PRESS
REPRESENTATIVE: JONATHAN SLAFF, 212-924-0496,
JS@JSNYC.COM
THEATER
FOR THE NEW CITY'S DREAM UP FESTIVAL PRESENTS "THE VOIRE DIRE PROJECT
1.5" WHERE AND
WHEN: To see a poster with the four paintings displayed, visit the Dream Up Festival's photo album, https://photos.app.goo.gl/3lfCK2x77YlYMVwk2. "Afterlife" is set in a dystopian future, where the melody of the soul ascends as humanity seeks to transcend the brutality of the world around it. Two strangers find comfort in the wilderness, waiting for the next step. Written by Coni Ciongoli Koepfinger and directed by Joan Kane, it is a reincarnation of the original play, "Sky Blue." This piece was inspired by the painting "The Invasion" by Cindii Cericola, on display at the Dream Up Festival. In "Dostoyevsky," written by Maxine Kern and directed by Liz Amadio, two sisters join together to seek revelation, discussing the loves of their past and Russian literature. This piece delicately explores issues of homelessness and remembrance, and was inspired by the painting "Winter Home" by Avron Soyer. "In Alabama," a
character named Juliette Morgan fights the Jim Crow-era bigotry of Montgomery,
Alabama, against a backdrop of her mother's waning empathy. This play
contrasts the typical attitudes of the time with a young woman's fight
for justice and the inevitable dark consequences which follow. Inspired
by "Puberty" by Avron Soyer, this piece, written by J. Lois
Diamond and directed by Glenora Blackshire, also scrutinizes the tension
of a mother-daughter relationship fraught with differences. In the Spring of 2016, Cosmic Orchid produced the inaugural cycle of its signature production, "The Voire Dire Project." It was an integrative project where four theatrical teams each developed a one-act play inspired by a separate work of visual art (all paintings). This production, "The Voire Dire Project 1.5," is a reincarnation of those plays, revised and developed, casting actors in different roles and integrating the creative teams of each play. In addition to the performances, the Dream Up Festival will include a full curation of the artists' work in the gallery outside of the theater where the plays are performed. Cosmic Orchid is a New York theater company focused on the practice of Integrative Theater -- theater inspired by, and integrated with, art and contemporary culture. Stage Manager is Victor Vauban Junior. The eighth annual Dream Up Festival (www.dreamupfestival.org) is being presented by Theater for the New City from August 27 to September 17. An ultimate new work festival, it is dedicated to the joy of discovering new authors and edgy, innovative performances. Audiences savor the excitement, awe, passion, challenge and intrigue of new plays from around the country and around the world. The festival does not seek out traditional scripts that are presented in a traditional way. It selects works that push new ideas to the forefront, challenge audience expectations and make us question our understanding of how art illuminates the world around us. A unique and varied selection of productions will again be offered that draw upon a variety of performance specialties including singing, clowning, poetry, street music, magic and movement. The Festival's founders, Crystal Field and Michael Scott-Price, feel this is especially needed in our present time of declining donations to the arts, grants not being awarded due to market conditions, and arts funding cuts on almost every level across the country and abroad. # # #
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