AW Stories of the Month
Mad Cat’s “So My Grandmother Died, BLAH BLAH BLAH”
By Marla E. Schwartz
The Miami Light Project presents Mad Cat Theatre Company’s production of the world premiere comedy SO MY GRANDMOTHER DIED, BLAH BLAH BLAH written and directed by Mad Cat multi-talented founder Paul Tei. It opened on August 19th and runs through September 10th at The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse at 404 NW 26th Street in the Wynwood Art Gallery District in Miami. This location offers a multidisciplinary office, performance and gallery space for a diverse group of arts organizations (thegoldmanwarehouse.com). Paul’s experience as a writer and director have certainly influenced his playwriting talents which is evident in this idiosyncratic production that’s difficult to describe without giving away juicy nuggets that come at you so fast that once you’ve gotten them, you’re onto the next one.
If you’re a fan of popular culture, satirical humor and acting at its finest – this play is for you. And if you’re not up to speed on popular culture, this play will inform you and leave you feeling elated beyond your wildest dreams. Another masterpiece from this brilliant company is what to expect when you see this play – and this is what you’ll get. And behind the scenes is Ann Kelly, Chairman of the Board and Business Manager of this original company, who makes this and all other Mad Cat productions possible. And playing the lead role of Polly Chekhov in this play is the vivacious Melissa Almaguer. Polly is a comedy writer living and working in Hollywood, California who returns to Hollywood, Florida for the wake of her beloved grandmother Mary. Although Melissa was very busy in rehearsals before the show opened she took the time to answer some questions about the play for us.
AroundWellington: You appeared as the lead character Polly Chekhov in a previous incarnation of this play at the South Beach Comedy Festival when it was called THE PRESERVATION SOCIETY; are there any major differences that have occurred in the life of this character as the script as evolved?
Melissa Almaguer: The essence of Polly is the same as the first time we performed, however moments and nuances have developed, partly because of the script changes and partly because of the longer rehearsal period.
AW: How long did you rehearse the show?
MA: We had three weeks, two weeks devoted to creating the show, and the final week to tech the show.
AW: Does Paul ask for any suggestions from the actors before he does a re-write of a show? What type of director is he, particularly when he directs a play he has written?
MA: Paul is very open as a writer and director. There is constant dialogue between him and his actors, designers, stage managers. He is always asking and appreciative of any feedback. He cares about his actors feeling comfortable with the moments and the lines. This is my first time working with Paul, so my perspective comes mainly from working on a play he has written. There are always two parts of Paul at play, the director and the writer. As the writer he is humble and is always in workshop mode. It never seems to reach a final point. Until the director steps in, and as a director he is careful with his actors, and clear and assertive on what he wants. It’s been a pleasure working with Paul, and I know I am not alone when I attest to the fact that Paul’s actors and company become like family to him. He is very loyal and attentive to those he works with.
AW: Can you briefly describe the play from your character’s point of view?
MA: Polly is in a difficult period in her life, one that is very relatable to many. She has recently been dumped and is wounding a broken heart, as well as dealing with the death of her grandmother, a very close and prominent relationship in her life. Having spent a good time in LA, her career is going well, she has friends and family around her, but she can’t see it. She is feeling the pressure of being a female writer in LA. She feels a need to escape into her mind because she finds it difficult to just reach out and ask for help. Through the process of writing the eulogy for her grandmother, she finds catharsis and healing. She learns how to release and let go of her pain, and finds comfort in herself, her work, and her family.
AW: Do you personally relate to anything that’s going on with your character and/or the theme of the play?
MA: I do relate to Polly and the themes. I have been broken hearted, for many of the same reasons Polly has, and I recently lost my grandmother several months ago. I have the same sense of fantasy life that she does, my only wall is that of pop culture. Polly is a dictionary of references from TV, literature, movies, politics, etc. I never knew what was being referenced, and it became a running joke when Paul would ask ‘you know this movie, Meli? When this happened?’ I would just laugh and smile and nod, and he knew that would mean, ‘nope’.
AW: What is your favorite scene in the play?
MA: I don’t want to give too much away, I have several favorite scenes, but one high up there is the end of act one when I get serenaded by Ricky. It’s a moment where even Polly’s fantasy life turns on her and the effect is pretty hilarious.
AW: In the play you have two sisters, do you have sisters and if so was this helpful or not helpful to your portrayal of Polly?
