Mile Square Theatre to Present ART, 7/24-30

Mile Square Theatre (MST), Hudson County's premiere professional theatre company, presents a one-of-a-kind production of Yasmina Reza`s Tony-winning comedy "Art."

What is art? What does it mean to be a friend? What does it mean to be a friend when your friends have terrible taste in art? Chris O`Connor (MST Artistic Director, Scapin), Charlie Kevin (MST Associate Artist, Moss in Merrimack Rep's Glengarry Glen Ross), and Matthew Lawler (MST Associate Artistic Director, currently shooting God's Pocketwith Philip Seymour Hoffman)-three veteran actors and long-time friends-explore these questions in MST`s intimate production of Yasmina Reza`s Tony-winning comedy "Art."

In 2011, Mile Square Theatre presented their highly acclaimed and sold-out run of Reza`s "God of Carnage," which examined the raw nerves that lurk beneath the skin when it comes to matters of friendship and family. Jon Marans, director of "Art" and a 2013 Guggenheim Fellow believes that "...Reza's play 'Art' even more personally explores these themes. And having the opportunity to work with three outstanding actors who are also friends and have a shared history allows thisproduction to more deeply illuminate these off-beat characters and their precarious relationships."

Rather than being played in a traditional theater, Mile Square Theatre`s production of "Art" will be performed in the intimacy of an art gallery (1200 Washington), a lounge (Kolo Klub), and in select private homes throughout Hoboken. These intimate venues are designed to give the audience a unique experience and draw them more personally into the story.

Performances of "Art" will be: July 24, 25, and 27 at 1200 Washington Gallery in Hoboken, NJ. AND July 29 and 30 at the Kolo Klub in Hoboken, NJ. Performances begin at 8PM. Tickets are $25.

The Monroe Theatrespace, Mile Square Theatre's home, needs an upgrade. During five years in residence at the venue, MST has established a presence as a nexus of creativity and innovation and built a reputation for artistic excellence in the community. During winter 2014, the theatre will be moved and reoriented. In conjunction with the building overhaul we are launching a capital campaign to finance much-needed improvements to seating and lighting equipment. We need help to raise $50,000. A generous challenge grant from the Mason Family Civic League means that any gift during the run of "Art" will go further to ensuring we reach our goal. Donations to the capital campaign can be made online at www.milesquaretheatre.org. Mile Square Theatre is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization; contributions are tax deductible.

Mile Square Theatre (MST) is the leading professional Equity theatre in Hudson County. Since 2003, MST has presented full-scale productions for adults andchildren, in addition to providing theatre education programs. Under the artistic direction of Chris O'Connor, MST receives support from The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Hudson County Division of Cultural Affairs. Forcompany information, please visit www.milesquaretheatre.org.

ART Company Bios:

CHARLIE KEVIN (Serge) MST: God of Carnage, It's a Wonderful Life, and Twelfth Night. Charlie just appeared as Moss in Merrimack Repertory Theatre's production of Glengarry Glen Ross. Broadway: Take Me Out (Tour, dir. Joe Mantello). Off Broadway: Irish Arts Center, Actors Studio, National Black Theatre of Harlem, Rattlestick. Regional Theatre: Dallas Theatre Center, Seattle Rep., Denver Center, Milwaukee Rep., The Old Globe,Florida Stage, Dorset Theatre Festival, Portland Stage, American Stage, Playhouse on the Square, Missouri Rep. Film and Television: Law and Order: SVU, One Life to Live, The Sopranos, Outloud.

Matthew Lawler (Yvan) is Mile Square Theatre's Associate Artistic Director. He co-founded rUDE mECHANICALS theater company (Harold Clurman Award, Outstanding Ensemble) and has appeared in LargoDeSoloto, Endgame, Valparaiso (NY premiere), and The Flu Season (US premiere). Other NYC theater includes DETROIT (Playwrights Horizons) The Three Sisters (Broadway-Roundabout); Hurlyburly, Abigail`s Party, and One Arm (The New Group); Rough Sketch (59e59); and Louis Slotin Sonata (EST). He has performed in Rounding Third, God of Carnage, The Pavilion, and Twelfth Night, directed It`s A Wonderful Life and My Italy Story and written In the Box (7thInning Stretch). Film: Knight and Day, Anything But Love, Slippery Slope, The Jimmy Show, The Good Student, Filmic Achievement. TV includes: Boardwalk Empire, The Sopranos, Law &Order, Law&Order SVU, The Americans. MFA, American Conservatory Theater. He is currently shooting God's Pocket with Philip Seymour Hoffman. Matt lives in Hoboken with his wife Mara and daughters Lily and Matilda.

