Creepy shadow puppets & rock music by the Serious Theatre Collective.
Thursday 10/12. 8:30pm
Friday 10/13. 7pm
Friday 10/13. 9pm
Tickets
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Sunday, October 25, 2015
STC is Writing the Next Show...
After a near sold out run at the 2015 New York International Fringe Festival and an off Broadway extension, STC is currently working on the next show.
Per our usual process there will be two months of drinking and crying, two months of collaborative writing, several months of revisions, readings, pre-production, rehearsals... and eventually a new 2016 show.
Stay tuned.
Per our usual process there will be two months of drinking and crying, two months of collaborative writing, several months of revisions, readings, pre-production, rehearsals... and eventually a new 2016 show.
Stay tuned.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Extended Limited Engagement Performances: Sunday 9/13 & Sunday 9/27!
The Celebration of Whimsy presents:
THE BEST OF THE FEST at the C.O.W.!
Favorites from
The 19th Annual New York International Fringe Festival
Featuring the Serious Theatre Collective’s
The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour
Musical Sketch Comedy for Lovers and Platonic Friends
Where:
The Celebration of Whimsy a.k.a. the C.O.W.
21 Clinton Street (Between Houston and Stanton)
When:
Sunday, September 13th, 6:30pm Doors, 7pm Curtain
Sunday, September 27th, 6:30pm Doors, 7pm Curtain
Tickets:
$18, for tickets: Click Here to Purchase Online!
Also sold in cash at the door!
“Serious Theatre Collective’s comedy style perfectly matches the eclectic tone of the Fringe...the troupe provides a guaranteed good time."
nytheater now says:
"In musical theatre, a character bursts into song because they feel so passionately about what they have to say that merely speaking the words is just not enough – they have to sing! That said, if I could sing this review to you I would. That’s how passionately I loved this hilarious musical sketch comedy show from The Serious Theatre Collective. It is a tight, polished show with an outstanding ensemble...Magic Jukebox is loaded with unadulterated entertainment. The writing is spot-on, the music is snappy and the cast is absolutely fearless. This show will tickle you even if you are not a fan of musical theatre. You may even find yourself singing lines from the Pickle Jar Montage in the shower. I know I did."
"In musical theatre, a character bursts into song because they feel so passionately about what they have to say that merely speaking the words is just not enough – they have to sing! That said, if I could sing this review to you I would. That’s how passionately I loved this hilarious musical sketch comedy show from The Serious Theatre Collective. It is a tight, polished show with an outstanding ensemble...Magic Jukebox is loaded with unadulterated entertainment. The writing is spot-on, the music is snappy and the cast is absolutely fearless. This show will tickle you even if you are not a fan of musical theatre. You may even find yourself singing lines from the Pickle Jar Montage in the shower. I know I did."
"Love it!... This cast is certainly in the running for Hardest Working at Fringe. The energy Sam Durant Hunter exerts as a corpse beats some live performances I've seen...Abby Goldfarb impresses with a Rocky-style training anthem, but everyone gets their moments. A stellar 4 piece rock band adds to the fun, and the kooky costumes also deserve a shout out.... I would definitely see this group again"
"If you can only see one show at the Festival, it should be The Magic Jukebox...I was crying from laughing so hard."
Mitchel Civello at Theatre is Easy says:
"BOTTOM LINE: This evening of musical sketch comedy is ready for primetime....these are the kind of ingenious, well-rehearsed and hilarious sketches that you wish you saw more of on Saturday Night Live.... Abby Goldfarb, vying to be the next Maya Rudolph, stole my heart with her delirious, wide-eyed stare. Sam Durant Hunter’s turn as increasingly exasperated medieval balladeer was an audience favorite...If The Magic Jukebox makes one thing clear, it’s that the Serious Theatre Collective is undersexed and over-talented, and they’re definitely ready for primetime."
"BOTTOM LINE: This evening of musical sketch comedy is ready for primetime....these are the kind of ingenious, well-rehearsed and hilarious sketches that you wish you saw more of on Saturday Night Live.... Abby Goldfarb, vying to be the next Maya Rudolph, stole my heart with her delirious, wide-eyed stare. Sam Durant Hunter’s turn as increasingly exasperated medieval balladeer was an audience favorite...If The Magic Jukebox makes one thing clear, it’s that the Serious Theatre Collective is undersexed and over-talented, and they’re definitely ready for primetime."
Curtain Up says:
"Don't miss this one...This very welcome sheer nonsensical musical, performed by a vibrant cast, is well directed by Lizz Leiser and Kacie Laforest. Backed by a rockin' little band, The Magic Jukebox is a crowd pleaser from start to finish."
"Don't miss this one...This very welcome sheer nonsensical musical, performed by a vibrant cast, is well directed by Lizz Leiser and Kacie Laforest. Backed by a rockin' little band, The Magic Jukebox is a crowd pleaser from start to finish."
Press/Industry Contact:
Company Contact: Lizz Leiser/15-3446@fringenyc.org/tstcollective@gmail.com
The 1 Second Everyday Making Of The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour
Using the app 1 Second Everyday, the Serious Theatre Collective edited together one second of every day leading up to the 2015 New York International Fringe Festival.
From FringeNYC application to our final dress rehearsal, here is..."The Making of the Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour"!
Buy tickets now! For our extended run as part of the C.O.W.'s "Best of the Fest"!
The 1 Second Everyday Making Of The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour from The Serious Theatre Collective on Vimeo.
Writer/Lyrics: Lizz Leiser
Musical Director/Composer: Ari Kessler
Director: Lizz Leiser, Kacie Laforest, Nick Masercola
Starring: Chris D'Amato, Abby Goldfarb, Sam Durant Hunter, Kacie Laforest, Ciara Curran, Kymberly Tuttle, Britton Saffer
Live Band: Ricardo Delgado, Ari Kessler, Andrew Hollis
Run Time: 1h 15m
Genre: Musical / Comedy
Opening Night Performance Stills by Morgan Shortell
Chris D'Amato (Ensemble): Recent NYC credits include: The Legend of Johnny 15, Titanic (Durang), The Actor's Nightmare, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Waiting for Lenny. Chris will be a featured actor in the upcoming web series "How to Make it Big". Outside of stage and screen, Chris owns and produces his own professional wrestling company Paragon League Wrestling: www.paragonleague.com.
Ricardo Delgado (Head Writer/Ensemble/Band: Drummer): Ricardo Delgado has been working in the theatrical arts since graduating from Portland University (BA: English) in 2002. Since then, he has been involved in a wide range of performance types (i.e. plays, staged radio performances, recorded radio plays, sketch comedy, experimental movement, television, puppetry, and voiceover). In 2006 he moved to New York and helped found Serious Theatre Collective. Since its founding, he has served as writer, producer, actor, and band member for The Legend of Johnny 15, Professor von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, Professor Von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari and One Allotted Hour of Entertainment. Ricardo served as a head writer on The Apocalypse of John. He is also currently working in game design and user experience.
Scott Gryder (Recorded SFX): is a professional actor, singer, voice over, and puppeteer based in Chicago. For four years, Scott performed on the national children’s television show Green Screen Adventures (winning three Daytime Emmy Awards). And in 2011, Scott created TSGpuppetry; designing, building, and operating customized puppets for his and others’ productions. Favorite credits include SIMPLY SCOTTY with Freddie The Puppet & Nick Sula, WOZ: A Rock Cabaret (remounting at Stage 773 this May 2015), Life Is A Cabaret! The Words and Music of Kander & Ebb, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Chip), Thrill Me (Nathan Leopold), and Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour). Scott’s album Pure Imagination is available on iTunes. www.thescottgryder.com
Andrew Hollis (Band: Guitar/Writer): Andrew is a classically trained violinist and North Carolina native. After moving from the New World Symphony on Miami Beach to New York City, he joined the Serious Theatre Collective's band and has played live music as a part of the band for the last five shows.
