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Liz Goldberg has taught Fashion Illustration at The Pratt Institute and Drexel University for the past 11 years. Her work is an exploration of the theme of the “diva” – the flamboyantly uninhibited female and the personal and political empowerment she represents. As a painter, graphic artist, and animator, Liz has been inspired by puppets and absurdist theatre, influenced by puppet–like characters reminiscent of Alfred Jarry’s forerunner of absurdist theater, Ubu-Roi, the buffoons of modernist playwright Michel de Ghelderode, the existentialist mime plays of Samuel Beckett, and the symbolist and political figures of European puppet theater. Liz has developed these “diva” and puppet-inspired works into experimental animated films in collaboration with filmmaker Warren Bass, broadcast on American Public Television and cable, receiving awards and juried recognition in over 20 countries. The works use animation as an analog to painting, dance and poetry, and are intended to re-define the paradigm of what an animation can be. The process of animation has, in turn, influenced her full-scale paintings and works-on-paper producing diptychs, triptychs, and serial prints with progressive deviations. In 2018, Liz and Warren produced “Vogueing and Other Pleasures” shown at the Film Festival at the Barnes in conjunction with the Musee de Paris. In 2018, the film was also shown as part of “Contexualizing Fashion” at Pratt. A full room installation was created at Joan Shepp where Liz was a resident artist for 3 years 2017- 2020, installing the entire space with 1,750 hand-drawn cells from the animation, as well as paintings and prints. Liz’s work was recently part of MINIFEST at Theaterlab - a fun and vibrant event that brought together a variety of artists to share short works throughout Theaterlab's full loft on September 18 and 19 in New York City. MINIFEST is an afternoon of tiny delights, short sparks of new work, and other small surprises. Last produced on March 8, 2020, days before theater closed. This year’s MINIFEST focused on Fashion and the Body. Participating artists included Marco Casazza, Liza Cassidy, Blane Charles, Orietta Crispino, Jed Distler, Liz Goldberg, Naoki Iwakawa, Michaela Lind, Stefanie Nelson, Lisa Silvestri, Alex Sollitto, Lesley Ware, Louisa Willis, Ulisespal, Glenna Yu and Lanie Zipoy. ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Idiopathi... OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist... And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Michael P. Toner has been acting, directing, dialect coaching and specializing in Irish theatre for over 49 years. His recent roles include doing Phil Hogan in O’Neill’s Moon For The Misbegotten for Walnut Street Theatre (with national tour). Other WST credits include She Stoops to Conquer, Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Conversations With My Father, 1776, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, and The Caretaker. Other Brian Friel plays include Volunteers, Dancing At Lughnasa, Aristocrats, Translations and his one-man play based on Friel’s works, The Humours Of Ballybeg. Recent roles include Knacker Woods in Marie Jones’s Rock Doves, Vladimir in Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and the one-man play Crossing The Threshold into the House of Bach by David Simpson for Amaryllis Theatre. Other Irish roles include Vladimir in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, Krapp in Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, Mr. Rice in Brian Friel’s Molly Sweeney, Owen in the East Coast premiere of Friel’s Translations, Michael / Narrator in Friel’s Dancing At Lughnasa, Maurice in Conor Mc Pherson’s The Night Alive, An Irish Man in Tom Murphy’s The Gigli Concert, Trooper O’Hara in Sebastian Barry’s White Woman Street, Eugene O’Neill in Pat Nolan’s Midnight Rainbows, Doctor McSharry in Martin Mc Donagh’s The Cripple Of Inishmaan, among many others. His one-person plays include Beginning to End and Nohow On, based upon Beckett’s writings, An Evening with Mister Dooley, drawn from Finley Peter Dunne’s writings, his own Ever Yours, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Mr. Toner has performed for the Villanova Shakespeare Festival, the Carnegie-Mellon University Beckett Festival, the New York W.B. Yeats Society, the International James Joyce Symposium, the NYC A Dublin Evening, the NYC Gotham Book Mart Bloomsday, the Meadowlands Irish Festival, the American Shaw Festival, and he is a founding reader for the Rosenbach Museum & Library Bloomsday Festival. ~~~~~~~ We'll explore in 50-minutes what it means to create and to think about art during this time. Join us for this weekly virtually existential gathering until we can share stories on the stage again. If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week’s guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information. To keep up with who’s on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/.... To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist... And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Tonight, we talked with Mark Fitzgerald Wilson, Executive Director of the Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University about his journey from professional opera singer to arts administrator, his early and important years working in loss prevention (which included learning how to spot shoplifters), knowing your superpower, lessons learned from wise professors along the road, and what’s in store this season at Zoellner. ~~~~~~~ Mark Fitzgerald Wilson was named Executive Director of Zoellner Arts Center in July 2020. Mark joined Zoellner from the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College where he served as Executive Director of Cultural Programs and Partnerships. Over the last 20 years, Mark has been a leader in arts administration, a music professor, a professional opera singer and a corporate director. During his tenure at the Grunin Center, he planned and managed all aspects of the campus-based performing arts center including long-range artistic and strategic planning, programming, operations, finances, marketing, fundraising, educational and community engagement. In recognition of his contributions, he received the Ocean County College Presidential Leadership Award for Campus Wide Impact. Mark has a Bachelor of Music from Simpson College and a Master of Music degree from the University of Houston. In his role as Executive Director of Zoellner, Mark is responsible for the overall leadership of the center, a crucial function of championing goals and values, setting direction and inspiration. The position also directs and implements the artistic vision in alignment with the center’s mission. ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist... And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Tonight, we talked with Lane Savadove, the Founding Artistic Director of EgoPo Classic Theater about performing during pandemic, EgoPo’s upcoming season Awakenings and Transformations, and much more, featuring several special appearances by his daughter on location attending a very special birthday party (https://www.egopo.org). ~~~~~~~ Lane Savadove is the Founding Artistic Director of EgoPo Classic Theater, now in its 27th season. Lane has directed over 40 shows for EgoPo, Off-Broadway, regionally in San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, Provincetown, Philadelphia and on National Public Radio. He was the resident director of the National Cultural Center of Indonesia (1996-7), Artistic Director of Jean Cocteau Repertory (2004-5), and Associate Artistic Director of the Living Theater (1989-90). An Independence Foundation Fellow, Drama League Directing Fellow, Shubert Fellow, Henry Luce Fellow, TCG Leadership recipient. His works include: Beckett’s Company (NPR and 6 cities); world premiere of Tennessee Williams’ House Not Meant to Stand (Southern Repertory); Wedekind’s Spring Awakening (Phila, New Orleans), Maeterlinck’s Bluebird (Phila.), the world premiere of John Guare’s 10-hour Lydie Breeze Trilogy. Savadove's staging of Chekhov’s Seagull won the company the 2017 Barrymore award for Best Production. He holds an MFA in Directing from Columbia University and BA from Haverford College. Lane was a Professor of Acting and Directing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, The National University of Indonesia, and Head of Directing at Loyola-New Orleans. He is currently Head of Acting and Directing and Full Professor of Theater at Rowan University in New Jersey. Creating in Philadelphia: "It can be easy to accept the estimation that we’re not a place that’s bursting with deep thinkers because so many outsiders see us strictly as inhabitants of a blue collar city...and, of course, that’s complete nonsense. It’s been my experience that there’s plenty of brain power generated on a daily basis, and I think that’s particularly evident when you look at theater companies and what they’re collectively trying to convey to us, namely, that it’s perfectly acceptable to seek answers and apply your findings for the good of so many.” - Lane Savadove Ego Po Classic Theater Season 2021-2022 Awakenings and Transformations Alice: not your child's wonderland Based on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Adapted by Dane Eissler & Jenna Kuerzi Directed by Dane Eissler At Glen Foerd, public park and museum, 5001 Grant Ave Season Launch Event: Tuesday, September 28th Fringe Performances: Wednesday and Thursday, September 29th and 30th Tickets and more info at www.egopo.org/alice Wine in the Wilderness by Alice Childress Directed by Damien J. Wallace Performs Jan 19-30 at the Louis Bluver at the Drake Life is a Dream Based on the play by Pedro Calderon de la Barca Created by Brenna Geffers & Felipe Vergara Directed by Brenna Geffers Performs March 16-27 at Theatre Exile Curse of the Starving Class by Sam Shepard Directed by Lane Savadove Performs June 15-26 at Drexel's URBN Center Annex Black Box ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist... And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Sharon Geller is a comedic actress who has appeared on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE 4 times and on The TODAY Show as “Lucy”. After spending 10 years in the corporate world, Sharon followed her heart and decided to pursue her first love – acting. Her radio and TV commercials have won awards and she can currently be seen in a national TV commercial for Colonial Penn Life Insurance. Since 2012, Sharon has performed in the national touring company of the off-Broadway hit “OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES,” which is a tribute to the Borscht Belt and the birth of Jewish humor. After winning the Manhattan Monologue Slam in 2007 for presenting the best monologue in New York City, Sharon’s musical improv troupe, MC Hammerstein, became the first musical improv house team at the PIT (People’s Improv Theatre) in NY. In addition to being a spokeswoman on QVC, Sharon teaches comedy improv at the Walnut Street Theatre and IMPROV FOR LAWYERS, a course she created, at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Drexel University. She presents her CLE, ‘A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO ARBITRATION – Great Communication Techniques for Lawyers’ to the ABA, PBI and law firms around the country. She also leads corporate workshops on communication where she teaches people to think more quickly on their feet, be a team player and think outside of the box. Clients include Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Berkshire Hathaway Realtors. Her 1-woman show, ‘KNOCK, KNOCK…JEWS THERE? A Talmudic Take on Comedy’ about the importance of laughter and comedy in Judaism has received rave reviews from Jewish organizations around the country. Globally, Sharon has taught improv workshops for Tel Aviv Improv and at the St. John School of the Arts in the Caribbean. ~~~~~~~ We'll explore in 50-minutes what it means to create and to think about art during this time. Join us for this weekly virtually existential gathering until we can share stories on the stage again. If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week’s guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information. To