New Theatre Company Presents Premiere of Hotel Oracle

The Sum Of Us Theatre Company will present the World Premiere of Hotel Oracle, written by Bixby Elliot and directed by Stephen Brackett. Performances will run from March 8 to 31, 2007 at Walkerspace (46 Walker St.) in Tribeca, NY. Previews begin March 8 for a March 11 opening.  Visit http://www.hoteloracle.org to learn more about Hotel Oracle.

In this searing and lyrical new drama, Hotel Oracle brings together a lonely reporter, a con man, an expectant mother, a mysterious messenger, a pill popper and a kindly hotel clerk. Six strangers leave the familiar comfort of the hotel and set out with the same burning desire; to find the Oracle. They hope that perhaps he—or she-- will answer the imponderable questions of their lives. Revealing pivotal moments in their personal histories, this play looks at the roads we choose, why we choose them and how far we travel them…

Playwright Bixby Elliot is a recent graduate of Columbia University's MFA Playwriting Program under the guidance of Eduardo Machado. His plays include Streets of Laredo (Culture Project 45 Below) I Am Not Peter Pan (Cherry Lane Alternative & Scotland's Edinburgh Fringe Festival – "Best of Fest" Award/5 Star Review) and Three Across (The Belt @The Zipper). He is the recipient of the Howard Stein Fellowship and a Dean's Fellow at Columbia and has studied writing with Kelly Stuart, Frank Pugliese, Anne Bogart, Theresa Rebeck, Christopher Shinn, Peter Parnell and Jeffrey Jones.

Director Stephen Brackett is the Associate Artistic Director of Salt Theater Co. and Artistic Director of The Bushwick Hotel. His directing credits include Blackbird by Suzan-Lori Parks as part of The Public Theater's 365 Days/365 Plays, The Blackstone Hotel (Culture Project 45 Below), Rachel Shukert's Bloody Mary (4 NY Innovative Theater Award Nominations/Third Man Productions) hailed by TimeOut NY as "Possibly the funniest display of political fanaticism since Franz Liebkind's paean to Hitler in The Producers" and Kilroy Was Here: A Styx Rock Opera (Williamstown Theater Festival Workshop). His adaptation of Goethe's Faust ran at Urban Stages. Stephen is a graduate of NYU's Playwrights Horizons Theater School. He has assisted Steven Cosson with The Civilians, director Nicholas Martin and Emma Griffin with Salt Theater.

The Sum Of Us Theatre Company, founded by graduates of The Atlantic Theater Acting School, worked as a collaborative ensemble while creating Hotel Oracle. Their process followed the great traditions of The Joint Stock Company and Anne Bogart's SITI Company; using collaborative and improvisational techniques to create a play that incorporates the sum of all the individuals involved. For more info visit http://www.hoteloracle.org.

The cast includes Tessa Gibbons, Raymond James Hill, Katie Honaker, Jim Kane, Paul Keany and Deb Martin. The production team consists of Set Designer Nicholas Vaughn (two time Edinburgh Fringe First Award Winner, NY Fringe Fest Outstanding Set Design Winner for The Silent Concerto and USITT W. Oren Parker Scene Design Award Winner), Lighting Designer Anjeanette Stokes (NYIT Award Nominee) and Costume Designer Donald Sanders (associate of William Ivey Long).

Walkerspace is at 46 Walker Street between Broadway & Church
St. in Tribeca, NY. Limited Engagement: March 8 to 31, 2007. Previews begin March 8 for a March 11 opening. Performances run Wednesday-Saturday at 8pm & Sunday at 5pm. Tickets are $15 for shows Thu-Sat & $10 for shows on Wed & Sun. For tickets call 212-352-3101 or visit http://www.theatermania.com.