Ari Kessler (Head Writer/Composer/Musical Director/Band: Piano): Ari hails from Youngstown, Ohio. After spending two years touring the world as a musician on a cruise line, he moved to New York and began to carve out a niche in musical direction and accompaniment. He just graduated with a Master’s in music education at Columbia Teachers’ College, while teaching and performing around the city in various disciplines.
Dan Naglia (Sound Design): Dan Naglia is a songwriter, producer, musician, and sound designer. Dan has experience in several bands throughout the years and has also recorded as a solo artist. In addition to alternative rock Dan’s repertoire includes collaboration with other artists, original EDM tracks and remixes, as well as film and theater scoring.
Nick Sula (Composer): Nick Sula is a Chicago-based pianist, composer, arranger, and award-winning musical director for theatre and cabaret. Nick has previously worked as composer for The Serious Theatre Collective for: Professor Von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, Professor Von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari, and The Legend of Johnny 15. His compositions and arrangements have been performed on stage and national television. Recent theatre credits: Coraline, Myths and Hymns, Hello Again, The Glorious Ones, Orpheus & Eurydice, and Merrily We Roll Along. Recent cabaret projects: Vocal arrangements and music direction for his vocal group With a Twist, and WOZ, a rock/pop retelling of the Wizard of Oz. Nick performs regularly in Chicago at the Uptown Underground and Davenport’s Piano Bar. www.nicksula.com
STC writes shows collaboratively, everyone involved is encouraged to attend the weekly writing sessions. Once the work begins to take shape a group of head writers emerges who take on the revisions based on the outcome of the group writing sessions.
Laura Aristovulos (Writer): Laura previously performed with STC as Death in Professor Von Awesome's Ghost Hunting Safari. Her other NYC credits include Vixen in The Reindeer Monologues (Producer's Club) Tricia in Dog Sees God(Roy Arias), Margareth in Woyzeck (Secret Theater), Vicki in Linoleum Hard (Midtown International Theater Festival). Laura has also devised the dance theatre pieces: Revolution in 1, Frankenstein, and Silver Screen Parade. Laura is currently creating work with Theater in Asylum and touring NYC public schools with Flying Ship's Apple Corps. She holds a BA of Theatre from the American University.
Megan Barbour (Prop Designer): Megan is a textile artist, sculptor, illustrator, and photographer with a passion for creating work that is engaging and awesome. She has been featured in various textile art blogs and publications including Stuffed Magazine. Her work has been part of several group shows at the Greenpoint Gallery, Eve-N-Odd Gallery, and the annual Plush You! exhibition. This is her second production with the Serious Theatre Collective.
Nicole Brickley (Writer/Tech.Consult/Fireproofing): Nicole Brickley is a freelance stage manager and theatrical technician. Before moving to New York, she toured three seasons with Chamber Theater Productions of Boston. Her New York career began with the New York International Fringe Festival, where she was a venue director for four years. She was an assistant stage manager for Henson Alternative’s NY production of Stuffed and Unstrung in 2010, and she has been a stage manager for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week for seven years. Other credits include production manager at Plays for Living 2008-2011. She also currently holds the position of logistics manager for iWeiss Theatrical Solutions. This is her second production with the Serious Theater Collective.
Mike Drummey (Writer): Mike Drummey is a founding member of Serious Theatre Collective, and has been working with them in various incarnations since 2006. He obtained his BFA from Hofstra University and has been a part of Serious Theatre Collective collaborative writing process for The Apocalypse of John, The Legend of Johnny 15, Professor von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, and Professor von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari (originating the title role in both Professor von Awesome installations). Mike also starred in the debut STC production of One Allotted Hour of Entertainment at the Knitting Factory. In addition to his work with the collective, Mike has performed in comedy shows at Improvolution and various other comedy venues.
Lizz Leiser (Head Writer/Lyrics/Director/Co-Producer): Lizz Leiser is a producer, playwright and director who produced plays in Chicago and Portland with Ego Productions, whose sketch comedy ensemble Superego was hailed as, “supremely hilarious… an hour of great sketch comedy…” by the Portland Mercury. Her play The Journal won Best Playwright and Best Production in Turtle Shell Productions’ Eight Minute Madness Festival in 2007. She has also taken first place in the "Best of in a NY Minute" short play festival in 2011 with the sketch Angry Birds: The Musical. She is a founding member of Serious Theatre Collective and has acted as head writer director for: Professor Von Awesome's Ghost Hunting Safari, The Apocalypse of John presented at the New York International Fringe Festival and the Philadelphia Fringe (Winner of the 2012 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award: Ensemble), two separate stagings of rock musical The Legend of Johnny 15, Professor von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, and One Allotted Hour of Entertainment. She has founded three successful theater companies and has written, produced, and directed over 25 readings and full productions in three U.S. states.
Damian Martinez (Graphic Design): Damian is a graphic designer, specializing in digital, print, branding, and all things awesome from the most independent theater companies to some of the world’s largest brands.
Nick Masercola (Head Writer/Co-Producer/Assistant Director/ Band:Bassist): Nick graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor's degree in English and Film. As a freelance writer, he has written comedy articles for Cracked.com, reported on the horror industry for Fangoria Magazine, done work in non-profits, the game industry, and self-help. This is his third production with the Serious Theatre Collective.
Jacob Callie Moore (Head Writer): This is the fifth production Jacob Callie Moore has done with the Serious Theater Collective as an actor and contributing writer. He is also an improvisor, member of the board for Artistic New Directions, and a member of the Apprentice Company with The Barrow Group School.
Partick Tennent (Lighting Designer): Designed lighting for a wide range of productions, from one-man shows to mega-musicals for some of the finest regional and educational theaters in the South Florida area, including Actors' Playhouse, Mosaic Theatre, New Theatre, Zoetic Stage, The Promethean Theatre, and the University of Miami Jerry Herman Ring Theatre.
Morgan Shortell (Photographer/Designer Sketch Album Covers): Photographer, retoucher, designer, monarch. kmestudio12.com
Chris Woolsey (Head Writer): Chris hails from Vancouver, WA, and attended college at The University of Portland. He has been in many stage productions, but for the last few years his time onstage has been devoted to comedy. He is currently based out of Chicago and is a graduate of The Second City Conservatory program as well as the iO Chicago training program. He plays on house teams at both theaters. He is currently sailing the seven seas aboard the beautiful Norwegian Gem performing sketch and improv for The Second City.
Emma Yeats (Writer): Emma is a writer, performer and improviser in New York City. She currently studies sketch writing at Upright Citizens Brigade and previously studied improv at both The Second City and UCB. She also writes and performs with the sketch comedy team POOF!
Official Trailer for FringeNYC 2015!
Run Time: 1h 15m
Genre: Musical / Comedy
The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour, FringeNYC Reviews 2015
A completion of all of the FringeNYC 2015 reviews of the Magic Jukebox!
Click here to buy tickets now!
The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour, FringeNYC Reviews 2015 from The Serious Theatre Collective on Vimeo.
Opening Night Performance Stills by Morgan Shortell
Click here for full article!
Read the Broadway World Feature on Women Lead Theater Companies at the 2015 FringeNYC
Click here for full article!
Read the Broadway World Feature on Women Lead Theater Companies at the 2015 FringeNYC
Click here for full article!
Ensemble:
Ciara Curran (Ensemble): Singer, actress, and cat-lover, is thrilled to join The Serious Theatre Collective in her Fringe debut! She recently finished a musical recording composed by one of her favorites, Charles Strouse for his musical, A Pound In Your Pocket. Ciara is proud to be a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and is now a senior at The King's College in New York City, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media, Culture, and the Arts while also studying Acting and Voice under the instruction of Anthony Abeson and Judy Blazer.