keep up with who’s on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/.... To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist... And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Tonight on Into the Absurd, we talked with singer and actress Trudy Graboyes about her love of musical theater, her many roles in stages throughout the Philadelphia area, her background in theater producing and her upcoming one woman show based on her grandmother's immigrant experience titled Her Strength, Our Story. ~~~~~~~ Trudy Graboyes is a Philadelphia based singer and actor. She is currently in rehearsal for her one woman show, Her Strength, Our Story. Recent stage appearances include the Chaperone in THE DROWSY CHAPERONE and Mrs Brice in FUNNY GIRL at the Broadway Theater in Pitman, New Jersey, Mrs. STRAKOSH and Vera at The Candlelight Dinner Theater and Rose in GYPSY at Shannondell Performing Arts Center. She was nominated for both a 2014 Perry award and 2014 Broadway World best actress award as Fraulein Schneider in CABARET, the musical. Trudy was nominated for and won The Subscribers Choice Award from The Ritz Theater for her portrayal of Yente in the musical, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. She appeared in, IF THE SLIPPER FITS with the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, in RAGTIME at Centre Theater, in NUNSENSE JAMBOREE and ANNIE at the Media Theater. In ANNIE Trudy was cast in the ensemble and was understudy to Ms. Hannigan who was played by comedienne, Wanda Sykes. Trudy has performed at Walnut Street, Arden, Ritz, Hedgerow, Plays and Players, and New York Dinner Theaters. She was in the cast of TONY AND TINAS' WEDDING Show for 6 years (as Mrs. Vitale; mother of the bride). Trudy is also a cabaret singer. Her cabaret, DUSTPAN DIVA, a history of American musicals told through the eyes of a cleaning woman, was produced at NYC's cabaret, Don't Tell Mama to rave reviews. Trudy wrote, produced, and is the singer on the children's tape entitled, DOODLE DEE DOO. Trudy's day job is as a Standardized Patient for medical schools and clinical skills programs in the region. ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist... And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Ari is a Professor at The Community College of Philadelphia where he teaches classes designed to enhance empathy levels; he also provides all sorts of information his students would prefer not to know, but should know, such as the fact that almost all coffee originates from beans collected from children forced to labor on plantations (way to go Starbucks!) He is also a highly talented dog-walker for rescues looking for homes, a passionate volunteer at food distribution centers, and a person with a megaphone who likes to shout random compliments to people walking in Center City. In addition, Ari is an activist for human rights and for animal welfare ... he has led many marches in Philadelphia and has also collected hundreds of pounds of cat food for the kitties in local animal shelters. He is a published poet, short story writer, and essayist ... but he quit writing altogether because Ari felt it was becoming a bad habit. Ari is also a recent film maker who has starred in a short movie about himself (so selfish!) and he once worked with the IRC as a volunteer house manager who forgot to collect money from ticket sales; working for IRC again seems doubtful due to loss in revenue. Recently, Ari was an independent presidential candidate in 2020, and he is now eyeing another run for public office, but is unlikely to ever win since he accidentally started a rumor that Steve Martin had passed away this summer via a tweet reply that went viral (but Steve Martin did tweet Ari back which is awesome!) Ari lives in the city with his drop-dead gorgeous wife Kirsten Quinn, two cats that like to sleep on his belly, and himself of course.

Lisa Grunberger is the author of three books: Yiddish Yoga: Ruthie’s Adventures in Love, Loss and the Lotus Position (Harper Collins); Born Knowing (Finishing Line Press) and I am dirty (Moonstone Press, First Prize Winner). A Pushcart nominee and Temple University Professor, her work has appeared in a wide variety of publications including The New York Times, Hanging Loose Press, Crab Orchard Review, Mudfish, Krytyka Literacka, Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal, The Drunken Boat, Paroles du Jour, and The Mom Egg Review. Her play about motherhood, infertility, and assisted reproductive technologies, Almost Pregnant, is currently under artistic development at the Squeaky Bicycle Theatre company in NYC and is published by Smith Scripts. Her work has been translated into Russian, Yiddish, French, Slovenian and Hebrew. Her play Evidence or Moon Immigrants premiered in NYC’s Manhattan Theatre Company in 2018. Her one-act play “Alexa Talks to Rebecca, or “I’m sorry there are some things I cannot do yet, and explaining why is one of them” won the Audience Choice Award when it was produced in The Squeaky Bicycle’s Guts and Glory Playwriting Contest in 2021. Lisa teaches Narrative Medicine and Yoga and Writing at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. When she’s not being a mom, a professor and a poet, she teaches Yoga and Writing Workshops at The Healing Arts Center in Philadelphia. She is currently working on her memoir, Spit: A Jewish Adopted Woman’s Reckoning with her Refugee Origins. Lisa earned her doctorate in Comparative Religion and American Cultural History from the University of Chicago Divinity School where she studied the fascist health politics of early twentieth century fitness guru Bernarr Macfadden and how the gym serves as our modern cathedral. She double majored in English and Religious Studies at the University of Rochester where she was a DJ who conducted one of the first national interviews on AIDS in 1985. ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj9sR3Pi7_igB845rllrtsLhtqYnuwDRv And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Dirk Durossette has been designing scenery and teaching design, and drawing and rendering for the theater for the past 20 years in and around the Philadelphia region. Off-Broadway scene designs include: The Outgoing Tide and Any Given Monday. He has designed for Amaryllis Theater Company, Azuka Theater (Barrymore Nomination-Skin and Bone), Act II Playhouse (Any Given Monday-World Premier), Enchantment Theater Company (National Tour-Harold and the Purple Crayon), Theater Exile, 1812 Productions (First Day of School-Philadelphia Premier), Delaware Theatre Company, EgoPo Classic Theatre, Freedom Theater, Flashpoint Theater, Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, InterAct Theater Company, Lantern Theater (Barrymore Nomination- Skylight), Luna Theater, Painted Bird Productions (A Few Small Repairs-World Premier), Theater Horizon, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theater ,MumPuppetTheatre, Portland Opera (Maine), The Wilma Theater (Leaving- Associate Designer-American Premier), Temple Theaters, Temple Opera Theater, University of the Arts, Drexel University, Lawrence University (Wisconsin), Peabody Institute (Baltimore), West Chester University, Villanova University, The University of Memphis. He continues to design private commissions for weddings, special events, and lobby displays in and around greater Philadelphia. For three seasons he served as Resident Scene designer for PlayPenn’s New Play Development Conference in Philadelphia where he consulted on the design aspects of new plays and collaborated with playwrights in a workshop setting. Additionally, his work has been featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer, American Theatre Magazine and the Da Vinci Art Alliance’s publication “Envisioning Shakespeare at 450.” He has taught theatrical design at The University of the Arts, Temple University, Ocean County College and Villanova University. He currently serves as a full-time faculty member in the Design/Tech program at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. MFA Scene Design from Temple University. ~~~~~~~ We'll explore in 50-minutes what it means to create and to think about art during this time. Join us for this weekly virtually existential gathering until we can share stories on the stage again. If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week’s guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information. To keep up with who’s on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/677648/join-our-mailing-list/. To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj9sR3Pi7_igB845rllrtsLhtqYnuwDRv And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Mark Williams (he/him) is a Projections and Media Graduate Student attending the University of Maryland. An associate for VidCo: Virtual Design Collective, he designed set dressings and camera solutions for Geffen Playhouse’s hit live Zoom production, Someone Else’s House, described as “A frightening digital coup-de-theatre.” by The New York Times. -The New York Times As a Props and Puppetry Freelancer from the Philadelphia region, he has worked in theatres such as Delaware Theatre Company, The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Hangar Theatre, The Walnut, Opera Delaware, and Theatre Horizon. Learn more at https://www.Markwdesign.com On Geffen Playhouse’s Someone Else’s House: Obie Award-winning multimedia artist Jared Mezzocchi has a harrowing story to tell: his family’s frightening, true-life haunting inside a 200-year-old New England house. Flip the switch, light your candles, and prepare yourself (as best you can) for this first-hand story of terror with the latest interactive production from the Geffen Stayhouse. On Mark: “My own work begins with the primary goal of theatre, which Charles Mee described as “a practice for life." In its most basic sense this means what we witness in the performance space should develop us as persons, and better prepare us for the contradictions abound in life. Bitter sweetness and emotional ambivalence are representative of the human condition and should be represented by the characters we seek on stage. I seek contradiction, irony, hypocrisy, and to unravel how people make decisions. I'm interested in developing performance ideas that heighten the reactivity between performer, audience, and design. To reduce the static nature of projection and media brings it more in line with the liveness of theatre and dance.”

Tonight, we talked with Darnelle Edwin Radford about what’s wonderfully unique about the Philadelphia Theater community, how being a Barrymore nominator opened his eyes about seeing theater, how he’s always hopeful for excellence when attending a show, “The Business of Broadway” and his advice for those wanting start their own theater company. ~~~~~~~ Darnelle Edwin Radford is a theater producer living in Philadelphia, PA. He founded two production companies, Represented Theatre Company and Em3ry. He is the Producer and Host of Rep Radio, now in its 12th season and Broad Street Review Podcast, now in its 5th season. Other hats he wears, IT Guy, Photographer, Baker, Writer, Analyst and Consultant. He has studied Video Production and Multimedia and Web Design at the Art Institute of Philadelphia and Arts Administration at New York University. ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist... And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Our guests tonight were Joanna Rotté and John Zak. We talked about the unique challenges of directing and playing in Tennessee Williams, including Joanna's experience with his works studying with Stella Adler, how Brando's interpretation of Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire impacted the play's female characters, the quintessential Williams actor, and the differences between his two plays Summer and Smoke and The Eccentricities of a Nightingale. ~~~~~~~ Joanna Rotté is a theatre director of non-mainstream work and a member of Actors Equity Association. She holds the position of Professor Emeritus at Villanova University, where she served on the faculty for 30 years, including 7 years as Chair of the Department of Theatre and 5 years as Director of East Asia Studies. Her books include Scene Change (A Theatre Diary: Prague, Moscow, Leningrad) and Acting with Adler. Her