you, student, for giving me that permission. Yeah, so it was great. It was really like refreshing and being around people at an early stage in their process, figuring it out, and making really bold choices is inspiring.

Nice. Yeah. Nice.

So how did you end up with like, I mean, one of the plays that’s in the fringe is like, that’s one of your published plays. Yeah. The other one is new.

Yeah. So like, how does, how did it end up that you have two shows in the fringe? Well, so Cass Van Wick, who is a great actress and a friend, got a spot in the festival, she applied to the lottery, and didn’t really have a project in mind. And she reached out to me pretty early and said, I have this spot, do you have anything that I would be a good fit for? And I, you know, didn’t really have anything kicking around that I thought would be satisfying for an actress that’s leading the production.

So I thought, I’ll just, you know, I’ll write something for you. And I’ve had an idea for a two-hander for these two women kicking around for a little while. This sounds like a really good excuse to, you know, to work on it.

This is, you know, I’ve had an idea for the story. Do you have any specifications or anything that you’re looking for? And she said, no, just, you know, just write a play. Which is almost like, not the help you’re looking for at a certain point.

Well, it was really great because it was very freeing for starters. And I knew that I had had this idea kind of percolating, and I could kind of tailor the role to cast and think of who else, you know, other actresses that I have always wanted to work with, and kind of tailor a role to one of them. Luckily, Courtney Sun Lancaster, who’s one of my favorites in the city, said yes and she’ll be playing the other role.

So yeah, I kind of like wrote it with actresses of these calibers in mind. And I wrote it pretty quickly and then sort of sat down with some folks who mostly work at the Assembly Theatre and people seemed to kind of take to it. And Dave LaFontaine was there and he had just directed my play Miss in the fall.

So we kind of asked if he would be interested in directing it and he said yes right away. And the rest kind of took care of itself. So it’s brand new and it’s something that I’m going to be working on during the rehearsal process, which begins later on this evening.

Oh, this very evening? Yeah, we had a sort of informal first read-through last week and tonight is the first go-to rehearsal. And that’s Anywhere? Yeah, that play is called Anywhere. Do you know what venue that one’s in? It’s in the Factory Studio Theatre.

Oh shit, okay, that’s nice. Yeah. It’s a good space.

It’s a good space and it’s kind of a claustrophobic thriller almost that takes place in real time. And I really, I think the studio was our first choice. There’s something about the way it’s laid out and the audience, what sort of configuration that makes it possible to have that experience.

I love those smaller spaces. There’s something kind of to me that’s like, oh, we’re going to put you in the main space at the factory, which is always like, shit. Yeah, yeah.

I had a next stage show that was in the main space and it was, it’s a very intimidating house to fill. And if you have a small cast and are working within the storage limitations of a fringe setting, filling the main space visually even, it’s so wide and so deep that it’s kind of a, it can be a really intimidating production. I always think about the fact that there’s a balcony that almost never gets filled.

I’ve like maybe two shows that put people on the balcony in my fringe history. So it’s like you have this, but then you’ve got all of that way up there, which is kind of an intimidating thing in that space. Yeah, certainly is.

So the studio space is like a gift. Yeah, it’s great. And it sort of feels, so one of the first plays I saw like downtown in Toronto was the original production of Beaver by Claudia Day at the factory studio when I was like 12 or 13.

And it’s one of those experiences that kind of blew my mind. Like people were smoking and swearing and drinking on stage. And to me, the factory studio has a little bit of that like naughtiness.

So yeah, it’s, it’s, I think it’s a really good vibe for the piece. And we have an 1115 performance on Friday the 13th. No, that’s like, I know, kind of awesome.

Actually, I think about it, I think it’s the perfect time. I’ve always loved the factory for the, there, it’s like beer tent 2.0 at the Fringe. Like, you hang out there.

There’s a little bit of shade. Yes, which is a blessing at times. And it’s a great spot to like, just sort of hang out.

