Tuesday, December 7
We asked Lila Dupree, co-artistic director of The Common Tongue Theater Company, a couple of questions about the company and the Connect Five project. Here is what she had to say:
1. How and why did you start your theater company?
I’d wanted to start a theatre company for a while and had had several opportunities to do so previously but nothing seemed quite the right fit. Coming out of the Atlantic, where it had really been impressed upon us to create our own work, starting our own company seemed like a really natural and obvious step. Most of our year in the conservatory was part of forming this company because our ensemble was so strong and we loved working with each other so much. And then the Albee project happened which really brought it all together in a concrete way. As an actor, I love being able to create the project and not just be hired to act in it. Being a producer, and creating your own work gives you this creative power which is really enabling and motivating.
2. What is CONNECT FIVE?
CONNECT FIVE is a great title. Danny came up with it in a dream. He woke up and texted it to me and I was like great! That’s a lot of what our cross-country collaboration is like. It’s also an evening of new plays that we’re very jazzed about. In these twitter times, the concept of connecting to each other, and what that means, is really changing. Connect 5 is an exploration about how we try, and fail, to make connections in our lives and relationships.
3. Why are you doing CONNECT FIVE and what are your goals for the project?
For a couple of reasons. First, we are really committed to sharing new work and getting great new voices out there. And we’re also really excited about partnering these awesome more established playwrights with more up-and-coming writers from our company. We are all about connecting different groups within the theatre community and this production really furthers that goal. We really hope this production will introduce and further expose these writers and these plays to the NY theatre community. And we’d also super love full houses. So buy a ticket. Or two.