Cellunova to Present DIRTY LEGAL SECRETS in New York Next Month

Cellunova, a interdisciplinary theatre company, will present a legal comedy play, Dirty Legal Secrets, from October 17th to October 27th, 2024, at Room 52.

Dirty Legal Secrets is based on real-life stories from startup lawyers and offers a unique glimpse into the wild world of tech startups. Written by Sarah Feingold, Etsy's first lawyer, award winning general counsel, and Media Law professor at NYU, the play draws from her experience as an attorney. Over the years, Sarah has anonymously collected wild, untold stories from legal professionals. By framing these tales in a comedic format, she creates an inviting atmosphere that allows the audience to peek behind the glamorous curtain of tech startups.

"Cellunova does a fantastic job at bringing the script to life. I wonder if New York City can handle the drama," said Sarah Feingold.

The play is directed by Jianing Zhao, a recent law school graduate, making this a production crafted by legal minds. Together, they deliver a play that unveils the untold truths that lawyers typically keep hidden.

"The actors each portray a wide array of diverse characters that you may not even imagine existing in the startup world, expertly combining elements of physical comedy, stand-up, improv, and audience interaction to bring you a hilarious and, at the same time, thought-provoking theatrical experience," said Jianing Zhao.

The play features Maria Tramontozzi as GC, Kim Ariana as Alpha, Kana Seiki as Beta, Jon-Mykul Bowen as Charlie and Dii Fu as Delta. The chaotic and absurdist vibe the production brings sets the audience into nonstop laughter throughout the performance, and by resonating with the themes touched upon in the play such as sex, drugs and rock&roll, this production aims to nail the unspeakable with the lighthearted arrows.

The Cellunova team's creative vision breathes life into this production with a bold and engaging design. The scenic design by Sophia Zhu transforms a mundane startup office into an intimate bar setting, which enables audience interaction with immersive elements, blurring the line between the drama on stage and the reality. Qingan Zhang's costumes cleverly juxtapose professionalism with hidden eccentricities, revealing the characters' wild sides beneath their polished exteriors. Meanwhile, Amy Wang's prop design introduces absurdity through everyday objects that take on humorous new meanings, enhancing the play's satirical tone. Changshuo Liu's lighting and sound design creates a dynamic, concert-like atmosphere that fuses corporate elements with a countercultural vibe, in order to enhance the comedic chaos.

The production is stage-managed by Lana Zhang. "We embrace the bravery imprinted in the script that talks about the unspeakable," says Lana, "and we try to magnify the underlying love and sense of humor in an amazing way through storytelling." Cellunova's marketing director Kaiwen Zheng leads the marketing and operational effort of this production. Technical director Jiaxin Guan supports the infrastructure of Cellunova.

The play will run for two weeks from October 17th to October 27th.

Tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dirty-legal-secrets-tickets-1001791825317.

Founded in 2023, Cellunova creates interdisciplinary theatre to tackle social challenges prevalent at this very moment you're reading this mission statement, and beyond. We believe that in this turbulent era filled with non-stopping social changes and technology advances, it is ever more important to nurture and stage new plays and art pieces that shed light on the present from multifaceted lenses and that create new experiences that break the boundaries of theater.