essays on theatre, art, and culture – written for The Soul of the American Actor Newspaper and Broad Street Review – can be found at http://joannarotte.com. A longtime meditation practitioner, she’s narrated five books written by Pema Chodron. Joanna periodically posts a blog called DharmaTheatre. You are cordially invited to visit http://joannarotte.com/blog/ and you may subscribe: http://joannarotte.com/contact/ John Zak is an actor and voice over artist currently based in Philadelphia, PA. John made his debut with IRC in The Bald Soprano and is glad to be back for more. John was previously seen in Come Back Little Sheba and The Eccentricities of a Nightingale. Other theatre credits of note: Mr. Kraler The Diary of Anne Frank (People’s Light & Theatre); Michael The Pillowman (Luna Theatre)*; My Wonderful Day (Wilma Theater)*; Amadeus (Walnut Street Theatre); Jihad Jones & the Kalashnikov Babes (InterAct Theatre), The Life of Galileo (Wilma Theater), Red, White & Tuna (Walnut Street Theatre), The European Lesson, Jo Stromgren Kompani (Philadelphia Live Arts/Norway tour), and Caliban The Tempest, (Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre)--Barrymore Award; and numerous other Shakespeare plays. *- denotes Barrymore nomination. ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist... And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

In celebration of the first birthday of Into the Absurd, we dined virtually with artistic partners in life and theatrics, Sonja and David Robson. We talked about their first meeting in 1990 at an audition, their favorite theatrical project, Sonja's photography passion turned business, and David’s memorable play critique from a star-studded playwriting panel in Alaska. David Robson is an award-winning playwright whose work for the stage has been hailed as "compelling", "forceful", and "gut-wrenching" by the New York Times, and "an important contribution to contemporary theater" by the Philadelphia Inquirer. His plays include BY THE EYE; WITHOUT CONSENT; BIRTHRIGHT (PlayPenn semi-finalist); CLAY WARRIOR; MULEHEADED; AFTER BIRTH OF A NATION (Best Delaware Playwright Award); PRICELESS; PLAYING THE ASSASSIN (Philadelphia Critics' Best Play Nomination); PLAYING LENI (co-written with John Stanton); A FEW SMALL REPAIRS; MAN MEASURES MAN (Barrymore Award nomination); and AFTER DENMARK. Work has been produced by TheaterWorks Hartford, Delaware Theatre Company, Penguin Rep, InterAct Theatre Company, Passage Theatre, and Act II Playhouse, among others. Robson was recently named Delaware's Best Playwright by Broadway World, and is recipient of the Hotel Obligado Audience Choice Award for New Work. Other honors include the Susan McIntyre Playwriting Award, the Panowski Playwriting Award (runner-up), and two playwriting fellowships and two grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts. Play development: Blank Theatre (Los Angeles), Bated Breath Theatre (Hartford, CT), Lark (NYC), White Pines Productions (Philadelphia, PA), City Theater Company (Wilmington, DE), Great Plains Theatre Conference (Omaha, NE), Last Frontier Theatre Conference (Valdez, AK), Rebel Theatre (NYC), and New Theatre (Coral Gables, FL). His plays and monologues are published by Smith and Kraus and Original Works Publishing. David is a member of the Dramatists' Guild, the Playwrights' Center, and is a former playwright in residence at the Lark Play Development Center in New York City. He is also the author of more than 20 books for young adults, including Shakespeare's Globe Theater, The Murder of Emmett Till, and The Black Arts Movement. He earned an MFA in creative writing from Goddard College, an MS in English Education from St. Joseph's University, and a BA in Communications from Temple University. He is a professor of English at Delaware County Community College, where he was awarded the Gould Award for Teaching Excellent in 2010. (https://www.davidrobsonplay.org/) Sonja Robson fell in love with photography as a teen when her big brother Millard guided her in purchasing the Minolta seen in this photo. She lived in Sweden most of her young life and moved to the States after graduating high school. She drifted a bit and later on received her BFA in Theatre at U of The Arts, however, she’s always been more of a visual artist than a lover of fancy words. After many art classes (digital and otherwise) as well as photography classes, she inherited a collection of cameras and lenses from her photographer brother, Bill, and realized that she found her passion once again. She has an eye for detail and love to try to capture that intangible something that makes a person unique. Sonja was born in New York and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. She has been performing both on stage and film since 1990. She received her BFA in Acting from The University of The Arts. She has worked at many local theatres, including The Wilma, New City Stage, The Walnut and The Lantern. In 1998 she received a Supporting Actress Barrymore nomination for her role in The Lover/A Kind of Alaska at The Walnut, and she has also been seen in numerous local and national commercials. Sonja was last seen in The Bald Soprano at The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium in February 2020. Other productions include Why Torture is Wrong and The People. who Love Them at New City Stage and Marriage, The Empire Builders, The Madwoman of Chaillot and The Castle with The IRC. (https://www.sonjaseye.com/) ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj9sR3Pi7_igB845rllrtsLhtqYnuwDRv And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Jeanette Jimenez is a retired high school inner city teacher of 36 years who has turned to photography in retirement as a way to connect with her father, the late Alexander Artway (Artemiev). Throughout her teaching career, Jeanette always looked to the arts to find inspiration on how to teach her students and inspire them. Whether it was taking them to the Painted Bride Art Center to look at visual art or to plays at the Society Hill Playhouse, she always found a way to inspire her students to look beyond any limitations. So when Jeanette found her father's photographs and negatives; his life's work in a suitcase all about to get thrown away after his passing, she knew she had to take them and save his work and her only family connection. 