You know, I’ve seen people just sort of like, they don’t even know what they’re seeing. They’re just sort of like, oh, Fringe is on, I’ll just go down to the factory. Right.

It’s, it is a really great location. Especially, especially now that the, the central pub has moved to Scadden Court. It’s, yeah.

Of course, there’s also the fact like, if you’re at, if you’re at Theatre Pass Moriah, then it’s just sort of like a short, a couple of steps and you’re at the, at the beer tent now. Yeah, that’s true. It’s very close.

Yeah. But it’s still like, so, so walkable that like, you could literally go and flyer at the beer tent and have people meet you there in like, 15 minutes for your show, if you really needed to. Yeah, that’s true.

Yeah. So, and the other show. The other show.

The other show is, is Grass is Greenest. Yeah. And the full title is The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome.

Oh, okay. Yes. No, it’s a, it’s a long one.

And, but that one is when it is a published play. So you weren’t, how did that come about? So it’s being produced by Lauren McKinley, who I know through her husband, Brad. He’s a movement coach at Stratford and we went to school together.

So I’ve known, I’ve known them as a couple for a few years. And Lauren approached me, I guess last year about maybe doing the piece somewhere, maybe at the Edinburgh Fringe or something like that. But it’s a role that she, she uses for audition monologues and stuff.

And that was very flattering. So I said, yeah, kind of take it away. And there was a notification from Fringe that there were still site-specific spaces available.

And Lauren thinking, you know, doing a five person show overseas is a financial nightmare. Stuff like that. So, but what if, what if we were to do it as a site-specific production? The play’s set in an art gallery.

And she, like, you know, within, I feel like she had like a couple of days, something like 48 hours to fill out the application. And within this very short period of time had found a space and was, you know, starting to envision how the production could unfold. And just really went with it and spearheaded it.

Now, is that in one of the core spaces or one of the, because they have this year some spaces that are outside of the Fringe core. Yeah, it’s at Queen and Dovercourt. So I don’t know how that, on Dovercourt just south of Queen.

Maybe in, I don’t, it’s hard to know. I can never tell which is in and out. It depends on if they’re using, is the theatre center one of their venues this year? Not this year, I don’t think.

Then it’s probably out. Which is a unique challenge. It’s a little, it’s having the theatre center there would have been.

Yeah. Would have been great because it’s also sort of like a tent 2.0. Sure. Cause you’ve got, you’ve got like the cafe there and stuff like that.

Exactly. A really good like hub, meeting hub. But it’s a small venue that’s off the beaten track.

Hopefully, I think the aim is to have like 40 seats. Um, and we’re hopeful that everyone will just, you know, make the nice thing about it is that, um, with site specific shows, it has sort of a, like a more traditional, uh, timeframe. Sure.

You can set your schedule. Yeah. Yeah.

So it’ll be every night of the festival at it. Which is a little easy. It’s a little easier to get people out to then to have that.

Yeah. The, the noon performances. 1115.

Now you’ve been, you’re for, for anywhere. The other 1115, is that 1115? That’s 1115 in the morning or 1115 at night? At night. So that’s not so bad on a Friday.

We don’t want us to be like 1115 on a Tuesday or Monday. That’s like, that’s a bit much. But you know, some of the best experiences I’ve had fringing have been at that, like 1130 show in the Pasmo ride back space, like huddling next to the air conditioner as close.

Oh, sure. And like really falling in love with a piece of, of random late night theatre. Well, I mean, I really do love the late night theatre.

It’s like, it’s like, when you look around at your audience people, maybe not on the Friday night, but like earlier in the week, if you’re at a late show and it’s sort of looking around at people and he’s sort of like, you guys. Yeah. You’ve been doing this all day.

You guys, this is like your capper for the, a day of fringe, you know, which is sort of always fun to see who are these people? Oh man. They’re, they’re God’s gift. Yeah, exactly.

