Lizzie discovers her inner kink at Paddles

Hurt So Good castmember Lizzie Czerner, as well as several other members of the HSG crew, went with our Leather Liaison Luna to a NYC BDSM club called Paddles to do a little "character research." Lizzie was kind enough to tell us all about it...

Hi! ‘Servant’ here… Ok, so I’m in the cast of Hurt So Good, a comedy about S&M. What could be more fun than that? I mean I get to parade around in a French maid’s outfit with a bunch of other actors who are scantily dressed. It’s good times, people! I confess though, I really didn’t know anything about S&M before joining the cast besides the fact that it involves leather and whips. By that description though, Cat Woman was the only person I had ever seen who was in the scene. (By the way, I have always considered her something of a fashion icon …hmmm…)

When the Director announced that we were going to take a field trip to an S&M club called Paddles as a form of research, I was intrigued. If nothing else, it was an opportunity to wear my fishnets someplace besides rehearsal. (Well, hey…you have to ‘don the traditional garb’, right?) However, having visited the Paddles website, I was a bit nervous. Was there going to be blood? Were people going to be crying out in torturous pain?? Some of the other cast members and I decided to meet for drinks beforehand for some liquid courage, and to talk about how we felt about the prospect of possibly being initiated into a deviant sub-culture. We all felt excited for the new experience but nervous that we might be approached by someone for a game of nipple twisting. Or maybe we were just worried that we would discover we were secretly kinky and then we’d have to come out to our friends and partners. That could be…umm…awkward.

When we got there (“there” being the same block where I go for coffee after acting class…Who knew?) I noticed a few things right away. First of all, Paddles is a ‘dungeon club’ so you go downstairs and they really do a good job of making it look like one - with grey walls, black ceilings, various medieval looking chairs and benches, wall mounts for tying people up, and even a small cage. Although I understand the joint is usually jumping, the night we went it was mostly empty (we were told this was due to the High Holidays, which tells you something about the clientele right there). Once inside, I came upon a counter full of paddles and floggers of various sizes and shapes. But as I looked around and got more acclimated, I realized that it was not really much different from any other NYC club –Oh, except that there was no bar. That’s right. These people were sober….Sober!! There was good music playing…Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Jefferson Airplane. And the people were friendly! I got into some conversations with interesting people – a teacher, a receptionist – people just like me. (I’m actually starting to think that being into S&M is about as deviant as a henna tattoo). I learned that most people there had taken classes on safety so that great care is taken to ensure that all the rope tying and paddle swatting is done with concern for the person’s well-being.

I started to feel brave and asked if I could get a personal demonstration of one of the paddles. ("When in… Sodom?") So I asked Delia, the receptionist, if she’d give me a little swat on the tush. Her swats grew in intensity, but I was given complete control over the situation and was constantly asked how I felt and if I wanted to stop. In other words, I felt safe. Was it hot? Hells yeah! And so was Delia!!

By the end of the evening, my cast-members and I all felt that we had experienced something fun and new, and it didn’t automatically make us ‘kinky’ just ‘cause we liked certain aspects of the evening…Ok, maybe a liiiitle kinky. ;)

HURT SO GOOD interview on United Stages website!

Hurt So Good producers Melanie Kuchinski Rodriguez and Johnny Blaze Leavitt were interviewed by Jon Reuning of UNITED STAGES - an excerpt has been included below. To access the original article (pictures included!), click here.

Ouch. Johnny Blaze Leavitt's comedy Hurt So Good is back by popular demand. This time around both playwright and producer take their cuffs off to reveal how laughter and discipline can make an audience beg for more.

Melanie Kuchinski Rodriguez, producer of the first and now second run of Hurt So Good, what possessed Point of You Productions to bring the show back?

Melanie: The audience inspired us. We received such great feedback and enthusiasm from everyone who saw the show—from those in the scene and those who never heard of BDSM. In fact, during the last week of the first run, we had several people lament that the show was not running longer as they wanted to bring their friends to see it. The audience was really encouraging and thorough in their feedback. Hurt So Good is an original play and the last run was the first time it was presented to the public. We received a lot of feedback and as such, we have tweaked the script accordingly.

And you're reopening in the middle of Times Square.

Melanie: We are thrilled to be producing the show in Times Square. The subject matter is something you'd think would be more appropriate for an East Village venue, but our production is accessible to all walks of life. The story of love and communication transcends any sexual preference. Hey, maybe we'll get a couple of tourists to attend, dispel their preconceived notions and they'll pass that feeling of tolerance on when they return home.

Johnny Blaze Leavitt, what inspired you to write this play—Wait: first, can you tell me what BDSM stands for?