50 years pass, and Jeanette starts an inspiring journey sharing her father's photography archive; from taking photography courses at Temple, attending photography fairs in NYC, and working with curators and gallerists; all to leave a legacy for her father through his artwork. https://www.alexanderartway.com/ https://www.apag.us/ http://russiannobility.org/ Katie Tackman is an artist, photographer, and fine art printer living and working in Philadelphia. Katie graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Photography. After graduating, she worked at Silicon Fine Art Printing in Old City for over 5 years where she joined a strong community of artists in Philadelphia. As a founding member of Gravy Studio + Gallery, she is the studio manager and co-curator of the photography exhibits and also has her own printing company KT Butterfield Photo + Print where she continues working with artists and photographers to create beautiful prints. Katie has been working with the Artway Archive for 3 years as the archive manager; archiving photos, organizing Artway exhibits locally and abroad, and collaborating with Jeanette to keep her father's photography alive. https://www.gravy-studio.com/ https://www.ktbutterfield.com/ https://www.2020photofestival.org/ ~~~~~~~ Ivia Yavelow, Iryna Mozoa, and Alice Cutler have also significantly contributed to the Artway Archive by assisting with writing, translation, design, and all around support for the archive. We would also like to mention Stephen Perloff of the Photo Review, Stephen Bulger Gallery, Alan Klotz Gallery, Peter Barbarie of the PMA, and APAG for their help and guidance throughout our journey. ~~~~~~~ Alexander Artway (Artemiev) Alexander Artemiev was born March 25, 1903 in Gomel, Belarus, Russia. He was the youngest of nine children. As a teenager he fought in the White Army and was wounded in his left leg. He fled and went into exile in Europe (Belgrade, Prague, Paris) for years until he was able to enter America. He entered on Ellis Island in June of 1922 under the name Alexander Artway. He remained in New York City for the next 18 years. He joined the Merchant Marines and later became a captain of ships and sailed around the world taking pictures. He saw much more of the world than the average person of these times and led a rather unconventional life. Artway was fascinated by the skyscrapers going up. He photographed New York's iconic structures from every angle and rooftop, and perhaps even from airplanes. He attended NYU and earned a degree in architecture in 1934. Away from all family but his brother John, who lived in Brooklyn, Artway had to seek out new connections. He found Lena, a woman whose family was still in Ukraine. The two explored the city together and carried on an affair that lasted many years. Artway photographed nearly compulsively for about 15 years and only slowed down after the birth of his first child. In Philadelphia he became a true family man, and the photographs after 1942 are reflective of Artway’s newfound identity. The Alexander Artway Archive contains approximately 3,000 vintage prints and 4,000 negatives. Housed in Philadelphia, the Archive strives to research and promote the photography of Alexander Artway. Alexander Artway's work is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. ~~~~~~~ We'll explore in 50-minutes what it means to create and to think about art during this time. Join us for this weekly virtually existential gathering until we can share stories on the stage again. If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week’s guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information. To keep up with who’s on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/.... To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist... And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Tonight we talked with author Thom Nickels about his recently published book From Mother Divine to the Corner Swami: Religious Cults in Philadelphia: his interview with Mother Divine, experiences with Scientology, Bishop John the society tarot card reader, what keeps Philadelphians in Philadelphia, and his early fixation with eyebrows. ~~~~~~~ Thom Nickels is the author of fifteen books, including: Out in History (2005), Philadelphia Architecture (2005) and Spore (2010). Nickels was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award for, Two Novellas: Walking Water & After All This (1990) and awarded the Philadelphia AIA Lewis Mumford Award for Architectural Journalism in 2005. His poetry has appeared in Van Gogh’s Ear anthology (Paris). His column, Different Strokes in the Philadelphia Welcomat in the 1980s, was the first out gay column in a mainstream newspaper in the nation. He has written for a variety of national and regional publications, including the Huffington Post, Passport Magazine (New York), Philadelphia Tribune, Philadelphia City Paper, The Philadelphia Bulletin (2003-2005), The Philadelphia Inquirer, Travel Weekly, The Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Magazine. His essay on his years as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War was published by The New Oxford Review and reprinted in the Oklahoma Humanities Magazine, Vietnam issue, Fall/Winter 2017. He was the theater critic for ICON Magazine, the architecture critic for Metro Philadelphia and has been a columnist for PJ Media (Los Angeles), The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Magazine. Thom currently writes a weekly column for the Philadelphia Free Press and The Philadelphia Irish Edition. He is a regular contributor to City Journal, New York, the Delaware Valley Journal and Philadelphia’s Broad + Liberty. Literary Philadelphia: A History of Prose & Poetry in the City of Brotherly Love was published by The History Press in 2015 and was featured as the main book review in the Sunday edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer. His scholarly essay on Philadelphia