Gainesville Theatre Alliance Production of THE FLICK Addresses Authentic Human Connection in a Digital Age

For over 100 years, movie houses have hosted a steady stream of people, with dates or friends or occasionally alone, who sit on velvet seats in the dark to witness a story that makes them feel something. Even in the transition from celluloid to digital, whether dropping popcorn on the floor or donning 3D glasses, movie goers connect to the characters on the screen and take the feelings those films elicit out of the theatre and into their lives.

In The Flick, the Gainesville Theatre Alliance's first Discovery Series show of the 2016-2017 season, we meet Avery, Sam and Rose, workers in a faded movie house who long for authentic connection to others, but find it in different ways. The Flick, written by Annie Baker, will perform 7:30pm, Sept. 15-18, at Brenau's Theatre on the Square, 301 Main St SW, Gainesville. The show is rated R for mature themes.

GTA's Discovery Series is an annual offering of small cast, contemporary and often more edgy scripts than frequently appear on the MainStage; performances are free. The Gainesville Theatre Alliance is a nationally acclaimed collaboration between the University of North Georgia, Brenau University, theatre professionals and the northeast Georgia community.

GTA's production of The Flick is directed by Ryan Conarro, a theater maker, teaching artist, and a facilitator of community engagement. Conarro serves as Education & Community Projects Associate with Ping Chong + Company (Atlanta) while continuing engagements with Alaska's Perseverance and Generator Theaters, and Theater Mitu (New York). Conarro attended North Hall High School before earning his BFA at NYU; he has an MFA-Interdiscplinary Arts from Goddard College.

Performances of The Flick are free with general admission seating; patrons can arrive any time after 6:30pm to check-in, with theatre doors opening at 7:10pm. The rest of the GTA season of theatre can be seen at www.gainesvilleTHEATREalliance.org. Call the Box Office with questions at 678.717.3624, Monday - Friday from 10am to 4pm.