Review Fix Exclusive: Fred Rohan Vargas Talks ‘Tide Beyond the Rift’

Review Fix chats with playwright Fred Rohan Vargas about Tide Beyond the Rift,” a new drama currently running at this year’s Midtown International Theatre Festival in New York City.

For more information on the production, Click here.

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for the production? How dis it all come together?

Fred Rohan Vargas: I started writing this play for my good friend, Gabe Gorce (Artistic Director of Retablo Theatre). We worked together on a play of mine called “Crystal” that he directed in 2000 for Latino Experimental Fantastic Theatre (L.E.F.T). He asked me to write “Tide Beyond the Rift” (‘”Mas Alla De La Marea”) for Latin American Theatre Ensemble in which he would translate into Spanish. Although the play never made it on stage, due to budget cuts, we felt it would have a place somewhere, someday, somehow.

Review Fix: What do you think you’ve learned about yourself through this whole process?

Rohan Vargas: I’ve learned that whatever obstacles I encounter, I find myself thinking of other ways to address them. Wearing both hats as playwright and producer is very challenging and being able to have a strong supportive team is essential to the success of the production.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy it the most?

Rohan Vargas: The play is multigenerational. The common core to the story’s theme is love, which transcend beyond any one kind of viewer.

Review Fix: Tell me about the cast; What makes them so special?

Rohan Vargas: The play is a labor of love for them. Three out of the four members have been with the play when it was written five years ago. Each one has helped me shape the characters more to what I intended them to be. However, they have learned a lot too about the nuances of the characters I’ve created and have enjoyed discovering other sides to their roles.

Review Fix: What’s your favorite element of the show?

Rohan Vargas: The humor. Without it, the play would say little and we wouldn’t see the lighter side of these characters. Also, I find the best way to draw people’s attention is not so much the conflict but the moments where they can laugh at the characters and even themselves because they’re able to identify.

Review Fix: Bottom line. Why should someone see this show?

Rohan Vargas: Tide Beyond the Rift touches every generation, especially the elderly. It reminds us of our human frailty with all its insecurities, all the fears of being ignored, of not being wanted or needed, of growing old alone and perhaps dying alone. As human beings, we all have a need that our lives be validated, that we have touched in our journey other lives and that the world has been made a better place because we were a part of it.

Review Fix: How do you want the production to be remembered?

Rohan Vargas: I hope people will be inspired and be able to realize how social we are as creatures and that everyone is a contributing force in our makeup and existence.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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