WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:02.640 Hudson River Radio dot com. 2 00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:04.240 It beats listening to nothing. 3 00:00:04.839 --> 00:00:10.000 Oh my godness, be Frank, where the only way to 4 00:00:10.039 --> 00:00:16.640 be is Frank. Hello, everyone in, welcome to being Frank. 5 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:20.440 We're the only way to be is Frank. I'm your host, 6 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:22.679 Frank Lebono, and I'd like to thank you for joining 7 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:26.719 us on what we liked all the Intelligent Conversation podcast 8 00:00:26.760 --> 00:00:30.440 where no conversation is out of bounds and all points 9 00:00:30.440 --> 00:00:33.119 of view are welcome. You know, we go live to 10 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:35.240 tape and we always give you the date so you 11 00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:38.799 have some context and relevance to our conversation. Is the 12 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:45.000 twelfth of September. Well, they've done the impossible again for 13 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:48.759 the third consecutive year. The Phoenix Theater Ensemble is staging 14 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:54.039 thirteen live theater performance in just twelve days in and 15 00:00:54.119 --> 00:00:57.679 around six different venues in the charming hamlet of Nyack, 16 00:00:57.759 --> 00:00:59.600 New York. Of course, I had to say that because 17 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:02.119 it's my hometown as well, and you know I'm always 18 00:01:02.119 --> 00:01:05.959 bragging about Nayak. This is another reason why. And you 19 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:10.799 can imagine executing such an event as well Shakespearean in nature, 20 00:01:10.840 --> 00:01:13.359 and it takes a special team to pull it off. 21 00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:16.200 We have three key people who have been making it 22 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:19.920 happen from the very beginning. I'd like to introduce you 23 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:23.200 to first two guests and then a third coming up shortly. 24 00:01:23.280 --> 00:01:26.400 They're returning to Being Frank. They came last year to 25 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:29.680 talk about the Phoenix Festival and they return. Craig Smith 26 00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:32.439 and the Leis Stone are founding members of the Phoenix 27 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:36.480 Theater Ensemble, amongst their other accomplishments too many to read, 28 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:39.359 and they are the creative heart and soul behind the festival. 29 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:43.239 They also partners in life as well. So welcome back, guys. 30 00:01:43.280 --> 00:01:45.239 It's always a pleasure to host you here of Being Frank. 31 00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:47.120 Thank you for having us Ran. 32 00:01:47.239 --> 00:01:49.359 It's great to be here, Frank. Thank you. Okay, we's 33 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:51.239 got a lot to unpack. What We've got to introduce. 34 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:54.120 Our third guest joining us for the first time and 35 00:01:54.719 --> 00:01:57.879 indeed a pleasure, is Thomas Schneck. He's a president of 36 00:01:58.040 --> 00:02:02.359 Visit Nayak, and orization that promotes the village and tourism 37 00:02:02.560 --> 00:02:05.599 to the village. The Visit Night team has been involved 38 00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:09.159 since twenty twenty one and is of great value to 39 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:11.879 the festival in a way. They are the uber project 40 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:14.680 manager and Thomas knows the workings of the festival as 41 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:18.400 well as anyone. He is also on the board Festival. 42 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:20.639 Welcome Thomas, thank you for joining us here. 43 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:22.479 Thanks Ran, thanks for having me. 44 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:26.400 All Right, as I mentioned, there's an awful lot to unpact. 45 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:30.639 So but before we do, we get again. We mentioned 46 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:38.080 thirteen live shows in just twelve days. That's massive. But 47 00:02:38.439 --> 00:02:40.960 let's refresh people if they didn't see you the first 48 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:43.240 time around, Both Craig and at least talk a little 49 00:02:43.280 --> 00:02:47.120 bit about Phoenix Theater in general first and then the festival. 50 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:49.599 Let's bring them up to speed. We've mentioned this is 51 00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:52.039 the third year. Let's take them back to the first 52 00:02:52.039 --> 00:02:54.280 the concept of it, and then we'll bring them to 53 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:55.319 where we are now. 54 00:02:55.400 --> 00:02:58.879 We'll do Thanks Frank. Aleisa and I lived in New 55 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:03.319 York City, in the East Ville for many decades. We 56 00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:05.199 met in the theater, we got married in the theater, 57 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:07.280 We raised our kids in the theater. So the theater 58 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:10.199 is part of our lifeblood. 