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[1:00] Robert Bannon: Matchbook Fest is a fun last name. And I'm sure people had lots to say about it in your whole life growing up. And Mitch Marois. Marois. Yeah, we do Marois. Yeah. Close enough. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Mitch, since I butchered your name, the first question goes to you. What is this festival and when did you come up with this?

[1:20] Mitch Marois: So Matchbook Fest came about when the awesome people over at Ars Nova who own the Greenwich House Theater, we were emailing with them about availability for next year for other projects and stuff. And then they said, oh my gosh, the show that was supposed to be in here in the summer has had to pull out. We're scrambling to find programming. Would you all over at Mix & Match Productions want to do something? And we said, yeah, it's frickin Greenwich House. That's awesome. We want it. Definitely. And they said, great, it's these five weeks. And we said, what do we do? OK, great. We were like, it's not enough time to do a full show. It's not like we could do a showcase code of something, but like that doesn't feel right.

And like, what do we have? But then we kind of looked at each other, all of us in the office and said, well, we know like really cool people doing really cool stuff. So what if we just texted a bunch of them and said, hey, do you what do you have in development? Like I immediately texted Rona Siddiqui because I knew she had the piece with Bryce Pinkham and where we've been working with Andrew Lippa on a new project. And we're like, hey, do you want a night? Also, you know, Kira Stone and Veronica Mansour, our Lana from our team is really tight with them. So we just kind of like put up the bat signal and all of these artists, you know, kind of just invaded our inbox. And we said, OK, I guess it's going to be a festival.

I guess we'll call it Matchbook because it works with our name, Mix & Match Productions. And we wanted the idea of like sparking creativity and things that every night is going to be something different. And it could ignite into something massive. It could just be tonight. And that's all you'll see. But at least these artists are going to get the chance to put something new that they're working on actively in front of an audience, get feedback, be in conversation with real people about what they're developing. And within like three weeks, we had announced the thing and then we had our first production a week later. So it's been a real whirlwind. Real whirlwind.

[3:19] Robert Bannon: Yeah. Max, firstly, I don't know where Max is, but he looks like he's in a theater unless he lives in an apartment that looks like a theater with red walls, which I'm not judging, Max. Now I'm coming to you from the dressing room of Greenwich House. We are currently, you know, in our day of tech rehearsal, soundcheck, first rehearsal, last rehearsal for a very exciting concert tonight, which is Andrew Lippa and Friends. Andrew Lippa, new songs, new stories. It's really about new work and the new work that Andrew Lippa has coming up. And he's doing it with Jordan Fisher and Kate Baldwin. John Bauerfeld, who is my roommate, is helping play piano for a few songs. Like it really is, all right, who are the people that we know?

Who are the people in our circles that we can really call on and how can we make this a success? And if you come to the show, you'll see the set is like everything from our own homes. It's our, we have baby pictures of the whole team up there. We have photos from vacations. Max's dad's bar mitzvah gift drum set is up there. It feels very homey up there. So it's like your living room.

[4:34] Mitch Marois: I am so in awe of, if you're watching this, everybody, you can all go to the website, which they must've put together in a hot minute because they just put this matchbox, matchbookfestival.net together. Matchbook, they love a pun on a name as their company name is and as this whole thing is. So Mitch, what do you, besides this, what do you two do? How do you know each other?

[5:07] Mitch Marois: So we go back a long, decent ways now. We, in addition to Mix & Match Productions, we met helping run the producing office of Ruth and Stephen Hendel, who have been Broadway, off-Broadway, West End, tours, all sorts of producers for 25 years. Now, hundreds of shows that they've invested in and supported over the last 25 years. They created the show Fela. We currently have A Walk on the Moon running off-Broadway at the Laura Pels right now. A few other shows in development there, but we met helping run that office. And honestly, Ruth Hendel, who is, I jokingly refer to her as the Bubby of Broadway. If she walks into a room, everything stops because no one has a bad opinion or a bad feeling about Ruthie Hendel.

She is the best of us. And she kept getting Max and I confused. Because honestly, from behind, we're both tall white guys with brown hair and blue eyes. It is very understandable. She kept mixing up our names. And that's when we were like, wait, mix, match, Max, Mitch. She kept doing that. We were like, oh, we would love to start doing some stuff together. This play called Marcelle on the Train found its way to us from Marshall Paylett and Ethan Slater. And we both fell in love with that play. And that's what really inspired us then to say, oh, now we have something not just to think about doing stuff together, but we have something that we are both incredibly passionate about bringing to the stage. Cool. That was the impetus for us to form the company officially. Marcelle on the Train was our first show that we really wanted to sink our teeth into. And that's what inspired it all.

