For Autism Acceptance month, Actionplay is premiering their new video of the song "I'm Not Your Star," a duet sung by Stephanie Hsu (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Be More Chill) and Shafer Gootkind of The Actionplay Chorus! The song was co-created by Shafer in our original musical "Surreality TV" and is on the new Actionplay record "Welcome to My World" available on Spotify, Apple Music, and wherever you get your tunes!
Technical Director - Max Silverman
Miguk Saram
Playwright: Susan H. Pak
Director: Desdemona Chiang
Original Music and Sound Design: Max Silverman
Click here to listen to music from Miguk Sara
A highly ambitious Korean American teen will stop at nothing to get into his dream university. However, his plans are suddenly derailed when he is seduced by a social justice warrior, as well as an alt-right extremist. Will he make the right choice?
Susan H. Pak is a Chicago Dramatists Resident playwright, who received her MFA in writing for the screen and stage at Northwestern University, and her JD from the University of Illinois College of Law. Susan's work centers on the myriad ways in which Asian Americans, and in particular Korean American women, resist the seduction of protection through assimilation. Her works have been produced in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and include: Election at the Goodman Theater, The Fixer at the Steppenwolf Theater, Ghost Girl at the Workshop Theater, T.A.B. at New York’s Downtown Urban Theater Festival; and Incredible Invisible at Chicago’s Bailiwick Director’s Fest. Her play Miguk Saram was a finalist at the 2020 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference.
“A Questionable Case” is a heart-warming original virtual musical-comedy that follows actress Prima Adams Murphy (Sandy Gladstone) and her hard-boiled detective husband John Murphy (Patrik Gelbart) as they prepare for retirement. Join us as we experience the final case of John’s career!
Devised and recorded over 25 weeks, this musical is filled with mysterious characters, precious life moments, and the wackiest journey - truly the case of a lifetime!
“A Questionable Case” is produced by Actionplay, an NYC-based 501(c)(3) programming, outreach, and education organization dedicated to providing children, teens, and adults on the autism spectrum and related conditions equal access to education, arts, and culture. Actionplay strives to create a more inclusive world!
Show Times
Sunday June 13th- 7:00pm- Opening night! This show will be hosted on Streamyard with live host Michael John Carley
Monday June 14th- 7:00pm
Tuesday June 15th- 7:00pm
Wednesday June 16th- 7:00pm
Thursday June 17th- 7:00pm
Friday June 18th- 7:00pm
Saturday June 19th- 2:00pm- Closing show plus cast talk-back on zoom afterwards!
Technical Director - Max Silverman
Click here for more information
Max Silverman, Technical Director
ABOUT THIS EVENT: On the one-year anniversary of the shutdown of most major American theaters, two friends and frequent collaborators sit down for a candid conversation on creativity in the face of the pandemic. Award-winning playwright Luis Alfaro (Electricidad, Oedipus El Rey, and Mojada) and Director of Public Works at The Public Theater Laurie Woolery (As You Like It); will share how they have kept their personal creative fires burning (and offer ideas for how you might do the same). Don’t miss this conversation between two of theater’s greatest storytellers.
WHEN: Sunday, March 14, 2021 | 6pm MT, 8pm ET
WHERE: Luis Alfaro & Laurie Woolery’s living rooms (virtually)
ABOUT OUR GUESTS:
Laurie Woolery is a director, playwright, educator, facilitator and producer. Woolery has directed world premieres of plays by Tanya Saracho, Mary Kathryn Nagle, Charise Castro Smith, Marisela Trevino Orta, Aditi Kapil, K.J. Sanchez, Julie Marie Myatt, Cody Henderson, Allison Carey and others. Currently, Woolery is the Director of Public Works at The Public Theater, an initiative that seeks to engage the people of New York by making them creators and not just spectators. (read more)
Luis Alfaro has been working in theater, performance, poetry and journalism since the early 1980s. A multi-disciplined artist, he is also a director, curator, producer, educator and community organizer. A Chicano born and raised in the Pico-Union district of downtown Los Angeles, Alfaro is the recipient of a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation fellowship, popularly known as a “genius grant,” awarded to people who have demonstrated expertise and exceptional creativity in their respective fields. Alfaro spent over two decades in the Los Angeles poetry community, and toured North and Latin America as a Performance Artist for over 10 years. (read more)
EMMY AWARD WINNER
(The Handmaid's Tale, Rebecca)
Ann Dowd
in
Doll’s House Part 2
By LUCAS HNATH
With
EMILY ARANCIO
LAWRENCE ARANCIO
ANN DOWD
ANGELINA FIORDELLISI
Directed by JOE BRANCATO
Original Music & Technical Direction by MAX SILVERMAN
Production Manager - MICHAEL HERWITZ
Click here to listen to music from Doll’s House, Part 2
PREMIERING SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26 @ 8PM
Available for viewing thru Wednesday, December 30
Click here to learn more and for tickets
Tickets to stream the recorded reading are available to those who make a donation (click here). Donors will be provided with the link where the recorded reading can be viewed from its premiere, Saturday, December 26 @ 8pm through Wednesday, December 30 at 8pm.