Sam Durant Hunter (Ensemble): Sam is New York based film and stage actor originally from southern Vermont. He has spent two years with the Serious Theatre Collective having worked on Professor Von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari and a previous iteration of The Magic Jukebox. Credits include Songs for a New World (Man 2), Godspell (Jesus), John and Jen, Rope (Noah), Paris Through the Window, and Raise me Up (Clyde). Training: University of Vermont Department of Theatre, Ken Schatz Acting Studio. www.samduranthunter.com
Abby Goldfarb (Ensemble): Abby is a native New Yorker and graduate of Emerson College's BFA Musical Theatre program. She performs at The PIT and around NYC with her improv team, Bueller...? Abby has received training from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and is currently in their Advanced Study Improv program. Most recently, she performed in the new musical, The King of Second Avenue at The New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, MA. She was also featured in a parody spoof called, "Shower Idol" on the Meredith Vieira Show on NBC. Proud member of Actors’ Equity. www.AbbyGoldfarb.com
Kacie Laforest (Writer/Ensemble/Co-Director/Choreography): Kacie has worked with the Serious Theatre Collective on several productions, including The Legend of Johnny 15 (Rita Love) and The Apocalypse of John (Maude) at the New York International Fringe Festival. She studied theatre at Indiana University, Shakespeare & Co, and the Pearl Theatre Conservatory. Other theatre work includes Arms and the Man (Raina) and As You Like It (Celia). She also created original choreography for The Magic Jukebox.
Britton Saffer (Writer/Ensemble): Britton was last seen as the role of the ghost of Percival in Professor Von Awesome's Ghost Hunting Safari. Other credits include Guys and Dolls, Hello, Dolly! (Fire Island Pines Arts Project), Pantomime vs. Antimime (Secret Theatre), and Stretching Out (Gallery Players). He frequently performs stand-up and improv comedy all over the city and is a proud teacher for the New York City public school system.
Kymberly Tuttle (Ensemble): Kymberly last performed with the Serious Theatre Collective in The Legend of Johnny 15 in the role of Janet. Other favorite roles include the title role in Titus Andronicus, Bolingbroke and York in The Wars of the Roses Cycle, The Importance of Being Earnest at The Pearl Theatre, Viola in Twelfth Night, Hellena in The Rover, Mary in the world premiere of Ian McEwan’s In Between the Sheets, Little Mary in The Women, Judy in Women of Manhattan, Lady M., Anne, and Ophelia in Twisted Shakespeare. FILM/TV: Co-writer, composer, and played OB/GYN Mary Ellen in Your Light Saber & You and Attack of the Phantom Filmmaker’s New Empire, Lady M. in Whatever Happened to Baby Thane?, My Dirty Little Secret, Sesame Street. A native of Southern California, her credits there include Tartuffe (twice), Lysistrata (title role), Faust, Everyman, Private Lives, Barefoot in the Park, and Whatever Happened to Baby Thane? Training: UC San Diego and the Atlantic Theater Company.
Band/Music:
Ricardo Delgado (Head Writer/Ensemble/Band: Drummer): Ricardo Delgado has been working in the theatrical arts since graduating from Portland University (BA: English) in 2002. Since then, he has been involved in a wide range of performance types (i.e. plays, staged radio performances, recorded radio plays, sketch comedy, experimental movement, television, puppetry, and voiceover). In 2006 he moved to New York and helped found Serious Theatre Collective. Since its founding, he has served as writer, producer, actor, and band member for The Legend of Johnny 15, Professor von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, Professor Von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari and One Allotted Hour of Entertainment. Ricardo served as a head writer on The Apocalypse of John. He is also currently working in game design and user experience.
Andrew Hollis (Band: Guitar/Writer): Andrew is a classically trained violinist and North Carolina native. After moving from the New World Symphony on Miami Beach to New York City, he joined the Serious Theatre Collective's band and has played live music as a part of the band for the last five shows.
Ari Kessler (Head Writer/Composer/Musical Director/Band: Piano): Ari hails from Youngstown, Ohio. After spending two years touring the world as a musician on a cruise line, he moved to New York and began to carve out a niche in musical direction and accompaniment. He just graduated with a Master’s in music education at Columbia Teachers’ College, while teaching and performing around the city in various disciplines.
Dan Naglia (Sound Design): Dan Naglia is a songwriter, producer, musician, and sound designer. Dan has experience in several bands throughout the years and has also recorded as a solo artist. In addition to alternative rock Dan’s repertoire includes collaboration with other artists, original EDM tracks and remixes, as well as film and theater scoring.
Nick Sula (Composer): Nick Sula is a Chicago-based pianist, composer, arranger, and award-winning musical director for theatre and cabaret. Nick has previously worked as composer for The Serious Theatre Collective for: Professor Von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, Professor Von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari, and The Legend of Johnny 15. His compositions and arrangements have been performed on stage and national television. Recent theatre credits: Coraline, Myths and Hymns, Hello Again, The Glorious Ones, Orpheus & Eurydice, and Merrily We Roll Along. Recent cabaret projects: Vocal arrangements and music direction for his vocal group With a Twist, and WOZ, a rock/pop retelling of the Wizard of Oz. Nick performs regularly in Chicago at the Uptown Underground and Davenport’s Piano Bar. www.nicksula.com
Production/Crew/Writers:
Laura Aristovulos (Writer): Laura previously performed with STC as Death in Professor Von Awesome's Ghost Hunting Safari. Her other NYC credits include Vixen in The Reindeer Monologues (Producer's Club) Tricia in Dog Sees God(Roy Arias), Margareth in Woyzeck (Secret Theater), Vicki in Linoleum Hard (Midtown International Theater Festival). Laura has also devised the dance theatre pieces: Revolution in 1, Frankenstein, and Silver Screen Parade. Laura is currently creating work with Theater in Asylum and touring NYC public schools with Flying Ship's Apple Corps. She holds a BA of Theatre from the American University.
Megan Barbour (Prop Designer): Megan is a textile artist, sculptor, illustrator, and photographer with a passion for creating work that is engaging and awesome. She has been featured in various textile art blogs and publications including Stuffed Magazine. Her work has been part of several group shows at the Greenpoint Gallery, Eve-N-Odd Gallery, and the annual Plush You! exhibition. This is her second production with the Serious Theatre Collective.
Nicole Brickley (Writer/Tech.Consult/Fireproofing): Nicole Brickley is a freelance stage manager and theatrical technician. Before moving to New York, she toured three seasons with Chamber Theater Productions of Boston. Her New York career began with the New York International Fringe Festival, where she was a venue director for four years. She was an assistant stage manager for Henson Alternative’s NY production of Stuffed and Unstrung in 2010, and she has been a stage manager for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week for seven years. Other credits include production manager at Plays for Living 2008-2011. She also currently holds the position of logistics manager for iWeiss Theatrical Solutions. This is her second production with the Serious Theater Collective.
Mike Drummey (Writer): Mike Drummey is a founding member of Serious Theatre Collective, and has been working with them in various incarnations since 2006. He obtained his BFA from Hofstra University and has been a part of Serious Theatre Collective collaborative writing process for The Apocalypse of John, The Legend of Johnny 15, Professor von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, and Professor von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari (originating the title role in both Professor von Awesome installations). Mike also starred in the debut STC production of One Allotted Hour of Entertainment at the Knitting Factory. In addition to his work with the collective, Mike has performed in comedy shows at Improvolution and various other comedy venues.
Lizz Leiser (Head Writer/Lyrics/Director/Co-Producer): Lizz Leiser is a producer, playwright and director who produced plays in Chicago and Portland with Ego Productions, whose sketch comedy ensemble Superego was hailed as, “supremely hilarious… an hour of great sketch comedy…” by the Portland Mercury. Her play The Journal won Best Playwright and Best Production in Turtle Shell Productions’ Eight Minute Madness Festival in 2007. She has also taken first place in the "Best of in a NY Minute" short play festival in 2011 with the sketch Angry Birds: The Musical. She is a founding member of Serious Theatre Collective and has acted as head writer director for: Professor Von Awesome's Ghost Hunting Safari, The Apocalypse of John presented at the New York International Fringe Festival and the Philadelphia Fringe (Winner of the 2012 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award: Ensemble), two separate stagings of rock musical The Legend of Johnny 15, Professor von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, and One Allotted Hour of Entertainment. She has founded three successful theater companies and has written, produced, and directed over 25 readings and full productions in three U.S. states.
