Lauren sits down with reporter Sabri Ben-Achour in her “sunny living room in the West Village” to discuss “a response to what avant-garde theater consumers have craved in recent years” {LRP}’s Take Me Home.
Interview with Lauren about her producing skills and style in The Huffington Post
“In a Victorian house in Brooklyn’s Ditmas Park, the crew was more or less equally gender-divided. But, crucially, women were in charge, credited on the project as producer, director, writer, cinematographer, art director, and production designer." -Konstantin Sergeyev
Interview about being your own boss + stress tips & more in Luna Luna Magazine
Interview with Lauren about being an international producer with Arts-Parasites
Interview with Jill Di Donato about Lauren’s recent projects on the Beautiful Garbage blog
Interview about devising work for the stage with Martin Denton, NYTheatre.com
“Broadway veteran Alice Ripley and Robert Clohessy will play spouses in the indie drama “Sugar!,” with filming set for next summer.” -Dave McNary
“One of the hottest seats in town may just be in the back of a cab. A 40-minute play that is set entirely inside a moving taxi as it snakes through the largely abandoned streets and alleys of the after-hours Financial District. Forgive the pun, but I love this as a vehicle.” -Richard Morgan
“A healthy dose of the unpredictable. An elliptical tale... [driving] through a vaguely dystopian New York in search of a lost love.” -Eric Grode
“Immersive theater experience in the backseat of a yellow cab... Guaranteed to be a wild ride!” -Stephanie Simon
“The season’s coolest. Insider rec: Book super early.” -Helen Shaw
“Don’t expect to book an aisle seat. Taking audiences for an unforgettable ride. Keep the meter running.” -Jason Purdy
“The talent in this room is simply overwhelming,” BESLS co-president Lauren Rayner Davis said as she greeted the packed Sobotnick Center. “I'm standing here tonight and I tell you with confidence that the women in this room are the change-makers that we need and they are the forefront of unstoppable progress in this industry.”
“Part of the deliciousness of the concept is that you become unsure what is staged and what is just New York. Cerebral and solitary. You will make of it what you will.” -Neil Genzlinger
“Only three spectators at a time behind the garrulous driver... the animated Modesto ‘Flako’ Jimenez. A sweet, generous, and inventive piece. You’re tempted to tip.” -Alexis Soloski
“Magical. Beautiful and tragic. It is a every cab ride you’ve ever taken, and like none you could imagine.” -Lillian Meredith
“The Days God Slept which (Jeremiah) Kipp directed from a script by Joe Fiorillo, who produced with Lauren Rayner, boasts cinematography by Dominick Sivilli (Tales of Poe, Gallery of Fear and the upcoming Razor Days) and music by Friday the 13th stalwart Harry Manfredini. It’s a fever-dream version of the boy-meets-girl story, starring Malcolm Madera and Lauren Fox, from Darren Aronofsky’s Pi, that seems to be set in an phantasmagoric strip club. Premiered to a packed house at New York City’s Anthology Film Archives.” -Michael Gingold
“A cinematic prayer that haunts and heals...The Days God Slept is the kind of film that makes you think, makes you feel and it makes you question yourself and maybe even everyone around you. The film lingers in a cinematic world somewhere between Atom Egoyan and Darren Aronofsky, but with a voice all its own that penetrates your psyche and demands your attention.” -Richard Propes
"Written by Joe Fiorillo, there’s a lot going on in The Minions...a hypnotizing short film that shouldn’t be missed." - Scott Shoyer, Anything Horror
“Compassion, passion, vulnerability, openness, and intensity: here, Mendacity takes its cue. A one-woman show about rape might seem like a downer. Not so with Rayner's Mendacity. Leaves us with the hope that comes from struggle and survival.” -Jill Di Donato
"[In] Lauren Rayner Productions' absorbing and charming interactive production, And If You Lose Your Way, or A Food Odyssey, Homer’s ancient epic narrative poem has been faithfully, lovingly and uniquely realized in this special theatrical event that dramatizes its enduring power in fresh and fulfilling ways." -Darryl Reilly
“Rhythmic, visceral and emotionally charged. The language feels like strong slam poetry, connecting on a rhythmic level as much as in its content, and really takes you inside a mind frightened by its own excesses and perseverations. Really connects and crackles with energy.” -Loren Noveck
“Visually striking. A poignant and healing look into the uncomfortable yet significant and much needed subject of rape and the self destruction that could sadly ripple after. An admirable work with potential.” -Antonio Miniño
“Monstrous. Powerful. Chilling. Directed with clarity by Lauren Rayner the performance switches between moments of stylized physicality and realistic snatches of dialogue. Actress Ali Kresch conveys the transformation compellingly through body as a smartly directed ensemble swirls about her. Makes the clear and powerful statement that a sweet, young person can be made into a monster.” -Andi Stover
“Candy Tastes Nice is a beguiling and enchanting piece of theatre. The aesthetic is also particularly alive in the red velvet lounge of Madame X, where Huba performs directly to and around an audience draped onto luxurious cushions like gluttons at a feast. Shannon Sindelar's assured and considered direction is crucial towards keeping the play stylized and deliberately wrought. Candy Tastes Nice is a ride not quite like anything else.” -Stephen Cedars
“Staunchly unconventional. Radical. Surprisingly moving. These two plays about progress, unease over the past, anxiety for the future, go together particularly well because of their seemingly unstructured slew of nonsense, mechanical speech and use of grotesque caricature." -Eugene Reznik
“Avant-garde. Refreshing. Ambitious. The characters are stylized and the ensemble gels. It's so refreshing to see an evening of theatre that challenges you to think on multiple levels. It's also a joy to see plays that were created to be larger than the writers who wrote them. Something I don't see a lot of these days. Lauren Rayner Productions should be applauded for doing these non-mainstream works and reminding us just how good we have it and don't.” -Leslie Bramm
"'Do you have an iPhone? Do you have headphones?' Not the questions you'll usually be faced with at the box office of a normal evening of theater. Already, you've got my attention. The production has every bit of the understanding and rabid enthusiasm that ideology needs.” -Guy Yedwab,
"LRP successfully brought the play to NYC - not forgetting to incorporate the original language with four lively and magnetic French artists taking on the stage and even drawing a predominantly French-speaking audience. This rendition was compelling and showcased some great international talents based in NYC." -Julie Brobeck
"LRP’s trio of young, French actors adds youth, energy and freshness to this classic text, which is never easy to access with its profound, essential reflection on life, death and morale. Roxane Revon, Isis, Brice Baillie and Charlotte H make existentialism sound friendlier and more accessible to French and non-French audiences of all ages while preserving its essence throughout. Let’s hope new shows soon get added!" -Nicolas Occhiminuti
“One of the most exciting theater pieces I have seen this year. Startlingly visceral. Eerily beautiful. Brilliant. Videt and her company reimagine the elements of the avant-garde in their own, exciting terms—and with flashes of humor. If you want to glimpse theatre's future, go see ONE ARM AND A LEG." -Heather Violanti
"The Kupermans move with charm and magnetism. Mesmerizing choreography. Fluid, rich and varied. The entire show is a unified, vibrant, and exceptional work. This is one of the best performances to play downtown this summer." -Joseph Samuel Wright