“200 Bullets...” Cast & Crew
Feb. 2010
Meet the cast and crew of n.u.f.a.n. ensemble’s original “adults only” radio drama by artistic director Paul Barile. “200 Bullets and Seven Poison Apples” runs Fridays and Saturdays at 10:30pm at the Prop Theater February 19 - March 27. Go HERE for tickets!
200 Bullets cast and crew
2/13/10
Meet the cast and crew of n.u.f.a.n.’s original adult radio drama “200 Bullets and Seven Poison Apples”
I first got into directing with a project my old roommate and I were trying to put together. We had been acting interns together and wanted to produce something of our own because we held similar artistic visions. Well, our original director backed out with only a month before we went into production. The piece, a poetic, hip-hop retelling of the Orestia, was one that really spoke to my heart and I opted to direct rather than track down another director who shared our passion. It was an experience that transformed every idea I had about theatre and how I thought it should be done.
200 Bullets and Seven Poison Apples by Paul Barile is unlike anything anyone else is doing in the whole city. It is a gritty, in-your-face serialized radio play which holds nothing back. The cast is an energetic crew lead by the smooth, quick-witted vision of the verteran Rachel Edwards Harvith. It should have you side-splitting side-spewing at the same time. Late night at its finest.
I'm pretty sure I've been an actress since the moment I popped out of my mother's... ahem...uterus. I was always putting on some sort of show or insisting that my various family members and friends be part of the scenes I developed on the fly. I'd be a waitress serving up a drink I called Red Hot Chili Peppers to my patron parents - a drink which, by the way, was actually water from their hot tub - or performing a musical number in my square dancing dress or my purple leotard with the pink hippo on the front and little frills around the legs (I dressed so much better back then!). When I started school, I brought all of that energy to the pageants we did, followed by actual plays in middle and high school. It came easily to me, and people seemed to think I was good at it.
M'Lady/Dolly and I share an innate need to touch everyone within arms distance. We're both very, very gregarious creatures. We thrive on being the center of attention and the object of a person's affection or admiration. We definitely both enjoy making people uncomfortable. The biggest difference, I think, is that M'Lady/Dolly comes from a very privileged upbringing. She's not particularly empathetic. I, on the other hand, will sometimes cry during commercials for the ASPCA. Another difference is that I'm not quite as easy as M'Lady/Dolly. A man has to at least buy me dinner before I'll sleep with him.
You should come see this show because there are a lot of hot girls in it. You should see it because the 30's were an incredible time in the US and for the world and 200 Bullets shows you a tiny part of it. You should see it because it's cleverly written, expertly directed, and the actors are both amazing and committed. And tickets are only $5!
I had been performing in plays for a while but I don’t think I truly became an “actor” until I was close to giving up. I said to a theater friend of mine, “I don’t think I can do it anymore.” He looked at me and said, “Justin, you can’t give this up. You are a god on that stage. Way better than I am.” And I said, “Thank you Mike Dunbar. You have restored my faith. Do you think one day I could be as good as Zach Uttich?” And he looked at me and said, “Justin, let’s keep our goals a bit more attainable.”
My character “Buster” and I are similar in many ways. Joe Hudson thinks both my character and I are “da bomb, fo’ sho’”…whatever that means. Both my character and I are all about getting our drink on and, of course, the ladies. However, I am a little more successful than he is…maybe it’s because I am better-looking. My character’s character “Bilge” and I are less similar. He is submissive and there are only a few people for whom I will be submissive (i.e. Keely Brennan). In fact the only similarity we seem to have is that we both think that Emily Kane is the bee’s knees.
Why should people come see this show?
C’mon! A show written by Paul Barile, directed by Rachel Edwards-Harvith who was assisted by Greg Aldrich…that’s a phenomenal dream team. Plus you’ve got John Champion and Mary Czerwinski who are both great eye candy…and talented? Yowza! And if that doesn’t sell you on seeing this show, I have two words for you: Ben Veatch.
I started acting at the age of five, and the roles I've played have been going down hill ever since.
Doctor October and I are both scientific genii with great taste in women, but even though I am well-spoken I am not English.
We promise not to invite you to join Farmville or Mafia Wars if you come see the show. Real friends don't do that.
