Hometown: Elmhurst, IL
Education: New York University, Playwrights Horizons Theater School
Favorite Credits: Love Machine (Incubator Arts Project), People Doing Math (ongoing podcast, live show at Ars Nova), Fresh Ground Pepper (co-founder/co-director) Associate Director of Here Lies Love (Public Theater and National Theater)
Why theater?: I like people! It's most collaborative art form and I think its the most direct artistic conversation you can have with an audience. Good theater is like your favorite sandwich from your favorite bodega, umami, you know.
Tell us about Kitchen Sink Experiment(s): Kitchen Sink Experiment(s) is a play about a couple who let a scientist into their apartment to observe them. They become increasingly self-aware and are forced to deal with some of the unspoken elements of their relationship. It is done in a hyper-realistic style, so when the characters cook pancakes they are really going to be cooking pancakes and it will take place in a real life lived-in apartment.
What inspired you to direct Kitchen Sink Experiment(s)?: I was inspired to direct this piece because I am a fan of Colby! I had been interested in working with him, so when he brought this to my attention I was instantly intrigued. I am always looking for projects that deal with science or technology in one aspect or another, so the fact that there was a scientist as a character and the situation of the play was a scientific experiment, I was like "Wohoo! Double bonus!"
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I can't help it, I like high tech theater. Things that use technology in interesting ways. I am very drawn to the present and beyond. I like to imagine what the future might be like and put that on stage in interesting ways. This project is a different kind of passion for me, which is rooted somewhere in really trying to crack what life is like today, as a window into how our lives may be affected tomorrow. I am inspired by the radio, podcasts, and LOVE! Love is so inspirational, right?! In my experience, it makes everything better and more meaningful.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: Robert Krulwich and Jad Abumrad from Radiolab, Neil deGrasse Tyson, The Books, and the eyeliner at 3LD.
What show have you recommended to your friends?: Stay tuned for Medialounge, a pop up exhibition space for new digital art. It's gonna be bananas. And I always tell friends to check out Fresh Ground Pepper to find new collaborators and explore new ways of working!
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I say Dwayne Johnson, my friend said a very friendly dog voiced by George Clooney, my wife said Josh Gordon Levitt . Either way, I'm pretty sure I just want it to be called "Bill Murray."
If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: The Big Bang! Or I'd like to go to some o.g. Colosseum Programming-- any of those ancient amphitheaters.
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Cooking shows and "Shark Tank". A week ago, I would have said competitive cooking shows, but now that I've seen "Chef's Table" on Netflix, I'm like F#*& that!
If you weren’t working in theater, you would be _____?: Working for NASA.
What’s up next?: BOSSS Festival! I'm working with En Garde Arts to create a new piece with Bina48, the world's most advanced social robot. Dave Tennent and I are cooking up piece where actress Lynne Rosenberg will be going on a date with Bina48 for four performances between October 23-25. Also working towards a new live recording of a podcast I'm collaborating on called People Doing Math!
For more on Andrew, visit www.andrewjscoville.com