THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY'S FIRST DREAM UP FESTIVAL

 
"Around The Night Park," written by Maria Micheles, directed by Richard Vetere.
Monday, August 23 at 7:00 PM; Tuesday, August 24 at 7:00 PM; Monday, August 30 at 7:00PM; Tuesday, August 31 at 9:00PM; Thursday, September 2 at 7:00 PM; Cino Theater.
Running time: 2 hours. $15. (world premiere)
 
Two outcasts, a teacher and an ex-convict dabbling with philosophy, get together and begin a romance based on their own set of values. Enter the institutions of psychoanalysis, their families, the penal colony…and one of them will have to remain outside of the system for a longer time.
 
Maria Micheles' work has appeared at Theater for the New City, Actors Studio, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Network Theatre, Gene Frankel Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Source, New School Drama School, Bowery Poetry Club, Gotham Arts and Galapagos, among other venues. She has read excerpts of her work at Cornelia Street Café. Reviewer Martin Denton of nytheatre.com wrote, "…Maria Micheles is certainly a talent to keep an eye on. 'The Audience' is the funniest and most successfully subversive work of the evening…high praise!" She has produced more than twenty one acts and full length plays and has also written articles on theatre and art for various publications. Micheles holds an MFA in playwriting, studying with Romulus Linney, Jim Ryan and Jack Gelber at the New School Actors Studio Drama School and with Eduardo Machado at Columbia University. She is also one of the creators of Brooklyn Playwrights Collective, where she conceived along with Les Hunter and Will Cordeiro the Alphabet Playwrights Series, producing the Artaud, Brecht, Chekhov and Dante festivals. She has worked in education, academic administration to support her numerous theatre and other artistic endeavors, including photography and sketching. Currently she is working on a novel and numerous other plays, her favorite one, "Photoplay: Photographic Thoughts and Remembering Diane Arbus."
 
Richard Vetere wrote the novel The Third Miracle (Simon & Schuster) and co wrote the screenplay adaptation starring Ed Harris, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, directed by Agnieszka Holland released by Sony Pictures and recently screened at MOMA. His Off-Broadway plays include "Gangster Apparel" (HERE); "Machiavelli" (ArcLight); "One Shot, One Kill" (Primary Stages), "Caravaggio" (Silk Road in Chicago) and "Painting X's" on the Moon (Naked Angels). His other movies include "The Marriage Fool" for CBS starring Walter Matthau and Carol Burnet; "How to Go Out on a Date in Queens" starring Jason Alexander and Vigilante. His new novel is "Baroque" and he is nominated for WGA East Council. His plays are published by Dramatic Publishing and Smith & Kraus. He has won numerous awards and grants including being a guest of the Chicago Humanities Festival and has written screenplays for producers in Hollywood, Paris, London and Rome. "Caravaggio" is now running in Italian in Naples, Rome, Milan. His new play, "Last Day," will be read at 45 Bleecker on Sept. 13th. He has a Masters in Comparative English Lit from Columbia University and was born and still lives in NYC.
 
"Auto Graphic Novel, "written and directed by Johnny Klein.
Sunday, August 29 at 7:00 PM (Cino Theater); Monday, August 30 at 7:00 PM; Tuesday, August 31 at 7:00 PM; Wednesday, Sept 1 at 9:00 PM; Saturday, Sept 4 at 2:00 PM (Community Theater)
Running time: 90 minutes. $12. (world premiere)
 
This is an autobiographical collage of the major events in Johnny Klein's life that led him to become a writer, or it's a William S. Burroughs Pop-Up Book for Kids. It combines the interior world of narrative prose with a visceral theater of images that mimics the dream-like experience of personal memoir. Performed by Johnny Klein.
 
Johnny Klein is a writer-director and performer of new work for theatre and film. His plays have been produced or commissioned by Theater for the New City, The Flea, Dixon Place, and The Bowery Poetry Club in New York City; by Sacred Fools and The Black Box Theatre in Los Angeles; and by Printer's Devil, Freehold, and On The Boards in Seattle. For several years he created numerous performance works with John Paulsen as one of "The Johns." He has performed in new plays at LaMaMa's Annex Theatre, The Ohio Theater, and The Classic Stage Company in New York, at The Exit Theatre in San Francisco, the Splinter Group in Chicago and with Padua Playwrights in Los Angeles. In 2001, Roger Corman optioned his neo-noir screenplay "Mother of Pearl" and his short film "Turtle Rock" premiered at the Echo Park Film Center in Los Angeles. His most recent film, "The Moon Says I Love You," screened at Barbes in Brooklyn and is currently on the film festival circuit. Johnny is the Richard Hugo House "Power of Place" Writing Award winner for 1998 for his prose poem, "The Pinata," published in The Seattle Times.
 
"Bitch," written by Sean Pomposello, directed by Matt M. Morrow.
Wednesday, Sept 1 at 7:00 PM (Cino Theater ); Thursday, Sept 2 at 7:00 PM; Friday, Sept 3 at 7:00 PM; Saturday, Sept 4 at 5:00 PM; Sunday, Sept 5 at 2:00 PM (Johnson Theater).
Running time: 70 minutes. $12. (world premiere)
 
"Bitch" is a provocative crime drama that centers on brothers who are entrusted with a champion pro circuit pit bull by a friend who is going away to prison. With dollar signs in their eyes, the brothers enlist the help of a sketchy distant uncle to train and fight the dog. Nothing goes quite as they planned.
 
Sean Pomposello is a screenwriter, playwright, longtime Madison Avenue ad guy, and former HBO Creative Director. Naked Angels, The Impact Theater and The Producers' Club Theater in New York City have staged his plays and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship and Monterey County Film Commission have recognized his screenplays. Most recently, his play, "House Red," was selected by Theatre for the New City for their New City, New Blood reading series.
 
Matt M. Morrow's work has been seen at Lincoln Center, Amas Musical Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, Primary Stages, Urban Stages, Ensemble Studio Theatre, HERE, Dixon Place, MTC, The York, The Tank, NYC Int’l Fringe, Midtown Int’l Festival, among others. Credits include: "Only Children" (Lincoln Center), "The Falsetto Trilogy" (1st NYC revival), "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told" (1st NYC revival), "john and jen" (1st NYC revival), "Spin: a New Musical" (recently published by Sam French), "The Who’s Tommy" in Baltimore, the first NYC revival of Lisa Kron’s "2.5 Minute Ride" (New York Sun: “An exhilarating ride!”), and Jennifer Haley’s "Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom" (City Paper: “breathtaking”). Upcoming: the world premiere production of his musical "GREAT WHITE" with Bricolage in Pittsburgh Fall 2010; a world premiere of "An Apology for the Life of Leni Riefenstahl" by Stanton Wood, a new play he conceived and commissioned, developed at Urban Stages and "TEETH," a new musical based on Mitchell Lichtenstein’s award-winning film. Morrow is a member of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, SSDC and holds a BFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University.
 
"Bright Images, "written by Ken Gaertner, directed by Mark Bloom, set and lighting design by Mark Bloom.
Sunday, September 5 at 7:00 PM, Johnson Theater.
Running time: 40 minutes. $15. (world premiere)
 
"Bright Images" is a piercing rendition of a woman going mad and her unexpected salvation. A brother tries to save his sister Alicia's sight and sanity in rural America. It's hopeless until a blind woman comes on the scene and what is envisioned in her cloudy landscape softens the searing images that torment Alicia. An unusual and compelling play.
   
Ken Gaertner (playwright) is a member of The Dramatists Guild. His New York City productions include "The Moon On Snow" at the Theatre Of The Open Eye, "White Stones" at The Vital Theatre, "The Gallantry Of Laundry" at the Brooklyn One Theatre, "Seventeen Hoofbeats" at the Actors Institute, "A Flowery Relationship" at The Samuel French One Act Festival 2004 and "Dominica's Smile" at The Mystic Theatre. "Breath Of The Spirit," seven dramatic poems performed by an actor and actress with original music for organ and flute, composed by Greg Hamilton, premiered in New York City, followed by productions in Paris, Lisbon, Prague, Budapest and Madrid. Gaertner is a past Professor of Drama at Ave Maria University in Florida.
 
Director Mark Bloom is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. He has directed Off Broadway, Off Off, and Regional. Bloom is thrilled to be working with Ken Gaertner again, having directed several of his plays with Mystic Theatre. This summer Bloom participated in the Directors Lab at Lincoln Center Theatre where he presented a seminar on Joseph Campbell s and Jean Erdman's work with Theatre of the Open Eye. Recently Bloom directed the premiere of Pedro Rivera's "Firehouse" at the Puerto Rican Travelling Theatre. Among his New York directing credits are "The Trials Of Martin Guerre;" "Embers" with Salome Jens; "Tortoise Shout"; "Yeats: Plays Of Passion" at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Ken Gaertner's "Dominica's Smile." Bloom teaches theatre at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey.
 