59 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:11.199 It is. 60 00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:14.960 And then in twenty eighteen we moved to Nayak while 61 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:18.800 maintaining our theater company in New York. And you know, 62 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:21.840 this was a time that we could have a time 63 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:24.159 of reevaluation, certainly for me it was a time to 64 00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:27.319 consider retirement and that type of thing and stepping away 65 00:03:27.319 --> 00:03:28.319 from the theater business. 66 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:29.120 But the. 67 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:34.719 Vibe in Nyak was just kind of amazing to us, 68 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:38.639 and the passion of theater took over. Once Agare and 69 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:41.360 we started looking at each other and said, no, maybe 70 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:44.439 we could do a festival in Nayak, not knowing at 71 00:03:44.439 --> 00:03:47.400 all we had done small festivals before, we hadn't done 72 00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:51.360 anything large. So we did that. Then we got delayed 73 00:03:51.400 --> 00:03:53.560 by COVID for a couple of years, and then finally 74 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:56.039 we did the first one in twenty twenty two, which 75 00:03:56.159 --> 00:04:03.479 was mostly outdoors again because of COVID. Successful artistically, very successful, 76 00:04:03.639 --> 00:04:05.960 and we had critics coming up from New York and 77 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:06.680 they loved it. 78 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:08.599 I have to, you know, in. 79 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:13.680 Full transparency also say it was not successful financially. We 80 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:17.600 lost money with it, and we kind of expected that 81 00:04:17.720 --> 00:04:20.680 somewhat with any kind of a new adventure. So we 82 00:04:20.720 --> 00:04:23.560 went back to the drawing board and we put together 83 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:30.439 the twenty twenty three festival and we changed the formatting 84 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:33.360 of it and tried to cut some expenses and to 85 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:35.879 maximize the income and things like that, and we lost 86 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:39.199 money again, but we didn't lose as much money is 87 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:42.120 lost in twenty twenty two, so we were kind of 88 00:04:42.199 --> 00:04:45.639 moving forward in the right direction. So that brought us 89 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:46.879 to twenty twenty four. 90 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:47.439 This year. 91 00:04:47.600 --> 00:04:51.240 This is our third annual festival and we reconfigured it 92 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:55.199 again this time is something that we were really interested 93 00:04:55.199 --> 00:05:00.360 in doing. One thing that I have noticed is the 94 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:06.319 people in Nyack and Rockland County and Westchester are discerning 95 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:10.839 and avid, are takers of performing arts, but they tend 96 00:05:10.839 --> 00:05:13.800 to go into New York and see a Broadway show 97 00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:16.279 and then they turn around and come back and they 98 00:05:16.439 --> 00:05:23.480 miss a total, dynamic, wonderful environment of exciting, innovative theater 99 00:05:23.759 --> 00:05:26.399 that they don't see. So at Leasa and I were 100 00:05:26.439 --> 00:05:28.439 talking and said, well, okay, they don't see that, maybe 101 00:05:28.480 --> 00:05:30.879 we should bring that to Nayak. And that's exactly what 102 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:33.920 we did for this third festival. We started talking to 103 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:36.040 some of our friends who are to artistic directors and 104 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:41.920 producers of key, very exciting theater companies and dance companies 105 00:05:41.959 --> 00:05:44.639 and music companies and said, would you be interested in 106 00:05:44.680 --> 00:05:47.240 coming to Nayak as part of our festival and they 107 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:50.199 said yes. So that kind of set us up for 108 00:05:50.879 --> 00:05:54.560 this one and this one where we have thirteen performances 109 00:05:54.600 --> 00:05:59.160 over eleven days, and it's kind of like the D 110 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:01.800 Day in Asian, you know, kind of like that. And 111 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:06.439 a Lease has been just amazing at organizing this, and 112 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:10.560 she is a multitasking titan, and she makes up for 113 00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:14.560 me because I'm not, and then I we're and we're 114 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:18.519 taping this on the day of our opening party and 115 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:21.319 our opening gala. So we are at the same time 116 00:06:21.560 --> 00:06:24.920 enormously excited and looking at our telephones and seeing if 117 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:27.480 anybody's going to call with any kind of issues. Been 118 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:31.040 no issues so far. We are enormously excited about this festival. 