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Check! 2 shows in one night!

Today marks a special day for me; two shows in Manhattan performing on the same night.
Tonight, February 2nd, 2011 you could have seen:
Bite the Apple at The Directors Company at 7pm (43rd and 8th)
Avenue of the Americas at The Tank Theatre at 7:30pm (45th and 8th)

It's been a goal for a while to do this; I've had shows running at the same time but never the same night until tonight.

So, exciting for me! Thank you to my two wonderful casts for making this possible.

MARK IT! Today is Off-Off Broadway and tomorrow is Broadway!

Ave of the Americas Review #4

Off Off Broadway Theatre Review: Avenue of The Americas is an Energetic and Engaging Satire!

by Peter Sanderson in Society, January 29, 2011

Martin Blank’s Avenue of the Americas is a scathing satire on instant fame and the price one has to pay for it.

Veteran playwright Martin Blank takes us into the world of advertising with his Paddy Chayefsky-stylized dark comedy one act Avenue of the Americas, currently running at The Tank Theatre in Manhattan until February 6th.

The 35 minute comedy / drama, skillfully directed by Katherine M. Carter, stars Laura Yost as 30 year old Katie White, who has been locked away for two decades in a mental institution, with the only thought keeping her going is the hope that one day she’ll live her dream of working for a big advertising firm. Unable to think, feel and speak anything other than her commercial catchphrases, Katie’s obsession with advertising is similar to that of Faye Dunaway’s character Diana Christensen, and her obsession to be number one in the television ratings, in Paddy Chayefsky’s brilliant film Network, which skewers television and instant celebrity. Christensen’s obsession with ratings is so severe that she can’t even relax and enjoy sex with lover William Holden. A similar scene takes place in Avenue of the Americas.

But first, Katie manages to escape the mental institution and make her way to Manhattan to pursue work for a major advertising firm run by Jay Green (Timothy J. Cox). She is introduced to Green by the suave, but sweet businessman Phil Scott (Chris Davis) who immediately becomes smitten with her. During a scene where they are intimate, Katie, likely unfamiliar with sex, simply screams out the names of household products and her trusty catchphrases when reaching climax. While the scene is quite funny, it is also quite sad, as we see how damaged and broken Katie’s life has become, to the point where she can’t even enjoy love making.

By the time this scene happens, Katie is making strides in the advertising world, but she quickly earns negative press from her critics, specifically, the Catholic church, who come down on her and Green after the airing of a controversial commercial about cat food (the commercial is hilariously performed in the production by actress Virginia Bartholomew, as a little girl whose cat has died). Green begins to have suspicions about Katie and decides to dig through her past. If Katie isn’t silenced, it may cost him big time.

Avenue of the Americas scores on many levels. While Blank’s script may draw comparisons to Chayefsky’s script to Network and to Jerry Kozinski’s novella (and film) Being There, Blank’s script does stand on it’s own, crackling with sharp wit, but also proving to be a scathing satire on instant fame and the price one has to pay for it. Here, all three leads pay a price: While Katie’s reached her goal in the advertising world, she’s so immersed in her dream world that she can’t even enjoy the real love and life around her; Jay pays a price for assuming that the past can never come back to bite you on the behind and Phil Scott pays big time for letting his guard down to try and love a woman who cannot think outside her box and conceive the thought and idea of love.

The rapid fire pacing set by director Katherine M. Carter sets the tone for the entire piece. Her scenes move energetically, with swift scene changes, snappy music and well used projections that take us from place to place.

On the acting side, Carter has assembled a game cast, led by Yost, exceptional as Katie, bringing a warmth and compassion to her role that made the character instantly likable. She is well matched by Timothy J. Cox, flawless as a man driven by success, who is then driven to desperation to cover up his past and by Chris Davis, who shines as the plays’ schnook, the most relatable of all the characters, a man who just wants to love, but cannot receive it from the woman he loves. Rounding out the cast in an array of impressive character turns are the aforementioned Bartholomew and Leo Goodman, both earning huge laughs for their contributions.

