HartBeat Ensemble Announces 'A' TRAIN, A One-woman Comedy About Motherhood And Autism

HartBeat Ensemble kicks off the new year with A Train, a new play written and performed by California-based artist Anne Torsiglieri. An intimate and oftentimes hilarious tale of one mother's ride through autism, "A" Train is a unexpected journey replete with tigers, train obsessions, and a healthy dose of sass. The award-winning solo show runs at HartBeat Ensemble's Carriage House Theatre for four performances, February 28 through March 3.

When Amy discovers one of her young twins is autistic, everything she thought she knew about motherhood and life is flipped upside-down. In her search for insight, Amy is changed forever, learning to see the world, her son, and the very nature of happiness with clearer eyes. The audience is invited to travel along a mother's personal journey full of stops and turns and the occasional unexpected jolt as she navigates coming to terms with her son's autism diagnosis, parenting, unconditional love, conflict, and the search for Zen. It's a tour-de force performance told through one mother's voice and that of a multitude of other characters people who are autistic and parents of children who are autistic, and medical professionals with irreverent humor, pathos, song, and F-bombs.

A Train, directed by Risa Brainin and featuring original music composed by Brad Carroll, was originally developed as part of Launch Pad at the UC Santa Barbara. The production features projections of original art by artists with autism, curated by Keri Bowers, co-founder of The Art of Autism. "A" Train was awarded "Best Production" at the United Solo Festival (NYC) in 2017. It has also been performed at Los Angeles' Skirball Center, the McCarter Theatre, PlayMakers Rep in NC, and at Center Theatre Group.
Tickets

HartBeat presents "A" Train at the Carriage House Theater, 360 Farmington Ave., Hartford, on Thurs., Feb. 28 through Sat., Mar. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Mar. 3 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 general admission and $20 for students, senior and Let's Go Arts cardholders. For tickets, visit hartbeatensemble.org or call (860) 548-9144.
HartBeat Ensemble's presentation of "A" Train at the Carriage House Theater are supported in part by Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts, Greater Hartford Arts Council's United Arts Campaign, and Travelers.

Annie Torsiglieri has been seen on Broadway in Top Girls, Parade, Blood Brothers and Miss Saigon as well as in the National Tour of Les Mis rables as Fantine. Off-Broadway and regionally she's performed at Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage, Playwrights Horizons, Ensemble Studio Theatre, NY Stage and Film, Williamstown Theatre Festival, McCarter Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage, The Huntington, The Eugene O'Neill Theatre Festival, Sundance Theatre Lab, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Cleveland Playhouse, Northern Stage and others. She is the recipient of Back Stage West/Drama Logue and Garland Awards for her performance as Catherine Sloper in The Heiress (Berkeley Rep) and the New Hampshire Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as the titular role in The Drowsy Chaperone.TV and film include Law & Order , Kidnapped , Gossip Girl and the award winning Albert Schweitzer: Called to Africa. Recent performances include Shakespeare's Falstaff in The Death of Kings, Rose in Gypsy, Donna in Mamma Mia, and Emma in Stupid F*ing Bird (Santa Barbara Independent Award for "Outstanding Actor".) Anne is an Associate Professor in the Dept. of Theater and Dance at UCSB. She is a graduate of Princeton University and The Juilliard School.

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