119 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:33.279 And we're going to talk about that because hopefully we 120 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:36.000 will be streaming by this evening and people will see 121 00:06:36.040 --> 00:06:40.079 and hopefully joined the celebration at the Nayak Hotel. We'll 122 00:06:40.120 --> 00:06:43.319 talk all about that in some detail. But you've mentioned Elisea, 123 00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:45.240 and I want to bring her into the conversation now, 124 00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:49.480 especially since she has such an intimate involvement with the festival. 125 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:53.639 A kind of a twofold question. What remains the same? 126 00:06:54.199 --> 00:06:57.319 What has changed over the course of the three years 127 00:06:57.319 --> 00:06:59.560 from the beginning. Give us your perspective. 128 00:07:01.879 --> 00:07:07.519 Let's see the first year we produced some really gigantic 129 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:15.439 shows up at Marydale the second year. We wanted to 130 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:22.360 and were requested to by local businesses who are our 131 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:26.480 sponsors and supporters and partners, and bringing the festival to 132 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:30.480 Nyak to bring more of the festival into town. We 133 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:33.439 had some shows in town the first year, but not 134 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:37.199 nearly as much as what we are doing now. So 135 00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:44.480 we incorporated that we did more venues in town, which 136 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:48.079 puts us in very non traditional spaces because we don't 137 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:51.759 have a theater space in town. There's really only one 138 00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:54.079 theater in town, as you probably know, which is the 139 00:07:54.079 --> 00:07:57.720 Elmwood Playhouse, and they use their space all the time. 140 00:07:58.120 --> 00:08:04.279 And so we are performing in places like the Nayak Center, 141 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:10.319 the Library, the First Reformed Church last year, at Hudson 142 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:13.680 House this year, also at Big Read Books and at 143 00:08:13.720 --> 00:08:18.040 Story Space Arts, so a lot of very unconventional places. 144 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:23.360 We're asking artists to do dance in theater and concerts 145 00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:28.560 and this year really we're moving closer to how we 146 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:34.759 have envisioned the festival to be and grow into the future. 147 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:38.679 It had always been this model of the way the 148 00:08:38.919 --> 00:08:43.519 Edinburgh Theater Festival works, which is that the whole town, 149 00:08:44.120 --> 00:08:49.960 all of Edinburgh becomes a stage many different places, pubs, restaurants, stores, 150 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.480 wherever anybody is willing to host a show, and people 151 00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:57.360 are willing to play, and people go, and the whole 152 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:01.960 atmosphere is that you go in you see everything possible, 153 00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:05.759 So you'll go and see three performances for performances a day, 154 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:08.679 whatever you can fill your dance card with. And it 155 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:12.320 has long been our vision that, in fact, this would 156 00:09:12.360 --> 00:09:16.639 be a festival destination in Nayak, that people would come 157 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:20.159 and be able to partake of cultural offerings. So this 158 00:09:20.279 --> 00:09:23.879 year we've really morphed closer into that because we are 159 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:31.679 doing a solid twelve days of events happening, as opposed 160 00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:36.360 to trying to slot ourselves into a weekend run of something. 161 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:41.200 And everything has one performance only, so people cannot hesitate, 162 00:09:41.960 --> 00:09:44.919 and some of our venues are quite small if you 163 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:47.200 wish to see things. And I have to say, there 164 00:09:47.240 --> 00:09:51.120 is a ticket buyer today who I see has done 165 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:54.600 the festival the way the festival should be done. They 166 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:59.720 had started purchasing tickets to see as many events as 167 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:03.000 that they can possibly can, and that's the. 168 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:03.799 Way to take it in. 169 00:10:03.960 --> 00:10:09.399 We are bringing New York theater companies and artists up 170 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:16.200 to Nyak for exactly this kind of Edinburgh type event 171 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:20.080 that people can take part in. So I was excited 172 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:20.759 to see that. 173 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:25.480 A good friend, a local Nayaker, just came back posted 174 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:30.559 wonderful photos of the festival in Edinburgh, and if we 175 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:34.080 could in any way mimic that, that would be absolutely terrific. 