The Art of Storytelling with Henry Louis Gates Jr.
WHAT: Gather with Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, literary scholar, journalist, cultural critic, and institution builder Henry Louis Gates Jr. (virtually) for an intimate and interactive conversation about storytelling and how understanding our own personal histories connects us all.
This conversation will be moderated by Transformation Coach and Consultant, Michanda Lindsey.
WHEN: Sunday, January 31, 12pm MT
WHERE: Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s living room (virtually)
Technical Direction and Sound Design - Max Silverman
Click here for ticket information
WHAT: Director, performer, Professor in the Practice of Acting and Head of Physical Acting at the Yale School of Drama Christopher Bayes welcomes you into his living room (virtually) for a conversation on his creative process including his extensive experience in physical theater and comedy.
WHEN: Sunday, February 21, 6pm MT
WHERE: Christopher Bayes’ living room (virtually)
Technical Direction and Sound Design - Max Silverman
https://www.localtheaterco.org/christopherbayes
BREATHING FREE
a visual album
featuring excerpts from Beethoven’s Fidelio, Negro spirituals, and works by Harry T. Burleigh, Florence Price, Langston Hughes, Anthony Davis, and Thulani Davis,
Technical Director - Max Silverman
In 2018, Heartbeat collaborated with 100 incarcerated singers in six prison choirs to create a contemporary American Fidelio told through the lens of Black Lives Matter. In 2020 — the year of George Floyd’s murder, a pandemic which ravages our prison population, and the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth — we curate a song cycle, brought to life in vivid music videos, mingling excerpts from Fidelio, Negro spirituals, and works by Black composers and lyricists, which together manifest a dream of justice, equity...and breathing free.
6 virtual performances on Youtube
December 4-12, 2020
Click here to get your tickets
Director // Ethan Heard
Filmmaker // Anaiis Cisco
Creative Producer // Ras Dia
Co-Music Director & Arranger (Fidelio) // Daniel Schlosberg
Co-Music Director // Jacob Ashworth
Movement Director // Emma Jaster
Director of Photography (Los Angeles) // Kathryn Boyd Batstone
Director of Photography (New York & Chicago) // Jacob Mallin
1st AC/Gaffer (Los Angeles) // Celine Layous
1st AC/Gaffer (New York & Chicago) // Matt Iacono
Live Switcher and Technical Director // Max Silverman
Associate Movement Director // Tamrin Goldberg
Arranger (Malcolm X, Balm in Gilead)/Associate Music Director // Sean Mayes
Assistant Director // Mar Cox
Stage Manager // Jessica Emmanus
Sound Editor // Gleb Kanasevich
Sound Mixer // Sam Torres
Music Assistant/Orchestra Manager // Mona Seyed-Bolorforosh
Director of Education // Ashley Renée Watkins
Repertoire Consultant // Anthony McGlaun
Living Room Local
Discount Ghost Stories: Colorado Solstice Listening Party
WHEN: Monday, December 21 - 7pm MT, 9pm ET
WHERE: The spirit world (virtually)
Technical Director and Sound Designer: Max Silverman
DESCRIPTION: On the longest night of the year, gather with the ghosts as we celebrate composer/lyricist Alexander Sage Oyen’s concept album, Discount Ghost Stories: Colorado. Featuring some of the most talented vocalists and musicians working today, from the Broadway stage to the Colorado front range, Discount Ghost Stories: Colorado is a barn-burner that’ll take you to the height of the Rockies with its folk rock, neo-Broadway tunes. Marvel as special guests materialize for an extravaganza of music, games and ghoulish delights.