Um, this is, is this, is this your, your, this is not your first range in Toronto. No. This is my first time producing.

Okay. In fringe in Toronto. I’m producing anywhere with Cass.

But I had a show a few years back, a play of mine called Karenin’s Anna that Caitlin Robson produced and acted in. Nice. Uh, and that was a little while ago.

Now is that, have you been trying to get in the fringe? Cause we all know the lottery is a bit of a. Yeah. Um, you know, I, I did for, for about a decade, I think, um, and I never got in. Um, so I have, uh, recently stopped applying.

Um, I also, I, I don’t, um, uh, like I’m a planner and if I don’t really have something that I can envision, I, I get a little anxious about the application process, even though it’s like, you know, uh, just, uh, really just a fee, really just, uh, the be giving money to the festival. I get like, I, every time I’m applying for the fringe, I have a project. Yeah.

I’m not one of the, like, I’m not one of those people, you know, you run into those people all the time where we’re like, Oh, I don’t know what I’m going to do, but if I get in, I’ll make something. And I’m always like, I have a project in mind. So for me, whenever the fringe lottery is on, I’m like, I got skin in the game.

Yeah. And so it’s like this really stressful night and they’re like calling the number on one side of mine or the other side of mine. It’s like that whole like, and then, uh, you know, and if, and we, if you don’t get in you’re like, well, no.

And you know, maybe the idea, maybe I have to stop doing that. I don’t know. I don’t know what to, what to really make of it.

Uh, cause I, like, I love fringing. Um, when I, if I don’t have something on in the summer, it’s, it’s kind of, uh, um, it’s a bit sad. I’ve done, I’ve done like a fringe production, uh, probably, you know, most years since like 2011.

Um, so, uh, yeah, it’s, it’s, it’s really great. I don’t know what I’m trying to say. No, no.

Um, but yeah, I, I, I know that feeling and the, and the lottery, the lottery is like, I, I definitely have kind of a love hate relationship. Oh sure. I think we all do.

Cause I, I, like, I know, like for me, it’s the democracy of fringe. Like anybody could get in, anybody, any show of any quality could get in. You don’t know what it’s going to be, which is exciting.

And it’s uncurated. So unlike, and I always, some festivals, I always feel like the, like I’m seeing what somebody thinks is good or important theatre. And I might not agree.

Yeah. Whereas with fringe, it’s like, it could be anything. Exactly.

And you’re, it, it, it’s such a wild experience. There, there’s a part of me that like, that worries that if, if, if a non-theatre goer, uh, who sees a random show in fringe, you know, it’s very well advertised and marketed and they have fun at the tent and they’re like, let’s just see something random. And then they get a negative experience that the fringe has lost that customer.

They’ve lost that potential audience member. What I find is always interesting about theatre though, is that I’ve encountered people were like, Oh, I saw a play once and I didn’t like it. So I don’t go to plays, but nobody ever says, I watched a TV show once and I didn’t like it.

So I’m done with television or with movies or anything. You know, I watched a sports once and I didn’t like it. So, you know, theatre is like this.

I saw one once. And so I guess I don’t get it. Yeah.

I mean, there, there is that dismissiveness. And I think that, um, I, I have a lot of, a lot of close friends and relatives that don’t do this ridiculous thing and they really enjoy the experience, but need, they need a little bit of, uh, like handholding, not handholding, but just, uh, more of an awareness from someone whose ear is to the ground about what will be to their tastes or, um, what sounds exciting or what’s a different experience from what they’re used to. Well, it’s always different.

Like, I mean, early on, like who the hell knows? Like that first weekend, like that’s the pioneers right there who are going from the time that Fringe opens until Mooney finishes posting all of the reviews is like, like you are, like you, that’s the risk. Like, since nothing is out there, you’re taking a guess on everything. Yeah.

