Rajiv Joseph's ANIMALS OUT OF PAPER Opens in NYC Revival Tonight

Yolo! Productions and The Great Griffon will present a rare revival of Animals Out of Paper, by Rajiv Joseph (2010 Pulitzer Prize Finalist - Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), directed by Merri Milwe, at McAlphin Hall at West Park Presbyterian Church. Starring David Beck, Nairoby Otero, and Maneesh Sasikumar, this limited Off-Broadway engagement opens tonight, February 12. Performances continue through February 28th, 2015 only.

When a world-renowned origami artist opens her studio to a teenage prodigy and his schoolteacher, she discovers that life and love can't be arranged neatly in this drama about finding the perfect fold. The New York Times said of Animals Out of Paper: "Mr. Joseph's observant, pitch-perfect script seems modest at first but is really quite ambitious, dealing ruthlessly with the fragility of happiness, the tragedy of impulsiveness and the tenuousness of hope."

Animals Out of Paper will have scenic design by Ran Xia, costume design by Viktor Luna and lighting design by Claudia Toth. This production of Animals Out of Paper features designs by established origami artists Robert Lang, Michael LaFosse, John Szinger, Chris Y. Itoh, Roman Diaz, and Paul Frasco. All origami pieces have been specially constructed for this production. Talo Kawasaki (Origami Consultant) is the co-designer for the annual Origami Holiday Tree exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History and is an influential artist and educator in the New York origami scene.

Performances, which take place at the McAlpin Hall at the West Park Church (165 West 86th Street at Amsterdam Avenue), will be Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8pm, Sundays at 5pm. Special Added Preview Wednesday February 4th at 8pm. Tickets, which are $18 for all performances, may be purchased online at SmartTix.com or by phone at 212-868-4444. You can follow Animals Out Of Paper at Facebook.com/AnimalsOut or Twitter.com/AnimalsOut.

Rajiv Joseph was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for drama in 2010 for Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, for which he was also the recipient of a grant for Outstanding New American Play from the National Endowment for the Arts. He received a Lucille Lortel Award Nomination for Outstanding Play for Animals Out of Paper, as well as the Paula Vogel Award in Playwriting and a Kesserling Fellowship for emerging dramatists from the National Arts Club. His others plays include Huck & Holden, All This Intimacy, and The Leopard and the Fox. In 2009 he received the Whiting Writers Award, given annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and plays. He received his BA in creative writing from Miami University and his MFA in playwriting from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he served for three years in the Peace Corps in Senegal, West Africa, and now makes his home in Brooklyn, New York.

Merri Milwe's most recent projects were Thrift Shop by Daniel Sklar produced by 3 Angels in New York City. Last summer, she directed two casts in Vanya, Sonya, Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang in Oslo, Norway in Norwegian. This is not the first time Merri has directed in a language she doesn't speak. In 2006 she was given a grant to direct Critical Mass by Deb Margolin for the Samuel Beckett Conference at Tel Aviv University. Merri has worked many times with the playwrights Deb Margolin, Rae C Wright, Charlotte Colavin, and Marian Fontana, primarily in their solo pieces. She has directed plays at Yale University, Sarah Lawrence College, Pennsylvania State and other educational institutions. She is currently developing a solo piece with Marian Fontana.

David Beck wrote, co-produced, starred in, and composed the score to the short film For Francis, which won The Audience Choice Award at the CNKY Film Festival. He recently founded The Great Griffon, whose premiere project was the short film The Exalted, written by and featuring Beck. Stage highlights include Summer Shorts at 59e59 (Albert Innaurato's Doubtless directed by Tony Award winner Jack Hofsiss and Neil Koenigsberg's On a Bench directed by Merri Milwe); Cory Conley's The More Loving One (Best Play NY Fringe 2011); Joe Capozzi's For Pete's Sake, in addition to work with Primary Stages, Mirror Rep, 1stIrish Festival, and the Human Race in Ohio. He records audio books for the blind at the NY Public Library. Graduate of Marymount Manhattan College's acting program. www.DavidGBeck.com

Nairoby Otero is an actress, writer, producer, speaker, and proud first-generation Cuban-American. Recently, she starred as Roberta in John Patrick Shanley's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea directed by Michelle Tattenbaum. Nairoby is the founder of YOLO! Productions, a production company that aims to enhance the visibility of women in theater. She is known for her solo show, 'Til Sunday, written & performed by Otero and directed by Michelle Tattenbaum. Nairoby has performed in ensemble theater and film from regional to Off-Broadway's Cherry Lane Theatre. Nairoby earned her degree in Theatre Performance from Marymount Manhattan College. Her hometown is New Orleans, LA and she imbues her work with the commitment and strength she learned while growing up there. www.nairobyotero.com

Maneesh Sasikumar, a fresh and highly unorthodox young actor, was born and raised in Brooklyn, where he found his love for the arts at an early age. He moved to LA on a whim and spent 5 years studying acting with such teachers as Ivana Chubbuck?. Maneesh is described as "A streetwise rebel that makes you want to dance". He has worked with top Hollywood producers such as Zachary Quinto and Chris Moore, with blossoming relationships amongst casting directors across the nation. In 2015 he returns home to continue honing his craft in the best school there is, New York City Theater.

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