The Filigree Theatre Will Return To Live Performance With The World Premiere Of LIFTED

Austin-based, women-led independent theatre company The Filigree Theatre has announced the third and final show of their third season (extended due to COVID hiatus), the World Premiere of "LIFTED," a modern meditation on the tale of Icarus, by playwright Charlie Thurston. Directed by Filigree Founder and Producing Artistic Director, Elizabeth V. Newman, "LIFTED" stars Austin actors J. Kevin Smith as "Wayne," Madison Palomo as "Ria" and James Lindsley as "Shawn." The production will take place outdoors at All the Sudden (906 Koerner Ln, Austin, TX 78721) and will open Thursday, April 7th at 8 p.m., running Thursday through Sunday for two weekend, closing on Sunday,

April 17th. Showtimes will be 8 p.m. Tickets for "LIFTED" are available now at The Filigree Theatre website and directly via Eventbrite.

A modern meditation on the Icarus tale, "LIFTED" is part absurdist family drama, part imaginative theatrical fantasia. In an environmentally ravaged near-future, birds have returned from their recent extinction to carry a teenage boy off into the sky. Is it an act of salvation or a declaration of war? As the avian abduction sends ripples through the city, then the country, then the world, his twin brother, father, and girlfriend have to turn to each other for meaning.

"This play has been close to my heart for years, but I had never been able to find a theatre company gutsy enough to take it on," said Charlie Thurston, "LIFTED" playwright. "That changed when I heard from Filigree. We began rehearsals in March 2020... little did I know that my time in Austin was my last big adventure before shutdown. This production has been on hold for obvious reasons, but in that time the story has only grown in relevance. I'm so excited to work with Elizabeth to finally bring this wild story to Austin. Expect an unkindness of ravens, a junkyard world, giant bird wings, mass hysteria, polyester suits and a possible Rapture."

"For Filigree's Third Season, we have been exploring 'Fear and Fearlessness,'" said Elizabeth V. Newman "LIFTED" director. "In the World Premiere of 'LIFTED,' we see how these dual themes resonate at both a personal and at a global level. 'LIFTED' digs into how a specific terrifying event shapes those who are closest to the emotional epicenter, while at the same, it examines how this shocking and inexplicable occurrence reverberates across society. We explore how our fears, in the face of mystery and of the 'unknown,' take on the form of rumor, panic and animal self-preservation, and rush in to make sense of, and control, that which is beyond our understanding."

ABOUT FILIGREE'S THIRD SEASON:

"Connecting to the past; planting the seeds of the future."

The Filigree Theatre's annual season is structured to connect the Past, Present and Future of theatre over the course of a three- show season. Each season is composed of: FALL (Past) represented by a play from the theatre cannon; WINTER (Present) represented by a play that is the work of a playwright living/working today and SPRING (Future) represented by a play that is a world premiere. Each season is tied together with a common theme that runs throughout the three shows. Filigree's Third Season theme is "Fear & Fearlessness."

This season kicked off FALL 2019 with a production of "Fefu and Her Friends" by prolific Cuban-American playwright, Maria Irene Fornes. This was followed up by the WINTER 2020 production of "The Turn of the Screw," by Jeffrey Thatcher, and now is rounded out with the World Premiere of Charlie Thurston's "LIFTED" as the SPRING show (postponed from April 2020).

"Over the course of this season we have addressed the varying shapes that fear can take, from terror of the supernatural in 'The Turn of the Screw,' to a more nuanced, latent kind of existential dread in 'Fefu and Her Friends,'" said Newman. "For 'LIFTED,' our Spring show, we come face to face with the kind of fear that stems from a sense of powerlessness and deep-seated anxiety. The other half of our thematic exploration this season has been to look at 'fearlessness'; to hold up those acts of bravery, both large and small, public and personal, that exist within this trio of shows. These moments serve to remind us that we are not helpless in the face of frightening situations. They call for us to listen to our better angels and charge us to hold on to our compassion and humanity even in the direst of circumstances."

ABOUT THE FILIGREE THEATRE:

The Filigree Theatre is an Austin-based, woman-led, independent company committed to producing high-level, professional theatre and to collaborating with local artists working across creative disciplines including fine arts, dance, film and music. The company's name, "Filigree," meaning was derived from the Latin words for thread (filum) and seed (granum), which serves as the basis for the company's dual mission: to serve both as a "seed" by incubating and supporting theatre-making in Austin and as a "thread" by connecting and collaborating with theatre-makers outside of Austin. The Filigree Theatre is likewise dedicated to forging connections with diverse audiences, in Austin, and beyond.

