Jody Christopherson
Curated From newyorktheatrereview.blogspot.com Check Them Out For More Content.
0
false
18 pt
18 pt
0
0
false
false
false
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
So-fi Festival proudly presents the world premiere of Jonathan Alexandratos’ Toys 101: The Last Class at
Westbeth, Home to the Arts (463 West Street, Room 1209, between Bethune and Bank St) June 9 @
330pm, June 22 @ 7pm.
101: The Last Class – After years of teaching at a conservative high school,
one teacher fears the oppressive curriculum they have been forced to
regurgitate has left their students with no way to see themselves in the
limited education they’ve received. Today, for their final class of the year
(and possibly their career), this teacher has decided to change that. The
teacher, by using the toys that have followed them their entire life, carves an
academic path to their own Non-Binary identity, and, in so doing, advocacy for
the beautiful uniqueness of all their students. Taught by Jonathan
Alexandratos, this immersive, theatrical class uses toys, discussions,
literature, projected images, and community to build a hopeful, Queer story.
You are the student. The semester is almost over. Class is in session, one last
time.
in an english class. don’t think twice just REGISTER FOR THE CLASS
:)” -Rate
My Professor
prof! homework really easy. read the books- really interesting. gives 2 , 5-7
page essays and a midterm! easy A if you come to class and do all the
work!” -Rate
My Professor
0
false
18 pt
18 pt
0
0
false
false
false
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
includes 7 premieres, as well as
revivals of 4 critically acclaimed
remounts and 3 works in progress.
World Premieres: Dad by Cara Francis (The New York NeoFuturists), Parlor Poems created by Natalie
Johnsonius Neubert (Necessary Exposure: The Female Playwright Project) with
permission from the Estate of the late Dennis
Krausnick (Shakespeare & Co), Whiskey
Flicks Live: King of New York by Michael
Niederman (uniform) and Daniel McCoy
(The New York NeoFuturists), Toys 101:
The Last Class by Jonathan
Alexandratos, Lost My Train of
Thought by Tiny Box Theater. New York premieres: Abeyance by Tyler West (Glitter Gutter at The Slipper Room) Critically Acclaimed Revivals: Shasta Geaux Pop by Ayesha
Jordan and Charlotte Brathwaite (The Public Theater’s Under The Radar), The Assembly’s The Dark Heart of Meteorology, By Steven Aubrey, Directed by Jess
Chayes (HOME/SICK), St Kilda written
and performed by Jody Christopherson
(AMP, Greencard Wedding at HERE Arts Center), Directed by Isaac Byrne (The Other Mozart) and The Legend of White Woman Creek by The Coldharts (Edgar Allan). Workshops include Kyra Miller’s
BlueBeardGasLight (in association with The
Muse Project, Artistic Director Jocelyn Kuritsky), Jonathan Torn’s The Scientist: an Evening with John C. Lilly
and phase(un)fazed by Natalie Deryn Johnson
Toys 101 plays in rep with Jody Christopherson’s St Kilda 6/9 and Cara Francis’ DAD 6/22.
are currently on sale and will be $25 per single ticket, $36 per two-show
double bill ticket. (Please note that Westbeth is handicap accessible with
ramps and elevators.) Nearest trains to Westbeth are (1,2,3 to 14th Street).
Tickets
can be purchased at https://www.so-fi-festival.com/, (888)
692-7878, or in person at the box office 30 minutes prior to show (463 West Street, Room 1209, between Bethune and Bank St). Full performance
line-up listed below. For more info and a full festival calendar please visit: https://www.so-fi-festival.com/
Jonathan, tell us about your show? In your own words, what is it about?
Jonathan Alexandratos: TOYS 101: The Last Class is an interactive, theatrical class about gender, growing up, and, of course, toys. On the last day of class at a conservative private high school, a teacher decides to ditch their dead English curriculum in favor of empowering the class to create their own stories. To do this, the teacher models this form of storytelling by using their toys and toy history as a vessel through which to transmit their own tale of coming out as Non-Binary. Along the way, students (the audience!) partake in writing prompts to get their own stories flowing. The overall idea is that, by the end of the period, everyone’s voice has elevated via the simple act of communal story sharing. There are toys (some that you can keep!), readings (also for you to take home and enjoy!), and a supportive classroom atmosphere led by a teacher who is willing to risk it all in order to have a shot at a safe, uplifting, non-judgemental space in defiance of a school administration that would rather keep students’ lives and individuality out of the classroom.