Damian Martinez (Graphic Design): Damian is a graphic designer, specializing in digital, print, branding, and all things awesome from the most independent theater companies to some of the world’s largest brands.
Nick Masercola (Head Writer/Co-Producer/Assistant Director/ Band:Bassist): Nick graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor's degree in English and Film. As a freelance writer, he has written comedy articles for Cracked.com, reported on the horror industry for Fangoria Magazine, done work in non-profits, the game industry, and self-help. This is his third production with the Serious Theatre Collective.
Jacob Callie Moore (Head Writer): This is the fifth production Jacob Callie Moore has done with the Serious Theater Collective as an actor and contributing writer. He is also an improvisor, member of the board for Artistic New Directions, and a member of the Apprentice Company with The Barrow Group School.
Partick Tennent (Lighting Designer): Designed lighting for a wide range of productions, from one-man shows to mega-musicals for some of the finest regional and educational theaters in the South Florida area, including Actors' Playhouse, Mosaic Theatre, New Theatre, Zoetic Stage, The Promethean Theatre, and the University of Miami Jerry Herman Ring Theatre.
Morgan Shortell (Photographer/Designer Sketch Album Covers): Photographer, retoucher, designer, monarch. kmestudio12.com
Chris Woolsey (Head Writer): Chris hails from Vancouver, WA, and attended college at The University of Portland. He has been in many stage productions, but for the last few years his time onstage has been devoted to comedy. He is currently based out of Chicago and is a graduate of The Second City Conservatory program as well as the iO Chicago training program. He plays on house teams at both theaters. He is currently sailing the seven seas aboard the beautiful Norwegian Gem performing sketch and improv for The Second City.
Emma Yeats (Writer): Emma is a writer, performer and improviser in New York City. She currently studies sketch writing at Upright Citizens Brigade and previously studied improv at both The Second City and UCB. She also writes and performs with the sketch comedy team POOF!
Official Trailer for FringeNYC 2015!
Official FringeNYC 2015 Trailer for "The Magic Jukebox" from The Serious Theatre Collective on Vimeo.
Video by: Mike Heffron
Voice Over by: Doug Bost & Ricardo Delgado
Video by: Mike Heffron
Voice Over by: Doug Bost & Ricardo Delgado
Monday, July 13, 2015
Tickets Selling Fast for The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour at FringeNYC 2015!
We are official 2015 New York International Fringe Festival participants!
See the show and love it? Click here to cast your vote for the Audience Favorite Award!
Twelve action packed genre bouncing musical sketches from hardcore hair metal to panty-dropping R&B, enchanting madrigals to down home gospel— and much more. Featuring a live band, epic offstage battles, Lovecraftian elder gods, and three real dolphins (played by humans)!
Where:
Venue #5: The Celebration of Whimsy a.k.a. the C.O.W.
21 Clinton Street (Between Houston and Stanton)
“The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour,
Aug. 17–30 at The Celebration of Whimsy Theater
Serious Theatre Collective’s comedy style perfectly matches the eclectic tone of the Fringe. Featuring 12 action-packed live musical sketches spanning everything from Lovecraftian gods to dolphins, the troupe provides a guaranteed good time."See the show and love it? Click here to cast your vote for the Audience Favorite Award!
nytheater now says:
"In musical theatre, a character bursts into song because they feel so passionately about what they have to say that merely speaking the words is just not enough – they have to sing! That said, if I could sing this review to you I would. That’s how passionately I loved this hilarious musical sketch comedy show from The Serious Theatre Collective. It is a tight, polished show with an outstanding ensemble...Magic Jukebox is loaded with unadulterated entertainment. The writing is spot-on, the music is snappy and the cast is absolutely fearless. This show will tickle you even if you are not a fan of musical theatre. You may even find yourself singing lines from the Pickle Jar Montage in the shower. I know I did."
"In musical theatre, a character bursts into song because they feel so passionately about what they have to say that merely speaking the words is just not enough – they have to sing! That said, if I could sing this review to you I would. That’s how passionately I loved this hilarious musical sketch comedy show from The Serious Theatre Collective. It is a tight, polished show with an outstanding ensemble...Magic Jukebox is loaded with unadulterated entertainment. The writing is spot-on, the music is snappy and the cast is absolutely fearless. This show will tickle you even if you are not a fan of musical theatre. You may even find yourself singing lines from the Pickle Jar Montage in the shower. I know I did."
"Love it!... This cast is certainly in the running for Hardest Working at Fringe. The energy Sam Durant Hunter exerts as a corpse beats some live performances I've seen...Abby Goldfarb impresses with a Rocky-style training anthem, but everyone gets their moments. A stellar 4 piece rock band adds to the fun, and the kooky costumes also deserve a shout out.... I would definitely see this group again"
"If you can only see one show at the Festival, it should be The Magic Jukebox...I was crying from laughing so hard."
Mitchel Civello at Theatre is Easy says:
"BOTTOM LINE: This evening of musical sketch comedy is ready for primetime....these are the kind of ingenious, well-rehearsed and hilarious sketches that you wish you saw more of on Saturday Night Live.... Abby Goldfarb, vying to be the next Maya Rudolph, stole my heart with her delirious, wide-eyed stare. Sam Durant Hunter’s turn as increasingly exasperated medieval balladeer was an audience favorite...If The Magic Jukebox makes one thing clear, it’s that the Serious Theatre Collective is undersexed and over-talented, and they’re definitely ready for primetime."
"BOTTOM LINE: This evening of musical sketch comedy is ready for primetime....these are the kind of ingenious, well-rehearsed and hilarious sketches that you wish you saw more of on Saturday Night Live.... Abby Goldfarb, vying to be the next Maya Rudolph, stole my heart with her delirious, wide-eyed stare. Sam Durant Hunter’s turn as increasingly exasperated medieval balladeer was an audience favorite...If The Magic Jukebox makes one thing clear, it’s that the Serious Theatre Collective is undersexed and over-talented, and they’re definitely ready for primetime."
Curtain Up says:
"Don't miss this one...This very welcome sheer nonsensical musical, performed by a vibrant cast, is well directed by Lizz Leiser and Kacie Laforest. Backed by a rockin' little band, The Magic Jukebox is a crowd pleaser from start to finish."
"Don't miss this one...This very welcome sheer nonsensical musical, performed by a vibrant cast, is well directed by Lizz Leiser and Kacie Laforest. Backed by a rockin' little band, The Magic Jukebox is a crowd pleaser from start to finish."
The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour
Serious Theatre Collective's Musical Sketch Comedy For Lovers and Platonic Friends
Where:
Venue #5: The Celebration of Whimsy a.k.a. the C.O.W.
21 Clinton Street (Between Houston and Stanton)
When:
Monday, August 17th, 7pm- SOLD OUT
Friday, August 21st, 7pm- SOLD OUT
Monday, August 24, 5pm- tickets selling fast!
Wednesday, August 26th, 2:45pm- still tickets left!
Sunday, August 30th, Noon- tickets selling fast!
Tickets:
$18, for tickets and to learn more visit fringenyc.org
Never been to a FringeNYC show before? Learn how to Fringe here!
Press/Industry Contact:
Company Contact: Lizz Leiser/15-3446@fringenyc.org
Festival Contact: Ron Lasko at Spin Cycle/ron@spincyclenyc.com
The 1 Second Everyday Making Of The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour
Writer/Book: The Serious Theatre Collective
Writer/Lyrics: Lizz Leiser
Musical Director/Composer: Ari Kessler
Director: Lizz Leiser, Kacie Laforest, Nick Masercola
Starring: Chris D'Amato, Abby Goldfarb, Sam Durant Hunter, Kacie Laforest, Ciara Curran, Kymberly Tuttle, Britton Saffer
$18, for tickets and to learn more visit fringenyc.org
Never been to a FringeNYC show before? Learn how to Fringe here!
Press/Industry Contact:
Company Contact: Lizz Leiser/15-3446@fringenyc.org
Festival Contact: Ron Lasko at Spin Cycle/ron@spincyclenyc.com
The 1 Second Everyday Making Of The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour
Using the app 1 Second Everyday, the Serious Theatre Collective edited together one second of every day leading up to the 2015 New York International Fringe Festival.