"Chutes & Latters and Other Dangerous Games," written by Christopher Massimine.
Saturday, August 28 at 2:00 PM; Sunday, August 29 at 5:00 PM; Saturday, Sept 4 at 2:00 PM; Sunday, Sept 5 at 5:00 PM (Johnson Theater), Tuesday, August 31 at 7:00 PM (Cino Theater).
Running time: 120 minutes. $15. (world premiere)
 
A provocative, sexually charged drama furnished in dark comedy, "Chutes & Latters and Other Dangerous Games" is a struggle of the psyche and very much something dreamed up in a fast-falling house of cards. The resentful failed marriage between a sexually ambiguous retired psychology professor and his guileful philanthropic infidel wife results in games of deadly psychological warfare enticing a curious unscrupulous neighbor and entangling an innocent relative and her young daughter.
 
Playwright Christopher Massimine is an emerging playwright/composer and an established Producer. At his 2007 New York University graduation, Massimine was the receipient of the Creative Writing Department Award in addition to having bestowed the honor of Deputy Class Marshall for his leadership in the student government and involvement with multiple student-run arts organizations. While in college, his writing was showcased in several professional readings. But, he is just now begining to seriously focus on his career as a playwright. His edgy NYC musical, "Lovers," will be presented in Theatre Row this summer as a featured show in the 2010 Midtown International Theatre Festival. Massimine has worked for Roundabout Theatre Company, Charlotte Wilcox Company, Niko Companies, Richards/Climan, The Dramatists Guild of America, The Margaret Cho Show, Personal Space Theatrics, Entertainers' Theatre, The Brook Arts Center, and currently serves as the co-owner of Massimine/Roytman/Presentations, a Commercial Producing entity. In addition to theatre, he has worked in entertainment promotions spearheading the development campaigns of Major Label Artists, worldclass events and nationally televised award shows. Massimine has been blessed to have guidance from such individuals as Jordan Roth, Joel Derfner, Judy Jacksina and Ruben Brache. He holds memberships in the Hudson Union Society, The Dramatists Guild of America, and Theatre Resources Unlimited (TRU) as a producer.
 
"Dollface," conceived and written by B.J. Sebring, lyrics by David Forman, music by David Forman & Rob Hyman with additional material by Bette Midler, Rick Chertoff, Eric Bazilian, Lou Bellofatto.
Sunday, August 15 at 2:00 PM; Wednesday, August 18 at 7:00 PM; Friday, August 20 at 7:00 PM; Saturday, August 21 at 5:00 PM; Sunday, August 22 at 2:00 PM; Johnson Theater.
Running time: 1:45. $15. (world premiere)
 
In 1956, a naïve, unfunny aspiring television comedienne finds her ingenuity when she outsmarts a double-crossing gang of thieves. A musical comedy that includes authentic Rock and Roll, Samba, Mambo, Pop Ballads, Rhythm & Blues, Patter – the music of the 1950’s.
 
David Forman, lyricist and co-composer of "Dollface," is a seasoned songwriter with many recordings to his credit. He began making records in the 1970s, and soon began writing for the theater, collaborating with playwright H.M. Koutoukas on "The Butterfly Encounter" (for TNC) in 1979. He directed, produced and musical-directed many plays and musicals. His love of the music of the 1950s led to the creation of his rhythm and blues alter-ego, Little Isidore, who has become a prominent artist in the world of classic rock and roll. "Largo," an album released in 1998, is currently in development as a musical. Among the artists who have recorded Mr. Forman's work are Cyndi Lauper, Levon Helm, Maryann Faithfull, Aaron Neville, Eddie Kendricks, Jack Nitzsche and many others. Born and raised in New York City, Mr. Forman currently resides in the Hudson Valley.
 
Rob Hyman, co-composer of "Dollface," is a founding member of the Hooters, the platinum-selling band whose many top ten songs include "All You Zombies," "500 Miles," "And We Danced" and many others. Mr. Hyman is co-writer, with Cyndi Lauper of the classic "Time After Time," a song recorded by numerous artists, including Frank Sinatra.
 
Messrs. Hyman and Forman have collaborated on many songs, among which are "Freedom Ride," "Gimme a Stone" and "Disorient Express," all currently being performed by The Who's Roger Daltrey.
 
B.J. Sebring, creator and bookwriter of "Dollface," is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She received a Masters Degree in Theater from the University at Albany. In addition to playwriting, she has written, produced and directed for theater and film. Her comedy "The Truth About Rock and Roll" can be viewed on YouTube. A lifelong ballet dancer, Ms. Sebring is currently manager of Kaatsbaan, the international dance center located in Tivoli, New York. She is married to composer/lyricist David Forman. They live in New York's Hudson Valley.
 
"The Dudleys!" by Leegrid Stevens, directed by Matt Torney.  
Sunday, August 22 at 7:00 PM; Thursday, August 26 at 7:00 PM; Friday, August 27 at 7:00 PM; Sunday, August 29 2:00 PM; Monday, August 30 at 7:00 PM, Johnson Theater.
Running time: 100 minutes. $15. (world premiere)
 
"The Dudleys!" takes the adolescent memories of a young man and translates them into a malfunctioning 8-bit video game, the kind he used to play. A life size video game onstage provides the setting in which actors must score and overcome obstacles as they navigate their way through and overcome the dangers of "The Dudleys!" The production features a live band of all original music composed on vintage video game equipment (think Atari, Gameboy and Commodore 64). This evocative new play pits the two dimensional world of happy endings up against the confusion and aimlessness of real life. "The Dudleys!" comes to the Dream Up Festival after a workshop in 2009 in a downtown Manhattan bank vault. The workshop was lauded for the use of original music created by playwright Stevens and video design created by Dan Monceaux, Angela Hill, David Bengali, Jordan Rein, Josh Lampman, David Mauro, Camillo Munar, and Jake Witlen. The play features performances by Erin Treadway, Dianna Ruppe, Craig Bridger among others, with choreography by Melinda Rebman and scenic design by Kara Zaigon.
 
Plays by Leegrid Stevens have been seen in the downtown New York theatre scene at venues such as HERE Arts Center, Lark Theatre, Ontological-Hysteric Theatre, Altered Stages and Spring Theatreworks’ Dumbo space, in addition he has been produced at several other theatres across the US and Europe. His plays have been published by Playscripts, Brooklyn Publishers, Smith & Kraus, Stage Tribes and by Martin Denton in his Plays and Playwrights Anthology. Stevens was named as one of the “People of the Year” by nytheatre.com citing him as being, "indisputably one of the smartest and most innovative young playwright/directors working in New York's Indie theatre scene.” He  holds an MFA from Columbia University’s School of the Arts.
 
Director Matt Torney is a writer and director based in New York City. Originally from Belfast in Northern Ireland, he has been an associate director of Rough Magic Theatre Company, one of Ireland’s leading independent theatre companies, since August 2009. Prior to that, he worked for a year as the resident assistant director at the Abbey Theatre. Torney holds an MFA in theatre directing from Columbia University and studied under both Anne Bogart (artistic director SITI company) and Brian Kulick (artistic director Classic Stage Company). Some of his past works include "Black Milk" by Vassily Sigarev at the Belfast International Theatre Festival, "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot" by Stephen Adly Guirgis at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin (nominated for 2 Irish Theatre Awards including ‘Best Director’), "Woyzeck" at the Dublin Fringe Festival (nominated for a Fringe Award) and Paper Tigers, a new play by Ben Schiffer at the Edinburgh Festival. His New York credits include: "The Angel of History" at the HERE Arts Center, "Sistahs" by Harrison Rivers at Collective:Unconscious and "The Frankenstein Project" at Columbia University. Most recently he assisted Jimmy Fay on the American premiere of Sam Shepherd’s Ages of the Moon" at the Atlantic Theater Company.
 
