Read the NYT Article on The Zipper's Closing

Above The Belt, an aerial showcase that I’ve helped Britt Nhi Sarah produce got it’s start in The Belt Theatre.  The Belt was a small cabaret space next to the Zipper Theatre and both were part of the venue known to most as The Zipper Factory.  Opened in 2001 it was home to such productions as “The Sensuous Woman” by Margaret Cho, “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris,” “Jesus Is Magic” by Sarah Silverman, “Betty Rules” and Alan Cumming’s adaptation of Jean Genet’s “Elle.” The website is still live.  An eerie reminder of a great place.

Above The Belt started in the Belt space and moved next door when the Belt was turned over into the Tavern.  The grid and stage area remained and we staged what would become ourlast show to a packed house on December 18, 2009.  Suddenly, on January 14th 2009, the theatre abruptly closed.  No one saw it coming.  Not the managers, staff and least of all any of the acts including us. (Read the NYT article here)

Nine months later I was walking by coincidently enough with Britt Nhi.  We had just come from a nearby space where we were shopping the show and I noticed workers coming out pushing large demolition dumpsters.  I walked up and asked if the space was open.  They said yes and we walked in.  Below are photos of what we saw.  The entire space gutted.  Stripped clean down to the bone.  What was once one of the most unique theatre space I had ever seen in this country was now all but a memory.  I only wish I had as many photos of the place when it was alive.  I wish I knew where all of the well curated artifacts that littered the place are now.  And where did all the car seats go?  Warning, these photos may be shocking to some.

(p.s. If you have photos of theatre space, especially the lounge/bar area, please email them to me)

The Zipper Factory (2001- January 14, 2009)

I’ll be playing drums tomorrow night with Katie Petterle at the Metropolitan Room.

Katie Petterle debuts with a brand new show! Singing the greatest pop rock songs from the last 50 years, Katie and her accompanist, Greg Schlotthauer, sing favorites from the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Bob Marley, Carol King and more!

Kate Petterle grew up performing in theatres all over the Sacramento area. She attended The Boston Conservatory on a merit scholarship and moved to New York after graduating in 2001. She has been heard on TV singing the theme

song for the Saturday morning cartoon “Fighting Foodons” and on promotional ads for FOX’s Saturday morning cartoon lineup. Kate has also lent her voice to a number of characters on “Pokemon”. She is most proud of singing with The Boston Pops conducted by Keith Lockhart and recording music in Paris with popular jazz pianist Franc Monbaylet. Recently she was lucky enough to perform on California’s Central Coast with the Pacific Conservatory of Performing Arts. Favorite roles included Marta in “Company”, Hattie in “Kiss Me Kate” and various characters in “Urinetown”

Metropolitan Room
34 West 22nd St Betw. 5th & 6th Ave.
New York, NY 10010
(212) 206-0440

20.00 Cover + 2 Beverage Minimum

Please become my fan at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Alexander-Rea/260478881464

Last night at the Kirk Theater in Theater Row, I played drums for the reading of the musical Plagued or How to Escape Persecution at the Hands of an Angry Mob.

View Program

Book and lyrics by Daniel John Kelley

Music by Nick Moore

Music Director & Accompanist: Matt Vinson

Director: Peter James Cook

From the book and lyrics writer’s website:

So…the reading of PLAGUED happened Monday night, and boy howdy, was I proud. The show is in great shape- there’s still work to be done, but it’s a giant leap from where we were back in July. We had a great turn out, and the cast gave it all they had, and now we proceed onwards.

I will be playing drums for Suzanne Fiore at The Metropolitan Room this Saturday, October 24th at 5 PM. Please call for reservations at (212) 206-0440 or book online.

Suzanne Fiore

June 16th, 2008 Live Album Available at CD Baby

The cover is $20 with a two drink minimum.

With Ray Fellman on piano and Matt Scharfglass on bass.

The Metropolitan Room is located at 34 West 22nd Street (Google Map).

The recording from our June 16th show, Live At The Metropolitan Room, will be on sale at all of these shows and is also available now at CD Baby.

Suzanne Fiore, she is simply divine and we all knew we were lucky to witness her performances. This girl is a STAR, truly.