From FringeNYC application to our final dress rehearsal, here is..."The Making of the Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour"!
The 1 Second Everyday Making Of The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour from The Serious Theatre Collective on Vimeo.
Writer/Lyrics: Lizz Leiser
Musical Director/Composer: Ari Kessler
Director: Lizz Leiser, Kacie Laforest, Nick Masercola
Starring: Chris D'Amato, Abby Goldfarb, Sam Durant Hunter, Kacie Laforest, Ciara Curran, Kymberly Tuttle, Britton Saffer
Live Band: Ricardo Delgado, Ari Kessler, Andrew Hollis
Run Time: 1h 15m
Genre: Musical / Comedy
Opening Night Performance Stills by Morgan Shortell
Chris D'Amato (Ensemble): Recent NYC credits include: The Legend of Johnny 15, Titanic (Durang), The Actor's Nightmare, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and Waiting for Lenny. Chris will be a featured actor in the upcoming web series "How to Make it Big". Outside of stage and screen, Chris owns and produces his own professional wrestling company Paragon League Wrestling: www.paragonleague.com.
Ricardo Delgado (Head Writer/Ensemble/Band: Drummer): Ricardo Delgado has been working in the theatrical arts since graduating from Portland University (BA: English) in 2002. Since then, he has been involved in a wide range of performance types (i.e. plays, staged radio performances, recorded radio plays, sketch comedy, experimental movement, television, puppetry, and voiceover). In 2006 he moved to New York and helped found Serious Theatre Collective. Since its founding, he has served as writer, producer, actor, and band member for The Legend of Johnny 15, Professor von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, Professor Von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari and One Allotted Hour of Entertainment. Ricardo served as a head writer on The Apocalypse of John. He is also currently working in game design and user experience.
Scott Gryder (Recorded SFX): is a professional actor, singer, voice over, and puppeteer based in Chicago. For four years, Scott performed on the national children’s television show Green Screen Adventures (winning three Daytime Emmy Awards). And in 2011, Scott created TSGpuppetry; designing, building, and operating customized puppets for his and others’ productions. Favorite credits include SIMPLY SCOTTY with Freddie The Puppet & Nick Sula, WOZ: A Rock Cabaret (remounting at Stage 773 this May 2015), Life Is A Cabaret! The Words and Music of Kander & Ebb, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Chip), Thrill Me (Nathan Leopold), and Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour). Scott’s album Pure Imagination is available on iTunes. www.thescottgryder.com
Andrew Hollis (Band: Guitar/Writer): Andrew is a classically trained violinist and North Carolina native. After moving from the New World Symphony on Miami Beach to New York City, he joined the Serious Theatre Collective's band and has played live music as a part of the band for the last five shows.
Ari Kessler (Head Writer/Composer/Musical Director/Band: Piano): Ari hails from Youngstown, Ohio. After spending two years touring the world as a musician on a cruise line, he moved to New York and began to carve out a niche in musical direction and accompaniment. He just graduated with a Master’s in music education at Columbia Teachers’ College, while teaching and performing around the city in various disciplines.
Dan Naglia (Sound Design): Dan Naglia is a songwriter, producer, musician, and sound designer. Dan has experience in several bands throughout the years and has also recorded as a solo artist. In addition to alternative rock Dan’s repertoire includes collaboration with other artists, original EDM tracks and remixes, as well as film and theater scoring.
Nick Sula (Composer): Nick Sula is a Chicago-based pianist, composer, arranger, and award-winning musical director for theatre and cabaret. Nick has previously worked as composer for The Serious Theatre Collective for: Professor Von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, Professor Von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari, and The Legend of Johnny 15. His compositions and arrangements have been performed on stage and national television. Recent theatre credits: Coraline, Myths and Hymns, Hello Again, The Glorious Ones, Orpheus & Eurydice, and Merrily We Roll Along. Recent cabaret projects: Vocal arrangements and music direction for his vocal group With a Twist, and WOZ, a rock/pop retelling of the Wizard of Oz. Nick performs regularly in Chicago at the Uptown Underground and Davenport’s Piano Bar. www.nicksula.com
STC writes shows collaboratively, everyone involved is encouraged to attend the weekly writing sessions. Once the work begins to take shape a group of head writers emerges who take on the revisions based on the outcome of the group writing sessions.
Laura Aristovulos (Writer): Laura previously performed with STC as Death in Professor Von Awesome's Ghost Hunting Safari. Her other NYC credits include Vixen in The Reindeer Monologues (Producer's Club) Tricia in Dog Sees God(Roy Arias), Margareth in Woyzeck (Secret Theater), Vicki in Linoleum Hard (Midtown International Theater Festival). Laura has also devised the dance theatre pieces: Revolution in 1, Frankenstein, and Silver Screen Parade. Laura is currently creating work with Theater in Asylum and touring NYC public schools with Flying Ship's Apple Corps. She holds a BA of Theatre from the American University.
Megan Barbour (Prop Designer): Megan is a textile artist, sculptor, illustrator, and photographer with a passion for creating work that is engaging and awesome. She has been featured in various textile art blogs and publications including Stuffed Magazine. Her work has been part of several group shows at the Greenpoint Gallery, Eve-N-Odd Gallery, and the annual Plush You! exhibition. This is her second production with the Serious Theatre Collective.
Nicole Brickley (Writer/Tech.Consult/Fireproofing): Nicole Brickley is a freelance stage manager and theatrical technician. Before moving to New York, she toured three seasons with Chamber Theater Productions of Boston. Her New York career began with the New York International Fringe Festival, where she was a venue director for four years. She was an assistant stage manager for Henson Alternative’s NY production of Stuffed and Unstrung in 2010, and she has been a stage manager for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week for seven years. Other credits include production manager at Plays for Living 2008-2011. She also currently holds the position of logistics manager for iWeiss Theatrical Solutions. This is her second production with the Serious Theater Collective.
Mike Drummey (Writer): Mike Drummey is a founding member of Serious Theatre Collective, and has been working with them in various incarnations since 2006. He obtained his BFA from Hofstra University and has been a part of Serious Theatre Collective collaborative writing process for The Apocalypse of John, The Legend of Johnny 15, Professor von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, and Professor von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari (originating the title role in both Professor von Awesome installations). Mike also starred in the debut STC production of One Allotted Hour of Entertainment at the Knitting Factory. In addition to his work with the collective, Mike has performed in comedy shows at Improvolution and various other comedy venues.
Lizz Leiser (Head Writer/Lyrics/Director/Co-Producer): Lizz Leiser is a producer, playwright and director who produced plays in Chicago and Portland with Ego Productions, whose sketch comedy ensemble Superego was hailed as, “supremely hilarious… an hour of great sketch comedy…” by the Portland Mercury. Her play The Journal won Best Playwright and Best Production in Turtle Shell Productions’ Eight Minute Madness Festival in 2007. She has also taken first place in the "Best of in a NY Minute" short play festival in 2011 with the sketch Angry Birds: The Musical. She is a founding member of Serious Theatre Collective and has acted as head writer director for: Professor Von Awesome's Ghost Hunting Safari, The Apocalypse of John presented at the New York International Fringe Festival and the Philadelphia Fringe (Winner of the 2012 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award: Ensemble), two separate stagings of rock musical The Legend of Johnny 15, Professor von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, and One Allotted Hour of Entertainment. She has founded three successful theater companies and has written, produced, and directed over 25 readings and full productions in three U.S. states.
Damian Martinez (Graphic Design): Damian is a graphic designer, specializing in digital, print, branding, and all things awesome from the most independent theater companies to some of the world’s largest brands.
Nick Masercola (Head Writer/Co-Producer/Assistant Director/ Band:Bassist): Nick graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor's degree in English and Film. As a freelance writer, he has written comedy articles for Cracked.com, reported on the horror industry for Fangoria Magazine, done work in non-profits, the game industry, and self-help. This is his third production with the Serious Theatre Collective.