NOTE: This event is a benefit for the Local Love Fund. If you are able, we invite you to donate. The suggested donation is $20 on the Eventbrite registration page linked directly below.
Click here to book your ticket!
Oct 03, 4:00 PM PDT - Youtube Live
Raquel Mcpeek Rodriguez - Event Coordinator
Max Silverman - Technical Director and Sound Designer
An event to fundraise for KIND (Kids in Need of Defense).
An evening to remember; full of music, dance and comedy and spread awareness about the things happening in the detention centers.
It’s time we bring it home, celebrate our communities and ignite that fire in our souls to create, to vote, to speak out.
Boulder’s premier festival of new American plays
Local Theater Company discovers and develops world premiere plays through Local Lab, Boulder’s premier festival of new American plays. Local Lab is a development program that offers playwrights and audiences the chance to participate in conversations that help move new plays toward full productions.
In honor of our 10th season, we have expanded the festival and will now support the development of 10 new works including four scripted plays, three artist-devised works, two original commissions and a new musical. Local Lab will feature artist-driven invited readings, workshops and rehearsals all year long.
————————————————
Mare Trevathan & Anne Penner
Max Silverman - Technical Director
Project title: The LADY M PROJECT
THE LADY M PROJECT tells Shakespeare’s Macbeth from the passionate, complex, loving and disturbed point of view of Lady Macbeth.
Mare Trevathan has extensive experience performing Shakespeare, but also loves new and unconventional theater. In recent years, she performed in the immersive show “Blind Date”-- pairing one audience member to one actor as they wandered the Denver Museum of Contemporary Art; directed “microtheater” in a bookstore; and worked with architects in Ahmedabad, India to create “site-specific” performance drawing focus to built-environments. Mare has narrated over 650 audiobooks and teaches Voice Acting at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. She is a founding member of Local Theater Company. maretrevathan.com
Anne Penner is thrilled to work with Local Theater Company. She is an Associate Professor in the University of Denver Theatre Department, where she teaches acting, directing, and movement courses. She performs professionally with various Colorado theater companies, most recently with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival (The Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, Richard III, Julius Caesar, Cymbeline), Boulder Ensemble Theatre Company (The Wolves), and Stories on Stage (Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking). She directs and produces professionally and at DU, and she also is co-host of the popular acting/psychology podcast, The Actor's Mind. She received an MFA from Columbia University and a BA from Amherst College.
Local Theater Company presents the Living Room Local Series.
Technical Director and Sound Designer - Max Silverman
Step inside ten artists’ homes for a monthly dialog on all the taboo party topics — art, politics, race, and religion. These private events will be hosted by lauded industry professionals like John Lithgow, Forrest McClendon, and Alexandra Grant, and you are given premier insider access when you become a Season 10 Member of Local Theater Co.
Original music and Sound Design by Max Silverman
Celebrate NYDT’s 40th Anniversary!
Thursday, October 22 | 8pm ET/ 5pm PT
Students and staff express how much donor support means during this critical time. Edited by Danny Wantz and Mark Sanders. Original Music by Max Silverman
An update on HRCS's pivot to online learning, and how they are engaging their students during the stay-at-home period in NYC. Edited by Danny Wantz and Mark Sanders. Original Music by Max Silverman
EPIC is aligned with the current movement against systemic racism and violence. We also recognize that many of our Players, due to their disability or the current pandemic, have not been able to march in solidarity. This video was made as a creative and accessible platform for those Players to raise their voices in protest. In recognition of Juneteenth, we share it with you today.
Original Music by Max Silverman
Editing by Jessica Saul
#blacklivesmatter #blackdisabledlivesmatter #inclusionmatters
New York Deaf Theatre
Opens March 7th 2020
By Rich Orloff
Directed by Joey Caverly
Original Music & Sound Design - Max Silverman
Stage Manager Vianna Joan
Costume Designer Ksenia Trukhina
Lighting Designer David d’Olimpio
Projection Designer Gregory Casparian
Click here to hear music from Romantic Fools
Romantic Fools consists of 8 two-character comedies examining love, lust, dating, and romance -- from a date with a caveman (Find Me a Primitive Man) to the joys of dull sex (One Man's Secret Desire) to the surprise frustrations of having a perfect mate (The Stepford Guy). With influences of Monty Python, Saturday Night Live, Jules Feiffer, the Marx Brothers, and classic vaudeville comedy, these sketches vary in style but all celebrate the inherent comedy of male-female relationships.