176 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:36.879 I want to bring I want to bring Thomas in 177 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:40.519 at this point because I think it's important and you 178 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:44.159 mentioned how you know, you have to run things and 179 00:10:44.200 --> 00:10:47.720 there are costs involved and no one likes to lose money, 180 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:51.240 so it becomes part of the equation. How can local 181 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:55.679 businesses support the theater, because once the theater is supported, 182 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:58.399 the theory would be that people will come and support 183 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:01.399 the businesses I either rest or, et cetera in the 184 00:11:01.879 --> 00:11:04.759 village as well. So it's a balance, I'm sure. And 185 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:07.200 I want to talk to Thomas a little bit about 186 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:11.480 how he came to becoming involved and how important that 187 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:14.879 connection is with the community, the business community in particular, 188 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:19.159 but the Nayak community at large in general. So Thomas, 189 00:11:19.159 --> 00:11:21.080 tell us a little bit about how you first became 190 00:11:21.120 --> 00:11:22.679 involved with the Hull Festival. 191 00:11:23.720 --> 00:11:27.559 Yeah, so I got involved with the first festival. So 192 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:31.120 we're going back now three years. At this point, I 193 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:34.960 also already was the president of Visit Nayak. Maybe just 194 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:38.279 a quick background, who Visit Nayak is Visit Niak has 195 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:43.159 a longer profit volunteer organization, and we are basically the 196 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:47.080 marketing destination organization of Nayak. So our goal is it 197 00:11:47.639 --> 00:11:51.120 to bring visitors and guests to Nayak. So they spent 198 00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:54.799 ultimately time and money here in Nyak to support our 199 00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:57.960 local businesses, which is very very important. Most businesses could 200 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:01.519 not survive if it would not be for our external 201 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:05.399 guests coming to Nayak. Yeah, and when Greg and Lee's 202 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:07.960 contacted me and said, you know, they would like to 203 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:10.720 have a local partner on the ground who knows us 204 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:15.320 a little bit obviously our business community and you know, 205 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:19.600 various locations and venues if and I would be interested 206 00:12:19.639 --> 00:12:23.159 in helping, we obviously were all over that. We said absolutely, 207 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:26.879 it's a great concept. It's not something we've had before 208 00:12:27.360 --> 00:12:30.639 here Nayak. And that was that was really the start. 209 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:35.279 You know, I want your you're feeling too, it's as 210 00:12:35.360 --> 00:12:37.639 being a naiactar. Now I'm not a native. It's only 211 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:40.159 been forty one years, so they're starting to accept me 212 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:45.039 grad You'll get there. Craig and AlSi forty one years, 213 00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:47.320 I'm still working a giant SERATORI zone. I went to 214 00:12:47.399 --> 00:12:49.320 Nayak High School, all right, I went to Fort Lee 215 00:12:49.360 --> 00:12:54.320 High School, forgive me, but I'm still anyway, you know. 216 00:12:54.440 --> 00:12:57.759 And the town, it does pride itself on being progressive. 217 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:00.799 It has its issues. We've talked about here on being frank, 218 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:06.279 some of the homeless situations, etc. Panhandling, just tip. That's 219 00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:11.240 a conversation for another day. But the point that I 220 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:14.639 want to make is is how do you strike a balance. 221 00:13:14.840 --> 00:13:19.919 And it kind of reminds me of commercially successful singers. Okay, 222 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:23.679 it's like, well, I never liked them, you know, I 223 00:13:23.720 --> 00:13:27.200 did like them until they were a commercial success. How 224 00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:29.960 do you convince people that the two things are related? 