(lively music) (upbeat music) - [Announcer] Visit the studio of children's book author and illustrator, Kyra Teis.

Chat theater with actor and director, Patrick White.

♪ This is my blood, oh, oh ♪ And catch a performance from Buggy Jive.

It's all ahead on this episode of "AHA".

- [Announcer] Funding for AHA has been provided by your contribution and by contributions to the WMHT Venture Fund.

Contributors include the Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation, Chet and Karen Opalka, Robert and Doris Fischer Malesardi, and the Robison Family Foundation.

(lively music) - Hi, I'm Matt Rogowicz and this is AHA, a house for arts, a place for all things creative.

Kyra Teis is a full-time artist living in Niskayuna who has a passion for bringing stories to life through picture books and abstract art.

(lively music) - I'm Kyra Teis and I write and illustrate children's books.

I am an abstract artist and I also design clothing out of antique fabrics.

Both my parents were artists.

My father was a contemporary abstract collage artist.

And my mother was a costume designer and then later a very accomplished quilter.

All my siblings are artists or musicians of some kind and the grandchildren are also artists and musicians.

It's really the genetic... (laughs) Genetics are serious in my family.

(whimsical music) My dad always made space for me.

He would give me all the paints I wanted, all the paper, everything.

Never made a separation between his art space and where I could be.

But it was really when I went to college that I discovered more like figurative art and specifically children's books.

It was just like this natural coming together of story and art.

And so I was like, that's what I want to do.

(laughs) And I never looked back.

So if I'm just illustrating the book, I usually get chosen for books that have kind of a humanistic topic or a story because I really love to draw faces, whether it's very detailed, you know, realistic books or a baby book that's more simplistic.

I just love how the face can convey like so much expression just with a look.

(upbeat music) The projects that I choose, like I'm writing and illustrating, they really run the gamut from all different kinds of topics, whatever I'm interested in.

I think my favorite book, it came out a few years ago, it's on Klezmer music.

(lively music) It's just this soulful, raucous, Jewish folk music.

And one thing I love about the music is that every culture that you go into has its own flavor of Klezmer music.

The book is a simple plot line.

A little girl goes to visit her grandparents' apartment in the Lower East Side and they're musicians and there's a jam party.

To integrate the history of it, I used a lot of photographs from the Library of Congress.

In different archives, you can find actual sheet music of like the original American Klezmer musicians in their handwriting.

I cut pieces of that and I put it in the book and integrated it with my collage papers.

And so I feel like the whole book has this very textural moving through time, but still really set in the here and now.

(whimsical music) It was only natural that when I was developing my artistic style for my illustration career, I would pull on my dad's artwork and his technique.

He specialized in paper collage, so he would blot acrylic paint onto paper and then tear it or cut it into shapes to make an abstract composition.

I took that same technique, but I use it figuratively, scissors, cutting out little tiny shapes, using the collage papers that he taught me how to make.

And they just add this rich depth of color and texture.

So illustration is a funny kind of art because there's so many voices that have to weigh in.

It's a commercial art.

So you have the artist, the author, the editor, the marketing department, and the publisher all weighing in on your art, which is fine.

I like working that way, but it does mean a lot of revisions.

With paper collage, you have to go into your actual artwork and do the revision.

It's cumbersome.

(whimsical music) I took about two years to learn Photoshop and I transferred my style almost exactly into digital.

So I scanned all the papers that I had accumulated over a 20-year career and I cut them and I paste them and I can enlarge it, change colors, I can work in different transparencies.

So I appreciate that flexibility.

Maybe a year and a half ago, I started working on abstract art.

My dad worked traditionally, so canvas, paper, paint, glue.

I thought in my mind, "Oh, this is going to be totally different because I'm working on the computer, I'm working on Photoshop," but it is so similar.

There are definitely some motifs that are so ingrained in me, I just couldn't shake them if I tried.

Often his work will feature a central window, kind of like a square within the composition, and that comes out naturally in me.

I'm always like, "Okay, where's the focal point?"

(laughs) I would have to say the through line for all my art is story.

Obviously, with children's books, the story is right there, but even for abstract art, I would again say the same thing.