"The Dybbuk," written and directed by Julia Pascal, choreographed and designed by Thomas Kampe.
Tuesday, August 10 at 7:00 PM; Thursday, August 12 at 7:00 PM; Saturday, August 14 at 2:00 PM; Monday, August 16 at 7:00 PM; Tuesday, August 17 at 7:00 PM; Thursday, August 19 at 7:00 PM; Saturday, August 21 at 2:00 PM; Monday, August 23 at 7:00 PM; Tuesday, August 24 at 7:00 PM; Wednesday, August 25 at 7:00 PM, Johnson Theater.
More info: http://www.pascal-theatre.com . Running time: 90 minutes. $15. (American premiere)
 
A British woman goes to Germany today and finds it full of wandering souls or dybbuks. She imagines a ghetto in 1942 where five Jews are assembled for deportation. One of them remembers the story of The Dybbuk . She makes the others re-enact fragments of this famous legend. This work poses the question about why we keep on telling our stories even on the eve of destruction. The play premiered at London's New End Theatre in 1992. It toured in the UK and in continental Europe over a decade. This is its American premiere.
 
Julia Pascal (writer, director) was the first woman to direct at London's National Theatre with her dramatization of Dorothy Parker's writing "Men Seldom Make Passes." Her plays, "Theresa a Dead Woman on Holiday" and "The Dybbuk," have been produced in London and continental Europe and published as "The Holocaust Trilogy." Other London productions include "The Yiddish Queen Lear" and "Woman on the Moon." The first explored a New York Yiddish Theatre Company in the 1930s and 40s; the second focused on Wernher von Braun's SS past and how his research in the Mittelbau-Dora slave camp was linked to the 1969 US Moon Landing. Pascal's "Crossing Derusalem," set in Israel during the last Intifada; was commissioned and produced by the Tricycle Theatre, London and in translation at the Staatsteater Karrlsruhe as well as enjoying a staged reading in Paris at the Theatre du Rond Point. It won the Moondance Prize. For BBC Television she wrote "Charlotte & Jane," which won Royal Television and BAFTA Awards and for BBC Radio, and "The Road to Paradise," which was nominated for the Sony Prize. She was Writer in Residence at the University of York and at the Wiener Library, Europe's largest Holocaust archive. Her other awards include the prestigious (NESTA) National Endowment for the Arts and Science Dreamtime Fellowship. At Lincoln Center this June, scenes from her "St. Joan" were developed as part of the Directors' Lab. Pascal has just finished "Woman on the Bridge," a new play set in London and New York. Her plays are published by Oberon Books, Faber and Samuel French Inc. She teaches Writing part time at New York University and St Lawrence University in London.
 
"Gloves for Guns" by David Lawson, directed by Michael Padden.
Sunday, August 8 at 5:00 PM; Sunday, August 15 at 7:00 PM; Johnson Theater.
Running time: 75 minutes. $15. (world premiere)
 
After shooting up their high school and killing themselves in the process, two teenagers find themselves in purgatory with nothing but a baseball, a baseball glove and a portal that randomly shows them scenes from the world they've left behind.
 
Playwright David Lawson has performed with Looking Glass Theatre Company (NYC), The Peterborough Players (NH), Zeitgeist Stage Company (Boston), TheatreVision (NYC), CLIMB Theatre (St. Paul, MN), Blue Ridge Dinner Theatre (VA) and Bread and Puppet Theater (VT) among others. His work has been produced at the Boston Playwrights' Theatre, The Brick Theater (NYC), Alive Theatre (CA), n.u.f.a.n. ensemble (Chicago), Love Creek Productions (NYC), Stratford Summer Theatre Festival (CT) and Boca Raton Theatre Guild (FL) among others. Lawson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Acting from Emerson College (MA) and studied at the O'Neill National Theater Institute (CT). He currently lives in New York City.
 
Director Michael Padden has directed "The Yellow Boat," "Mr. Raccoon and His Friends" and "Like a Metaphor" at Mary Linn Performing Arts Center (WHERE IS THAT?). Padden has also assisted David Cromer on numerous projects including: "When the Rain Stops Falling" (Lincoln Center Theatre), "Brighton Beach Memoirs" (Broadway), "The Farnsworth Invention" (Alley Theatre) and "Our Town" (Barrow Street Theatre). Other assisting credits include: "Romeo and Juliet" (Heart of America Shakespeare Festival) and "Ah, Wilderness!" (Theatre Northwest.)
 
"It Ain't No Sin" by Michael Patrick F. Smith, written by Michael Patrick Flanagan Smith, directed by Meghan Finn, designed & produced by Sarah Seely.
Sunday, August 8 at 2:00 PM; Tuesday, August 10 at 7:00 PM; Thursday, August 12 at 7:00 PM; Saturday, August 14 at 2:00 PM; Sunday, August 15 at 2:00 PM; Community Theater.
More info: http://www.flanagansmith.com . Running time: 70 minutes. $12. (world premiere)
 
Tires on gravel, brakes. Gasoline stink. A car door opens and shuts. Sweat, mosquito bites, crunch crunch, across the lot, an idling truck, neon, the door swings onto floorboards, spilled booze, spit, tobacco juice. Have a cold one. There’s a scratch on your neck. Hey, fuck you, friend. The joint is filling up. Eugene’s in town? Have another. You’re going to run into three people you haven’t seen in a while. Each of them has a thing to tell you.
 
Playwright Michael Patrick Flanagan Smith is an actor, director & writer living in Brooklyn. For many years he was Artistic Director of Living Room Company, a theater group based in Baltimore. With Living Room Company, Smith wrote & directed "Fuck You! Let's Bake!" the basis for Food Network's Ace of Cakes, as well as "Box" (NYC Fringe), "Trust the Government" (Dixon Place) and "Woody Guthrie dreams before dying" (Creative Alliance at the Patterson). Smith directed "Wilhelm Reich in Hell" with Son of Semele Ensemble in Los Angeles after collaborating on the script with Robert Anton Wilson, author of the "Illuminatus! Trilogy." Recently, Smith appeared in "How to Disappear Completely" and "So, Mr. Person, How Did You Do It?" with From the Desk of Sarah Seely and "I'll Meet You in Tijuana" at Soho Rep. He can also be found playing guitar around town, performing Americana based tunes under the shortened moniker of Flanagan Smith. As a songster, Smith has appeared on stage with Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Deer Tick & Wye Oak to name a few.
 
Director Meghan Finn is a Brooklyn-based director/performer. In New York, her directing work has been seen at Walkerspace, the Ontological-Hysteric Theater, Dixon Place, The 13th Street Repertory Theater, The Bushwick Starr, Collective:Unconscious, HERE Arts Center, IRT Space, Theater for the New City and the Prospect Theater Company. She worked under Sarah Benson as Assistant Director on the acclaimed production of Sarah Kane's Blasted at Soho Rep, and assisted Ms. Benson on the New York Premiere of Polly Stenham's That Face at Manhattan Theater Club. Finn recently directed a workshop of Futurity, a musical by indie rock band The Lisps featuring Michael Cerveris, written by Molly Rice and Cesar Alvarez for Motherlodge (NYC/Louisville, KY). Other recent directing credits include: E.E. Cummings' HIM, Misha Shulman's The Fake History of George the Last, Valerie Work’s A Week at the NJ Shore, three new plays adapted from Felipe Alfau’s Locos: A Comedy of Gestures (by Scott Adkins, Normandy Sherwood, Richard Toth). Finn regularly performs with Judith Smith’s Mile of String, and has appeared with the company at The Chocolate Factory, Dixon Place, the Ontological-Hysteric Theater and Brooklyn Arts Exchange. Finn was the Associate Producer of WaxFactory’s X-YU Festival at Dixon Place a Co-producer of Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle adapted by Stephen Earnhart and Greg Pierce. She was the producer of the 2009 Soho Rep Gala at the Park, co-hosted by Edward Norton. Finn has a BA in Theater from The University of Southern California and attended NTI. MFA Directing, Brooklyn College, member 2009 Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, 2009/10 Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab.
 
Producer Sarah Seely is a performer, teacher and founder of From the desk of Sarah Seely, a New York-based dance, theater hybrid performance company. Prior to that she was the co-founding director for the Baltimore-based dance company movement/addiction. Seely's work has been presented by venues throughout the United States including The Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts (AZ), Dance Place (DC) The Pearl Street Theater (MA), Smith College (MA), Artscape (MD), Baltimore Museum of Art (MD), Creative Alliance at the Patterson (MD), Hippodrome Theater (MD), University of Maine, Orono (ME), Dixon Place (NY), Here Arts Center (NY), Merce Cunningham Studio (NY), The Ontologic-Hysteric Theater (NY) and Joyce Soho (NY.)
 
