Playwrights Theatre Presents Jersey Premiere of 'Our Dad Is In Atlantis' Oct 1 - 18

Playwrights Theatre is pleased to present the New Jersey Premiere of Our Dad is In Atlantis by Mexican playwright, Javier Malpica (translation by Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas). In a co-production with The Growing Stage in Netcong, NJ, Our Dad is in Atlantis will preview on October 1 and run for three weeks through October 18, 2009 (Press Opening: Friday, October 2 at 8:00pm). The production will be directed by David Winitsky and features Carlos Ibarra and Ephraim López. Single tickets are on sale now for $15 as well as season subscribers for $45. A student (appropriate for ages 11 and up) and senior matinee is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7 and October 14 at 10:30am and Ladies Night at the Playwrights Theatre will be held on Thursday, October 8 beginning at 5pm with curtain at 6:30pm. For tickets, visit www.ptnj.org or call the box office at 973-514-1787 X10. Performances take place at Playwrights Theatre, 33 Green Village Road in Madison, NJ.

After the death of their mother, the father of two young Mexican boys leaves them with their grandmother, while he goes to the United States looking for better work. When the grandmother dies, the boys are shunted off to distant relatives, and when that situation becomes too difficult, they decide to head off on their own to find their father.

"This is a very moving story about two boys' devotion to their father and each other. Their journey and their often humorous sibling behavior, put a very human face on the plight many immigrants and would-be immigrants face today," said John Pietrowski, Artistic Director. "It's a good kick-off piece for our Plays Without Borders series, where we are looking at many of the global issues that inevitably effect our lives."

Drew Francis will design the set and Cindy Capraro is the Costume Designer. Lighting Design is by Josh Benghiat and Sound Design by Jeff Knapp. Danielle Constance is the Production Stage Manager.

It will be a Studio Presentation at The Growing Stage as part of their mainstage series from January 16-31, 2010. The show is also a part of Young Audiences New Jersey 2009-2010 performance offerings.

Our Dad Is In Atlantis is also scheduled to be performed at Leheigh University on October 30 and 31 and will be in Bethlehem, PA during the week of October 26. For those interested in scheduling the production at their location, additional tour dates include November 2-24, November 30-December 22 and January 4-February 26. There may be additional tour dates available upon request.

Book Clubs at Playwrights Theatre
Playwrights Theatre will continue its successful book club project. Instead of reading a book, book club members read the play (script provided by Playwrights Theatre). They then see the production and stay after the performance for a post-show discussion with the Artistic Director.

Ladies Night at Playwrights Theatre will be on Thursday, October 8. Beginning at 5:00pm in the lobby of Playwrights Theatre, ladies will be able to mingle among the tables of women owned/women run businesses for various products and services. Participating businesses can be found at www.ptnj.org/SpecialEvents/LadiesNight.htm or by contacting Jennifer DeWitt at jdewitt@ptnj.org.

About the Playwright:
Javier Malpica was born in Mexico City in 1965. After receiving his Bachelor's degree in Physics, he completed his diploma in Literary Creation at the Writers' School of SOGEM (The Society of Mexican Writers). He has written more than ten plays (many of them co written with his brother Antonio), most of which have been produced. He has received various prizes and honors for his work, including the Victor Hugo Rascón Banda Prize for Our Dad Is In Atlantis. His other plays include: Letters in the Matter (winner, INBA National Prize for Theater), Seventh Round, Maria Frankenstein, Canon (winner, Theater Prize for Young Creators), Return to Midnight (finalist, New Theater), The Last Journey (second place, Tomás Urtusástegui Prize for Theater for Young Audiences), All the Voices (Honorable Mention, Manuel Herrera Prize), The End of History (winner, New Theater), Essay of a Coma (Program of Collaborations), Mujer on the Border, Five shots in the City of Palaces. He has given courses and lectures in Mexico and abroad. He has also published and received prizes for his works of fiction for children. In the fall of 2007, he was selected to be part of the National System of Artists of Mexico, which continues to the fall of 2010.

In 2006, he earned a grant to go to New York (invited by the Lark Play Development Center) for a translation and a public reading of his play Our Dad Is In Atlantis. Also during that year, he was invited by the Theatre Communications Group in Minneapolis for a public reading of his play Our Dad Is In Atlantis in representation of the latinamerican theatre and as part of the Global Tapas event.