I love a wall size piece of art that just takes you somewhere.

- Patrick White is an actor and director who co-founded Harbinger Theater in 2021, a company dedicated to producing regional premiers and works by underrepresented playwrights.

Jade Warrick spoke with Patrick to learn about his latest production, "The Counter".

- Hey Patrick, welcome to "A House of Arts" today.

- Thanks, Jade.

Great to be here.

- Yeah.

Ready to talk about the Harbinger and all and how you even became who you are today as a creative.

- Ah.

- So yes, I know.

(Patrick laughing) So I know when we spoke, you said in 10th grade you read a play out loud, and then that was the moment where you're like, "I think I'm an actor now."

- [Patrick] Yeah.

- What brought on that thought?

How'd you come into this passion?

- Yeah, I was like a class clown.

I was always looking for ways to insert myself in class.

I'm fifth of six kids (Jade laughing) and I used to perform at the dinner table, but they asked who wanted to read out loud.

Now, my hand shot up.

I would always read in class.

And it was "The Glass Menagerie," by Tennessee Williams and we read it for two days and I read Tom and it just fit.

I understood what the play was saying and it was just like a perfect confluence of where I was in the world.

I was on the outside with my parents, normal teenage issues, but there was also this mysterious thing about the character where he went off to movies alone and he wanted to be a poet.

And during the course of the reading, once we got done, I was so full of like, I could tell my mother off (Jade laughing) and I could be soulful and thoughtful and have these great speeches and I got laughs.

And at the end of it, my classmates came up to me and go, "You were really good.

That was really fun."

I'm like, "What is this?"

- (laughs) The attention!

- Yeah!

Yeah!

And to have something that you were good at and it just like lit.

(clicks) It was like a pinball machine going off.

I just hit double bonus score.

And from that moment, pretty much I filled, and to this day, I try and fill my life with as much theater as I possibly can.

- So let's talk about the Harbinger then, because I know that is a theater production company that you founded.

So give us a little bit of details of what it is, how you founded it.

- Sure.

I teach an acting class, and during the pandemic, we used to be in the Masonic Lodge on Corning Place down below City Hall, and we couldn't get back in there, but we got into Albany Barn in September of 2020 while we were still all masked and distanced.

And in April of 2021, the governor said, "You can have public events."

And we did a scene night and I was like, "I want to do a play."

And we're in the barn.

We had a guy, Nicky Lights, Nick Neely.

- Yeah, Nicky Lights.

- A saint of Capital Region Theater who could give us technical assistance.

So we did a play.

We did the "Death Tax," by Lucas Hnath, and I was like, "We had a play going.

Let's form a theater company."

And all my class was like, "Yeah, yeah!"

- Let's do it!

- And we formed Harbinger.

And that December of 2021, we put on our first show, "The Christians," by Lucas Hnath.

And from that moment, we did seven plays in 2022, which is crazy, kind of all that pent up energy.

And I think most of them were scenes that we had done in acting class, which "The Counter" is as well.

The play coming up is our 21st Capital Region premiere since December of 2021.

We've performed in nine different venues throughout the Capital Region.

This is our ninth play at Albany Barn, but already this year we've been at Sage College in Troy and Mopco Improv Theater on Jay Street in Schenectady.

And the next one in November is called "The Best We Can: A Family Tragedy," and that's going to be at Sand Lake Center for the Arts in Averill Park.

- Okay.

Busy, busy.

- [Patrick] Yeah.

- So before we get into The Counter though, I want to talk about the story you told me about you seeing 20 women audition for just like two spots.

- Yeah.

- And you said that did something for you with how you wanted to run Harbinger.

Can you break that down a little bit?

- Yeah, well, I have an acting class and I have an acting class that's taking signups that starts in October.

I teach from October to May.

And right now, I have eight women signed up and two men.

I did a summer camp.

There were 47 girls and eight boys.

- Wow.

- So what you're talking about is this play I directed in Saratoga called "The Foreigner", and it was the cast had five men and two women.

And showing up for audition were 10 men and 20 women.

So if you were a man, your chance was fifty-fifty to get cast.

If you were a woman, it was one in 10.