"Keep Your Baggage With You (At All Times)," written by Jonathan Ballard Blitstein, directed by Daniel Talbott.
Sunday, August 8 at 2:00 PM; Monday, August 9 at 7:00 PM; Wednesday, August 11 at 7:00 PM; Friday, August 13 at 7:00 PM; Saturday, August 14 at 5:00 PM; Johnson Theater.
More info: http://www.artistsempirepictures.com . Running time: 100 minutes. $15. (world premiere)
 
"Keep Your Baggage" is a provocative new play that asks the question "In New York, do we change and grow through our relationships or do we merely become magnified versions of ourselves, whether despicable or wonderful?" Told in seven scenes taking place over seven years each one advancing forward in time beyond the next, we are shown the devolution of both a platonic friendship between two male best friends and several of their intimate relationships. Loaded with explosive dialogue, the show fearlessly depicts the new 21st century sex-laws and how relationships can be compromised by the digital age in which we ask too many questions, but don't have enough answers. "Keep Your Baggage" will likely be the controversial show of the 2010 Dream Up Festival. Leading the cast is Daniel Abeles is recent star in Ethan Coen's play, "Offices," at Atlantic Theater Company. Others to be named.
 
Playwright Jonathan Blitstein is a Chicagoan. He began performing with the Apple Tree Theater as a teen. He wrote/directed the 2008 theatrically-released indie film "Let Them Chirp Awhile" starring Brendan Sexton, Justin Rice and Laura Breckenridge (Finalist Richard Vague Award, Winner, East Lansing Film Festival.) He holds a BFA from Tisch School of the Arts. He studied at The Second City, The Piven Theater, LAByrinth, Primary Stages and has worked with Rattlestick Theater, Jean Cocteau Rep, Defiant Theater, Hypocrites, Taxi Theater Company, Sauce and Co. and The Process Group. His newest play "The Fixers" was optioned by Vicart Entertainment in Tribeca to be made into a feature film which he will direct.
 
Director Daniel Talbott was a co-literary manager at Rattlestick Theater with Denis Butkus and Julie Kline. He has most recently worked as an actor on "Marat/Sade" (The Classical Theatre of Harlem), "Progress," (Ian Morgan and Immigrants' Theatre Project), "Passion Play" workshop (The Goodman Theatre), "The Beginning of the And" (Audax Theater Group), "The Revenger's Tragedy" (Red Bull Theater), "Manic Flight Reaction" (New York Stage and Film), "3F, 4F" (The Magic Theatre - Dean Goodman Choice Award), "Learning Curve" (Besch Solinger Productions), "Eurydice" (Berkeley Rep - Dean Goodman Choice Award), "Erin Go Bra-Less" (The O'Neill Playwrights Conference), "Venice in Vegas" (HB Playwrights), "Now That's What I Call a Storm" (Edge Theater Company) and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (The American Repertory Theatre.) His most recent film and television work includes "Buffalo Girls," "Missionary Position" and "Law and Order." His work as a director and playwright has been seen at Singularity, Synapse Productions, Six Figures, Expanded Arts, EST, Rattlestick, Soho Rep, New York International Fringe Festival, and the Royal Court. He is the recipient of a Drama-Logue Award for acting and was named one of 15 People of the Year 2006 by nytheatre.com. He is a graduate of Juilliard and of Solano College Theatre's ATP and is the founding Artistic Director of Rising Phoenix Rep.
 
"My Artichoke Heart" by Naïma Kristel Phillips and "What The Sparrow Said" by Danny Mitarotondo (double bill)  
Wednesday, Sept 1 at 7:00 PM; Thursday, Sept 2 at 7:00 PM; Friday, Sept 3 at 7:00 PM; Saturday, Sept 4 at 5:00 PM; Sunday, Sept 5 at 1:00 PM. Community Theater.
Running time: 40 minutes. $15. (world premieres of both plays)
 
"My Artichoke Heart" had a workshop performance at Columbia University under the guidance of Anne Bogart. The play is the journey of a matriarchal elder, Karina, through her memories, fears, hopes and internal struggle that flash before her eyes moments before her death. It is an investigation into the ingredients that make up a person's life and determine the legacy they will leave behind. Struggling with her isolation, and a fading sense of memory, Karina calls upon the help of transitional spirits to fill the gaps of missing family members and unresolved memories. These transitional spirits take on the forms of Karina's family members and friends to aid her in ensuring that her loved ones will be taken care of once she is gone. They ease her passage to death by peeling off the layers of her life until she is left with only heart. This play is the product of an international ensemble made up of a Canadian playwright, an American director, and an international ensemble including actors from Chile, France, the Philippines, Taiwan, and across the United States. Cast: Rafael Benoit, Sarah Eismann, Eddie Jackson, Wei-Yi Lin, Natalia Miranda-Guzmán, Jensen Olaya, Marine Sialelli & Blaze Mancillas.
 
Playwright Naïma Kristel Phillips is an M.F.A. playwriting student at Columbia University. Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, she studied ballet with Helena Voronova, sang with the F.A.C.E. Treble Choir under Iwan Edwards and trained at the Centre international des arts de la scène. She then studied for two years at the Pantheatre ACTS Voice Performance School (Paris, France). Phillips performed in several productions including "Black Knickers" (Myth and Theatre Festival), "subUrbia" (Persephone Productions) and "My Fair Lady" (Champlain College). Her play "Night Spell" was given a main-stage production at Nextfest (Edmonton, Alberta). She has been commissioned to write a play for the Black Theatre Workshop (Montreal, Quebec). Phillips is a recipient of the 2010 Gloria Mitchell-Aleong Award and the 2009-2010 Shubert Presidential Fellowship.
 
Director Simón Adinia Hanukai is a director, performer and educator. He has been teaching theater in middle and high schools as well as community colleges and universities since 2000. He has recently relocated to New York City from Oakland, California, where he was a founding member of headRush Crew and the Co-Artistic Director of the Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company. Working with both companies for six years, he was instrumental in creating original full-length dance theater pieces, which toured nationally and were seen by over 25,000 people per year. He has also written, performed and directed productions with Rainbow Theater & JUICE, Santa Cruz, California-based performance collectives, and co-founded the Naked Souls Artists Alliance, an artist collaborative that in its five years brought together over 250 Bay Area visual, performance and literary artists to share their work with the community. Hanukai has a Masters degree in Education from the University of San Francisco's Center for Teaching Excellence and Social Justice and is currently attending the MFA program in Theater Directing at Columbia University.
 
Dramaturg Jessica Kaplow Applebaum has worked as Production Dramaturg for "One Year Lease" since 2001. Particular projects she is proud of are Eugene Ionesco's "The Bald Soprano" (Teatro Circulo, NYC 2008); Ariel Dorfman's "Resistance Trilogy: Death and the Maiden" (Athens, Greece 2007), "Widows" (Monodendri, Greece 2007) and "Reader" (NYC Fringe 2007); "Phaedra x3," which included Ted Hughes "Phedre," Mathew Maguire's "Phaedra" and Sarah Kane's "Phaedra's Love" (Cherry Lane, NYC 2005) and "Oresteia" an adaptation of "Aeschylus' trilogy" (Athens, Greece/Milan, Italy/Theater for the New City, NYC 2001). Other credits include artistic advisor for the Debate Society's "A Thought About Raya," performed at CSV (New York) and dramaturg for Bradford Louryk's "Klytemnestra's Unmentionables," performed at HERE (New York). While earning her Masters in Performance Studies at NYU (2004) Kaplow Applebaum served as editorial assistant to TDR: The Drama Review. A contributing scholar for Columbia University Press' Encyclopedia of Modern Drama, Kaplow Applebaum has also written articles for the upcoming book "Performance Studies: The Key Concepts" published by Routledge. Wanting to further her skills and understanding of her craft, she is now completing her MFA in Dramaturgy at Columbia University.
 
"What The Sparrow Said," a rollercoaster 25-minute play by Danny Mitarotondo and directed by Shannon Fillion, catapults us into an unforgettable conversation between brothers Blaze (Matt Hurley) and Dan (Blaze Mancillas) at an LA outdoor café the afternoon of their mother's funeral. Toeing the line between high farce and tragedy while pushing the boundaries of dramatic language, Sparrow asks us how far we are willing to go to feel and the prices we pay to connect to one another in our modern, ever more isolating, society.
 
Danny Mitarotando (playwright) is a playwright, director and the Artistic Director/Co-Founder of The Common Tongue (http://www.tctnyc.org ), an international production company of 22 performers based in New York. Mitarotando's plays "We Carry On," "Sea," and "American Breakfast" premiered at the Manhattan Repertory Theater, TheaterLab, the American Theater of Actors, the Kraine, and the Gene Frankel Theater, all of which he acted in as well. As a director, he has worked with John Shea, Angelica Torn, members of The Actors Studio, LAByrinth and was nominated as Best Director 2009 at the Strawberry One-Acts Festival for his play "Sea." For the past three years Mitarotando has collaborated with playwright Edward Albee as director on a revival of Albee's "All Over." Incarnations of this process have appeared at the Geraldine Page Salon for the Arts, TheaterLab, and most recently the Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater starring Marian Seldes and Kathleen Butler. Mitarotando holds a BA from NYU's Gallatin School, has trained and developed work at the Royal Shakespeare Company, is a graduate of the Atlantic Theater Company's Professional Conservatory, is the youngest Assistant Teacher of Catherine Fitzmaurice's Voice Work ® world-wide, is an MFA Playwriting Candidate at Columbia University and is the recent recipient of an Edward F. Albee Writing Fellowship.
 
