My interview with talented friend Elaine Bromka of TEA FOR THREE off Broadway production. I recommend you train to NYC with me to see the show! :)
~ Elaine, do you remember how we met?
~ I was at a convention to pitch my show to high schools. As the day went on, I realized that almost all the teachers there were from elementary schools...I thought, "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,boy...what am I doing here?" The hours began to drag... and finally, I took off for five minutes and started walking around to see the other booths. Suddenly, there was this radiant person, playing with that white sculpy dough and seeming to have not a care in the world. I wanted to play with that dough more than anything! She introduced herself and gave me my own little sculpy packet. I was over the moon. I went back to my own booth, rolled the dough into little flowers the reset of the afternoon, and saw the day in a whole new way. A very zen experience.
~ I remember this differently. It was a boring event, and I walked around looking at the other artists' tables when I came across Elaine's table. We started talking and I had that familiar feeling when you meet someone and you instantly know they are wonderful. I instantly knew.
~ Did you write the script for Tea for Three?
~ I co-wrote it with Eric H. Weinberger, a wonderful playwright who has become one of my closest friends.
~ I just plop on the wig and off I go! Actually, I spent months at the Museum of Television and Radio, studying their vocal patterns and body movements. I learned a tremendous amount by studying where they held tension in their bodies. Those energy patterns told me secrets.
In kindergarten. I wanted to sing, "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning." I fantasized that everyone would be terribly moved. Well, a few weeks later, I was asked in class to sing three lines of "A Farmer in the Dell" as we all took turns, and I nearly passed out. Nothing came out of my mouth.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Do you know how wildly creative YOU are?Do you know how incredible you are?
Is there anything you would like people to know?
The show is 80 minutes long, both funny and moving -- and ultimately, the kind of show that lifts you up. I'm a big believer in radiant theater. We all need to feel lifted up by art, in my book.
Just do it for yourself. The wonderful actress Lee Grant said that to me decades ago-- and it's taken me all this time to realize what she meant.
YES! Take a vacation!!
I plan to continue to take the show all over. I love meeting people from entirely new towns -- and sensing what life is like there.
Favorite color? Depends upon the time of day! I love any color that gets hit perfectly by the light... a saffron color by morning light, periwinkle just as the sun is getting low... the magic happens between the sun and the color for me.
Favorite flower -- no wayyyyyyyyyyyy could I pick one. I tend a willllllllllllllddddddd perennial garden. New things explode upward every 2 weeks. I just have to walk through the beds to feel stress drop away.
Favorite food-- I have a terrible sweet tooth for dark chocolate. And I went 20 years without touching a potato chip -- then they were put into my line of sight. Oh nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo...once I start, I'm a goner.
Link for TICKETS: http://www.teaforthree.com/tickets.html