Amanda Erin Miller
Hometown: San Diego, CA
Current Town: Brooklyn, NY
Q: Tell me about Smile All The Time.
A: “Smile All The Time” is a virtual solo puppet-filled tragicomic romp in which I play an angry sixteen-year-old boy named Kevin re-enacting the events that landed him in prison for the security camera in his solitary cell: After stealing Covid-19 vaccines from politicians to inject into ICE detainees, Kevin is sent to Camp Smile Power, a teen anger-management camp. He escapes! On the road, he befriends Ajax, another camp runaway. They plot to destroy capitalism but it goes awry, thrusting them into a reckoning with criminal justice in America.
The show is inspired by work I’ve done over the past couple of years with PEN America's Prison Writing Program and The Justice Arts Coalition (though Kevin is a character I’ve performed for nine years.) Half of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit TheCampaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, a nonprofit organization leading efforts to ban extreme sentences for children in the United States. After virtual runs in the Providence and Minnesota Fringe Festivals this summer, I’m performing “Smile All The Time” for the Rochester Fringe Festival this September by way of YouTube Live.
Q: What else are you working on now?
A: I’m attempting to put together my first stand-up comedy set. I’m also creating clown bits and writing poetry. I’m also two-thirds of the way through a novel that I hope to complete someday.
Q: If you could change one thing about theater, what would it be?
A: More support for/awareness of indie theater artists!
Q: What advice do you have for playwrights just starting out?
A: Write about what excites and gnaws at you. Write consistently, even if it's just a little bit at a time. Form a writer’s group where you submit work to each other and give each other feedback. Take a class as a way to build community. Make friends with actors. Find ways to get your work up on stage at festivals, small venues, bars, garages, rooftops, or living rooms. Stay inspired by continuing to expose yourself to new theater. Don’t let the gatekeepers get you down or stop you from doing the thing that drives you. You’ve got one life and, if this is your passion, keep at it and find ways to bring it to life.
Q: Who are or were your theatrical heroes?
A: Taylor Mac, Deb Margolin, Laurie Anderson, Karen Finley, Judith Malina, Samuel Beckett, Eugene Ionesco, Bill Irwin, V (Formerly Eve Ensler), Steve Wangh, Lily Tomlin, Gilda Radner, Bread and Puppet Theater, Tony Kushner, Robert Askins
Q: What kind of theater excites you?
A: I love theater that is electric, risky, raw, and surprising; theater that keeps audiences on the edge of their seats; theater that ignites people, that wakes them from their stupors, that is interactive in some way; theater that is both hilarious and heartbreaking, over-the-top absurd, painfully honest; theater that tackles issues of the day and moves people to action; theater that feels like a sucker punch to the jugular; theater that is physical, musical, multimedia, hyper-creative, noncommercial.
Q: Plugs, please:
A: Smile All The Time is happening virtually as part of the upcoming Rochester Fringe Festival!
Sun 9/19 9pm
Wed 9/22 7:30pm
Thurs 9/23 9:45pm
Runs 45 min
$5
Tix here: https://rochesterfringe.com/tickets-and-shows/smile-all-the-time
YouTube Live link with Ticket purchase
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support The Blog
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support The Blog
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Mailing list to be invited to Adam's events |
| Email: |
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Books by Adam (Amazon)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.