THE HARVEST
by Samuel D. Hunter
Directed by Hal Brooks
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Opens October 29th 2019Sound Design - Max Silverman
Set: CJ Howard
Lighting: Michael O’Connor
Props: Yudelka HeyerIn the basement of a small evangelical church in southeastern Idaho, a group of young missionaries is preparing to go to the Middle East. One of them – a young man who has recently lost his father – has bought a one-way ticket. But his plans are complicated when his estranged sister returns home and makes it her mission to keep him there.
New York Deaf Theatre
Opens October 26th 2019
By A. R. Gurney
Directed by Garrett Zuercher
Sound Design - Max Silverman
Lighting Design - Austin Boyle
Scenic Design - Jonathan Mesich
Costume Design - Gylanni Carrington
Stage Manager - Christina Marie Cogswell*
Cast
Darren Fudenske
Kim Hale
Amelia Hensley*
Mary Hould
Greg’s midlife crisis reaches new heights when he meets Sylvia in Central Park, a dog who - like him - is Deaf. Everything is turned upside down when he brings her home to Kate, his hearing wife of 22 years. Is this new relationship a threat to their marriage or can they learn to become a new family? A menage a trois unlike any other, A.R. Gurney's Sylvia explores life, love, and growing older with humor, wit, and finesse.
October 11-19, 2019 – Columbia University School of the Arts is proud to present Jonathan Seinen’s (Columbia MFA Directing Candidate 2020) production of Cabaret.
Sound Design - Max Silverman
Director Jonathan Seinen
Movement Director/Intimacy & Violence Designer Cristina (Cha) Ramos
Music Director Sean Pallatroni
Production Stage Manager Ada Zhang
Set Designer Anna Driftmier
Costume Designer Isabelle Tabet
Lighting Designer Nic Vincent
Prop Master Danielle Feder
Cabaret explores the tumultuous life of 1930s Berlin as Germany slowly yields to an emerging nationalism. A classic musical that still resonates today, this production embraces the concept of Queer Utopia to construct a space of community and resistance in the face of catastrophic forces. For Oscar Wilde once said, "A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at.
Columbia University School of the Arts is proud to present Jen Pitt’s (Columbia MFA Directing Candidate 2020) production of Big Love.
October 10th - 19th 2019
Sound Design - Max Silverman
Production Stage Manager Lola Bao
Set Designer Anna Driftmier
Costume Designer Isabelle Tabet
Lighting Designer Nic Vincent
Prop Master Christl Stringer
Dance Choreographer Amanda de Oliveira
Fight Choreographer Rebekah Carrow
Fifty brides flee their fifty grooms and seek refuge in a villa on the coast of Italy in this modern re-making of one of the western world's oldest plays, The Danaids by Aeschylus. And, in this villa on the Italian coast, the fifty grooms catch up with the brides, and mayhem ensues: the grooms arriving by helicopter in their flight suits, women throwing themselves over and over again to the ground, pop songs and romantic dances, and, finally, unable to escape their forced marriages, 49 of the brides murder 49 of the grooms-and one bride falls in love. About the same odds as today. We have still not figured out how to love.
Click here for ticket information.
Photos by Heidi Bohnenkamp
by Michael McKeever
Directed by Joe Brancato
Original Music and Sound Design by Max Silverman
SEPTEMBER 13 - OCTOBER 6 2019 at Penguin Repertory Theatre
From the author of AFTER and DANIEL'S HUSBAND comes a potent look at love and lust, life and loss. Terry Parker is at a crossroads - suddenly single and unable to adjust to a world that has moved on without him - when he embarks on a journey of self-discovery in this funny, touching new play about learning to let go of the past and embracing the future. New York premiere. For mature audiences.
Click here to listen to music from Mr. Parker
Click here for tickets
Click here for BroadwayWorld article.
The production has scenic design by David Goldstein, costume design by Heather Carey, lighting design by Jamie Roderick, sound design by Max Silverman, with casting by Cindi Rush. Michael Palmer is production stage manager.
Photos by Chris Yacopino
Max Silverman had the opportunity to work with Jennifer Jancuska (Resident Choreographer of Hamilton Broadway) on a few songs from How to Dance in Ohio.
