Episode 1 - Lauren Zbylski
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Maddi Albregts
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This podcast is brought to you by MAD Company, a nonprofit theater company based out of New York City.
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James Hale
Hello, everyone, and welcome. Thank you for joining us. My name is James Hale, I'm the executive director of Mad Company and your host for today's podcast. With me today is the wonderful, brilliant and amazing Lauren Zbylski, our artistic director and a working actor. Welcome, Lauren.
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Lauren Zbylski
Thank you so much. That is very high praise. Thank you.
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James
Of course. Yeah.
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*Intro Jazz music playing under various voices*
Helena Mueller
I'm going to make you redo it.
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James
I might record another one.
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Lauren
It's terrifying...
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Helena
...And then left... left it behind, retired...
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James
And we're back for that exciting interruption... what next season will hold... My name is James Hale.
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*Jazzy Music finishes playing and sound effect of flickering lightbulb playing over*
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James
So before we dive into sort of some specific questions I have, I was wondering if you, in your own words, you just sort of chart the journey from working actor, creative to artistic director of what some people have said is the most exciting new arts company in the world.
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Lauren
Yeah, I have heard that as well. I mean, honestly, sometimes it feels a little bit like stumbling around in the dark, this journey. But I have been studying Shakespeare and the classics and theater in general, really actually since before college, and have been working pretty steadily as an actor since that time with a few intermittent hiatuses to go back to school for graduate school and a few other things. But yeah, when I first came to New York, which was going on two years ago, one of the most exciting things about being here is that- and you can attest to this as well as an alumni of LAMDA. But there was kind of a built in community right off the bat of a group of us that had all moved here after graduate school. And conversations in the beginning looked like, how can we continue to work together? How can we put up a production or do more staged readings or something of the like? And then very quickly started to evolve into, well, if we wanted this project to have an actual life, wanted it to have longevity. Maybe it makes more sense to actually try to start a theater company, hence discussions about nonprofits and all of that, which I'm sure we'll get into. And the two of us were sort of at the helm of that for a while. And I think both recognize that maybe we were suited to the roles that we eventually took on. So hence now I am technically the artistic director of this company, which even saying out loud now seems a little bit crazy and yet also feels like it's been a path in the works for a really long time.
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James
Sure
Lauren
Just kind of given the trajectory of what I love and what I'm passionate about.
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James
Yeah, well, I mean, the the qualifications you brought to the table are certainly excellent-
Lauren
Aw, thanks.
James
-and so speaking of that, I'd like to dive in. I have your resume here in front of us, which is quite impressive.
Lauren
Thank you.
James
A lot of Shakespeare credits. I'd like to start, though. You went to SMU and then later LAMDA. And I'm curious why Southern Methodist?
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Lauren
Yeah, that is an excellent question. The short answer is sort of luck. Actually. I grew I knew by about my junior year of high school that I really wanted to study theater in some capacity when I went to college. And my parents were very supportive, thankfully, but were also understandably very ignorant about what that was going to look like, as neither of them are self-professed creatives. And so when it came to applying to schools, I sort of a little bit felt like I was just kind of throwing paint at the wall.
James
Sure
Lauren
There were certain things I knew I wasn't looking for and certain locations, to be honest, at that point, at like 17 years old, the idea of moving to a city like New York terrified me.
James
Yep
Lauren
Yeah. So that took a couple of things out of the equation right away. But what actually ended up happening? I was in a huge joint audition for several universities at the same time, and SMU, to be honest, wasn't even necessarily on my radar. But one of the representatives from the school after my audition approached me, asked me a few questions about what I was looking for in a program and was like, You know, I really think you should consider our program.
James
Wow
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Lauren
Come down to Dallas for a weekend. We'll give you a tour. You can sit in on some classes, and if it's the right fit, we would love to have you.