Jacob Callie Moore (Head Writer): This is the fifth production Jacob Callie Moore has done with the Serious Theater Collective as an actor and contributing writer. He is also an improvisor, member of the board for Artistic New Directions, and a member of the Apprentice Company with The Barrow Group School.
Partick Tennent (Lighting Designer): Designed lighting for a wide range of productions, from one-man shows to mega-musicals for some of the finest regional and educational theaters in the South Florida area, including Actors' Playhouse, Mosaic Theatre, New Theatre, Zoetic Stage, The Promethean Theatre, and the University of Miami Jerry Herman Ring Theatre.
Morgan Shortell (Photographer/Designer Sketch Album Covers): Photographer, retoucher, designer, monarch. kmestudio12.com
Chris Woolsey (Head Writer): Chris hails from Vancouver, WA, and attended college at The University of Portland. He has been in many stage productions, but for the last few years his time onstage has been devoted to comedy. He is currently based out of Chicago and is a graduate of The Second City Conservatory program as well as the iO Chicago training program. He plays on house teams at both theaters. He is currently sailing the seven seas aboard the beautiful Norwegian Gem performing sketch and improv for The Second City.
Emma Yeats (Writer): Emma is a writer, performer and improviser in New York City. She currently studies sketch writing at Upright Citizens Brigade and previously studied improv at both The Second City and UCB. She also writes and performs with the sketch comedy team POOF!
Official Trailer for FringeNYC 2015!
Run Time: 1h 15m
Genre: Musical / Comedy
The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour, FringeNYC Reviews 2015
A completion of all of the FringeNYC 2015 reviews of the Magic Jukebox!
The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour, FringeNYC Reviews 2015 from The Serious Theatre Collective on Vimeo.
Opening Night Performance Stills by Morgan Shortell
Click here for full article!
Read the Broadway World Feature on Women Lead Theater Companies at the 2015 FringeNYC
Click here for full article!
Read the Broadway World Feature on Women Lead Theater Companies at the 2015 FringeNYC
Click here for full article!
Ensemble:
Ciara Curran (Ensemble): Singer, actress, and cat-lover, is thrilled to join The Serious Theatre Collective in her Fringe debut! She recently finished a musical recording composed by one of her favorites, Charles Strouse for his musical, A Pound In Your Pocket. Ciara is proud to be a graduate of the Interlochen Arts Academy and is now a senior at The King's College in New York City, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media, Culture, and the Arts while also studying Acting and Voice under the instruction of Anthony Abeson and Judy Blazer.
Sam Durant Hunter (Ensemble): Sam is New York based film and stage actor originally from southern Vermont. He has spent two years with the Serious Theatre Collective having worked on Professor Von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari and a previous iteration of The Magic Jukebox. Credits include Songs for a New World (Man 2), Godspell (Jesus), John and Jen, Rope (Noah), Paris Through the Window, and Raise me Up (Clyde). Training: University of Vermont Department of Theatre, Ken Schatz Acting Studio. www.samduranthunter.com
Abby Goldfarb (Ensemble): Abby is a native New Yorker and graduate of Emerson College's BFA Musical Theatre program. She performs at The PIT and around NYC with her improv team, Bueller...? Abby has received training from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and is currently in their Advanced Study Improv program. Most recently, she performed in the new musical, The King of Second Avenue at The New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, MA. She was also featured in a parody spoof called, "Shower Idol" on the Meredith Vieira Show on NBC. Proud member of Actors’ Equity. www.AbbyGoldfarb.com
Kacie Laforest (Writer/Ensemble/Co-Director/Choreography): Kacie has worked with the Serious Theatre Collective on several productions, including The Legend of Johnny 15 (Rita Love) and The Apocalypse of John (Maude) at the New York International Fringe Festival. She studied theatre at Indiana University, Shakespeare & Co, and the Pearl Theatre Conservatory. Other theatre work includes Arms and the Man (Raina) and As You Like It (Celia). She also created original choreography for The Magic Jukebox.
Britton Saffer (Writer/Ensemble): Britton was last seen as the role of the ghost of Percival in Professor Von Awesome's Ghost Hunting Safari. Other credits include Guys and Dolls, Hello, Dolly! (Fire Island Pines Arts Project), Pantomime vs. Antimime (Secret Theatre), and Stretching Out (Gallery Players). He frequently performs stand-up and improv comedy all over the city and is a proud teacher for the New York City public school system.
Kymberly Tuttle (Ensemble): Kymberly last performed with the Serious Theatre Collective in The Legend of Johnny 15 in the role of Janet. Other favorite roles include the title role in Titus Andronicus, Bolingbroke and York in The Wars of the Roses Cycle, The Importance of Being Earnest at The Pearl Theatre, Viola in Twelfth Night, Hellena in The Rover, Mary in the world premiere of Ian McEwan’s In Between the Sheets, Little Mary in The Women, Judy in Women of Manhattan, Lady M., Anne, and Ophelia in Twisted Shakespeare. FILM/TV: Co-writer, composer, and played OB/GYN Mary Ellen in Your Light Saber & You and Attack of the Phantom Filmmaker’s New Empire, Lady M. in Whatever Happened to Baby Thane?, My Dirty Little Secret, Sesame Street. A native of Southern California, her credits there include Tartuffe (twice), Lysistrata (title role), Faust, Everyman, Private Lives, Barefoot in the Park, and Whatever Happened to Baby Thane? Training: UC San Diego and the Atlantic Theater Company.
Band/Music:
Ricardo Delgado (Head Writer/Ensemble/Band: Drummer): Ricardo Delgado has been working in the theatrical arts since graduating from Portland University (BA: English) in 2002. Since then, he has been involved in a wide range of performance types (i.e. plays, staged radio performances, recorded radio plays, sketch comedy, experimental movement, television, puppetry, and voiceover). In 2006 he moved to New York and helped found Serious Theatre Collective. Since its founding, he has served as writer, producer, actor, and band member for The Legend of Johnny 15, Professor von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, Professor Von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari and One Allotted Hour of Entertainment. Ricardo served as a head writer on The Apocalypse of John. He is also currently working in game design and user experience.
Andrew Hollis (Band: Guitar/Writer): Andrew is a classically trained violinist and North Carolina native. After moving from the New World Symphony on Miami Beach to New York City, he joined the Serious Theatre Collective's band and has played live music as a part of the band for the last five shows.
Ari Kessler (Head Writer/Composer/Musical Director/Band: Piano): Ari hails from Youngstown, Ohio. After spending two years touring the world as a musician on a cruise line, he moved to New York and began to carve out a niche in musical direction and accompaniment. He just graduated with a Master’s in music education at Columbia Teachers’ College, while teaching and performing around the city in various disciplines.
Dan Naglia (Sound Design): Dan Naglia is a songwriter, producer, musician, and sound designer. Dan has experience in several bands throughout the years and has also recorded as a solo artist. In addition to alternative rock Dan’s repertoire includes collaboration with other artists, original EDM tracks and remixes, as well as film and theater scoring.
Nick Sula (Composer): Nick Sula is a Chicago-based pianist, composer, arranger, and award-winning musical director for theatre and cabaret. Nick has previously worked as composer for The Serious Theatre Collective for: Professor Von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, Professor Von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari, and The Legend of Johnny 15. His compositions and arrangements have been performed on stage and national television. Recent theatre credits: Coraline, Myths and Hymns, Hello Again, The Glorious Ones, Orpheus & Eurydice, and Merrily We Roll Along. Recent cabaret projects: Vocal arrangements and music direction for his vocal group With a Twist, and WOZ, a rock/pop retelling of the Wizard of Oz. Nick performs regularly in Chicago at the Uptown Underground and Davenport’s Piano Bar. www.nicksula.com
Production/Crew/Writers:
Laura Aristovulos (Writer): Laura previously performed with STC as Death in Professor Von Awesome's Ghost Hunting Safari. Her other NYC credits include Vixen in The Reindeer Monologues (Producer's Club) Tricia in Dog Sees God(Roy Arias), Margareth in Woyzeck (Secret Theater), Vicki in Linoleum Hard (Midtown International Theater Festival). Laura has also devised the dance theatre pieces: Revolution in 1, Frankenstein, and Silver Screen Parade. Laura is currently creating work with Theater in Asylum and touring NYC public schools with Flying Ship's Apple Corps. She holds a BA of Theatre from the American University.