Director Shannon Fillion is a New York based director/producer whose work includes "Homeward Bound and Maggie Misplaced" (Green Light Productions), "Time Et. Al." (Fringe NYC), "The High Cost of Living" (Prospect Theater's Dark Nights Series), "Better This Way" (Fringe NYC), Yehuda Duenyas's "One Million Forgotten Moments," "The Turtle Tattoo" (MITF), "Monkey Study" (6B Garden) and "Hamlet" (Austin Arts Center). Fillion studied with director Brigid Panet at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, with Tina Packer at Shakespeare & Company, and is a graduate of both Trinity College and the Trinity/LaMama program. She is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and has worked on staff at New York Theatre Workshop since 2006. She is currently studying for her MFA in Theatre Direction with Anne Bogart and Brian Kulick at Columbia University.
 
This play has two dramaturgs, Ellen Joffred and Jay Jaski. Ellen Joffred received her B.A. in French and Theater from Dickinson College, spent her junior year studying abroad in Toulouse, France, and is currently a second year MFA Dramaturgy student at Columbia. She is thrilled to continue collaborating with the wonderful Sparrow team. Jay Jaski is a member of the Literary Managers & Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) and specializes in the development of new works for the American Musical Theatre. He has worked with the Richard Rodgers Award, Tony Award-winning director and lyricist, Richard Maltby, Jr., and the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. More than 60,000 Chicagoans attended Jay’s recent Sondheim, Bernstein, and Gershwin concerts in Millennium Park, where Jay directed such Tony-winning and -nominated actors as Judy Kaye, Brian d'Arcy James, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Marin Mazzie. Producing work includes Broadway’s "Children and Art," "Sondheim in the Park" (Chicago) and "Take Flight," the new Maltby/Shire/Weidman musical that debuted at the Menier Chocolate Factory and recently played the McCarter Theatre. Jay has worked with producers Gerald Schoenfeld, James Freydberg, Ira Pittelman, Joey Parnes, and Trinity Repertory. As an actor, Jay made his Broadway debut in 2005 and works regularly in the development of new musicals, including Broadway's "9 to 5," Yeston's "Deathh Takes a Holiday," and "Ever After" by Goldrich & Heisler. Off-Broadway: Roundabout, Public Theater, Georgia Shakespeare Festival. Additionally, Jay has had the pleasure of working with Stephen Sondheim, Joe Mantello, Doug Hughes, Theresa Rebeck, Tom Meehan, Gary Griffin, and Graciela Daniele. Jaski holds a degree in Music Performance from Florida State University and is an MFA Candidate at Columbia University (MFA in Dramaturgy and Script Development).
 
Lighting Designer David Bengali designs lighting, video projections, and sets, for theater, dance, and opera. He is a resident designer for the Stolen Chair Theatre Company and has designed for Royal Family ("Safe Home," "Nobody Suspects a Butterfly"), Opera New Jersey, Intravenous Theater, Ignited States ("To Barcelona"), Propel-Her Dance, Jamal Jackson Dance Company, The Process Group, Puleio Dance, Re:Directions Theater Company, Studio 6 of Moscow Art Theater, and others, as well as internationally for Battery Dance Company. He is an MFA lighting design student at NYU-Tisch.
 
"The New York Monologues," written by Mike Poblete, directed by Ruth McGowan
Wednesday, August 18 at 9:00 PM; Thursday, August 19 at 9:00 PM; Friday, August 20 at 9:00 PM; Saturday, August 21 at 7:00 PM; Sunday, August 22 at 5:00 PM, Johnson Theater.
More info: http://www.nymonologues.wordpress.com . Running time: 70 minutes. $15. (American premiere; premiered in Ireland in 2009)
 
A series of fast paced rants from a Tour Guide, Police Officer, Mortician, Soccer Coach, Deli Owner and more, "The New York Monologues" is a humorous, poignant and unapologetic reflection of how a nation's most talked about tragedy, the events of 9/11, affected the world's most neurotic, cynical and irreverent city.
 
Playwright Mike Poblete was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He lived several years in Dublin, Ireland where he became acquainted with The Attic Studio. He received his first series of professional readings which eventually lead to three productions. He recently moved back to New York and has joined the management of Backyart, a multi-disciplinary arts collaborative based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Poblete has penned "Stoker" (Organic Productions, 2009) and "Antenora" (The Attic Studio, 2008).
 
Director Ruth McGowan is a graduate of The Samuel Beckett Centre at Trinity College, Dublin. Her passion for new writing brought her to NYC where she has been working as a literary intern for Atlantic Theater Company and an associate producer for "Estrogenius" at Manhattan Theater Source. Recent directorial credits include "Run Wilde," which she also penned (SPD Dublin, 2008), "Stoker" (Organic Productions, 2009) and the European premiere of Douglas Hill's "Roulette" (The International, 2009).
 
General manager Small Pond Entertainment, production assistance by Backyart Productions.
 
"One Arm and A Leg," conceived/written by Calla Videt and Jesse Barron, directed by Calla Videt, choreographed by Ricky Kuperman.
Wednesday, August 25 at 7:00 PM; Thursday, August 26 at 6:00 PM; Friday, August 27 at 9:00 PM; Saturday, August 28 at 2:00 PM; Sunday, August 29 at 5:00 PM, Cino Theater.
Running time: 80 minutes. $12. (world premiere)
 
Inspired by Yasunari Kawabata's "One Arm," "One Arm and A Leg" is an devised work which combines dance and theater and begins with a set of encounters in which a woman decides to give parts of herself--her arm, her phone number, her leg, her identity--to a stranger, a man. This incites a search for things given, received, and lost. The project deals with themes of cultural translation, personal agency, sexuality, and self-sacrifice through text, movement, and image.
 
Writer and director Calla Videt recently finished working with London based company Complicite on their West End production of Samuel Beckett's "Endgame." She is a member of New Perspective's 2010-2011 Women's Work Lab, Nylon Fusion Writers Collective and 2010 Lincoln Center Director's Lab. Last June, she graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude in a special concentration combining physics and theater. During her time at Harvard, she directed, performed in, and worked on over 15 productions. Her final directorial project and senior thesis, "The Space Between," premiered on the mainstage of the American Repertory Theater in April of 2009 and told the story of the making of the atomic bomb through the lens of the Orpheus myth. Calla has also directed productions of "Dinner," "The Three Lives of Lucie Cabrol," "Blasted" (asst. director) and "Mnemonic." She is the recipient of Harvard's Louis Sudler Prize for the Arts and an Artist Development Fellowship.
 
Choreographer Ricky Kuperman received his formal training in a variety of dance styles at Vlad's Dance Company in Toronto, Canada. His study of jazz, tap, ballet, modern, acrobatics, and hip-hop influences his eclectic dance style and shapes his innovative choreography. Kuperman has performed and competed across the United States and Canada, winning titles at the national level. He has toured with the Harvard Contemporary Dance Ensemble, with whom he performed at the Merce Cunningham Studios in New York City and at the American College Dance Festival. Recently, he worked with renowned Toronto-based contemporary jazz company, Helix Dance Project (dir. Linda Garneau). Some of Kuperman's TV and film credits include Gemini award-winning director Moze Mossanen's "Nureyev," "So You Think You Can Dance Canada" (Season 1, top 40), YTV's movie musical "King of the Camp" and MTV's upcoming "Turn the Beat Around." Recent choreography includes his piece "to dust." presented on the Loeb Mainstage and as part of Harvard's Ivy Dance Exchange concert, also to be presented at the American College Dance Festival. Kuperman is currently working on his first dance film with producer Moze Mossanen.
 
"One Drop" by Andrea Fulton, directed by Ward Nixon.
Sunday, Sept 5 at 5:00 PM and at 7:00 PM, Community Theater.
Running time: 100 minutes. $15. (world premiere)
 
Charley Cade appears to belong to one race yet chooses to identify with another. Cast off in Louisiana in the late 1800's by the affluent part of his family, he is raised by those with which he becomes most comfortable. And there is no turning back, or is there? Power, control, love, faith and fear all collide as unwittingly, Charley's choice calls into question not only his values and loyalties but also those of most everyone he encounters. Based on a true story.
 
