Interviews and Features

Arts Collective @Howard Community College’s Director and Cast Members on ‘URINETOWN’ by Michael Avolio and Susan G. Kramer

NOT JUST TAKING THE PISS It’s one of my favorite musicals, and a group of young and talented actors are about to take the plunge(r) into Arts Collective @HCC’s production of Urinetown: The Musical....

Steve LaRocque on His New One-Man Show – ‘Byline: Ernie Pyle’

He hated war, but he felt compelled to go back to it, again and again. He said, “There’s a war on and I’m part of it… I’ve got to go, and I hate it.” Ernie Pyle was one of the first “embedded”...

The Helen Hayes Awards Nominees: Vishal Vaidya, Dan Van Why, Alan Wiggins and Rachel Zampelli by Joel Markowitz

Nominees Vishal Vaidya, Dan Van Why, Alan Wiggins, and Rachel Zampelli. Joel: Where were you when you found out that you had been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award, and what was your first reaction?...

Helen Hayes Awards Nominees Maximilien Baud, Noah Chiet, and Matthew DeLorenzo

Nominees Maximilien Baud, Noah Chiet, and Matthew DeLorenzo Joel: Where were you when you found out that you had been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award, and what was your first reaction? Maximilien:...

Karma and Brianne Camp on Their ‘Hairspray’ Helen Hayes Awards Nomination by Joel Markowitz

Joel: Where were you when you found out that you had been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award, and what was your first reaction? Brianne: I was with my mother sailing into New York Harbor on The Disney...

‘The Music of Bill Monroe with Rowan, Rice, McCourys’ at The Music Center at Strathmore by Mike Spain

Peter Rowan, Tony Rice, and The Travelin’ McCourys, who are some of the biggest names in Bluegrass came together to honor Bill Monroe at The Music Center at Strathmore in a program called The Music of...

The Playwrights: Helen Hayes Awards Nominees Deb Margolin, Jason Lott, and Helen Pafumi by Joel Markowitz

The Playwrights: Deb Margolin, Jason Lott, and Helen Pafumi _____ Joel: Where were you when you found out that you had been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award and what was your first reaction? Deb: I...

Rachel Grossman on dog&ponydc’s Helen Hayes Awards Nomination for Beertown by Joel Markowitz

Rachel Grossman talks about dog&ponydc’s Helen Hayes Awards nomination for Beertown and the teamwork that made the show such a hit. Joel: What were you nominated for and why did you want to be part of...

Steve LaRocque on Playing Father Jack in ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’ at Quotidian Theatre Company

Old friends are the best friends. Shortly after I came to the Washington DC area in 1994, I had a chance to portray the irascible S.B. O’Donnell in Brian Friel’s play Philadelphia, Here I Come. I...

‘Musings from the Back of the Theater: Deathtrap at McLean Community Players Revisited’ By Jerry Bonnes

Twenty-five years ago I was directing the play, Deathtrap in Virginia. I stood in the back of the theater at one of the many critical moments of the play. All eyes were fixed on the stage. But my...

An Interview with Come Fly Away’s Ashley Blair Fitzgerald by Carolyn Kelemen

Ashley Blair Fitzgerald swings back into town When you dance in a Twyla Tharp show, you’ve got to do more than pirouettes or pretty ballet steps. Tharp’s choreography is unique. It’s gutsy, quirky and...

Designers Colin K. Bills, David Ghatan, and Matt Rowe on their Helen Hayes Awards Nominations by Joel Markowitz

The Designers: Colin K. Bills, David Ghatan, and Matt Rowe Joel: Where were you when you found out that you had been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award, and what was your first reaction? Colin: This...

Schmoozing with Helen Hayes Awards Nominees Ben Cook and Chris Dinolfo by Joel Markowitz

Nominees Ben Cook and Chris Dinolfo talk about their performances in Billy Elliot and King Lear. Their performances were full of passion and energy and were a joy to watch. Joel: Where were you when...

Schmoozing With the 2012 Helen Hayes Awards Nominees: Flye, Hébert, Mendenhall, Riegler and Russotto by Joel Markowitz

I am so happy to begin a series of short interviews with this year’s Helen Hayes Award nominees with five of my favorite local actors – Catherine Flye, Mitchell Hébert, Jennifer Mendenhall, Kirstin...

