You Better Sit Down: Salon Night Episode 3

Our play at The Flea Theater in April of this year, You Better Sit Down: Tales from My Parents' Divorce, was presented with a bunch of post-show Salon Nights. This podcast episode features original material that was created for those events. Mia Kaitgbak performs a monologue written by Jon Kern from an interview he did with his own mother, who is a divorce lawyer. Next up is a talk-back with the cast: Matt Maher, Caitlin Miller, Jennifer R. Morris, and Robbie Collier Sublett, who discuss what it was like to create the play and interview their own parents about the often sensitive topic of divorce. Then The Flea's Resident Acting Company, The Bats, perform live audience and online responses to the question, Was there an object in your or your parents' divorce that was highly contested? And last, Sam Bisbee performs a song he wrote.

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You Better Sit Down Salon Night, Part I

You Better Sit Down: Tales from My Parents' Divorce recently had its world premiere at The Flea Theater in New York. After the performances, the company presented a series of Salon Nights, in which artists created new monologues or songs from audience responses, online comments, and interviews. This podcast features some of that material. First up, is a new monologue by New Yorker scribe Michael Schulman, performed by Michael and his sister Alyssa Schulman, for which he interviewed their grandmother about a divorce that they didn't know that she had. Then Kamara Thomas sings a song called "Onions" that she wrote about a break-up. Lastly, Jason Grote (one of our R&D Group writers and a staff writer on Smash) and his writing partner Marisa Michelson present an original song crafted from online responses performed by Marisa.

TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE LET ME ASCERTAIN YOU PODCAST SERIES ON ITUNES, PLEASE CLICK HERE!

YOU BETTER SIT DOWN: Salon Night Video

Our critically-acclaimed show You Better Sit Down: Tales From My Parents’ Divorce is entering its final weekend of performances at the Flea. Get tickets HERE if you don't have them yet!

Take a look at some of the innovative ancillary programming we’ve been pairing with the work!

Here, New Yorker scribe Michael Schulman performs his glamorous grandmother Doris, shedding light on divorce in an earlier generation:

And watch Marisa Michelson sing an original song that she and our R&D Artist Jason Grote wrote about the objects that are lost at sea in the raging storms of the heart:

And for those of you who are looking for blue-skies in your love life, follow this courting advice:

This cartoon and the accompanying song are both original creations inspired by the show!

YOU BETTER SIT DOWN: Question 4

As we move into the last week of performances of You Better Sit Down: Tales from My Parents' Divorce, we have one final question for you!

What songs or music were you listening to during your divorce or break-up?

These responses feed our Salon Nights, where artists create all new monologues, songs, and scenes from both online and live audience answers to our questions. 

Join us for one of our remaining Salon Nights:

4/28: The Bats
5/5: The Civilians' Associate Artists

And the deals continue:
4/26 and 5/2: Code TWOFER for 2 for 1 tickets
Next Tuesday: Pay What You Can
Saturday Matinees: All Tickets $10

Plus, with this week's question, we'll put together a special Divorce playlist!

YOU BETTER SIT DOWN: Question 3

For the past two weeks, we've been asking questions about your divorce or break-up in connection with You Better Sit Down: Tales from My Parents' Divorce. We've been getting fantastic responses HERE and HERE, so check those out! This week's question is:

Was there a habit you picked up while going through or after your divorce or break-up?

Beverly, one of the characters in the show, says that she started going to the movies a lot. Did you start jogging? - start eating something unusual? - start collecting something? Let us know in the comments! All contributors will be entered to win a FREE ticket to the show!

Your responses will be integrated into a You Better Sit Down Salon Night, where an artist or group of artists will be creating some all-new material that will be performed after the show on a Wednesday or Saturday night! Upcoming writers include Jason Grote (staff writer for Smash), Jon Kern (staff writer for The Simpsons), and Michael Schulman (writer for The New Yorker). Here's a clip from this past Wednesday's Salon Night, where the Flea's resident acting company, The Bats, crafted this using material generated THAT NIGHT from the live audience!



So leave us a comment and get entered to win a FREE ticket! Plus, next Wednesday, April 25 has a 2 for 1 deal with code TWOFER (that you can also use next Thursday, April 26) or come for a Pay-What-You-Can Tuesday show or a $10 Saturday matinee!

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE! 

YOU BETTER SIT DOWN: Question #2

For the run of You Better Sit Down: Tales from My Parents' Divorce at The Flea Theater (our show in which four of our artists asked their parents about their parents' divorces, and play their parents in the verbatim conversations), we are asking a question every week, and your responses will inspire what we do in our post-show Salon Nights. The first post-show event is this Saturday, April 14. Last week's questions got some amazing responses  - see them HERE.

This week's question is:

Where were you when you told the kids about the split and what was their reaction? 

For those who aren't divorced, let us know where and how you told your close friends about a break-up!

This was a question that the artists in the show asked their parents. Here's a clip of the answers they got:



Get your tickets to the show HERE!

Is there something you still have of your ex's that he/she doesn't know about?

