The Mad Ones' THE ESSENTIAL STRAIGHT & NARROW to Run 5/22-6/14 as Part of New Ohio Theatre & IRT's Archive Residency

Two years ago, The New Ohio Theatre and IRT Theater (new neighbors in the historic Archive Building on Christopher Street) kicked-off their exciting new developing and presenting initiative: the Archive Residency. The Archive Residency offers select independent theatre companies a two-year commitment of space, artistic support, and institutional continuity for the development and presentation of a new work.

Now in their second-year of the Archive Residency the companies are ready to show the fruits of this process.

CollaborationTown are currently presenting the World Premiere of Family Play (1979 To Present) through May 16, produced by CollaborationTown, written and created by Geoffrey Decas O'Donnell, Boo Killebrew and Jordan Seavey, co-created with Lee Sunday Evans and TJ Witham, and directed by Lee Sunday Evans.

The Mad Ones will present the World Premiere of The Essential Straight & Narrow May 22 - June 14, 2014, created by The Mad Ones and directed by Lila Neugebauer. Previews begin May 22 for a May 24 opening.

Immediately following these two shows, their two first-year resident companies will be presenting works-in-progress in the 2014 Ice Factory Festival. They include Rady&Bloom's The Upper Room and Vampire Cowboys' Untitled Vampire Cowboys Project. The Archive Residency will invite two additional companies into residency in September 2014.

About the Archive Residency: The first year includes a one-month stay in IRT's 3B Development Series, and a one-week presentation in New Ohio's OBIE Award-winning Ice Factory summer festival. The second year includes additional time at IRT, and culminates with a fully realized, four-week run in the New Ohio's main season. Each fall, two more independent companies are invited into the Archive Residency, bringing the program to full strength with four companies in residence, each cycling through the two-year development process. Membership into the Archive Residency is by invitation only.

Shows take place at New Ohio Theatre, located at 154 Christopher Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets in New York City. Tickets are $18 and $15 for students and seniors, and can be purchased online at http://www.NewOhioTheatre.org or by calling the Vendini ticket line at 1-888-596-1027.