An Interview with CityDance’s Lorraine Spiegler by Jane Coyne

I recently had the opportunity to visit with Lorraine Spiegler – Director of Studio Education of and Conservatory at CityDance. CityDance is a wonderful arts organization, and they have very exciting...

Kathryn Kelley on Playing Emily Dickinson in ‘The Belle of Amherst’ at Bay Theatre Company by Joel Markowitz

Kathryn Kelley is portraying the poet Emily Dickinson in Bay Theatre Company’s production of The Belle of Amherst, and is receiving raves from local critics and audiences. I asked Kathryn to talk...

An Interview with Playwright and Novelist Jessica McHugh by Teresa McCormick Ertel

Teresa: You and I met just before the opening of your first play, Fools Call It Fate, which is a psychological drama about destiny and choices. How did seeing your work live on stage impact you...

Kyle Carter: From Woodbridge, VA to Washington Heights in ‘In the Heights’ by Joel Markowitz

I was talking to my friend Kenny a few weeks ago and he told me about a co-worker named Grace whose son Kyle Carter was in the tour of In the Heights. Since In the Heights is one of my all-time...

Erik Liberman on Playing The Baker in Centerstage’s ‘Into the Woods’ by Joel Markowitz

Erik Liberman has had a very busy year on and off the stage. When I heard he was going to play The Baker in Centerstage’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, I jumped on the opportunity...

An Interview with Justin Kiska on Directing ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ at Way Off Broadway by Teresa McCormick Ertel

Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre in Frederick, MD presents the classic tale of duality, Frank Wildhorn’s musical Jekyll & Hyde, directed by Justin Kiska. Teresa: What was your first personal exposure...

An Interview with ‘Be Careful! The Sharks Will Eat You!’ Writer and Performer Jay Alvarez by Jordan Wright

Beginning April 4th MetroStage will present Be Careful! The Sharks Will Eat You! – the compelling tale of one family’s escape from Cuba. The one-man drama is written, directed and performed by Jay...

Interview with Director Steven J. Satta and Actor Joseph Ritsch of Iron Crow Theatre Company’s ‘The Soldier Dreams’ by Teresa McCormick Ertel

Steven Satta Fleming is directing Daniel MacIvor’s heartbreaking and funny The Soldier Dreams at Iron Crow Theatre Company, and Steven Satta Fleming is playing Richard.The play is a poignant glimpse...

‘From Auditions to the Lair: Eitan Mazia on playing The Phantom of the Opera’ by Joel Markowitz

It was a night to remember when Eitan Mazia made his entrance in The Phantom of the Opera at a packed auditorium at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, MD, in Young Artists of America’s...

An Interview with Actress Emily Morrison by Pat Davis

Emily Love Morrison is a Washington, DC actor, who most recently performed in American Century Theater’s Little Murders, by Jules Feiffer. She offered her perspective on life as an actor in DC. Pat:...

An Interview with Constellation Theatre Company’s Allison Stockman by Pat Davis

Constellation Theatre Company is one of Washington, DC’s under-the-radar wonders. Founded in 2007, the theater company, in its intimate space at Source, has quietly been doing the big things that...

Artistic Director Kevin Finkelstein on Molotov’s ‘Julius Caesar’ by Joel Markowitz

Why would Molotov Theatre Group pick a Shakespearean classic to produce? I asked Molotov’s Artistic Director Kevin Finkelstein to fill us in. “The decision to do Shakespeare is a selfish one: in...

Stage Write: ‘An Interview with Maryland Film Festival’s Rahne Alexander’ by Teresa McCormick Ertel

Entering its 14th year, Maryland Film Festival is an annual four-day event that takes place the first weekend of each May, presenting top-notch film and video work from all over the world, with...

Stage Write: ‘A Chat With Actor Johnny Alonso’ by Teresa McCormick Ertel

Actor and area native Johnny Alonso discusses with wit and candor how determination and a love for performing took him from fronting a local alt band as a teenager to an industrious career in film and...

Sherman Yellen on ‘Josephine Tonight’

I fell in love with Sherman Yellen’s musical The Rothschilds when I was a kid growing up in Buffalo, NY. I was thrilled when I heard that his musical Josephine Tonight was about to open at MetroStage,...

In ‘Stage Write’: An Interview With Stevenson University’s Chris Roberts by Teresa McCormick Ertel

Teresa McCormick Ertel interviews Chris Roberts, head of Stevenson University’s Theater Department, about their growing program and tackling the powerful drama, Miss Evers’ Boys. Teresa: Tell me how...