Director: Anthony Marinelli

Carlo and Claudia are a married couple in the midst of a heated argument regarding a suspicion of infidelity, but they had previously made an agreement that neither one of them could leave their bedroom until any conflict has been resolved, acknowledging a plot device in the 1941 Alfred Hitchcock film, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith.’ Claudia is determined to honor this rule despite Carlo’s insisting that the idea was merely stated in jest. As Carlo proceeds to insult Claudia’s supposed lack of cinematic knowledge, it soon becomes apparent that the language of film is something they are both well versed in. What is not readily apparent is whether their conflict is real, or the product of art. Secrets, lies and the roles couples play. For better or worse. This is ‘Marital Arts.’

Originating on stage as part of Chelsea Repertory’s E-merging Artists Play Festival, written by Angelo Berkowitz and directed by Anthony Marinelli, Walt Whitman Never Paid For It tells the story of a semi-employed, would-be poet (played by Berkowitz) and the contentious relationship with his hoodlum brother (Joseph Cassese) as they grapple over a Ukrainian prostitute (Amanda Greer) in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.