ERS was thrilled to have been awarded a $25,000 Challenge Grant from the J.M. Kaplan Fund. We are excited to report that we exceeded our goal! Thank you so much to all of you who donated and helped us end our fiscal year on a high note.
In the Hot Seat: Aaron Amodt
Company Member Profile
ERS Technical Director Aaron Amodt has been involved with a number of ERS productions including tours of Gatz,Everyone’s Fine with Virginia Woolf,The Select (The Sun Also Rises), and Fondly, Collette Richland. Outside of theater Aaron makes ghost photographs which you can find on Instagram: @amodttech.
Where were you born?Orlando, FL. Yep, I grew up going to Disney World all the time. My grandfather was a carpenter during its construction, and my parents met working there.
Weirdest on stage experience:We once had to hold a show by about an hour because an actor was stuck in jail. They’d gotten picked up because of unpaid parking tickets and could only remember the phone number of their agent, who then started calling everyone that may have had the stage manager’s phone number. I don’t know who ended up bailing them out, but once they got to the theatre they had about 2 minutes to get into costume and right out onto the stage.
What do you love about what you do:I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but I love when things go wrong. When the whole thing starts going sideways, you have to think and act quickly to bring it back. Over the years I’ve seen close calls with explosives, uncooperative animals, collapsing sets, actors going unconscious, blackouts, and waaaaaay too dangerously close lightning strikes. You never know all the ways a show can go wrong, but you gotta be ready for it when it happens.
Favorite ERS show:Gatz takes top honors. When I put the set together for the first time we were going off of old iPhone photos and matching up the paint marks on each piece of scenery because it had evolved from the original drawings. I thought this must be how an archeologist feels when they’re piecing together broken clay pots. Now that the show has taken me around the world (and the set has survived much maintenance), I feel very close to it. I watch as much of it as I can every time we put it up. The show already has a lot of mileage behind it, but it’s still really fresh for me.
Best thing about working with ERS:Whenever I’m working on an ERS show, whether it’s on tour or a brand new production, it’s not work. I feel like I’m at summer camp with all the weirdos from other schools in town. I know I’m gonna have a good laugh.
Town Tattle
News from Company Members and Friends
Aaron Landsman has a summer reading group run by Perfect City, a project he founded at Abrons Arts Center. Next book on the agenda: The Power of Place by Delores Hayden.
Ben Willams has designed, engineered, and co-produced The MS Phoenix Rising, a new serial podcast written by Trish Harnetiaux and directed by Katie Brook, which also features ERS-ers John Gasper and April Matthis.
Speaking of April Matthis, her award season run continues. She was awarded an OBIE for her performance in the title role of Toni Stone by Lydia R. Diamond, directed by Pam McKinnon.
Sibyl Kempson has a plethora of projects percolating including: episodes of The Percipients, a new musical play with songs by Paul Castles, and The StarShine Show, a bi-weekly astrology podcast with astrologers Omie Johnson and Satori, hosted by Tei Blow and engineered by ERS’s own John Gasper. Check out 7 Daughters of Eve Thtr. & Perf. Co. on Patreon.
Borne Back Ceaselessly
Glimpses into ERS’s Past
Susie Sokol and Scott Shepherd rehearsing Shut Up I Tell You in 1995 at “The Loft” (45 Crosby Street, New York City).
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ERS Technical Director Aaron Amodt has been involved with a number of ERS productions including tours of Gatz, Everyone’s Fine with Virginia Woolf, The Select (The Sun Also Rises), and Fondly, Collette Richland. Outside of theater Aaron makes ghost photographs which you can find on Instagram: 
