BACKYARD/DESERT Comes to The TADA! Theater NYC

The Theater Collective (TTC) proudly launches its first fully mounted production ever of Backyard/Desert by Nancy Irene Kelly. Backyard/Desert recently debuted as part of the Irvington Town Hall Theater Play Reading Festival in November 2017. It was selected from over 200 international submissions in Winter 2017 and presented as TTC's first staged reading in Spring 2018.

A play for our times, Backyard/Desert explores the human ties that transcend all borders. When a female border patrol agent finds a young migrant lost in the desert, the aftershocks of the encounter slowly erode the foundations upon which she's built her life, leading her to question her choices and relationships. In the end, she must make a wrenching decision in order to follow her truth.

New York-based director Ethan Felizzari, whose previous credits include founding CK Productions Inc., his film, La Sangre en Nuestras Venas, won an honorable mention at the Queens World Film Festival and won the Golden Whiskers Award at Indieworks Festival will bring Backyard/Desert to life at the TADA! Youth Theater**, (15 W. 28th St, NY, NY 10001). Characters will be brought to life by the voices and depictions of -Jessica Krueger* as Pammy, Juanes Montoya as Jose Luis, Evan Sibley as Bob, Len Rella* as Russ, and Kristen Schwarz - for a compelling production.

More About Playwright Nancy Irene Kelly

Nancy Kelly is a playwright, performer, dramaturg, and educator. Most recently, her play Backyard/Desert was selected for the Irvington Town Hall Theater Play Reading Festival in November 2017. A member of the Dramatists Guild, she holds an MFA in theater from Sarah Lawrence College and a BA in Dramatic Art/Dance from U.C. Berkeley. She has taught acting, storytelling and public speaking at New York area colleges and public schools since 2005. Originally from Northern California, she currently lives in New York City.

More About Director (Ethan Felizzari)

(Ethan Felizzari (Director) - is a director, writer & producer in New York. Ethan had worked in many projects ranging from theatrical ventures to films. Ethan founded CK Productions Inc., a Production Company, in December of 2013. Ethan'a film, La Sangre en Nuestras Venas, won an honorable mention at the Queens World Film Festival and won the Golden Whiskers Award at Indieworks Festival. Currently he is finishing up a partnered film with Kodak and Kickstarter titled ABUELO and a brand new series, PERSPECTIVE. Other Film Credits: By the Code (Web Series), Santi (Short), Wild Minds Never Learn (Short) & more. Theatre (Regional): Lost in Yonkers (Prod./Dir.), columbinus (Prod./Dir.), The Great Gatsby (Prod./Dir.), Turkey Go on Strike (Prod./Dir./Writer) & more. His love & passion for the arts has led him to create some very unique work & ideas. For more information on upcoming projects, visit www.ethanfelizzari.com or follow @EthanFelizzari

Tickets $10-$35; http://bit.ly/Backyard-DesertTix

The Theater Collective is a cooperative artistic project that produces theatrical works by and about underrepresented and misrepresented people in society. We understand the necessity of commercializing such works in order to break barriers outside of our cultural echo chambers. We bring not a new definition to inclusion, but the true definition - including all and creating a dialogue in which we can grow and better understand each other; this first and foremost involves uplifting the voices and stories of women, people of color, individuals with physical disabilities, LGBTQ+, immigrants, and more. The Theater Collective is dedicated to providing theatre that explores sexuality, gender, race, religion, politics, and all things that formulate culture in an accurate and progressive way.