RADIO GHOSTS to show in NYC and Philadelphia

My collaborators and I WILL be presenting our project, RADIO GHOSTS in New York City and in Philadelphia.

We will be showing this work-in-progress on:

Thursday, January 31st at the Community Education Center in Philadelphia

Friday, February 1st at The Dramatists Guild of America in New York City


HOT!

THANK YOU to everyone who has sent their support and encouragement and expressed their interest in the work we are doing. We remain excited about our project, and grow more so each day. There are some really wonderfully talented people working on this piece and it’s been an incredible process.

We’ve all learned a lot, are taking some good risks, and are very much looking forward to sharing our work with the public. It is my hope that you will attend.

As a reminder, this is what we’re taking on:

……………………



..............................

Radio Ghosts tells three overlapping, interwoven, and haunted narratives:

An expert on holographic theory (named William Tell) gives a university lecture on how everything in the universe is one giant hologram. His son, comatized by a gunshot to the face, sends him holographic phone calls through a portable radio and his wife speaks to him through the waves of the Pacific Ocean.

A ghost, carrying a wedding band, crosses through dimensions to save a child’s life, shattering the world of the physical scientist who witnesses her. The scientist tries to re-organize the universe as more ghosts serve him coffee in an abandoned greasy-spoon diner.

A physician falls in love with a patient who dreams of falling into fires and whose body slowly and continuously falls apart from a car-wreck that happens in the future.

Using Electronic Voice Phenomenon and The Holographic Universe as inspiration, Radio Ghosts is a multi-layered work that combines live performance and recorded sound, creating a real-time (bending), performative conversation between what is live, what is electronically composed, and what is beyond our imagination.

…………………………….

RADIO GHOSTS

An electro-theater collaboration

Script by Greg Romero

Music by Mike Vernusky

Directed by Andrew J. Merkel

Dramaturgy by Genevieve Saenz

Production Design by Stephen Hungerford

Performed by:

Steve Gleich

Felicia Leicht

Toby Mulford

Cherie A. Roberts

Jeff Swearingen

...................................................................................

In PHILADELPHIA:

Thursday, January 31^st, at 8:00 pm

Meeting House Theatre

The Community Education Center (CEC)

3500 Lancaster Av

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Admission is Pay-What-You-Can, with proceeds going towards our showing at The Dramatists Guild of America (NYC) on February 1st.

.................................................................................

In NEW YORK CITY:

Friday, February 1st, at 7:30 pm

The Dramatists Guild of America
1501 Broadway, 7th Floor
(b/w 43rd and 44th-- in Times Square)
New York NY

This presentation is FREE!

...................................................

This presentation is made possible THANKS to the awesome people of:

Philadelphia Dramatists Center; The Production Office of the Lang Performing Arts Center at Swarthmore College; The Cardboard Box Collaborative; and all of the awesome people who sent us dollars!


-------------
ROMERO

Playwriting Fundamentals at The WILMA Studio School

Very soon I begin teaching "Playwriting Fundamentals" at the very cool Wilma Theatre. I look forward to continuing my experiences as a teacher/learner and continuing to get to know the wonderful people and artists in the city of Philadelphia. Open to the public, I anticipate a great mix of folks and will do my best to help my students find their writing awesomeness.

Playwriting Fundamentals

Greg Romero

This entry level course will cover various aspects of crafting a play from nurturing the seeds of an idea to developing the arch of a character. Particular attention will be paid to freeing each student’s voice from the obstacles that inhibit the growth of their unique and authentic writing style.

$240, 10 weeks; begins 2/5/08

To learn more about the course, the instructor, and the Wilma Studio:

Join us at the WILMA Studio School's Winter OPEN HOUSE.

WHEN: Monday, January 21 from 5:30 - 7:00 pm
WHERE: The Wilma Theater Studio

WHY: You might not meet the new Mayor of Philadelphia and we aren't promising Tastykakes...

Here's what we can promise though:

- an opportunity to meet the studio school faculty and learn about their classes
- a chance to win a FREE CLASS in the raffle
- maybe even a much coveted free mini-session with Alexander Technique
Guru, Mary McCann.

