Review Fix Midtown International Theatre Festival Coverage: Gloria Bess Talks ‘What’s in Alaska’

Review Fix chats with Playwright Gloria Bess, who discusses her upcoming production at the Midtown International Theatre Festival.

About “What’s In Alaska”:

WHAT’S IN ALASKA? by Gloria Bess directed by Gloria Bess. Jack and Mary, a couple at a crossroads in their relationship, are invited to a dinner party. Tensions turn into hallucinations and this night ends with no return. Based on a Raymond Carver short story. (Drama) Performance Schedule: Tues 3/15, 8:30pm; Sat 3/19, 6:30pm; Sun 3/20, 4:30pm

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?

Bess: I was looking for the right Carver’s story, I read What’s in Alaska? And thought to myself, that this could never go on stage absolutely impossible.

And so I had to prove myself wrong.

Review Fix: What makes this different or special?

Bess: The shadow work is definitely what makes this a unique production. During rehearsals, I tested all kinds of lights, from candles to par cans, and made an entire paper set in order to create the perfect shadow frames. And instead of using music merely as background, I had original music written to play a lead role. I did this in order to accurately express Jack’s inner world while not losing any of Carver’s detailed descriptions.

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

Bess: In this process I learned that I am not the patient person that I thought I was.

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

Bess: It is really amazing to be able to see my vision become a reality, thanks to all the people that give their talents to make it happen.

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

Bess: My ultimate goal is to create a work that becomes a mirror to the audience and safely allows   them to re-examine their deepest insecurities.

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

Bess: I think the audience will enjoy Carver’s good story.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Bess: What’s next? Death or a new profession.

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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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