Yeah, definitely. Um, it’s, it’s an exciting time. And for the people that, that like, you know, when you buy into, to that risk, uh, those are, those are the audience members that are going to keep coming back.

Oh, sure. Fringing forever. It’s like, if somebody just goes to one Fringe show, they’re not fringing, you know, it’s you have to go and see a bunch and you kind of have to like, I don’t know, like get a bunch of people together and like, let’s rally around like this new person, take them to all the shows.

I mean, I think, I think that the passes, you know, a five pay play pass or something should be the, um, there’s probably a way of like generating more sales of that to people to the first time Fringers. Oh shit. When you get, when you get a healthy smattering of stuff, uh, you won’t be so quick as to, and there, you know, you can work through that over the course of a weekend and it’s like, you know, it’s a fun activity.

And even if you, if you did, if you did it over the course of the Fringe, not even just like the course of the weekend, like you’re, you could see a whole lot of stuff. Uh, and then you have more of a sense of, uh, what this, what, what great things this randomness can achieve. Have you done any Fringes outside of Toronto? Yeah.

For the most part, I, uh, I, I’ve done the New York Fringe, um, a bunch, uh, and, uh. No, is that New York Fringe or is that the winter one? No, it’s, it’s, um, uh, Frigid is the one that’s on the calf circuit. This is just the Fringe NYC.

Um, so I did, I, yeah, I, I studied playwriting in New York. So most of the stuff I did was there. Right.

Cause when we talked about Miss, Miss was sort of like something that you, you did in New York. Yeah. That was a Fringe show as well.

So is, um, the Grass is Green at the Houston Astrodome was first produced in Fringe. Um, and yeah, that was a great experience. And, uh, I’ve always wanted to see a second production of it.

So I’m very happy that someone’s, uh, doing this, this small play from a few years ago. So you’ve done the New York Fringe, any of the other Fringes on the, on the circuit? I, I had a show at the Edinburgh Fringe last summer, but I did not produce it. So I just, I was just on vacation.

I mean, did you, you, did you go? Yeah. Nice. Yeah.

That’s going to be a trip. I know some people who’ve gone and it’s one of those, like, like I get if people are saying, Oh, you should go to the, take your show to the Edmonton Fringe. I’m like, Edmonton.

That one’s big. And then somebody’s like, Oh, take it to Edinburgh. I’m like, Oh no, like no.

Yeah. I think that if I were producing it, uh, I would be very frightened all the time. Um, but if you’re just there as a, as a, as a theatre lover, um, I, I think it’s kind of like what the afterlife must be like, you can drink beer all day and see wonderful work from all around the world.

And you’re in fucking Scotland, mountains. And, um, it was, yeah, it was just sort of crazy. And the whole city turns into a giant party.

Yeah. I know people who I’ve met people who are from Edinburgh and they’re like, Oh, I leave the city for a month. I can imagine.

Yeah. I wouldn’t want the city is not designed for, I think it triples in size. Right.

The population must. Yeah. Um, so there were, if it were the afterlife, there would be better crowd.

Yes, there would definitely be better and wider streets and things like that. But how was, how was, uh, how was the show received in Edinburgh? Um, uh, there were a few audience members that saw it. Um, I think they, uh, most of the feedback was positive, but to be honest, um, it was pretty poorly attended.

It wasn’t, uh, it’s, it’s very hard to distinguish. Oh, sure. Oneself within the, the mess of people.

And there’s thousands of shows over a month. Yeah. Like, yeah.

How do you get noticed? Yeah. I think there was, there was one performance where they did not sell tickets and kind of went on and just had, uh, like, you know, did the archival footage and stuff like that. Yeah.

Um, but yeah, it was, uh, that was a very sobering part of it. Um, uh, but I think that it was, um, it was generally a positive experience for, uh, the artists involved, um, and really just being there is a, is a great, great time. Yeah.

