Review Fix Midtown International Theatre Festival Coverage: Monica Mikell Talks ‘I Chose To Be Single, To Stay Saved’

March 15, 2016 Patrick Hickey Jr. Theatre 0

Review Fix chats with playwright Monica Mikell, who discusses her production “ I Chose To Be Single, To Stay Saved,” which is set for a run at this year’s Midtown International Theatre Festival.


About I Chose To Be Single, To Stay Saved:

I CHOOSE TO BE SINGLE, TO STAY SAVED by Monica Mikell, directed by Monica Mikell; starring Tametria Harris, Monica Mikell, Danielle Harris, Maya Lewis-Johnson, Angela Berrien, Demetrius Haynes, and Brandon Wilson. “When all else fails, no need to cry about it, just be about it.” (Comedy)

Performance Dates: Thurs 3/17, 8:45pm; Sat 3/19, 1:00pm

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?

Monica Mikell: Growing up in the church in the South, majority of the time everything is traditional—the facility, songs, etc. Just recently, within the past 10-15 years, churches, especially, in the South are becoming more contemporary. The choirs are singing more upbeat contemporary songs like Kirk Franklin and they’re building bigger buildings that will hold thousands of Members, like Bishop TD Jakes, The Potter’s House; these types of churches we call mega churches.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Mikell: A silent room. Give me a silent room, whether in a bed or at a table, any day over a coffee shop. Many times I have to wait until late hours of the night, when my kids are asleep, in order to write. I am very in tune with the phrase ‘burning the midnight oil’.

Review Fix: What makes this different or special?

Mikell: This production is different because it not only has serious issues but also has comedy and an actual moral.

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

Mikell: Through this process I’ve learned that I’m a little funny. I am the type of person who enjoys laughs however; I never viewed myself as the ‘funny person’. While writing this script, I found myself laughing hysterically at some of the jokes.

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

Mikell: It feels amazing to be a part of this! I’m just a writer from Lakeland, Florida. Many people have never heard of Lakeland, so I’m honored to represent my city at this festival! This is huge for us!

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

Mikell: My ultimate goals for this production are to make my audience experience an emotional ride. I want them to laugh, cry, be happy, have sympathy for a character, etc. I want them to leave my show saying ‘Wow that was a great show’. In the future, I can see taking this production on tour.

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

Mikell: I think my audiences will enjoy not only the comedy but the lessons that are learned through the characters; lessons that can easily apply to someone’s everyday life.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Mikell: Next, I will be producing another play I wrote, based off of my debut novel, Behind Closed Doors. We are currently rehearsing for this play. This production will take place June 4th in Winter Haven, FL.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 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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