James
Very Cool
Lauren
And actually, in a beautiful twist of fate that would come to have a lot more meaning, several years later, I was sitting in on a Shakespeare class with a wonderful professor who was the head of acting at the time. His name is Michael Connelly, and he totally changed my life. But he was teaching this class with a group of seniors that were doing a scene from Twelfth Night. And I remember just feeling things I'd never felt before in this class when it came to what I was watching, when it came to the way he was directing and teaching. And I just remember leaving that class and thinking, I want to work with him and I want to do what they're doing. That was kind of it.
James
Sure
Lauren
And then I decided that I was going to go to SMU and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. And yeah, and still feels kind of like fate or luck, because I had no idea what I was doing.
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James
How the stars have to align.
Lauren
Yeah,
James
So that's interesting. So it was almost like a unified audition for universities. I never heard of it.
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Lauren
Exactly. Yeah, they do them all over the country. This one was in Denver and there were a few other schools in particular that I really had my sights set on at the time, which are wonderful programs, but in hindsight, I'm so glad that things worked out the way that they did.
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James
Yeah, it happened the way it had to.
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Lauren
Exactly. Exactly.
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James
Well, that's crazy. That, that just sort of fell into your pocket.
Lauren
Yeah.
James
So from there, after SMU and Michael Connelly, who's all over your resume here and all these shows transitioning to L.A.-
Lauren
Yeah
James
-Makes a lot of sense as an actor. You were there for three or four years?
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LaurenActually, no. I was over there over five.
James
Oh, wow. Okay.
Lauren
Yeah and Los Angeles was a wonderful it's a city that I love dearly. It means a lot of things to a lot of people. But yeah, I went to L.A. It was kind of the natural progression after theater school. You either went to L.A. or New York or maybe Chicago. And I had originally fallen in love with acting because I love film and television. And so I kind of thought, okay, L.A. makes sense. I'll go to Los Angeles. And it was wonderful. And I and I was able to do some really cool projects, film and television related and a lot of commercial work, actually. But I kept finding myself going back to theater and specifically classical theater, which while there are some incredible institutions for that in Los Angeles, it's definitely not what the city is known for. And I'll never forget chatting with a friend actually about classical graduate programs, and she mentioned a few, including LAMDA. And I remember going home that night and spending like 3 hours on my laptop looking up all these different programs and then slamming my laptop shut at the end, thinking, What? What am I doing?
James
Right
Lauren
Why would I go back to graduate school?
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Lauren
And for classical, I live in Los Angeles. It's like, put me on a pilot or a TV, you know. But I think that was the beginning of that next chapter of realizing that actually maybe it was time for a little bit of a redirect. Careerwise.
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James
There's another thing that can happen.
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Lauren
Yeah.
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James
That's interesting. I feel like so many, especially people who are attracted to acting young come through it through film and television.
Lauren
Absolutely.
James
How many people are lucky enough to be able to see enough shows-
Lauren
Right.
James
-on the stage that they think that's what I want to do? It's usually my favorite TV show. My favorite movie.
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Lauren
Exactly.
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James
That is so L.A. Totally makes sense to me.
Lauren
Yeah.
James
You eventually did come to LAMDA-
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Lauren
I did.
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James
-which we are super grateful for. So you mentioned that. And again, all of your resume, all these classical shows. What is it about Shakespeare or classical work in general that really keeps you coming back over and over again?
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Lauren
Oh, the ultimate. That is the question. I feel like there are a million answers that would all ring true for me. But the two big ones that always stick out. The first is the language. It is for the most part, unlike anything else I ever experienced as an actor. Which is not to say that there are not other incredible playwrights and writers, but I think it's such a luxury, if I'm being honest as an actor, that when you have questions about the text that you can always go back to the text to find those answers to that, because sometimes that is not that's just not the case. The language is incredible. It feels sometimes like a puzzle to me, and it's always intriguing to try to put the pieces together. And yet within that puzzle exists like thousands of different interpretations, which is incredibly invigorating as an actor. And then the other thing, as cheesy as it sounds, is that I don't know if there's any more timeless, perfect example of of a writer, whether you believe it was Shakespeare or several writers.