I love that. I’ve done, done a fringe tour in within Canada and it’s, there’s like, I don’t know about the Edinburgh fringe, but the, the, that, that brother and sisterhood that forms in the local fringe is just sort of magnified among the people who are like, when you end up in another city, you’re like, I know you, you’re a familiar face. Let’s hang out.

And like, by the time you’re at the end of your tour, it’s like, this is the family. It was kind of awesome. That sounds great.

I’ve always sort of thought about doing a tour, but I get, it’s easier with, um, with solo performances or smaller teams. And I feel like, I feel like my plays don’t travel well. Well, I mean the, the play that I was on tour with, we had like four actors, one piano player and a stage manager.

So it wasn’t a small play. Um, and you have to do a lot of fundraising if you’re doing that. How many cities did you go to? We did Montreal, uh, Winnipeg, uh, Calgary, Edmonton.

It’s a big chunk of time too. And having all of the, like the different administrative nuances of each festival. That’s the other thing is, is, you know, actually Toronto Fringe is kind of the most difficult of the fringes in terms of their administrative nuances.

Oh yeah. And a lot of the other ones are a lot more, whatever. Okay.

You show up, they’re like, you want to do one? Whatever. Sure. I don’t bring the place down.

Yeah. Okay. I like rules.

I play well within the, within the lines. Um, yeah, making it as idiot proof as possible is helpful for being a producer. If you do the planning.

Yeah. And you know, somebody on the cast is willing to take on the role of, of production manager because somebody’s got to, you can, you can, things can go pretty smoothly because once you, once you touch down and you get your, you check in or whatever you do, it’s just like any other fringe. Although some of them are just a lot larger.

Yeah. Um, so it can be quite a, quite a thing. Um, it sounds like a great adventure.

It sure. Yeah, it is. And I, you know, I think, yes, solo shows lend themselves a lot to that because it’s so easy to, to travel those.

Like, you know, it’s easy financially. It’s a lot easier. But there’s something about arriving in a place with a cast of other people.

It’s like, at least we’re in this together. And you’re like, it’s, it’s like going to war together. It’s not, it’s not, it’s nowhere near as difficult.

No, it’s not. It’s certainly not as difficult, but you know. But yeah, the, the, the bonds that form between everyone on a production just get strengthened by, I would imagine by traveling.

And if you can manage to stay friends while you’re driving through the prairies, then more power to you. It’s pretty awesome if you could do that. Yep.

I’ve, I have heard horrors. Actually, the most difficult drive was actually through, you know, towards Thunder Bay. Okay.

The stretch between North Bay and Thunder Bay was just like a never-ending, at first you’re like, oh, it’s a sea of green and trees. And then about three hours in, you’re like, there’s just trees. There’s just trees.

And you start to go a little loopy, loopier than when it’s flat. Really? Yeah. Yeah.

I found Saskatchewan super easy compared to that. Oh, wow. I’ve never done any of those big road trips.

I, yeah, it sounds, sounds wild. It’s pretty wild. It’s pretty wild.

Um, what, you mentioned the, the, the grass is greener, the Houston Thunder, uh, Thunderdome, not Thunderdome, Astrodome, Astrodome, Thunderdome is something else entirely. It’s kind of like that. Okay.

Okay. It’s, um, uh, sorry. I was just going to add like the venue.

We didn’t actually talk about the venue. It’s called the Freedom Factory, which is an art gallery and I think a yoga studio. That play takes place in an art gallery, a storefront art gallery that is, uh, closing down.

And, um, uh, one of the artists, uh, has destroyed the artwork in the gallery. And, uh, there is a giant, a large confrontation between these independent visual artists who, uh, have different romantic entanglements and all insecurities and all of that fun stuff. So it’s more of a, um, it’s like, it’s, it’s a comedy for the most part.

Um, uh, but yeah, there’s more, more screaming and yelling. That one, I think than anywhere, which is kind of a slow potboiler of a drama. It sounds like the Grass is Greener kind of belongs in a, in a site specific, like to be able to perform it in a, an actual art gallery is, is sounds pretty awesome.