- Broadway.com

Fiore’s talent and confidence are impressive. She’s comfortable in front of an audience and makes eye contact easily and with true interest. Vocally, she possesses equal parts k.d. lang and Eden Espinosa though her sound is distinctively her own. For a minute there, I felt like I was watching a young Nancy LaMott which is the ultimate complement I can ever give anyone. ”

- David Hurst, Cabaret Scenes

Photo of band members Ray Fellman, Matt Scharfglass and Alexander Rea with guest signers Brandon Cutrell and Dawn Derow.

This lineup has been working together for almost two years. Our last performance together was at The Metropolitan Room on November 22nd, 2008. It was a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. Two guest signers performed with us. Brandon Cutrell and Dawn Derow.

I will be playing drums for Suzanne Fiore at The Metropolitan Room on the next two Saturdays. September 19th at 7:30PM and September 26th at 5:00PM.  Please take note of the two different times.

Suzanne Fiore

June 16th, 2008 Live Album Available at CD Baby

With Ray Fellman on piano and Matt Scharfglass on bass.

Call for reservations at 212-206-0440. The cover is $20 with a two drink minimum.

The Metropolitan Room is located at 34 West 22nd Street (Google Map).

The recording from our June 16th show, Live At The Metropolitan Room, will be on sale at all of these shows and is also available now at CD Baby.

Suzanne Fiore, she is simply divine and we all knew we were lucky to witness her performances. This girl is a STAR, truly.

- Broadway.com

Fiore’s talent and confidence are impressive. She’s comfortable in front of an audience and makes eye contact easily and with true interest. Vocally, she possesses equal parts k.d. lang and Eden Espinosa though her sound is distinctively her own. For a minute there, I felt like I was watching a young Nancy LaMott which is the ultimate complement I can ever give anyone. ”

- David Hurst, Cabaret Scenes

Photo of band members Ray Fellman, Matt Scharfglass and Alexander Rea with guest signers Brandon Cutrell and Dawn Derow.

This lineup has been working together for almost two years.  Our last performance together was at The Metropolitan Room on November 22nd, 2008.  It was a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Awareness Month.  Two guest signers performed with us.  Brandon Cutrell and Dawn Derow.

Last week I was at Context Studios in Williamsburg Brooklyn recording a new percussion track for AJ Silver’s upcoming shows in Germany. AJ will be performing at all five of the theatres of Die GOP Varieté.  AJ is also a trick roper and has performed with many acts around the world. Please go to AJ’s website and watch his demo.

This is my second time recording with AJ. AJ used a drum track last year for a tour with GOP. Both tracks include djembe, dumbek, tambourine, shakers and various other sounds. Both recordings took place at Context Studios.

Boleadoras are performers using essentially a ball on the end of string. A weapon actually. Below is from Wikipedia.

Bolas (from Spanish bola, “ball”, also known as boleadoras) are a throwing weapon similar to the surujin made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, designed to capture animals by entangling their legs. They are most famously used by the South American gauchos, but have been found in excavations of pre-Hispanic settlements, especially in Patagonia, where indigenous peoples used them to catch guanaco and ñandu.

Photos and video from the session.  (The white spots on the floor are from the bolas.)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XGevobViPk

Here is more video found on YouTube of Boleadoras.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0l77pex5dE

Last night at The Tank, our show Above The Belt performed for the seventh time since I teamed up with Britt Nhi Sarah to produce it.  It was a great success.  We sold out and unfortunately had to turn people away. I apologize now if you are one of those people turned away.  Please contact me and I’ll make sure you get into the next show at The Tank on August 16th. Below are a few photos from behind the scenes that I took.  Stay tuned for much better photos at the shows website by Jan Meissner.  Please visit our website and learn more about the great artists we have had the pleasure of featuring.

I have the pleasure of being co-producer on Rated RSO, a sold out one-night only event tonight at Joe’s Pub.

After two sold out shows in Los Angeles, RATED RSO: The Music and Lyrics of Ryan Scott Oliver will receive its New York premiere tonight!

Presently portraying the sexy schoolteachers, provocative rent-boys, and obsessive homicidal teenagers of Oliver’s works will be Broadway talents Alex Brightman (Wicked, Glory Days), Morgan Karr (Spring Awakening), Natalie Weiss (Wicked), Jay Johnson (Hair, A Chorus Line), and Lindsay Mendez (Grease, Everyday Rapture), with Geoff Kidwell, Mat Burrow, Lyle Mackston, Katie Gassert, Cait Doyle, Grace Wall, and introducing Jennifer DeRosa.

