City Paper calls MICROCRISIS Cast "Stellar" and its Playwright "A True New Theater Original"

Check out what City Paper has to say about InterAct's production of the new satire MICROCRISIS by Mike Lew:

Don't despair if you didn't catch the magical Bi Jean Ngo when she relaunched her Theatre Confetti performance troupe at Underground Arts last week. You'll get more than a few glimpses of the Philadelphia actress when she joins the stellar cast - Kevin Bergen, Maia Desanti, Hannah Gold, Dave Johnson and, most particularly, Frank X - of MICROCRISIS at the Adrienne. This snarky snippet of political/financial intrigue shows off exactly what InterAct Theatre does best: present tart scripts that pit big against small, evil against good. Absurdist playwright Mike Lew and director Seth Rozin fashion a funny global game of cat and mouse amongst lenders and borrowers without a care for anyone (save the laughing-out-loud audiences). Lew is responsible for short, sharply sardonic theater pieces such as IN PARIS YOU WILL FIND MANY BAGUETTES BUT ONLY ONE TRUE LOVE and is a true new theater original.

Read all of City Paper's A&E Recommendations Here 

Links to more information about MICROCRISIS:

Find Out More About InterAct's Philadelphia Premiere

Watch 6ABC Loves the Arts' Feature Story on MICROCRISIS

Listen to an Interview with Playwright Mike Lew

Purchase Tickets

City Paper: HOW & WHY is a "Symphony of Science... Gripping Production... Fascinating Characters"

Check out these excerpts from Mark Cofta's review of THE HOW AND THE WHY from Philadelphia City Paper:

Symphony of Science

... In InterAct Theatre Co.'s gripping production, both women are ambitious professionals whose choices are directly and indirectly influenced by men. Therein lies Treem's theme: In their scientific theories and their life paths, both see women as defined by men... Dardaris and Frings deliver all that Treem's script asks of them. Zelda struggles believably to separate passions personal and professional, while... Frings somehow keeps Rachel grounded and, by the end, genuine and sympathetic.

Treem's science-heavy dialogue isn't the quippy nonsense of The Big Bang Theory, but seemingly viable notions about the "why" of menstruation and menopause... Woven through the science and university research's thorny politics in THE HOW AND THE WHY are meaty yet familiar mother-daughter issues. Facts are revealed, tears are shed, and apologies follow condemnations, yet Treem wisely stops short of happily ever after for these two driven, conflicted, fascinating characters.

Read Mark Cofta's Entire Philadelphia City Paper Review

Links to more information about THE HOW AND THE WHY:

Purchase Tickets

Watch the Video Trailer

Read Howard Shapiro's Philadelphia Inquirer Review

An Interview with Playwright Sarah Treem

LOVE LESSONS Featured in Philadelphia City Paper & Chestnut Hill Local

Check out these excerpts from two articles about Jennifer Schelter and her one-woman play LOVE LESSONS FROM ABU GHRAIB from this week's Philadelphia City Paper and Chestnut Hill Local. LOVE LESSONS runs as a special engagement on InterAct's mainstage January 29 - February 13:

Philadelphia City Paper

Warrior One
Through yoga, Philadelphia playwright Jennifer Schelter taps into the compassion of an Iraqi torture

In 2006, lawyers working on a class-action suit against two U.S. defense contractors — CACI and Titan — interviewed an Iraqi citizen named Abdulwahab.

His testimony was roughly as follows:

He traveled from his village to Baghdad to buy a car. American forces raided the hotel he was staying in. He was restrained with plastic handcuffs, hooded and taken to one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces. He was told he was in al-Qaida. He didn't know what al-Qaida was or what it meant. He was stripped naked and interrogated. He was taken to another location and forced to run on his knees and knuckles for 10 days, not sleeping more than 20 minutes at a time.

Then he was sent to Abu Ghraib, and things got worse.

His story is buried under thousands of pages of testimony from more than 300 plaintiffs in Haidar Muhsin Saleh v. Titan Corporation — a case now awaiting review by the Supreme Court. And it would have likely stayed there, except that one of the note-takers at his interview in Istanbul was a yoga instructor and former Equity actress from Philadelphia.