It’s really cool. I was just there last night. Uh, they started rehearsals a bit early and we’re doing a stumble through and, uh, seeing it in a space, um, they don’t have all the design elements at the moment, but it really does feel like it is at home in a site specific setting.

And, you know, there, the actors are, uh, exiting and entering angrily and you can see them passing in front of the window and it’s, uh, yeah, it feels like it’s going to be a really cool experience. Cool. And it’s cool.

Do you find that the actors, cause often in a site specific, like your sight lines are different than they would be if it was in a theatre. And so you end up trying to navigate that. Normally I would stand like this, but that feels weird in this space.

You know, it looked, it looked pretty spot on. I’m not really in rehearsal room for, with this one, but, uh, the director is, uh, a guy named Robert Modem who specializes in site specific stuff. And from where I was sitting yesterday, um, it all, it looks, it looks pretty natural, but there is, there is certainly like in the note session, you can see that there’s special attention to those kinds of details.

Yeah. Um, that I, I don’t think I have the visual mind for at all, but you can, you can sort of play around with, with status and with, um, intimacy in a very non-traditional way and keep the audience experience in mind. Yeah.

That sounds like it’s a, it’s a pretty unique challenge to stage that in a, like anything in a non-specific, like a non, like to, to do it in the round even. Yeah. It’s like, you can’t just get up and do that.

There’s too much to think about. Yeah. I mean, it’s a play that’s kind of, that’s written for a traditional theatre space, you know, with entrances and exits and whatnot.

And in, there are inherent challenges in doing a play in, in a site that it wasn’t necessarily built for. Um, but, but that’s where this cool level of artistry comes in and all of these really smart and talented collaborators can figure it out. Yeah.

Yeah. What is, what is Anywhere about? Um, it’s, uh, it’s hard. It’s hard.

This is one of the, it’s kind of, because, because, um, uh, information slowly gets revealed throughout. I still don’t really know what to say about it, but it’s, um, uh, so it’s about a woman who is, um, uh, in town for a conference and is staying at an Airbnb. Uh, and she returns, uh, from the last night of her conference and the host of the Airbnb has been waiting up for her.

Um, she’s a single mom and, uh, the night before something weird happened, uh, and they slowly kind of try to, um, work their way around, uh, what went on the night before and how that affects their situation at the moment. And, um, it, uh, it’s a, a sort of a tense, uh, almost a game of, uh, like advancing and retreating, um, uh, like a real status and, and, uh, a battle for control and, and, and status power over one of the other. Well, you certainly, you had me at, um, the, the Airbnb host is waiting up for her.

Cause that’s a nightmare. Yeah. Just in itself.

Yeah, I think, you know, it’s one of the, one of the themes that I’m, I think have been pretty prevalent in my writing lately is like, um, a need for connection and an inability to connect and placing that in the, you know, in these times in which we live where, uh, these two strangers would never have encountered one another. Were it not for this app, were it not for Airbnb and, uh, before all of that randomness, they find each themselves in a room with one another and within the hour, their lives will be completely changed. So, um, that, that sort of fascinates me, like how, how strangers can interact with one another and what the, the both sort of primal need for intimacy and connection and just the complete inability to make that happen in a, in a comfortable way.

No, we’re putting ourselves, I mean, when you think about it with all the apps and tools that we, that we use from, from Uber to Lyft to, um, Foodora and all the, the food delivery apps and, um, and even Airbnb, we’re putting ourselves in the hands of strangers more often than I think people ever did before. And, and I don’t know that we, well, I mean, yes, we, we are always dealing with strangers, whether it’s a taxi driver or a hotel clerk, um, but there’s some kind of like higher authority above them. There’s some kind of, there’s someone that they account to.