Avenue of the Americas is a production that would benefit greatly from a more substantial run, as it’s currently set for only 6 performances at The Tank, so I’d recommend visiting http://www.thetanknyc.org now for tickets, although it is my hope that Martin Blank’s play will be seen again.

Ave of the Americas

Tonight Ave of the Americas returns at The Tank, I will not be attending.
We've received three solid reviews thus far, and I have been pleased with the responses.

Opening weekend was lovely. Both shows were solid with full houses, and the cast had a great energy. I was blessed to work with a fabulous design team and extremely talented actors. We have four more shows left at The Tank, fingers crossed.

This week it is all about The Directors Company Adaptation Workshop, Bite the Apple by Linda Manning. I have to say, I ADORE working with Linda. She is a wonder woman and talented artist. The entire cast has been a joy. We started blocking the show today and will continue through the week. Invited dress is Monday night with performances on Tuesday the 1st and Wednesday the 2nd.

Wednesday February 2nd is a special day for me because I will have two shows running in Manhattan on the same night. That means you could go to one of two theaters and see my work. The next step? Two Broadway shows.

Looking forward to turning in my two applications this week for the Feb 1st deadline of Williamstown and Directors Project.

Community Radar Review for Ave of the Americas

Theatre Review: Avenue of the Americas
Posted by Albert Denham

The advertising world got turned on its ear this past weekend when the New York premiere of Martin Blank’s Avenue of the Americas, produced by Cantwell/Newsom Productions, opened at The Tank Theatre on West 45th Street , where it will be enjoying a three week run.

Blank’s one act, which clocks in at around 35 minutes, takes a serio-comic, Durang-esque look at the advertising world through the eyes of Katie White (Laura Yost) a damaged young woman who has been locked up in a mental institution for a large portion of her life, due to a childhood tragedy, with only one avenue that she wishes to pursue: advertising. Katie is unable to think, feel and love. Instead, her mind is consumed by catch phrases and pitches, much like the way the character Chance the Gardener is consumed by all things television in the film and novella Being There. Doctors try to delve into Katie’s past, but their methods prove futile and after one such doctors’ not so kind attempt at extracting some straight answers, Katie manages to turn the tables, escape the mental institution and make her way to New York to pursue her dream of working for the Jay Green Agency, a major advertising firm in Manhattan, run by the boozy, but formidable and not to be under-estimated Jay Green (Timothy J. Cox). Katie is hired by Green and she attacks her new role with relish, managing to become a success in her new found field, but her ads, which speak basic truths (the truth has no place in the advertising world) wreak havoc with the public, as well as with Green who discovers that Katie is connected to someone from his past, which may bring about his ruin.

Equal parts comic and dramatic Avenue of the Americas, directed here with considerable skill by Katherine M. Carter, has a lot going on and going for it in its 35 minute run, with Carter managing to create a vivid dream world (how Katie sees the world perhaps) where everything is happy, but as the show progresses, we see that the world can be and often is a dark place as well. Carter’s production moves at a swift pace, with the help of some jazzy tunes, colorful projections that help move things along and an enjoyable leading turn from Laura Yost as Katie, who brings a gentle, child like quality to her characterization, but smartly avoids the trap of making Katie a little TOO cutesy

Where the problem lies is in Martin Blank’s script. While Blank does have a solid ear for crisp dialogue, with the right touches of humor and bite, his story seems to get away from him halfway through the proceedings. The first half of the play, which is obviously focused on Katie and even features some of her off the wall commercials, is hysterically funny, thanks largely to actress Virginia Bartholomew, who scored huge laughs in a variety of finely crafted character roles, including a hilarious bit as a child whose cat meets a not-so happy end. Trust me, it’s funny. I laughed heartily throughout the first half, as did the entire sold out crowd on Friday night, but in the second half the play shifted gears so dramatically, with the focus delving a little deeper into the downfall of Jay Green, that I thought I was watching a completely different play. I don’t object to focusing on Jay as a story choice, as I felt that actor Timothy J. Cox shined bright in the role, showing us at first a big man, all swagger and bravado, but when Katie is about to reveal certain truths about him, Cox’s shift to a desperate, pleading and ultimately, small man was actually quite moving. But even as good as Cox was in the role, I felt Blank’s story shift was too sudden and jarring, plus I felt that the script left many important questions affecting Jay’s motivations for his later actions unanswered.

