MTWorks Gives Voice to Wildlife Victims of Gulf Oil Spill in DARK WATER

MANHATTAN THEATRE WORKS (MTWorks), in association with the Theater Series at the 14th Street Y, are pleased to announce the world premiere of MTWorks Co-Artistic Director David Stallings' DARK WATER, directed by Heather Cohn (FringeNYC Excellence Award for Outstanding Direction for Other Bodies). In DARK WATER, the swampland of Louisiana is hit with the most massive oil spill known to history. Barnacle, an old sea turtle, fights against man's destruction, nature's wrath, and her enemies of the wild to save her children trapped in the spill. Poetry, allegory, music, puppetry and movement create this magical world as the animals of Louisiana face the ultimate threat to their lives.

The effects of the Gulf oil spill among other spills continue to jeopardize our oceans. DARK WATER humanizes the animals affected by the spill giving a voice to the true defenseless victims. The play also deals with other poignant issues such as immigration, religion and politics.

The production stars Susan G. Bob*+ (No Place To Be Somebody, Public Theater), Lily Drexler, Emily Hartford, Erica Lauren McLaughlin (Balm in Gilead (NYIT Award Outstanding Production), Amerissiah), Dianna Martin+, Antonio Minino+ (All About Meat, Duo Theater), Stephen Conrad Moore* (Radio Golf, Yale Rep; The Lion King [Festival of], Hong Kong Disney), Kathleen O'Neill*+ Chester Poon and Brian Silliman*. (*Appearing Courtesy of Actors' Equity Association. +MTWorks Company Member.)

The production features scenic design by Will Lowry (Sydney Opera House, California Theater Center, Playhouse on Park), costume design by David Withrow (Bdway: Cinderella, Everyday Rapture, Race, The Apple
Tree, Threepenny Opera), lighting design by Daniel Gallagher (Lincoln Center Festival, New York City Opera, New York City Ballet, PBS' Live from Lincoln Center and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), sound design by Janie Bullard (Indie Theater Now People of the Year 2013), puppetry by Emily Hartford and choreography by Stephanie Willing. Audrey Marshall is the production stage manager and Saundra Yaklin / Bad Sandy Productions is the technical director. Robin Madel is the associate producer. Press representation by Katie Rosin / Kampfire PR.

DARK WATER is scheduled through Saturday, March 29th, with performances on Thursdays at 8pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 2pm. There is an additional opening night performance Monday, March 17th at 7p.m. and a Special Environmental Panel Discussion after Thursday, March 20th at
8pm performance.

DARK WATER will play a three week limited engagement at The Theater at the 14th Street Y (344 East 14th Street at 1st Avenue). Performances begin Friday, March 14 and continue through Saturday, March 29. Opening Night is Monday, March 17 at 7 p.m. Tickets now on sale at www.mtworks.org/darkwater or https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/928089.

Press are invited to Friday, March 14 at 8p.m., Saturday, March 15 at 8p.m., Sunday, March 16 at 8p.m. and Opening Night Monday, March 17 at 7 p.m. (and any subsequent performance).
Advance tickets are $18 ($15 Students/$12 Seniors) and are available online at www.MTWorks.org or by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the theater ½ hour prior to performance. The Theater at the 14th Street Y is located on 344 East 14th Street (at 1st Avenue). Directions by subway: L to 1st Avenue; by bus: M14 or M15 to 14th and 1st.

David Stallings (Playwright) migrated from the South (Georgia, Texas and New Mexico) to NYC over ten years ago and has been working consistently as a playwright and actor both in the city and regionally. The author of 15 full- length plays and numerous shorts, David's plays have reached audiences across the US. Most recently, Barrier Island, his play about the 2008 Hurricane Ike that hit his hometown of Galveston, TX, received its regional debut at Acadiana Repertory Theatre in Lafayette Louisiana. As a writer, David is influenced by his Southern roots and contemporary politics. For example, his play, The Re-Education of Arizona, deals explicitly with the effect of Arizona's brutal profiling policies and their immediate influence on the local Hispanic communities. As well as bringing an informed Southern voice to theater, David also focuses on female protagonists and relationships within family dynamics--with a dash of poetry and magical realism for good measure. He has worked with several theater companies including The Culture Project, Intravenous Theatre, Prospect Theater Company, Boo-Arts and Oberon Theater Company as well as having had readings of his work across the country from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Boston, Massachusetts. In 2006, he co-founded Maieutic Theatre Works (now Manhattan Theatre Works) with his play, Folie a Deux: Insanity in Pairs as their inaugural production. Brandon Voss of HX Magazine called the play, "Riveting" and named Stallings as the "playwright and actor to watch". Other plays include Anaι?s Nin Goes to Hell (1st Prize Winner Boston Theatre Works Unbound Festival 2007, Winner of the Arthur W. Stone New Play Award Louisiana Tech University 2009, Semi Finalist for the Princess Grace Award 2008), Arpeggio (produced Fall '07 at the 45th Street Theater, NYC), The Stranger to Kindness (Winner of Planet Connections Playwriting Award Short Form and Best Production of a One Act Play for the 2011 production at The Robert Moss Theater), and The Family Shakespeare (produced Spring 2011 at the June Havoc Theater, NYC). On MTWorks' 2008 NYC Fringe production ofAnai?s Nin Goes to Hell, the Village Voice said, "Thank the gods for David Stallings' 'Anai?s Nin Goes to Hell'... a uniquely polished presence at the Fringe", and The New York Press said, "For a play about women but written by a man, it captured the greater female psyche." David has a BFA in Theater from the College of Santa Fe, NM.

Heather Cohn (Director) is a co-founder of Flux Theatre Ensemble and serves as the Producing Director. Directing credits for Flux include Johnna Adams' Sans Merci, August Schulenburg's DEINDE, Erin Browne's Menders; August Schulenburg's The Lesser Seductions of History (nominated for Outstanding Direction, New York Innovative Theatre Awards) and Other Bodies (FringeNYC Excellence Award for Outstanding Direction); and numerous staged readings. Outside of Flux: David Stallings' The Stranger to Kindness (Outstanding Overall Production of a One-Act, Planet Connections Theatre Festivity Awards, also nominated for Outstanding Direction Award); Daniel Guyton's Rosie The Retired Rockette (EstroGenius Festival); Aliza Einhorns's Blood (EstroGenius Festival); Wayne Paul Mattingly's The Ballad of Lulu and Dad (Artistic New Directions); and numerous staged readings for companies such as: Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Lark Play Development Center, Cherry Lane Theatre, The Brick, On the Square Productions, MTWorks, Resonance Ensemble, Jewish Play Project, The Platform Group; Crossroads Theatre Project, and CAPS LOCKS THEATRE. Member - Women's Project Producers' LAB (2008-2010). She is a graduate of Vassar College.