In a first-time co-production, The Play Company and The New Group presented the American premiere of Terrorism in 2005. Written by the Presnyakov Brothers and directed by Will Frears, Terrorism played a limited Off-Broadway engagement at The Clurman Theater/Theatre Row. Terrorism, written by Siberian brothers Vladimir and Oleg Presnyakov, was originally produced at the Moscow Arts Theatre in November 2002. It was subsequently translated by Sasha Dugdale and produced in 2003 by the Royal Court in London and has enjoyed productions throughout Europe. In six interconnected scenes, the play takes a startlingly humorous look at a society in which an imminent threat looms on the edges of everyday life.
A few years later in the 2007/08 season, PlayCo produced Bad Jazz written by Robert Farquhar and directed by Trip Cullman at the Ohio Theatre. Bad Jazz chronicles the lives of young artists in pursuit of a shared dream, as an actress takes a role that puts her sanity at risk, an actor struggles to remain true to his artistic ideals and a director drives his company past the point of reason. When the lines between reality and performance begin to blur, relationships are tested and this group of desperate souls is forced to ask themselves how far they’re prepared to go for art’s sake.
What do these two completely different productions have in common? Two words: Darren Goldstein.
—
PLAYCO: How did you first get involved in the Terrorism and Bad Jazz productions?
DARREN: I got involved with both Terrorism and Bad Jazz in the good-old-fashion way of auditioning. Terrorism was particularly memorable because it came at a time I wasn’t auditioning too much.
I had switched agents and my new reps were trying to figure out exactly where I fit in terms of the NY theater scene. I had understudied and done some TV and Off-Off Broadway but I was really struggling to get seen for the theater companies I had wanted to work with since coming out of NYU. Enter casting director Judy Henderson. As for Bad Jazz, I had known the director, Trip Cullman, peripherally. We traveled in the same circle, and I had known several people who had nothing but great things to say about his talent and how great he was with actors.
PLAYCO: Tell us about the role (or in your case, the many roles!) you played – how did you prepare and which character did you identify with most and why?
DARREN: I played a few roles in Terrorism. It was an ensemble piece and everyone played more than one character. It took the idea of terrorism a bit further than what was in NY’ers consciousness at the time. When I mentioned to friends that I was doing a play called “Terrorism,” most people assumed it was about the traditional ideas of violent terrorism. But in reality, the play addressed terrorism on a social level. How terrorism exists in the destructive ways in which we communicate with one another. Less violent but more insidious. But really, the best part of working on this was the cast. Elizabeth Marvel, Dan Oreskes, Lola Pashalinski—it was very exciting to be in a play with them. The cast was full of terrific NY actors.
Bad Jazz was a reaction to the “in-your-face” British plays of the 90’s. A lot of Sarah Kane and Mark Ravenhill plays were referenced. Plays that became notorious for their theatrical depictions of drug addiction, torture, and sex in working-class England. Robert Farquar wrote this play about actors in England putting on one of these type of plays. I played the boyfriend of the “actress in the play.” A guy not to keen on his girl performing fellatio on a fellow actor in that play. Trip (the director) decided to utilize the uniqueness and character of the old Ohio Theater. It was really the perfect venue to stage the play. Like a black-box theater with teeth. The whole thing was gloriously over-the-top. We had a blast.
PLAYCO: What has been the most exciting project you’ve worked on in the last year or so? What did you enjoy most about it? Any challenges?
DARREN: “Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson” made it to Broadway last year and that was incredibly rewarding. Much of the cast had developed that piece over about 4 years and it was very rewarding to actually see it realized on a Broadway stage. Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman had done so much work on it to make it this chiseled, sparkling piece of theater and I’m thrilled that I was associated with it.
PLAYCO: Fantastic that you’re keeping so busy with such great work. How do you make it all happen? Who is someone that inspires you to keep going?
DARREN: Inspiration: hands down, my wife, Katie Finneran. A monster talent with a monster work ethic.
PLAYCO: So, what’s up next for you and Katie?
DARREN: So I’m in LA right now where my wife, Katie is shooting a television show called, “I Hate My Teenage Daughter” which premieres on November 30th on FOX. I just returned from New Orleans where I did an episode of “Common Law,” a new show on USA. No word yet on exactly when that will be premiering. And I’m currently shooting an independent movie called, “Playdate.”
—
Thanks, Darren! PlayCo looks forward to seeing a lot more from you. Be sure to check out our Facebook & Twitter all week for updates on this PlayCoPlayer.
playco.wordpress.com 