Help us launch "Houses" into production

Hello All!

I am humbly asking for your support in bringing "Houses" up onto its feet.

Here’s a little bit about me: My name is Reid Ivanoff, and I’m a 20-year-old aspiring writer and actor. I grew up in Saint Helena, California, and graduated from Saint Helena High School in 2021. In the third grade, I was cast as a Munchkin in a community production of "The Wizard of Oz", and since that point, I've been totally enamored by theater. For the 10 years until I graduated in 2021, I participated in every regional production and workshop I could audition for. I couldn’t have gotten to where I am today without my local theater, Saint Helena Drama, brought to fruition by director Patti Coyle and music director Craig Bond.

Now, I live in New York City, where I am studying for my BFA in Acting at the Pace School of the Performing Arts, with a minor in Creative Writing. At Pace, I have received the opportunity to collaborate with the most amazing collection of mentors and peers in order to create work that I never imagined was possible.

Throughout the past year and a half, with the unwavering support of my talented friends at Pace, I finished drafting my first play, "Houses". I also hired a design team, hosted several workshop-productions, and officially cast my show. This past summer, my script was picked up by The Tank , an Obie-winning Off-Off-Broadway Theater in New York City. Performances of "Houses" will run in late March. Working on this play has already been one of the most rewarding experiences of my lifetime.

Now the time finally comes to officially drop "Houses" into production, and I am asking you for your support! My creative team and I have worked so hard building this piece from the ground up. Our hope is that this run at The Tank will launch "Houses" into the theatrical world, and enable us to continue to give our play a platform to grow and evolve.

In order to do so, we need a set, props, paid creatives, and advertisements. All of these things require funding, and, in addition to this GoFundMe, my team and I are applying to artistic grants and drawing from our own pockets. We are kindly asking our respective communities to support us however they can. "Houses" is so important to us, and we hope to have constructed a narrative that resonates with you just as much.

From the bottom of my heart, I am so thankful and appreciative for your consideration. No donation is too small (or too big!), and if you are unable to donate, please share and pass this information along!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

“Houses” will be presented by The Tank, a home for emerging artists, at 7:00 PM on March 19th, 27th, 28th, and 30th.

The attached artwork was designed by Serafina Benjamin and Charles Heinbaugh.

I have listed more details about my play, the creative team, and the cast below.

In 2022, I was inspired by a concert I saw in a completely stripped-down Fox Theater in Oakland. During the performance, the exit signs, rear cinder-block walls, and shutter-door loading-docks were all visible. I imagined a play in which actors would paint a HUGE mural onto the rear walls, over the conventions of the space, guiding audience-members directly into the tangible world of the characters. Around the same time, I decided to write a play simulating what it’s like to sit and argue with your family for hours on end. The juxtaposition of these two thoughts, a hyper-realistic conversation within a surreal environment, was what lead to my development of "Houses".

As both an actor and writer, I try to produce art that encapsulates the realities of the characters I meet every day. I find so much beauty observing the subtleties of passion in the mundanity of human existence. When a loved-one throws me an endearing look, or a stranger in-passing uses a funny intonation in their speech, I am reminded of why I create: in my fascination to transcribe and share those moments with everyone around me.

This is all to say that “Houses” was written about art, generally. It is about the relationship between an artist and their work. It is about why someone creates, and explores whether there’s a right or a wrong reason to do so. It details the relationship between art and grief and the desire to create out of extreme pain. "Houses" is also about family and communication. I wanted to write my first play about family.

"Houses" chronicles the language of family, and how our conversations change as we get older and grow apart. "Houses" also highlights the struggle to express love as brothers in tandem with behaviorisms rooted in systemic masculinity. I additionally included themes of body dysmorphia and anorexia in masculine bodies, which are personally important subjects to me. I feel like these haven't yet been fully-realized in a theater space.

Douglas, the younger brother in my play, is a struggling painter. He’s been working on one specific project since his parents passed away two-and-a-half years ago. He can’t finish it, because no matter what he does, it never seems exactly right. His older brother Thomas, after little warning, flies to New York City for the first time. His intention is to re-establish contact with Douglas and bring him home.

The play follows the parallel paths of these two men, throughout their lives, from California to New York, as they struggle to communicate and connect with each other. Their paths finally intersect in the present, where they are forced to confront their mistakes in Douglas’ claustrophobic Brooklyn apartment. Embarking on a symbiotic journey alongside them are the embodied spirits of their parents, who utilize memory and movement to help their boys connect.

This piece exists as an intimate experience in a proscenium theater space. It includes aspects of multimedia, as Douglas will be constructing and eventually destroying his artwork onstage throughout the course of the show. The play will also include moments of experimental movement, live music, and soundscape.

DESIGN TEAM:

B Carty (Director): B Carty (they/them) is a queer performance artist working in New York City and currently studying for a Bachelor of Arts in Directing within the International Performance Ensemble at Pace University. B is dedicated to creating theatrical events that spark difficult conversations and internal reflection within audiences. B’s focus on devised theatre over the past few years has allowed them to take a holistic approach to theatre-making and develop a fervid curiosity to challenge the imposed limitations of theatre. B is committed to radically shifting the systems of marginalization ingrained in the theatre industry and putting accountability at the forefront as we continue to confront the stories we tell and who is meant to tell them.

Amanda Ryan: Lighting Designer, she/her

Angelina Boris: Costume Designer, she/her

Dominique Jakowec: Scenic Designer, they/them

Gibson Warner: Fight Choreographer, he/him

Klara Keeley: Dramaturg, she/her

Lauren “Ren” Chavez: Props Master, they/them

Nico Galloway: Assistant Technical Designer, he/they

Reid Ivanoff: Playwright, Assistant Director, he/him

Shelby Evenson: Stage Manager, she/her

CAST:

Agius Adamany: Douglas, he/him

Armani Calvo: Thomas, he/him

Benjamin Paulk: Keith, U/S Douglas, he/him

Madeline Rose Parks: Nicole, U/S Thomas, she/her