Megan Barbour (Prop Designer): Megan is a textile artist, sculptor, illustrator, and photographer with a passion for creating work that is engaging and awesome. She has been featured in various textile art blogs and publications including Stuffed Magazine. Her work has been part of several group shows at the Greenpoint Gallery, Eve-N-Odd Gallery, and the annual Plush You! exhibition. This is her second production with the Serious Theatre Collective.
Nicole Brickley (Writer/Tech.Consult/Fireproofing): Nicole Brickley is a freelance stage manager and theatrical technician. Before moving to New York, she toured three seasons with Chamber Theater Productions of Boston. Her New York career began with the New York International Fringe Festival, where she was a venue director for four years. She was an assistant stage manager for Henson Alternative’s NY production of Stuffed and Unstrung in 2010, and she has been a stage manager for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week for seven years. Other credits include production manager at Plays for Living 2008-2011. She also currently holds the position of logistics manager for iWeiss Theatrical Solutions. This is her second production with the Serious Theater Collective.
Mike Drummey (Writer): Mike Drummey is a founding member of Serious Theatre Collective, and has been working with them in various incarnations since 2006. He obtained his BFA from Hofstra University and has been a part of Serious Theatre Collective collaborative writing process for The Apocalypse of John, The Legend of Johnny 15, Professor von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, and Professor von Awesome’s Ghost Hunting Safari (originating the title role in both Professor von Awesome installations). Mike also starred in the debut STC production of One Allotted Hour of Entertainment at the Knitting Factory. In addition to his work with the collective, Mike has performed in comedy shows at Improvolution and various other comedy venues.
Lizz Leiser (Head Writer/Lyrics/Director/Co-Producer): Lizz Leiser is a producer, playwright and director who produced plays in Chicago and Portland with Ego Productions, whose sketch comedy ensemble Superego was hailed as, “supremely hilarious… an hour of great sketch comedy…” by the Portland Mercury. Her play The Journal won Best Playwright and Best Production in Turtle Shell Productions’ Eight Minute Madness Festival in 2007. She has also taken first place in the "Best of in a NY Minute" short play festival in 2011 with the sketch Angry Birds: The Musical. She is a founding member of Serious Theatre Collective and has acted as head writer director for: Professor Von Awesome's Ghost Hunting Safari, The Apocalypse of John presented at the New York International Fringe Festival and the Philadelphia Fringe (Winner of the 2012 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award: Ensemble), two separate stagings of rock musical The Legend of Johnny 15, Professor von Awesome’s Traveling Caravan of Cautionary Warnings, and One Allotted Hour of Entertainment. She has founded three successful theater companies and has written, produced, and directed over 25 readings and full productions in three U.S. states.
Damian Martinez (Graphic Design): Damian is a graphic designer, specializing in digital, print, branding, and all things awesome from the most independent theater companies to some of the world’s largest brands.
Nick Masercola (Head Writer/Co-Producer/Assistant Director/ Band:Bassist): Nick graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor's degree in English and Film. As a freelance writer, he has written comedy articles for Cracked.com, reported on the horror industry for Fangoria Magazine, done work in non-profits, the game industry, and self-help. This is his third production with the Serious Theatre Collective.
Jacob Callie Moore (Head Writer): This is the fifth production Jacob Callie Moore has done with the Serious Theater Collective as an actor and contributing writer. He is also an improvisor, member of the board for Artistic New Directions, and a member of the Apprentice Company with The Barrow Group School.
Partick Tennent (Lighting Designer): Designed lighting for a wide range of productions, from one-man shows to mega-musicals for some of the finest regional and educational theaters in the South Florida area, including Actors' Playhouse, Mosaic Theatre, New Theatre, Zoetic Stage, The Promethean Theatre, and the University of Miami Jerry Herman Ring Theatre.
Morgan Shortell (Photographer/Designer Sketch Album Covers): Photographer, retoucher, designer, monarch. kmestudio12.com
Chris Woolsey (Head Writer): Chris hails from Vancouver, WA, and attended college at The University of Portland. He has been in many stage productions, but for the last few years his time onstage has been devoted to comedy. He is currently based out of Chicago and is a graduate of The Second City Conservatory program as well as the iO Chicago training program. He plays on house teams at both theaters. He is currently sailing the seven seas aboard the beautiful Norwegian Gem performing sketch and improv for The Second City.
Emma Yeats (Writer): Emma is a writer, performer and improviser in New York City. She currently studies sketch writing at Upright Citizens Brigade and previously studied improv at both The Second City and UCB. She also writes and performs with the sketch comedy team POOF!
Official Trailer for FringeNYC 2015!
Official FringeNYC 2015 Trailer for "The Magic Jukebox" from The Serious Theatre Collective on Vimeo.
Video by: Mike Heffron
Voice Over by: Doug Bost & Ricardo Delgado
Video by: Mike Heffron
Voice Over by: Doug Bost & Ricardo Delgado
Monday, May 25, 2015
See The Magic Jukebox at the FringeNYC 2015!
Our Official Listing....
The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour
Serious Theatre Collective's Musical Sketch Comedy For Lovers and Platonic Friends
Twelve action packed genre bouncing musical sketches from hardcore hair metal to panty-dropping R&B, enchanting madrigals to down home gospel— and much more. Featuring a live band, epic offstage battles, Lovecraftian elder gods, and three real dolphins (played by humans)!
Writer/Book: The Serious Theatre Collective
Writer/Lyrics: Lizz Leiser
Musical Director/Composer: Ari Kessler
Director: Lizz Leiser, Kacie Laforest, Nick Masercola
Starring: Chris D'Amato, Abby Goldfarb, Sam Durant Hunter, Kacie Laforest, Ciara Curran, Kymberly Tuttle, Britton Saffer
Tickets will be available July 17th 2015 on the official FringeNYC site!
We will have five performances (to be announced) during the festival 8/14/15 - 8/30/15.
The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour
Serious Theatre Collective's Musical Sketch Comedy For Lovers and Platonic Friends
Twelve action packed genre bouncing musical sketches from hardcore hair metal to panty-dropping R&B, enchanting madrigals to down home gospel— and much more. Featuring a live band, epic offstage battles, Lovecraftian elder gods, and three real dolphins (played by humans)!
Writer/Book: The Serious Theatre Collective
Writer/Lyrics: Lizz Leiser
Musical Director/Composer: Ari Kessler
Director: Lizz Leiser, Kacie Laforest, Nick Masercola
Starring: Chris D'Amato, Abby Goldfarb, Sam Durant Hunter, Kacie Laforest, Ciara Curran, Kymberly Tuttle, Britton Saffer
Live Band: Ricardo Delgado, Ari Kessler, Andrew Hollis
Run Time: 1h 15m
Genre: Musical / Comedy
Run Time: 1h 15m
Genre: Musical / Comedy
Sunday, December 7, 2014
The STC Hall of Fame: Second Entry
As we prepare for the newest show, soon to be announced, we bring you a brand new feature:
The Serious Theatre Collective Hall of Fame
Second Entry 12/07/2014:
Megan Barbour's "Chicken Truck" puppet featured in The Magic Jukebox
A prop inspired by SFX created by Dan Naglia
and delightfully puppeted during the show by Mike Drummey.
A prop inspired by SFX created by Dan Naglia
and delightfully puppeted during the show by Mike Drummey.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Rozanna Radakovich says, " It’s hilarious"
New Review!
Rozanna Radakovich of theatrechitchat.webs.com says, "Each scene is funnier than the last...This is a must see show, it’s original, funny, and enjoyable to watch...I’d like to see this show to come to an off Broadway theatre with this talented cast".
Read the full review here
Rozanna Radakovich of theatrechitchat.webs.com says, "Each scene is funnier than the last...This is a must see show, it’s original, funny, and enjoyable to watch...I’d like to see this show to come to an off Broadway theatre with this talented cast".
