Staged Reading of THE MAD ONES Set for Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, 5/23

Tunnel Theatre Company will premiere a staged reading of a new play, "THE MAD ONES" by Nathan Mohebbi as part of the 2014 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity this Friday, May 23 @ 1:30 PM at The Paradise Factory.

The play takes the audience for a wild ride as five friends take hallucinogens to celebrate their final night as college roommates. But when reality begins to slip away, truths and secrets are brought to light. The friends discover that sometimes moving on means learning who will come with you.

Playwright, Nathan Mohebbi quotes "I wrote the play during a very difficult time in my life, when I had lost a lot of my close friends and was feeling vulnerable and untethered from reality. During this time, I came to the realization that it took losing these people who I had loved so deeply to really understand my path and individuality."

Directed by Jillian Carucci, and Kaitlyn Frotton, this reading features performances by Maxwell McCurdy, Ivey Lowe, Joseph Metcalfe, Michael Luwoye and Ali Kerestly.

"It sort of became an anti-reading in the rehearsal process." Directors Jillian Carucci and Kaitlyn Frotton said. Frotton continues: "The play is environmental, youthful and has a lot of levels that are hard to resist playing with - even in a staged reading setting. And...it doesn't hurt to have a committed company of strong actors who are unafraid to get down and dirty with these characters. We're challenging traditional staged reading boundaries with this one."

"And we're doing this in such a way that the text, the playwright, and the livelihood of the piece are all honored." Carucci added. "It's early in the process, and our primary responsibility is to serve the playwright's development of the piece with this exploration. However, early as it may be, Nathan's characters are already very much alive, and they're begging to play. So, if there are moments they want to live beyond the confines of a music stand - that's a good sign. The play is titled THE MAD ONES. We're embracing that."

Mohebbi leaves us with this: " The play tackles the ideas of co-dependence and love. Sometimes, when we attach ourselves to people mentally, emotionally, socially and physically - it can keep us from becoming who we're supposed to be. The play is an ode to the beautiful, crazy, mad friendships I had in college, and my wish that they are all happy somewhere, cause I keep them in my heart always."

This premiere staged reading will be presented on Friday, May 23 @ 1:30pm at the Paradise Factory, located at 64 E. 4th Street, New York, NY. Free tickets are available by reservation at http://planetconnections.org/the-mad-ones/. All donated proceeds will directly benefit ASTEP (Artists Striving To End Poverty).

For more information on Tunnel Theatre Company, visit http://www.tunneltheatre.com.