FullStop Blog

How long have you worked with FullStop?
I did a reading of IT ALWAYS FEELS FARTHER this winter. This is my first full production with FullStop.

What has been your favorite part of the rehearsal process so far?
Facing my fear by singing onstage!

What are you doing when you are not acting/directing/designing?
Working as an administrative assistant. Dreaming of becoming a burlesque performer.

Why did you get into theater?
I fell in love with acting during an 8th grade school play.

What is your vision of utopia?
A world in which compassion is valued above all else. And no one litters.

If you were king/queen of the world, how would you solve our global warming crisis?
I would replace fossil fuels with green alternatives. I would tell people to stop buying so much crap.

Along those lines, what else would you do as king/queen of the world?
No more cigarette butts thrown everywhere. No more gum spat out on sidewalks. No more poop, canine or human, on the sidewalks. No more graffitti. Wearing leggings as pants would be illegal.

Ever been to Brazil? How about Jacksonville?
I have never been to Brazil. But I have been to Jacksonville. My sister Jennifer lived there with her husband for several years and I went to visit them. I liked it.

How long have you worked with FullStop?
I began working with FullStop four years ago.

What has been your favorite part of the rehearsal process so far?
Haven’t gone to any rehearsals, been finishing up school!

What are you doing when you’re not acting/directing/designing?
When I’m not doing theater, I’m working on writing for television.

Why did you get into theater?
I got into theater because it’s the only kind of stress I’ve experienced that I truly enjoy.

What is your vision of utopia?
My idea of utopia involves clip lights, freeze pops, and reruns of The West Wing.

If you were king/queen of the world, how would you solve our global warming crisis?
I would probably give the scientists who know what is going on a voice, and lock the crazies who deny it in a storage container.

Along those lines, what else would you do as king/queen of the world?
See my answer to the utopia question.

Ever been to Brazil? How about Jacksonville?
Never been to Brazil nor Jacksonville.

How long have you worked with FullStop?

Since the start! I was there when we produced our first show as Full Stop Theater at NYC Fringe Festival, and I believe I made chicken and spaghetti at my apartment for our first “Let’s make a theater company” meeting in 2007.

What has been your favorite part of the rehearsal process so far?

I have had an amazing time working with Pat and Alexandra on the evolution of the music for Unville Brazil. Over the last six months we have collaborated to arrange and fill out these songs, explore characterizations and musical structure, transcribe it from ear to paper, and then bring it to life with the actors. I was there for the first reading of scene and song snippets in the summer of 2009, and to be part of the evolution of the story and music from then to now has been extraordinary.

What are you doing when you are not acting/directing/designing?

I’m writing a play of my own entitled Cause of Failure, which is being developed through FullStop’s new Development Series, and I’m getting ready to go to graduate school this fall at Arizona State’s MFA Directing program. I also recently discovered a love of cooking, and I’m now trying to cook my way through all my mother’s old recipes. And I can’t wait to get to Arizona, where I’m going to bike everywhere and go camping as much as possible, even in the middle of winter!

Why did you get into theater?

I loved theater since I could first walk and talk, but for many years I tried to find other things that were equally fulfilling. I went to college determined that I was going to move on to a “real” field like psychology, but two months in to my freshman year I was back at auditions. By junior year I realized I had taken so many theater electives that I was way behind on my required psych courses – at which point I accepted that theater is my heart and my world. Next thing I knew, I had switched majors, spent an incredible semester at the National Theater Institute with my future FullStop colleagues, moved to New York after graduation and started this company!

What is your vision of utopia?

A world where we live and act with profound respect for the impact of our present actions on people and places outside our personal spheres, and on the future sustainability of our world and its inhabitants.

Also, in my utopia, chocolate doesn’t have any calories, and I’m not allergic to cute animals or beautiful spring days.

If you were king/queen of the world, how would you solve our global warming crisis?