For a full schedule of spring classes at the Wilma visit: www.wilmatheater.org

TO REGISTER call 215-893-9456 ext. 106

Anne K. Holmes, Education Director
The Wilma Theater
265 S. Broad St
Philadelphia, PA 19107

Phone: [215] 893-9456 ext.101
akh@wilmatheater. org
Fax: [215] 893-0895


......................

ROMERO

TWO BUBBLES Selected for Publication

My ten-minute play, TWO BUBBLES, has recently been selected for publication by Playscripts, Inc.

Originally written overnight (from midnight until 6 am) as part of Audacity Productions and Rover Dramawerks 24-Hour play project, One (More) Day Only, I am thrilled that this play is headed for publication.

The good people of Playscripts tell me it will likely be published in an anthology of "outstanding short plays"-- something kind of like this.

Big thank yous to Audacity Productions and Rover Dramawerks for giving me a reason to write this play, to Jenae Yerger for giving me a place to sleep when I was done writing, and to all of the folks who made that first production happen in a really fun way. Additional thanks to rm 120 theatre, Cliff Diver Productions, and the awesome people who worked on the FronteraFest production of this play, City Theater Company (Wilmington DE) for producing the play a year later, and to Actor's Theatre of Louisville for selecting the play as a finalist for the 2003 Heideman Award.

And lastly, thanks to the wonderful people (Andrew H. Beal, Matt Dell'Olio, Felicia Leicht, Adrienne Mackey, Andrew Merkel, Sara Pauley, Cherie A. Roberts, Sarah P. Robinson, and Jeff Swearingen) in Philadelphia who came over to my publication party, helping me put the last touches on the final version of the script.


----
ROMERO

Under My Coat is the Truth-- in an elevator

The year 2008 begins with some wonderful news. My short play, Under My Coat is the Truth, has been selected for production by Specific Gravity Ensemble as part of Elevator Plays 2: Beyond the Norm.

For four weeks in January and February, this production takes over the historic Starks Building in downtown Louisville, staging 24 plays inside of the building's elevators.

Having worked on the original Elevator Plays: Ascent-Descent/Assent-Dissent project last year (they did a wonderful job with my piece, New Orleans: December 26, 2005) and in the fall on a truly moving production of The Most Beautiful Lullaby You've Ever Heard, I'm thrilled to be working again with Specific Gravity Ensemble on such a fun and innovative project.



ROMERO

RADIO GHOSTS Needs One Dollar

Dear Friends,

I am working on a HUGELY exciting project.

And I come to you for help.

In the past, I have done weird things to myself to raise money for creative projects:

1. Bowled for my first commission

2. Run as fast and as far as I could for sixty minutes (to buy a plane ticket)

3. Shaved my beard to raise money for an off-off Broadway production (you can watch me get face-naked here).

And now I'm raising money in a way that is less weird, but just as challenging.

I am asking everyone I know to give me ONE DOLLAR to support my current project, RADIO GHOSTS.

If everyone gives just one dollar, the project will be taken care of.

To describe what I’m working on...

On February 1, 2008, a collaborative group of artists will present the next step in the creation of a work called "Radio Ghosts".

Radio Ghosts tells three overlapping, interwoven, and haunted narratives:

An expert on holographic theory (named William Tell) gives a university lecture on how everything in the universe is one giant hologram while his son, comatized by a gunshot to the face, sends him holographic phone calls through a portable radio and his wife speaks to him through the waves of the Pacific Ocean.

A ghost carrying a wool blanket shatters the world of a physical scientist when he sees her cross over to save a child’s life. The scientist tries to re-organize the world while hiding in an abandoned greasy-spoon diner whose only inhabitants are the specters who serve him coffee.

A physician falls in love with a patient who dreams of falling into fires and whose body slowly and continuously falls apart from a car-wreck that hasn’t happened yet.

Using Electronic Voice Phenomenon and The Holographic Universe as inspiration, "Radio Ghosts" is a multi-layered collaborative work that combines live performance and recorded sound, creating a real-time (bending), performative conversation between what is live, what is electronically composed, and what is beyond our imagination.

