Liars & Believers Kicks Off 2023 With Run At The Foundry In Cambridge's Kendall Square

Liars & Believers, the Cambridge-based theatre company, will perform their inspiring production of "A Story Beyond" at The Foundry in Kendall Square during the February school vacation week, Feb. 18 to Feb. 25, 2023. Liars & Believers (LaB) will be the first professional company to perform at the Foundry, which opened in Fall 2022, after a years-long process of saving the historic building.

LaB's show is part of the Foundry Family Festival that will run from Feb. 18 to Feb. 25 and feature public programming to allow makers and artists of all ages to spend the school break opening their minds, and connecting with new artists and makers in the area. To honor the undeniable power of community voice that made The Foundry, 101 Rogers St., what it is today, the theme of the festival is storytelling - embracing the power of dialogue and sharing our stories to build bridges and community. LaB is opening the new black box theater at the Foundry, a state-of-the-art STEAM space in the heart of Kendall Square.

"We're thrilled to help launch this exciting new community venture in Cambridge," said LaB Artistic Director Jason Slavick. "The Foundry is a powerful addition to the cultural landscape of Cambridge and Greater Boston. It's an honor for us to bring the first professional show to this gorgeous space."

"A Story Beyond" is about a young heroine who struggles to save her village from the looming Dark Cloud, in an original fable told with music, masks, and puppetry. Inspired by folklore from around the world, "A Story Beyond" is a new fable for our time, and features a new score by Nathan Leigh and dynamic puppetry and design by Faye Dupras. The show was conceived and directed by Jason Slavick, and is produced by Georgia Lyman.

"A Story Beyond" was created in response to the 2016 election that left America deeply polarized and alienated. "Through storytelling and folk art," Slavick said, "we explore the need to share stories and listen to each other if we are to heal our community. That's why we leaned into traditional forms like masks, puppets, and shadow puppetry. Even the music is based in Nathan's traditional, Eastern European, Jewish roots." "A Story Beyond" premiered in 2018 at the Boston Center for the Arts as part of LaB's multi-year artist residency at the BCA. WGBH arts editor Jared Bowen said: "If there's one show you really must see, it's 'A Story Beyond.'"

The show will serve as the creative anchor for a 10-day activation festival that will showcase the Foundry's capabilities. The cast for the run includes: Rachel Wiese, Jesse Garlick, Cal Callahan, and Glen Moore; with Leahy Ardon, cellist, and Jay Mobley as mandolinist, lead vocalist and music director. Melanie R. Mather Mills is the stage manager. Talene Pogharian is the assistant stage manager. Other credits include: Kendra Bell, costume design; PJ Strachman, lighting design; Rebecca Lehrhoff, scenic design and props master; Becca Jewett, mask design; Ben Lieberson, technical direction and assistant scenic design; and, José Delgado, vocal coach.

"A Story Beyond" was created and is presented with the generous support of the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Boston Cultural Council. For more on "A Story Beyond," use this link: https://www.liarsandbelievers.com/show/astorybeyond/ You can order tickets through this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-story-beyond-tickets-494227015307

The Foundry run of "A Story Beyond" will open with an invite-only performance on Friday, Feb. 17, with a light reception to mark this exciting opening.

Located in Kendall Square, the Foundry opened in the Fall of 2022 after a $45.5 million investment led by the city of Cambridge to transform an old industrial building, built in 1890, into what the media reports called "a gleaming new community arts center." The Foundry is a self-sustaining center of creativity and collaboration in the Kendall Square neighborhood offering the Cambridge community opportunities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.

The Foundry is 50,000 square feet and provides space and programs for the arts (visual and performing), crafts, technology, entrepreneurship, workforce education, and community activities. The Foundry helps facilitate access for residents, especially underrepresented communities, to the dynamic working and learning environment of Kendall Square. The building also provides office space at market rate and below market rates for businesses and non-profit organizations. The building is operated by The Foundry Consortium, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

The Foundry run is just the start of what promises to be an exciting 2023. "Bringing this timely story of inclusion, communication and adventure to the Foundry is a perfect fit with where LaB is in its own journey," said Georgia Lyman, LaB's Executive Producer. "We are in the midst of exploring the expansion of our company; with a new cast member, a total re-brand and launch of our website, and through our global touring plans."

LaB's next stop in their journey is the WithOut Walls Festival (WOW Fest) this Spring. WOW is a new outdoor festival curated by the renowned La Jolla Playhouse in Southern California. LaB is also initiating an artistic partnership with Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia. This connection was made by Boston's own Elsa Mosquera-Sterenberg of Cultural Agora, who is a member of LaB's Advocacy and Accountability Board. In October 2022, Slavick and Lyman continued the globalization of the company by traveling to Bogota at the invitation of the theatre department of the Universidad to begin forging a long-term artistic partnership. The potential outcome will be an annual residency with horizontal professional development between faculty and LaB artists, cultural exchange and touring LaB shows to the Colombian theatre circuit.

Future LaB performances of their anchor show "Yellow Bird Chase" are also being secured, with a mini-tour of Florida happening in Spring of 2024 centered around with the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach. Next season, LaB will also premiere "Letters from Prague," an adaptation of the book of same name. This collection of letters between family members during the Nazi occupation of Prague is a heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting story that remains as timely as it was when written during World War II.

Liars & Believers swings into the new year on the success of 2022, which included a critically lauded run of "Yellow Bird Chase" at the renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. The (Edinburgh) Scotsman called LaB's performance "charming" and the company received an unprecedented four 5-star reviews. While at the Festival, LaB gave 22 performances that were seen by hundreds of people. This was LaB's first international festival.

DETAILS FOR 'A STORY BEYOND': The Cambridge Foundry, 101 Rogers St., Cambridge, MA. "A Story Beyond" has a one-hour run time. Tickets are $5 to $15. The shows are: Saturday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 19 at 2 p.m.; Monday, Feb. 20, no show; Tuesday, Feb. 21, 11 a.m.; Wednesday, Feb. 22, 11 a.m.; Thursday, Feb. 23, 7 p.m.; Friday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m.; and Saturday, Feb. 25, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

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