A.R.T.'s OBERON to Present 600 HIGHWAYMEN's THE FEVER

OBERON, the American Repertory Theater's (A.R.T.) incubator for local and emerging artists, presents The Fever, to be performed by New York-based 600 HIGHWAYMEN in complete collaboration with the audience November 15 - 19, 2017 at The Ex (located in the Loeb Drama Center), 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge. Written and directed by Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone, The Fever was created in collaboration with Brandon Wolcott, Emil Abranyan, and Eric Southern.

The Fever tests the limits of individual and collective responsibility and our willingness to be there for one another. The piece examines how we assemble, organize, and care for the bodies around us as it provokes participating audience members to consider, "Who will you be when our eyes are on you? What will we see when we all look your way?"

The human tendency to perform for one another has inspired co-writers/directors Browde and Silverstone throughout each of the plays they've created since 2009. "We look at each other. It's what we've always done," says Browde. "Staring at each other-whether it's on the subway, in the grocery store, or onstage-feels like second nature, like eating, breathing, talking, and so on. Making plays is sculpting our animal instinct to look at each other."

"This era of profound division and intense personal isolation demands that work explore human connection," says A.R.T. Artistic Producer Mark Lunsford. "We are excited to bring The Fever to our audience, and to spark further conversation about our responsibility to one another and to our communities. We've been exploring this question of connection through the OBERON Presents series this season with Keith Wallace's The Bitter Game, and continuing with Glowberon genre-bending performer Bridget Barkan and her upcoming piece, Dear Stranger, I Love You."

Performances run: Wednesday, November 15 - Saturday, November 18 at 7:30PM and Saturday, November 18 - Sunday, November 19 at 2PM. Press performance: Wednesday, November 15 at 7:30PM. Tickets from $35. Now on sale by phone at 617.547.8300, in person at the A.R.T. Ticket Services (64 Brattle St), or online at americanrepertorytheater.org/thefever.

600 HIGHWAYMEN is the moniker for theater artists Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone. The duo has created 7 original works since 2009 with presentations at many national and international venues including Under The Radar (The Public Theater), Crossing the Line (French Institute Alliance Française), River to River (Lower Manhattan Cultural Council), Abrons Arts Center, Wexner Center for the Arts (Columbus, OH), On The Boards (Seattle, WA), Centre Pompidou and Parc de la Villette (France), Festival Theaterformen (Germany), Noorderzon Festival (The Netherlands), Zürcher Theater Spektakel (Switzerland), Onassis Cultural Centre (Greece), In Between Time International Festival (UK), OzAsia Festival (Adelaide), and many others.

600 HIGHWAYMEN received an Obie Award in 2014 and Zurich's ZKB Patronage Prize in 2015. In 2016, Browde and Silverstone were named artist fellows by the New York Foundation for the Arts. Their work The Fever is currently touring internationally, and their latest work, an adaptation of Kasimir and Karoline, premiered at the 2017 Salzburg Festival in August.

Since its inception, OBERON, the A.R.T.'s Second Stage and club theater venue, has been a destination for nightlife in Harvard Square-a thriving incubator for local and emerging artists pushing the theatrical form and host to some of A.R.T.'s most innovative productions such as the I.D. Festival, Kansas City Choir Boy, We're Gonna Die, Ghost Quartet, The Shape She Makes, The Lily's Revenge, Prometheus Bound, and The Donkey Show. The OBERON Presents series is an extension of OBERON's artistic vision, offering vibrant and cutting-edge work at the venue and elsewhere. The 2017/18 Season features work by Keith A. Wallace, 600 HIGHWAYMEN, Marga Gomez, Kit Yan, Sara Porkalob, John Kelly, Lady Bunny, and much more.

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University is a leading force in the American theater, producing groundbreaking work in Cambridge and beyond. The A.R.T. was founded in 1980 by Robert Brustein, who served as Artistic Director until 2002, when he was succeeded by RoBert Woodruff. Diane Paulus began her tenure as Artistic Director in 2008. Under the leadership of Paulus and Executive Producer Diane Borger, the A.R.T. seeks to expand the boundaries of theater by programming events that immerse audiences in transformative theatrical experiences.

Throughout its history, the A.R.T. has been honored with many distinguished awards, including the Tony Award for Best New Play for All the Way (2014); consecutive Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical for Pippin (2013) and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (2012), both of which Paulus directed; a Pulitzer Prize; a Jujamcyn Prize for outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent; the Tony Award for Best Regional Theater; and numerous Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards.

The A.R.T. collaborates with artists around the world to develop and create work in new ways. It is currently engaged in a number of multi-year projects, including a new collaboration with Harvard's Center for the Environment that will result in the development of new work over several years. Under Paulus's leadership, the A.R.T.'s club theater, OBERON, has been an incubator for local and emerging artists and has attracted national attention for its innovative programming and business models.

As the professional theater on the campus of Harvard University, the A.R.T. catalyzes discourse, interdisciplinary collaboration, and creative exchange among a wide range of academic departments, institutions, students, and faculty members, acting as a conduit between its community of artists and the university. A.R.T. plays a central role in Harvard's newly launched undergraduate Theater, Dance, and Media concentration, teaching courses in directing, dramatic literature, acting, voice, design, and dramaturgy. The A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theater Training, run in partnership with the Moscow Art Theatre School and the Harvard Extension School, offers graduate training in acting, dramaturgy, and voice.

Dedicated to making great theater accessible, the A.R.T. actively engages more than 5,000 community members and local students annually in project-based partnerships, workshops, conversations with artists, and other enrichment activities both at the theater and across the Greater Boston area.

Through all of these initiatives, the A.R.T. is dedicated to producing world-class performances in which the audience is central to the theatrical experience.

Photo Credit: Maria Baranova

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