An "in-progress" version of the first 35 minutes of material was commissioned by Austin Script Works and workshopped as part of FronteraFest 2007.

Our next "in progress" production will be part of Friday Night Footlights at The Dramatists Guild of America in New York City. (Hot!)

We have completed the first act of the work and will be presenting roughly one hour's worth of material.

The presentation will take place in the Frederick Loewe rehearsal studio across the hall from the DGA offices, which means our audience will include some of the country's hardest-working playwrights. We are also expecting potential producers and industry professionals to be in attendance.

In addition to the showing at the Dramatists Guild, we are working hard at procuring a second New York showing during the same week, as well as an additional showing in Philadelphia leading up to the NYC events. We will confirm those details at a later date.

Soooooooo....here's where your dollar comes in:

We have managed to keep production costs low, however, producing a show (even in a workshop setting) and taking it to New York City is clearly a financial challenge.

In order to meet this challenge I am asking you to donate ONE DOLLAR.

(Of course, you are more than welcome to donate as much as you want, but I am only asking for $1 donations.)

And because I love and believe in people so much, here's what your collective one dollars will do:

A: Pay for electronic music composer Mike Vernusky's plane ticket. Mike is traveling from Austin, Texas, to work on this event (and we need him!).

B: Pay for actor Jeff Swearingen's plane ticket. Jeff is traveling all the way from Dallas, Texas, to perform in this project because he believes in it so much. In fact, he has ALREADY bought a plane ticket because he wants it so badly. Help us pay Jeff back for his awesome commitment.

C: Pay for travel to and from New York City. We will be making numerous trips from Philly to New York and are also hosting at least one additional actor from The Apple (if you're looking to be generous, 20 bucks is enough to travel one person round-trip from Philly/NYC on a Greyhound).

D: Pay for any additional production expenses. Because this is a collaborative creation between an electronic music composer and me, we will have to transport and/or rent sound equipment for the project.

My creative team feels like we can get everything done for about $ 1500 - 1700. Perhaps less if we can make some deals. But we are targeting $ 1700 as a goal. Between all of my collaborators and me, we are asking 1700 different people for a dollar.

How crazy is that?!

So please! Show your support for what is, for all of us, one of the coolest projects we've ever worked on.

And here’s how!

For your generous donations/gifts, please do the following:

Send me a check or a give me a dollar bill, either in person or via snail mail to the following address:

Greg Romero
214 Beck St
Philadelphia, PA 19147

Also--

Because they are awesome people, Philadelphia Dramatists Center (a 501(c)(3) organization) has graciously agreed to act as a non-profit sponsor. If you wish to make your donations tax-deductible, you can send me a check payable to Philadelphia Dramatists Center, with "Radio Ghosts" in the subject line to:

Greg Romero
214 Beck St
Philadelphia, PA 19147

(To learn more about PDC, and to view their IRS documents/certifications, visit their website at http://www.pdc1.org/)

I hope hope hope you will make the effort to support this very exciting project. The artists working on this project are all challenging themselves in ways they never have before, and the work we are putting into this project is full of passion, creativity, determination and heart.

All we need now is ONE DOLLAR!

rock on,

ROMERO

THREE CARD WEASEL in a 4' x 4' box

As part of Philadelphia Dramatists' Center's project, "Primary Stages", my short play Three Card Weasel will be performed, script-in-hand, inside of a 4 foot by 4 foot stage. This will be a fun challenge (which is why the play was chosen) because there is alot of physical action, including a character attacking another character with a donut.

I've learned alot from this experience already (I did a huge rewrite on this piece) and thank director Wally Zialcita for asking me to send him some plays and for captaining the ship. I also thank Todd Holtsberry for producing this thing and for, unbeknownst to me, acting in two other plays of mine (the world gets smaller). I look forward to continuing to meet some of the cool people doing interesting theatre in Philadelphia.