Playwright/Composer/Lyracist Andrea J. Fulton, born and raised in Chicago, is the youngest of a family who, all but her, hail from the New Orleans area. Her influence of small-town, slow-paced ways, juxtaposed by big city life, resulted in her having multiple sensitivities and a love of self-expression. She found beauty and gratitude in many things and delved into art at an early age. She was recognized early on as being creative and enjoyed communicating via written and spoken words, music, drawing, painting and all manner of crafts. At eight, she became fascinated with lyrics and was inspired to begin writing her own songs. She also wrote poetry and began reciting hers and also that of legendary poets. She won many speech and literary contests and was successful to the point where her audiences often could not distinguish her poetry from that of famous poets.
 
Her goal has always been to communicate in classic ways. Many of her songs were written more than 30 years ago yet no one would know. Her love of great songs and her desire to create them was inspired by soul, soft rock, folk, blues and jazz greats. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and has held positions in New York City government in Human Resources, Health and Hospital Administration. Write her at OneRightAnswer@aol.com with any comments or questions.
 
Director Ward Nixon has been, for over twenty years as an actor, director, acting teacher, acting coach and commercial print model. This spring and summer, he will direct the plays, "Love Hurts," Gertrude Jeannette's, "Gladys' Dilemma" and the children's musical, "Tony And His Dog." Some of the plays he has directed include the musical, "Willy Wonka, Jr," "HollerLula!," "Honra Nan," "Happy Ending," "Precious," "Curacao," Neil Simon's, "Last of the Red Hot Lovers," "Lady of Fadima," "Papiamentu," "Laundry and Bourbon," "Lone Star," "Sisters," "It's a Sin To Tell a Lie," "North of Providence" and readings for the drama, "Mrs. Streeter." Nixon currently teaches acting and directs at The Sledge Project Studio, From Stage To Screen, and at his acting studio, TCA Acting Studios in New York City where he resides. He is a proud member of AEA, AFTRA and SAG. tcaactingstudios@gmail.com
 
"Princes of Darkness," written by Bill Connington; directed, choreographed and designed by Rachel Klein, composed and sound designed by Sean Gill.
Sunday, August 8 at 7:00 PM; Wednesday, August 11 at 9:00 PM; Thursday, August 12 at 9:00 PM; Friday, August 13 at 9:00 PM; Saturday, August 14 at 7:00 PM; Community Theater.
More info: http://www.princesofdarkness.com. Running time: 60 minutes. $12. (world premiere)
 
Darkness can be fun - come to the dark side! "Princes of Darkness" is a blending of the Hamlet, Oedipus, and Dracula stories. Your host for the journey is none other than Lucifer. Satan's question is, "If God is so great, why is the world such a mess?" He proposes an unusual and extreme remedy for the problem. The mood of the evening? A shadowy dungeon full of sultry glamor, and a hint of whiskey in the air. The sounds? Tons of Phillip-Glass-sounding stuff, with hints of spaghetti western melodrama a-la-Ennio-Morricone. The movement/dance? The well-known mixture of Klein irony, energy, and a variety of dance genres. This world-premiere is brought to you by the guy who presented "Zombie," the award-winning Off-Broadway play, adapted from the novella by Joyce Carol Oates ( http://www.zombietheplay.com ) and the gal who brought you "La Enferma" (http://www.rachelkleinproductions.com , http://www.myspace.com/rachelkleinnyc ). In "Zombie," Connington played a mild-mannered serial killer. In "Princes of Darkness", he presents Lucifer, a creature of oily charm and devilish plans. Klein builds on her body of darkly humorous work, and has a few new tricks up her sleeve.
 
Bill Connington, the only performer, is the adapter and star of the Off-Broadway extended-run, critically-lauded show "Zombie." "Zombie" was adapted from the novella by Joyce Carol Oates and directed by Thomas Caruso. Connington was named the Best Lead Actor (Offoffoff Fringe), and Outstanding Male Actor (Talkin' Broadway). "Zombie" was awarded Outstanding Solo Show by FringeNYC. Critic Patrick Lee named Connington's performance as one of the most outstanding of the year. Anita Gates wrote in the New York Times, "Shocking...a chilling one-man study of perversity...Mr. Connington commits totally to this haunting characterization and leaves us wondering exactly what kind of people are walking the streets alongside us." "Zombie" also played the New York International Fringe Festival and the Gerald W. Lynch Theater in New York. A short film version has been shot in Boston and is currently being edited. (http://www.zombietheplay.com .) Connington has performed in three evenings of Joyce Carol Oates plays at the New York Society Library, "Just Like That" on Theater Row, "Mr. Gallico" at HERE, "Spectacle of Spectacles" and "All Mixed Up Inside My Head" at LaMaMa E.T.C., and in his own play "Dating Rituals of the American Male" at the Royal Theater in NYC. He has also performed in regional theater, television and independent film. Connington is an award-winning playwright, and wrote the book for the musical "The Eternal Anniversary" (Summer Shorts 3, 59 East 59 Theater), and has written "God and the Supermodel," "The Perfect Lady," "Walker" and "The Relationship Thing." His plays "Lord Byron's Lover," "Teach Me All About Love, Johnny Mathis" and his adaptation of "The Picture of Dorian Gray" have been performed in New York. He is a graduate of The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
 
Rachel Klein is director and choreographer. Recent directing credits are "The Tragedy of Maria Macabre" (an on-going work in progress developed by an Emerging Artists Residency Grant from the Field); "Lizardman! A new musical"-- book by Michael L. Cooper, music by David Mallamud; "Hound" by John Patrick Bray; "All Kinds of Shifty Villains" by Robert Attenweiler; "Sir Sheever" by Benjamin Spiro; "Sean Gill's Our Prison," "Go-Go Killers!," "Stage Blood is Never Enough" and "Aenigma," as well as several devised movement pieces including "Metro," "Rock N' Roll Medusa" and "La Enferma." Klein's choreography has been featured at Night of 1000 Stevies, La MaMa, Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO, 45 Bleecker, Banzai!, Bowery Poetry Club, the Bushwick Site Fest and Open Studios Festival, the Hiro Ballroom, the Bushwick Starr, the Duplex, the Downtown Clown Review and Don Hill's. Klein holds a BA in theater directing from Columbia College Chicago, and is an associate member of the SDC. She recently assistant directed John Gould Rubin on his production of "In the Daylight," Off-Broadway. http://www.rachelkleinproductions.com (For video see http://www.myspace.com/rachelkleinnyc )
 
"RealPolitik" by Elyse Cogan and Ivy Livingston
Sunday, August 8 at 5:00 PM (Community Theater); Sunday, August 15 at 5:00 PM (Johnson Theater).
Running time: 60 minutes. $15. (world premiere)
 
“Out, damn spot! Out, I say.” Is that Elizabeth Edwards washing her dirty laundry or Lady Macbeth? "Realpolitik" will make you wonder. It’s a new morning for America as a US presidential hopeful floats his candidacy on YouTube. He makes his announcement in front of a debris-strewn property in New Orleans Ninth Ward, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina a year before. But the cameras are missing the real breaking news. Away from the campaign trail, in a diner on the edge of town, the candidate’s wife lies in wait, ready to ambush the candidate’s mistress. The unraveling of this presidential campaign starts before it begins with a distinctly feminine battle for power that has no morals, just practical means of securing interests. Power politics at it best, "Realpolitik" conjures Shakespearean overtones with singular parallels to "Macbeth." This political satire shoots an arrow directly from 11th century Scotland to land with a bulls-eye into the heart of modern American political life.
 
From ages five to thirteen Ivy Livingston studied ballet and jazz, traveling the East Coast and abroad with the Hanover, PA's Children's Ballet Theater and Company. She attended Shippensburg University of PA, earning a bachelor's degree in communications/journalism and a minor in theatre. Her local modeling and acting career helped support her through college. Since moving to New York, she has performed in several off-Broadway productions including, "The Laramie Project," "Our Country's Good" and most recently with NYC's Voice Theatre, she performed in a staged reading of "Birds on a Wire," a play-in-progress at The Rattlestick. She's also shot several independent and student films, regional commercials, and web videos. Livingston works weekly as a fit (size) model for various clothing lines. She currently attends Michael Howard Studios where she studies acting with Alexandra Neil and maintains her dancing roots, studying with Frank Pietri.
 
Elyse Cogan is a first time playwright, but she has always been involved in theatre as an actress, stage manager, and in her long-running role, as a star struck fan. She has also appeared in independent films and industrials. Born in the Bronx, she lives in the East Village and works as a consultant in Arts Education and as a web-designer. She is currently studying at the Michael Howard Studios with Alexandra Neil. This play would not have become a reality without Ms. Neil’s encouragement and support.
 
