‘Sex With Strangers’ And How Actors Make That Heat

Portraying passion on stage — whether it’s a steamy romance or just hot-and-heavy sex — has been a theatrical staple from the Greeks to the Bard to contemporary work where making love can be oh-so-realistic. So how do actors — especially those who don’t know each other— make the love connection believable? In other words, how do they have sex with strangerThat’s the question I posed to Chris Ghaffari and Jessica Love, who star in the fittingly named “Sex with Strangers,” Laura Eason’s two-actor play at the Westport Country Playhouse Sept. 26 to Oct. 14. Greenwich native Ghaffari is no… read more

Find Your Light!

Broadway Lighting Designer and League of Professional Theatre Women member Dawn Chiang will lead an interactive discussion on how visual vocabulary and theatrical crafts contribute to the emotional life of the storytelling art Monday, Oct. 23 in Norwalk. Joining Chiang for the “Find Your Light!” panel are Elizabeth Williamson, artistic director at Hartford Stage, Costume Designer Tilly Grimes and Scenic Designer Jessica Parks. The event, produced by Co-Founder Marie Reynolds, will kick of the 2017-2018 season for the CT Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women, now in its second year. A networking time with light refreshments will be held from  5:30… read more

Interview with Bess Wohl, Playwright of “Small Mouth Sounds”

by Frank Rizzo Shhhhh. Listen to the quiet in Beth Wohl’s play Small Mouth Sounds, which is launching its national tour at New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre’s Aug. 31 and continuing through Sunday, Sept. 24. But more important, watch the characters closely, look for the slightest signs of revelation and see how they react—and illuminate—their selves without (almost) saying a word. The mostly dialogue-less play is set on a silent retreat where a mixed group of folks have come to find spiritual healing or new starts for their lives. Read more… read more

An Equity Theater Grows in Ridgefield

by Geary Danihy By my count there are 15 Equity theaters in Connecticut, that is, theaters operating under some form of an Equity contract, plus over 60 other theater companies of various sizes. One would think that, theatrically speaking, Connecticut is pretty well covered, but Daniel Levine doesn’t think so. The Ridgefield resident had a dream, but unlike most dreams, this one is actually coming true. Soon there will be an Equity theater in Ridgefield, operating under the name of A Contemporary Theatre of Connecticut, or ACT of CT (not to be confused with the 4-hour test Connecticut high school… read more

Shaw Festival A Prime Theatre Town

Those beleaguered folks in Stratford, still trying to make that town a theatre destination with the Shakespeare festival, would do well to pay a visit to Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada. This postcard-perfect Ontario town – just minutes from Niagara Falls – is a theatre destination spot done right. Now in its 55th season, the annual Shaw Festival converts this glorious little town with its unique shops and endless hanging baskets of flowers into a prime theatre venue from April to late October every year. It’s well worth the trip. Read more… read more

Hello CT Theater Goers

Welcome to the CT Theater Goers blog. Each week members of the CT Critics Circle will share their thoughts about current or upcoming theater productions. Some fun facts: Did you know that when Disney first produced Newsies, now playing at the CT Repertory Theater, it was never meant to go to Broadway. However, the critical reaction to the show was so great when it played New Jersey’s Papermill Playhouse that a Broadway production became a must. When playwright George Brant’s Grounded, now playing at the Westport Country Playhouse, opened Off-Broadway Oscar winner Anne Hathaway starred in the one-woman show. read more