Tony Sokol
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Tony Sokol (born March 23, 1963 in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
,
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, United States) is an American playwright, writer and composer, best known for writing the theatrical horror series La Commedia Del Sangue: Vampyr Theatre in New York City. As a musician, Sokol played guitar, bass or sang in Queer Jesus, The Others, Busted Chops, Head First, 4Q, Death of the Party and the Abstract 4. He appeared several times on
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with jazz vocalist Devorah Simpson, as well as backing her on live sessions on the station on guitar and with his band. Sokol wrote incidental music for the films ''Woman, Man, Gun'' and ''Hide Me'', both directed by Jenice Malecki; ''The Gauntlet'' and ''Quest'', directed by David Burgos; plus '' Zaritsas: Russian Women in New York'', directed by Elena Beloff. He wrote songs and incidental music for over a dozen films and over twenty stage productions and appeared on the
Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona—heavi ...
(TV) Show, Strange Universe,
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BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
-Television and Radio, Britain's "The Girlie Show," bars and nightclubs throughout the tri-state area and over a dozen Manhattan
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TV shows. He also wrote, produced and occasionally directed or acted in the stageshow Vampyr Theatre, which ran 13 plays in New York in the early 1990s; the radio play "The Excommunication of God;" two short films, more than 20 produced plays and the rock opera ''AssassiNation: We Killed Kennedy''. Sokol wrote skits for several comedy troupes and Manhattan Public Access shows including ''Young, Gifted and Broke''. He wrote several skits for the radio show ''Drama With Miss Kitty'', and appeared with the actress on such radio programs as The Black, Jew and Gay Comedy Hour on Rawenergyradio.com. He also co-hosted a cable call-in show with Elena Beloff on
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.


La Commedia del Sangue

In 1986, Sokol wrote and performed "I was thirsty and you drowned me," a vampiric ritual performance art piece at The Anarchist's Switchboard, Centerfold and other venues, along with other spoken word and musical performances throughout New York City. After writing the play, "The Summer After," for director Rosalie Triana, she asked him if there were any other theatrical works he had written. He responded by turning the vampire rituals into a series of plays "for vampires" which were staged throughout Manhattan in theatres and clubs beginning in 1992 and ending in 1997. Thirteen plays were produced, including "Let Us Prey,", which Michael Musto, reviewed for the Daily News on January 28, 1994, writing "Every bit as weird as it sounds, "Prey"—written by horror/comedy scribe TONY SOKOL for the troupe La Commedia Del Sangue—presents its eerie rituals with conviction, unabashedly lacing the vampires' ruthless survival tactics with more of a raw sexuality than the misty romanticism they're usually diluted by."


''AssassiNation: We Killed Kennedy''

Beginning in November 2003, on the 40th anniversary of the assassination of
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
, Sokol wrote, directed and performed the rock opera "AssassiNation: We Killed Kennedy" at the
Bowery Poetry Club The Bowery Poetry Club is a New York City poetry performance space founded by Bob Holman in 2002.Aptowicz, Cristin O'Keefe. (2008). ''Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam.'' Chapter 26: What the ...
, Don Hill's and other New York and New Jersey music and theater venues. Sokol formed the band Death of the Party and used guest singers from New York City bands to play various conspirators. After the performances, the band renamed itself The Abstract Four and continued to play New York City area clubs.


Plays produced

Sokol has had his plays produced by several New York theatrical troupes. Among these: "Frankenstein Walks the Wolfman,” which
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favorably compared to the horror movie Scream; "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby,” "Baby Jane on Training Wheels", "How You Slice It", "Death Takes a Valium," "Cosmic Inertia", "The Wack", "Factually Incorrect", "Weight Loss by Vivisection" by Creative Artists Laboratory". "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" and "Baby Jane on Training Wheels" by Spotlight On Productions; "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby", "The Intervention," "How to Skip Alimony Through Voluntary Manslaughter," Produced by The Irish Arts Center/Company of Impossible Dreams, NYC, 1999, and "Just Us Served". "How You Slice It" was revived by producer Laura Ludwig and performed at Eco Books and was recorded and broadcast by the Museum of Sound. “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby” has been revived by several theater troupes and was published in its entirety in Criminal Defense Weekly. Sokol was a writer, performer and co-producer of Insightful Riot, an evening of bad taste standup comedy at the New York Comedy Club. Sokol's play "Everybody ODs" was revived by The Collective in New Bedford, Mass., in March 2017.


Music for film and theater

Tony Sokol wrote the music for his short films ''Don't Forget, Hire the Vet'' and ''970-SPIT'' in 1988. It led to his writing music for such films as Jenice Malecki's ''Hide Me'' and ''Man, Woman, Gun;'' John Tranchina's ''Just Beyond the Door;'' David Burgos' ''The Quest'' and ''The Gauntlet'', and other independent films. He also wrote music for New Moon's production of ''No Exit,'' White Rabbit Theatre's production of ''Bubby's Shadow'' and other theatrical performances. He recently contributed music to Elena Beloff's documentary on Russian immigrant women in America, '' Zaritsas: Russian Women in New York'' and the bank robbery film ''Desperate Fate''.


Other writing

Sokol's poetry and short stories have been published in ''Oghamstone'', ''The Urban Magazine of Arts'', ''Nut Magnet'' and other magazines. Sokol wrote for ''Wicked Mystic'', ''Delirium'' and ''Nighttimer'' magazines. He was an abstract writer at PR Newswire for over twenty years. Sokol is the culture editor at ''Den of Geek'', where he reviews films and TV, and conducts celebrity interviews with such artists as
Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
,
Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is a British actor, producer, and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Alex DeLarge in ''A Clockwork Orange.'' He was born in the Horsforth suburb of Leeds and raised in ...
, and others, as well as writing on the music, true crime and the occult. He is television editor at ''Entertainment Voice'' magazine. Sokol was senior writer and editor at ''Daily Offbeat'' and senior writer at ''KpopStarz''. Sokol wrote articles, film reviews and interviews with such artists as
Hudson Leick Heidi Hudson Leick (born May 9, 1969) is an American actress, known for her role as villainess Callisto in the television series '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. She is also a certified Yoga instructor and intui ...
and
Zeena Schreck Zeena Galatea Schreck (née LaVey), known professionally by her Mononymous person, mononymous artist name ZEENA, is a Berlin-based American visual and musical artist, author and the spiritual leader of the Sethian Liberation Movement (SLM), which ...
for Chiseler. He was contributing editor at Coed.com, and was a regular contributor to ''
Alt Variety ''Alt Variety'' was a New York City-based monthly publication dealing with alternative and subversive themes that launched online in February 2012 and closed in July 2013. Its founder was Luke H. Walker, who ran the magazine under the pseudonym Lee ...
'', ''Inside the Reel'', ''The Silver Tongue'', ''Bedlam'' and other magazines. Sokol was co-head writer, along with
Jim Knipfel Jim Knipfel (pronounced Kah-nipfel; born June 2, 1965) is an American novelist, autobiographer, and journalist. A native of Wisconsin, Knipfel, who suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, is the author of three memoirs, ''Slackjaw'', ''Quitting the N ...
of the New York weekly magazine ''Smashpipe''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sokol, Tony 1963 births Living people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American rock bass guitarists American rock guitarists American rock singers American short story writers American film score composers American television composers