As for the other members of the cast, Chris Davis had nice moments as perhaps the plays’ most humane character, Phil Scott, a rival businessman to Cox’s Green, who lets his businessman’s guard down and falls for Katie, but falls deeper when he realizes that he cannot compete with Katie’s goal of making it in the advertising world. Rounding out the cast is Leo Goodman, who proved less impressive, showing little variety in his plethora of character roles.

At the end of the day, I see Avenue of the Americas as a work in progress…a work with some solid parts and a lot of potential, but Martin Blank’s one act would benefit greatly from an expansion.

Avenue of the Americas runs at The Tank on West 45th Street until February 6th.

For information on the production, including how to purchase tickets, please visit www.thetanknyc.org or call 1-800-838-3006

Scallywag and Vagabond Review of Ave of the Americas

Avenue of the Americas’ Better Than Advertised
By Casey Jones • Jan 25th, 2011

Certain messages are timeless—they hold special meaning regardless of the when they’re heard. Sidney Lumet’s media frenzy Network was one such work. Avenue of the Americas may prove to be another.

Written by veteran playwright Martin Blank and directed by Katherine M. Carter, the two bring an energetic, frenetically paced comedy to the Tank, which goes a little something like this: a commercial-quoting insane woman escapes a New Jersey hospital, only to wander straight to New York, where she quickly becomes the toast of the advertising world. It’s an episode of Mad Men, by way of Lewis Carroll.

Katie’s commercial prowess is quickly set in a flurry of interactions straight out of Big or Being There: Someone with zero qualifications blunders their way straight to the top. It’s inspired. Peppered between plot scenes are samplings of Katie’s ‘genius’; namely ad spots that are so stunningly wrong that the audience (both in the theater and the “viewers at home”) is left completely gobsmacked—and curious to see what’s next.

Winding further into the lunacy of the advertising world, we learn more about Katie and how she came to reside in an asylum in the first place. Her story is a tragic one, and ultimately quite complete. The play’s bookend symmetry delivers chills and a stunning one-two punch.

Playing the vacant-eyed Katie is Laura Yost, who creates for us a warm, unsettling cipher of a woman. No-one can make heads or tails of her, so she captivates her co-workers and the audience. It’s her delivery and timing that breathe life into parroted ad copy, and make it pass as dialogue. She’s the reason Katie can pass for ‘normal’.

The rest of the cast play a rotating volley of roles. Virginia Bartholomew is ensnaring as she rotates from prostitute to business woman to precocious eight-year-old… With simple shifts in hair and wardrobe, she makes each one unique and genuine. Leo Goodman performs similar magic, playing a stable of men who quickly appear and disappear as needed.

(It must be said that the casting here seems at first merely clever– but a revelation into Katie’s past transcends the direction and casting of these roles into brilliance. If you want to understand why, you’ll have to go see it.)

Playing more consistent roles are Timothy J. Cox and Chris Davis; as men at the Ad firm Katie ultimately absorbs. Cox is an everyman here, understandably bewitched by the mystery woman who sweeps him off his feet. Chris Davis, on the other hand, breathes fire into the success-obsessed ad man who find himself no longer in full control.

The show itself is minimalist in a number of ways that have nothing to do with casting. An ordinary desk and chair are used again and again to transport us from one locale to another. The stage design (and its use of graphics-on-backdrop) are remarkable in their elegance and simplicity. They do a great deal with very little; and the effect is both captivating and quite satisfying.

The frenetic pacing rushes us from one stage of Katie’s journey to the next. This too makes sense—if we stopped to think about our heroine’s meteoric rise, we might catch glimpse of the reasons this shouldn’t work, could never be possible.

It’s alright, though. In advertising– like theatre– everything doesn’t have to hold up under scrutiny. It just has to work long enough to grab you and convince you it’s true; which Avenue of the Americas does in spades.

You only have a handful of chances left to see this one-act, hour-long extravaganza. I suggest you get to it.