[6:33] Robert Bannon: I love that. Go see A Walk on the Moon, by the way. We had Sam and we had Max, not this Max, on the show. And so, Max, for you, I mean, maybe this Max, maybe he'll be a replacement. Who knows? Maybe only people named Max are in that role. We both still have our equity cards. We started as performers, me and Mitch. We were, you know, I was a child actor. Mitch went to college for musical theater as well. And, you know, we just found ourselves in these producer roles because we love the nuts and bolts. And, you know, we love being able to have a perspective on every little bit of it rather than just one lane.

[7:11] Mitch Marois: I have my equity card, too, and I'll sell it to someone for fifteen hundred bucks on the corner of 34th Street. No, I'm good. I'm done with that life. But so so, Max, when you came up with this festival, is there a theme? Is there an idea that ties all of this together or is it just we're going to put together a whole bunch of cool stuff and we're going to let you buy a ticket and come see it? And then how do you make it accessible for people to come see it?

[7:35] Maxwell Beer: Those are great questions. I think our first requirement was that it be something new, be something that they're working on, something in process. We didn't want, you know, hi, I've been working on this thing for eight years and here's the finished product. It was, hi, I've been working on this idea for six months to a year and I just want to put it in front of people so I know what to do next. So I know which, you know, which turns we have to make or even more importantly, which turns we shouldn't make, because that's the thing that when you get to the stage, you don't learn sometimes before it's too late. And we've had that experience as producers and we wanted to, you know, try to create a solution for other artists.

And in terms of accessibility, you know, it was really important to us to keep it accessible all while we're still able to pay the people who are helping keep the lights on, you know, keep the sound going, keep, you know, help us make it possible. And so, you know, there are different tiers of ticketing. We have walk-up ticketing, we have rush ticketing available every day. And so it really is no matter where you are, no matter what ability you have to support the arts, there is a way for you to find yourself at Matchbook Fest. And it was important to us that it felt worthy of a ticket price that, you know, great, we have a full lighting design that shows can come in and play with. We have amazing sound team.

Daniel Lundberg is our sound designer and these concerts sound incredible. Everything is worth, we wanted to make it sure that it was worth the price of admission for an audience to be seeing something that really is actively still in process.

[9:36] Robert Bannon: Welcome to The Roundtable! I’m your host, Robert Bannon, and today we have two incredible guests joining us to talk about the exciting new MATCHBOOK FEST 2026. Please welcome Maxwell Beer and Mitch Marois!

[10:06] Maxwell Beer: Thanks for having us, Robert! We're thrilled to be here.

[10:36] Mitch Marois: Absolutely! It's great to be part of this conversation about the festival.

[11:06] Robert Bannon: So, let’s dive right in. What inspired you both to create MATCHBOOK FEST 2026?

[11:16] Maxwell Beer: Well, we wanted to create a space where artists could experiment and showcase bold new ideas. The idea was to transform the Greenwich House Theater into a hub for creativity and collaboration.

[11:26] Mitch Marois: Exactly! We believe that giving artists a platform to develop their work is crucial, especially in today's landscape where new voices need to be heard.

[11:36] Robert Bannon: That’s so important. Can you share some of the events or experiences that audiences can expect during the festival?

[11:46] Maxwell Beer: We have a variety of readings, concerts, and workshops lined up. Each event is designed to engage the audience in the creative process and allow them to witness the development of new works firsthand.

[11:56] Mitch Marois: Plus, we’re bringing together both established artists and emerging voices, which creates a really dynamic atmosphere.

[12:06] Robert Bannon: It sounds like a fantastic opportunity for both artists and audiences. What challenges did you face while launching this brand-new arts event?

[12:16] Maxwell Beer: One of the biggest challenges was securing funding and support, but we were fortunate to have a great team behind us and a community that believes in the importance of new work.

[12:26] Mitch Marois: And navigating the logistics of organizing a festival of this scale is no small feat either. But we’re committed to making it a success.

[12:36] Robert Bannon: It’s inspiring to hear how dedicated you both are. Why do you think supporting new work is more important now than ever?

[12:46] Maxwell Beer: The arts have always been a reflection of society, and right now, we need fresh perspectives and innovative storytelling to address the issues we face.

[12:56] Mitch Marois: Absolutely! New work pushes boundaries and challenges the status quo, which is essential for growth in the arts.

[13:06] Robert Bannon: I couldn’t agree more. It’s all about lighting that spark for the next generation of theatre makers.

[13:16] Maxwell Beer: Exactly! We want to create a community where creativity thrives and everyone feels welcome to share their ideas.

[13:26] Mitch Marois: And we hope that audiences will leave the festival feeling inspired and excited about the future of theatre.

[13:36] Robert Bannon: I’m sure they will! Thank you both for sharing your vision for MATCHBOOK FEST 2026. It sounds like an incredible event.

[13:46] Maxwell Beer: Thank you for having us, Robert!

[13:56] Mitch Marois: Yes, thank you! We can’t wait to see everyone at the festival.