The first performance of You Better Sit Down: Tales from My Parents' Divorce at the Flea Theater is on Saturday, and we can't wait for you to see it! As part of the run, we're so pleased to announce that we'll be doing a series of post-show events called You Better Sit Down Salon Nights: Your Tales Take the Stage. Every Wednesday and Saturday evening following the show, you (yes, you!) will have the chance to share in the storytelling. Civilians Associate Artists and The Bats from the Flea (plus some special guest artists that we'll be announcing soon!) will develop short scenes and songs from material contributed by audiences both in the theater and online based on questions related to personal experiences with divorce, family, relationships, and break-ups.

So this is where you come in! Your answers to the following question will directly feed what will be onstage at our future You Better Sit Down Salon Nights.

Our first question is:

Is there something you still have of your ex's that he/she doesn't know about?

Leave us a comment here, Tweet it at us, or tell us on Facebook! Or, we'd love it if you would email us a story and/or a photo to liaison@thecivilians.org! We will send your responses on to our artists and The Bats to inspire the creation of all new investigative theater.

Just in case you need more incentive, the first five responses will get a free ticket to a preview performance!

Get your tickets HERE!

TALES FROM MY PARENTS' DIVORCE Actors Working with Students

Get ready! TALES FROM MY PARENTS' DIVORCE is heading up to Boston for a run at ArtsEmerson next week. Jenny Morris and Robbie Collier Sublett (actors in and writers of the play) are there now leading a workshop for some students at Emerson College, who will be creating their own piece from interviews that they are conducting. Check out this great article in the Emerson's newspaper The Berkeley Beacon HERE to find out more about what the students are up to! And for tickets to the show at ArtsEmerson, click HERE!

While the show was up at Williamstown for its very successful run, Jenny and Robbie led a workshop for the apprentices. They conducted some of their own interviews about family and the holidays, and they made a lovely piece about it that they performed as a coda to The Civilians' show (which is what the Emerson students will be doing, too). Here's a clip featuring a hilarious song (that I think one could call Michael Friedman-esque at points)! Congrats to these talented youngsters!

TALES FROM MY PARENTS' DIVORCE at Williamstown

TALES FROM MY PARENTS' DIVORCE has officially opened at Williamstown Theatre Festival, and we still have a weekend of performances to go! The actors, who all interviewed their own parents and in fact play their own parents, do a fantastic job of, dare I say, becoming their parents and telling the stories of building and dividing their families. Writer and actor Robbie Collier Sublett brought up another layer that the show offers during a talk-back after Tuesday's performance - which is that these actors witnessed a lot of these events as kids, and in fact, the stories that they're now telling had a major impact on shaping their childhoods. So it's all the more cathartic to be able to look at these events with the distance (all of the parents are over 20 years divorced at this point) that their parents' have been able to get over time.

The Boston Globe liked it, too, saying it's an "engrossing production" and applauding the actors' "impressive skill." Click HERE for the whole review!

And here are some wonderful program notes written by our most fabulous former Literary Associate, Rachel Lerner-Lay! The notes take a look at some of the statistics (with some great info-graphics) to accompany our stories of one of the wide-spread social phenomena in America today (click on it to enlarge).

And here's a photo of the theater....

And here's a photo of the set! (Note the dishwasher in the back - it really works!)

Congrats to all the cast and crew - break a leg this weekend, and we can't wait for the show to go up to ArtsEmerson in October!

YOU BETTER SIT DOWN at Sarah Lawrence

The creators of and performers in YOU BETTER SIT DOWN: Tales from my parents' divorce (Matthew Maher, Caitlin Miller, Jenny Morris, and Robbie Collier Sublett) were at Sarah Lawrence College for a presentation of the play this past weekend! Jenny Morris went up there two weeks ago to teach some classes wherein students conducted their own interviews with each other, friends, and parents about what a home is. They asked questions like:

What is the difference between a house and a home?

How do you feel about wall-to-wall carpeting?

If your house caught on fire, what objects would you try to rescue?

- and lots more. They made their own short play, which they performed as a second act to YOU BETTER SIT DOWN! Here's an excerpt from the students' presentation:

Rory enters, repeating his “First Thing I Do When I Get Home Gesture.” Then Jesse enters, does the same. Followed by Lydian, Followed by Tina, Followed by Calder. They keep repeating as the others speak.

Rory: Take off my shoes…I can’t really relax till I’ve taken off my shoes…I come in and I take everything off, really—I mean, my outer layers--and I go sit on the couch for a minute….

Jesse: I check to see if my family is home first. Because if they're home I can't relax. But if they're gone, then I can relax and just be myself. If my mom is home, I'm always afraid that she's mad at me about something. But if they're all gone then I can breathe.

Lydian: First thing I do when I get home? I go to the fridge. See what’s in the fridge. And then I feel ashamed.

Tina: Usually the first thing I do is take of my bra.  Then I take of my shoes, and socks. And then I take off my pants. I enjoy a pants-free lifestyle when no one is watching.

Congratulations to the students and YOU BETTER SIT DOWN's creators/performers on a great presentation of wonderful investigations!

And if you haven't seen the clips from YOU BETTER SIT DOWN, check them out on WNYC's Culture Page HERE!