essayist Agnes Repplier was the cover feature essay in the Winter issue of The American Catholic Studies Journal (Villanova University), 2015. His book, Philadelphia Mansions: Stories and Characters Behind the Walls was published by The History Press in March 2018. His book, From Mother Divine to the Corner Swami: Religious Cults in Philadelphia (Fonthill Media, UK) was published in October 2020. Nickels was the featured speaker at the Walt Whitman Annual Birthday Party, Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at the Walt Whitman House in Camden. Nickels co-founded the Arts Defense League (later renamed the Coalition for Philadelphia Art), a grassroots organization instrumental in keeping Maxfield Parrish’s ‘The Dream Garden’ in Philadelphia’s Curtis Building after an attempted buy-out in the mid-1990’s by Las Vegas casino mogul, Steve Wynn. This grassroots campaign brought media attention to the issue and served to galvanize state and city support to keep “Dream Garden’ in Philadelphia after a photograph of Nickels with a colleague picketing the Curtis Center was published on page one of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Nickels was interviewed and photographed extensively by People Magazine for his efforts. Numerous interviews in the local press followed in the weeks following the founding of the Arts Defense League. Nickels, a native of Malvern, Pennsylvania, attended Eastern College, Baltimore, Maryland (now part of the University of Maryland), Immaculata University, and the Charles Morris Price School in Philadelphia where he was editor of the school magazine and where he was awarded The Carrie May Price Award for Best Student Work in Journalism. List of Published Works (Books): The Cliffs of Aries (Aegina Press) 1988 Two Novellas: Walking Water & After All This, (Banned Books), 1989 The Boy on the Bicycle (Starbooks Press), 1992, 1993 Manayunk (Arcadia Publishing), 1996 Gay and Lesbian Philadelphia (Arcadia Publishing), 1999 Tropic of Libra (Starbooks Press), 2002 Philadelphia Architecture (Arcadia Publishing), 2005 Out in History (Starbooks Press), 2005 Spore (Starbooks Press), 2009 Walking on Water & After All This (Revised edition; Starbooks Press) 2011 Legendary Locals of Center City Philadelphia (Arcadia Publishing), 2014 Literary Philadelphia: A History of Poetry & Prose in the City of Brotherly Love (The History Press), 2015 Learn to Do a Bad Thing Well: Looking for Johnny Bobbitt, Amazon Books, 2019. Philadelphia Mansions: Stories and Characters behind the Walls (The History Press), 2018 The Perils of Homelessness, (Amazon, 2019). From Mother Divine to the Corner Swami: Religious Cults in Philadelphia (Fonthill Media, UK), 2020 Anthologies: Smash the Church, Smash the State: The Early Years of Gay Liberation (City Lights Books, San Francisco, CA) ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj9sR3Pi7_igB845rllrtsLhtqYnuwDRv And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Tonight we talked with writer Carla Sarett about how meditation informs her writing practice, her study of children's fantasy play, her novella The Looking Glass, and why she prefers a notebook over writing on a computer. ~~~~~~~ Carla Sarett is a poet, essayist and fiction writer. Her recent poems have appeared in Blue Unicorn, San Pedro River Review, Prole, ONE ART, The Virginia Normal, The Remington Review and elsewhere; her essays have been nominated for Best American Essays. She awaits publication of a novella, The Looking Glass, and in 2022, a novel, A Closet Feminist. Carla has a Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania, and currently lives in San Francisco (but misses Philadelphia.). Learn more at https://carlasarett.blogspot.com/ Samples of Carla's work: Poem: “Ruth’s Lily” https://www.dustpoetry.co.uk/post/ruth-s-lily-by-carla-sarett Flash fiction: "At least five things" https://www.thesunlightpress.com/2021/03/22/at-least-five-things/ Short fiction: "Prepared" https://www.hobartpulp.com/web_features/prepared Short fiction: "The Bad Luck" https://acrossthemargin.com/the-bad-luck/ Poem: "dead my mother moves in" https://www.wordsandwhispers.org/dead-my-mother-moves-in Poem: "who jumped in the water" https://www.bowerygothic.com/poetry-2020-4 Poem". "we used to watch The Searchers" https://isacoustic.com/2020/09/28/person-carla-sarett-two-poems/ Essay: "No Margarets" https://carlasarett.blogspot.com/2020/03/jewish-marys-or-more-about-names.html Essay: "Mr. Helen" https://carlasarett.blogspot.com/2019/05/mr-helen-by-carla-sarett.html Essay: "Dmitri's Cat" https://carlasarett.blogspot.com/2019/04/dmitris-cat.html ~~~~~~~ We'll explore in 50-minutes what it means to create and to think about art during this time. Join us for this weekly virtually existential gathering until we can share stories on the stage again. If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week’s guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information. To keep up with who’s on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/677648/join-our-mailing-list/. To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj9sR3Pi7_igB845rllrtsLhtqYnuwDRv And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Kirsten Quinn is a founding member of the Irish Heritage Theatre and has performed in Philadelphia Here I Come, Juno and The Paycock, Molly Sweeney, By the Bog of Cats, Lay Me Down Softly and Woman and Scarecrow. She has also performed in many productions with The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium including Rhinoceros, The Castle, Betty's Summer Vacation, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Arsonists, The Empire Builders and others. Kirsten holds an M.F.A. from the University of Pittsburgh (Acting) and is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Community College of Philadelphia. In addition to her work with IHT and IRC Kirsten has acted in over sixty productions including shows at the Wilma, the Lantern, The PAC, Isis Productions, EgoPo Classic Theatre, Seagull Productions, InterAct, The Eagle Theatre, The Eternal Spiral Project (founder), New City Stage, Montgomery Theatre, The Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Luna Theatre, Dan Hodge's Independent Shakespeare Company, and many others. Kirsten recently won the 2016-17 Phindie Critics' Award for Best Actress for Molly Sweeney and was nominated along with the rest of the Ensemble for a Barrymore Award for Ego Po's The Seagull. She is also the recipient of a Bronze Telly Award and the Irish Echo Community Champion Award. ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ OR The IRC's You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc7NYk0ZSkujKEwq1jvz78w/videos and we hope you'll subscribe while you're there, to keep up with weekly episodes Also check out the podcast on your favorite platforms: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/into-the-absurd-with-tina-brock/id1545400092

