Ypsilanti becomes a fun, inverted alternate universe with the Neighborhood Theater Group. As part of what they call the Huron Valley Universe or HVU, Ypsilanti becomes one with Lansing and Ann Arbor to form a local spin on the alternate universe trope.
The Neighborhood Theater Group co-founders A.M. Dean and Kristin Danko settled in Ypsilanti in 2013. They met as actors in Chicago and felt they had accomplished everything they could there. Wondering what was next, they moved to Ypsilanti so Kristin could attend EMU and get her degree in arts administration. While here, they fell in love with the city and decided it would be home to their new theater group project.
Every production is entirely original; original scripts, music, choreography, etc.
A.M. Dean, co-founder, writer, and director describes NTG as, “A group of artists trying to achieve a goal, trying to really create something.”
Actress, choreographer, and EMU alumni Jen Jakubowski says that, “NTG is, as far as community theater, probably one of the most professional that I’ve worked with.”
Part of this creation has been the HVU, which is where most of NTG’s productions take place, including their yearly Halloween productions, the “Black Cat” series. According to A.M. Dean, this year’s production is more of a traditional musical with a complete story, as opposed to previous years where they have been a collection of songs connected by a loose string.
“It’s Alive!” is this year’s “Black Cat” production and is a B-movie parody. It is presented by Ghoulita Graves, played by Jen Jakubowski.
Dean describes “It’s Alive!” as a sci-fi horror parody of 1950s B-movies. It takes place in the wake of the launch of Sputnik and the hysteria surrounding it. Featuring, of course, a mad scientist! Jakubowski describes it as, “A Cold War spooky science experiment.”
Dean adds that this musical serves as a prequel of sorts to their next production in March, The Hotel Del Gado.
Ghoulita Graves hosts the show and serves as an Elvira-esque character. Jakubowski says she introduces the show and re-enters in a cut scene to say, “Oh! That was really quirky, let’s see what happens!”
While Dean says this production is meant to not be too demanding, the draft of the 57-page script took him a little over a month to complete. This is in addition to the music, which guides the scriptwriting process. The music was created with his band, Levona, and there will be four or five two to four-minute songs. The musical will be about an hour.
He describes this musical as being experimental, toying around with the parody genre and just aiming to make people laugh.
Jakubowski says she is still working on the choreography. She adds that the choreography is more about movement and fun as opposed to structured dances. The movements she includes always revolve around cast abilities and what feels right in the context of the show.
Jen Jakubowski says she loves the feeling of embodying a character and being able to tell a story. She adds that her favorite part of being with NTG is bonding with the cast and recounting silly stories afterwards.
A.M. Dean says that his favorite part of being with NTG as a whole is the opportunity of being able to offer people a space to take an artistic stake in something. To be able to help people reawaken a passion that may have lain dormant or not yet been uncovered.
The cast includes 7 actors, 5-7 designers, 3-4 crew members and a stage manager. The musical will be performed in The Back Office Studio, the small but open cozy coworking space NTG calls its home.
The Neighborhood Theater Group is excited to present Ypsilanti with another fun, silly Halloween production. With a passionate crew of artists, it promises to be entertaining and original. It will be performed on Oct. 18-20 and 24-26. For tickets and more information, you can visit NTG’s website ntgypsi.org.