Remaining performances at the Tank are Wednesday the 26th, Sunday the 30th, Wednesday Feb. 2nd and Sunday the 6th, all of which are at 7:30pm. The Tank can be found at 354 w. 45th st, between 8th and 9th avenues. Tickets are available at the box office and athttp://www.thetanknyc.org.

The Happiest Medium Review of Ave of the Americas

This Review Brought To You By . . . Avenue Of The Americas

by Karen Tortora-Lee on January 25, 2011

A commercial, if it’s a good one, will do a few things: 1) Grab your interest 2) Make the product look good – or surround the product with other things that look good 3) Include an addictive catch phase 4) Tell a complete story that wouldn’t exist without the product 5) Finish up in under sixty seconds.

Avenue of the Americas, a play all about how advertising can affect society – specifically one very impressionable young woman – is a lot like a commercial. It’s interesting, looks good, is full of recognizable catch phrases, and finishes up in under sixty minutes. And, like a commercial, the initial message simply acts as window dressing for the real message hidden beneath.

Young Katie White (Laura Yost) didn’t have the best of childhoods – orphaned at a young age after a brutal accident took her parents, she grew up in a mental hospital with the TV as her best friend. Weaned on commercials and using catchphrases as conversations starters she convinces herself that she’s the head of her own advertising agency. Come to think of it – she’s not that much different than most kids whose overworked parents left them emotionally orphaned and doomed to be cared for by a babysitting television set. Who cares if this winds up churning out a generation of commercial-quoting kiddies? They’ll have whiter teeth, shinier hair, and be able to mop up that spill faster than the woman standing right next to them who also managed to spill something but is holding an inferior brand of paper towel. At least that’s what seems to be the underlying message of Avenue of the Americas.

In the character of Katie, playwright Martin Blank gives us a tabula rasa through which he shows us what our daily interactions might look like if we overtly parroted back all the subliminal messages we’re receiving (and even giving) throughout the day. Katie’s behavior is laughable but really – the larger point here is that advertising in and of itself is doing no less a job on all of us, we’re just making those brand-associated statements a little less obviously. Truth is, even as commercials are forced to become more wily in order to stay at the forefront of our media they’re having no less effect on our subliminal process.

The story of how Katie (in a Being There send up) manages to wrangle the top position at an advertising agency with absolutely zero experience save for what she’s observed and absorbed from years of television watching is engaging enough. She does this by using very little else but catchphrases and short phrases she appropriates from random people. This dovetails with the overall theme nicely. Again, in order to sell the product you need to create a story that wouldn’t exist without the thing you’re selling. And what Blank is selling here is the concept of a society that makes choices based on whatever is most hummable, repeatable, or distracting.

What makes Avenue of the Americas work is director Katherine M. Carter’s pacing. Each scene is served up in a palatable sixty second-ish dollop that gets you where you need to go without giving any thing extra. Each scene opens, makes its point, and bam! you’re on to the next one. In between these scenes sometimes actual representational commercials are offered up – fun, cute, quick – showing us exactly the type of commercials that would come from the mind of a gal who’s been locked away in a mental ward until the age of 30 who now gets to create ads for a living. In other words, they’re not all that different than commercials you’ve seen already this week.

Bringing the whole production together is the terrific design team who created a polished look and feel. Using very simple elements the lighting (Dan Jobbins) sound (Jillian Marie Walker) and projection (John Jalandoni) designers have the show humming along nicely, and give the piece a unique ambiance.

Like a commercial, on the surface, Avenue of the Americas will go down easily and not make much of an initial impact. But subliminally, it will sharpen your awareness to exactly how infused our society has become with soundbites, false ideals and jingles. Scratch the surface of Avenue of the Americas, and you’ll find a stronger message hidden in between the lines. And now, back to our show.

~~~

Avenue of the Americas
Written by Martin Blank
Directed by Katherine M. Carter

The Tank
354 W. 45th Street New York, NY

Performances:
Wed, 01/26/2011 – 7:30pm
Sun, 01/30/2011 – 7:30pm
Wed, 02/02/2011 – 7:30pm
Sun, 02/06/2011 – 7:30pm