225 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:33.440 You can keep your artistic integrity. I guess that's the 226 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:36.559 long winded point I'm trying to get to. How do 227 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:40.440 you balance, you know, keeping the progressive artistic integrity if 228 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:43.000 you will, with things that you know are important. They 229 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:45.480 have to be somewhat commercial. As you said, things you 230 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:48.919 have to pay for staging, sound people, lighting people. Those 231 00:13:48.919 --> 00:13:51.159 are realistic things. I worked in the news business, and 232 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:53.679 everyone likes to think that news is for free, but 233 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:57.879 I like to get paid for my camera work. So anyway, Tom, 234 00:13:58.039 --> 00:14:01.919 forgive me for the long winded. Like an organization at yourself, 235 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:05.000 how do your marketing strategy in order to be able 236 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:07.080 to convince people this is the right thing to do, 237 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:08.720 it's good for the village. 238 00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:12.600 Yeah, So I think there are different target groups we 239 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:15.000 have in mind. So one is I think, Frank, you 240 00:14:15.039 --> 00:14:17.559 were talking about the business community, why would the business 241 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:24.159 community support the Phoenix Festival, And you know, maybe have 242 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:26.720 to to you know, zoom out a little bit here 243 00:14:27.320 --> 00:14:29.600 to talk about tourism in general, because I think it's 244 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:32.519 it's important to draw a little bit of a bigger 245 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:36.799 picture here. So tourism, I think ultimately you can think 246 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:40.279 about tourism as a as a competition. We're competing as 247 00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:44.159 a naiak in many ways for the time and the 248 00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:49.159 share of wallet of potential guests. So take our typical 249 00:14:49.240 --> 00:14:52.600 target market. Let's say a family in New York City 250 00:14:52.600 --> 00:14:55.480 and they only have so many weekends or day trips 251 00:14:55.480 --> 00:14:58.279 they're going to make out of the city and you know, 252 00:14:58.480 --> 00:15:02.639 choose to go somewhere. And let's say they're saying Yeah, 253 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:04.440 we want to go into the Hudson Valley. How do 254 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:07.879 we make sure as visit Nayak now that they come 255 00:15:07.960 --> 00:15:11.480 to Nayak and then they're not going to Tarrytown, they're 256 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:13.639 not going to Cold Spring, they're not going to Beak, 257 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:17.240 and they're not going to Hudson. So that's a big 258 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:22.279 challenge obviously. Now the good the starting point for us, 259 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:23.679 and the good news is we have a lot to 260 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:26.919 work with. You know, we have Hook Mountain, we have 261 00:15:27.240 --> 00:15:30.279 the river, we have great restaurants, we have great retailers, 262 00:15:30.840 --> 00:15:34.759 we have museums, we have galleries. So there's a lot 263 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:38.039 to work with. I would say nig is very unique 264 00:15:38.039 --> 00:15:41.960 with all these different assets. That challenge we have, and 265 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:43.840 it's really a challenge, is that a lot of people 266 00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:46.080 in New York City, let's stay with that target market. 267 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:49.200 Many of those people only have a very vague idea 268 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:52.320 what Niger is really like. They've heard of Niak, and 269 00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:53.879 I think we all have been there. You know, we're 270 00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:56.360 in the city, we talk to people, they ask us 271 00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:57.039 where you're from. 272 00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:01.080 Yes, you're right, yeah, exactly on you the guy on 273 00:16:01.159 --> 00:16:06.240 you guys near the bridge upstate, upstate. I've tightened that 274 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:09.279 story many twenty five miles. Oh my god, it's okay, Yeah, 275 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:09.960 that's really upstate. 276 00:16:10.840 --> 00:16:12.679 On you, the guys with the street fears, on the 277 00:16:12.679 --> 00:16:15.000 guys with good restaurants, I say, yeah, it's all true. 278 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:19.200 But ultimately that's really all they know about Naya and 279 00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:22.840 they've never really been here. So from a tourism standpoint, 280 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:25.000 how we think of the Phoenix Festival as one of 281 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:28.639 those what we called trigger events. Trigger events are those 282 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:32.080 which are so rich and are so precious and so 283 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:36.639 unique that people ultimately say, Okay, now I'm finally gonna 284 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:38.399 make my long way up to Nayak. 285 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:41.679 I heard about the upstate to see exactly. 