Blessed Unrest presents the World Premiere of LYING, adapted by Matt Opatrny from the metaphorical memoir by Lauren Slater, directed and choreographed by Jessica Burr. LYING runs from today, October 9 - November 3, 2014 in a limited engagement at The Interart Theatre, located at 500 West 52 Street (at the corner of 10th Avenue) in New York City. Previews begin tonight, October 9 for an October 11 opening.
Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 5pm and Mondays at 7pm with an added show tonight, October 9 at 8pm. There is no show on Sunday, October 12. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased online at
www.BlessedUnrest.org or by calling 646-238-0829. Tickets are $14 in advance for groups of 4 or more. The show includes sexual content. The theater is accessible from the C, E, 1 to 50 St, N, Q, R to 49 St and A, B, D train to 59 St. For info visit
www.BlessedUnrest.org.
Lauren Slater is passionately dedicated to the truth, which for her is more important than the facts. In Blessed Unrest's original adaptation of Slater's electrifying memoir, reality and fantasy blur as we meet her three-headed mother, a deceptive neurosurgeon, a slow-dancing messiah, and one very famous lover. LYING offers a mesmerizing, metaphoric exploration of self-knowledge, personal history, and the deeper, juicier truth that lies beneath the literal.
Lauren Slater is a psychologist and writer whose books include Prozac Diary, Welcome To My Country and Opening Skinner's Box. She has received numerous awards and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times Magazine, Harper's and The Moth. Her novel exposes the power of metaphor in relating a life, and openly questions the reliability of memoir itself by exploring the slippery nature of memory and the trickiness of the mind in perceiving reality.
The cast includes Rich Brown (The American Family at Edinburgh Fringe),
Charise Greene (Notebook of Trigorin at The Flea), Jessica Ranville (Guns directed by
Elizabeth Swados), Sonia Villani (SITI Company's The Event Of A Thread at Park Avenue Armory) and Nathan
Richard Wagner (After Midnight with Target Margin).
The production team includes Neal Wilkinson (Scenic Design),
Jason Jeunnette (Lighting Design), Summer Lee Jack (Costume Design),
Nicholas Foster (Sound Design), Jaimie Van Dyke (Production Stage Manager) and Lea Antolini (Assistant Director).
TimeOut NY has called Blessed Unrest "magnetic and electric." "Inspired and inventive" says The New York Times. "A triumph of acting, choreography and sound design" (Back Stage), full of "physical ingenuity and visual artistry" (NYTheatre.com). "A must-see" (NY Theater Now).
Jessica Burr and Matt Opatrny are the co-founders of Blessed Unrest, an award-winning, ensemble-based, experimental physical theatre company generating original plays in NYC and abroad since 1999. Blessed Unrest has staged 24 full productions (14 world premieres), and pursues international exchange and partnerships, including with Teatri Oda of Kosovo with whom they create original bilingual plays. This fall the ensemble received the 2014 Caffé Cino Fellowship Award for sustained excellence from the NY Innovative Theatre Awards. In 2008 they received a NY Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Play. Burr and Opatrny have taught workshops in physical and devised theatre at Texas Tech University, Centenary College (NJ), Stephens College (MO) and Prishtina University (Kosovo).
Jessica Burr (Director) was honored with the 2011
Lucille Lortel Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women, in recognition of her work as a director and the body of work that Blessed Unrest has created under her leadership. She received the 2013 NY Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Choreography/Movement. She has directed and choreographed numerous productions and workshops for Blessed Unrest since 1999, and co-created and leads the company's training program. She has many directing credits outside the company including at Eastern New Mexico University. Burr has trained with SITI Company and received degrees in Theatre and Dance from Bard College.
Matt Opatrny (Adaptor) is a playwright, actor, and director of violence, with many credits Off-Broadway and in regional theatre. He has taught and directed movement and stage combat at The School for Film and TV, Greenwich Academy, and Columbia Preparatory. With Blessed Unrest Matt has written and adapted many scripts, and co-created and leads the company's training program. He has served on several grant review panels, has taught workshops in grant writing, and was a guest artist at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. He has trained with the SITI Company and is a graduate of Clemson University.
Blessed Unrest uses the safe structure of training, rehearsal and performance to create an environment where dangerous things can happen. They are committed to producing dynamic, disciplined and exuberant new works for the stage in New York City and abroad, building original pieces and reconstructing established texts with their diverse ensemble of artists.
