Know Theatre to Launch 2016 with Timely Drama BLACKTOP SKY

After witnessing police harass a fellow resident of the housing projects, 18-year-old Ida befriends Klass, an unpredictable young homeless man she finds sleeping on a bench between the institutional high-rises. As their unlikely friendship grows, Ida must choose whether to embrace the struggle for justice within her neighborhood, or to chase a new life elsewhere with her upwardly mobile boyfriend, Wynn.

Know Theatre is proud to present BLACKTOP SKY, an intense, personal look at the intersection of love, violence, community, and justice on the line between poverty and true homelessness.

Playwright Christina Anderson makes her Cincinnati debut with BLACKTOP SKY. A Resident Playwright of New York's New Dramatists, her work has previously appeared at The Contemporary American Theater Festival, Penumbra, Yale Rep, A.C.T., The Public Theater, Crowded Fire, and other theaters throughout the country. American Theater Magazine selected Anderson as one of the fifteen up-and-coming artists "whose work will be transforming America's stages for decades to come."

Producing Artistic Director Andrew Hungerford was moved to bring Christina Anderson's work to Cincinnati audiences because, "when I read BLACKTOP SKY, I was struck by the poetry of the language, the visual poetry of the stage directions, and the gut wrenching timeliness of the story. Christina is a young playwright with a voice that needs to be heard, and this play is a compelling snapshot of early 21st century America. It flips from humor to heaviness at the speed of life. It's a kind of play we need more of."

To bring BLACKTOP SKY to life, Know Theatre is proud to announce the return of director Kimberly Faith Hickman, whose work was last seen at the Know in 2014's The Twentieth-Century Way, which CityBeat's Stacy Sims called "an impeccable production... precisely the reason why Know Theatre is worth supporting long into the future."

About returning to Cincinnati, Kimberley says "The Know offers unique stories in the most interesting ways. It's a theatrical playground for artists and audiences alike, so I am thrilled to return and direct this play! BLACKTOP SKY examines one of the most important issues in our society right now. I can't imagine this story being told anywhere else."

BLACKTOP SKY gives Know Theatre the opportunity to showcase three stellar young talents in their Know Theatre debuts. Aziza Macklin joins the cast as Ida, after spending last season as part of Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati's Acting Internship program. Joining her is Kameron Richardson (Klass), a senior Musical Theatre major at University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music whose work has previously been seen in both Pittsburgh and St. Louis. Making his professional theatre debut is Landon Horton (Wynn), a senior playwriting major at Northern Kentucky University.

Know Theatre's resident design team will transform our MainStage space into the courtyard of an urban housing project, with the audience surrounding the space on three sides, creating an immersive space for Ida's story to unfold.

BLACKTOP SKY opens January 29 at 8 PM. Join us for this unforgettable story about the choices we make to survive and the collateral damage that can come from those choices.

CAST:

Landon Horton as Wynn

Aziza Macklin as Ida

Kameron Richardson* as Klass

*Appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association under a Special Appearance Agreement.

PRODUCTION TEAM:

Director - Kimberly Faith Hickman

Stage Manager - Kristen Ruthemeyer

Scenic & Lighting Design - Andrew Hungerford

Costume Design - Noelle Wedig

Sound Design - Douglas Borntrager

Props Design, Scenic Charge & Assistant Director - Sarah Beth Hall

Technical Director - Nick Koehlke

IF YOU GO:

BLACKTOP SKY by Christina Anderson

January 29 - February 20, 2016

Wednesdays - Saturdays @ 8PM, Sundays @ 3PM

Know Theatre of Cincinnati, 1120 Jackson Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202

Tickets: $20 in advance; $10 Rush tickets at the door 10 minutes prior to curtain (when available, cash only)

FREE performances on Wednesdays, as part of Know Theatre's Welcome Experiment. (Subject to availability; reserved Welcome Experiment tickets must be claimed 15 minutes before the performance or be subject to redistribution.)

6 Ticket Flex-Passes are available for $100 and can be used in any combination of patrons and shows for all MainStage and SecondStage programming at Know Theatre.

Know Theatre is Cincinnati's Theatrical Playground. The Know showcases unexpected voices, new works, and plays that embrace the inherent theatricality of the live experience. Since 1997, Know Theatre has sought to be a place where artists and audiences feel welcome to take artistic risks, creating work that is cutting edge and accessible.

Know Theatre's work is made possible by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Know is also supported by The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, helping to change our communities for the better through collaboration and innovation, and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, which provides a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving.

Know Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group and an Associate Member of the National New Play Network.

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