Monday, March 15, 2010

Tucson: ETCETERA Presents FROZEN HEART at LTW

 

From: Christopher Johnson [mailto:rumspringaandcoke@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, March 15, 2010 4:14 PM
Subject: ETCETERA Presents FROZEN HEART at LTW (Corrected with dates)

 

Contact: Christopher Johnson

Artistic Director of ETCETERA, The Late Night Series at Live Theatre Workshop

(520) 481-1449 | RumspringaAndCoke@gmail.com

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

ETCETERA, the late night series at Live Theatre Workshop, presents...

 

FROZEN HEART

A PLAY BY DAWN C. SELLERS

April 2-11, 2010

Fridays & Saturdays at 10:30 PM

Special Sunday Performances at 8:00 PM

Directed by Philip G. Bennett with Zach Morris

Featuring Alexandra Franklin as Ana and Paul Baker as Paul

Choreography by Guest Artists from New York City, Zach Morris and Tara O’Con

 

All tickets $10 at the box office

Call 327-4242 for reservations and information

LIVE THEATRE WORKSHOP - 5317 E Speedway | Tucson, AZ 85712

Located on the North side of Speedway Boulevard b/t Rosemont and Craycroft

 

THE STORY:

                A blizzard. A butcher. Neither comfort Ana, a strong-willed but haunted woman who seeks to put the fragmented pieces of her life together. After a deadly explosion destroys any future she might have imagined for herself, Ana has no choice but to face her past. Yet this past is filled with her father’s forbidden love. She returns home to the family-owned butcher shop only to discover he has neglected to tell her of her mother’s death. While their words attack like knives, their senses dance on the poetry of their memory, as the two struggle to be seen, to be in control, to be loved. In yet another simultaneous narrative, two dancers move seamlessly in and out of the dark, mysterious, unspoken parallel echoes of Ana and her father’s minds, dreams and desires. All is woven together to tell the tale that hope ‘springs eternal,’ even in the darkest night of the frozen Heartland.

 

THE ARTISTS

PAUL BAKER - Mike - is a relative newcomer to Tucson from New York.  His performance background is in voice recording and commercial film. His roles on stage have included Hal in Lovers and Other Strangers, Levine in Glengarry Glen Ross, Austin in True West, Jim in Humble Boy and Same King in Race Music by Tucson playwright Warren Bodow. Paul continues to work with the Old Pueblo Playwrights and to study acting professionally here in Tucson. He thanks his wife, Pat, for all her support.

PHILIP G. BENNETT - Director - is an Actor, Teacher and Director, founding Artistic Director of the Bennett TheatreLab, and The San Francisco Theatre Academy. A graduate of the American Center for Stanislavski Theatre Art, he served as Assistant Artistic Director to Sonia Moore, (Russian émigré actress and pupil of Eugene Vahktangov and Constantine Stanislavski) at the American Stanislavski Theatre in New York City. He is a founding member of its professional acting ensemble, American Stanislavski Theatre, (AST). An internationally recognized instructor of Acting, Mr. Bennett has trained with Peter Brook of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), and RSC voice and movement teachers; incorporating into his teaching and directing the theories and practices of Grotowski, Peter Brook, and Cicely Berry, (RSC). For the past thirty-five years he has researched and integrated into the System the spiritual principles of Raja Yoga, which were omitted by Soviet revisionists. As an actor, Philip has performed in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco; and has toured the United States and Canada appearing in the title role of Cabot in Miller’s Desire Under the Elms, Lopachin / Gaev in Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, Vanya in Uncle Vanya, Proctor in Miller’s The Crucible, and Tartuffe in Moliere’s Tartuffe, to name a few. A specialist in classical and contemporary styles and a three-time recipient of the prestigious Hollywood DramaLog Award for best direction, he has trained actors for placement in major theatre repertory companies across the U.S. and yearly sends students to Great Britain to such prestigious schools as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, (RADA), and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, (LAMDA). 

TARA O’CON - Co-Choreographer/Ana’s Echo - is a New York-based artist. O'Con's work has been presented in showcases at Dixon Place, The Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Wow Café Theater, The Chocolate Factory Theater (Fresh Meat Festival) and by Dancenow NYC. In 2007, O’Con was among six emerging choreographers to be chosen for Dance Theater Workshop’s Fresh Tracks Performance and Residency Program. She returned to The Chocolate Factory Theater in June of 2008 as part of their Visiting Artist Program to premiere the original production of Walk It Once. In January 2009, Walk It Once was commissioned and presented by Danspace Project. On the horizon, O'Con is looking forward to a full evening-length premiere of her latest work, which will be presented in NYC in late 2010. As a performer, she has enjoyed fruitful collaborations with Stephan Koplowitz, Ellis Wood Dance, Jillian Sweeney, Sam Kim, Red Metal Mailbox, Ben Munisteri Dance Projects, Mina Nishimura, Rocha Dance Theater, Shannon Hummel/CoraDance. Currently, O’Con is dancing for Tami Stronach Dance, mvworks/Megan Sprenger, and is a contributing member of Third Rail Projects Inc.

ALEXANDRA FRANKLIN - Ana - recently moved to Tucson after earning a B.F.A in Acting from Illinois Wesleyan University. Prior to coming to Tucson, Alexandra toured the state of Tennessee with the National Theatre for Children. She is currently an intern at Invisible Theatre where she assists in the box office, provides production assistance, and works with the Catalina High School Pastime Players. She was last seen as Emily in Our Town at The Rogue Theatre. Alexandra also enjoys long-form improv, which she studied at Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis for a number of years. She is grateful to be a part of this exciting and challenging new play.

ZACH MORRIS - Co-Director/Choreographer/Mike’s Echo - is a Bessie Award-winning choreographer whose work includes site-specific performances, installation art, video and multi-media projects, and immersive performance environments. His work has been seen internationally, at several theaters around the U.S. and at numerous venues in New York City. He is the recipient of a New York Dance and Performance Award for Creation/Choreography, the Henry Boettcher Award for Excellence in Directing, and the NYC Fringe Fest Award for Excellence in Choreography. He has been granted residencies or commissions from Abrons Arts Center, Danspace Project, The Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, Dance Theater Workshop, Topaz Arts, La Mama, LMCC, the Swarthmore Project, Epiphany Theatre Company, and others. He is Co-Director of Third Rail Projects, a New York City artist collective dedicated to bringing art to the public through an array of media; organizer and moderator of the NYC Dance Film Lab; and serves as adjunct faculty for Florida State University. Zach holds a BFA in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University.

DAWN C. SELLERS - Playwright/Producer - was a pianist, composer and educator prior to receiving an MFA in dramatic writing from Carnegie Mellon University. Her screenplay, Butterfly Found, won the Arthur Sloan Foundation Screenwriting Award as well as the Santa Fe Screenwriter’s Conference Award. She composed music for the Off-Broadway production of Dance With Me by Jean Reynolds and is published with Hal Leonard Music Publishing, Alfred Music Publishers and the Neil A. Kjos, Jr. Music Company. Dawn also holds a B.F.A in music from Illinois Wesleyan University, a Masters’ of music from Northwestern University and a Ph. d. in music education from the University of Oklahoma. Since moving to Tucson two years ago, her plays have been produced by This Side Up Productions, Beowulf Alley Theatre, Live Theatre Workshop and The Arizona Women’s Theatre. 

 

No comments: