ear to the track {podcast} | a podcast devoted entirely to new works: stage, screen, music and more…

Episode 3. The Last Day

Posted on November 21, 2012 by Matt Rippy

While on another sojourn in LA, I got to hang with my friend, Tiger Reel and see a new play he was directing, The Last Day by Christina Joy Howard. The Last Day is about Christina’s struggle to understand her father using his personal memoirs and actual tape-recordings he made during the final days of the 1975 evacuation of Saigon. During a hugely successful run at Loft Ensemble, I sat down with Christina and Tiger to talk about the play and the process. Follow @ChristinaJoy007 and Tiger at Action! Theatre Company. (Episode 3 – The Last Day. Length 12:35)

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Episode 2. The Interview

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Matt Rippy

Hangin’ in Los Angeles on a break from touring, I recently met up with a fellow Reduced Shakespeare Company member Dominic Conti to write and record a song for a web mini-series he is working on. Dom had also just completed work as an actor on a short film and when he mentioned he was about to commence principal photography on a short he had written with his long-time friend and collaborator Whit Spurgeon – I knew it was podcast time. I grabbed my mic and headed down to South LA where I spent an afternoon on the set of their film, The Interview. During a break I talked to Whit and Dom about the business of making a short, how to get it made (and paid for – donate here) and what to do with it once it’s in the can. Follow The Interview on facebook & twitter. (Episode 2 – The Interview. Length 14:27)

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Episode 1. Rick Bland

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Matt Rippy

In this, the very first Ear to the Track {podcast}, I ask actor & playwright Rick Bland to talk about his play Thick, his new play Full of Bees and also about his process – and sheer joy – of writing. Rick takes us on his journey as a shy child from the wilds of Tecumseh, Ontario to the bright lights of London where he is about to open Thick at the New Diorama Theatre. Rick’s writing is infused with a heady mix of horror and humour. His play Thick is an “engrossing tale of family dysfunction and dashed hopes… superbly acted” (New York Magazine Critics Choice) and was given the Argus Angel Outstanding Artistic Excellence Award at the Brighton Fringe Festival and Rick himself was awarded Best Actor for his performance at the New York Fringe Festival. (Episode 1 – Rick Bland. Length 21:59)

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