The show details (people details soon to follow):

"Primary Stages : 4 x 4"
Produced by Philadelphia Dramatists Center
The Shubin Theatre
407 Bainbridge St
Philadelphia PA

Tuesday, November 20th, 8:00 pm

The evening will also feature plays by Philly-area scribes Matt Casarino, Alex Dremann, Robin Rodriguez, and Tawn Stokes.

(and I'm told there might be Vienna Sausages)

rock on,


ROMERO

The Work on RADIO GHOSTS Continues

The collaborative team for Radio Ghosts is gearing up for another round of work.

We continue to build this project-- asking questions, exploring form, and opening our hearts as we continue work on what is, for all of us, one of the most exciting projects we've ever entered into.

We are now assembling the rest of our creative team for at least one presentation in early 2008. As part of The Dramatists Guild's on-going efforts to develop new works, we will be presenting Radio Ghosts as part of their "Friday Night Footlights" series in New York.

We will be presenting this work-in-progress on:

Friday, February 1st, 2008 at
The Dramatists Guild of America
1501 Broadway, Ste 701 (the F. Loewe Room is 710)
New York, NY

The creative team assembled so far is STELLAR and I love them all to pieces:

Script by Greg Romero (Philadelphia)
Music by Mike Vernusky (Austin)
Direction by Andrew J. Merkel (Philadelphia)
Dramaturgy by Genevieve Saenz (NYC)
Design by Stephen Hungerford (Philadelphia)

We are also in communication with a number of performers right now who are all very talented, passionate, wonderful artists and people.

So far, this is what the project is all about:

An expert in Holographic Theory (named William Tell) tries to speak to his comatized son through radio waves. A ghost carrying a wool blanket appears and shatters the world. A physician tests his imagination with a patient who continually falls into fires.

Using Electronic Voice Phenomenon and The Holographic Universe as inspiration, Radio Ghosts is a multi-layered collaborative work that combines live performance and recorded sound, creating a real-time (bending), performative conversation between what is live, what is electronically composed, and what is beyond our imagination.


Exciting!



--ROMERO

SHARPEN MY DICK To Open in Delaware

My ten-minute play, Sharpen My Dick, begins its second voyage into production-- this time with Wilmington, Delaware's City Theater Company.

Having opened originally off-off Broadway in Working Man's Clothes' production of FuckPlays, the Wilmington production of Sharpen My Dick sounds like a blast, and really hot with fun:

From CTC:

..............................................................

Sex sells at City Theater Company!

City Theater Company, Delaware's Off-Broadway, invites patrons to get in bed with them as they present THE SEX PLAYS: CTC's 2007 BENEFIT SHOW & CARNIVALE. This one-night-only special event takes place on Saturday, October 13th at the troupe's new home at OperaDelaware Studios, located at 4 S. Poplar Street on the Wilmington waterfront.

CTC takes the "fun" part of "fundraiser" seriously by promising patrons good food, choice beverages, potential nudity, free stuff, and lots of laughs. The special event showcases City Theater Company's signature style with an evening of original and outrageous 10-minute plays, all celebrating America's favorite pastime. From a `60s-inspired rock musical to a satire of online porn, the six plays represent some of the area's funniest and most promising playwrights: Matt Casarino's Johnny Infamous; Josh McIlvain's Backyard; Kevin Regan's Date Agents; Howard Rice's Erections/Direction's; Greg Romero's Sharpen My Dick; and Steve Schutzman's No Talking On The First Date.

The accompanying party showcases events like Karaoke Love Duets, Personalized Mating Dances, and Bad Couples Therapy; plus appearances by CTC's most popular people. A silent auction is also featured.

The good times roll beginning at 7pm at OperaDelaware Studios. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door.

Visit www.city-theater. org for tickets, directions, and more information.


.........................................

Rock on,


ROMERO

LULLABY Opens in Louisville

On September 21st, 2007, The Most Beautiful Lullaby You've Ever Heard begins its second journey into full production-- this time with Louisville-based theater company, Specific Gravity Ensemble.

["The Man" (Christopher Shiner), "The Narrator" (Julia Leist), and "The Woman" (Jennifer Poliskie). Design by Todd Pickett (lights), Rand Harmon (set) and Paul T. Carney (set). Photo by Patrick Pfister.]