Music by JACOB YANDURA
Lyrics by REBEKAH GREER MELOCIK
Book by BESS WOHL
Directed by HAROLD PRINCE
Based on the film by ALEXANDRA SHIVA
Set in Columbus, HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO follows a group of young adults on the autism spectrum as they prepare for an iconic American rite of passage - a Spring Formal. HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO reevaluates the definition of normal by emphasizing the universal need to belong, connect and grow, and by celebrating every individual's unique path.
Jennifer Jancuska + The BringAbout, is a company of artists, which activates new musicals or plays with a diverse, yet cohesive bundle of instinct, skill, language, and movement. Click here to learn more about The BringAbout!
by Rebecca Lenkiewicz
Directed by Barbara Rubin
Sound Design - Megan Deets Culley
Associate Sound Design - Max Silverman
August 19-24 2019
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
London 1913. Militancy in the Suffragette Movement is at its height. Emily Davison, in an act of resistance, runs out in front of the King's Horse and is trampled to death. Thousands of women of all classes are serving time in Holloway Prison for their violent struggle to gain the vote. Inside, Lady Celia Cain meets Eve Douglas, a young seamstress, and they begin an affair that crosses fraught class lines. With emancipation almost in sight, and women everywhere refusing to let the establishment stand in their way, Celia confronts what personal risks she must take to reveal what she truly values. Her Naked Skin premiered at The National Theatre in London in 2008, making history as the first original play written by a woman to be presented on the Olivier stage.
"I used to work at the National Film Theatre as an usherette" writes playwright Rebecca Lenkiewicz," and on my breaks I'd often go out to the river with a cup of tea and scour the bookstalls under Waterloo Bridge. One large paperback volume Shoulder to Shoulder cried out to me to be bought. It was by Midge Mackenzie and was a documentary account of the suffragettes. It was a battered copy and cost a tenner...and from devouring that book came my urge to write about the period and a desire to put those women into the foreground once more; their bravery and brilliance."
by David Arrow
Directed by Eric Nightengale
Sound Design - Ben Scheff
Associate Sound Design - Max Silverman
June 21 - July 7 2019 at Penguin Repertory Theatre
What if Robert F. Kennedy, brother and adviser to a President and junior Senator from New York, had never been assassinated? Would he have gone on to win the White House in 1968 and to bring our troops home from Vietnam? Would he have been the voice of moral clarity to bind Americans together? David Arrow's virtuoso performance gives us 90 minutes to dream ... of what might have been.
Photo credit: Chris Yacopino
by Yasmina Reza
Translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by Joe Brancato
Original Music and Sound Design by Max Silverman
MAY 17 - JUNE 9 2019 at Penguin Repertory Theatre
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder and three long-time friends come to laughs — and blows — over the value of an expensive painting. A wickedly witty portrait of modern art that asks how much truth and honesty can a friendship endure. By the author of GOD OF CARNAGE. Winner of the Tony Award for Best Play and the Olivier Award for Best Comedy.
Directed by Michael Counts
Original Music and Sound Design by Max Silverman
Dark Louisiana woods.
Zydeco, Funk & Rock ‘n Roll.
A ritual to reawaken the senses.
HOODOO is a blend of live music, installation art, and live performance. It’s a concert re-invented. The show is mystical, it’s avant-garde, it’s a party like no other. Crossing the threshold, you enter this magical, Creole world, somewhere in the backwoods of Louisiana. Nine highly acclaimed musicians from New Orleans are live on the HOODOO stage, while actors and dancers bring this mysterious and unique environment to life. Stories unfold – your experience is your own. Dare to explore!
Let go! Everything is possible here.
April 10-May 19, 2019 at the Spiegelpalast am Bahnhof Zoo, Berlin, Germany
by Michael McKeever
Directed by Joe Brancato
Sound Design - William Neal
Associate Sound Design - Max Silverman
59E59 Theaters - March 12th - April 14 2019
An incident of bullying leads to a horrifying consequence in this timely new play that follows the journey of two families: before, in the moments leading up to the event; and after, as they pick up the pieces once the news cameras have gone home.
Parenting, bullying, and its fallout are examined in this heart-wrenching new play from the playwright and director that brought you Daniel’s Husband that leaves audiences breathless.