Read the full review here
Vivereny.it Reviews the Magic Jukebox!
New Review!
www.vivereny.it says, "...a truly New York experience, and once the hour-long show has ended you’ll likely find yourself humming the songs...I absolutely encourage you to reserve your ticket online, IMMEDIATELY."
Read the full review here (in Italian) or here (delightfully translated by friend of the STC Annie Shapero)
All photos by Laura at www.vivereny.it
the first ever pop up theater in Cannon's Walk
@ the South Street Seaport
Right to left: Britton Saffer, Kacie Laforest
in STC's animatronic "Intro"
Left to right: Laura Aristovulos, Sam Durant Hunter, Kymberly Tuttle
in STC's animatronic "Intro"
Sam Durant Hunter
about to save the world with science "Alien Invasion"
Left to right: Kymberly Tuttle, Mike Drummey
on a first date in "Gods of Bullshit"
Left to right: Britton Saffer, Sam Durant Hunter, Ricardo Delgado
helping the broken hearted in "Mid to Late 90s R&B Cure"
Left to right: Abby Goldfarb, Britton Saffer
over everything in "the Critical Condition"
Left to right (top row): Kymberly Tuttle, Abby Goldfarb
Left to right (bottom row): Britton Saffer, Mike Drummey
on a hipster's journey in "the Critical Condition"
Sam Durant Hunter
shows buyers an apartment in Manhattan's hottest up and coming neighborhood in "White Noise"
Left to right: Kacie Laforest, Laura Aristovulos, Kymberly Tuttle, Sam Durant Hunter, Britton Saffer, Mike Drummey
living the nightmare of a Barbershop Quartet that sings your innermost thoughts in
"...And My Stream of Consciousness Was a Barbershop Quartet"
Left to right: Abby Goldfarb, Kacie Laforest, Laura Aristovulos, Kirsten Eagen
about to make some magic in "Karaoke Crisis"
Left to right: Sam Durant Hunter, Kacie Laforest, Mike Drummey's beard, Kirsten Eagen
exposing the horrible truth about dolphins in "the Dolphin Interpreter"
Left to right: Andrew Hollis (guitar), Ari Kessler (piano) Ricardo Delgado (drums)
the live band
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
The Magic Jukebox- the first review is in! "...a performance that is funnier than anything you’d see on SNL"
Tracy Sayre of thehesoproject.com says:
"One of the things that I love about New York City is that it attracts some of the funniest, most talented people in the world. It seems like on every corner, you can stumble into a bar and watch a performance that is funnier than anything you’d see on SNL. The Magic Jukebox, presented by The Serious Theatre Collective, is no exception. This is the third Serious Theatre production I've seen and I’m a big fan of their low-brow meets high-brow humor, and their efforts to make high-quality, original theater affordable.
The Magic Jukebox is a zany combination of sketch comedy and musical theater. Make sure you go to the bathroom before the show starts because you’ll be peeing in your pants. The collaborative writing style has led to some hilarious sketch ideas: a gospel choir that offers support during a first date, singing tele-spam, and homicidal dolphins just to name a few.
Some of the performance highlights include Ricardo Delgado’s R. Kelly inspired cameo, any time Sam Durant Hunter’s on stage, and Abby Goldfarb’s comedic timing. It was especially fun to come early and sing along with the impromptu karaoke that sparked up from the house band’s catchy set."
The Serious Theatre Collective Presents
The Magic Jukebox
Musical Sketch Comedy for Lovers and Platonic Friends Vol. 1
The Magic Jukebox is a new theater event at the South Street Seaport
sponsored by the Howard Hughes Corporation.
With the announcement of the Howard Hughes Corporation sponsorship the Serious Theatre Collective is offering FREE* tickets to ALL SHOWS!
Just click HERE to reserve your seat!
Just click HERE to reserve your seat!
Tickets are still available, but they are going fast!
A world premiere, the Serious Theatre Collective brings you the ridiculous joy of live musical theater with the packed laughs of sketch comedy. What happens when aliens invade earth and the only way to defeat them is to sing a Broadway power ballad? How does an ex-con avoid going crazy when his dark inner monologue is sung by a barbershop quartet? What happens when two best friends accidently sell their souls for a jukebox that can play literally any song? (Want to hear the song from Kanye West's dream last night? Done.)
Join the Serious Theatre Collective for an evening of our most unique, entertaining, and hilarious sketches underscored by original music played by STC's live band. Featuring a wide variety of musical styles and genres- from R&B to hair metal to Barbershop Quartets, The Magic Jukebox will delight audiences from the theater new-comers to veteran Broadway addicts.
The show is runs approximately 75 minutes and contains 18 original scenes complimented by custom artist-created set items, and accompanied by a live band.
The Serious Theatre Collective, winner of the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival Overall Excellence Award: Best Ensemble, is committed to bringing fun entertaining theater to a wide range of audiences.
*Have you already purchased a ticket to the show? Don't fret! We are working diligently with our ticket sales platform to provide refunds for all ticket holders who bought a ticket before the sponsorship took place. We appreciate your patience as we work out the logistics on the back end, but we are optimistic that we will have things taken care of soon! Please, note even though we will refund your tickets, they will still be completely confirmed and reserved!
What:
The Magic Jukebox
STC’s Can’t Miss Musical Sketch Comedy for Lovers and Platonic Friends
Run Time: 80 minutes
Where:
Cannon's Walk @ South Street Seaport
206 Front Street
New York, NY 10038
When:
Join the Serious Theatre Collective for an evening of our most unique, entertaining, and hilarious sketches underscored by original music played by STC's live band. Featuring a wide variety of musical styles and genres- from R&B to hair metal to Barbershop Quartets, The Magic Jukebox will delight audiences from the theater new-comers to veteran Broadway addicts.
The show is runs approximately 75 minutes and contains 18 original scenes complimented by custom artist-created set items, and accompanied by a live band.
The Serious Theatre Collective, winner of the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival Overall Excellence Award: Best Ensemble, is committed to bringing fun entertaining theater to a wide range of audiences.
*Have you already purchased a ticket to the show? Don't fret! We are working diligently with our ticket sales platform to provide refunds for all ticket holders who bought a ticket before the sponsorship took place. We appreciate your patience as we work out the logistics on the back end, but we are optimistic that we will have things taken care of soon! Please, note even though we will refund your tickets, they will still be completely confirmed and reserved!
What:
The Magic Jukebox
STC’s Can’t Miss Musical Sketch Comedy for Lovers and Platonic Friends
Run Time: 80 minutes
Where:
206 Front Street
New York, NY 10038
When:
All Shows: 7:30pm door, 8pm curtain
Thursday 11/6
Friday 11/7
Saturday 11/8
Thursday 11/13
Friday 11/14
Saturday 11/15
Thursday: 11/20
Friday 11/21
Saturday 11/22
Cost:
The Magic Jukebox is a new theater event sponsored by the Howard Hughes Corporation
Tickets are FREE and can be reserved online:
themagicjukebox.brownpapertickets.com
The Magic Jukebox is an Equity Showcase.
Thursday 11/6
Friday 11/7
Saturday 11/8
Thursday 11/13
Friday 11/14
Saturday 11/15
Thursday: 11/20
Friday 11/21
Saturday 11/22
Cost:
The Magic Jukebox is a new theater event sponsored by the Howard Hughes Corporation
Tickets are FREE and can be reserved online:
themagicjukebox.brownpapertickets.com
Credits From left to right:
Sam Durant Hunter, Kymberly Tuttle, Britton Saffer,
Ricardo Delgado, Kacie Laforest, Mike Drummey
Ricardo Delgado, Kacie Laforest, Mike Drummey
Not pictured but, absolutely in killing it in the show:
Laura Aristovulos, Abby Goldfarb, and Kirsten Almeida
Laura Aristovulos, Abby Goldfarb, and Kirsten Almeida
Photo by: Morgan Shortell
The Magic Jukebox is an Equity Showcase.
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