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James
We won't get into that.
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Lauren
Right? Exactly. I think it was one person, but rarely that is able to tap into the human experience in such a varied and yet simultaneously timeless capacity. I mean, these are stories that we're telling over 400 years later for a reason. It is the human experience, whether it is love, whether it is jealousy, whether it is family, some of the greatest things on television, some of the greatest films we see are inspired directly from these stories. And I never want to stop. I mean, even when you do a play, the first thing I'm often thinking is like, when am I going to get to come back and do this play again? Because I know just like how they say, you don't read a book, a book reads you. I feel the same way about Shakespeare. I'm like, Oh, the way I would approach this role or this play at 20 is going to be different. At 30 is going to be different at 50, at 70. So it never loses its appeal. It feels like a mountain that you're never going to reach the top of. But the journey is the most exciting part.
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James
Sure, I would say I did not love Shakespeare until I experienced him as an actor.
Lauren
Yeah.
James
Which I feel like is true of so many people. It feels from the outside as a reader, or even sometimes as an audience member, it feels sort of unapproachable.
Lauren
Yeah.
James
You don't understand what's happening. It feels like there's so much going on that you aren't clued into. Until you experience it as an actor and have to speak those words, you can never know really the depths and the richness of that writing-
Lauren
Absolutely
James
-of those characters and those stories. But I'm interested. So we, our first ever production was Romeo and Juliet. You played a fabulous gender bent Mercutio-
Lauren
Thank you very much.
James
-to great acclaim, and I guess this was not the original question I was going to ask, but I'm interested if your experience working with Mercutio has informed what types of Shakespearean roles you're interested in pursuing in the immediate future and the longer term?
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Lauren
Absolutely, yes. I think actually even more so than interest, it has given me perhaps a little bit more of the confidence slash permission to be interested in certain roles that I had perhaps told myself, Oh, I don't know if that's a possibility or I mean, Mercutio- It's funny, every time I finish a play, almost every time I'm like, maybe this is my new favorite Shakespeare. I think it is. I think this might be the best play in the canon or this might be the best character I've ever played. But I have a sneaking suspicion that with Mercutio, I think that feeling will last actually beyond the production. It's such an incredible role. It's such a mysterious role in a lot of ways, which is really exciting. But it also I feel like the character leans into a lot of facets of the human personality that we are often told to tamper down or to dial down, especially as a woman. And so getting to play a character that feels so uninhibited is not only incredibly exciting, but it's so much fun. And so then with that, it's made me think about other characters in the canon that might not necessarily exhibit the same personality, but absolutely, that lean into things that I in the past as an actor have not gotten to explore as much. I mean, the character that always is at the top of the list and has been my entire career and it's not surprising because it's everybody else. But is Hamlet. And I was surprised with Mercutio how many times I was thinking about the character of Hamlet. I find that all the time in the canon. It's so fascinating. All the little lines that you can draw from character to character and play to play. But yeah, some of these larger than life questions and and like I said, just complete freedom is such a gift. And I don't know it, it does it. Long story short, I feel like it gives permission to explore other characters and roles that I would have otherwise shut myself off from.
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James
Well, I'm glad you've given yourself permission because if Mercutio is any indication, I would love to see you as a Hamlet. But Romeo and Juliet, our first ever production as a company, MAD company, very, very new. You are a member of the board. You're currently the secretary, you are the artistic director. You're also a founding member. I'm curious, when we started this a year ago and you talked a little bit about that journey, what was your goal for this group? What was like the very maximum you thought we could do and what was the bare minimum you were hoping to achieve?