I have been in residence briefly during this process-- at the very beginning, and now, during final rehearsals and opening weekend.

I am VERY happy with what we have. The work that Specific Gravity is doing is focused, intense, big-hearted, thoughtful, and very very powerful. They are finding the thing inside of this play that shifts the room in a big way.

Through this process I have continued to learn about this play-- what makes it move, where the knives are, how much it hurts, and how beautiful a volcano can be.

The performances by Julia Leist, Jennifer Poliskie, and Christopher Shiner are brave, powerful, vulnerable, sincere, precise, and heart-breaking.

And the production looks incredible. Set inside of a gallery space in 21 c Museum, the design work by Rand Harmon, Todd Pickett, and Paul T. Carney is simply breath-taking.

Big thanks yous to Specific Gravity (Artistic Director, Rand Harmon) for their courage and their willingness to dig deep and bring the awesomeness to the surface.

..........................................................................

SPECIFIC GRAVITY ENSEMBLE OPENS 2007-08 SEASON

AT 21C MUSEUM HOTEL WITH INTRIGUING LULLABY

Louisville’s experimental/environmental theater company, Specific Gravity Ensemble, will present Greg Romero’s The Most Beautiful Lullaby You've Ever Heard September 21-October 1 at 21C MuseumHotel.

A Man and a Woman breathe in the possibility of a blank piece of paper. The paper becomes a sailboat, their breath becomes a journey that busts the world open, spilling out a truth so big that it could only fit inside of a human heart in love with another equally and beautifully broken person.

Building a reputation for producing challenging works in ‘found spaces,’ Specific Gravity sets Lullaby in a gallery space--the ultimate metaphorical setting for this highy-stylized and innovative new work. For the audience at this show, the mind becomes like the walls of a gallery, filled with the ‘art’ of one’s own imagination.

Currently based in Philadelphia, playwright Romero penned one of the 24 Elevator Plays in Specific Gravity Ensemble’s January 2007 debut. The Most Beautiful Lullaby You’ve Ever Heard was a semi-finalist for the 2007 Princess Grace Award.

Dates: Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 21/22, 28/29 at 8 pm , Thursday Sept. 27 at 8 pm, Saturday, Sept. 29 at 4 pm, Sundays Sept. 23 and 30 at 5 pm , Monday Oct. 1 at 8 pm.

Location: 21C MuseumHotel, 700 W. Main Street in Louisville

Tickets: $15 general / $12 students / $10 groups of 10 or more. For reservations call 502.384.2SGE (2743) or visit www.specificgravityensemble.com.

==========================

ROMERO

The First Journey of THE MILKY WAY CABARET

The Cardboard Box's production of The Milky Way Cabaret has just closed, completing the first leg of a highly rewarding, highly instructive, highly incredible journey.

My first commissioned play, Milky Way taught me alot about collaboration, about writing for specific actors (which I love), about the pressures of creating a piece, from scratch, specifically for production.

The process taught me that I have a lot to learn and that there's a lot of work ahead of me to reach many of my goals. But I love learning, so that's fine with me.

I had the pleasure of working with some truly wonderful people who will have my respect forever. Lindsay Krieg, mindy beers, and Andrew Beal of the Cardboard Box continued to show their vision and undying passion for creating theatre from the ground-up that will stand forever.

[photo of: Amazing Arnie (Daniel Higbee), Little Alice (Brenna Schiman), and Travlin' Alice (Cherie A. Roberts). Design by Stephen Hungerford (set and lights), Andrew J. Merkel (lights) and Jamie Grace-Duff (costumes)].

I also continue to enjoy my on-going collaboration with director Andrew J. Merkel. I feel lucky to have found such a strong director who believes in my work, and who shares the same theatrical brain. It is just a matter of time before he and I take over the world.

The production itself was its own journey that started slowly, but had me feeling very proud by the end of it.