What multidisciplinary elements does it include and how are they used? How are they unique?
Jonathan Alexandratos: Since toys are such a big part of the piece, and toys are generally very small, a document camera will be used to zoom in on various toys and project them live, in order to blow up the scale. Furthermore, the piece uses toys as primary plot-driving elements. That type of work is rare, but so important, as toys are, for many of us, our first artifacts of storytelling. Other elements of the classroom environment are also involved, such as large butcher paper to act as “the board” and course readings and writing prompts. All of this creates a classroom texture that is rare for theatrical experiences.
Why do you make theater? Can you talk about the medium and what it lends to your work?
Jonathan Alexandratos: I have a mantra: Queerness is old as fuck. There are so many ways to be Queer, and they are ancient, as ancient as theatre itself. So, by using the stage, I can expose new audiences to a very old, natural Queerness, like being Non-Binary (a key part of TOYS 101: The Last Class). The toys are important because I’m a toy geek. I’ve published books and articles on toys, been on PBS talking about toys, contributed to toy documentaries, and I own thousands of little plastic people! Therefore, if I’m going to talk about my Queerness, that naturally relates to my process of growing up, and, in order to talk about growing up, I need the toys that have followed me on that journey. These toys contain shards of my story that I couldn’t convey accurately without them. You need to see my G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Crimson Guard Immortal action figure in order to get its significance to me. Of course, these toys also have a broader significance because they play a role in the cultural histories of not just where they’re sold, but where they’re made, and that comes up in TOYS 101, too. But no matter the project, I always feel like I’m playing when I work in theatre. I also always feel like I’m playing when I’m actually, truly playing with toys. So, combine the two, and I think the result is play in the purest form I can offer it. That’s not to write off its message, though. I think a lot – empathy, compassion, warmth – can be demonstrated through play. That’s why, when I’m driven to advocate for Queer voices (which is always), play through theatre and toys is the best way I know how.
 |
| photo by Jody Christopherson |
ALEXANDRATOS is
a New York City-based playwright and educator. Jonathan began work on their
M.F.A. in Playwrighting at Queens College (CUNY), graduating in 2011. During
their time in graduate school, they co-founded Playsmiths, (a playwrights’ lab
in which holds weekly readings of writers’ work and provides them with
feedback), and studied with playwrights Richard Schotter and Tina Howe. Howe
nominated Jonathan’s play *Molding Plastic* for the Rita and Burton Goldberg
Award and the Irving Zarkower Award for best new play. In 2012, Jonathan’s play
*Chain Reaction*, a two-act comedy about the building of the atomic bomb, was
produced in the NY International Fringe Festival. Jonathan has received
commissions from the Abingdon Theatre Company and Truant Arts for the creation
of new work. These commissions have resulted in two well-received plays:
*Shepherd* (a piece about the bond between military dogs and their human
partners) and *Teeth* (about a woman, born without a mouth, who finds her
voice). Their play *Breaking/Orbit* was performed at the 2013 Pop Culture
Association Conference in Washington, D.C. and the 2013 Last Frontier Theatre
Conference in Valdez, Alaska. They are a member of Mission to (dit)Mars, a
Queens-based writers’ collective that commissions new plays from its members
each season. Jonathan created *Duck*, a full-length animal allegory about the nature
of abuse, culture, and individuality, which received a workshop production in
Strasbourg, France. As a member of the Ingram New Works Lab at Nashville
Repertory Theatre (2015-2016), Jonathan wrote WE SEE WHAT HAPPEN, a play about
Jonathan’s grandmother’s immigration from Greece to the U.S. in 1951 as told by
bootleg superhero action figures. They are a huge geek: a lover of action
figures and comic books, and always finding ways of incorporating those things
into their theatre.