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Lauren
Ooh, those are good questions. I mean, so I'll start with the goal. I think the goal initially for a lot of us and myself included, was the opportunity to get to work together again. It was such a luxury in school to be among so many other gifted artists and so many equally passionate artists and I think a lot of us at the time were really craving an experience like that again in New York. So I thought, "Oh, this would be great if we can put up a production and we all get to work together again." And then of course, other things pop into your head. "Oh, wouldn't it be nice if it's seen by X, Y and Z" or it turns into a-
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James
Launching pad for-
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Lauren
Exactly, Exactly. But then as time has gone on and this has continued to grow, I would say actually, I it feels in a lot of ways like the sky is the limit, which is incredible, especially when I'm in the company of such equally passionate, motivated, incredibly talented people, but also just being able to connect with other people in this incredible city that houses so many artists and creatives. It's a wonderful way to develop a huge community, to be able to create things together, to talk about things, to be able to bring it to different communities within the city. I don't know. It feels kind of like the sky's the limit. The education, the the educational aspect of of a nonprofit theater company is really exciting to me. So I think it's going to probably just continue to morph and transition in the years ahead. It'll be interesting to ask this question again or answer this question in like two or three years and see like what we kind of, you know, spend a lot of our time and interests on. But, I'm sort of just excited about all of it, really.
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James
You know, we do one thing and suddenly that opens up new avenues or we don't meet an expectation and say, okay, we can pivot away or we can try again. I don't know how I would answer that question because it feels like it is always changing.
Lauren
Yeah
James
I'm interested though. You and I spoke on the phone yesterday and we had a conversation kind of touching on how our two jobs, as executive director and artistic director, how they work together and where the boundaries are between our roles. And so I'm curious in light of that conversation or not. Yeah, just what do you feel your job as artistic director really entails?
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Lauren
*sigh* Oh...
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James
Just what does that feel like to you?
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Lauren
That is an excellent question. I feel like ultimately it is about the creative direction of the company, whether that is, you know, picking a season, picking a theme for the season, but then also who we bring on as collaborators, the people that we work with as designers, as directors, as actors in a sense, yeah, I guess it starts to feel like whatever the the creative cultural identity of the company becomes, Oh, saying that out loud, suddenly I feel like it's so much pressure because it's really significant in a lot.
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James
That's a lot of weight to put on yourself.
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Lauren
Is it is but it's also incredibly exciting because like I said, being in a city like New York where it feels like your options are limitless in terms of creative collaborators and opportunities, like wow, it feels like there are a few better places to be doing something like this. I think it also being very cognizant of, of how things will change and grow and that that an identity can change.
So whether that's the identity of the company or the mission of the company and the types of creative collaborations we have, that I think that will evolve over time. I venture, you know, anything that stays stagnant eventually-
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James
Right.
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Lauren
-dies. So I so I think that will be the exciting and potentially really challenging thing is trying to stay like very up to speed with what that looks like and feels.
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James
Like continuous reinvention.
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Lauren
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
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James
I remember early on in this process thinking about how challenging for my job, the economics of live theater is. But I remember two of the really best things that we did for ourselves was we started this group with a lot of company members with a varied skill set, and we did it in New York City, which is one of the few places in the world that live theater is a viable industry.
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Lauren
Absolutely.
James
So all these challenges from the executive director, chair, thinking about strength of an organization and its financials and its administrative side-
Lauren
Yeah
James
-being in New York City is a huge plus and I'm sure as artistic director, thinking about the avenues that we can explore within a mile of where we're sitting right now-
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Lauren
Absolutely.
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James
- must be really exciting.
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James
Well, that you can like strike up a conversation with somebody on the subway or at a coffee and that it's, a) that they don't look at you like you're crazy or an alien for saying you do what you do or that that is your passion. But then also that, yeah, that everybody has some kind of relationship to that, whether it's as a viewer or whether it's as a fellow creative, whether it's from a more cerebral perspective, which is really exciting. Yeah, it feels like the city is buzzing all the time with that kind of energy. So it's it's hard not to let that into your your own, your own world.
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James
It does, as hard as it can be living in the city. It constantly feels like anything is possible. Yes, in generally the best way. Sometimes the worst.
Lauren
Exactly.
