2014
FARM STORY
A coming of age tale for the forty-something set, FARM STORY is an internet television show that follows the life an emotionally moth-eaten New York City writer, Sam, her unemployed husband, Andy, and his disabled brother who cut and run for greener pastures in “fairy-tale” small-town Station Stop, VA, only to find themselves accidentally living on an old farm in the sticks of Virginia, in a town called Chicken.
In September, GTTP assembled a cast and crew of about 30 people and made our first foray into film/tv production, filming the pilot episode, (the first of an anticipated six episode first season), of the one hour drama series. The show is currently in post production with a planned release online for sometime later in 2015. The show features Julia Haubner Smith as Sam, Logan James Hall as Andy, and Eric Percival as Kyle. Below are some behind-the-scenes photos from the shoot.
WITHIN ARM’S REACH
Three generations of women in an Irish American family, find themselves at pivotal times in their lives where every decision is fraught with consequence. Within Arm’s Reach relates the events of six months in the life of The McLaughlin family. When unmarried, 29-year-old Gracie discovers that she is pregnant, her decision to keep the baby affects her entire family, particularly her younger sister, Lila, and their Grandmother, Catharine. Lila, reeling from her sister’s decision finds herself struggling to find direction and meaning in her own life and Catharine, sensing her time may be coming to an end, is desperate for this new baby to bring the family together in a way that nothing else can; and Gracie just hopes she can hold fast to her decision for another ten minutes, the remainder of the day, for the rest of her life. Can a flawed family, who have trouble connecting with each other, be a source of solace to these women?
WITHIN ARM’S REACH featured (in alphabetical order), Mary Anisi*, Kassianni Austin*, Erin Evers* Michael Bryan Hill*, John L. Payne*, Lucinda Rogers*, Alyssa Simon*, Sheila Stasack*, Luke Wise.
2013
CAT LADY WITHOUT A CAT at United Solo Festival
Written and performed by Carrie Keskinen
Assistant Directed by Jessica Ammirati
Stage Managed by Molly Ballerstein
A revisiting of Carrie Keskinen’s hilarious one woman show presented to sold-out audiences at the United Solo Festival.
BELLA’S DREAM
Written by Dana Boll
Directed by Jessica Ammirati
Bella’s Dream, an original play with dance, is the true life story story of Bella and Raymond Boll, who, heeding the advice of a dream, left Gombin, Poland in 1939, mere weeks before the Nazis invaded. The play juxtaposes scenes from their journey with the present day experiences of their grown son, Ronny, fighting prejudices he thought long gone.
The production had a 16 performance run at the Flamboyan Theater at The Clemente Solo Velez Cultural Center June 16th – June 30th, 2013. It featured (in alphabetical order) Eva Amessé, Bob Angelini*, Suzanne Beahrs, Dana Boll, Suzanne DuCharme*, Renee Dumouchel, Jerry Goralnick*, Lisa K. Hokans, Dean Linnard, Jon-Michael Miller*, Kristin Parker*, Nancy Smith, Alex Teicheira, and Kathryn Wilkening. *denotes members of Actors’ Equity Association appearing in an AEA-approved Showcase.
2012
IN THE EBB at The NYC Fringe Festival
In the Ebb is an evening of one-acts exploring themes of loss, love, fear and strength. No matter what you do your demons are with you. Alicia loses everything but fears getting more. Emily has everything but fears losing it all. One can’t move, the other can’t stand still but both are stuck in the ebb.
Act 1 – St. James in the Field of Stars – When Alicia’s father dies suddenly she flees her grief by traveling the world and never settling long enough in any one place to face it. Until Joel, her best friend from childhood, calls and invites her to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Alicia risks seeing someone from her old life and discovers that the grief she thought she had left behind, still waits to pounce, just out of sight. Complicating matters are her feelings for Joel – her “Never” as in never dated, never even kissed, never were more than friends – all of which may be changing with her visit to Spain.
Act 2 – The Ebb – Emily has everything she could desire – the perfect husband, the perfect house, the perfect job…and the perfect hallucination. She’s so afraid of losing the gifts life has given her, that she pulls away from everyone and retreats into a relationship with a (perhaps imaginary) woman who literally crawled out of the sea. Is fear of losing everything she’s always wanted actually driving Emily crazy? And will she be able to give in and enjoy the happiness that is hers for the taking before she drives it away?
In the Ebb ran for 5 performances at HERE Arts Mainstage as part of the 2012 NY International Fringe Festival, between August 10-26th. The play featured (in alphabetical order) Crawford M. Collins, Leah Gabriel, Mary Goggin, Michael Komala, Stewart Steinberg, Montgomery Sutton and Lisa Crosby Wipperling.
For more information about the Fringe Festival check out our blog entry about the experience, here.
JANE AUSTEN’S PERSUASION
Adapted for the stage by Laura Bultman
Directed by Jessica Ammirati
Going to Tahiti Productions brings their unique take on book-to-theater adaptation to this original stage version of Jane Austen’s charming classic Persuasion. This lesser-known Austen novel follows the Elliot family, in particular middle daughter Anne Elliot, and her relationship with the dashing Captain Frederick Wentworth. During the two week run of the show, eight actors created fifteen indelible Jane Austen characters and brought the Regency Period vividly to life.