Travis Greisler directs the evening, which will include several of Oliver’s better-known tunes, including “Lost Boy,” “Out of My Mind,” “When Lily Came,” “Never” and “Mrs. Sharp.”  Showtime is at 11:30pm and at the time of this posting, the show is sold-out.

Become a fan of the show on Facebook

Ryan Scott Oliver is a 2009 Jonathan Larson Grant recipient and wrote the music and lyrics for Mrs. Sharp (2008 Richard Rodgers Award Winner, formerly Alive at Ten), Darling (Pace New Musicals 2009), the song cycle Out of My Head, music for Angus Oblong’s The Debbies and music and co-lyrics for the hit YouTube TV show The Battery’s Down.  His work has been presented in showcases including the Disney/ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, Goodspeed Musicals, William Finn & Barrington Stages, The York Theatre, Monday Nights New Voices, the Festival of New American Musicals in Los Angeles, and most recently The Ryan Scott Oliver Project conceived by Philly Music Theatre Works.  He is a Dramatists Guild Fellow, and the recipient of numerous awards including the first-ever ASCAP Foundation Harold Adamson Award for Excellence in Lyric Writing.  Currently he is working on an untitled show for TheatreworksUSA which will open off-Broadway in 2010.  B.A. Music Composition, UCLA; M.F.A. Musical Theatre Writing, NYU-Tisch, a proud member of A.S.C.A.P.

Click To Enlarge

Above The Belt, the monthly aerial show that I am producing with Britt Nhi Sarah is back. After losing our monthly residency when the late great Zipper closed we’ve taken the show on the road.

Next up, March 26th at the Bleecker Street Theatre!  45 Bleekcer St., NYC. Map

Showtime is 8:00pm.  Ticket’s are $25 and can be purchased at the door or online at Telecharge.

Above the Belt is an aerial showcase that has been dazzling New York audiences for the past three years. It is committed to the city’s reputation as the most innovative stage on earth and every show is new and fresh with a constantly evolving line-up of the most essential aerial artists.

Learn more about Above The Belt at our website.

Originally posted on Fresh Ideas 365

Alexander here.  Interactive Director for The Concept Farm.  Before I post any official reviews of Griffin Stenger (Partner) and my time here in Austin at SXSW Interactive, I wanted to post a quick little pre-review. I like to watch people.  Living in New York City it’s really easy.  Riding the subway you are forced to.  It’s a way of life.  Here in Austin I’ve been doing much of the same.  Since Friday I have been observing how many of the thousands of the attendants have iPhones and then how many have Apple laptops and any combination there of.  I would say at least 60% of the attendants have both.  And on these iPhones we have all been loading up all of the schedules and tweeting about this that and the other.  The only downside, AT&T’s infrastructure simply can not handle all of the iPhone data concentrated in one area.  So at one of the most important Interactive conferences in this country, the users of a device (argumentatively the most popular device) can not fully benefit from the very services being championed.  You have to wait until late at night before you can expect any true activity or be in the convention center on the free WiFi.  And even that shows signs of heavy load.

These above images are from today’s keynote in one of the three larger rooms.  Virginia Herrfernan of the New York Times interviews James Powderly of FATlab and Graffiti Research Lab (GRL).  Click to enlarge.

Regardless of the individual attendant’s gear of choice, that gear runs on good old American electricity.  One of greatest faults of this convention (and really there are not many) is that there is no convenient source of power.  All of the outlets run along the floor.  Every panel room regardless of size is surprisingly short on outlets.  Don’t you think that the organizers of the event would have coordinated with the Freeman union controlled convention center to install power strips?  The results are obvious.  You enter each panel room and everyone is huddled along the walls.  Death traps by laptop cords.  Between events you find people by the droves forced to camp out on the floor as if their flights were delayed at a crowded airport.

Surprisingly Apple does not participate in conventions like this.  Despite the large percentage of people that would enlist immediately in an Apple army if one existed.  Those companies, authors and aritsts that have been conducting panels or signings have really been inspiration to many.   When my tour of duty expires on Wednesday, I’ll have the chance to go through the pages of notes, business cards, tweets, scratches, scribblings and memories and post something slightly more helpful here on 365.

Tomorow afternoons final keynote of SXSW Interactive will be the long-awaited Guy Kawasaki (Alltop) interview of Chris Anderson (Wired) on the power of free.