Theatre 4the People to Stage Erika Phoebus' KISS IT, MAKE IT BETTER at The New Ohio, 5/28-6/18

Theatre 4the People (NYIT Award for Outstanding Production of a New Play for In Vestments) will present Erika Phoebus' KISS IT, MAKE IT BETTER, directed by Isaac Byrne (The Other Mozart) at The New Ohio (154 Christopher Street, between Greenwich and Washington, 10014), May 28-June 18 with performances Thursday through Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 5pm with additional performances on Saturday, June 11 & 18 at 3pm and Monday, May 30 and Wednesday, June 1 at 7:30pm. Admission is Pay-What-You-Can. Reserve a seat at www.newohiotheatre.org. The show runs approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.

In a small town in the rural Midwest, two childhood friends sneak away to play pretend in a nearby deserted fairground. Life back in town finds them crippled by trauma and shackled by cycles of silence and shame, forcing them to run away. Suddenly they are left to fend for each other amidst the crumbling fairgrounds, and their crumbling innocence, as they learn to maneuver through puberty and triggering what feels like love.
The cast will include Chris Cornwell (Baby Hubris at FringeNYC), Amy Higgs (In Vestments with Theare 4the People), Erika Phoebus (In Vestments with Theatre 4the People), and Brian Miskell* (The Flick at Barrow Street Theatre; NYIT Nominee for J. Stephen Brantley's Eighythree Down). *Appearing courtesy of the Actors' Equity Association.

The creative team will include Costume Design by Katja Andreiev (The Velveteen Rabbit: An Opera for Children with Atlantic Theatre Company), Video & Projection Design by Max Bowman (The Dallas Opera), Music & Sound Design by Andy Evan Cohen (The American Soldier at 59E59), and Set & Lighting Design by Joshua Rose (The Other Mozart).

Erika Phoebus (Playwright) is an NYC based actor/playwright, having most recently been seen in Theatre 4the People's In Vestments (NYIT Award for Outstanding Premiere of a New Play). Other credits include: Let Me Go (dir. Ben Winston), Pippin (Perry-Mansfield), Susanna (CU Opera). She has workshopped and performed new material at the Broadway Theatre Project, alongside and under the direction of Ben Vereen, and has been involved in developing several new musicals, including Knock Out, written by Raechel Sherwood. Erika has studied at Ithaca College, University of Colorado at Bounder, and The William Esper Studio. She is currently a student of Matthew Corozine.

Isaac Byrne (Director) Originally from Texas, now based in NYC, Isaac has been awarded the New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Director twice and productions he has directed have been nominated for a Drama Desk Award, an Off Broadway Alliance award, 24 NYIT Awards and 6 Planet Connection Awards. Credits include: The Other Mozart (NYIT Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, NYIT nominee for Outstanding Director), In Vestments (NYIT Award for Outstanding Premiere of a New Play), To Ninevh (NYIT Award for Outstanding Production), Tar Baby (DR2, PS122), 52 Man Pick Up (Ars Nova, Edinburgh Fringe), The New Normal, I Used to Write on Walls, Grimm Reality (Co-Production with Bryant Park), and Hazard a Little Death (Planet Connections Award for Best Original Script). He also performs regularly with the Aztec Economy theatre company in the touring show Bucher Holler Here We Come. He teaches acting at the University of the Arts, the New York Film Academy, and the Matthew Corozine Studio.

THEATRE 4THE PEOPLE creates economically accessible theatrical performances with courageous artists implementing a "pay-what-you-can" ticket policy, making honest, original theatre productions available to all who wish to experience art that strives to investigate and wresting with human conflicts in an authentic manner.