All You Need Is A Plan is a podcast that explores how to get the most out of life and work in the midst of more and more complicated and challenging times. Each week you’ll meet guests who represent success stories at companies and organizations of all shapes and sizes – as well as thought leaders at the forefront of business and the wellness economy. All You Need Is A Plan is produced and hosted by a)plan coaching.
Producer: Susannah Ludwig
Original Music: Max Silverman
THINGS EVERY 13 YEAR OLD SHOULD KNOW is a podcast about, well, everything AND anything - specifically, things that co-hosts, Annabel and Wilder, want to know about and understand. Each week we’ll talk with a guest who has achieved something worth our attention - people like Gossip Girl co-star Connor Paolo, tap dance legend Ayodele Casel, Broadway co-star of the Disney Tour of Frozen, surf prodigy Noah Avalone, teen fashion model Gabby Kerr, Bridge Skate Brand founder Casey Appeldorn and many more. We’ll explore things like, how do you become a pro surfer, or get into a great college, or build an app, or make a living playing video games, or be the first woman on the Supreme Court, and anything, you, our listeners, want to learn more about . So come check us out - every week - as we explore the world - OF BEING 13!! Anybody is welcome - but mostly 13 year olds.
Sound Design and Original Music by Max Silverman
What does it take to transform a sketch in a notebook into an international phenomenon?
How do the world’s top innovators in the arts, business, and technology conceptualize and execute groundbreaking new ideas? Artist, director and experience designer Michael Counts—dubbed a “mad genius” by the New York Times--interviews pioneers about their successes, failures, and insights.
Click here to listen to Producing Innovation
Had a blast sitting down with Vivek Tiwary, New York Times best selling author and Broadway producer of the much anticipated Jagged Little Pill and countless others. Check out our teaser below.
The Tattooed Lady by Max Vernon
Max Silverman had the opportunity to work with Jennifer Jancuska (Resident Choreographer of Hamilton Broadway) on a few songs from Max Vernon’s (KPOP, The View Upstairs) new musical The Tattooed Lady. Jennifer Jancuska + The BringAbout, is a company of artists, which activates new musicals or plays with a diverse, yet cohesive bundle of instinct, skill, language, and movement. Click here to learn more about The BringAbout
5th Floor Theatre Company - November 15–25 2018
by Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio
Directed by Nikki DiLoreto
Sound Design - Max Silverman
Bubble Boy - Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio's Bubble Boy musical will makes its New York City debut.
The show, directed by Nikki DiLoreto with musical direction by Genevieve Wilson, will play a limited run at the Hudson Guild Theatre.
Trinity Repertory Company - October 4th - November 4th 2018
By Kate Hamill, adapted from the novel by Jane Austen
Directed by Birgitta Victorson
Sound Design - Broken Chord
Assistant Sound Design - Max Silverman
The treasured and iconic “will they or won’t they” romance between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy is infused with fresh vitality and hilarity in this madcap new comedic adaptation. Mrs. Bennet is determined to find suitable husbands for her daughters, but can’t quite get fiercely independent Elizabeth on board — at least not when it comes to the impossibly arrogant Mr. Darcy. At once both warmly familiar and surprisingly funny, the Bennet family’s shenanigans have never felt so modern.
by Donja R. Love
Directed by Saheem Ali
Sound Design - Justin Ellington
Assistant Sound Design - Max Silverman
Atlantic Theatre Company SEPTEMBER 26 – NOVEMBER 11, 2018
Come see Fireflies at Atlantic Theatre Company. Fireflies is a startling world premiere by Donja R. Love, and the second part of a trilogy beginning with Sugar in Our Wounds (Manhattan Theatre Club).
by Mark Twain
Adapted and directed by Josh Carpenter
Original Music and Sound Design by Max Silverman
Quintessence Theatre Group
May 6th - June 3rd, 2018
A young pauper named Tom Canty is beaten by the palace guards for standing too close to the gate. Spying this act of brutality, Prince Edward, son of King Henry VIII, stops the guards and invites Tom into the palace for food. Surprised that they look so much alike and share the same birthday, the young boys are curious to experience how the other lives and a game of dress up has the adults confused as to which boy is which. Meanwhile, King Henry VIII dies and the court prepares to crown Tom as the new king. Mark Twain's classic tale of mistaken identity is full of new and unforeseen adventures for both boys as they risk all to find out who they are, what they are worth, and what friendship really means.
