“Loss of perspective can be really sad, and it can also be very comical,” says The Common Air performer and co-writer Alex Lyras. Photo by Nick Chakos

As a man who travels between US coasts to secure acting and writing work, co-writer/performer Alex Lyras turns unproductive time into golden opportunities to observe and study the real life characters that sometimes find their way into his plays. His latest is titled The Common Air which he co-wrote with longtime collaborator and friend Robert McCaskill. It takes place in an airport terminal and explores, among other themes, the ways in which some people use rationalization to mask their unfortunate life decisions. We caught Mr. Lyras in the middle of his NYC run that was recently transferred from LA.

Great SCoT actors Nathaniel Kent, Amy Landon, Jocelyn Kuritsky, Jessica Pohly and Brendan Donaldson. Photo by Kellie Fitzgerald

Who helped William Shakespeare develop his gift for writing sonnets and plays? History denies us the details of a master wordsmith who by all appearances arrived onto the London theater scene a full-fledged star. Many theater artists of today are eager to give credit to the teachers and mentors who’ve helped them forge their talent into craft. For example, take NYU Dramatic Writing Program grad Dan Moyer who named his recently founded theater troupe after ... REST OF THE STORY

Tanya O’Debra: radi-O’diva

For the creator of the new comedy Radio Star, now playing at Horse Trade’s The Red Room, vintage radio detective stories make ideal fodder for stage parody. With canny sound effects and evocative dialog, writer and performer Tanya O’Debra presents a pulped-up world of private dicks, mugs and molls that showcase her versatility as a character actor and her talent for old-timey storytelling. We recently peppered Ms. O’Debra with some leading questions.