MA: I have one older sister in real life, and Polly’s relationship with her middle sister is almost identical to the one I have with her. My sister is very grounded and supportive, a soundboard for all of my fears and dreams. She tells me how it is, and keeps me rooted. My sister is married with three kids, and there’s something about motherhood that reminds one of what’s really important and one simply does not have time to wallow, such as I can, or Polly for that matter. Monica, my older sister in the play is not married but has a newborn. Mom’s have no choice but to let life go on. It has helped me tremendously in my portrayal of Polly because I know that relationship so well, and there’s a mutual respect and sharing as these two different types of personalities appreciate and complement each other.
AW: Did you audition for the role of Polly?
MA: I did not audition for Polly. At the time I was working with The Playground Theatre (theplaygroundtheatre.com) and Paul caught me in a show. I have no idea what he was thinking, but when he offered me the role I was very excited to work with him and Mad Cat, and said yes!
AW: Is this the first time you’ve worked with the MAD CAT?
MA: Yes, only previously working with them for the South Beach Comedy Festival. (southbeachcomedyfestival.com).
AW: You studied theater at Florida International University (fiu.edu) and earned a BFA in Theatre. How do you feel that your education at FIU prepared you for a career in the theater?
MA: The best thing about FIU when I was there was that they gave their students the opportunity to put on their own shows in a student space. Having the opportunity and support from the teachers to create my own work from a young age and with resources at my fingertips really set in mode the way I wanted to work professionally.
AW: What is it about theater that moves you? When did you first become interested in theater and when did you realize that you wanted to work in the theater as your profession?
MA: Theater is about connecting to others, both on the stage and with the audience. We have the opportunity to impact society by the stories we choose to tell. I knew I wanted to do theatre since I was 12 years old, there wasn’t a particular moment, it was just always in me.
AW: You’re the Artistic Director of the newly formed WHITE ROSE THEATRE COMPANY in Miami – can you please tell me a little bit about it, its members and plans for the future? How do you choose the plays that will be produced by this company?
MA: White Rose Miami recently opened with an outdoor production of Proof by David Auburn. We’re actually not a theatre company, but a
production company. We don’t follow a set season guideline but work project by project. Our aim is to create full sensory experiences for audiences. It’s the opportunity for me, and co-founding artistic director, Ivan Lopez, to create work that we really love and really want to share with the community. Our next project is a new adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set in 1950s Havana. We want to create a healing and catharsis in the Cuban community as well as create stimulating and exciting experience for audiences of all kinds.
AW: I understand you act, direct, teach – is this true – are you also a playwright?
MA: My directorial debut was White Rose Miami’s first production of Proof, and my professional life has been as an actress and teacher. I produced a self-written show years ago, but have not and do not consider myself a playwright at this time.
THANK YOU! Thank you very much for your time.
This production was made possible by Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, WLRN and Delaplaine Champagne.
A complete list of all the actors in this production, as well as their brief biographies is listed below.
Melissa Almaguer (Polly Chekhov) is excited to be working with Mad Cat Theatre Company again. She was last seen as Polly in The Preservation Society for the South Beach Comedy Festival. Recent credits include Catherine in Proof (White Rose Miami); Queen of Hearts/DorMouse in Adventures of Alice in Wonderland (The PlayGround Theatre); Mei Hua in The Red Thread (The PlayGround Theatre); Flora in 27 Wagons Full of Cotton (The Jesús Quintero Studio), and Charlotte in The Sorrows of Young Werther (JQ Studio). She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association. In addition to performing, Ms. Almaguer teaches in The PlayGround’s Education & Outreach Program. She has experience in Theatre Management/Marketing, holds a BFA in Theatre from FIU, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Erin Joy Schmidt (Monica Chekhov and Hedda) is thrilled to be back at home in a Mad Cat show! Recent credits include: Dinner With Friends (Palm Beach Dramaworks), Goldie, Max and Milk and Mezzulah 1946 (Florida Stage), Fifty Words and Reasons to Be Pretty (GableStage), Summer Shorts ’08, ’09 & ’10 (City Theatre), Dying City, Dead Man’s Cell Phone and Talk Radio (Mosaic Theatre), 4.48 Psychosis (Naked Stage) Viva Bourgeois, Mixtape and Some Girl(s) at Mad Cat Theatre Company, where she is an acting company member. She has three times been nominated for a Carbonell Award. While not on stage, Erin is an adjunct professor of Theatre at Broward College. MFA: Actors Studio Drama School at New School University.