MICHAEL P. TONER has been acting, directing, dialect coaching and specializing in Irish theatre for over 49 years. His recent roles include doing Phil Hogan in O’Neill’s MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN for Walnut Street Theatre (with national tour). Other WST credits include SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER, PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME!, CONVERSATIONS WITH MY FATHER, 1776, SOMEONE WHO’LL WATCH OVER ME, and THE CARETAKER. Other Brian Friel plays include VOLUNTEERS, DANCING AT LUGHNASA, ARISTOCRATS, TRANSLATIONS and his one-man play based on Friel’s works, THE HUMOURS OF BALLYBEG. Recent roles include Knacker Woods in Marie Jones’s ROCK DOVES, Vladimir in Beckett’s WAITING FOR GODOT and the one-man play CROSSING THE THRESHOLD INTO THE HOUSE OF BACH by David Simpson for Amaryllis Theatre. Other Irish roles include Vladimir in Samuel Beckett’s WAITING FOR GODOT, Krapp in Beckett’s KRAPP’S LAST TAPE, Mr. Rice in Brian Friel’s MOLLY SWEENEY, Owen in the East Coast premiere of Friel’s TRANSLATIONS, Michael / Narrator in Friel’s DANCING AT LUGHNASA, Maurice in Conor Mc Pherson’s THE NIGHT ALIVE, Irish man in Tom Murphy’s THE GIGLI CONCERT, Trooper O’Hara in Sebastian Barry’s WHITE WOMAN STREET, Eugene O’Neill in Pat Nolan’s MIDNIGHT RAINBOWS, Doctor Mc sharry in Martin Mc Donagh’s THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN, among many others. His one-person plays include BEGINNING TO END and NOHOW ON, based upon Beckett’s writings, AN EVENING WITH MISTER DOOLEY, drawn from Finley Peter Dunne’s writings, his own EVER YOURS, . SCOTT FITZGERALD. Mr. Toner has performed for the Villanova Shakespeare Festival, the Carnegie-Mellon University Beckett Festival, the New York W.B. Yeats Society, the International James Joyce Symposium, the NYC “A Dublin Evening, the NYC Gotham Book Mart Bloomsday, the Meadowlands Irish Festival, the American Shaw Festival, and he is a founding reader for the Rosenbach Museum & Library Bloomsday Festival.

Anna Kiraly is a visual artist, set and video designer. Her collaborations include set design for CHEKHOV LIZARDBRAIN, ISABELLA, and PAY UP with the Pig Iron Theatre Company, set design for TIME'S JOURNEY THROUGH A ROOM with Dan Rothenberg/The Play Co., set and video for CITY OF NO ILLUSIONS, BURNISHED BY GRIEF, THE GOLDEN TOAD, MARCELLUS SHALE and FLIP SIDE with the Talking Band, set design for WALK ACROSS AMERICA (with Taylor Mac/The Talking Band) and MISALLIANCE, PARADISE PARK and THE CASTLE with Tina Brock/IRC. Other recent and past productions include set for THE SEAGULL at Colgate University, set/video for TRANSLATIONS and UBU (with S. Fogarty for Barnard College) and DOG AND WOLF (J. Randich at 59E59), installation design for 36 PEAKS (with S. Sunde at the Baryshnikov Arts Center), THE GARDEN (N. Canuso Dance Company), costumes for KAFKA FRAGMENTS (P. Sellars at Zankel Hall). She was awarded a NYSCA 2021 grant for set design for a Beckett collaboration with Sharon Fogarty (in progress). She is a recipient of the Arts Link Grant, the NEA/TCG Program for Designers and the TCG New Generations (with the Talking Band). Her "noir" multimedia pieces THE QUAKE (at Ideal Glass), SLOW ASCENT and UFO (St. Ann’s Warehouse) won the Jim Henson Foundation’s support. Anna has collaborated with universities and colleges such as Barnard/Columbia, Fordham, The New School, Smith, Montclair, Lehigh and Colgate and designed for opera productions (AOP, Hungarian Opera, Zankell Hall) and concerts (YPC/ New York Philharmonic). She is an adjunct lecturer teaching Scenic Design and Media at Barnard College/Columbia University. ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Idiopathi...​ OR The IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...​ And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

James Jackson is a freelance fashion photographer; artist of theatre direction, design, and production; and a cinematographer, who learned most of what he knows from a long career of taking jobs in a multitude of art fields. He started learning at the feet of my artistic family and as I grew I kept pursuing the arts as both a passion and an endeavor. “Along the way I've learned to travel light; eat well: call on reserves of energy I didn't know I had when I needed them; and to always be exploring the world with my eyes, ears, heart, and mind. Light Thief Productions: Light Thief LLC is a production company serving the technical, creative, and equipment needs of business clients in the theatrical, live event, photography, film, advertising, video, and commercial production spaces. Light Thief Productions is centered around creating art that elevates the stories of black, indigenous, and minority communities. Our efforts are largely through the creation of science fiction and noir content in our directly produced work, and serving the cause of justice and social good in productions of activist and social justice work. James Jackson’s Coffee Talk: Every Wednesday at 10am, James Jackson - Executive Producer of Light Thief Productions - hosts a conversation about the arts, social issues, and current events from the perspective of the minority communities of the city of Philadelphia. Pulling guests from across the spectrum of economic, social, and political views James talks about what’s going on and what we can do to make the world a better place.