InTERVIEW:
The Team of “the night alive’’’- Molly Ehrenberg-Peters, Haydn Harvey, and Thomas Shuman

"This show is going to be an incredible experience and I’m excited for every day leading up to it."- Haydn Harvey

How did The Night Alive come into your lives?

Haydn: I was given the role of Doc during my final year at the Stella Adler Stufio of acting and instantly fell in love. I had never laughed so hard and then soon after weep a little just from reading the words on the page. Conor Mcphereson really created a very real and human world.

Thomas: I was cast as Kenneth and Maurice last year at the Stella Adler Studio alongside Molly and Haydn with Kathy as our director. It was the first fully staged show I got to perform after COVID hit and was a welcome reminder of how joyful and important performing can be for myself and for the audiences who come out each night to see the show. 

Molly: In my third year at Stella Adler I was cast in the role of Aimee. It was the first of 3 plays I performed in for my final year. We were sent the script 2 weeks before rehearsals started in September, I remember reading it and I couldn’t put it down - I’d never read a play where I could immediately feel the character’s jumping out the page!

Why is this the first play you decided you needed to put up after graduating Stella Adler?

Haydn: The connection I had to this play was so strong that from the moment we finished it I knew I wanted to put it up again. Chance encounters can change your life forever. We all have people in our lives that we met by chance that we now can’t imagine living without. These relationships are so important and this play reminded me to treasure them. I truly believe this production is one that people need to witness.

Thomas: It has everything! Comedy, tragedy, romance, horror, and all of them with the heart of a writer who cares deeply for all the characters he’s created. It gets tossed around a lot, but there really are no small parts in this show. It’s a story where every character shines as bright as they can and, by extension, each actor gets to show the full range of their talent. Plus (not to spoil anything), working on such intense scenes with Molly and Haydn is an absolute joy - they’re dedicated to their craft and make the delicate balance of each scene a tightrope I love to walk. 

Molly: During the run at Stella we performed this show 5 times. As soon as we closed I knew I  had to bring it back. The process of working on it was one of the best acting experiences I have had - diving deep into these incredibly complex characters and their relationships was an exciting challenge. Then once we put it on I realized truly how special this play is. It had a profound effect on the audience, people were deeply moved while having their spirits lifted. All the characters are struggling with loneliness which is something we can all connect to particularly after these last few years with the pandemic.

What difficulties does it entail putting up a show as big as this one while striving for the best result possible?

Haydn: A lot of the difficulties lie with money. As we are strong believers of paying artists properly for their work, raising the necessary funds is where a lot of our time is going. We have searched long and wide to find the best team to suit our production. Connecting and building a team is such an important part as this play requires a unit of people 

Thomas: Everyone on this team has incredibly high standards for themselves and the production overall. From the designers to the run crew to the performers, we all want more than anything for this show to be the best it can be. That gets hard when we come up against what things like budgets timelines dictate. Theater has always been about working within imposed limits but we’re striving to make everything look like there was never a limit to begin with. It takes grit and creativity, but luckily we have both in spades.

Molly: This play has a lot of moving parts, the set is a character in itself, we need over 100 props to create Uncle Maurice’s bedsit. To execute this to the best level our biggest challenge is funding so we did a lot of research and work on creating an engaging campaign which has now been launched on Gofundme. Now it’s really important we keep the momentum going around our campaign and production, luckily we have a wonderful marketing team making sure we reach as many people as possible.

What are you most excited about for this production?

Haydn: I am eager to perform in this play and give the audience a message and experience they will remember and take forward with them. This is also the first production that I am producing and that in itself is thrilling. This show is going to be an incredible experience and I’m excited for every day leading up to it.

Thomas: I’m most excited to combine the old and the new in this production. We found some really beautiful moments in our last production and this time around we have the chance to refine those moments even further. Rehearsal processes go by quick and being able to build off our already-strong foundation gives us a huge advantage. Additionally, bringing in new actors in John and Lloyd gives us the opportunity to build the world and story in entirely new ways based on their unique perspectives. They will inevitably see things completely different from how we did a year ago and that presents all kinds of new ways to tell this story. Basically we get to make the good things great and find entirely new things all the way through!

Molly: I cannot wait to get back in the rehearsal room. It was such a magical experience last time and I think we created a really wonderful show but like with any show there’s always more investigation to be done, depth to find and moments to finesse. I also love the space we’ve found at The Chain Theatre and I’m so excited to transform it into the chaotic world of the play. Additionally I’m really looking forward to performing with my dad!

What do you hope the community of New York City will gain by watching and being part of The Night Alive?

Haydn: This time in the world has been a tough one, an isolated one. And this show truly shows what human connection really means to us all. Though we may forget it, with our mobiles mobiles in front of us and masks over our faces. The human connections made everyday are so so important.

Thomas: I think The Night Alive is unique in that it doesn’t give us perfect protagonists - it isn’t the story of purely good people fighting against the hardships of life. They aren’t even necessarily good people and we get to see their flaws laid out in the open. But at the same time, we get to see them find hope and love and joy in spite of all that. I think the main characters feel real, like people we know, and I hope that people come away with a sense that they too can have the kind of joy and connection they saw on stage even through their own daily difficulties.

Molly: If someone comes away from our show feeling understood or represented that’s a triumph for me. Even though the characters' circumstances are unique and may be very different from the lives of our audience, they’re dealing with real life problems; loneliness, disconnection from family, abuse. If someone connects to any of these things, I want them to feel seen and have hope. Also, it is a dark comedy so I hope people have a good laugh! 

We would also love to focus a bit on Molly Ehrenberg-Peters who will have the opportunity to be acting alongside her father Lloyd Peters in this production for the first time ever. Ms. Ehrenberg, what does acting with your father mean to you as a daughter and as an actress? 

Molly: I can’t quite put into words how excited I am to act alongside my dad. I grew up watching my dad on stage, tv and listening to him on the radio - he’s the whole reason I started acting and has supported me from the first drama club I joined at age 8. I remember at a friend’s New Year’s party, I was around 12 years old, we performed a comedy sketch together so now to be performing on a New York stage side by side feels like a long time coming! Also, I think he’s a wonderful actor, I've learnt a lot from him and can’t wait to see what he does with the role of Maurice!

Last, but not least, how can we, and everybody else who is interested in supporting this production, help bring it to life?

Haydn: By spreading the knowledge and enthusiasm of this show (as well as donating) is one of the greatest ways to help us on our journey. It’s a lot of work for our team and any support at all is greatly appreciated.

Thomas: Of course, donating to our GoFundMe and sharing our social media pages are the two most immediately impactful things anyone could do. But beyond those, it’s always amazing to hear how excited people are for the production. It’s a lot of work to put this all together from nothing and even a quick comment on a post goes a long way. 

(Somewhat relatedly, I enjoy a good whiskey and readily accept donated bottles)

Molly: The best way is to check out our GoFundMe. It has lots of details about our production and gives you the option to donate, big or small, any donation really will make a difference in getting this show up and running. I mentioned before that we have over 100 props in this play, got some junk lying about you’re thinking of throwing out? It might be perfect for our set and we’d happily take it off your hands. Also sharing our social media is a massive way to support us, we want to make sure as many people as possible hear about our production! 

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-night-alive

ING: @thenightalive_nyc

@team.theatre