Uh, and in this case, you, if you are staying at someone’s Airbnb or staying at a place where, you know, the experience has been the, you’re being welcomed into a home of a stranger, or if you’re taking an Uber, you’re putting your life in the hands of this guy who’s driving a car. So, um, uh, I think that that is, is something that I’m, I’m interested in and, um, uh, kind of fascinated by. And this, I, this play might make you never want to stay in an Airbnb ever again.

I don’t know. I mean, have you, have you stayed in an Airbnb? All the time. Oh, that’s great.

How do you feel about Airbnbs after, after writing this play? Um, well, I don’t think it’s going to, I don’t think it’ll stop me from using it, but, but I, it definitely, um, I wrote, I, I got this idea because, um, I had done a playwriting exchange when I was in university, uh, with the University of Central Florida. So I ended up staying, they put me up with a student, um, in Orlando in this like, uh, bungalow apartment. And she and her boyfriend, who was much older, were in the middle of breaking up while I was staying in their space.

And, um, I’ve always, and she was, you know, a really kind of fascinating character. And I found myself in the middle of these strangers lives and, um, really kind of just, you know, kept to myself. And that was the end of the experience.

But in thinking about what this experience could be, you know, as someone, if you are Airbnb-ing your place and, and their life that’s happening tangentially to their home, uh, kind of invades the space that you’re supposed to be renting. And, uh, you’re forced to really interact with, with a stranger. What, what do we do? Yeah.

So this is, uh, so anywhere is, um, is, is kind of a tense, uh, hour between of, of, um, this, this kind of dangerous encounter between these two women. Wow. Yeah.

No, when I’ve stayed at Airbnbs, I’ve never done the, like, take a room in somebody’s house. I’m always like, I want the whole place. Yeah.

You never know what kind of crazy person you’re going to get. You don’t. But I also, like, if I’m out and about and I’m doing things, um, when I come home.

Yeah. I don’t want to have a conversation with somebody. Of course.

And if I’m out and I’m in somebody’s city and the host is like, you know, I have a room there. They expect some sort of indirection. I probably.

Yeah. You know, I mean, I, if I, if it was my house, I mean, I probably, I don’t know that I would. I don’t know.

But I, it’s one of the things like when I’m thinking about touring and I’m thinking, oh, I’m going to have to build it somewhere. And then I’m going to be out. I’m going to be doing the thing with the show and promoting the show.

Then I’m going to go home and they’re going to want to talk to me. And I’m just like, I’m going to be so spent because I’m an introvert. Like I’m done at the end of the day, but they’re good.

You know? So like sharing, having to navigate somebody else when I’m on vacation is just something I don’t want to do. Yeah. I don’t blame you.

I guess, I guess there are people that are up for it. Yeah. That are out looking for that kind of experience.

Sure. And it, I, every Airbnb is unique unto itself, I guess. That is certainly true.

But yeah, I, I’ve stayed in them in the past, but they’ve only been, you know, situations where I’ve had the place. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

So yeah, that’s anywhere. That’s the, probably all I can say without ruining it. I’m super intrigued by it.

I’m super intrigued. Is there anything that you’re particularly looking forward to at Fringe this year, aside from these two shows happening? I actually, I don’t know a lot of shows at the moment. I’m not really sure, but I did hear the first, or one of the first read-throughs of Danny Padgett’s new play called Prank.

Right, right, right. Which is very good. They’ve got a pretty solid cast and I like his writing.

Yeah. That’s kind of, it’s sort of a very intriguing, futuristic idea. And what about you? Have you heard of other, have you been doing these interviews? I’m really only just sort of getting started.

Okay. I’ve done a couple. And the interesting thing is that, you know, the, the program is not yet.

Right. And so like, people are coming to me with some pitches, but that’s, that’s all I’m getting, you know, the buzz hasn’t really started yet. Right, right.

So nothing is, nothing is particularly standing out for me. It’s quite early on. Yeah.