Jane Austen’s Persuasion ran for 14 performances at The Little Secret at The Secret Theatre in Long Island City and featured:
Jenny Strassburg as Anne Elliot
Patrick Daniel Smith as Captain Frederick Wentworth
Dina Ann Comolli as Lady Russell, Mrs. Croft and Mrs. Smith
Katharine McLeod as Elizabeth Elliot and Louisa
Mark Montague as Sir Walter Elliot and Charles Musgrove
Costa Nicholas as Captain Benwick and Mr. Elliot
Brad Thomason as Admiral Croft and Captain Harville
Ashley Wickett as Mary Elliot and Mrs. Clay
CAT LADY WITHOUT A CAT
Created and performed by Carrie Keskinen
Directed by Scotty Watson
A hilarious and heatfelt story of one woman’s journey from a painful divorce to her new life in New York. Finding a dead mouse in her apartment, a self-proclaimed “cat lady” – who lost her cats in the divorce – learns to let go of her past, face her fears and discover her true self.
2011
FULL DISCLOSURE
written by Ruth McKee
directed by Jessica Ammirati
starring KIWI CALLAHAN
A one-woman interactive show staged as an actual open house, FULL DISCLOSURE is the story of a very pregnant real estate broker, Sunny Smith, and her increasingly more desperate attempts to sell her listing by revealing everything she can about the house. Potential buyers (normally known as audience members) were treated to fresh baked cookies and glasses of wine as well as an amazing performance by Kiwi Callahan for 14 performances in December at The Poco Space at The Secret Theatre.
(For some reason I couldn’t get all of the thumbnails working for the gallery below but if you click on the photos spaces you can scroll through pictures from FULL DISCLOSURE.)
SKIN FLESH BONE
by camilla ammirati, developed and staged by the gttp ensemble
“Words are the ocean, fine, but they were never meant to be the boat.”
From the abstract reaches of poetry to the basic functioning of speech, the language of the play illuminates the struggles of five characters to deal with each other honestly. SKIN FLESH BONE integrates the stories of several people trying to find their way clear of the experiences and expectations, of the words and failures of words, that have held them back. They search for their voices, writing poetry not only with their pens, but with their silences and their actions. By the end of the play each character has gone on the journey to which the title refers, delving one at a time through the layers of how things seem and how things are: the superficial impression of skin, the rich complication of flesh, and the bare truth of bones.
SKIN FLESH BONE is the story of two poets, two builders, and the bridge – or is she an oracle – between them.
SKIN FLESH BONE ran from June 15th-25th at The Secret Theatre in Long Island City. It featured Kiwi Callahan, David Eiduks*, Gavin Alexander Hammon, Laurel Lockhart*, and Maria Silverman*
*denotes members of Actors’ Equity Association in an approved AEA Showcase.
2010
DREAMERS OF THE DAY
Egypt, 1921 – Lawrence of Arabia. Winston Churchill. Woodrow Wilson…and Agnes Shanklin?
On the eve of the Cairo Peace Conference, a lonely American heiress finds herself the confidant of diplomats and the target of the attentions of a possible German spy.
Part travelogue, part journey of self-discovery, Kirkus Reviews calls the novel “an inspired fictional study of political folly.”
DREAMERS OF THE DAY ran from September 16 – October 2, 2010 at The Roy Arias Theatre Center. It featured Rhonda Harrington*, Kiwi Callahan, David Eiduks*, Adam Jonas Segaller*, and Maria Silverman*
*denotes members of Actors’ Equity Association in an approved AEA Showcase.
2009
LIKENESS
Though this wasn’t a Going To Tahiti Production, because Jessica directed and co-produced LIKENESS, and Jessica is more than 50% of GTTP, we feel confident listing it as a past production.
In Colonial Boston, a young painter gets his first big gig: the portrait of a wealthy Loyalist’s spoiled daughter. When the two are left without an escort, the girl lets her elaborate powdered hair down, and the artist discovers that there is more to the job, and the girl, than meets the eye…and he is more than a bit out of his league. The production, as you can see from the picture to the left, involved elaborate costumes and wigs as well as a wonderful cast, whom GTTP has added to our company of actors.
LIKENESS had a successful eight performance run as part of the Ingenius Festival at Manhattan Theatre Source in January, 2009.
2008
IN THE EBB
IN THE EBB is a series of three original one acts, I Like You to Marlowe, The Ebb, and St. James in the Field of Stars. The three one acts are meant to be performed together. Each show alone deals with issues of loss and fear from the female perspective. Although each one act has a different female lead, these three characters’ different paths converge around similar concerns as the protagonists face issues such as loss and the threat of loss, love and the hazards of love, and the ways in which preventing the loss and maintaining the love of oneself may be the greatest challenges of all.
IN THE EBB opened at The Sage Theater on September 18, 2008 and ran through October 4, 2008. All nine performances went beyond our expectations. The professionalism and talent of our amazing cast not only gave every audience member an evening to remember but also laid the groundwork for what we hope will be the beginnings of a company of players for future GTTP Productions. For everyone who saw IN THE EBB, we thank you for your support. And, for those who missed it this time around, we hope to be mounting another production of the show some time in the future.
The Cast, Writer, and Director – post closing night performance:
Back Row From Left: Joe Palermo, Adam Feingold
Middle Row From Left: Rebecca Lovett, Bayla Whitten, Lena Hurt, John Joseph MacDonald, Avery Pearson
Front Row From Left: Camilla Ammirati, Jessica Ammirati, Ashley Fox Linton, Marika Daciuk
