Review Fix chats with Andrew Rothkin, co-producer of the event and director of “The Change,†one of the entries in the evening of terror plays, “Things That Go Bump in the Night†at The Kraine Theater, 85 East 4th Street, NYC on Oct. 29, 30. From discussing his short play to how the entire production came together, Rothkin gives us an inside look at the creation of the night of theatrical terror and his love for Halloween.
Review Fix: What was the inspiration for the production?
Andrew Rothkin: Halloween has always been my favorite holiday – though I love quite a few of them. For me, a Halloween show is about fun and fantasy and embracing the dark side within us all – which for me, is healthier (and a whole lot more enjoyable) than simply repressing or running away from it.
Much of the setup of Things That Go Bump in the Night – pieces with unifying themes, thematically-related hosts who introduce the pieces and bookend the show with songs, and all of the funny and sexy banter – stem from LOVE & LUST, a very bawdy piece of theatre I created and produced a few years ago, which was to Valentine’s Day was BUMP is to Halloween.
Once Jay (Michaels) got involved, things really took off – and I had no idea how big the event would get!
Review Fix: What things have influenced your creativity in terms of horror over the course of your life?
Rothkin: I watch a lot of horror movies and really enjoy the genre. While B movie and low budget indies and/or camp can sometimes be fun, I am much more into the well-written, well-acted, well-directed variety in which the scares are more about what is unsaid and unseen than the obvious, in your face jolts.
While I have no problem at all with gore and shock scares, a well-crafted horror play, film or novel only works as well as the drama works; if I am not invested in the characters, I am bored and unmoved – regardless of any clever gimmicks or cheap scares.   The great horror films – The Exorcist, The Shining, The Haunting, Rosemary’s Baby – they are excellent dramas in which we come to know and understand and root for the protagonists – which makes the horror all the more real and personal.
Review Fix: What makes your production different from the other ones featured?
Rothkin: As I am wearing so many hats in this production and have my hands in so many different areas, it is really hard for me to break that down. I am as invested in the horror hosts as I am in the piece I directed as I am in the piece I wrote as I am in the evening as a whole whole…
Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of the entire night?
Rothkin: I love working with so many different artists – some of whom, I have collaborated with before, some of whom I knew socially or peripherally but had never worked with, and some who I met on this show.
I am having so much fun! I am confident that the great time the actors and staff are having will rub off to the audience.
Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy this production the most?
Rothkin: Anyone who “gets†Halloween – the fun, the humor, the sexiness and the horrors.
Review Fix: How do you want your show to be remembered?
Rothkin: Again, I am more concerned with the flow of the whole evening rather than the piece I wrote or the play I directed. The event is about FUN.
While the pieces were carefully selected out of a great many submissions and they all have much more to them than low grade monster movie cheesiness, we are not doing Ibsen and we are not trying to change the world. We want people to have a great, fun, funny, sexy, scary time! And they will.
Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for your show?
Rothkin: While I do have a semi-hidden “message†for both the piece I wrote and the piece I am directing, I really just want the audience to have a unique, awesome Halloween time!
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