After years of performing in regional theater — and burning out on it — Jennifer Schelter started a yoga studio in East Falls. She thought her stage career was long behind her.

About five years ago, she was approached by one of her students after class. "She said she had just gotten back from listening to torture testimony," explains Schelter. "She wanted me to come with her, but she didn't know why exactly. She said she thought these people needed healing, and I could help. She said, 'Maybe you could do yoga with them or maybe just your presence would be healing.'"

The student was Susan Burke, lead prosecuting attorney on Saleh v. Titan.

Schelter began writing LOVE LESSONS FROM ABU GHRAIB in compulsive bursts, shortly after returning home from Istanbul.

"I had reverse culture shock. No one cares about this, and everyone wants to be happy," says Schelter. "Christmas Day, I sat down and wrote as many stories as I could remember. Because the level of forgiveness in these men was beyond anything I had ever witnessed."

LOVE LESSONS is a one-woman show based on Abdulwahab's testimony. But it's also very much about Schelter's attempt to cling to the virtues of her yoga training in the face of breathtaking inhumanity.

The play debuted at the 2007 Philly Fringe with four chairs, a stage and a budget of about $300. An InterAct Theatre Co. board member fell for it, and gave a DVD copy of the show to artistic director Seth Rozin. He fell for it, too: LOVE LESSONS opens Saturday at InterAct....

Chestnut Hill Local

... [Chestnut] Hill Actress Aids Victims of U.S. Torture

As Jennifer Schelter, 44, prepares for the re-opening of her critically acclaimed one-woman performance piece at the InterAct Theatre, LOVE LESSONS FROM ABU GHRAIB, she recalls that a few years ago she could not possibly have predicted the course of events that would dramatically change her life.

In 2006, Schelter — a Chestnut Hill native, Germantown Friends School alumna and owner of the Yoga Schelter studio in East Falls — was offered the Lierman Trust for Humanitarian Law’s invitation to join lawyer Susan Burke in Istanbul, Turkey. The pair were interviewing Iraqis who had been tortured by U.S. Army personnel at Iraq’s infamous Abu Ghraib prison. In 2004, the prison was a topic of international controversy after details emerged proving several U.S. Army members had intentionally abused the prisoners...

“I had no idea 99.9% of the population of prisoners were just random,” Schelter said last week. “There was very little reason why they should have been tortured. I was so naïve. I thought the U.S. gave up torture a long time ago. Am I flaming liberal? Absolutely not, and I’m not trying to preach. There just have to be other ways of getting information.”...

Slowly, as the former prisoners became emotionally unguarded, Schelter realized some methods designed to establish healing worked better than others. Genuinely welcoming the prisoners and acknowledging their courage to speak about their experiences were two critical components towards establishing trust. With the presence of mutual trust, Schelter realized she was in unique company.

“I was lucky the prisoners never told me to leave the room,” Schelter said.” They didn’t come from a culture of therapeutics. Being able to release their stories and share the burden of those stories was important. Most prisoners actually said, ‘I’m terribly sorry to burden you with this; thank you for listening.’"

Although Schelter initially journeyed to Istanbul with the intent of giving, she surprisingly received something — a new perspective on the human capacity to love. Following her return to Philadelphia, Schelter created the play, “Love Lessons from Abu Ghraib,” as a way to express her experience and also help others....

The performance explores the themes of love, forgiveness, fearlessness and transformation. As an actress who shared in receiving a Tony Award at the Denver Center Theatre Company and a member of Actors’ Equity and the Screen Actors Guild, Schelter brings experience along with her passion.

“To me, it’s like eating a big courage sandwich,” Schelter said. “It’s all about overcoming fear and depression and transcending through personal and universal faith to find out what’s possible. Everyone makes a difference; witnessing other people makes a huge difference. Not passing judgment makes a huge difference.“...

