Abraxas Stage Co Hosts A Preview Of POST- APOCALYPSE 11/20 At The Talk Isn't Cheap Fundraiser

Get a sneak preview of our next production and do some do-gooding! Join us for a selected reading** from Lisa Haviland's new play, Post-Apocalypse, on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at the Talk Isn't Cheap Fundraiser. Talk Isn't Cheap will be a special evening to benefit programs featured on NYtalkRadio.Net,* filled with entertainment, gratitude gift bags, yummy appetizers, beverages and a cornucopia of wonderful items donated by local businesses and their supporters for an exciting silent auction. The event will begin at 8pm at the GINA Gallery, 454 Columbus Avenue @ 82nd Street. Please RSVP to ticfundraiser@gmail.com. A $50 donation is suggested upon entrance. A percentage of the evening proceeds will be donated directly to a Charitable Cancer organization and The Animal Rescue Organization, Social Tees.

**featuring Kendra Leigh Landon, William McMahon and Ridley Parson

*The JayGrayce Show and Gregory's Spotlight on Business and Entertainment have introduced their listeners to legends, rising stars and innovative community organizations. They rely heavily on support from wonderful listeners like you to keep the shows on air.

About the play

Post-Apocalypse depicts the realities of life in post-flood New Orleans, where federal levee failure so radically altered the landscape. Man-made disasters continue to shape the aftermath of this structural collapse, manifesting in the world's third-highest murder rate; circling vultures cloaking themselves as would-be angels; a scarcity of jobs, housing and services; the erosion of the city's black middle-class majority and testosterone poisoning.

With humor, trepidation and an appreciation of the absurd, the returning New Orleanians of the post-apocalypse struggle to reclaim their home and, at times, to even recognize it, but are held together by the bonds of friendship.

About the Artists

Lisa Haviland, author of Post-Apocalypse, obtained a Master's in Professional Writing, with a concentration in playwriting, from the University of Southern California and her first play, Mary Contrary, was a finalist in Theatre Three Productions' Sixth Annual Festival of One-Acts. Haviland is self-employed as an academic and business editor, and has written and reported for Antigravity, NolaFugees and Popshifter. She is also a published poet and photographer. Post-Apocalypse is dedicated to her New Orleans post-apocalypse partner, William Joseph Embley (March 11, 1962-May 18, 2008).

Kendra Leigh Landon, a graduate from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, founded Abraxas Stage company in January 2009. She's worked with the Worth Street Theater Comany, at the Actor's Studio, and is a member of the Barefoot Theatre Company. Her film credits include Living And Dining and Osiris Ford (in post production). She has appeared on Law and Order, L & O: Criminal Intent, and All My Children. Kendra is currently writting a one woman show that may or may not be called Breathing for a Living.

William McMahon's Random was named a finalist for the 2008 Mildred and Albert Panowski Playwriting Award. (Parantheticals), a collection of one-acts received an Honorable Mention for the 2003 Eric Bentley New Play Competition. A Winter of Beauty won the Paul Green Playwrights Prize. Blind Corner was a 2003 finalist for the Julie Harris Playwriting Award, and a semi-finalist for the O'Neill Conference 2002. Alphagirls, a children's musical, with music and lyrics by Bob McDowell, was a finalist for both the 2003 Richard Rodgers Award and the 2003 Jackie White Memorial Children's Playwriting Contest. Next up: World of Tomorrow, a three act opus about Robert Moses.

Ridley Parson was most recently seen as Baruch in Mac Roger's critically acclaimed Univeral Robots. NY: Mike (Lie of the Mind), Claudio (Measure for Measure), Bell (Trey Parker's Cannibal: The Musical), Walker (Two Rooms), Feste (Twelfth Night) and numerous short plays; Regional: Paul (A Shot in the Dark), Jim (Pump Boys and Dinettes); TV: Winslow (the obligatory Law and Order). Ridley also sings Leonard Cohen's songs.

For more details about the event, including additional entertainment and sponsorship, check out the Talk Isn't Cheap Fundraiser website, www.talkisntcheapfundraiser.com. Hope to see you there!

Want to get involved with Abraxas in the upcoming season? Good news -Abraxas is always looking for volunteers! Please email the Executive Director at kendra@abraxasstagecompany.com, and let us know in what capacity you'd like to get your elbows dirty! Check out our website, www.abraxasstagecompany.com, and follow us on facebook and twitter for news and updates. Stay in touch!