Marian Smouldering Food:Soul Pics and Thoughts

(All photos from Kia Rogers. Post by August Schulenburg.)

On Monday, October 19, Flux gathered for the Food:Soul reading of Adam Szymkowicz’s FluxForward play, Marian Smouldering; Or, The True Tale of Robin Hood. Learn more about Flux’s development history of this play here. While we’re late to posting these photos, we’re making up for our tardiness by sharing thoughts about the reading from key FluxForward team members. It’s ensemble style, y’all.

Kelly, Heather, and Chinaza got us started, and were greeted by a warm welcome from the wonderful community of Flux’s Creative Home. So, let’s turn the mic over to Chinaza for his thoughts on the reading:

CHINAZA: Adam Szymkowicz plays never fail to deliver hilarity. Kelly and the Cast crushed it.
Highlights:
The height of Lil John.
The height of Robin Hood.
The music. The sexiness.
Nandita flirting/trapped between 2 Nat Cassidys.
The deeply moving ponderings of Matthew Trumbull.

Not even a column can stand between the amazingness of Nandita and the two Nat Cassidys! (Becky in the background seems to agree).

And here is that very Matthew Trumbull, deeply pondering in his moving way (with the hilarious and sharp Renata Friedman making her Flux debut).

But speaking of that column-defying, Cassidy-dazzling Nandita Shenoy (herself a FluxForward playwright)…

NANDITA: I was struck by the feminism of Adam’s play. It’s rare to see a period piece with so many female characters, especially one with as much swordplay as this one. I loved the statement it made about women and leadership.

Yup, there was some pretty inspiring leadership going on (here modeled by Alisha Spielmann and Becky Byers).

And indeed, plenty of bad-ass sword-fighting, here led by a slashing Jessica Angleskhan:

While we’re on this track of superstar FluxForward playwrights who also acted in Marian, we turn the mic over to Kevin R. Free:

KEVIN: I loved being in Marian Smouldering because I WAS A BLACK MAN USING A “BRITISH” DIALECT IN THE WORLD OF ROBIN HOOD. I realized during rehearsal that was where I’d always wanted to be.

Why yes, that was a rather brilliant and beautiful part of the night:

But now let’s hear from Kevin’s show nemesis, Becky Byers:

BECKY: Being in the reading of Marian Smouldering was so much fun! Everyone was incredibly talented and having fun, and all that joy was delightfully infectious! That entire night just felt like pure happiness.

Speaking of those incredible talents, it was exciting to welcome new-to-Flux actors like Tanisha Thompson and Phillip Gregory Burke:

It was also a joy to see the work of actors who know each other well taking Adam’s beautiful play into places beyond the usual reach of a reading. I’ll hand the mic to this handsome fellow to close us out:

GUS: I knew the play would be funny (and it was hilarious), but I was surprised by how emotionally affected I was by the ending. No spoilers, but seeing the cost of the sacrifices for the greater good made by the characters played by Becky Byers and Ryan Andes inspired some unexpected tears.

Thanks to everyone for an amazing night, and stay tuned for more FluxForward news soon!