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Arin Arbus
Sound Design - Broken Chord
Assistant Sound Design - Max Silverman
March 13 - April 15, 2018 at Theatre for A New Audience
“Grisly…Giddy…Moving… [The Winter’s Tale] powerfully reminds us that not every loss can be undone…the excellent cast squeezes the ripe Shakespearean language for all it’s worth. Fleet and pungent, the production at two hours and 50 minutes, is much shorter than many. Anatol Yusef makes an unusually convincing Leontes… Mahira Kakkar is fierce as Paulina… Kelley Curran‘s Hermione is regally played. We understand that what Shakespeare values is not the anarchic emotionality of men but the vigilant self-possession of women. Arin Arbus‘s production endorses that preference, suggesting a way to face all challenges…”
– Jesse Green, The New York Times, CRITIC’S PICK
“As the loopy con man Autolycus, Arnie Burton steals the second part of the play (along with many wallets) and John Keating and Ed Malone are a hoot as the hick adoptive family to Leontes’s long-lost daughter. But Kelley Curran‘s climactic resurrection is what truly thaws the heart. Remorse, forgiveness and second chances are never out of season.”
– Raven Snook, Time Out New York
“The laughs here are organic and skillfully earned. Arnie Burton’s Autolycus is a flamboyant con artist, a campy scamp who works the crowd as deftly as he pickpockets townsfolk. And I couldn’t get enough of John Keating and Ed Malone, a pair of lanky Celtic loons who manage to be both thoroughly moronic and deeply lovable at the same time.
The gracefully staged scene with Hermione’s statue resonates… tears mingle with laughter.”
– David Cote, Village Voice
“Arbus embraces everything that, down through the centuries, has been labeled problematic about ‘The Winter’s Tale‘…A connection has been forged between the two halves, something that isn’t found in every production of ‘The Winter’s Tale‘…Arbus guides her company with the steadiest of hands…So much does this production exude an air of purpose that when forgiveness arrives in the surprise appearance of a statue that comes to life, it doesn’t feel the least bit forced or tacked on.”
– David Barbour, Lighting and Sound America
“In Arin Arbus’s terrific production, Anatol Yusef is completely convincing, masterly in the language and commanding a range of emotions, including anguish, arrogance, and cruelty… Arbus’s take on the story of cruelty and redemption benefits foremost from crisp, intelligent verse-speaking…The director has modernized bits of the text, cut judiciously, and, most important, paid attention to details.”
– Ed Karam, Off Off Online
“Rather than ignoring or attempting to mitigate the wild tonal and stylistic swings of the play, Ms. Arbus hangs a lantern on them, accentuating shifts in mood, whimsy, and magic with crisp design and a terrific troupe of actors at her disposal.”
– Robert Russo, Stage Left
by Lucy Thurber
Directed by Jackson Gay
Sound Design - Broken Chord
Assistant Sound Design - Max Silverman
MCC Theater celebrates the official opening of Lucy Thurber’s new play Transfers, directed by Jackson Gay, April 23 2018. Thurber is MCC Theater’s Youth Company Playwriting Lab Director, and her newest work is inspired by some of the young artists who participate in the program.
Transfers tells the story of two gifted young men (Ato Blankson-Wood and Juan Castano) from the South Bronx competing for a life-changing scholarship at an elite university. During a campus visit, the two students are confronted with their shared past.
The cast is completed by The Knick's Leon Addison Brown, Steppenwolf ensemble member Glenn Davis (You Got Older), and Godless star Samantha Soule.
Transfers began performances April 5 and is scheduled to play through May 13.
The production features scenic design by Tony Award winner Donyale Werle, costume design by Drama Desk Award nominee Jessica Ford, lighting design by Obie Award winner Russell H. Champa, sound design by Broken Chord, and casting by Telsey + Company/Adam Caldwell, CSA, William Cantler, CSA, Karyn Casl, CSA. The production stage manager is Lori Ann Zepp, and the stage manager is Veronica Lee.
Thurber’s plays include The Insurgents, Ashville, Stay, Scarcity, Killers and Other Family, and Where We’re Born.