Johnny: BDSM stands for Bondage/Discipline, Dominance/submission, Sadomasochism. It's an umbrella term that covers a lot of ground, an evolution from the more simple/popular S&M. As to what inspired me, a lot of things. The current state of sexual education over the past decade or so seems to be slipping back to "Don't ask. You'll just magically know when you get married." And the entertainment industry seems to be fighting back with movies like Kinsey to Broadway shows like Spring Awakening. So I just took it a step further.

Sex is everywhere (without it, none of us would be here) but all the sexual comedies we're seeing all seem to be the same. Until you see something like The Secretary or 9 1/2 Weeks. With all of the S&M shops and clubs and bars in this city (which people usually pass by, afraid that someone will see them looking in the direction of those tinted windows…) I figured there had to be more to the story than what we see in sitcoms or Law & Order episodes. And is there ever!

Hmm. Okay, Johnny, now this is interesting: why this play, why you, why now?

Johnny: Why this play? I think it's an honest look at the subculture, touching on a number of relationships, styles and fetishes in the BDSM community. Why me? I've done the research, held the interviews, heard the stories and gotten the perspectives. My writing has been described as having bittersweet warmth and I think that's what this sort of topic needs: there's a lot to care about, to laugh at, and a lot of emotional intimacies involved. I just try to offer it all from several perspectives. Why now? BDSM is becoming more mainstream, more so than the general populace realize. But it's still not talked about any more now than it was in the days of Bettie Page and Irving Klaw. In an age of disinformation and suppression, it's important that there be people out there providing the answers to questions people are afraid to ask (or don't know who to ask).

Melanie, what is a nice person like you doing producing this sort of fringe subject matter? Do you invite relatives to your plays?

Melanie: Ha! I know! When Johnny first mentioned his idea for this play, I admit I was very skeptical. A play about S&M? Really? How can we do that and not be sensational and gratuitous? Do we even want to go there? But then Johnny showed me the script and all my fears were dispelled. It is an honest love story about communication and understanding—it just so happens to have a BDSM backdrop. When you strip that away, it's still a solid story of a boy and a girl trying to make their relationship work and making good decisions and bad decisions along the way. And you bet I invite my entire family!

Really, if you have to break it down to one or two elements, what's so funny about BDSM?

Johnny: Let's be honest: sex is funny. And so is anyone who takes anything too seriously. But most importantly, people love to laugh when they are nervous or uncomfortable. And our lead characters are certainly uncomfortable on their journey. Some are afraid of what they'll find out there, others afraid of what they'll find out about themselves. If the key question to this piece is "What are you willing to do for love?" then some are afraid that they'll find they can't go as far as they need to. We're not making fun of the subculture so much as we're making fun of people's fear of new information. The key to any healthy relationship is communication.

Melanie: There is a lot of humor in the whole fish-out-of-water story. BDSM just so happens to be a fish pond filled with really colorful costumes, props and even some larger than life characters.

Did people come to your last incarnation in leather?

Johnny: This is New York. The majority wore leather: coats, shoes, belts, etc. But in the spirit of what you're asking, we do offer discount admission to those belonging to certain organizations in the subculture and they dressed for the occasion. And why not? Have you seen the audiences at Rocky Horror? Great fun! I dare everyone to wear fishnets and leather when they come to see Hurt So Good.

Melanie: Here, here! Dressing up adds to the whole atmosphere of fun to our show.

What's the best thing an audience member said to you after seeing it last season?

Johnny: I think the most popular thing I heard afterwards was "When are you doing this again? I want to bring some friends!" The happiest "pay off" as a writer was when someone talked to me about the final fates of one of my characters (I'm trying to be vague so as not to spoil anything). One of my characters doesn't make it through the play and their fate was a little Hollywood ending-esque. But someone thanked me because that exact scenario happened to someone he knew and he was pleased to see it represented with heart and dignity.

Melanie: I think one of the best comments I heard was, "This wasn't scary at all!" Seriously though, I did get a great comment about how our show is a "must see" for anyone curious about the scene.

...In the producing and writing of this play, did either of you have an "aha!" moment when you understood something about love that you hadn't before...?

Johnny: I didn't have a discovery more so much as a confirmation that everyone is kinky on some level. Be it just playing with a blindfold, playful spankings or using silk scarves on a four post bed with your lover once or twice, or whether you're a card-carrying member to four or five S&M groups, everyone likes to have a little fun with sex. And why not? Correct me if I'm wrong but it is supposed to be fun.

Melanie: Yup, there's a kink in all of us! My "aha!" moment was discovering that this "alternative lifestyle" is not just about sex—it's about real people experiencing real emotions. Love comes in all shapes and sizes.

Thanks so very much, Melanie Kuchinski Rodriguez and Johnny Blaze Leavitt. We'll see you at the show!

Melanie: We look forward to seeing you there…fetish attire optional, but encouraged!