A Conversation with …Marcina Zaccaria, Playwright/Director VILLAGE, MY HOME

August 22, 2017 by Leave a Comment
Being a playwright, a critic, and a theater director has given me the opportunity to work with such smart, creative people, who every day search for deeper meaning.  The world can be a challenging place, so I ask myself: What role does our belief structure play?  Is it our friends who lift us out of difficult times?  
Marcina Zaccaria is directing the debut of her new play VILLAGE, MY HOME at the DREAM UP FESTIVAL at Theater for the New City.  We had a chance to chat about her play and what it means to be playwright, director, and arts advocate.
MARCINA PICTURE
Share with us a little bit about the germ of the play.  How did it come about?  What was its evolution? 
I used to live in Greenwich Village, and my first husband was a filmmaker who later won an Emmy Award for his work as an Editor for television.  Greenwich Village is sort of Mecca for artists.  When I reflected on what is like to live in such a creative environment every day, I, of course, experienced a wide range of emotions.  
I was so impressed by how “interconnected” the world can be, particularly when you involve people in different stages of their lives.  Also, I thought a lot about the difference between theater and film.  Both are truthful, and shed light on the human condition.  With theater, you can hear the voice re-bounding in space, so it’s very differently “live” than film.  I kept interrogating these ideas about the difference between theater and film, and I tried to find a way for sight to be as important as sound.  Also, I love multi-media art.  So, what began as a concept for a multi-media play became a theater piece, with a Facebook component. 
We were thrilled when the show got accepted to the Dream Up Festival at Theater for the New City.  This would provide a possibility for a live audience in a physical theater space, while, at the same time, not completely abandoning the notion of “live” camera coverage, that would be in use on stage. 
What outcomes do you hope to have with the premier of VILLAGE, MY HOME? 
I hope people will find humor in the show.  Also, I hope that plenty of people will chat with their friends about Village, My Home, and talk about the images. 
The play struggles with the notion of enlightenment, and I hope that the audience can find some recognition in the every day dilemmas they see onstage.
How have The Arts personally impacted your life? 
The arts have had an enormous impact on my life. When I decided to go to Drama School at Tisch School of the Arts, I had no idea that I would wind up feeling so rewarded by the journey I have taken over the last 20+ years.  
Being a playwright, a critic, and a theater director has given me the opportunity to work with such smart, creative people, who every day search for deeper meaning.  The world can be a challenging place, so I ask myself: What role does our belief structure play?  Is it our friends who lift us out of difficult times?  
I do believe in the transformative nature of theater, and I was so glad that Village, My Home is going to be performed the East Village in NYC.  It’s just a very spiritually sound place.
Dream Festival

VILLAGE, MY HOME BY MARCINA ZACCARIA
An exploration of the Village’s many colorful characters

August 27 to September 3, 2017
Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue

Community Space Theater

Sunday, August 27 at 5:00 PM 

Tuesday, August 29 at 9:00 PM,

Thursday, August 31 at 9:00 PM 

Friday, September 1 at 9:00 PM,

Saturday, September 2 at 2:00 PM 

Sunday, September 3 at 8:00 PM


Tickets $15. Box Office: (212) 254-1109, http://www.dreamupfestival.org
Running Time: 45 minutes. Critics are invited to all performances.
Buy Tickets

In preparation for the New Year, a Village housewife joins businesspeople, locals and tourists as they question what matters to them. As technology continues to fascinate, isolate and shape our lives, how do we encounter our New York City? Village, My Home,  written and directed by Marcina Zaccaria, embraces the very human experience of what it means to live and survive in the 21st century against the backdrop of cultural and political uncertainties.

With theatrical movement and state-of-the-art sound design, Village, My Home promises to warm the heart and calm the most unsettling times.

Village, My Home stars LPTW Member Frances McGarry; Marjorie Conn*; Michael C. O’Day*; Kelsey Shapira; Jeff Burchfield*; Madalyn McKay; Christina Ashby; Maile Souza Sean Evans; Maria Severny; Stephanie Roseman; Meaghan Adawe McLeod; Rebecca Genéve; and Catherine Luciani. Jak Prince is the lighting designer. Maria Ortiz Poveda is the costume designer. Dana Robbins is stage managing.
*Appears Courtesy of Actor’s Equity

The eighth annual Dream Up Festival is an ultimate new work festival, dedicated to the joy of discovering new authors and edgy, innovative performances. Audiences savor the excitement, awe, passion, challenge and intrigue of new plays from around the country and around the world.

The festival does not seek out traditional scripts that are presented in a traditional way. It selects works that push new ideas to the forefront, challenge audience expectations and make us question our understanding of how art illuminates the world around us.

A unique and varied selection of productions will again be offered that draw upon a variety of performance specialties including singing, clowning, poetry, street music, magic and movement. The Festival’s founders, Crystal Field and Michael Scott-Price, feel this is especially needed in our present time of declining donations to the arts, grants not being awarded due to market conditions, and arts funding cuts on almost every level across the country and abroad.

Filed Under: Arts Advocacy, Educational Theater, Featured News, Interviews Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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