Gideon Productions Receives LIT Fund Grant & NYIT's Donn Russell Fund Grant

Gideon Productions is honored to receive the Donn Russell Fund grant from the New York Innovative Theatre Foundation. This grant money will be used to support their upcoming production of Universal Robots, which will be presented by The Sheen Center in June 2016.

"For many, Gideon Productions is the ideal indie theatre company," said Shay Gines, Executive Director of The NYIT Awards. "This sentiment is easy to understand. Because their work is based on popular genres and cultural touchstones, they are often at the forefront of trends and themes being presented on stages across the U.S. The fact that they explore 'what's strange about being human and what's human about being strange,' gives their productions an element of knowing intrigue and a sense of humor. However, it is their dedication to crafting a quality experience and employing some of the most skilled theatre artists in the community that makes them so admired by their peers, audiences and critics."

Gideon Productions is also proud to receive a rehearsal space grant for Universal Robots from The League of Independent Theater's LIT Fund.

"Gideon Productions was an obvious choice for this round of rehearsal space grants," said LIT's Executive Director, Randi Berry. "Their work represents our community, as it is scrappy while somehow still feeling polished and epic. It is fun and innovative and upsetting and touching. Gideon takes great care in their work and in their existence inside our amazing community. That is why we are so pleased to support the building of Universal Robots."

UNIVERSAL ROBOTS is a science fiction epic from acclaimed playwright Mac Rogers inspired by Karel Capek's seminal 1921 play R.U.R. The production, directed by Jordana Williams, will be presented at The Sheen Center (18 Bleecker Street between Bowery and Lafayette) June 3-26 with performances Thursday through Saturday at 8pm, Sunday at 2pm, and Monday at 8pm with additional performances on Wednesday, June 15 & 22 at 8pm. Tickets ($25) are available online at http://sheencenter.org/ or by calling OvationTix at 866-811-4111. The cast and creative team will be announced in April.

GIDEON PRODUCTIONS crafts gripping plays that explore human grace and darkness, through the kaleidoscope of popular genre forms and other cultural touchstones. We reject the notion that thrills are cheap or that big ideas are boring. We explore what's strange about being human and what's human about being strange, using thrilling entertainment as a delivery system for challenging stories that take on religion, sexuality, politics, compulsion, popular culture, and the often strange bonds that tie people together in a rapidly changing world. We honor the time our audiences and collaborators devote to our productions and seek to deliver the utmost quality in experience and content.

THE NEW YORK INNOVATIVE THEATRE FOUNDATION is a not-for-profit organization recognizing the great work of New York City's indie theatre community, honoring its artistic heritage, and providing a meeting ground for this extensive and richly varied community. The organization advocates for independent theatre and recognizes the unique and essential role it plays in contributing to American and global culture. They believe that publicly recognizing excellence in indie theatre will expand audience awareness and foster greater appreciation of the New York theatre experience. www.nyitawards.com

THE LEAGUE OF INDEPENDENT THEATER provides heavily subsidized rehearsal space to members of the indie theater community. Through relationships with commercial building owners, the League signs short term leases in office buildings and essentially sublets those spaces out to companies just for a fraction of their insurance cost. The League of Independent Theater is thrilled to partner with The Times Center and offer their stunning 5,000 square foot Hall space to our members. You can find out more about the subsidized rehearsals space program, our Charter Barter program where we partner theater companies with public schools or any of our other programming at www.litny.org