“This play embarrassed me for a long time.”
WHO: Max Rosenblum
WHAT: “A romantic tragicomedy following lonely teenagers who meet on New Year’s Eve in an online roleplay chatroom. May is May. Perry is British actor Matt Smith. Their conversation that night, unexpectedly intimate, forms a bond between the two: they become each other’s best friend, confidant, and lifeline through the turmoil’s of adolescence. That is, until “real life” intrudes…”
WHERE: Mint Studio at Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236)
WHEN: 13:55 (60 min)
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Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
It’s my first time both attending Fringe and having a show up. Ditto for the rest of the team. Needless to say, we’re all very excited — both to share our work with a generous and open-minded audience, and to experience the work of fellow artists. Fringe has a reputation for hosting weird, bold, and funny work — which are my three favorite adjectives.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2025 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
“Be embarrassing.”
This play embarrassed me for a long time. In part because of all of the normal writerly anxieties, but also because — though the play is not at all autobiographical — in writing it, I drew on feelings and experiences from my adolescence, which was obviously a deeply embarrassing time. Showing it to people felt akin to displaying pictures of myself at fourteen — awkward, pimply, etc. But as I began to share the play with friends and mentors, then collaborators, then audiences, I found that the bits that I most embarrassed by were often the moments that people connected to the most. So now when I’m writing I often remind myself to “be embarrassing,” because I’ve learned that’s how I do my best work.
Tell us about your show.
The first draft of The New Year was written as my undergrad thesis. I wanted to write a play about the excitement and pain and terror of first love, with the internet as a setting that is at once a barrier and a catalyst for intimacy. I’ve always loved how theatre can build worlds out of words, which is also sort of what is happening when you’re falling in love with someone over text. I tried to create a language and a rhythm for the “online dialogue” that didn’t match the actual syntax of how people text (no “LOLs” or emojis) but instead captured the feeling of those late nights spilling your soul to a stranger via a glowing screen. I also tried to make it funny.
If I succeed in any of these intentions it is in large part due to the support and contributions of my friends and collaborators who will be bringing this show to life in Edinburgh. Jake Keville, our director, was the first person to whom I sent the first draft of this play, back when it wasn’t very good yet. Since then he’s been instrumental in helping me make it good. As a director, he’s got a precise eye for blocking and rhythm in service of character relationships, and knows when to make you laugh and when to break your heart.
Our producers and stage managers, Zoe Gray and Kenzie Packer, are both writers as well and were part of the writers group in which I finally finished the play. Apart from that, they’ve experience putting up productions everywhere from standard blackboxes to bars and public parks, and I’m so grateful to have their creative and logistical brains to help make this show happen.
Connor, who plays Perry, has been connected to this project since we were both 17 and suitemates at a pre-college program. I don’t remember this, but apparently I told him about an idea I had about a girl making friends on the internet — several years before I remember starting to actively explore the idea. What I do remember is watching him rehearse a monologue in our dorm and thinking “oh, this guy’s good.” Seven years later, he’s even better. His role is one that requires the actor to create the character from limited textual evidence, to read between the lines, and Connor has done that with great depth and specificity.
Katy is the one person I didn’t know very well prior to this production. Jake and I were fans of her work in other shows, so we invited her to an informal workshop reading — and she totally blew us away. She not only understands the sensitivities and neuroses of the character but also her strength and unwavering energy, bringing it all to life with precision and considerable physical acting chops. She has a lot of material where, while writing it, I thought to myself: “Good luck with this one, actor,” and she makes it all look easy.
We had a three-night run at The Tank in New York City, our home turf, in May. People seemed to enjoy it. Now we can’t wait to share it with the Edinburgh audience.
As for the future… The play is written to be a sort of playground for actors and directors. There are no stage directions in most of it, and there are lots of different ways to cast that would create different angles on the story while still maintaining the core emotions of the play. So it would be cool if this became a play people want to do their own takes on, in universities or community theatres or wherever. But right now, I just feel so lucky to get to put it on with this group of friends and collaborators. I can’t really ask for more.
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
Tim Kenneth Kicks the Bucket by Brandon Kiziloz.
Brandon is a friend to many on our production, and also my former roommate. His play is, similarly to ours, a dark comedy about teenagers. But unlike ours, it contains philosophical musings, a whoopie pie, and an assault on a French street cleaner named Jacques. I got to catch it in NYC before he brought it to Fringe last year, and found it riveting and hilarious. He tells me it’s gotten better since, so I’m very excited to see it again.
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