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James
But so it goes. But thinking about the sort of endless opportunities that we have, is there- We have not released you and I have not had any conversations about what next season will hold or future seasons will hold. Are there any teasers you can give us about where you're thinking or the directions you're thinking about heading?
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Lauren
Yeah, yeah. I have a few ideas right now and a few in particular that feel especially exciting. I think the best teaser I can give is that I'm leaning a little bit more towards comedy, which is exciting.
James
Okay.
Lauren
I mean, it was so much fun to work on a play like Romeo and Juliet. We talked about this in the rehearsal room, perhaps ad nauseum, but I thought it was so helpful with the production, Romeo and Juliet, I think should be approached as a comedy until it is very apparently not a comedy anymore.
James
Yes, exactly.
Lauren
Because I think a lot of times it's approached from go as like, you know, the ending to this story. And it's going to be, you know, just just.
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James
We know how-
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Lauren
A slog to get there.
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James
-the first four lines-
Lauren
Right.
James
-exactly what's going to happen.
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Lauren
Exactly. It was so fun to get to approach that first half as a comedy and live in that world. And anyway, all that to say, it has definitely given me a lot of thoughts and inspiration about other plays with some similar themes when it comes to the more comedic sensibilities-
James
Sure.
Lauren
-of the cannon. So yeah, that's that's in terms of like a classical perspective. But we've had conversations in the past, you know, about like a variety of work. I mean, obviously I'm very partial to Shakespeare for all the reasons I've listed, but there are so many incredible playwrights that I can either envision company members being a part of some of those worlds, or I would be so fascinated to see what we would do with them. So yeah, lots of ideas, but I'll say comedy. Comedy is the direction I'm going.
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James
Broadly comedy. That's going to be hard to parse out exactly what you're thinking from.
Lauren
Right. Right.
James
So I'm curious, actually, you just mentioned thinking about specifically company members or specifically us and what we can do for a show.
Lauren
Sure.
James
Is that something that you consider when thinking about a future production is exactly who we have sort of on our roster, who we think we can find through our social networks, who we can cast. I guess what priority is that or how important is that to your thought process versus just the quality of the work or something that you'd like to see done?
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Lauren
Yeah, I feel like they all have to kind of work in tandem with each other. So it is it is important. I mean, especially when I'm getting to see a lot of our company members working on a somewhat regular basis. It would be impossible not to occasionally have thoughts of, Oh my gosh, so-and-so would make such an excellent, I don't know, literally every character that popped into my head. I was like, No, I'm not going to listen to it. You know, like whenever I say Falstaff, I like, who knows? But so yeah, that is a huge consideration and has definitely- it's funny, I would say the different plays that are currently percolating in my head have all kind of come about for different reasons. So a couple of them, it's because there are company members that I'm like, "Oh, so-and-so would make an excellent X, Y or Z." But then there are other things that I'm just like, "Gosh, that is such a fantastic play and I would love to see what we could do with it" and also what that means in terms of bringing people, bringing new artists and creatives into the fold and putting it all together from the ground up. I would say it's like a pretty a heavily or a fairly large consideration at this moment. That's what I'll say.
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James
What other considerations would you say are top of your priority list?
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Laurem
Definitely, like what the what the place says, you know, or it's relevancy. It's I guess because I've been speaking so much about Shakespeare, I'll just continue with that. But it's always interesting to me to like keep an eye on a lot of the regional theaters around, in our case, the United States, and you'll see different plays kind of go in and out of vogue. And it's very- usually it's very clear why, You know, I mean, around election cycles, you'll suddenly start seeing a ton of Julius Caesar, you know, or, oh my gosh, in recent years, with the success of TV shows like Succession, I feel like I'm seeing King Lear everywhere, you know? So. Macbeth a couple of years ago, like so. So sometimes, yeah, it's a lot about like, what does this speak to right now-
James
As a national zeitgeist.
