Cast Announced for the World Premiere of Atlantic for Kids' HEART STRINGS

Atlantic for Kids has announced casting for the world premiere of Hearts Strings, written by Lee Cataluna and directed by Kat Yen. Performances will begin on Saturday, October 1st at Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues).

Heart Strings will feature Sienna Aczon (Atlantic debut), Aaron Banes (The Big One-Oh!), Un Joo Christopher (Atlantic debut), Kristi Donna Ng (Atlantic debut), and Jeremy Rafal (Atlantic debut).

On a little island in the middle of the Pacific, two girls face a big storm, a clash of cultures, and the knots of sibling rivalry. Following the treasured Hawaiian tradition of adoption, the hanai children untangle what it means to be family and learn the commitments and responsibilities that come with loving someone. Set in a Hawaii before statehood, the story is told using the simple and beautiful hei, Hawaiian string figures which are like Cat's Cradle, and teaches that family is defined by how people take care of one another.

Schedule:

Heart Strings performances are open to the public Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30am, October 1st through October 23rd. There will be a Sunday evening performance on October 9th at 5:30pm.

Saturday, October 15th at 10:30am will be a Relaxed Performance. For more information, visit https://atlantictheater.org/relaxed-performance/.

Biographies:

SIENNA ACZON

(Hoku) is a Filipino-American multidisciplinary artist based in New York City. She is grateful to make her Atlantic Theater Company debut with Heart Strings-a story set in Hawai'i, where she was born and raised. She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, and trained at the British American Drama Academy. Recent credits: Do You Speak? (Solo Show, 59E59 Theaters); NEW MONY! (Keyboardist/Singer/Puppeteer, Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival); NuWorks 2022 (Director/Actor, Pan Asian Repertory Theatre). Sienna dedicates her performance to her late grandfather Gregorio L. Aczon. @miss.sepa

Aaron Banes

(Josiah) is glad to return to Atlantic in Heart Strings. A Filipino-American artist based in New York City, he is honored to help tell this story of Hawai'i, where he was born and raised. International tour: PJ Masks Live. Off-Broadway: The Big One Oh! (Atlantic Theater). Education: NYU Steinhardt. @aaron.banes

UN JOO CHRISTOPHER

(Mahina) is ecstatic to be making her Atlantic Theater: Atlantic for Kids Debut in Lee Cataluna's Heart Strings. Un Joo was most recently seen as Lauren/Hollis in Jay Stull's The Singularity Play at the Lenfest Center for the Arts, as part of Columbia University's New Plays Festival 2022. Theatre credits include When/Time (NoDivide KC), Spilled Milk (Black Box KC), A Midsummer Night's Dream (White Theatre at the J), The Wolves (Unicorn Theatre), The Crucible (Barn Players), and Hana's Suitcase (Coterie Theatre). This summer Un Joo participated in the LAByrinth Theater Company's 2022 Intensive Ensemble, supported by the New York City Coalition of Theaters of Color Initiative and Brooklyn College.

KRISTI DONNA NG

(Tutu) is thrilled to make her Off-Broadway debut with Atlantic Theater Company! Kristi is an award-winning screenwriter, actress, producer, and hula dancer. Her short films have been screened at the Boston Asian American Film Festival, Syracuse International Film Festival (1st Place Winner), The Barrow Group's 48 Hour Film Festival (Two-time Audience Award Winner), and at The Sparrow Film Project where she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Award. Select theatre credits: Joker (National Queer Theatre), Same Time Next Week (Joust Theatre Company), Love/Sick (PaperKids Theatre Company). Kristi was a playwriting mentor for Quinnipiac University's New Play Festival for three seasons. Thanks to Kanoa, Kellie, Kat, Lee, and my castmates. All my love to Mom, Banji, and Lola. For Tory. IG:@krisdng

Jeremy Rafal

(Grandpa) is excited to make his debut at Atlantic Theater Company. He was born in the Philippines, raised in Hawaii, and now based in New York City as an actor, musician, writer, director, and educator. He was last seen this summer as The Kralahome from The King & I (Interlakes Theatre). His favorite roles include Philip the Bastard in King John, Hastings in Richard III, and performing his own solo shows The Boy from Bantay and Funhouse Funk. He has also appeared on film, TV, and several commercials. Besides being an actor-musician, Jeremy is also in linguistics, jump roping, and CrossFit. www.jeremyrafal.com

