Ken-Matt Martin And Shannon Molly Flynn Set To Direct For Normal Ave's NAPSeries

Normal Ave will welcome Ken-Matt Martin who will join Artistic Director, Shannon Molly Flynn, in directing for their annual 29-hour Reading Series. The festival will feature plays and musicals from James Anthony Tyler, Jacqueline Bircher, Mike Nappi, Sam Durant Hunter, and Max Sangerman. The festival will run for three days at unique community locations across the boroughs from October 20-22, 2023. All readings will be free and open to the public.

ENDURING ATLAS by Jacqueline Bircher, directed by Shannon Molly Flynn. In the 1970s, the Atlas space mission upends the lives of three people who work in its proximity, including Grant, the project leader, Nina, a gifted artist, and Amy, the trajectory coordinator. When the mission's scientific potential is discovered to be greater than initially planned, careers begin to skyrocket, but the pressure of success results in betrayal, desperation, and an unraveling of everything their lives were before. An exploration of the costs of exploration, and how looking out at the universe is sometimes just a deeper way to look back at ourselves. Reading will take place Friday, Oct 20, 2023 at 7p.

INTO THE SIDE OF A HILL by James Anthony Tyler, directed by Ken-Matt Martin. In a Historically Black University in 2004, 6 fraternity brothers rehearse for the annual homecoming step show. As they rehearse, mental illness, toxic masculinity, and war bring all of the young men into battle with each other. Is their brotherhood strong enough to keep them united? Reading will take place Saturday, Oct 21, 2023 at 7p.

THE WORLD'S CASSETTE LIBRARY is a new musical written by Mike Nappi, Sam Durant Hunter, and Max Sangerman, directed by Shannon Molly Flynn. In the wake of their brother Joey's passing, estranged adult siblings Krysti, Michael and Brian uncover a box of dusty cassette tapes upon which Joey recorded countless treasured memories. A journey into their past inevitably rips open old wounds and begs the most difficult of all questions: forgive or forget? Reading will take place Sunday, Oct 22, 2023 at 7p.

Normal Ave will be partnering with local restaurants and bars to cross promote engagement within our communities. More information about NAPSeries can be found at normalave.org.

Normal Ave believes in redefining normal by nurturing an inclusive community of fresh, diverse voices and inviting collaborative freedom at every stage of the artistic process. Their accessible programming of new and existing works spark curiosity, challenge perception, and welcome artists and audiences to think, listen and respond in radical ways.