The Syndicate to Present CIVILITY! at The Brick

Ensemble theater company The Syndicate draws on classical training and nightly dance parties in Civility!, a story of dangerous, sexy, wild collisions inspired by Euripides's The Bacchae. The play follows a chorus of women caught between order and chaos.

Company member Megan Hanley explains that the original impetus for the play was to queer The Bacchae. "It's a play about desire, excess, and failure, and Dionysus turns into a dragon at the end. How much queerer can you get?" she asks. As The Syndicate began devising the piece, Hanley shares, "We took queer desire in the play as a given. Then we could ask vast questions-how do we live together?- and also address very practical concerns, such as how to make an earthquake happen onstage."

The Syndicate is an ensemble theater company whose members met at the SITI Conservatory. Their practice is grounded in Suzuki and Viewpoints training as shared with them by their mentors at SITI Company.

In October, the company performed a work-in-progress performance of Civility! through SITI Lab, a program that offers subsidized space to SITI Conservatory graduates as they develop their own work. The company caught the attention of The Brick's artistic leadership, and the Syndicate was invited to kick off The Brick's 2015 programming through a Residency in early January.

Civility! was created and performed by The Syndicate with direction by Emily Spalding. The Syndicate is Alanna Coby, Janouke Goosen, Megan Hanley, Leigh Hendrix, Ellenor Riley-Condit, Emily Spalding, and Andrea Tzvetkov. For more information about The Syndicate, please visit www.wearethesyndicate.com.

Civility! will play at The Brick (579 Metropolitan Ave at Lorimer Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn) January 8 - 10 & 15 - 17, 2015 at 8pm. Tickets ($15) may be purchased online at www.bricktheater.com or by calling 866-811-4111.

The Brick is located at 579 Metropolitan Avenue (between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on the L & G subway lines (L: Lorimer stop; G: Metropolitan stop). For more detailed directions & further information, visit bricktheater.com. The Brick and its non-profit company, The Brick Theater, Inc. were founded in September of 2002 by Robert Honeywell and Michael Gardner.

Winner of THE 2009 CAFFE CINO FELLOWSHIP AWARD, The Brick is Williamsburg, Brooklyn's destination for subversive theatrical experiences. Home to the critically acclaimed premieres of Bouffon Glass Menajoree (NY IT Award Winner-Outstanding Play), Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War (NY IT Award Winner-Outstanding Play), The Brick has hosted some of downtown theater's most innovative artists, including Jason Grote, Annie Baker, Young Jean Lee, The Debate Society, The Mad Ones and Thomas Bradshaw.