Links to more information about LOVE LESSONS:

Purchase Tickets to LOVE LESSONS

Read Bruce Walsh's Entire Philadelphia City Paper Article

Read Erik Hubbard's Entire Chestnut Hill Local Article

Watch the Video Trailer of LOVE LESSONS

An Interview with Playwright & Performer Jennifer Schelter

City Paper: SILVERHILL "Fascinates" & "Soars"

Check out these excerpts from Mark Cofta’s review of SILVERHILL from today's Philadelphia City Paper:

Philly playwright Thomas Gibbons' eighth premiére with InterAct Theatre Co. harks back to an obscure bit of American history in a drama that's surprisingly meaningful today… Nick Embree's handsome set features huge gates - do they lock out the corrupt outside, or imprison Silverhill's citizens? Christopher Coucill makes leader Alden a fiery prophet, tall and lean with an Old Testament white beard… In Alden's perfect community, rebellion is, conveniently, a sin… Soon, philosophies clash: communism vs. capitalism, monogamy vs. free love, dictatorship vs. democracy, with fascinating modern parallels. A great cast brings the debate to life in personal, intimate, often humorous performances… The lively debate about divinity and human perfection, and ideas about charismatic leaders and the inevitable lure of anything forbidden, resonate powerfully. SILVERHILL fascinates with its glimpse of pre-1960s American social experiments, but soars through its fresh exploration of eternal - and, thus, contemporary - issues.

Links to more information about SILVERHILL:

Purchase Tickets

Read Mark Cofta’s Entire Philadelphia City Paper Review

Read John Dowlin’s Weekly Press Review in the Nov. 3 Issue

Read Ellen Wilson Dilks’ Stage Magazine Review

Read Toby Zinman's Inquirer Review

An Interview with Playwright Thomas Gibbons

An Interview with Director Seth Rozin

Watch the Video Trailer of SILVERHILL

CITY OF NUMBERS In the News & On the Web

Check out some of the media coverage that has appeared about CITY OF NUMBERS:

Philadelphia Inquirer, Annette John-Hall

... Culled from interviews with Graterford prison lifers who paint murals as a way to communicate with the outside world, [CITY OF NUMBERS] pulls in multiple perspectives, mixing the voices of perpetrators with those of media pundits, law enforcement, and loved ones left behind.

The questions are many, the answers are few. Should we judge 15-, 16-, 17-year-old killers as simply murderers who should be locked up forever? Should we view them as redeemable people even though they've committed murder?

And the most vexing question: What can one person do to help solve the problem of violence in our midst? ...

Philadelphia Daily News, Christine Fisher

Philly's Felons: One-Man Show Offers Unique Perspectives On Violent Crime In The City

... After interviewing lifers at Graterford Prison, talking with victims of crime, and observing the city and its politics, Lewis came to know Philadelphia as a city struggling with violent crime and the fear it generates. The play he wrote and stars in, "City of Numbers, mixtape of a city," captures the complexity of this urban issue.

... "City of Numbers," which opened last week, is a joint venture between the Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program and InterAct Theatre Company, and is the centerpiece of a month-long celebration of the transformative power of art as a tool for social justice. ...

Courier-Post, Sally Friedman

... [Playwright Sean Christopher Lewis'] purpose in creating this unusual production, one in which the voices of about 30 characters are heard solely through Sean Lewis' own voice in his one-man show, is to re-examine Philadelphia's daunting crime statistics through the lens of arts education.

"I wanted to listen in to the inmates for their perspective, to hear from the people of various city neighborhoods for theirs, and also really to explore inner city violence and its roots," Lewis explains.

..."I want people to feel a personal stake. I want this play to open important conversations about crime, about punishment, and about the way we live our lives." ...

Philadelphia City Paper, A.D. Amorosi

"It's the city that I see daily — a city that struggles but also overcomes." So says Jane Golden, director of Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program, which for the past three years has developed a Restorative Justice program encouraging prison inmates to create large-scale community art. It's that gentle notion of rising above, of the healing power of creativity, that sparked Golden's first conversation with InterAct Theatre Co. boss Seth Rozin in 2008. Their mission: Partner up on a play that tells these prisoners' stories. Their method: Interview "life-term" inmates at the State Correctional Institution at Graterford and to use those chats for a theater piece that details the experience of the sorrowful and the saved. ...

