Review Fix Midtown International Theatre Festival Coverage: Garrett Buhl Robinson Talks Letters to Zoey

March 16, 2016 Patrick Hickey Jr. Theatre 0

Review Fix chats with playwright Garrett Buhl Robinson who discusses his production at the 2016 Midtown International Theatre Festival, “Letters to Zoe.”

About Letters to Zoey:

LETTERS TO ZOEY by Garrett Buhl Robinson, directed by Garrett Buhl Robinson; starring Garrett Buhl Robinson. Take a journey through lyrical stories and foot stomping songs on a wild search for liberation and love. (Solo Show, Musical, Coming of Age) Performance Schedule: Wed 3/23, 6:00pm; Fri 3/25, 8:00pm; Sun 3/27, 2:00pm

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?

Garrett Buhl Robinson: My own life experiences.  In 1992, I jumped on a coal train and hitchhiked around the country for a year.  Although the story is a fictional account, most everything happened.  Nearly all of my stories are drawn directly from my life experiences.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Robinson: The creative process is a very disciplined exercise for me.  I maintain a regimented schedule.  I begin with my morning exercises – simple journal entries.  As I warm up the wiring in my mind the connections between my memories and my free association abilities begin to fire and I circulate this through my motor skills as I articulate my thoughts into text.  Eventually, musical lines arise.

I have long since learned that waiting for inspiration is futile.  I work for inspiration.  The ideas will only arise through engaged activity and they seldom come when one might expect.   I make sure that I am engaged in work as often as possible so when those ideas present themselves, I am ready to record and develop them.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?

Robinson: That I can sing!  I had no idea.  Before performing this musical, I had never sang in public. Last summer, I was singing for a lady in the park and she asked me with astonishment – “Where did you train?”  I said, “The shower.”

Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of something like this?

Robinson: Absolutely thrilling.  I have always had friends in theater and I have always considered their lives continuous performances.  They are always projecting their personalities in the most fantastic ways.  It it sheer bliss to be surrounded by creative people as we all work together to promote the living arts for the public.

Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?

Robinson: I have been working to adapt the performance for schools.  Episodes of the musical could be used as a teaching tool to illustrate various literary tropes. Plus, the coming of age story teaches life lessons as an individual struggles through a rite of passage that would be beneficial for students.

Review Fix: What do you think your audiences will enjoy the most?

Robinson: The transformation of character.  I love to show how we change through our experiences.  I find life extremely dynamic and I present this through the vitality and passion of the characters I compose.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Robinson: Another collection of poems and more theater work.  2016 is going to be a very busy year for me.  But of course, every year is busy.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14263 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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