The Civilians (Steven Cosson, Artistic Director) the award-winning New York-based theater company, have announced that they will commission a full-length play from their newest project, Brooklyn at Eye Level, following a successful series of initial performances. The show played to capacity crowds December 4 - 7 at The Brooklyn Lyceum and was embraced by the entire community as an important contribution to the often contentious debate surrounding the Atlantic Yards development.
Brooklyn at Eye Level is the culmination of a long-term investigation of development in Brooklyn and its effect on neighborhood and community. This lively presentation of theater, dance and music took its inspiration from interviews with the real life players in the story of Brooklyn: residents both old and new, community activists, developers and politicos, among many others. Representatives from both sides of the Atlantic Yards battle attended the performances, many of them returning for repeat viewings, including BUILD, Develop Don't Destroy, Fifth Avenue Committee, Pratt Institute, Pratt Center for Community Development, Park Slope Civic Council.
Civilians Artistic Director Steven Cosson commented, "The community response to Brooklyn at Eye Level has been nothing short of amazing. We were so fortunate to be able to present the culmination of this initial phase in the heart of Brooklyn, so close to the footprint of this very important civic debate. We look forward to going further with this project and commissioning a full-length work inspired by the material. We will also continue to work with our supporting organizations to develop content for radio, television, online programming and other media formats."
The premiere cast included Marsha Stephanie Blake, Billy EuGene Jones, Melanie Nicholls-King, Greg McFadden, Joaquin Torres and Colleen Werthmann. Directed by Civilians Artistic Director, Steve Cosson, Brooklyn at Eye Level was developed in collaboration with Urban Bush Women, composer Michael Friedman, Michael Hill's Blues Mob, local youth from the Atlantic Terminal Community Center, Brooklyn Tech High School, Hip-Hop Theater Festival's Affiliate High School Brooklyn Community Arts and Media and more. A number of special guests acted as host for each performance, introducing the show and participating in post-performance discussions with the artists. Special guests included Theo Moore of FUREE, Michele De la Uz of the Fifth Avenue Committee, Deb Howard of the Pratt Area Community Council and Gilly Youner of the Park Slope Civic Council.
Brooklyn at Eye Level was created from material gathered during a two-month community investigation this fall, which focused on the controversial Atlantic Yards development project. A team of professional actors conducted interviews with residents, business owners, politicians and civic organizations and collected information everywhere, from public events to beauty salons, developing insights into how buildings, services, public space and economic issues shape the ecology of the neighborhood around us. Also providing inspiration for the piece were a series of Community/Artist Labs connecting playwrights Lucy Thurber and Carl Hancock Rux to local groups of community youth.
The New York-based Civilians, whose other works include the musical hit Gone Missing and their recent Paris Commune, was founded in 2001 by Steven Cosson. The renowned company develops original projects inspired from investigations into real life, using methods that combine documentary and artistic practices. The Civilians' seven original shows have been presented by numerous arts festivals and a range of venues that include La Jolla Playhouse, The Public Theater, A.R.T., HBO's US Comedy Festival, the Humana Festival, London's Soho Theatre, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Fringe First Award, 2006) and other venues worldwide.
In addition to Brooklyn at Eye Level, The Civilians are deeply involved in their newest work, This Beautiful City, a play with music that details the explosion of America's evangelical Christian movement that will be produced at NYC's Vineyard Theatre in early 2009, beginning performances February 3.
For more information, visit www.thecivilians.org