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Lauren
Like, Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Because there are certain ones that, that sometimes right away you're like, I don't know sometimes it's very obvious and sometimes it's not. But certain plays might just feel like, oh, it's a great play, but now is not the right time for it.
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James
Sure. We actually we have that experience. The show that we want to do first was modern work and we were super excited about it. And I guess the summer or fall of 2022.
Lauren
Yeah.
James
And then we ended up putting our show up in the spring of 2023. And by the time that happens, due to, to my mind, mostly some Supreme Court rulings, it felt like that play was no longer.
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Lauren
Exactly.
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James
What we wanted to talk about at all.
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Lauren
Right. Right. And which is like such another fascinating avenue to have to explore as a company. Because when you get into all the the nitty gritty of what it takes to, like, acquire the rights to something and to put together a season, sometimes, you know, well over a year in advance, that can be a little bit. Yeah, sometimes I think that happened like I in hindsight I'm really grateful that things worked out the way that they did because as I discussed, I don't think while it's an incredible play, I don't think it would have had the same impact that we thought it would over a year right.
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James
So a few little extra time questions here. Yeah. Do you have a single favorite role that you've ever played?
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Lauren
I mean, maybe Mercutio, actually.
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James
Wow. Okay.
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Lauren
To be able to do something that felt like it was out of the norm, out of the quote unquote wheelhouse that both I as an actor and other people have put me in before. I might also be saying that because it's obviously the closest to me in in like time, but it was pretty amazing. But there are so many I loved I played Goneril in King Lear, which was like an incredible role. And I feel like Goneral is a deeply misunderstood character and I felt like fiercely defensive by the end of that production. Yeah, there, there, there are so many. It's really hard now that I'm talking out loud. I'm like, Oh, it could be that. That's.
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James
Yeah, well, I didn't. I didn't expect there to be a single-
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Lauren
Yeah, yeah.
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James
-this is the one obvious.
Lauren
Yeah.
James
And you mentioned earlier your interest in acting came through film and television.
Lauren
Yeah.
James
What was it about either those mediums that media in particular or the thought of being an actor that really made you want to pursue that?
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Lauren
I it's just fascinating to walk in somebody else's shoes. I remember there was like a period of time when I was in middle school where I briefly questioned if I wanted to be a lawyer, and then I realized that it was actually I just wanted to play a lawyer. Yeah, I was just watching all these TV shows about lawyers and I truthfully have a lot of respect- I have a lot of friends that are lawyers, a lot of respect for the profession. But I have no interest in going to law school or doing anything. But yeah, it's it's just what greater gift can there be than to, like, get to explore for all these different personalities and you get to turn down the dial or turn up the dial on on so many things that are already within yourself. It's just not how you operate on a day to day basis.
00;24;07;29 - 00;24;08;15
James
That's beautiful.
00;24;08;16 - 00;24;10;21
Lauren
Yeah, I wouldn't I wouldn't want to do anything else.
00;24;11;27 - 00;24;20;01
James
And nor do you have to.
Lauren
Yeah, yeah.
James
However, if let's think for a moment that you weren't an actor/artist/creative, what would you be doing?
00;24;22;03 - 00;24;41;23
Lauren
Probably something with animals. But then every time I say that, I obviously I think of like a veterinarian and I'm like, "Oh, I don't I don't know if I could do that. I don't know if I would want to go into like the medical side of that." But I don't know, maybe something with animals or. Yeah, definitely not a lawyer. I know that. Not I, I know.
00;24;41;23 - 00;24;59;26
James
That's one thing off the list. Sure. That's important. So MAD company is getting into our sort of education programing this year, and they'll be offering classes. Workshops. You may not have thought of this If you have. What are some things that you would be interested in leading as a one off workshop or a continuing class?
