OldSoundRoom's OCTOBER IN THE CHAIR AND OTHER FRAGILE THINGS Begins 10/29

OldSoundRoom's production of OCTOBER IN THE CHAIR AND OTHER FRAGILE THINGS, based on the short stories of New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman, brings 90 minutes of absurdist, dark humor, just in time for Halloween. Directed by Michael McQuilken, OCTOBER IN THE CHAIR AND OTHER FRAGILE THINGS will play six performances only - October 29th and October 30th at 8PM; October 31st and November 1st at 8PM and 10:30PM and November 2nd at 2PM at The American Theatre of Actors (314 West 54 Street). Tickets are $20. For tickets please visit: www.oldsoundroom.com.

This production recently premiered at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival in the "Best of Fringe" category, where it was highly acclaimed and reviewed as a "fully-loaded, immensely entertaining gothic-style ghost tale." OCTOBER IN THE CHAIR AND OTHER FRAGILE THINGS brings the unlikely happenings and child-like wonder of Neil Gaiman's fantasy world to the stage with a 25-character, five-actor show including original music and puppets.

OCTOBER IN THE CHAIR AND OTHER FRAGILE THINGS comes to Off-Broadway after being selected for The Araca Project, a producing grant for emerging artists through The Araca Group.

The cast includes William DeMerrit, Laura Gragtmans, Elia Monte-Brown and Jackson Moran, with original music written and performed by Michael McQuilken and Ms. Gragtmans. Lighting is by Solomon Weisbard, costumes and puppets by Elizabeth Barrett Groth and sound design by Michael McQuilken.

OldSoundRoom was founded in 2013 by recent graduates of the Yale School of Drama, all of whom share an artistic vision to create exciting and original theater. In the fifteen months since their founding, they have performed two shows in three countries. Their first production, OLD SOUND ROOM LEAR- an aggressive adaptation of Shakespeare's KING LEAR -premiered in New York City in the summer of 2013. The production utilized his words, frenzied movement set to original beat-driven music, and new text culled from interviews with residents of the Lillian Booth/Actors Fund Assisted Living Facility. Their second show, MACHINE MAKES MAN- inspired by the writings of futurist Ray Kurzweil, won the Gold Prize for Best International Performance at the 2013 Amsterdam Fringe Festival, and was subsequently invited to The National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa, performing to sold-out houses and rave reviews.

OCTOBER IN THE CHAIR AND OTHER FRAGILE THINGS was adapted by OldSoundRoom from Mr. Gaiman's collection of short stories, "Fragile Things". Five of these stories were chosen by the company and divided amongst members to be written as stage plays. Over several months, the stories passed hands for revisions, while keeping Mr. Gaiman's words, worlds, and aesthetics as the highest priority. Further development through table reads, discussions, physical explorations, choreographic experiments, collaborative music creation, and feedback from peers, landed the company with a truly ensemble-driven piece.

Michael McQuilken (director) resides in Brooklyn, NY, where he runs a music video production house (Q Motion Pictures), records & produces music (under his own name and as The Few Moments), and serves as the artistic director for OldSoundRoom Performance Ensemble. He is currently directing EPIPHANY, an immersive music, film, and theater installation that will premier at BAM in 2015. Other directing work includes the THEATRE IS EVIL WORLD TOUR (a theatrical rock show performed by Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra), ROOM NO. 35 (an installation concerto by composer Paola Prestini with artwork by Erika Harrsch), MACHINE MAKES MAN (also written by Michael with Adina Verson, winner of the Gold Prize for international theatre performance at Fringe Amsterdam, 2013), and an original play with music that Michael scored, scripted, and directed entitled, JIB. Musical scores include THE TALE (book by Tommy Smith), THE DUMPLING LADY (book by Susan Stanton), and BONES IN THE BASKET (dir. Devin Brain). Other scores include the original production of NICKEL AND DIMED (dir. Bartlett Sher, winner of the Garland Award for best composition) and BLUE ORANGE (dir. Kate Whoriskey). Michael is a graduate of the directing program at Yale School of Drama.

Neil Gaiman offers writing that appeals to audiences of all genres and ages, and has achieved cult status among his fantasy and science fiction fan base. His New York Times bestselling works include "Neverwhere", "Stardust", and the "Sandman" comic series. Gaiman also has experience in the film and television industry, writing the screenplay for an episode of "Doctor Who," and helping to adapt his novel "Coraline," nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards. Gaiman was born in the United Kingdom, and currently resides in Minneapolis.

OCTOBER IN THE CHAIR AND OTHER FRAGILE THINGS will run from Wednesday, October 29 through Sunday, November 2. The playing schedule is as follows: Wednesday through Saturday at 8PM, Friday and Saturday at 10:30PM and a matinee on Sunday at 2PM. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased by visiting www.oldsoundroom.com.

Photo by Adina Verson