Cast Announced for THE MOTHER LINE STORY Project at Abingdon

Following sold-out performances at The PIT and Dixon Place, THE MOTHER LINE STORY PROJECT is coming to the Abingdon Theatre Company's Dorothy Strelsin Theatre (312 West 36th Street) for a one-night-only engagement on Friday, December 2 at 7pm. Created and performed by members of The Mother Line Story Project, this evening of unique stories celebrating women is based on an original concept by Eliza Simpson (co-star of Off-Broadway's The Woodsman). Kel Haney is set to direct.

THE MOTHER LINE STORY PROJECT is a storytelling platform specifically designed to bring together generations of women to tell the stories of their maternal ancestors through the creation of new, self-devised work-think The Moth Radio Hour meets ancestry.com.

During a series of workshops, an ever-expanding cast of storytellers works with guest directors and designers to curate one-of-a-kind performances, in which the triumphs and traumas of the women who came before can be spoken, heard, and celebrated. Universal appeal meets personal power in this show by women, about women, for everyone.

The ensemble of storytellers includes Ngozi Anyanwu (Good Grief), Aizzah Fatima (Dirty Paki Lingerie), Cleo Gray (The Place We Built), Zuleyma Guevera (La Paloma), Dea Julien (Stet), Amanda A. Lederer (Shlemiel the First), Lauren Nordvig (Passion Play), Nandita Shenoy (Washer/Dryer), and Eliza Simpson (The Woodsman).

Original creator Eliza Simpson was most recently seen Off-Broadway in The Woodsman at New World Stages, other performances include The Woodsman (59E59 Theaters), The Mysteries (The Flea Theater dir. by Ed Iskander), and Kapowi GoGo (The PIT). Film work includes Ricki and The Flash (TriStar Pictures), and Rachel Getting Married (Sony Pictures Classic).

Director Kel Haney has recently directed The Elephant in Every Room I Enter (La MaMa, created by Gardiner Comfort & Kel Haney); Vickie Ramirez's Glenburn 12WP (59E59); Jonathan Caren's The Recommendation (The Flea); Gardiner Comfort's You're Not Tough (HERE, Dixon Place); Jordan Jaffe's Crude (Black Lab Theatre/Theater 511 @ Ars Nova); Neil LaBute's The Way We Get By (American Theater Group, regional premiere); Deborah Brevoort's My Lord, What a Night, Kate Cortesi's Great Kills, Quiara Alegria Hudes's Water by the Spoonful (all at Premiere Stages). She has directed/developed new work with The Amoralists, Ars Nova, Atlantic Theater Company, Cherry Lane, Keen Company, Labyrinth, The Lark, Ma-Yi, Naked Angels, New Dramatists, New Georges, Partial Comfort, Playwrights Realm, Rattlestick, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, Westport Country Playhouse, & Williamstown. Also: MTC Directing Fellow, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Mabou Mines Residency, Old Vic/New Voices Exchange and a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre.

THE MOTHER LINE STORY PROJECT is co-produced by Eliza Simpson, Amanda A. Lederer, and Lauren Nordvig. To learn more about the project please visit motherlinestoryproject.com

Abingdon Theatre Company is dedicated to developing and producing new American work by emerging and established artists. Under the artistic direction of Tony Speciale, the company provides a safe home where playwrights, directors and actors can collaborate within a supportive and nurturing environment. Abingdon searches for stories about the human experience that reflect our social, political, historical and cultural diversity. To date, the company has collaborated with more than 200 playwrights, produced 87 New York and world-premiere plays, presented more than 700 readings, staged over 175 ten-minute plays, and commissioned 6 one-act plays. Notable artists who have worked with Abingdon Theatre Company include Carl Andress, Bryan Batt, Reed Birney, Robert Brustein, Mario Cantone, Maxwell Caulfield, Dick Cavett, John Epperson, Jane Greenwood, Arthur Kopit, Ralph Macchio, Roberta Maxwell, Iddo Netanyahu, Nancy Opel, Austin Pendleton, Sam Pinkleton, Marcia Rodd and Mark Waldrop. Abingdon's 2014 production of Brian Richard Mori's Hellman v. McCarthy, directed by founding artistic director Jan Buttram, was filmed and presented by WNET as part of its inaugural Theatre Close-Up series. For more information, visit abingdontheatre.org

THE MOTHER LINE STORY PROJECT runs Friday, December 2 at 7:00 PM at Abingdon Theatre Company's Dorothy Strelsin Theatre (312 West 36th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues). Tickets are $17-$20 and available at abingdontheatre.org or by calling 212-352-3101.