SLOW BURN THEATRE COMPANY

IN OUR OWN WORDS...

When I was a young performer in love with the Broadway stage I always classified an excellent show that I was in or had seen by if a chandelier crashed to the ground or a helicopter landed on stage or if the was a great show-stopping Act 1 Finale tap number with a belting Diva, which would always give me goose bumps and have me singing all the way home and i would be like now that is a great show!! Then one day in 1993 I stumbled onto Broadway and saw a show called Blood Brothers by Willy Russell - not the typical show that I would choose on my own as my idea of a perfect toe-tapping, glitter-saturated evening, but hey I had front row. This show starts off with two boys who had been shot with a mother grieving over these two young men in song. I was like what the hell?  As the story plays on, we as an audience learn the sad tale of the Johnston twins separated at birth and how each of their situations landed them at the opposite ends of the social spectrum and how they ended up face down before us. Something happened to me at that performance...I emotionally matured. I had never had that experience at theater where not only did I laugh and toe-tap and but god did I cry and feel, and still left walking through times square with tears in my eyes a smile on my face and humming the finale. I’m so thankful for that experience because before all I knew were the classics, which were great, but they never made me think and feel the way that performance did. Then later, as an actor, I started to expand my own personal boundaries and explored performing more dramatic works - and being able to feel that emotion radiating back at you from the audience was like nothing I had ever felt. That show alone is one major reason for Slow Burn Theatre Co. Little did i know that was just the beginning of Broadways big change for then I experienced Rent another great tale of real life current events happening in the 1990’s that reached out to a whole other audience and set the tone for a new Broadway.  Soon to follow more thought provoking musicals such as Aida, with music by Elton John, dealt with forbidden love, war and race. Spring Awakening a coming of age tale about sexuality and set with a rocking pop score and then the most current installment Next to Normal about a family dealing with a bipolar mother, I have seen this show several times and I am still amazed at how the audience jumps out of their seat sobbing to show the actors their appreciation before they can even hit the final chord of the finale. Shows that are less mainstream but have a mainstream message are the backbone of Slow Burn Theatre Co.  We want to bring that experience to you, to produce shows that put a song in your heart but also put a fire in your soul. We look forward to joining the brotherhood of amazing theatre that has already been established in South Florida and to see you at the theatre.

 

Sincerely, Patrick Fitzwater

Moving the chair

I had an epiphany during a class in college. We got to class and there was a chair. Our exercise was to each go up to it and sit in it five different ways, none the same as the previous. After just a few people the variations had been about used up. Then came the realization that changed everything. Move the chair. The variations of sitting in the chair increased ten-fold. Did all of them work? No. Were some just plain uncomfortable? Yes. But what an eye-opener that day was. I never again approached theatre the same.

New Line Theatre

My most amazing experiences in the theatre came with New Line Theatre is St. Louis. I really thought my performing days were done a few years back when out of the blue I got a call from a guy who I had worked with in St. Charles, MO and who was working with New Line Theatre. They had just held auditions for The Fantasticks and had not found an El Gallo. I had played the role before and he recommended me to Scott Miller, the Artistic Director. I went to his house and so started a most amazing artistic relationship that spanned over 3 years and 7 shows. Scott is not only a brilliant director, but also remains a dear friend and our Artistic Advisor at Slow Burn. His company, New Line Theatre, is essentially what I want Slow Burn Theatre to become. A group of driven, talented, creative, risk-taking actors, technicians and musicians dedicated to doing really intelligent shows because we need to do it.

Slow Burn Theatre

And so we begin. Hopefully we can fill a need here in South Florida that New Line Theatre fills in St. Louis. If you have the need we do, if you know someone who does, we want you to be a part of Slow Burn Theatre Family. If you want to usher, sell concessions, help with fundraising, run lights or sound, work crew or perform, we want to hear from you. We want your suggestions. We want your help. We want your creativity. C’mon over… pull up a chair.

On with the Show!

Matthew Korinko