I found my love for the stage through the hula, a rather unusual route for a pale, Polish, blonde living in Chicago. According to my grandmother, I was a fearless two-year-old that jumped on stage at a Polynesian revue in Hawaii. I got a standing ovation and the rest was history. Of course, the side note to this story is that my grandmother was a Polynesian dancer for many, many years and my parents were married in Hawaii. I grew up with hula hands and a Tahitian beat in my heart. When I was old enough I began lessons and started dancing in professional shows. Sometime later, in junior high, I discovered theatre. In fact, one of my first jobs was entertaining crowds at Six Flags Great America.
The most obvious similarity is that Connie takes care of her grandmother. There are references in the play to her getting her grandmother's medicine and that's 100 % me. On a superficial level, I have a shoe addiction like Liberty. However, I'm not distracted by shiny objects, but I am distracted by bacon.
People should come see this show because it's the most fun you'll have for $5. If you like sendoffs and stupid humor this show is for you. It's the bee’s knees hep cats! Seriously, I've seen other radio plays, but I've never seen one quite like this. It's a mix of sci-fi serials, vulgar pulp and good old-fashioned babes, bullets and nonsensical science.
Like many directors, I started out as an actor. I acted in plays throughout high school and undergrad. I loved feeling part of a story that simultaneously took me out of myself and helped me reveal myself, if that makes sense. I had always been rather shy in front of people who weren't my close friends, and the theatre brought me out of that shell, helped me express and reveal thoughts and emotions that I was reticent to share with the world "as myself."
The transition to directing didn't start until the end of my time at college. During winter break, my high school drama teacher asked me to be a judge for the school's Shakespeare recitation competition. For the first time, I started analyzing what other actors were doing, and considering what else was needed to bring the text to life. I had always been very curious, a sort of "information sponge," and directing combined my greatest interests--theatre, psychology, the visual arts, music, storytelling, and the accumulation of random knowledge. When I returned to Grinnell and took my first directing course, working with actors for the first time, I was hooked. It was terrifying--somehow more exposing than acting had ever been for me, because each piece I worked on felt so personal. It was like once the lights went up my heart, my guts were on display for all to see and comment on, and yet the entire thing was suddenly, completely out of my control. But exhilarating and rewarding on a level that acting had never been. Now, nothing pleases me more than the excitement of collaboration and group discovery in bringing stories to life, and the wonder of sharing those stories with an audience for the first time.
How often can five dollars get you many, many laughs?
Ever the shy girl, I was behind the scenes as prop tart in high school. Then our troupe desperately needed another actress and I debuted at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. I've been hooked ever since. Storytelling is an important part of my life and I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to help others tell their stories.
I wish I could be like Attaboy in real life! She's full of heart and pep; but, like me, she slips up a little bit here and there. She may be a super-hero, but she's still human.
People should come see this show for the aural experience. In an increasingly visual culture I think it's important to flex our other senses, and there's quite a bit to be heard in this show.
I became an actor because I wanted to tell stories and make people remember what it's like to be completely enraptured with the plight of a character. I became a stage manager because Paul Barile asked me to.
I'm like Eugene because I like microphones and chairs. I'm not like Eugene because I like calling people by their first names.
People should come see the show because we're not going to record it and sell it as a CD. Though we should.
How did I come you to be an actor? It's something I always wanted to do and found that getting cast was cheaper then paying for acting classes.
How am I like - and not like - my character: I don't PLAN on giving the world an STD in a devious plot to rule the world. If it happens on the other hand...
Why should people come see this show? Because it's going to be wicked funny.
I became a writer because it is all I ever wanted to be. I have been a rock-star and a repo man and a teacher and a bartender and baby photographer and a tour guide and a bus driver and a fry guy (don’t ask) and a sales clerk and an actor and a personal driver and taxi driver and a bouncer and vocational rehab counselor. Writer is best. It is all I ever wanted in life…
As the writer of “Two Hundred Bullets and Seven Poison Apples” there are trace elements of me in each character. More to the point, though, are memories of my youth and the cool things my parents steered me toward for entertainment.
You should see this play because this is the best ensemble group working today. They are funny and sexy and hip and smart and only about 55 cents per person when paying full ticket price. The director, assistant director, props master, and producers all equally funny, sexy, hip, smart. We’ll throw them in as part of the package. See you out there.