This is the first of a set of interviews and hangouts with Applied Mechanics Associated Artists. As a core company of five, we are actually much more than that. Our Associated Artists help make Applied Mechanics run and these upcoming blog posts highlight each of these talented artists and their various activities.
This may be the first “exqueerience” a term Nic coined and then I tried to define: “A gathering of two or more queer people where knowledge is shared.” So queers, feel free to start using this new vocabulary. In this exqueerience I hung out with Nic Labadie-Bartz the newest Associated Artist to Applied Mechanics! However, Nic is not brand new to us. They worked on our last three shows/ our entire Chronotope Trilogy: This is On Record, Feed, and Chronotope Rough Draft (where we first met). Chronotope Rough Draft entwined three historical, political protests, which we completed in residency at UArts.
Nic was still a student at UArts then, and since graduating they have catapulted into the Philadelphia theater community. Working primarily as a Stage Manager (SM) the majority of their work has been overseeing local experimental theater projects including Michael Kiley’s Close Music for Bodies and most recently a workshop of Ninth Planet’s Honey Honey. Focusing purely on new work is somewhat rare for a Stage Manager (at least locally) and Nic and I talked about being a non-equity Stage Manager in Philadelphia. Because most experimental companies work outside of equity contracts Nic has successfully been able to maintain their career without having to consider joining equity or doing more traditional stage productions.
Nic noted that their recent projects and immediately upcoming projects are all workshops/ developmental periods for new plays. This is only disappointing for Nic because their favorite part of a process is tech (!) and so none of these projects had/have one. So we delved into talking about tech. As a performer tech is slow and tedious for me, but for Nic this is where they shine navigating the numerous moving parts of a production. We talked about This is On Record and how the tech was difficult because they had to figure out how it would be possible to call the multiple moving parts of the show as it was weaving the narrative. They ultimately were able to use an app from their phone— using Bluetooth— so they could call the sound and video cues anywhere in the space. So you may have seen Nic wandering around the performance so they could actually see what was going on.
Nic also talked about “the gayest thing I’ve ever done”: The Bearded Ladies Do You Want a Cookie? This cabaret spectacular utilized three stories of a building during Fringe this September. Nic called it the “hardest and most exhausting” project they have ever done. Nic was the lone SM with two assistants (ASM). While Nic teched every floor of the production, they then handed off the SM book to the ASMs as Nic ran and managed the most complex second floor. With all its complications it was extremely rewarding and a huge growing process for them. There was a special “magic of being in a room with so many supportive queers.”
With all this Nic spoke about it with a smile or a shrug. They are so lighthearted about it, that even when they comment on possible burn out, they are even tempered about figuring it out and adjusting accordingly.
They noted that they love “theater that feels like a concert,” which made me think about the complex elements of running a show that can often work that way with all its various parts coming together from their position.
We shifted into the last of the exqueerience talking about idols and icons building a laundry list of queers we love. The list highlighted by historical trans activists Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, as well as contemporaries including trans playwright MJ Kaufman. Nic SMed MJ’s queer-centric Destiny Estimate. In college they also acted in MJ’s Eat and You Belong to Us, which was “extra special” as it was a significant experience getting to play a gender non-conforming character not long after they came out as trans.
Nic’s Top Shows:
• Passing Strange – The Spike Lee record they could listen to on repeat.
• Hedwig and the Angry Inch – They first saw it with Tae Diggs in the titular role. So queer!
• Sleep No More – Their first immersive experience and they saw it numerous times to catch different stories and dances each visit.
• Hello Sadness! – It shifted how they saw themself as an artist.
In our date we also got lost talking about Hallmark Christmas movies and Nic has just learned crocheting— already whipping up a hat and two and a half scarves in three days. They are keeping their hands busy, even in a week where they have off from SMing. More exqueeriences soon!