Review Fix Midtown International Theatre Festival Coverage: Richard Curtis Talks ‘Godhead’

Review Fix chats with playwright Richard Curtis, who discusses his production “Godhead,” at this year’s Midtown International Theatre Festival.

About Godhead:

By Richard Curtis, directed by Paul Navarra*; starring Laura Fay Lewis* and Mike Roche*. “Godhead” is the title of a favorite painting that the artist sold in a moment of weakness. Now she wants to meet the man who bought it, to discover if he is worthy of her masterpiece: He isn’t. *AEA Performance Schedule: Wed 3/23, 7:30pm; Fri 3/25, 6:00pm; Sun 3/27, 3:30pm

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?

Richard Curtis: In my one-act play Godhead, an artist who sold her masterpiece in a moment of weakness visits the man who bought it to see if he is worthy of her picture. He isn’t. The play was inspired by a conversation I had with an artist who was dismayed to discover his painting hung in an extremely inappropriate place in the home of the patron who bought it.
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Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Curtis: After laying down the essential dialogue and action, I revise my plays scores of times, starting at the beginning and adding and modifying, like rolling dough thinner and thinner until it is all but transparent.

Review Fix: What makes this different or special?

Curtis: It raises questions about whether art is pure and for its own sake, or whether it changes value if the owner acquired it for less than noble reasons, say, simply because it matches the decor of one’s living room .

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?
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Curtis: I drew not just on my experience as a painter, but on spiritual experiences that play a role in this play. The process is mysterious; I do not know whence inspiration comes but it seems to present itself magically when summoned, like a genie.

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

Curtis: I love being part of this community.  I never cease to learn things.

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

Curtis: I would love to put on an evening of my one-act plays.

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

Curtis: Because there are no props, the audience will have to exercise its imagination to enter into the illusion. Every viewer will project meaning into the painting that is the subject of the play.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Curtis: I have a full-length comedy that will be done as a dramatic reading in the spring.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14262 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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