Flux Theatre Ensemble presents the New York City Premiere of WORLD BUILDERS

Flux Theatre Ensemble will present the New York City premiere of World Builders by Johnna Adams (Gidion's Knot, Sans Merci, The Angel Eaters Trilogy) April 28 - May 13 at the West End Theatre (263 W 86th St, New York, NY 10024). The production will be directed by Kelly O'Donnell (Marian, Jane the Plain, Dog Act) and will feature August Schulenburg (Hearts Like Fists, Flux), and Alisha Spielmann* (Sans Merci, Flux). *Appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

In Johnna Adams' World Builders, Whitney and Max live deep within their own imagined realities - one expansive and fanciful, the other dark and brutal. To break free of these visions and become functional members of society, they embark upon a clinical drug trial that might erase these worlds forever. But are they truly able to leave their fantasies behind? In a medicated age where our imaginations are colonized by mass media, how do we know when happiness and love are real? World Builders is Flux's fifth production of a Johnna Adams play after Angel Eaters, Rattlers, 8 Little Antichrists,and Sans Merci.

The creative team includes Scenic Design by Will Lowry (Marian, Flux), Lighting Design by Kia Rogers (Jane the Plain, Flux, NYIT Award), Costume Design by Stephanie Levin (Hearts Like Fists, Flux), and Props Design by Lori E. Parquet. The Production Stage Manager is Ben Shipley.

Later in the summer, Flux will expand beyond New York City to present World Builders in their first-ever Los Angeles-based production. Led by and featuring Flux Creative Partner Rachael Hip-Flores, the production will expand Flux's creative home to Los Angeles, where many longtime Flux collaborators live. Directed by Kitty Lindsay and also featuring Brian Pracht, both productions will work with the same design team to create a cohesive aesthetic for this bicoastal premiere.

"Johnna's work has long been central to Flux's identity. In 2008, our repertory staging of the three plays of her Angel Eaters Trilogy was a defining moment in building the scope of our creative community. In 2013, our production of Johnna's Sans Merci propelled Alisha Spielmann and Rachael Hip-Flores to join us as Creative Partners," said Heather Cohn, producing director and founding creative partner, Flux Theatre Ensemble. "Now Alisha and Rachael are leading the productions of our first bicoastal premiere, making Johnna's work once again central to the latest evolution in Flux's identity."

Continuing the successful experiment pioneered with their last three productions, no financial transaction is required to attend a Flux performance. Instead, attendees reserve a "Living Ticket" and are prompted to donate based on Flux's open budget and commitment to reach living wages for all staff and artists. Living Tickets are available now at fluxtheatre.org/world-builders/.

"Flux has brought so many people together in New York, and those relationships have continued to flourish, even three thousand miles away," said Rachael Hip-Flores, creative partner, Flux Theatre Ensemble. "We're truly grateful and excited to work on such a gorgeous play with people that we trust and love, and to expand our creative home here in Los Angeles."

World Builders will be presented by Flux Theatre Ensemble at the West End Theatre (263 W 86th St, New York, NY 10024)), April 28 - March 13, 2017. Invited press performances are April 29, 30, and May 1, all at 7:30pm. Find a complete calendar and more information at fluxtheatre.org/world-builders/.

JOHNNA ADAMS (Playwright) received a Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association Citation in 2013 for her play Gidion's Knot. She is the 2011 recipient of the Princess Grace Award and a 2012 Finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award. Gidion's Knot was published in the December 2012 edition of American Theatre magazine. The Contemporary American Theater Festival premiered Gidion's Knot in 2012 and twelve regional productions were planned around the country in the following 2013-14 season. Flux Theatre Ensemble (New York) produced her play Sans Merci in 2013 and was nominated for a New York Innovative Theatre Award for best play. Gidion's Knot and Sans Merci are published by Dramatists Play Service, Inc. Johnna received a 2012 MFA in Playwriting from Hunter College with Tina Howe. johnnaadams.com

KELLY O'DONNELL (Director) is a Flux Creative Partner and co-founder. She directed Flux's recent production of Marian, or the True Tale of Robin Hood by Adam Szymkowicz at The New Ohio. In 2016: Tiny Houses by Stephanie Zadravec (New Dramatists Playtime LAB), A Flea in Her Ear (NYU Tisch Undergraduate/Lee Strasberg School), Romeo and Juliet (Stages on the Sound), Our Lady of 121st Street (The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute). Other work includes Colchester by Adam Szymkowicz (Portland Center Stage, JAW), Jane the Plain by August Schulenburg, Dog Act by Liz Duffy Adams, Honey Fist, andRiding the Bull by August Schulenburg (Flux Theatre Ensemble), 3Christs(Peculiar Works Project), Tartuffe (Lafayette College), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Stages on the Sound). She has been nominated twice for Outstanding Director by the New York Innovative Theatre Awards. Plays that she has directed have been named "Critics' Picks" by the New York Times, Backstage, and Theatre is Easy; and "Audience Favorite" by the Village Voice. kellyod.com

FLUX THEATRE ENSEMBLE produces transformative theatre that explores and awakens the capacity for change. As an ensemble-artist driven company, Flux believes that long-term collaboration and rigorous creative development can unite artists and audiences to build a creative home in New York.

Hailed as one of "8 Young (and Mighty) New York Theater Companies" by Backstage, Flux Theatre Ensemble is a twenty-time New York Innovative Theatre Award nominee, including wins for Jane the Plain, Ajax in Iraq, and The Angel Eaters Trilogy. NYIT has also awarded Flux the prestigious Caffé Cino Fellowship Award for "consistently producing outstanding work." In 2016, Flux was named a Fractured Atlas' Arts Entrepreneurship Awards Honoree. Flux is the proud recipient of two NYC Fringe Festival Awards (2007 Village Voice Audience Favorite Award for Riding the Bull; 2008 Outstanding Direction Award for Other Bodies), received a Citation for Excellence in Off-Off Broadway Theatre from the Independent Theater Bloggers Association, and is one of Indie Theatre Now's "People of the Decade."