We opened to a very small opening-night house (seven people) and struggled through a performance dogged by some technical difficulties (blown dimmers, failed gunshots) and performative set-backs (opening night jitters, trouble with lines). However-- we closed to a sold-out audience and gave them one of my favorite performances EVER of one of my plays. The amount of distance we covered during these eight performances was immense-- almost as impressive a distance as the one in which Travlin' Alice traverses during the actual play (she travels 21 years, backwards, by portaling through four black holes).

Closing night made me believe in this play and its ability to move an audience in a very theatrical and strange way. Huge thank yous again to the creative team for making this happen. Awesome awesome work all around.

It is my hope that this play will continue its life beyond this experience. I think there is magic inside of this work that I hope to continue to share. And I know there is still a lot of work for me to do on this play to make it into the masterpiece that I want it to be.

[Photo of Buzz (Steven Wright) and Charlotte (Katy O'Leary)]

In the meantime, I feel highly satisfied with and incredibly grateful for this experience. This experience alternately flattened, encouraged, flattened, taught, encouraged, flattened, and encouraged me. And I feel very much like I'm a much better artist and person because of my journey through the Milky Way with these people and this process.

Thank you all.


ROMERO

THE MILKY WAY CABARET is Open for Business!

The full-length commission I've been working on, The Milky Way Cabaret, opens tonight, Thursday, September 6th, 2007.

This has been a highly instructive and rewarding process-- the play is inspired by my time in Philadelphia and my time with the people who live here and who are working on this show with me.

There is some really wonderful work inside of this production-- breath-taking, risk-taking, heartbreaking work.

And really-- when else can you see a show about an alcoholic magican, clown-costumed assassins, a daughter traveling through time, space and black holes, a hula-hooping Homecoming Queen, and a dildo-wielding Cabaret owner?

I would guess you've never seen a play like this one before.

Please come out and join us:





As part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, this production will be performing on the third floor of Plays and Players Theater (1714 Delancey Street) at the following days and times:

September 6th, 10:00 pm
September 7th, 10:00 pm
September 8th, 10:00 pm
September 11th, 9:00 pm
September 12th, 9:00 pm
September 13th, 9:00 pm
September 14th, 8:00 pm
September 15th, 8:00 pm

I will be in attendance for most of the performances (because I love this show). Please come to the show and say hi.

To get your tickets, click HERE.


rock on,

ROMERO

Production Dates Announced for LULLABY

Specific Gravity Ensemble has announced the production dates for my play, The Most Beautiful Lullaby You've Heard.

This scrappy, big-hearted Louisville theatre ensemble is doing great work on the play, and will be presenting the work in a really wonderful venue in downtown Louisville. As part of their mission to present work in creative/found spaces, Specific Gravity is producing the play in one of the gallery spaces of 21 c, a hot, contemporary art museum/hotel in the happenin' part of town.

21 c describes themselves as North America's first museum dedicated solely to collecting and exhibiting contemporary art of the 21st century.

Hot.

Big thanks again to Rand Harmon of Specific Gravity, and William Morrow, Director of 21 c Museum.

I think it will be legendary.

The show goes up:

September 21 at 8:00
September 22 at 8:00
September 23 at 5:00

September 27 at 8:00

September 28 at 8:00

September 29 at 4:00
September 29 at 8:00

September 30 at 5:00

October 1 at 8:00

If anyone is in Louisville and wants to meet up, I'll be there during the show's tech week and opening weekend.


rock on,

ROMERO

SHARPEN MY DICK Lives On

Written for Working Man's Clothes' spring production, FuckPlays, my ten-minute play, Sharpen My Dick, has found another life in another fucktastic production.

For the past 14 years, a scrappy theatre in Wilmington, Delaware has lived by these rules:

"City Theater Company is committed to ridding the planet of complacency, redundancy, indifference, and fear-- thereby clearing the way for fun, electricty, cool art and some major chutzpah. We seek out what makes us most afraid and then attack it with an odd, supernatural fury. We breathe in and out in time with our audience, and the resulting electrical charge produces theatrical shock waves that deman attention.

