Steven James Media Group is built on the foundation of using powerful storytelling skills to help organizations and individuals of all kinds – companies, not-for-profits, sole proprietorships, partnerships, artists, craftspeople, students and educators alike – have their voices and messages heard.
Our collective members take pride in being practitioners of our respective crafts and not merely theoreticians. In that spirit (and practice!), one of our own master storytellers, Brian Coughlin, is building on his legacy of being one of Rochester’s premier theater directors. Brian is currently directing the Pulitzer-nominated play ‘Mauritius’ at the Blackfriars Theater.
‘Mauritius’ revolves around the strife and hope triggered by the discovery of a rare and precious stamp found in a mother’s collection after the woman passes away. Two half-sisters come to fierce loggerheads over the situation, and when unscrupulous players in the high-stakes world of philately enter the mix, danger and tense drama ensue. All over stamps? Who knew? Joking aside, the play does have explicit language and depictions of violence, so keep this in mind.
"Stunning and arguably the best piece of drama I've seen thus far this year." -Jack Garner
Rochester’s living legend of drama criticism, Jack Garner, says of Coughlin’s production of playwright Theresa Rebeck’s piece: ‘stunning and arguably the best piece of drama I’ve seen thus far this year.’ (And rest assured, Jack has seen quite a few pieces of drama thus far this year!) He goes on to draw comparisons with The Maltese Falcon and David Mamet plays. Speaking of Mamet, Brian directed a Blackfriars’ production of Mamet’s ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ last season, which was also hailed as one of Rochester’s finest shows of 2018, bar none.
The five-character ‘Mauritius’ delivers powerhouseperformances across the board from Fiona Criddle, Stephanie Sheak, J. Simmons, JeffSiuda, and Blackfriar’s artistic & managing director (and heart & soul)Danny Hoskins.
Brian Coughlin alsocontributes the production design for ‘Mauritius.’ Steven James Media Group’s own RenaissanceMan, Brian is an accomplished director, graphic designer, writer, producer – oh,yeah, and he has been running and playing in Rochester’s original Songwriters In The Round for nearly twentyyears! Don’t miss the chance to see amasterful play in the hands of an accomplished director.
‘Mauritius’ continues for the following two weeks at Blackfriars with performances Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through April 7th. Bring a young adult or a friend who may have never been exposed to great live theater or has perhaps forgotten its power. And when it's time to have your story told, contact Steven James Media Group – we’d love to help you tell it!
