Katya Stanislavskaya, composer and lyricist of new musical Resident Alien, writes about the impetus behind the show and the timely issues it portrays. __ Americans excel at small talk: flashing a toothy smile, feigning attention, and finding that one question – generic, but with an attempt at specificity—to get the conversation going. When I introduce […]
I’ve Never Been in a Church-nasium Before: Reflections on SPELLING BEE
In her blog post, Artistic Director Dev Bondarin reflects on APAC’s current production of THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE. When I first encountered The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee in its original Off-Broadway incarnation, I didn’t know what to expect. A musical about a spelling bee that was also a spelling bee?! […]
Carefully Designing a Set - By Justin and Christopher Swader
After living in Astoria for three years, the two of us are really excited to finally be working with APAC on this production of CAREFULLY TAUGHT. We have enjoyed unlocking the visual world with the creative team of this new play. Working together as a team, there is definitely an instinctual sense of collaboration between us that […]
Writing a World Premiere
By Cheryl L. Davis I wrote Carefully Taught some years ago, when a director friend learned about a theater with a dark weekend in between productions. I’d already been kicking around the idea – but now there was a space and a deadline, so it was time to go to work. The White and African-American […]
A Creatively Fulfilling Season
Artistic Director Dev Bondarin looks back on her first full season as Artistic Director. The 2014-2015 theater season—my first at APAC—has been one for the record books for me. When it began, I was preparing to direct Cody Daigle-Orians’s beautiful play In The Bones. Having brought the play to former Artistic Director Tom Wojtunik, […]
Summer Stars 2015
Summer Stars Director, Katharine Pettit, reflects on this year’s program Senior Stars has been an extraordinary experience! The seniors are each a bundle of surprises, humor, sparkle and wit! 14 individual needs and goals coming together to create a musical revue; sounds crazy, no? But in just five short weeks together, my musical director, […]
It All Started with a Pin….
In her blog post, Merrily‘s costume designer, Jennifer Jacob, conveys her excitement for dressing a show that spans twenty years of fashion and explains some of the more serendipitous moments of being a costume designer. When Dev [Bondarin, Merrily’s director] asked me to work with her again on Merrily We Roll Along, my first question […]
That’s How We Roll
In this week’s blog post, actor Matt Welsh gives some insight into the preparation of an actor for a show such as Merrily We Roll Along, the forces at play in some of his choices, and the hilarious and touching influences on his life as an artist. I’m not going to bore anyone with a long […]
Writers’ Reflections on the Midwinter Reading Series
In February, APAC hosted our Midwinter Reading Series at the Queens Council on the Arts. It featured a play, Carefully Taught, by Cheryl L. Davis and a musical, Love, Always, by Bill Connington and Michael Cooper. We asked the writers of these pieces to share their experiences for the APAC Blog. Here’s what they had […]
Reflections on Playmaking Round One
Our 10th Anniversary of Playmaking is underway and once again students from Horace Greeley Intermediate School (IS 10) are taking part in an afterschool program where they learn to write their own plays from Playmaking instructor Susan Willerman. These young playwrights then see their original works brought to life by professional actors and directors in a evening of staged […]