The Augustinian Spiritual Health Center Blog, Fr. Paul Morrisey, O.S.A.

Why You Must See CITY OF NUMBERS

... This is not a just [sic] sob-sister story about the basic humanity of prison inmates. Voices of victims cry out too. Victims often in the same world as those who harm them – ghetto worlds where children grow up on the street and learn to fight to stay alive. Sections of the city – some black, some white, some Hispanic – where a common poverty creates the environment for selling drugs to make a living. Selling bodies too. Selling souls if the devil offers you the right price.

... This play shows the “numbers” racked up each year in Philly of the murdered and the murderers. It is powerful when it gets inside the heads and hearts of those who are in prison for these crimes. Thugs? Brutal inhuman bastards? Heartless killers? More like you and me than we would think. The cry of the victims through the mouths of their survivors, pierce one’s heart as well. ...

Examiner.net, Samantha Clarke

Sean Christopher Lewis' and InterAct's Exploration for Something More

... Lewis envisions community and artist-based efforts to create a dialogue between despairing neighborhoods and the city at large that aren’t necessarily about the state bailing them out. Instead, it’s about the citizens and what we as people can do for one another by providing a voice and ensuring communication.

Across the board, Lewis demands the value of collaboration and the importance of the individual to create and stimulate communication through the arts. When asked what he feared was the greatest challenge and biggest disappointment in the arts today (“The reliance on other people to do it for you.”) it paralleled what he felt was the greatest worldly problem: “Apathy. We’ve seen in all the great movements: change happens on the individual level. But so many people think that [they] can’t do anything about the great issues of our time, believe it’s too big, that it’s for politicians, or they have enough on their plate already, but it’s amazing what happens when you believe in something. When you fight for something.” ...

Philly2Philly.com, Rachel Dukeman

City Of Numbers: A Philadelphia Story

... The City of Philadelphia has a unique, successful program that has placed art in the lives of its residents – all of its residents. From prison cells to the Avenue of the Arts, the Mural Arts Program has made in impact on the way Philadelphians see our own neighborhoods and our neighbors. And now, through an exciting partnership with InterAct Theatre Company, has developed a series of programs to shed light on our Philadelphia crime, Philadelphia neighborhoods, paintings on the walls and citizens that live behind walls.

... [CITY OF NUMBERS] is full of personal narratives that are strewn together to poke holes in our city’s justice system –pointing blame for failing citizens on ‘both sides of the walls’ at everything from poverty to racism to police to parenting skills, without focusing on one fault as the root or solution. ...

Philly.com's MyCommunity Suburbs Blog, Stephanie Weaver

The city of Philadelphia has the largest number of mural displays in the United States. Each mural is more than just a giant painting; it often depicts a story from its creature or holds a message for its audience. ... The murals of Philadelphia are the city’s soul. They carry the stories of people long gone, and allow future generations a glimpse into the city’s past. Playwright Sean Christopher Lewis understands all of the tales that murals tell and has collaborated with the City of Philadelphia’s Mural Arts Project to create a screenplay based on them. ...

Rep Radio Podcast: An interview with playwright & performer Sean Christopher Lewis and director Matt Slaybaugh

"...This is great! This is the best... the absolute - hands down - best Rep Radio interview I've ever done. I love it..." - Jennifer MacMillan

Get your tickets to InterAct's CITY OF NUMBERS today!

CHAD DEITY Getting Raves From Audiences & Critics Alike

Critics and audiences are beginning to spread the word that CHAD DEITY is a production not to be missed! Take a look at what they're saying...

Philadelphia Inquirer, Howard Shapiro:

"Nimble, Funny, Thoughtful Headlock On Wrestling

On tonight's wrestling card, we have the American who stands for everything good we learned in civics, or from Mom or by eating apple pie - Chad Deity. He's pure of thought, black and beautiful, resplendent in ringside bling and a shining gold jockstrap. He's built like your proverbial brick facility.

(His given name is Darnell, but shhhh!)