"Second Empire," written, directed and choreographed by the ensemble of TL;DR Collective  
(The name contains an acronym that stands for "too long; didn't read." It's an Internet term to refer to long blog postings.) with sound design by Alistair Schneider.
Sunday, August 8 at 7:00 PM; Wednesday, August 11 at 9:00 PM; Thursday, August 12 at 9:00 PM; Friday, August 13 at 9:00 PM; Saturday, August 14 at 7:00 PM in the Johnson Theater.
Running time: 60 minutes. $12. (world premiere)
 
"Second Empire" is a dance/theatre work that presents a fictionalized and interpreted history of the Broadway Grand Hotel and its sudden collapse in 1973. The work will be a series of narrative and movement vignettes with recurring characters that deal with the impermanence of structures and respond to the space that is changing around them.
 
Performers: Nicholas Bruder is currently the Assistant Director of Patricia Noworol Dance. He has also worked with David Gordon for "Trying Times," which performed at REDCAT in Los Angeles and Dance Theater Workshop in New York City. Bruder has performed in works by Stephan Koplowitz, Mira Kingsley, Rosanna Gamson, and Lorraine Chapman, as well as collaborations with artists Terrence Koh and Tracey Langfitt. He was a participant in the pilot program Feldstärke International, which is a multi-cultural interdisciplinary exchange of artists held at the cultural institutions 104 Paris, in Paris, France, PACT Zollverein in Essen, Germany and CalArts throughout 2009. He has been generously supported by California Institute of the Arts in the creation of multiple works that have been presented at The Sharon Disney Lund Dance Theater at CalArts and REDCAT including his first commissioned work. Bruder received his BFA from CalArts in May of 2009 as a Lovelace Full Scholarship Student. He has also been a past scholarship student of the American Dance Festival and Garth Fagan Dance. He is on the Advisory Board for Pentacle's Movement Media.
 
Louiza Collins is a member of the Flea's resident theater company, the Bats and an associated artist of the Fullstop Collective. Collins has recently appeared in "The Great Recession," "Foreplays" and "Hangman School for Girls." She graduated from California Institute of the Arts with a BFA in Acting in May 2009.
 
Loren Fenton is an actor/performer interested in collaborations that expand the range of her performance skills. She has crafted roles in traditionally staged plays, narrative and non-narrative experiments, and dance/theatre works. In 2006, Fenton first collaborated with Alistair Schneider on his dance/film, "Exhibits." Subsequently, the pair created dance/theater work, "Yuri and Winnie." Since arriving in NYC in 2007, Fenton co-created and performed in works including: "Floating Brothel" (2007), "The Less We Talk" (2009) and "Elegy for a Vacant Lot." Other notable performances include: Richard Foreman's "What to Wear" (2006) and "Twelfth Night" (2008) on Governors Island. In November 2009, Loren rejoined her "Floating Brothel" collaborators to premiere their work in Shanghai. "Floating Brothel" will return to Asia for additional performances in January 2011. Fenton holds a BA in Psychology from Harvard (1999) and an MFA in Acting from CalArts (2007.)
 
Alistair Schneider is a film and video artist whose work currently focuses on translating experimental dance and theater to film. As the son of two professional dancers and former actor in his own right, Schneider has retained his lifelong interests in the expressive capability of the body and narrative storytelling. He began a formal study of dance/theater while pursuing an MFA in Film/Video, where he introduced heightened physicality and narratives centering on human relationships into his film work. With his dance/film, "Exhibits" (2006), Schneider used actor-created movement sequences to convey the emotional narrative of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. For his next dance/film, Schneider stepped back into the familiar performer's role to collaboratively generate movement. These efforts resulted in the creation of a dance/theater work that he later translated into a dance/film of the same name, "Yuri and Winnie" (2007). Additional recent film works include: an original dance/film "Two" (2002), a film version of dance/theater work "Circle Course" (2005), and a rehearsal and performance documentary of Richard Foreman's "What to Wear" (2006). Schneider's films have screened in Boston, Los Angeles, and at the New York Video Festival at Lincoln Center. Alistair received his BFA in Film/Video from Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2002 and his MFA in Film/Video from California Institute of the Arts in 2007.
 
"Seymour or The Last Fallen Angel," written by Ashley Christopher Leach, directed by J. Andrew McNeal.
Wednesday, August 25 at 9:00 PM; Thursday, August 26 at 9:00 PM; Saturday, August 28 at 7:00 PM; Saturday, September 4 2PM; Sunday, Sept 5 at 5:00 PM, Cino Theater.
More info: http://www.lambsgroveproductions.com . Running time: 60 minutes. $12. (world premiere)
 
"Seymour or The Last Fallen Angel" is a dynamic character study in which a young man desperately tries to rationalize his feelings of doubt and guilt brought on by the unbending nature of religion. With the imagination of a child and the reading of a scholar, Seymour plays multiple characters as he acts out the fallacies and paradoxes of the world's three major religions, especially Christianity, with his only friend, a battered sofa name Melba. Cast: Ashley Christopher Leach as Seymour, Melba as Herself.
 
Playwright and performer Ashley Christopher Leach, originally from the Piedmont of North Carolina, now lives in Norfolk, Virginia. Leach holds a BA in American and Black Studies from the College of William & Mary, as well as an MA in Performance from Queen Mary University of London, and his work has debuted in both New York and London. His performance piece, "An American Gospel," was selected for the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival, and his short story, "Arthur's Secret Show," was a finalist for the 2009 Faulkner-Wisdom Creative Writing Short Story Competition. In January 2010 his short film, "Sandhill Boys," premiered at the Slamdance International Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Besides writing professionally, Leach has been a secondary school English teacher for six years. He is a founding member of Lambs Grove Productions.
 
Director Andrew McNeal has moved around a lot. By the time he was 18 years old, he had been through ten schools, lived in six different states and resided in eight separate homes. Having a father in the Marine Corps meant seeing the United States from the back of a station wagon, and learning early the values of family and sacrifice. The gypsy life, however, suited him and in 2002 he earned his BFA in Professional Acting, including a two-year Meisner Technique Training, from East Carolina University. He immediately began working with the prestigious Virginia Stage Company for their 2002-2003 Season and by the following summer had moved to NYC where he began his work as a founding member of Lambs Grove Productions. Additionally, McNeal has continued his training with the SITI Company, learning both Suzuki and Viewpoints Techniques, and with Maggie Flanigan of Maggie Flanigan Studios. He produced and co-starred in Lambs Grove Productions' short film "Sandhill Boys," which premiered at the 2010 Slamdance International Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Having produced new works for both stage and film with Lambs Grove Productions, he continues his acting work both regionally and in New York. "Seymour or The Last Fallen Angel" is his directorial debut.
 
"Shakespeare the Dead," written by Alex Mills, directed by Tom Costello.
Saturday, August 28 at 5:00 PM (Johnson Theater); Wednesday, Sept 1 at 9:00 PM (Cino Theater); Thursday, Sept 2 at 9:00 PM; Friday, Sept 3 at 9:00 PM; Saturday, Sept 4 at 7:00 PM (Johnson Theater).
More info: http://www.pipelinetheatre.org . Running time: 70 minutes. $12. (world premiere)
 
A film production of "Macbeth" promises to evade its history of superstitious curses, only to be hijacked by a mysterious executive who descends the project into nightmarish madness.
 
Author Alex Mills is a recent graduate of NYU Tisch, studying with the Atlantic Theatre Co. He dreams of ushering a renaissance of integrity to the horror genre. He is a Pipeline Theatre Company member. Recent credits include Mrs. Forrest in "Psycho Beach Party," Jimmy in "Look Back in Anger" and his co-created YouTube comedy web-series, "Dracula & the Pre-Med Student."
 
Director Tom Costello is thrilled to be working with Pipeline again after directing last summer's "Sleepless City." He has also directed productions with The Atlantic Theater Company Acting School and the EBE Ensemble and is Associate Artistic Director of Babel Theatre Project. He received his BFA in Drama from NYU in '06.
 
Pipeline Theatre Company is a group of emerging theater artists who believe in producing plays truthfully and wholeheartedly. Having just reached our first birthday as an ensemble, Pipeline has produced three full-length productions in New York, Timberlake Wertenbaker's "Love of the Nightingale," a member-penned new work, "Sleepless City" and most recently, Charles Busch's "Psycho Beach Party," plus a few evenings of original new works and two award-winning short films. Producer Meagan Kensil is the New Works Liaison for Pipeline Theatre Company. In the past she produced two charity benefts in Santa Clarita, CA to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina and to end the genocide in Darfur. She was recently seen in Pipeline's "Psycho Beach Party" and Andy Yanni's "The Inbetween People." She received a BFA in Drama from NYU in '09 where she studied at the Atlantic Acting School.
 