MCC - 2018
by JC Lee
Directed by Liesl Tommy
Sound Design - Broken Chord
Assistant Sound Design - Max Silverman
The world premiere of JC Lee’s play Relevance will begin performances February 1, 2018 in a production from MCC directed by Liesl Tommy. The Off-Broadway show stars Tony winner Jayne Houdyshell and Tony nominee Pascale Armand, who will play younger feminist rival Msemaji Ukweli to Houdyshell’s veteran feminist icon Theresa Hanneck.
Julliard - 2017
by Charles Mee
Directed by Jesse Perez
Sound Design - Broken Chord
Assistant Sound Design - Max Silverman
Newlywed husband Vijay takes leave of his bride Shizuko on their wedding day in order to find for her a "flower of heaven" to match the one she was mysteriously given by a wedding guest. As he searches for this elusive gift, he is drawn into a series of distracting encounters, thanks to his friend Abdi. As the title indicates, the action occurs in Queens and features a multicultural ensemble that reflects the ethnic diversity of that borough.
The show is inspired by Kottayan Tampurani's kathakali play, The Flower of Good Fortune, although in typical Mee fashion, the playwright interpolates material from numerous other sources, including texts by Homer, James Joyce, Valerie Solanas, and numerous Internet blogs. The piece ruminates on the meanings of love and responsibility, often in a whimsical and humorous fashion. Several characters -- from street peddlers to doctors -- put forth their opinions on the subjects, with Abdi given some of the choicer speeches, which he uses to manipulate Vijay into making just one more small detour from his agenda.
at BAM, LA’s newly renovated Ford Amphitheater and MASSMoCA
Video Sound Design - Max Silverman
For the legendary company’s 30th anniversary, Bang on a Can founders Michael Gordon, Julia Wolfe and David Lang engaged Michael Counts to help conceive and direct the most technologically advanced and highly produced staged concert that they’ve ever undertaken. The result was Road Trip – a cross between a rock or EDM spectacle and a traditional contemporary music concert that featured an extensive and cinematic multi-screen video projection, a complex environmental lighting design, smoke, lasers, and more. The show was commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music and premiered within the prestigious Next Wave Festival in 2017 after a preview presentation at LA’s newly renovated Ford Amphitheater. The production will tour in 2019 and beyond.
Hartford Stage 2017
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Darko Tresnjak
Sound Design - Broken Chord
Assistant Sound Design - Max Silverman
Shakespeare’s beloved comedy captivates with the intertwined stories of six bumbling actors; four lovestruck teenagers; one royal wedding; and the infinite magical realm of the fairies.
2017
Original Music and Sound Design - Max Silverman
Written & Directed by Delipe Araujo
Original Score & Sound Design by Max Silverman
Director of Photography Karoline Iversen
Gaffer Bernardo Ruiz
Sound Mixer Nick Kochmann
Sound Operator Mark Arce
Cara Mía Theatre Company - 2017
by David Lozano and Lee Trul
Directed by David Lozano
Sound Design - Broken Chord
Assistant Sound Design - Max Silverman
Deferred Action could be an alternate-reality, fun-house-mirror look back at the events leading into the 2016 election. It premiered in Dallas in 2013, and its plot — dreamed up by writers David Lozano (who also directs) and Lee Trull — now seems almost a prophecy.
Javier “Javi” Mejía (Ivan Jasso) was brought into the U.S. as an infant and raised by his loving grandmother (Frida Espinosa-Müller), who took him in when his mother died. His childhood was overshadowed by fear of deportation. “Getting sent to the principal’s office was like getting busted by la migra,” he recalls. But under Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — the DACA program that President Trump announced in September that he was phasing out — he can legally attend college, drive, work and vote as long as he renews his papers every two years. Still, without an avenue to full citizenship, he doesn’t feel at home.
Photos by Karen Almond
4th Wall Theatre, Inc. - 2017
NJ Musical Theatre Composers Showcase
Music by Max Silverman
Book & Lyrics by Ellington Berg
On Saturday, April 1st, 2017 4th Wall Theatre is excited and proud to bring you some of New Jersey's best and brightest new Musical Theatre composers. This concert will feature the new works of Gonzalo Valencia and Michael Campbell, Lawrence Dandridge, David Maglione and Tom Dziuba, Kevin Lynch, Wendy Feaver, Max Silverman and Ellington Berg, Clint Edwards, and Jon Provan.
2017
Original Music and Sound Design - Max Silverman