ABOUT "LIFTED" PLAYWRIGHT, DIRECTOR & CAST:

Charlie Thurston (Playwright)'s plays "Radical" (Co-written with Deborah Salem Smith), "LIFTED," "A and B," "Empire," "A Demonstration by Patient Edward," and "The History Room" have been developed or produced at Huntington Theatre, Trinity Rep, The Filigree Theatre, The Wilbury Group, Brown University, Cornell College, and Creede Repertory Theater. Thurston was the 2012 recipient of the Trinity Repertory Company's David Wickham Memorial Playwriting Prize.

Elizabeth V. Newman (Director) is the Producing Artistic Director of The Filigree Theatre and has directed and produced critically- acclaimed theatre and film projects in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Austin. Selected stage directing credits include 100 PLANES by Lila Rose Kaplan (World Premiere, Austin /West Coast Premiere, LA); A DELICATE SHIP by Anna Ziegler (Austin Premiere), TRIO by Sheila Cowley (World Premiere, Austin); ANY NIGHT by Daniel Arnold & Medina Hahn (Austin/Los Angeles premieres nominated for 4 B. Iden Payne Awards, including Outstanding Direction of a Drama); BODY OF WORK by Christine Hoang (World Premiere, Austin); MOCHA by Eleanor Burgess (World Premiere, Austin).

Film directing credits include Child of Light (feature) and numerous short films including The Yellow Wallpaper and Hatched. Her feature script, Shattering, was included in IFP's Emerging Narrative (IFP Independent Film Week); short script, In Cold Pursuit, was a 'second rounder' at Austin Film Festival, short script, Galatea's Dream, was Awarded "Best Un-produced Screenplay" by LA Femme Film Festival, Montreal Independent Film Festival (Nominee), NYC International Screenplay Awards (Semi-Finalist), Atlanta Film Festival (QuarterFinalist), Screencraft Short Screenplay Competition (QuarterFinalist). She graduated with honors from Yale (dual B.A. degrees in Art History and Theater) and earned her M.F.A. in Film Production at Boston University. She has twice served as a Panelist at The Austin Film Festival and is a member of Toronto-based Directors Lab: North. She is founding co-president of Women In Film and Television- AUSTIN.

J. Kevin Smith ("Wayne") is thrilled to be back with Filigree Theatre for "LIFTED." Kevin was most recently on stage in Yasmina Reza's "Art", and has also been seen over the past several years in such shows as "Betrayal" (The Filigree Theatre), "Glengarry Glen Ross", "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "Arden of

Faversham", and "Taming of the Shrew". He also directed the smash hit "Noises Off" for City Theatre, which was nominated for two B. Iden Payne awards in 2018 for Best Comedy Play and Best Director.

Madison Palomo ("Ria") is enjoying her 27th year celebrating theatre in Austin, Texas. Graduating in 2017 with a BFA in Acting, Madi has toured across the country in various TYA projects. These works include Cenicienta with Glass Half Full Theatre and Yana Wana's Legend of the Bluebonnet with Teatro Vivo. When not in shows, Madi works as a site coordinator for Creative Action: a nonprofit that brings the arts to schools in Austin.

James Lindsley ("Shawn") was born and raised in Austin,Texas. Right out of high school, he worked as a Stage Manager on shows such as: "Assassins" with the Soubrette theatre company; "Blood Brothers" with Trinity Street Players; and "Twelfth Night" and "Grease" at the City Theatre. He has appeared as an actor in: "I Hate Hamlet"; "The Lion In Winter"; and "Proof" at the Wimberely Players; "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "The Odd Couple" at the Sam Bass Community Theatre; "Quills" with Aria Creative Productions and the Overtime Theatre. He served as ASM and understudy (Jean) for The Filigree Theatre's production of "Miss Julie." In between theatre gigs, James also works in the world of film, working frequently with RedTwitEntertainment and Wild Canvas Media. He can be seen in the web series, "Holism" and well as in a new short called "Degenerates." Upcoming projects include the New York run of The Filigree Theatre's production of "The Turn of the Screw" by Jeffrey Hatcher.

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