... This is wrestling, slyly scripted at best, pathetically cynical at worst ... It's also theater that puts you in a solid intellectual headlock and won't let up - funny throughout, thoughtful, and commanding, with a script as nimble as the champ it depicts. In its dynamic InterAct Theater staging by Seth Rozin, the company's producing artistic director, Chad Deity fills the ring with characters you wish you really knew, portrayed by actors who make sure you'll know them. ... The cast here is impeccable ... the action [is] as real in the ring as it is in a play that rings true."

Philadelphia Weekly, J. Cooper Robb:

"InterAct challenges stereotypes on and off the wrestling mats in a boisterous new production ...

Hip-hop theater takes a big step forward with Kristoffer Diaz’s dynamic new play The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity ...

Diaz’s satire focuses on Macedonia Guerra (Juan Pacheco in an impressive professional stage debut). Known as “Mace,” Guerra is perhaps the most likeable narrator since Thornton Wilder’s stage manager in Our Town ...

Rozin’s blisteringly paced, razor sharp production captures the play’s hip-hop rhythms and sense of moral outrage ... Both funny and smart, Entrance is the rare play that makes us laugh and think at the same time. America has real enemies in the world, but in Entrance it’s our need to stereotype alleged outsiders as a threat that emerges as the true danger."

CurtainUp.com, Kathryn Osenlund:

"... Quite a departure for InterAct in staging and feel, but playwright Kristoffer Diaz's ideas are right up their alley. ... an inspired theatrical choice ... It pulls you in ...

Juan Pacheco's Mace is lean and smart with shining eyes and a nimble tongue. ... He speaks his wisdom in crazy street talk, asides and critiques, and brings everyone on board ... What a fine actor in an enormous role! Mace's saavy view is pointed and funny as hell.

In the end Diaz's play packs a lethal slam in a tiny question that sobers you up even as you're laughing. ... Under the insightful direction of Producing Artistic Director Seth Rozin, InterAct's large production team has created a bright, crass, exciting world. ... It is fabulously entertaining and all-out fun, even as quiet, simmering rage seeps through dressed as irony about ridiculous, damaging federation profiling. ...

How to explain how it sparkles? Playwright Kristoffer Diaz's creation is a skillful mix of wrestling posturing, pizzazz and vulgarity. Allegory dressed up in non-stop, hilarious, tasteless, brilliant commentary."

Philadelphia City Paper, Mark Cofta:

"... Juan Pacheco is brilliant ... Shalin Agarwal is outrageously magnetic ... a fine production ... good storytelling."

KYW Newsradio 1060, Bob Nelson:

"... Chad Deity humorously slams professional wrestling to the mat ... an elaborate production ... a tidal wave of energy and theatrical detail ... if you're aching for a physically wacky good time ... this just may be your show ... "

AUDIENCE RESPONSES:

Crystal Whybark, Theatre Alliance Listserv member posted:

"I was totally blown away by this production! Please go and see this show as soon as you can ... Even if you've never had any interest in wrestling, the intense performances and engaging dialogue really do make this a memorable piece of theater. I won't even get into the fantastic stunt choreography, or the use of live cameras... just go see it. Seriously, you will love it!"

Henry Pashkow, Theatre Alliance Listserv member posted:

"I went to see THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY last night. It's a very unusual play, wonderfully acted and directed. And the writing is both poetic and funny. Quite a theatrical experience. Don't miss it."

Kathy P. emailed:

"The play was outstanding. Up there among the very best we've seen at InterAct."

Tim R. emailed:

"... I thought Chad Diety was the best play I have seen in the past few years. It was funny, thoughtful, lively, original and entertaining ... everything I want on a night out."

Tom D. emailed:

“Just wanted to say how much my girlfriend and I enjoyed the show last night. It was thoroughly entertaining, from beginning to end. We could not be more pleased with our decision to attend. Please extend our appreciation to the entire cast, writer and crew. We look forward to future productions from your company.”

An anonymous blog reader posted:

“Loved the show! What an entertaining and poignant way to approach the political and social issues we deal with in America today as minorities. Excellent story, acting was fabulous and all around a fun evening.”

Check out a few of the rave reviews of CHAD DEITY at Victory Gardens in Chicago.

Get your tickets to InterAct's CHAD DEITY today!