stage


LET’S TALK ABOUT SEX GRAHAM BROWN’S 4PLAY: SEX IN A SERIES


When4Play: Sex In A Series makes its


West Coast debut at The Actors Company in Los Angeles, it brings a spirit of inclusive- ness with it as the play tells the story about the similarities around boy-meets-girl, boy-meets-boy and girl-meets-girl.


4Play: Sex In A Series is described byBroadway


World as “a meta-theatrical, play-within-a-play” that “explores the meaning of personal entangle- ment, focusing on three couples: one gay, one lesbian and one heterosexual.” The Rage Monthly chatted with Graham Brown,


who originally wrote the play with Nathan Faudree and Lisa Roth and is serving as director and a member of the ensemble players on the project. We spoke about what inspired the show and how the play involves audiences. “4Play was originally con- ceived in 2004, we were in New York City so space was always kind of a challenge,” he recounted. “We worked our way into doing plays in bars and galleries, pretty much wherever we could find it. I had this idea of doing an episodic play in the East Village and doing one episode every Thursday and that’s how we started building the project.” Further elaborating on the creative process Brown said, “My writing partner at the time was identifying himself as a gay man, later he identified


48 RAGE monthly | FEBRUARY 2018


by tim parks


There were three of us originally and we wanted to write this play that was about the theatre, but it was also about these friendships and these relation- ships. So, in the play we had represented two gay men, two lesbians and a heterosexual couple.”


himself as bisexual and later he identified himself as a gay man. All that being said, he was just ‘Nate’ to me. There were three of us originally and we wanted to write this play that was about the theatre, but it was also about these friendships and these relation- ships. So in the play, we had represented two gay men, two lesbians and a heterosexual couple.” “We said, ‘Nate you write the guys, Lisa you


write the girls and I’ll write everything else’ and they were very generous in giving me their material and letting me run with it. In 2004 it was a different landscape than what it is now,” he opined. “But one of the messages that we were trying to convey is that all of these couples, no matter what their orienta- tion, were all facing the same thing. That idea of it being a non-issue is one of the things that has endured in the different versions over the years.” While 4Play does have its dramatic moments,


there is also plenty of comedy to help create a balance. Brown also felt that dealing with sexuality in a comedic format definitely makes the subject matter more palatable. “For me personally, I think with true sexuality there’s a certain sense of humor to it, in not taking yourself too seriously,” he explained. “That’s not to say that people don’t say serious things to each other in this play. But when you present material to an audience that’s in a comedic fashion, they may be a little more open to


listening to it if it’s not something they readily agree to on the onset.” Another facet of the show is that it adapts to its surroundings and bridges the gap between the audience and the performers, as Brown explained. “We do the play in the audience. For example, you walk into the show and it will be a big room with cocktail tables and the play happens in and around you—think about theatre in the round—but, the audience is actually in the round,” he stated. “It’s not interactive, but it is to the point where the audience will influence the tone of the show.” 4Play makes its West Coast debut, after successful


runs in New York and Chicago and Brown feels that L.A. audiences will take to the material as quickly as their East Coast and Midwest counterparts have. “We try to bring a level of sincerity to the work and respect for the audience. What we do is a little bit different and how that was reacted to in Chicago will be similar in L.A.,” he offered. “Also, I have to say that I am over the moon with this cast. We have some phenomenal people who are putting their all into this…I couldn’t be more thrilled with this ensemble.”


4Play: Sex in a Series runs fromWednesday, February 14 through Saturday, March 17at The Actors Company, 916 A North Formosa Avenue in Los Angeles. For tickets and more information, call 800.838.3006 or go to tripnyc.org/4play.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56