286 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:44.960 I'm gonna pack my backpack. I'm gonna take everything I 287 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:46.519 have and go on this long haul. 288 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:50.399 There are people who think that we're north of Albany. 289 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:52.720 I've told this free, and I gotta jump in because 290 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:54.679 I've told this story, you know, originally from Fort Lee 291 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:57.519 and other Bridge to Georgia. When I first moved up here, 292 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:02.360 my friends were shocked by my god, we're up up 293 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:04.160 the country exactly. 294 00:17:04.480 --> 00:17:06.920 But here's the good news. So once we have them 295 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:09.240 here and again, that's why we need those trigger events 296 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:12.359 like the Phoenix Faus Festival. Once they're here, we know 297 00:17:12.480 --> 00:17:15.400 this too. They're fall in love with Nayak. They say, 298 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:17.480 oh my god, this isn't better than I thought, and 299 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:19.960 then I'm going to come back over and over and 300 00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:24.400 over again. And that's why the Phoenix Festival strategically is 301 00:17:24.440 --> 00:17:27.480 so important for us, because it provides us exactly with 302 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:31.839 the opportunity to finally get people into the village. And 303 00:17:31.880 --> 00:17:34.440 that's also my pitch to the business owners here Ni 304 00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:37.000 to say, guys, you know, we have a lot here, 305 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:39.759 but we have to find out that we break through 306 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:42.680 this kind of channel awareness of Nile and really have 307 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:47.440 people come here and experience this firsthand. And so that's 308 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:50.319 why we are very much behind it and saying, yeah, 309 00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:53.119 this really moves the needle for us, and it floats 310 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:56.599 a lot of boats in the village. And so that's 311 00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:59.000 really from our side, our pitch, how we get the 312 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:01.119 business community excited about it terrific. 313 00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:02.960 I'm gonna go back to Craig and Elise now at 314 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:07.359 this point too. And you mentioned challenges and of course 315 00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:11.160 obviously a festival of this size, the staging some you know, 316 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:14.200 it's one thing to put on twelve consecutive performances on 317 00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:17.000 a single stage stage is pretty well set. You may 318 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:19.799 have to change some pieces every night. But however, this 319 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:23.720 is why don't you talk first again another two part question. 320 00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:27.680 Talk a little bit about the unique challenges of staging 321 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:30.119 something like this. You touched upon them, but if you 322 00:18:30.160 --> 00:18:33.680 can something that really sticks in your mind, that's wow, 323 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:36.200 this is really I've done. And you've both been in 324 00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:38.440 the theater, as you mentioned, your whole lives. This is 325 00:18:38.440 --> 00:18:42.799 pretty unique to this particular festival. And then with that, 326 00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:45.920 of course, usually comes great rewards. What are some of 327 00:18:45.960 --> 00:18:49.799 the nicer things that you've heard and feedback that you've got, 328 00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:52.319 Some of the rewards that you've gotten for doing this well. 329 00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:54.480 One thing is that you know, the audiences love it 330 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:56.559 because they love going into a place where they don't 331 00:18:56.559 --> 00:18:58.559 expect theater, and they go in and they see a 332 00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:02.359 storytelling thing, a quality storytelling thing, and they really enjoy it. 333 00:19:02.519 --> 00:19:04.279 They can go to a restaurant and sit down at 334 00:19:04.279 --> 00:19:06.400 the table, you know, at the Hudson House and have 335 00:19:06.519 --> 00:19:09.000 drinks at a cash bar and see a play, an 336 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:11.839 extraordinarily well done play. So that's that's the good thing. 337 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:14.359 The different thing is we come in with the actors 338 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:16.680 and say, well, where's the dressing room, Well, there isn't 339 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:18.839 a dressing room. Well we got a bunch of props. 