00;24;59;27 - 00;25;39;20
Lauren
Oh man, there's actually a lot of things. I mean, I love monologue or scene study from from Shakespeare or other classical texts also. Scansion and rhetoric, it's super nerdy. Some people find it as boring as possible. I love it. I think it like I said, I think earlier, it feels like a puzzle. I've always had professors and educators tell me, and I couldn't agree more wholeheartedly, that the only way you can actually break the rules is if you know what all of the rules are. And I feel like she mentioned in rhetoric when it comes to classical text that unlocks the whole the whole shebang. So if you are great at those things, there's there's like no limit to what you can do with the text, which is really exciting.
00;25;39;20 - 00;25;41;00
James
And that's what it all comes back to with-
00;25;41;00 - 00;25;41;16
Lauren
Yeah.
00;25;41;17 - 00;26;00;24
James
-Shakespeare or really anything.
Lauren
Yeah.
James
Are there actors either on stage or on screen that you feel you most appreciate their work? I'm thinking especially classically. Is there anyone are there any particularly fabulous performances you've seen or heard of from from working actors today?
00;26;00;25 - 00;26;53;24
Lauren
Yeah, I've seen a lot of I mean, I it's so funny. I always go back to and I'll add the caveat, which is not to undermine his work, but as I said earlier, I think so much of so much of why a performance resounds with you is where you are at in your life at the time. But I when I was in college, I had the opportunity to study abroad for a semester in Oxford, and on the weekends we would go into the city, into London and see shows. And I saw Jude Law in a production of Hamlet that honestly changed my life. It was I understood not only did I understand every word of the text, but it just felt like such a liberated performance. And and I've thought about it many times since because I wonder if I would have the same level of appreciation for it now. But then I then I also feel like it doesn't really matter. It just it had such a profound effect at the time.
00;26;53;24 - 00;26;54;11
James
Time and place. Yeah.
00;26;54;16 - 00;27;12;10
Lauren
And it was and it was wonderful. And it's stayed with me ever since. But I've had the immense good luck to see Ian McKellen a couple of times on stage, and he is a force to be reckoned with, even in his, I believe, eighties at this point. And I there are so many other actor I love. Jessica Chastain.
I've never had the opportunity to see her do Shakespeare or classical work, but I think she's a brilliant actress. And I mean, of course, Meryl Streep and all of those, you know, But, The Titans. Yeah, exactly. Now I'm going to be thinking about this all day. I feel like actually I'll have I'll have some really good answers by, like, late tonight.
00;27;27;06 - 00;27;29;10
James
Excellent. We'll tape the show again.
00;27;29;10 - 00;27;29;26
Lauren
Right? Right.
00;27;29;27 - 00;27;45;27
James
You can give the answer. So we've talked about some full scale productions, full scale for MAD Company anyways, and our education arm. I'm curious, is there anything in mad company programing that is coming down the pipe or you would like to start doing that you're particularly excited about?
00;27;45;28 - 00;27;47;04
Lauren
In terms of education?
00;27;47;10 - 00;27;54;02
James
In terms of anything? Oh, education, other projects, other smaller scale, larger scale...
00;27;54;02 - 00;28;53;15
Lauren
Absolutely. I'm actually really excited about just doing more readings of plays, whether they're they're very intimate and it's literally for the purposes of the actors involved and you run out of space and you all get together and you read a play out loud, which we've gotten to do before, or whether it turns into like an actual staged reading. But there are there are just so many incredible plays that I have never read or never heard of, or I think it was kind of a refreshing wake up call when I first came to New York because I'd been in such a classical theater bubble for a couple of years. And I love that bubble and I'm happy to stay there as long as necessary. But I got into a couple of acting classes where I was being exposed to a lot of contemporary work again, and I felt like it had been years since I'd read some of the more contemporary plays of like the last 10 to 15 years. And I was seeing scenes from things that kind of blew my mind, like, "What is this and who is this playwright?" So anyway, all that to say, Yeah, I would just love to organize and facilitate more opportunities like that for other- because I also think it's a great way to grow community and to get to meet more people and bring people into the fold. So that really excites me.
