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The Assembly is in rehearsals for SEAGULLMACHINE. I'm excited to be joining the ensemble for the premiere at La MaMa ETC in April 2018. Smashing together two iconic riffs on Hamlet—Anton Chekhov's The Seagull and Heiner Muller's Hamletmachine—SEAGULLMACHINE explores what it means to become trapped in your own illusions and the radical transformations needed to break free of them. This genre-breaking project dramatizes the role of the troubled artist-intellectual who revolts against social paralysis. assemblytheater.org/seagullmachine   Looking forward to joining the choir of Heather Christian's folk-spiritual new musical ANIMAL WISDOM at The Bushwick Starr, October 11-November 4. https://www.thebushwickstarr.org/animal-wisdom Heather talks to dead people, gets freaked out and writes music. Animal Wisdom is a lo-fi, idiosyncratic, folk-blues Requiem written from theoretical or actual (you decide) conversations with the dead performed alongside poorly remembered Methodist hymns from the 1800s, hyperbolized family mythologies, and community rituals of the ridiculous in the form of a gothic catholic mass - because how else can you address your soul? Animal Wisdom is a musical offering created by sinners and science nerds for believers and non-believers alike. Co-produced by The Bushwick Starr + West Yorkshire Playhouse Created by Heather Christian Directed by Mark Rosenblatt Co-Directed by Emilyn Kowaleski Featuring & made in collaboration with Sasha Brown, Heather Christian, Fred Epstein, Eric Farber & Maya Sharpe  Photo by Maria Baranova
 I've had the great pleasure of directing BITTER BETTER by Angela Santillo, which is running now through October 1 in the Communal Spaces Garden Play Festival. Saturdays & Sundays at 3pm in the Infant Jesus Garden. All performances are free!
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/870846359759644 A lovely write-up by Eric Sonnenschein: www.linkedin.com/pulse/discover-culture-small-spaces-eric-sonnenschein  Alumni of the National Theater Institute, the Moscow Art Theater Semester, and Theatermakers converged at the beautiful Eugene O'Neill Theater Center to celebrate the 45th anniversary of NTI! Returning to our shared artistic home—and an autumnal dip in the ocean—does wonders to reinvigorate the spirit! Thank you O'Neill staff and fellow alumni for an amazing reunion.
Five happy and stylishly behatted theater artists just completed a residency at the Dragon's Egg Studio developing a new project! Dearly beloved Dasha, the old school bus that became the turtle shell of the Vagari Project, is set to hit the road again next summer (once she gets some new brakes!) with a new wandering theater troupe creating a play to be performed in living rooms across the country (with street theater too, of course!). We are so grateful to the Dragon's Egg and Mystic Paper Beasts for the time and space to dive into this project. It's a fantastic team, and I'm so excited to continue work on this project over the coming months.  I was delighted to join HiveMind Theater Collective at the Dragon's Egg Studio for their second workshop of a new play about cowardice. What a generous and playful group of collaborators! Through physical improvisation, creating études, and writing scenes, we have begun to construct the world where this story lives.
The Vagari Project leaves today! Follow us at www.VagariProject.com or www.facebook.com/VagariProject, or email us at VagariProject@gmail.com to be added to our email list!
A great review of Step in Encore Michigan's coverage of BoxFest Detroit 2013! "There is a definite pattern to the emotions in this play, and Emily Caffery hits each rise and fall just right. There's special appeal in experiencing the actors' subtle gestures, some angry, some consoling, that give depth to the spoken word." Read the full review here.
We've started making our commedia masks for the Vagari Project! Here's a sneak peek. And yesterday the Vagari crew had a fantastic time training with The Hinterlands, getting an introduction to their method of ensemble work, physical theater, and explosive play! If you're in the Detroit area, you should check them out.
The BoxFest Detroit 2013 schedule is announced! The play I'm directing, Step , is in Box 3, with performances on Saturday, August 3 at 3pm, Thursday, August 8 at 9pm, and Saturday, August 10 at 3pm. For more information, check out the Facebook event!
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