Something that saddens me about human nature is that we generally don’t change our behavior because it’s healthy or beneficial for other people or the world at large. Most of the time, we will change our behavior only if it benefits us personally and directly. We’re not likely to stop burning fossil fuels without an immediate, personal incentive. So, if I were queen of the world, I would phase out government subsidies of the oil industry and implement higher taxes on fossil fuel consumption. Fuel prices would go way up, fast, and people would hate me for a while, but since I’m queen I wouldn’t need to worry about the next election. I would apply those savings and income towards investments in green technology. There would be a massive shift in public energy consumption and a period of economic slump, but there would also be a massive boom in green industries. As consumer demand for green energy increased, thousands of new jobs would emerge, creating a demand for new green-energy training/education programs and, eventually, a collective cultural mindset shift towards sustainable green energy. I’d also make public education the absolute top budgetary priority, implement comprehensive school recycling and composting programs that kids would oversee, and make global sustainability a core piece of K-12 curriculum.

Along those lines, what else would you do as king/queen of the world?

I’d create a large-scale program of government subsidization for the arts!

Ever been to Brazil? How about Jacksonville?

Nope…nor Louisville, nor Nigeria…but in 2010 I did live in three different time zones. Does that count?

Get to know the cast and crew of UNVILLE BRAZIL!

First up, appropriately enough: Brian Hashimoto, Director

How long have you worked with FullStop?
Well, I suppose I was officially inducted into FullStop in 2008 at a wedding in Oregon (a long story that involves foam swords, a 3,000 mile road trip, and possibly the world’s shortest bachelor party… ever) and have been working with them since I moved to New York in the Fall of 2008.

What has been your favorite part of the rehearsal process so far?
I would have to say finding moments between characters that aren’t specifically scripted like reactions, silent physical beats, and anything to do with the seagull chicklettes. Discovering ways to deepen the story and also make us fall out of our seats laughing is truly a joy. This rehearsal process has been rich with these discoveries, I think mostly because this particular cast is just stellar about keeping a great balance of focus and sense of play in the room. Or maybe it’s just the fact that our rehearsal space has a nitrous oxide leak…

What are you doing when you are not acting/directing/designing?
I’m doing all three of those things?! No wonder I’m so tired all the time….. I don’t remember what I’m performing in or why anyone would trust me with a drawing instrument, but when I’m not directing I can be found wandering around Lincoln Center Theater, pretending I know how to fix xerox machines and breaking staplers so I can have an excuse to order more of them. Oh, and I’m a photographer as well, so half of the time you might mistake me for a Japanese tourist out on the streets. (It’s ok, I’m Japanese, I can make that joke)

Why did you get into theater?
Honest to (higher omnipotent being of choice) truth, I had to take a filler class for a semester in high school before I took driver’s ed. Photography was full, so the counselor said, “you’re an animated kid, why don’t you take drama?”. I shrugged and checked the box. Next thing I knew, people were trusting me to be emotional in front of an audience (which is really funny if you know me – cuz I’m generally not). After a couple of years of that, I dropped everything else and declared “I will make no money for the rest of my life!” Somehow my parents still like me…… I think……

Though I suppose that’s more of a “how” I got into theater as opposed to “why”. I chose theater as a career path, because I believe in its power to connect with and affect people on a level far deeper than recorded media can. There is a magic that happens during a live performance that you will never get by seeing a recording. That, and, you know, the promise of fame and fortune beyond my wildest dreams.

What?

You mean…. that’s not guaranteed?

Not even if I make a really clever youtube video?

….. crap.

What is your vision of utopia?
A place by the ocean (but not far from the mountains) where people can fly, eat whatever they want without feeling full, sick, or getting fat, and we exist in sustainable harmony with nature. And nobody is stupid. And if they try to be… well I can fly and bears are my friends. So they won’t be trying for very long.

If you were king/queen of the world, how would you solve our global warming crisis?
Blast all nuclear weapons into space and ban them forever. (Did you know there have been over 2,000 nuclear detonations since the 1940’s? Something tells me those didn’t help any) Then I would ban the use of fossil fuels, switch everything over to wind, solar, and hydroelectric energy, and then eventually invent cold fusion energy. (If I’m the king of the world, crazier things had to have happened than cold fusion).

Along those lines, what else would you do as king/queen of the world?
I don’t know what else specifically along those lines, really. Cold fusion and renewable energy pretty much put an end on that one. A full…. stop…., if you will….. *yuk, yuk, yuk*…. *sigh*…..

I suppose I’d deserve some R&R after saving the world, so I’d settle for the world’s best cheeseburger, a big mojito, and a few games of human chess out back of the palace. Straight up Royal, son.

Ever been to Brazil? How about Jacksonville?
Neither, actually. Brazil is high up on the list though. Once I become King of the World, however, the world will be my oyster. You know, to shuck and serve on crushed ice with a wedge of lemon….

Romance

Brian Hashimoto is a founding member and Co-Managing Director of FullStop Collective.

Tired of your winter clothes?
In need of a fresh wardrobe for the fast approaching summer?
Desperate for a reason to clean out your closet?

Join us for a FullStop clothing swap!!

Sunday, May 1st
4-7pm

838 Myrtle Avenue, #3
G Train to Myrtle-Willoughby or J/M/Z Train to Myrtle-Broadway

Bring: $10 plus a bag of clothes to swap*
Get: your pick of shirts, shoes, dresses, pants, muumuus, shawls, baseball caps, you name it!

Bring $15 plus a bag of clothes to swap*
Get: the above plus a FullStop canvas bag!

Come for the clothes, stay for the snacks and wine

See you there!

*Please only contribute clean and gently used clothes

Check out Unville Brazil‘s fantastic cast!

Featuring
Julia Arazi, Becca Landis,
Meredith Lark, Drew Lewis,
Christopher Norwood, Diana Oh,
Elizabeth Seldin, Andrew Squire, and Lauren Weinberg

Check back for information, bios, and interviews with the cast and creative team as rehearsals get underway

Want to help support FullStop Collective’s upcoming musical Unville Brazil?

Check out our Kickstarter campaign! Donate now and help us reach our goal!

And that’s not our only fundraiser. This May, join us for a Sunday afternoon clothing swap! Clean out your closet and get some new duds for summer! Bring $5 plus your old clothes and receive a bag from us to fill up with as many shirts, jeans, dresses, and shoes as you like!

Unville Brazil is getting all sorts of attention. We recently performed an excerpt from the show at the ITE – Inception to Exhibition Gala at 92Y Tribeca Space. Thanks so much for the opportunity!

And stay tuned for cast details coming soon!

In breathless anticipation of our second annual FOREPLAYS night of bold theater, short films and live music, FullStop is hosting a Trivia Night!

Here’s your chance to hone your FOREPLAYS knowledge before the show, and get some cheap booze and free food in the process!

Wednesday, February 16th, 8:30pm
Galway Hooker (7 East 36th Street)

Teams of four will compete for four prizes in four trivia categories (based on the four foreplays) while consuming four dollar beer, wine and well drinks.

And what are the four categories to honor our four foreplays?

1) The Sausage (SAUSAGE FEST)–link it to the play page.
2) Group Sex (THE FOREPLAY PLAY)
3) Panda Facts (THE PUSH TO MATE)
4) Kick Ass Karate (RANK JUMPING)

Don’t have a team? That’s cool – come stag and we’ll set you up

Don’t love trivia? Come for the chance to hang out with the cast and crew of FOREPLAYS 2011

Want to RSVP on Facebook? Click HERE and while you’re at it, become a fan!

There will be a $10.00 SUGGESTED DONATION at the door with all proceeds benefitting FullStop Collective’s production of FOREPLAYS 2011 – a seductive night of bold theater, short films and live music.
And if you can’t make it, please consider making a tax-deductible donation by clicking on the SUPPORT button to the left – every little bit counts!

FOREPLAYS Trivia Night
Because Knowledge is Power
And Power is Sexy