The folks here believe theatre should be filled with big energy, big ideas, big fun, and other big stuff we haven't even thought of yet. Meanwhile, we burn bridges and bite bullets. We pound the pavement, shoot the moon, damn the torpedos, and laugh 'til it hurts.

We do stuff that rocks, and we have one hell of a time."

Now THAT is a mission statement that I can stand behind and I'm happy as hell to be rockin' with them.

Our project together, Sex Plays, goes up (one night only!) on October 13th, 2007.


rock on,

ROMERO

Creative Team Announced for THE MILKY WAY CABARET

The rest of the creative team for The Milky Way Cabaret has been confirmed and lots of wonderful work is taking place. This has turned into a "big" show in terms of people-power (which I love), and that was evident in last night's rehearsal in which almost everyone was called.

The rehearsal room was full of talented, fun, energetic people and the buzz was buzzin'. I feel very lucky to have so many awesome people putting in such a great effort.

Under the leadership of mindy a. beers (Artistic Director) and Lindsay Krieg (Producing Director) of The Cardboard Box Collaborative, our full creative team now includes:

Director......................Andrew J. Merkel
Dramaturg...................Andrew H. Beal
Stage Manager..............Matthew Dell'Olio
ASM..........................Jen Weeks
Set Design...................Stephen Hungerford/Andrew J. Merkel
Lighting Design.............Stephen Hungerford/Andrew J. Merkel
Sound Design................Stephen Hungerford/Andrew J. Merkel
Costume Design.............Jamie Grace-Duff
Musical Composition........Kevin D. Chun and Adlai A. Waksman
Master Electrician...........Brian Smith


For the production's cast announcement, click HERE.

And for more details on the show, click HERE.


rock on,


ROMERO

Cast Announced for THE MILKY WAY CABARET

We are into our second week of rehearsals for The Milky Way Cabaret, and the actors are doing some really wonderful work. I am always encouraged when actors make brave choices and aren't afraid to show themselves, to be vulnerable, and to totally live in the moment (and to be precise about these things).

So far, this group has been pretty good at digging deep and trusting themselves, and each rehearsal has taken us a little bit deeper into the lives of these strange and heart-breaking characters.

I've given these actors the challenge of playing:

A woman who travels through black holes
An alcoholic with magic powers
Two assassins in clown clothes-- one of them just out of prison, the other without a heart
A former Homecoming Queen
A sadistic night-club owner
A seven year-old with magic powers

We see these guys travel through time and space while eating fruit, fail at magic tricks and drink elephant piss, put out cigarettes on each others' faces, hula-hoop like a dream, beat each other with dildos, and make necklaces appear out of thin air.

It's been a wild ride and it will only get better.

And for that, I love these guys:

TRAVLIN' ALICE...............Cherie A. Roberts

ARNIE...........................Daniel Higbee

BUZZ............................Steven Wright

CHARLOTTE....................Katy O'Leary

LORRAINE......................Brittany Brazill

MR. BOSS.......................Tom Wang

LITTLE ALICE..................Brenna the Magnificent

The rest of the awesome creative team will be announced soon.

In the meantime, you can go HERE for more information about the show (including tickets!)



Rock on,

ROMERO

My Brother is a Rock Star

My brother, Hunter Briley, is the lead vocalist for a Nashville-based rock band, NOVEMBER, that is poised for a big rockin' break out.

They've been playing NYC alot lately and the buzz around them is vibrating loud.

I think they have a great sound, and these guys are good dudes. I wish them nothing but the best, and I encourage people to check them out.

They've just completed a video for one of my favorite songs of theirs, "The Grind" (you can check it out below).

To learn more about them, feel free to check out their MySpace page.

The Grind

Call Me Teacher

This bit of good news shows up in the recent newsletter sent out by the University of the Arts in Philadelphia:

Greg Romero will be teaching Survey of Theatre, having recently located from Austin Texas. Greg has an MFA in Theatre (Playwriting); University of Texas-Austin. His play "The Most Beautiful Lullaby You've Ever Heard" recently closed Off-Off Broadway.

How 'bout that?