I had known this.

You just go to the theater anytime you're in the theater, take a look around and look at the number of women, look at the number of men, and then look on stage and see how many women are there and how many men.

And I don't know the figures, but it seems like it's like 70-80% audience of women watching 60-70% men on stage.

And it's just common sense.

To create a better production, you've got more choices here if you gear yourself towards predominantly more women.

And most of the plays we choose now, we're looking for plays that are predominantly for women.

- Yeah, trying to create that accessibility route, which is really, really important in the theater world.

So let's talk a little bit about The Counter.

So I know it is a story between two people speaking at a diner, correct?

- Yep.

Yep.

- And that concept seems simple on the surface, but probably has some complexities to it.

So how would you describe this type of play to the audience?

- Yeah.

Well, that's the beginning of it.

It's in an upstate diner.

These two people are at a crossroads.

It's a waitress and her first customer of the day, who she gets along with very well, they have a friendly relationship and the man is a retired firefighter and asks her if she wants to take it to another level and share confidences.

And they start to confide in each other secrets that they have and their friendship goes to a different space.

And through that, reaching out for each other, they support each other and eventually things happen.

- I was going to say, "No spoilers, no spoilers!"

(both laughing) - Things go to a different level, but you know people in your life.

I mean, I'm working with these people.

I've known them for 10 years and we've had life changes, parents have died.

we went through a pandemic together, all sorts of things, but there's still a level of intimacy or who would you turn to if you had that need for support?

And I think this place speaks to a need to connect.

- Yeah.

- And for me, it's been awesome going to rehearsal and talking about issues that don't come up, end of life issues, care, how you feel about what you've gone through, seeing loved ones.

And it's a comedy.

- (laughs) I will say, is it a comedy?

It's not a drama.

- And it's a comedy.

It's very funny stuff.

- So would you say The Counter is like a healing space for a lot of the people in it?

Because you brought up connecting through these really tough times that a lot of us are going through recovering from COVID and the life, parents aging.

- Absolutely.

I mean, it has been for me.

I hope it's been for the rest of the cast.

We spend a lot of time talking about these issues and how it affects us and how difficult it is.

- It's good to have that type of community too.

- Yeah.

- Especially in the art world, it's needed.

Well, where can people see this and when is it out?

- It's at Albany Barn from September 17th through the 26th, Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 PM.

Performances are $15, so it's the cheapest play in town.

(Jade laughing) And you can get tickets on our website, www.actingclasswithpatrickwhite.net.

And we have a couple of special nights.

We have opening nights the 17th.

On the 18th, every Friday night we have a talk back where audiences can talk to the casting crew about the play.

And it's moderated by Channel 10's Giuliana Bruno.

- Nice.

- On the 18th and on the 25th, it's moderated by Rosemary Armao, who- - Oh!

Yeah, I know Rosemary.

Okay!

- Rosemary.

- There we go.

- She's awesome.

She's a fellow Colony High School graduate.

- Well, can't wait to pop into The Barn.

I'm very familiar with The Barn.

I've done lots of work there, so I'm very excited to see this play myself.

- Great.

- Be your little groupie in the background.

(laughs) - Awesome.

- Thank you so much for talking to us today, Patrick.

I appreciate you.

- Thank you, Jade.

- Thank you.

- Please welcome Buggy Jive.

