ASYLUM SONG Comes to HERE Arts Center

Adjusted Realists, a company devoted to telling theatrical stories about slightly unhinged worlds, in association with Weber State University, is thrilled to present ASYLUM SONG, written by award-winning poet Jeanne Marie Beaumont and directed by Elizabeth Ostler. ASYLUM SONG begins previews at HERE (145 Sixth Ave, enter on Dominick, 1 Block South of Spring ) on Friday, May 31, at 7 pm and officially opens Tuesday, June 4 at 7 pm. The limited engagement runs through June 15 with performances Tuesday-Saturday at 7:00 pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $25. For tickets and information: visit here.org or call 212-352-3101.

ASYLUM SONG is performed by Elizabeth Chappel, Jeremiah Maestas*, Katie Proulx, and Renee Stork*, all playing multiple roles, and who, along with a central emerging puppet, move fluidly in time to depict the true story of what happened to Anna K., a young Slovakian immigrant whose fate had been kept secret by her family for eight decades.

When her adult granddaughter begins to dig into historic records, she must defy the family code of silence to liberate her grandmother from obscurity and stigma. As the trail leads into the frightening halls of a state mental hospital in 1927, this multi-media production presents the heartbreaking reality of being a non-English speaking woman confined to an institution after a single traumatic episode. Interweaving stark clinical observations drawn directly from Anna's actual case record with expressive passages of lyrical verse, ASYLUM SONG conjures flesh and blood back on to the family skeleton.

Bringing ASYLUM SONG's world to vivid life, the design team includes Jessica Greenberg (lighting design), Sam Transleau (scenic design), Amanda Whitfield (costume design), Steve Smith (composer), Lyndsey Barratt (stage manager), Matt Mastromatteo (assistant director and choreographer), Grace Heinz (sound design), Tiffany Campbell (projections design), and director Elizabeth Ostler (puppet design).

Jeanne Marie Beaumont (playwright) is a Manhattan-based writer who has authored four books of poetry: Placebo Effects (winner of the National Poetry Series), Curious Conduct, Burning of the Three Fires, and Letters from Limbo, from which ASYLUM SONG is adapted. She wrote the short film Afraid So, which was created by the award-winning filmmaker Jay Rosenblatt and has been shown at numerous international festivals and screened at the Museum of Modern Art. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and teaches at the Unterberg Poetry Center of the 92nd Street Y.

Elizabeth Ostler (director and puppet designer) is a theater-maker specializing in directing and puppetry and the creator of Communal Theater. She has worked with various theaters in New York and Utah, such as St. Ann's Warehouse, Adjusted Realists, Prospect Theater Company, Theatre Barn, Life Jacket Theatre, Drama of Works, and Pioneer Theater Company. Most recently she directed The Briefly Dead (Adjusted Realists). She holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence and an MFA in directing from Brooklyn College.

This production is a part of SubletSeries@HERE: a curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical support.

*Appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association. Equity Approved Showcase.

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