Later this month, I'll begin teaching at University of the Arts, landing a teaching gig with my very FIRST application (awesome!). I feel lucky and thrilled to be part of the program at University of the Arts. I've met a couple of their alumni (both are working actors in Philadelphia-- one of which is working with me on The Milky Way Cabaret) and have been impressed with their talent, professionalism and big hearts. From all accounts, U/Arts seems to be doing alot of things right, and I look forward to engaging with this institution as a participant of something I can believe in.

I'm very much looking forward to this teaching experience-- it will be a wonderful opportunity to continue to explore my own dynamics and questions as a teacher. It will be an opportunity to bring my energy to the academy while continuing to work as much as I can as a professional.

It is my hope that I will continue to find ways to engage with my students as much as possible-- to continue to find ways to make learning as enjoyable and as rewarding an experience as possible for those who take on my class.

In short-- it is my hope to continue to bring my passions into the classroom and to listen and learn from the passions of my students.

And lastly-- big big thank yous to Gene Terruso, Director of the School of Theatre Arts, for taking a risk hiring me.

Good times.


Rock on,

ROMERO

THE MILKY WAY CABARET Production Dates Announced

The full-length commission I've been working on, The Milky Way Cabaret, just announced its production dates.

As part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, this production will be performing on the third floor of Plays and Players Theater (1714 Delancey Street) at the following days and times:

September 6th, 10:00 pm
September 7th, 10:00 pm
September 8th, 10:00 pm
September 11th, 9:00 pm
September 12th, 9:00 pm
September 13th, 9:00 pm
September 14th, 8:00 pm
September 15th, 8:00 pm

I am REALLY excited about this show.




If the poster isn't enough motivation, this is what the play is about...

With an alocholic magician, clown-costumed assassins, and daughters who travel through black holes, we ask: Is humanity bigger than the Universe? Is a heart bigger than a planet? Set in a South Philly nightclub, The Milky Way Cabaret is a theatrical love letter to the city of Philadelphia.

It's gonna be awesome!

rock on,

ROMERO

LULLABY Lives on in Louisville

The journey for The Most Beautiful Lullaby You've Ever Heard continues, thanks to a wonderful and daring small theatre company in Louisville, Kentucky. Creator of the project, "Elevator Plays" (in which they staged 24 plays inside of elevators in downtown Louisville), Specific Gravity Ensemble, has taken on Lullaby and the work we've begun has been very encouraging and fun.

Directed by fellow former Longhorn (and artistic director of Specific Gravity), Rand Harmon, we've just cast the show and had our first rehearsal. This group is asking good questions and Rand brings alot of experience and alot of love for this play to the production. This group has me asking new questions about the play, which is very exicting and rewarding.

The rest of the creative team includes:

The Narrator: Julia Leist
The Man: Christopher Shiner
The Woman: Jennifer Poliskie

I've been in residence with these guys for almost a week, and I like them all very much. As a fan of the "big small theatre", the folks at Specific Gravity give me another reason to love the scrappy theatre companies that keep the blood of the American theatre flowing. Groups like Specific Gravity, The Cardboard Box Collaborative (Philly), and City Attic Theatre (NYC) will have my heart forever for doing work in such a passionate, fun, and professional way.

Rock on,


ROMERO

Lullaby Closes (Again) But Not For Long (Again)

One of the biggest reasons I create theatre is to create opportunity for humans to come together. Saturday, July 14th, was about as awesome an example as I could imagine.

The wonderful people of City Attic Theatre and The Cardboard Box Collaborative joined forces to present a one-night performance of The Most Beautiful Lullaby You've Ever Heard, and I was moved, once again, by the spirit and depth of the human heart.

In a couple of days, some incredible people came together, worked together, transformed space, dug deep, took care of each other, and put up a really wonderful show for a full and fully-engaged audience.

Sometimes I feel like the luckiest person in the world.

The event was successful, if bittersweet (as most closings are).

I will miss the wonderful people who made all of this happen, but I know that we will all see each other and work together again soon. Because that's what awesome people do.

In the meantime, the projects continue...and another production of Lullaby (to be announced soon) will come to life in the very near future.

rock on,


ROMERO