(upbeat music) ♪ I'm saving myself ♪ ♪ For Sunday ♪ ♪ I've been trying to be good ♪ ♪ All week ♪ ♪ But y'all make it so hard ♪ ♪ Yes, I mean you ♪ ♪ And you too ♪ ♪ I'm kicking it off with communion ♪ ♪ Body and blood ♪ ♪ Bottoms up ♪ ♪ But all y'all make it so hard ♪ ♪ So I'm acting the fool ♪ ♪ For you ♪ (upbeat music continues) ♪ So I took the bread ♪ ♪ And then he said ♪ ♪ Take it ♪ ♪ This is my body ♪ ♪ This do ye ♪ ♪ In remembrance of me ♪ ♪ And he took the cup ♪ ♪ And he drank it all up ♪ ♪ He said this is my blood, oh, no ♪ ♪ This do ye ♪ ♪ In remembrance of me ♪ ♪ This do ye ♪ ♪ In remembrance of me ♪ ♪ This do ye ♪ ♪ In remembrance of me ♪ (upbeat music continues) ♪ I'm saving myself ♪ ♪ For Sunday ♪ ♪ I've been trying to be good ♪ ♪ All week ♪ ♪ But all y'all make it so ♪ ♪ Hard ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ He thought he was about to get to come up ♪ ♪ But Venetian Bugs Bunny got the one up ♪ ♪ Now, he calling to her daddy before the sun up ♪ ♪ And he gonna trick a black brotha til he done up ♪ ♪ And the Times said Kenny got it wrong ♪ ♪ But the play's the thing that was wrong all along ♪ ♪ So what do y'all know about what's at stake here ♪ ♪ And what do y'all know about Shakespeare ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Same day, a different play ♪ ♪ I'm trying to check it ♪ ♪ 'Cause I know Steppenwolf ain't gonna step and fetch it ♪ ♪ I'm diggin' blackamoors and soft conversation ♪ ♪ With only one degree of separation ♪ ♪ A few good footloose hollow man in the darkness ♪ ♪ But I'm still six degrees away from Durville Martin ♪ ♪ Found my purpose from Phylicia in two acts, baby ♪ ♪ And the closer laughs along like she's a black lady ♪ ♪ And I'm tryna figure out what it meant to me ♪ ♪ And what I would have done differently ♪ ♪ I can tell y'all who was sittin' next to me ♪ ♪ But I'm tryna protect the brother's privacy ♪ ♪ So what y'all know about was at stake here ♪ ♪ And what do y'all know about Shakespeare ♪ (upbeat music continues) ♪ Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah ♪ ♪ Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah ♪ ♪ Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah ♪ ♪ Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah ♪ ♪ After waiting for the future with David ♪ ♪ And the big found art he created ♪ ♪ They told me practice practice practice for admittance ♪ ♪ But all I had to do was buy a ticket ♪ ♪ And sit up straight in the balcony and act right ♪ ♪ Jimmy Baldwin knew the ticket had a black price ♪ ♪ I been tryna write another song about the Waste Land ♪ ♪ But Paul is paying reparations for Graceland ♪ ♪ Cecile be killing his American tune rewrite ♪ ♪ She be weary to the bone ♪ ♪ But she gon be all right ♪ (melancholy music) ♪ And high ♪ ♪ Up above ♪ ♪ I could clearly see ♪ ♪ The Statue of Liberty ♪ ♪ Sailing away to sea ♪ (melancholy music continues) ♪ And she dreamed ♪ ♪ She was flying ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Orson did Macbeth with the voodoo ♪ ♪ But Langston wasn't down with his hoodoo ♪ ♪ Olivier gone do it up in blackface ♪ ♪ And everybody apologizing for his poor taste ♪ ♪ Jive talking pillow talk ain't okay ♪ ♪ Screw driver vodka Bronco dranking O.J ♪ ♪ So baby, what do you know about Othello ♪ ♪ What you know about the so-called ghetto ♪ ♪ What you know about Iago ♪ ♪ Or Red Summer 1919, Chicago ♪ ♪ What you know 'bout Desdemona ♪ ♪ Or the burning of Tulsa, Oklahoma ♪ ♪ What do you know about love ♪ ♪ What you know about amour ♪ ♪ What you know about the Lord above ♪ ♪ And what y'all know about what we fighting for ♪ ♪ What do y'all know about what's the stakes here ♪ ♪ What do y'all know about what's the stakes here ♪ ♪ What do y'all know about what's the stakes here ♪ ♪ And what do y'all know about Shakespeare ♪ (upbeat music) - Thanks for joining us.

For more arts, visit wmht.org/aha and be sure to connect with us on social.

I'm Matt Rogowicz.

Thanks for watching.

(upbeat music continues) - [Announcer] Funding for Aha has been provided by your contribution and by contributions to the WMHT Venture Fund.

Contributors include the Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation, Chet and Karen Opalka, Robert and Doris Fischer Malesardi, and the Robison Family Foundation.