"The Sky is Melting," written by Elizabeth Woodbury, directed by Amy Brewczynski, original Music by Ben McFadden.
Wednesday, August 25 at 9:00 PM; Thursday, August 26 at 9:00 PM; Friday, August 27 at 9:00 PM; Saturday, August 28 at 7:00 PM; Sunday, August 29 at 7:00 PM, Johnson Theater.
More info: http://www.lizwoodbury.wordpress.com . Running time: 60 minutes. $12. (world premiere)
 
"The Sky is Melting" combines forms of art and performance to show the universal struggle of one girl with the alluring and powerful world of drugs and addiction. It is one woman show performed by Liz Woodbury, who recently graduated from Oberlin College with a B.A. in Theater. During her time at Oberlin, Liz worked extensively both behind the scenes and on stage in both student directed and department sponsored pieces. Woodbury created and facilitated an after school theater program for sophomore students at Southview High School in Lorain OH as well as developed other theater based education programs for high school and college students. Upon graduation, Woodbury moved to NYC to work with the educational outreach theater group, The Irondale Theater Ensemble based in Brooklyn, as their intern for the '09-'10 season. Through Irondale, Woodbury has been teaching at Bushwick Leaders High School as a teaching artist. It is also with Irondale that Woodbury made her New York acting debut in their premiere of "alice, Alice, ALICE" in January.
 
Director Amy Brewczynski graduated from the University of Connecticut and ran straight to Los Angeles. She was soon a member of SAG and AEA working in film, theatre and television for sive years. As her desire to direct took over she started producing a series of showcases at The Secret Rose theatre in Noho. Over the next few years Brewczynski and her husband developed their production company Trailer Productions. This team effort has allowed Brewczynski to write and direct her own film and theatre productions. Last summer Brewczynski had the privilege of directing Neil Simon's "I Ought to be in Pictures" at the historic Ritz Theatre in Brunswick, GA.
 
"Summer Rain," written and directed by Robert Coe.
Monday, August 9 at 7:00 PM; Wednesday, August 11 at 7:00 PM; Friday, August 13 at 7:00 PM; Saturday, August 14 at 5:00 PM; Sunday, August 15 at 7:00 PM; Community Theater.
Running time: 75 minutes. $15. (world premiere)
 
Pochee Beach, San Clemente, California: Summer of '65. Two young surfers wait for a third, unsure about what might have happened to him in the course of a mysterious crime. Two young women arrive on a quest for a ride to the greatest rock show of all time. "Summer Rain" is a dark fable about spiritual ambition, violence, homophobia, sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, unfolding on a single night on a lonely patch of sand.
 
Writer-Director Robert Coe has had two productions open the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He also wrote the first new play ever produced at the La Jolla Playhouse in California. He has had new plays commissioned by Mabou Mines, BAM and Music Theater Group. His book for the American production of the Tim Rice-ABBA musical "Chess" toured the country, as did one of his BAM productions. This play represents his return to the theater after many years away, and his first directorial effort after working with a number of leading directors on his own work, including JoAnne Akalaitis, Martha Clarke, Des McAnuff, and Jim Simpson.
 
"Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors: A Subway Musical and Romance," written and directed by Richard S. Rose
Monday, August 23 9PM; Tuesday, August 24 at 9:00 PM (Cino Theater); Saturday, August 28 at 8:30 PM; Sunday, August 29 at 8:30pm (Johnson Theater).
More info: http://www.myspace.com/subwaymusical . Running time: 80 minutes. $15. (world premiere)
 
"Stand Clear Of The Closing Doors: A Subway Musical and Romance" is the musical journey of a man and a woman, caught both in a subway car and in life. The characters travel musically from their past through their present to their questions and hopes for the future. Mr. Rose's score has elements of classic American Theatre, popular and rock motifs, filtered through his own style and combined to reflect the many moods of the characters' journeys. The piece premiered as a reading in the "Notes From A Page" reading series last year, to strong acclaim. It will be making its full staging premiere in the "Dream Up" Festival. Cast: Sarah Matteucci and Richard S. Rose.
 
Richard S. Rose (playwright) is the winner N.Y. Foundation for the Arts Playwrighting Fellowship; Acting: Stage: Hecht, Moonlight & Magnolias, Felix, The Odd Couple, Streetsinger, Threepenny Opera, Jacques Brel, Stoop on Orchard Street. Richard S.Rose has written and arranged music for, among others, Capitol and CBS records.
 
"A Taste of Altruistic; Wardrobe of the living dead and Choose your Grown Adventure," written by Maximilian Avery Clark and Jennifer Fedor, directed by Brock H Hill.  
Monday, August 30 at 9:00PM; Thursday, Sept 2 at 9:00PM; Friday, Sept 3 at 9:00PM; Saturday 4 at 7:00PM; Sunday, September 5 at 7:00PM; Cino Theater.
More info: http://www.altruistictheatre.com . Running time: 90 minutes. $12. (world premiere)
 
A small collection of one acts created as a taste of the type of theatre these artists produce. The pieces use allegory to entertain the audience while slyly discussing social issues the way fairy tales do for children.
 
Playwright Maximilian Avery Clark has lived his life under a dual credo of "Do right by your fellow man" and "Always observe proper oral hygiene." A 2008 graduate of Western Michigan University's Political Science and English departments, Avery Clark was the grand prize winner of its Creative Writing Awards in 2008. Since graduation, he has lived in New York working as a High School English teacher, a business consultant, instructional writer, political satirist, grant writer, stand up comedian and juggling instructor. He has enjoyed numerous productions of his one-act plays and his short fiction and commentary have appeared in publications on three continents.
 
Playwright Jennifer Fedor was born in New York, but spent most of her life in South Florida. She began writing at the age of eight, and has been pursuing this passion ever since. She attended New College of Florida, earning a degree in Humanities with a minor in 20th Century Literature. During her time at New College, Fedor's poetry and commentaries were showcased in several publications. For the past 6 years, Fedor has been teaching writing on the middle school level while continuing to pursue her own writing in her free time. Fedor became involved with the Altruistic Theatre Company through her collaboration with long-time friend Brock H. Hill, adapting novellas into scripts and composing original works that honor Hill's and her shared creative vision.
 
Brock H. Hill considers himself a minimalist director. He believes strongly that less is more in theatre. He attended Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville as a theatre performance major. Since then he's worked to make theatre happen whenever and wherever he can. As Artistic Director of the Altruistic theatre Company, he works with up and coming playwrights to develop allegorical works to entertain and inform.
 
"WABI SABI Not Wasabi!" by Ming Peiffer, directed by Kat Yen, lighting design by Oliver Wason, costume design by Kat Yen.
Saturday, August 28 at 8:30 PM; Sunday, August 29 at 2:00 PM (Cino Theater); Thursday, Sept 2 at 9:00 PM; Friday, Sept 3 at 9 PM; Saturday, Sept 4 at 7:00 PM (Community Theater)
More info: http://www.spookfishtheatre.weebly.com . Running time: 80 minutes. $12. (world premiere)
 
Feeling like outsiders since childhood, best friends Hailey Chen and Lillian Chin have been planning their escape from their hometown in whitewashed suburbia to pursue lives of fame and fortune in the giant melting pot of New York City. But their plans for "living the high life" quickly disintegrate when their dream loft in Soho turns out to be a one bedroom in Flushing and Lillian's native Chinese cousin unexpectedly tags along. As the girls attempt to fulfill their juvenile plans for success, their own differences become evident as they are forced to confront the dysphoria attached to their ethnic roots and explore their own prejudices concerning sexuality, self-identity, and issues of race and society as first generation Asian-Americans.
 
Playwright Ming Peiffer studied Theater, Chinese, and Japanese at Colgate University where she acted in numerous productions, wrote and directed plays, and performed in the school's female a capella group. She has training from both the Stella Adler School of Acting and the Shanghai Theatre Academy where she lived abroad studying Traditional Peking Opera. She writes poetry.
 
Director Kat Yen has a BA in theater from Colgate University. She has also had the opportunity to study theater at St. Andrews University for a semester and has worked on over twenty productions cumulatively during her university years. Since then she has had the pleasure of working with the Public Theater, the McCarter Theater, TeatroStageFest, LITFNY, Juneteenth Legacy Theatre, Ripe Time and Red Bull Theater.