LEE CATALUNA

(Playwright) was born and raised on Maui, though her Native Hawaiian ancestors were from the island of Kauai. Her work for theater includes commissions from La Jolla Playhouse (What the Stars See at Night, Home of The Brave), Oregon Shakespeare Festival (IPU), Arena Stage (Emma Riot), and San Francisco Playhouse (Sons of Maui). Her script, Funeral Attire, won the Von Marie Atchley Award for Excellence in Playwriting from Native Voices at the Autry. Her rollicking ensemble piece Flowers of Hawaii has jolted audiences in Los Angeles, NYC, and most recently at Chautauqua Institute Summer 2022. Her play Home of The Brave, based on interviews with hundreds of children from military families, is produced in schools around the country. This play, Heart Strings, was workshopped at PLAYground at Northwestern University; had a reading at NYU Steinhardt; and received a ReImagine grant through TYA/USA to be developed at Atlantic Theater, NYC. Books include Three Years on Doreen's Sofa, Ordinary Ohana, and the collection of monologues in Folks You Meet at Longs. In the works are commissions from Arena Stage and San Francisco Playhouse. Her work has been supported by NEA grants. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside.

KAT YEN

(Director) is a Taiwanese-American theater artist who has directed at Ars Nova, Cherry Lane, Ensemble Studio Theater, Bushwick Starr, JACK, and The Flea Theater, amongst others. Recent productions include Happy Life by Kathy Ng, Marisol by José Rivera, The Juniors by Noah Diaz, Two Mile Hollow by Leah Nanako Winkler, and Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play by Anne Washburn with music by Michael Friedman and Liam Bellman-Sharpe. Kat is an alumnus of Lincoln Center Directors Lab, a former Resident Director at The Flea Theater, the 2016-2017 Van Lier Directing Fellow at Second Stage and the former Artistic Director of Spookfish Theatre Company. She is also a teaching artist at Stella Adler, LAByrinth Theater company and Marymount Manhattan College and currently resides between Oahu and NYC. MFA Directing: Yale School of Drama. www.katyen.com / @katkoral

ATLANTIC FOR KIDS

(Alison Beatty, Artistic Director) has presented fun, quality children's theater for close to 20 years, and presents two productions each season. These acclaimed shows are noted for their ability to touch on serious themes while entertaining kids with a blend of music, humor and spectacle. In addition to its weekend performances for families, Atlantic for Kids has welcomed thousands of NYC public school children to see weekday performances. These performances include talkbacks with cast members and discussions about the themes of the play. Previous productions have included, among others, Off Broadway Alliance Award winners for Best Family Show, Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical and The Pirate La Dee Da; She Persisted, The Musical; The Big One-Oh!; Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach; Wonderland: Alice's Rock & Roll Adventure; 1001 Nights: A Love Story About Loving Stories; Ivy + Bean The Musical; and Camp Kappawanna.

ATLANTIC THEATER COMPANY

(Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director). At Atlantic, our aim is singular-to empower simple and honest storytelling that fosters greater understanding of our shared world. We are a family of artists dedicated to exploring essential truths onstage, be it a show at Atlantic Theater Company or a class at Atlantic Acting School. As a producer, presenter, and educator of theater, we are driven by the belief that theater can challenge and transform our ways of thinking and urge us to reflect on our role in society. From our Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning productions to our community-based education programs, we are committed to uncovering and celebrating the stories of our varied human existence. Founded as an ensemble of impassioned artists in 1985, Atlantic Theater Company has grown into a powerhouse Off-Broadway company. We challenge, inspire, and awaken audiences with truthful storytelling presented across our two venues, the Linda Gross Theater and the intimate Stage 2 black-box. As a producer of compelling new works, we are committed to championing the stories from new and established artists alike, amplifying the voices of emerging playwrights through our deeply collaborative programs and initiatives. We have produced more than 200 plays and musicals including Tony Award-winning productions of The Band's Visit (David Yazbek, Itamar Moses), Spring Awakening (Steven Sater, Duncan Sheik), and The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Martin McDonagh); Pulitzer Prize recipient Between Riverside and Crazy (Stephen Adly Guirgis); New York Drama Critics' Circle winners for Best New Play The Night Alive (Conor McPherson) and Best Foreign Play Hangmen (Martin McDonagh); Obie Award winners for Best New American Play Guards at the Taj and Describe the Night (Rajiv Joseph); Obie Award Special Citation recipient Skeleton Crew (Dominique Morisseau); Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award and Lucille Lortel Award winner English (Sanaz Toossi); and New York Drama Critics' Circle, Drama Desk Award, and Lucille Lortel Award winner for Best New Musical Kimberly Akimbo (David Lindsay-Abaire, Jeanine Tesori).

TICKETS

Tickets for Heart Strings are on sale. Single general admission tickets are $15 for kids and $25 for adults.​ Group rates are also available for groups of 10 or more. Tickets are $10 for kids and $15 for adults for all Atlantic members. For more information about Atlantic's Membership program, visit https://atlantictheater.org/join/membership/.

Order online at atlantictheater.org, by calling AudienceView at 646-989-7996, or in person at the Linda Gross Theater box office (336 West 20th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues).

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