The play was also selected for a public reading on the Woolly Mammoth Theatre) by the NNPN (National New Play Network), in Washington, D.C. The play won the Global Age Project, Award that was given by the Aurora Theatre Company of Berkeley, California, and also was staged there in a public reading.

In 2008 Our Dad Is In Atlantis was produced by the Working Theatre and Queens Theatre in the Park, and opened at the Theatres at 45 Bleecker Street in NY City on April 4 (directed by Debbie Savits). It also opened in Indianapolis at Phoenix Theatre (directed by Sharin Gamble) on May 8. The play was published by the American Theatre magazine in the July/August issue.

About the Translator:
Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas' many awards include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts; as well as the Helen Merrill Award; "playwright of the year" in El Nuevo Herald¹s 1999 year-end list; a Writers Community Residency from the YMCA National Writer's Voice; and the Robert Chesley Award, among others. His first play Maleta Mulata was produced by Campo Santo + Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco. His second play Sleepwalkers was produced by the Area Stage in 1999, where it was awarded a Carbonell Award for Best New Work given by the South Florida Critics Circle. Sleepwalkers was further developed and remounted by the ALLIANCE THEATRE in 2002. Tight Embrace was produced by INTAR in New York, and his play Blind Mouth Singing recently completed a run at Chicago's Teatro Vista, a production the Chicago Tribune praised as having "visionary wit". Blind Mouth Singing will be remounted by the National Asian American Theater Company in New York this Spring. His most recent play, Bird In The Hand, was developed at this year's Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference. He has been commissioned by the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, and Hartford Stage. He is a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop, and is a member of New Dramatists and the Playwrights Coalition at MCC.

Registrations are being accepted for the Creative Arts Academy fall and spring classes for children, teens and adults. The New Jersey Writers Project is accepting applications for 2009-2010 residencies as well as for residencies in the Poetry Out Loud Program, the national recitation contest created by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation that encourages young people to explore poetry through memorization and performance. Submissions are also being accepted for the 27th Annual New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest and Festival. For more information on any of the programs, please visit www.ptnj.org or call (973) 514-1787X21.

About Playwrights Theatre:
Playwrights Theatre is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional (Actors' Equity) theatre. A community of professional playwrights, theatre artists, and arts educators, Playwrights Theatre provides opportunities for writers to develop their works in a nurturing environment and connect with new audiences. Our New Play Development Program is a multi-step process through which playwrights, theatre artists, and audiences collaborate to bring selected texts from rough draft to finished production. Our Education Programs introduce students of all ages and backgrounds to the possibilities inherent in thinking and communicating creatively. Playwrights Theatre's New Jersey Writers Project provides hands-on workshops led by professional writers-in-residence to students in schools and community centers throughout the state reaching over 15,000 students annually. We place an equal emphasis on New Play Development and Educational activities, and encourage our community and audiences to participate fully in both.

We are honored that for the years 2010-2012 the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA) designated Playwrights Theatre as a Major Arts Institution. This means that the Council considers Playwrights Theatre to be "an anchor institution that contributes vitally to the quality of life in New Jersey" (along with Paper Mill Playhouse, George Street Playhouse, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and the McCarter Theatre Center).

Playwrights Theatre's New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest is funded in part by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Travelers Foundation, Bank of America, New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival and New Jersey Young Playwrights Program are registered to the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission.

Funding for Playwrights Theatre is made possible in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the F.M. Kirby Foundation, Inc., The Prudential Foundation, the Victoria Foundation, the New Jersey Cultural Trust, Bank of America, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Investors Savings, Bay and Paul Foundation, E.J. Grassman Trust, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, The Karma Foundation, MCJ Foundation, The Turrell Fund, Provident Bank, Pearsall Family Foundation, Union Foundation, PSE&G, Travelers, and many other corporations, foundations and individual contributors. FORUM is supported by grants from The Shubert Foundation and The Dramatist Guild Fund.

Playwrights Theatre is a member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, the National New Play Network, American Alliance for Theatre & Education, Theatre Communications Group and Madison Arts & Culture Alliance.

 

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