340 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:20.599 Where are we going to store the props? Well, there 341 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:23.440 isn't any place to store the props, you know, and 342 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:25.839 and and you know, and there's no lighting designer, there's 343 00:19:25.880 --> 00:19:27.960 no this, there's no that where we're going to put 344 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:30.319 the box office where we're going to sell tickets. You know, 345 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:34.640 all of these, you know, uh, the challenges that we 346 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:38.119 have come up, and we've gotten. 347 00:19:37.799 --> 00:19:38.839 Pretty good at it. 348 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:42.079 And then the other thing is that the audiences really 349 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:43.000 roll with it. 350 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:43.880 You know that they. 351 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:47.160 Understand that this is this is a place where you 352 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:50.200 wouldn't normally see a play, a quality play this, so 353 00:19:50.200 --> 00:19:51.920 that they kind of understand that there are going to 354 00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:54.400 be a few hiccups along the way. But I think 355 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:56.319 we've done a really good job. And we just go 356 00:19:56.359 --> 00:19:58.200 back just a little bit where you were talking about, 357 00:19:58.240 --> 00:20:01.400 you know, you know, the commercialzation and and and and 358 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:07.119 what you do. We have stayed very true to our mission. 359 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:11.440 We didn't come to Niak to change the mission. Our 360 00:20:11.519 --> 00:20:14.279 mission is we do plays that are rich in language, 361 00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:18.559 We do plays that touch on social justice issues, uh, 362 00:20:18.599 --> 00:20:22.920 and and plays that take you to a different landscape. 363 00:20:23.079 --> 00:20:27.240 They don't remind you of your own ordinary life. We 364 00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:30.039 want to take you to a place that's different, that 365 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:34.000 you haven't seen before, maybe where you are slightly vulnerable. 366 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:37.000 Even if even if it's a comedy, you know that 367 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:40.960 we want something to be different. Because nayakas the Elmwood playoffs, 368 00:20:40.960 --> 00:20:44.160 they do a really great, terrific job, and we love Elmwood. 369 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:46.720 We don't we we don't want to bring anything where 370 00:20:46.759 --> 00:20:50.440 we are in competition with them. We want to augment 371 00:20:50.599 --> 00:20:53.279 what they do and when people come and they see us, 372 00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:56.240 they will And we also promote Elmwood and promote all 373 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:58.839 of the other nonprofits. Is make a day of it, 374 00:20:59.079 --> 00:21:02.400 Come and visit the Wonderful Village at twenty four miles 375 00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:06.079 from New York City and oh yes, and by the way, 376 00:21:06.119 --> 00:21:08.119 there happens to be a wonderful festival. But you're going 377 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:11.440 to have a great time in this village. So those 378 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:14.599 are some of the things we are answer that. 379 00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:19.599 Yeah, there, I mean, there are certainly many challenges. 380 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:24.079 As Craig said, you know, we have We've had. 381 00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:29.039 Situations where we have actors who are dressing and then 382 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:32.319 we discover that's the only way to an accessible bathroom, 383 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:34.880 and audience members are walking through. 384 00:21:34.920 --> 00:21:37.200 Like we've had, We've had to make a lot of. 385 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:41.680 Adjustments to deal with the fact that we're not in 386 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:43.079 theater spaces. 387 00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:45.119 There's nothing traditional. 388 00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:48.799 About what we are doing in terms of putting together 389 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:54.640 a presentation for audiences, but we are. We're a professional 390 00:21:54.759 --> 00:21:56.279 nonprofit organization. 391 00:21:56.839 --> 00:21:57.640 This year we. 392 00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:03.200 Are bringing in several many other their professional nonprofit actors, 393 00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:12.640 theater makers, dancers, musicians, and where we are, as Craig 394 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:17.039 said early on, we're trying to bring to our own 395 00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:21.160 backyard things that people would have to go into New 396 00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:23.559 York City in order to see, but they'd have to 397 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:27.000 be a little more adventurous and step out of their 398 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:30.880 comfort zone of Broadway. They'd have to go to off Broadway, 399 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:36.200 they'd have to go to a place where a concert 400 00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:40.359 was being given, you know, that was not at Carnegie 401 00:22:40.359 --> 00:22:43.920