As we record this, it’s early on, but you know, it comes up pretty quick. Yeah. You know.

I know. It’s, I’m very calm at the moment, but in like two weeks, I’m probably going to start getting nervous about stuff. Um, did you, did you hang out at the fringe tent at all last year in the new location? Yeah.

Yeah. Um, yes, I did. I always feel a little weird about the fringe tent if I don’t have a show and I know it’s supposed to be a place where everybody can go, but I always kind of feel like it’s the place where we all talk about our shows.

Yeah. And so whenever I don’t have something, I feel a little bit weird going to it and that’s me. Yeah, I, I, I, I think I do like, I’ll hang out on the weekends probably.

And yeah, I guess you do end up talking about your shows. Um, it’s, uh, I definitely, as I’ve gotten older, have been hanging out there less. Um, that’s probably because my, my, um, my tolerance level has gone down significantly.

Um, it, it is a good place to meet people and to hear about shows. And there are, there have been experiences where interactions at the tent have changed my mind as to what I was going to see if I, you know, had thought, Oh, this show sounds silly. And someone went, no, it’s actually the coolest thing.

Um, so without that type of forum, I would have missed out on those experiences. That’s very true. Uh, and talking about the opportunity to talk about theatre just in general.

Yeah. Isn’t something we get to do that often. It really is like the communities, like Passover or Thanksgiving where it’s, yeah, it feels like, like touching base or the family cruise.

Yes. Yeah. If you’re lucky or unlucky enough to go on one of those where, yeah, it feels like the community is getting together and if the weather’s nice, um, it, it can be a fun night out.

It can also be a too much fun night out. It certainly can. Yeah, it certainly can.

And I think we’ve all had those. Those are, those are, that’s the kind of thing. It’s okay to do that once or twice on the weekend.

But sometimes I think, like, I know when I was a lot younger, um, it was like the pressure to like go and stay till the fridge tent closes and then, you know, do your thing. And then, yeah. And you always like, you know, I’ve, I do this a lot where I say I’m going to leave and I say goodbye and then I’ll move a few feet and then you get kind of trapped.

Having a fun conversation with that person and then just going from one fun thing to the next. I, the, the, the latest is actually like when I, when I was at the Montreal Fringe. Yeah.

They have something called the 13th hour. What’s that? It’s their, their after Fringe cabaret talk show. That happens at 1am.

And so it goes, it goes, the, that, the show happens. So every night is the 13th hour from one until two. Okay.

Something like that. Midnight till one. Anyway, then after that, there’s like a dance party that goes until four.

Yeah. And then everybody stumbles out and maybe get some food and then they go to bed and they wake up at like three. And, and, and go and do their mime show.

Go do their shows. Um, Montreal is so cool. Uh, we all have jobs here though.

Or not. We don’t all, it’s like early mornings. That’s, I, I really, this is, um, I, I’m starting to feel older and, um, uh, thinking about that Fringe schedule of like working, working during the day and then running to either a rehearsal or to set up a performance and then drinking all night and doing it all over again.

Yeah. I’m not, I’m not as spry as I used to be. Um, but it’s, uh, it’s really my favorite time of year.

So it’s kind of like theatre Christmas. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

It’s my favorite. Um, I’m looking forward to it. I hope I get to see stuff.

Um, that’s, that’s, that’s always the trick is like, especially if your work is like trying to see as much as you can while also balancing, um, the day job and things like that. Yeah. You end up having a lot of late nights.

Yes. Yeah. Or, you know, oh, I’m not going to make it to that show because I have to work tomorrow, but the schedule just doesn’t work out.

Like all those dilemmas that sometimes pop up and it’s tough being an adult. It’s, yeah, responsibility. Responsibility.

Who would have thought? Oh my God. I thought it was supposed to be fun. Michael, thank you so much for, uh, for, for talking to me.

Thanks for having me. This has been a Homebody Productions production.