Review Fix Exclusive Midtown International Theatre Festival Coverage: Michael F Bruck Talks ‘Life in the Big City’

June 27, 2016 Patrick Hickey Jr. Theatre 0

Review Fix chats with Playwright Michael F Bruck, who discusses his new production “Life in the Big City,” which is set for a run at this year’s Midtown International Theatre Festival.

For more on this production, click here.


Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this project?
  
Michael F Bruck: I have been writing mostly dramas over the last few years and I wanted to get back to writing some comedies, but comedies that made a statement.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?
     
Bruck: I am usually inspired by what I see around me here in NYC. I get an idea and jot down notes on my iPhone for later.  Then when I get home the writing begins. I write and rewrite a lot. I often change lines in the rehearsal process too to suit the actor better.

Review Fix: What makes this different or special?
    
Bruck: I have written two comedies both with (hopefully) lots of laughs, but at the same time make a statement. “The Secret” makes a statement about acceptance and “Once Upon a Ferry” makes a statement about loneliness that can exist with seniors who have lost a partner.
 
Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?
    
Bruck: From writing these two pieces, I learned about having more compassion for other people’s struggles. We New Yorkers are always on the run and don’t often stop to notice the plight of the elderly or the challenge someone faces going through a big change in their life. I can’t expand upon that or I’ll give away the secret of “The Secret.”
 
Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of something like this?
    
Bruck: This is my third time with the Midtown International Theater Festival. John Chatterton has always been so encouraging to playwrights of all ages. This time around, I’m dealing more with literary assistant Deborah Grimberg who I find to be equally encouraging.
 
Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?
    
Bruck: I hope that I’ll be able to interest other theater companies around the country to want to include my work in their festivals. I had some very good luck this year with a small play I wrote titled “Tea for Two and Tony Too” that ran in theater festivals in both Napa, Ca and San Diego, CA.
 
Review Fix: What do you think your audiences will enjoy the most?
    
Bruck: I hope they enjoy the humor and can laugh and have a good time, but I also hope the two pieces will touch them as well and make them walk away with something more than just a few laughs.

Review Fix: What’s next?
     
Bruck: I have a short play called “Staten Island Ferry Tale” that will be presented in the ELT Playwriting Festival in August. Meanwhile, I am working on getting two plays produced, “A Dead Night at the Shamrock’ and “The Story of Lottie and Leo.”

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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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