#space 55

Check out my review, online at Phoenix Magazine, of Space 55's Roger & Gene...

Check out my interview, online at Phoenix Magazine, with playwright Ashley Naftule, whose new play Roger & Gene...

There are so many reasons to listen to this, our 17th episode of On the Grid! Not only because we have playwright/actor/etc./etc. Ashley Naftule on to talk about his new play “Ear,” based loosely on painter Vincent Van Gogh. But also because it marks a point of closure. This will be Space 55's last major production at its 7th Street and Pierce location. Like so many downtown venues before it, Space 55 is being forced to move because the land it sits on was recently bought. The venue has been a safe haven for locals to cut their teeth performing and a place for seasoned actors to try new and experimental things.

Space 55 – Night of the Chicken: The Curse of The Crusty Claw

When a science experiment gone wrong first turned Andrea (Andi) Hafferton into a teenage werechicken, she thought she had it pretty bad. Now, three episodes later, things are even worse! Andi is forced to give a disastrous pep rally speech, Taco Tuesday gets cancelled, and someone lays an egg and blames it on her! Meanwhile, she still has to keep everyone at Ronald Reagan Junior High from…

Duane Daniels became an acting coach because it was the next logical step.

"I was an actor for a long time, then became a director and producer," the 56-year-old says. "I learned how to help actors excel during those years. "

It's a practice to which he's devoted days, months, and summers. Based in Phoenix, Daniels runs acting studio The Actors WorkHouse, and serves as the artistic director at the neighboring theater, Space 55, located just south of Roosevelt Row in a stretch he calls "SoRo." During summers, he teaches acting at the Berridge Conservatory in France and calls it "one of the best things I've ever had the opportunity to do."

Surrounding himself with people inspires Daniels, who finds joy in seeing actors achieve their goals and "figuring out how to take a scene or a line of dialogue and make it as powerful and impactful as possible."

However, that old dis about teachers being "those who can't do" doesn't apply here. Daniels is one to practice what he teaches. Veronica Mars fans might recognize him as Principal Van Clemmons from both the TV show and the movie. He was in more than 2,000 performances of Triple Espresso, which toured stages across the states and did a turn in Dublin. "There have been a lot of highlights," he says. "That’s what’s so great about being in this business!"

Space 55’s One Hour Theater Opens in March

  SPACE 55 PRESENTS ONE HOUR THEATER SERIES MEDEA REDUX, THE DUCK VARIATIONS & COWBOY MOUTH (Phoenix, Ariz.) Space 55 brings a series of One Hour Theater performances on Monday andTuesday nights beginning in March and running through June.  Tickets for the One Hour Theater performances are $5.55 at www.space55.org MEDEA REDUX  by Neil Labute. Mondays and Tuesdays: March 21, 22, 28 & 29…