Other Side Productions Presents DESDEMONA: A Play About A Handkerchief

Thom Fogarty will direct DESDEMONA: A Play About A Handkerchief, by Paula Vogel, which will be, presented September 21 through October 2, 2011 by Other Side Productions and Thom Fogarty. This intimate 'black box' production of Paula Vogel's brilliant reimagining of the women of Shakespeare's OTHELLO on one fateful night has a cast of three : Lulu Fogarty*, Colista K. Turner and Christine Verleny. Music by HANDEL [Michelle Carla Handel and Rhonda Rogers]. Costume, Lighting and Stage design is by Thom Fogarty

September 21 to October 2, 2011 for 12 Performances
The Bridge Theatre @ Shetler Studios 244 W. 54 Street, 12 Floor
Presented by Other Side Productions and Thom Fogarty
Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 7pm, Saturdays at 2PM and 7PM and Sundays at 3PM
$18 or Industry Card / Reservations (212) 924.4142, ltfogarty@aol.com
Runs 90 minutes

Paula Vogel's works often rebel against stereotypes. In DESDEMONA, we find her reimagining, with biting humor, what may have transpired between the women behind the scenes of Shakespeare's OTHELLO. By positioning Desdemona as a prostitute-in-training, and not the demure young lady of Shakespeare, Vogel busts open our theatrical notions and social assumptions. This is Desdemona's last night on earth as we know what awaits her when she retires to Othello's bed. We can never again think of her in quite the same way. Call it a feminist reawakening, or merely great theatre, it needs to be seen. DESDEMONA makes the leap into the canon of classic Contemporary Theatre.

Director and Choreographer Thom Fogarty brings his particular sensibility to this enchanting piece. His work, based in movement and told in an inherently theatrical style, has always dealt with the vastness of human conditions as told through the observance of small everyday gestures and their meanings. This shorthand movement vocabulary (consisting of traditional miming and gestures that are easily identifiable) allows the actors to be both profane and profound at the same time, constantly creating a duality acknowledging the Yin and Yang in daily life. His aim is to simultaneously make one laugh while another is moved to tears.

Thom Fogarty has been active in downtown theater since 1973. In the 80's and 90's, he appeared prolifically in dance and theatre productions by Timothy Buckley, Ping Chong, Jane Comfort, Otrabanda, Alice Farley, Tamar Rogoff, Yoshiko Chuma, Gus Solomons, Jr. and more. He created works with Joseph Chaikin (The Open Theater), Paul Zimet (The Talking Band), Judson Poets Theater, DV8 Physical Theatre, and H.M. Koutoukas ("Dead at Sea," based on Mr. Koutoukas' journal entries). His own work, based on movement and told in an inherently theatrical style, approaches the vastness of the human condition as told through small everyday gestures and their meanings. He was one of the first responders to the AIDS crisis in the mid 1980's by creating works that dealt with the pandemic head on. Now, he is moving his career more toward the genre of dramatic stage work. In June he directed HELL IS WHERE THE HEART IS, a new play by Melissa Skirboll, for the Planet Connections Festival, which received 3 nominations for acting [Maureen Von Trease winnning Outstanding Supp. Actress] as well as his win for Outstanding Lighting Design. He is an Associate Member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

*Indicates member of Actor's Equity Association (AEA).

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