When the workshop of a new play goes well, it resembles a sort of dismantling. By the end of a long day, the script looks a bit like a car after a few hours in a chop shop: a bare chassis surrounded by disassembled metal components. And the playwright—the mechanic—sits in the center of all...
Category: Productions
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Creating “Out of Orbit” by Jennifer Maisel
Cody (via Kate) called plays “roadmaps” in his post, and it made me laugh, since I am notorious for not being able to follow a map; so perhaps it is fitting that I am the creator of the map, hoping to convince you all to get lost in another world with me. But that, to...
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Birthing Theatre by Kristen Coury
It is truly miraculous to play a part in a birth. I’m sure if I were ever present at the birth of a human being I would feel the same way. But in this case, I am referring to the birth of a play. A piece of theatre. Part of an oeuvre, a canon…a masterwork. ...
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Roadmaps by Cody Nickell
You know, reading plays is hard. Or at least most people would probably say so. If you are reading this, you probably have some connection to theatre. If you are a patron, you probably haven’t read many plays. If you are a theatre maker, you certainly have, it’s part of the job. But I...
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The Revisit at Gulfshore Playhouse by Johnnie Hobbs, Jr.
Johnnie Hobbs, Jr. is playing Simon in “The Whipping Man”. Myself, James Ijames and Cody Nickell, under the direction of Matt Pfeiffer engaged in a production of The Whipping Man about a year and a half ago in Philadelphia at the Arden Theatre. The memories of that experience will remain indelible. Moving forward to our first read...
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An Interview with Matthew Lopez
THE WHIPPING MAN, the intense civil war era drama currently on the Gulfshore Playhouse stage, is playwright Matthew Lopez’s first play. In the growing popularity of this touching play, Lopez himself is receiving more and more attention. Gulfshore Playhouse had the honor to interview Lopez, read below to see his insights into the play itself,...
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Play it Again Sam by Kristen Coury
Thanksgiving weekend of 2011, with a stomach full of tryptophan, I made my way to Philadelphia to see a show called “The Whipping Man” in which our soon-to-be Artistic Associate, Cody Nickell was starring. For over 20 years, the Arden Theatre has been producing great theatre in Philadelphia, and this show was no exception. I...
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Keeping A Hirsute Upper Lip by A.J. Shively
A.J. Shively is playing Algernon Moncrieff in The Importance of Being Earnest While accepting his Oscar for LINCOLN, Daniel Day Lewis thanked his wife for “living with some very strange men” over the course of his career. He is known for never breaking character while filming a role, living as the person he is portraying...
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In Search of the Perfect Muffin by Kristen Coury
It is quite an interesting adventure to direct a show that is both a period piece and a “comedy of manners”. This is a wonderful phrase because, inherent in it, is the fact that the manners – the social rules – of the play are essential to its identity. And in order to...
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The Importance of Being Bracknell by Nick Ullett
The first question that springs to mind is why use a man to play Lady Bracknell? This really can only be answered by Kristen Coury, our director, the woman responsible for my being here. For my part, it is a challenge that I have long desired. Historically Lady Bracknell has often been played by men....