American Oggi

Gli attori - a New York sono sempre sorprendenti. Precisi e convincenti. "I Love Kant" di Ken Urban. Dura solo un'ora perché il regista ci fa vedere tutta la lenta preparazione del palcoscenico. Siamo compensati poi da quattro donne in quattro cubicoli che ci rivelano la loro personalità. Linda (Kate Benson) studia da anni Kant. Betsy (Frances Mercanti-Anthony) è pronta all'amore ma è spesso delusa. Pam (Edelen McWilliams) sa che morirà in un'esplosione. Succede. Maureen (Kate Downing) e la più sensibile e sfortunata. Droghe e un amante che la tratta male. Steve Boyer è l'uomo che passa da un cubicolo all'altro. Molti appluasi a cinque abili attori, ben diretti da Dylan McCullough.

You Tube

This is the moment when something weird happens
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Words - Backstage

splendidly
adroit
misery
(or not)
naturalistic
isolated
company
out-of-the-blue
beautifully
humorlessness
funniest
unites
strikingly
jarring
dull
surprising
best
inscrutable
meaningful

Words - Show Business Weekly

disparate
worth
lonely
confused
uptight
lost
overcome
succumb
beauty
agreeable
beautiful
sublime
good
versatile
shine
enlighten
realm
ghost
ambitious
arane
subtleties

Words - TONY

notion
inspiration
comedy
exceeds
familiar
bizarre
prophetic
smart
handily
myriad
enhances
invigorating

Words _ Variety

daunting
flaky
neurotic
collective
cleverly
polished
finicky
reflective
raw
OK
comfortable

Words - NYT

crafty
little
unexpected
nimble
knowing
admirable
free-flowing
empathy
detailed
noisy
gimmick
meaningless
more

open

we're open.
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we played to 150 during our first weekend. great huses for a 65 seat house.
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now we wait for those that talk about such kind of events to talk about them.
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too proud and happy to care what they say. as an artist.
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as a producer, good things please.
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lovely opening night party at virage.
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didn't take pictures.
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come see the play now.
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byeeeeeeeeee

1st preview

1st preview

Newark Star Ledger

N.J. trilogy in works

Linda, a Highland Park resident, is at Rutgers, trying to write a dissertation. At a reunion in Toms River, Betsy has an incestuous relationship. Maureen is a Jersey City substitute teacher who's in a terrible romance. Pam works in Newark in a building that's been bombed by terrorists.

They're the characters in "I (Heart) KANT," Ken Urban's new play, and the first in a trilogy. All three are set in New Jersey.

Urban knows the Garden State. His father, Walter M. Urban, was once mayor of Medford in Burlington County. He also taught at Rutgers during the '90s, where all three plays are set.

"When I was growing up in South Jersey, it seemed so Republican," says the playwright. "Now it's changed so much. ... The state has gone through massive alterations."

"I (Heart) KANT" plays Friday through Oct. 2 at the Linhart Theater, 440 Lafayette St., New York City. Performances are Thursdays-Saturdays and Mondays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 7 p.m. Tickets are $18. Call (212) 352-3101 or visit www.theatermania.com.

--Peter Filichia

Brooklyn Rail

Check out Isaac Butler's wonderful article about the play/production.

The link is just to your right.

just move your eyes over and let your mouse/trackpad/imbedded pointing device do the work.

Village Voice

Ken Urban’s New Jersey–set comedy concerns four Garden State gals, each in need of enlightenment, and includes the philosophies of the immortal Immanuel. Reviews from its L.A. premiere offer plenty of pure reasons why it should be enjoyed. We Kant wait. Dylan McCullough directs. (Soloski)

day before the day

invited dress tomorrow.

we've added a powerbook to the sound system. so now a smapler, powerbook, iPod. No traditional playback of any kind will be used.

the show looks amazing. the actors and designers are doing amazing work.

you all should really come.

use special code KANT for $12 tix for perfs on 9/8, 9/9, 9/10, 9/15, 9/17, and 9/18.

TONY

Time Out NY's preview says about I (Heart) Kant:

"Ken Urban's new philosophical comedy follows four women in New Jersey coming to grips with Kantian epistemology, talking stuffed cats and, you know, living in Jersey. Will Dylan McCullough's direction be phenomenal or noumenal? Only your Pure Reason will figure it out."
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I'm hoping for a little of both.
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ah tech....

kate asleep.

linda's bookshelf

still a work in progress. a lot of the books that we have brought in for inspiration are a part of this. lots of philosphy books. and infinite jest.

thom with scaffold backstage

alone on stage at midnight

tech day one of three

This is the only picture I have of tech which is our production meeting which kicked off at 11:15 tonight.
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If you need four great designers or a great production manager or great stage management, these are the people you want.
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We're blessed to have them.
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We teched the first 12 pages or so which was a perfectly respectable day one. Oh and it looks great.

i heart k?

kmart is using this as a marketing campaign. crossover appeal? we should write ANT on all the windows...
hmmm...

sound

this is the sound set up for the show. betsy could explain it better but we're running sound off of my ipod, a cd player, a mini disc and an akai sampler with midi triggers which is what the roland keyboard is for. different sounds will be triggered by the different keys which will allow me (did i mention i am running this system during the shows?) to access many sound cues and choose different ones each night for individual moments. we've also augmented the theatre with additional speakers and amplifiers to cover all this.

I will be running sound for every show (though i am hoping Betsy will come in and guest dj when the mood strikes her). I will also be able to manipulate the lights nightly (though I am also hoping that Thom will come in and guest dj as well). I will have 24 submasters that i can use to augment the "set" light cues. The costumes also have some elements that can be altered from perf to perf. This truly creates a one-of-a-kind experience for every performance.

in essence we are doing a different version of the production every night, much like a band performing a song. There is a set form to follow nightly but room to experiment.

our process will never end and the actors, SM and I will touch base after each show to talk about what effects worked and which maybe didn't. We're growing with each performance. it's all very exciting (and scary).

Linhart Theater Midnight Thursday 8.31.2006