CHRIS O'CONNOR (Marc) Chris is Mile Square Theatre's founding Artistic Director. He conceived and produces the annual 10-minute play festival 7th Inning Stretch. His MST directing credits include Twelfth Night, Charlie Peter's Striking Out the Babe, Warren Leight's TheLove of the Game, Jenny Levison's Homefield Advantage, Cyrano, The Scams of Scapin (co-directed with Jeff Steitzer), A Midsummer Night's Dream, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, The Garden of Rikki Tikki Tavi, God of Carnage, and The Pavilion. Most recently he directed the world premiere of Neil LaBute's Squeeze Play for the 2013 7th Inning Stretch. As an actor, Chris has been associated with 12 Miles West, A Contemporary Theatre, The CultureProject, Hudson Stage Company, Soho Rep, the 78th Street Theatre Lab, Target Margin, Gloucester Stage, Book-It Repertory, City Theatre in Pittsburgh, Provisional Theatre of Los Angeles, The Bathhouse, Seattle Children's Theatre, among others. Recent TV: Magic City(Starz) and Burn Notice (USA Network). His plays for young people have been produced at The Seattle Children's Theatre and in schools in the Puget Sound area. His play The Mascots is published in Smith & Kraus's 2011 Best 10-Minute Plays. A voiceover artist, Chris can be heard on museum audio tours across the country. He hastaught theatre at Colgate University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, SUNY Purchase, Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, and is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami. BFA in acting from Carnegie-Mellon University, MFA in Directing from Rutgers University.

Jon Marans (director) His work includes TheTemperamentals, produced by Daryl Roth and Stacy Shane, which ran for over eight months Off-Broadway at the Barrow Group Theater and at New WorldStages. The Temperamentals was nominated for both the Lucille Lortel and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway play and Mr. Marans was nominated for the John Gassner Award. It was a 2012American Library Association Stonewall Honor Book in Literature. The entire cast won the Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble and Michael Urie won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor. Mr. Marans' play Old Wicked Songs was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama, included in Otis Guernsey's Best Plays of 1996-97, and won the New York Drama League Award (including play and both actors). It was first presented by the Walnut Street Theatre, then in NYC by the Barrow Group, and then moving (produced by Daryl Roth and Jeffrey Ash) to the Promenade Theater where it ran for a season. In England, Old Wicked Songs started at the Bristol Old Vic, transferring to London's West End at the Gielgud Theater starring Bob Hoskins and James Callis. The play has been produced throughout the U.S. and has been translated and produced in over a dozen countries. Mr. Marans was the original musical director in Philadelphia and has also directed his play Old Wicked Songs three times: at the Banyon Theater in Sarasota, Florida; the Sembrich OperaMuseum in Lake George, New York; and at the Bristol Riverside Theater-where it was the winner of the Broadwayworld Philadelphia Awards for best production, director and actor, Keith Baker. He also recently directed the play Barrymore at Bristol Riverside. He is a member of SDC. Other produced shows include A Strange and Separate People at the Penguin Rep in Stony Point, NY and Studio Theater/Theater Row, NYC (it is a 2012 Lambda Literary Award Finalist), Jumping for Joy at the Laguna Playhouse and the International Adelaide Theater Festival, Legacy of theDragonslayers at the San Jose Rep (book by Jon Marans, lyrics by Ronnie Gilbert), Irrationals at the Village Theater and ATA, NYC (book & lyrics Jon Marans, music byEdward Thomas), The Cost of the Erection at the Blank Theatre in LA, A Raw Space at the Bristol Riverside Theatre and the one-act play, A Girl Scout World at the Bloomington Playwrights Project. In film, Jon Marans and Yuri Sivo were hired by Universal Pictures/Tribeca Productions to write a political/war screenplay based on Roy Rowan's acclaimed book Chasing the Dragon which takes place in 1947 China, in the middle of their civil war. In television, Mr. Marans was a writer for Cookin' in Brooklyn and a writer/lyricist for the 1991 New Carol Burnett Show. Mr. Marans is a graduate of Duke University in mathematics with a minor in music and is currently rewriting the book to the musical Paint Your Wagon for the Fifth Avenue Theatre in Seattle. His play The Temperamentals is currently in film development with Daryl Roth Productions. His musical When the Moon Hits Your Eye was part of NEXT, Theater Latte Da's two week 2013 workshop/reading series. Mr. Marans is a recipient of a 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship.

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