Deborah L. Sherman’s (Annabella Chekhov and Thea) Mad Cat Debut! Cool huh? Recent credits include Goldie, Max and Milk at Florida Stage (Carbonell Award Best Supporting Actress 2011) No Exit at Naked Stage (Carbonell Nomination Best Supporting Actress 2011) Carbonell Award Winners Farragut North (Best Ensemble) at GableStage and Two Sisters and Piano (Best Ensemble) at The Promethean Theatre. Other Credits: Shining City, Ten Unknowns, Othello, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Macbeth, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Dead Man’s Cell Phone, Dumb Show, Red Tide World Premiere at The Promethean Theatre. Ms. Sherman originated the role of Conchita in the world premiere of Nilo Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics, winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. For the past seven seasons she has been the Producing Artistic Director of The Promethean Theatre, the professional theatre company in residence at Nova Southeastern University. For information on her company go to theprometheantheater.org.
Beverly Blanchette (Mom) has been the Dean of Theatre at the Dreyfoos School of Arts in West Palm Beach since 1993. There, she teaches acting, directs plays, and manages a department of 250 students and seven instructors (including husband, Ed, stagecraft teacher/technical director). During her 34-year career as a theatre arts educator, she has been distinguished with: the Florida Theatre Conference Distinguished Career Award, the Florida Association for Theatre Education Outstanding Arts Educator Award, the Florida State Thespian Sponsor of the Year Award, and an induction into the Educational Theatre Association Hall of Fame. An advocate for arts education, she is a past president of FATE (Florida Association for Theatre Education). She holds a BA from Florida State University’s School of Theatre and an MFA in Acting/Directing from FAU where she studied with Zoe Caldwell. Whenever time permits, she enjoys practicing what she teaches (last seen in A Doll’s House at Palm Beach Dramaworks and Talk Radio at Mosaic Theater). She invites you to On the Threshold of . . . A Midsummer Night’s Dream (a new musical she is creating/directing combining The Moody Blues and Shakespeare!), November 3-6 at the Dreyfoos School of Arts. Call 561-802-6052 for tickets.
George Schiavone (Dad) hates long walks on the beach because he’d rather be acting in a play or designing a play poster or taking performance photos of actors in plays or playing with his granddaughter Paloma. Time is the premium and it’s a joy to give it up to another Paul Tei project at Mad Cat because it’s great fun. This is his 5th Mad Cat show, the last of which was VIVA BOURGEOIS. George has had some challenging and rewarding projects lately for which he remains grateful to the South Florida theatre community. Most recently he played The Old Man in Sam Shepard’s FOOL FOR LOVE at Alliance Theatre Lab, performed in an episode of THE GLADES and a lead part in the independent film THE WELL by Clyde Scott. George played a priest in Ground Up & Rising’s First Short Feature Film “Observe” by Arturo Fernandez which was honored as an official selection of 2010 Cannes Film Festival. This last year he designed theatre posters and captured images for Mad Cat, City Theatre, Mosaic Theatre, GableStage, Broward College and Promethean Theatre. I am George. Look for my name at the Carbonells… as a photo credit of course. Life is good.
Anne Chamberlain (Chorus and Miss Julia Tessman) is so freakin’ excited to be working with Mad Cat! Anne received her BFA in Musical Theatre from the New World School of the Arts. She was last seen in Camp Kappawanna and Dirty Little Secrets in Summer Shorts (City Theatre). Other recent credits: Olive in 25th…Spelling Bee (Strauss Theatre), Belle in A Christmas Carol (Actor’s Playhouse), Columbia in The Rocky Horror Show (Slow Burn Theatre), Athena in Rock Odyssey (Adrienne Arsht Center), Sara in Going to See the Elephant (Women’s Theatre Project), Shelley in Bat Boy: The Musical (Slow Burn), Polly Pry in Cannibal! The Musical (Promethean Theatre) and The New Ones at New Theatre where she performed her original One Person Show: Road to Crazy Town. Anne is an ensemble member with the Alliance Theatre Lab, check her out in their musical in November.