00;28;53;15 - 00;29;01;23
James
Absolutely. Are there any.. not to put you on the spot? Can you name any of these modern playwrights that you're particularly excited about their work the last ten, 20 years?
00;29;01;24 - 00;29;36;29
Lauren
Oh, my gosh. I mean, I think Will Arbery is in as an incredible, incredible writer and is now, I think, an executive producer on Succession, which ties everything together in this conversation. Yeah, yeah. I also, Brandon Jacob Jenkins is phenomenal. I like a lot of what Kate Hamill is doing in terms of these like interesting, wacky adaptations of classics like Pride and Prejudice and Emma and Sense and Sensibility, because they're books that have been in our our canon for for hundreds of years. But giving them this kind of like, wacky, unique, fun approach that that revitalize uses them in a new way.
00;29;36;29 - 00;29;37;21
James
Right, the reinvigoration.
00;29;37;21 - 00;29;47;15
Lauren
Yeah, Yeah, exactly. Those are a few. Yeah. Off the top of my head. But again, there are so many incredible. Yeah. Incredible playwrights right now.
00;29;47;27 - 00;30;16;20
James
Do you. I actually don't know how to phrase this question. So you, you're wearing a bunch of hats right now. Artistic director and actor. Sort of, primarily.
Lauren
Yeah.
James
Which do you feel has the bigger draw for you at this moment? Are you more excited about the potential work as an actor in New York that you can get into, or are you more excited by the possibilities that being executive or sorry, artistic director-
Lauren
-I'm going to take your job...
00;30;16;20 - 00;31;34;10
James
Yes. One day you shall.
00;30;19;29 - 00;30;59;04
Lauren
I would say it's kind of 50/50 like it kind of depends on the day and the experience and like what is right in front of me because I'd be lying if I didn't say that I have always been an actor first, meaning that that is what motivates me. That's what excites me.
James
Of course.
Lauren
But as an artistic director and getting to getting to kind of like mold a how do I say like it's not about molding a community, but getting to create this kind of like artistic, creative incubator and sort of figure out what the identity of that is, is, is incredible. Is like, it's like such a it's very humbling, actually, is what it is, because it's terrifying. And you're like, I don't know. I don't know if I can do this, but what that what that allows a group of people to do together is, is I would say like ultimately really what it's all about is really beautiful. That's the beautiful thing about theater. I mean, and you can argue the same thing for film and television as well, but like it's it's it takes a village, like it's a whole group of people doing it together. So yeah, to not only get to be involved in that, but also kind of at the head of that is is really exciting.
00;31;34;10 - 00;31;49;14
James
Yeah. I know for myself whenever I get sort of frustrated with all of the work I'm doing that I don't really want to be doing. But yeah, have to, because of this position, I remind myself that it is such a luxury to have even a modicum of control over sort of the creative future.
00;31;49;17 - 00;32;25;13
Lauren
Oh, absolutely. I mean, because as actors so often we are told and it is reinforced that you are on a path that is moderated by gatekeepers and like you'll get to one step of your career and then you have to get through that. Yeah. And wow that it is rough, it's exhausting. It can really wear heavily sometimes on your soul, on your creativity. So I couldn't agree more to have even the tiniest bit of what feels like control or power or agenda for yourself as an artist is amazing. Is wonderful.
00;32;25;13 - 00;32;45;08
James
Yeah.
Lauren
Yeah.
James
You know, it definitely feels good and hopefully will continue to feel good as we continue to do this more.
Lauren
Yeah.
James
*Jazzy music fading in*
Thank you so much for joining us today. Lauren's of the wonderful, the brilliant artistic director of MAD Company. Thank you so much for joining us. And thank you all for joining in. Listening.
00;32;45;11 - 00;32;46;15
Speaker 2
Thank you so much for having me.
*Jazzy Music continues and fades out*
00;32;47;27 - 00;33;14;01
Maddi Albregts
Thanks for listening. To learn more about any of the creatives who spoke in this episode, check out their social media links in the episode description.
