EXCLUSIVE: LA’s Firelight Collective to Stage ‘Stars in the Night’ in NYC (Q&A)

by Kathryn Yu
Kathryn Yu
•
August 6, 2018
•
4 min read

We speak to Co-Artistic Directors Stephanie Feury and Nathan Keyes about bringing their work to the Big Apple

Last spotted in the Hollywood Hills, the critically-acclaimed Firelight Collective has been quietly working for months on remounting their show Stars in the Night in New York City—DUMBO, to be exact. The intimate, immersive production has been adapted to take advantage of the sidewalks and cobblestone streets of the historic Brooklyn neighborhood and will open for a limited engagement September 16.

We caught up with co-Artistic Directors Stephanie Feury and Nathan Keyes over e-mail as they prepare for the show’s opening.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

No Proscenium (NP): For those who aren’t familiar with your company and work, what is the Firelight Collective and what is Stars in the Night?

Firelight Collective (FC): The Firelight Collective is an immersive theatre company who has been creating and producing original work for over 9 years.

Our goal has always been to merge theatre, art and cinema into a unique brand of storytelling. Stars in the Night is an intimate immersive production with 12 audience members per show. A women goes missing and the audience is taken to witness the fallout as her disappearance begins to affect various characters in various locations, showing that we are all connected in this universe, no matter how disconnected we may feel. We are all stars in the night.

NP: Why did you decide to remount the show in New York City after running it in LA? And how long has this been in the works?

FC: It has been our dream to continue creating work and installing it into different cities around the world. And as Stars in the Night was running in LA, we started thinking about possible cities to travel to and New York was at the top of our list. We were fortunate to have the incredible Hillary Ellison help bring that to life.

NP: What are some of the key differences between the NYC and LA versions?

FC: The beauty of the story is that it lives and breathes anywhere, but the story shifts and changes as we feed off the deep history of each city. Because of the change in location we’ve been able to adapt and tailor to what New York City has to offer. DUMBO, Brooklyn is the perfect backdrop to our story and the characters that live inside. We started to add new elements based on the depths of its history and the energy that came from it. New characters spoke to us that added even more layers to our story.

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NP: How did you end up choosing DUMBO in Brooklyn as the show’s NYC home and how are you integrating this historic neighborhood into the show?

FC: DUMBO spoke to us even before we thought about bringing Stars in the Night to New York. Having the waterfront framed by the two bridges, the cobblestone streets, and the new construction contrasting the old is so cinematic.

For us, it was a no-brainer, and we have continued to fall in love with DUMBO, its residents, and all the people who made DUMBO what it is today.

NP: How are you preparing for the unexpected on the streets of NYC, be it bystanders that try to incorporate themselves into the performance or the whims of Mother Nature?

FC: We’re lucky because, having already done the show in the streets of Hollywood, we have prepared and integrated the unexpected moments that occur into the show. We improvise and adapt to all kinds of different occurrences. We also make sure within our rehearsal process that we are not limited to a theatre space and the actors rehearse in many different locations.

We are thrilled to be bringing the original cast to this production who know the show so well and are skilled actors and improvisers. About half our production takes place outside, we look forward to the magic of Mother Nature and all she has to offer.

NP: Overall, what do you hope audiences take away from Stars in the Night NYC?

FC: In this day and age everyone is so busy, and caught in the hustle and bustle of their lives, we hope that in these moments they can let go, engage, and reflect on the beauty of life.

Stars in the Night opens for a limited engagement on September 16, with previews September 13—15. Tickets are on sale now for $125. No Proscenium readers can save $25 by using the offer code Starsalign100 while supplies last.

Please see ticketing site for age, mobility, and content advisories.

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