Ricky Waugh (Chorus and Loveborg) is a native of the Sunshine State and a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association. He would like to take this opportunity to thank Paul Tei for letting him play with all the Mad Cat’ers one more time, and say how excited he is to be working with beautiful and talented Erin Joy Schmidt once again. Some of Ricky’s recent South Florida credits include: Reasons to be Pretty (GableStage), The Dumb Waiter (The Promethean Theatre), In a Dark Dark House (Mosaic Theatre), In Darfur (Mosaic Theatre), Bridegroom of Blowing Rock (Florida Stage), Betrayed (GableStage), The Rant (New Theatre), and Shinning City (GableStage).You may have seen him, in 2010, as twin brothers Peter & Craig in Mosaic Theatre’s production of Dying City; a play which earned him a Carbonell Nomination for Best Actor. And just last month, Ricky began filming on Magic City; a new TV series that centers around the nefarious denizens of Miami Beach’s glitzy hotel scene, in the late 1950s. It will premiere on STARZ in February 2012.
Troy Davidson (Chorus and George) has been kickin’ it with Mad Cat since ’08. Hey, remember when he delivered that pizza box with a dildo in it during Mixtape? “Oh man!” How ‘bout when he moonwalked in Viva Bourgeois? “I know right!” And I still can’t believe he was a Dancing Diva Cup in Going Green the Wong Way! “Classic”. Troy graduated from The Acting School of South Florida. He’s a proud company member of Mad Cat Theatre, The Playground Theatre, Big Apple Circus Clown Care and The 3000 Brigade Cosplay Troupe.
Brian Sayre (Matt) is a transplant from LA who graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Percussion Performance. Back on the “other” coast, you might have heard Brian play drum set or percussion for West Side Story, How to Succeed in Business…, Anything Goes, Chess, Candide, A Chorus Line or Blood Brothers. Here in South Florida, this is his second debut with Mad Cat, having performed in the initial presentation of this very show. Many thanks to Paul for allowing him another fantastic opportunity to participate in the Mad Cat shenanigans! And his cats Narky and George who helped him practice by tap dancing on his djembe. Be sure to catch Brian and his band-mates playing in their mostly-blues cover-band, Somewhat Hungover – And YES! …shameless plug… They’re on facebook.
Brigitte Kali Canales(ASM Margaret and ASM) graduated from the musical theater program at New World school of the Arts high-school in 2005. She took up hosting from 2006 to 2008 for the Spanish network show Billboard Latino.Around this time she was Helena in FIU’s summer production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Recently she played Tina in A & E’s The Glades. In November 2010 she was given the opportunity to workwith The Alliance Theater in their production of House of Yes in which she played the role of Lesly. She is currently the host of a new extreme sports show launched by Red Bull on the new Spanish network VME. She feels honored to be a part of this creation process and thankful to be working with everyone in this company.
Lauren Butler (ASM Margaret and Intern) originally hails from Newport, New York. She earned her BA in Theatre from Nova Southeastern University in 2010 and currently lives in Orlando where she’s working toward her MFA in Acting. Lauren has spent many of her days teaching kids how to act at various children’s theaters. She is pleased as punch to have the opportunity to work with the Mad Cat Crew.
Eli Peck (Funeral home director, Judge Brack, Understudy to Ricky Waugh and ASM). A graduate ofNew WorldSchoolof the Arts and The University of Miami Film School, Eli is thrilled to be working again with the Mad Cat Theater Company. He last appeared in Mad Cat’s Going Green theWong Wayas “Recycle” and prior to that as Vic “The Viper” in both productions ofBroadSword. He would like to thank Mad Cat for the opportunity to work on such wonderful projects.
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A Toledo, OH native, a graduate of Kent State, Marla E. Schwartz is a Senior Writer for Miami Living Magazine, a freelance writer forLighthouse Point Magazine and the a cultural arts columnist for AroundWellington.com Her photographs have appeared in these publications, in many Ohio periodicals, as well as in The Miami Herald, The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post. She has had numerous plays published and produced around the country. Her short play, America’s Working? was produced in Los Angeles at both the First Stage and the Lone Star Ensemble theater companies, in Florida at Lynn University and at an Off-Broadway playhouse in NYC. Her piece, The Lunch Time Café, was a finalist for the Heideman Award,Actors Theatre of Louisville. Please check out the re-prints of her interviews with authors Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson and Dexter novelist Jeff Lindsay in the October 2010 issue #2 and Chris Bohjalian in the April 2011 issue #3 of Duff Brenna’sServingHouse: A Journal of Literary Arts at www.servinghousejournal.com. You can contact her at marlaschwartz@att.net.