At Hand Theater Co Presents TRICKSTER AT THE GATE 3/13-19

At Hand Theatre Company is proud to present the New York premiere of TRICKSTER AT THE GATE. The Yoruba God Esu Elegba has been sentenced to live The Life of a mortal African-American woman throughout the 20th Century as penance for causing human deformities and suffering. Inspired by The Life and works of Zora Neale Hurston, the play takes us from the Harlem Renaissance, to the mystical realms of African gods, to present day Louisiana to impart a tale of faith, acceptance and love.

John Patrick Bray was commissioned by the Performing Arts Society of Acadiana to write Trickster at the Gate as a part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read initiative, which promotes literacy in Southern Louisiana. Last April, the premiere production of the play in Acadiana, LA gained the approval of Ms. Hurston's biographer and niece, Lucy Anne Hurston, who praised the piece for its "purity."

The cast features Amanda Bailey, David Heron*, Tyson Jennette*, Chris Olson, and Renee Threatte, with a drumming, dance ensemble featuring Perdella Jn. Baptiste, S’fiso Ka-Mavuso, Valencia King, and Sarita Louise Moore. The extremely diverse company hails from across the US, South Africa, St. Lucia, and Jamaica. The Equity Approved Showcase is choreographed by Sarita Louise Moore and Stephani Lewis serves as production designer. *denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association

This play ushers in a new beginning for At Hand Theatre as they set forth to uphold greener, more sustainable theatre practices. Their concerns about the wastefulness inherent in producing theatre at all levels have led the company in a new direction – focusing more on story and performance, rather than production elements. In addition to incorporating only minimal design elements, the company has also gone out of its way to acquire and create its props, sets, and costume pieces from reused, recycled, and borrowed materials. “Trickster is an excellent play for us to debut our new green mission,” says Artistic Director Daniel Horrigan, “It’s a play filled with oral history and vibrant words and I’m really excited to create a simple, rich landscape for the play and for our audiences. To accomplish this without building a set that will get tossed in three weeks is really wonderful.”

Trickster at the Gate will play Friday-Sunday evenings at 8pm, March 13 - 29, 2009. Tickets, priced at $18, are available by calling SmartTix at 212-868-4444 or by visiting www.smarttix.com. The Ted Bardy Studio is located at 153 W. 27th Street, Suite 301 (between 6th & 7th Avenues) in Manhattan.

At Hand Theatre Company was created 3 years ago as a company dedicated to presenting new and relevant plays to New York audiences. Their repertoire includes new work by established and emerging writers alike. Past productions include the world premiere of Andrea Lepcio's One Nation Under, Brian Dykstra's Silence! and Cake and Plays...Without The Cake by Jono Hustis. In addition to these productions, At Hand continues to nurture new work through various staged readings and workshops. Their annual spring fundraiser, POP!, is steadily becoming an institution, in and of itself. Over 35 theatre artists each year participate in creating an evening that revolves around pop culture themes.

As of 2008, At Hand Theatre Company has altered their mission to adopt a greener approach. Producing theatre that focuses on story and performance rather than production elements will result in more affordable, eco-conscious work. At Hand’s mission is to create theatre that activates the imagination of its audience using sustainable theatrical practices. They use only what is immediate and necessary to tell new stories on stage. Their actors, writers, directors and designers explore original works collaboratively in the rehearsal room. By focusing on text and de-emphasizing production values, their plays are intensely rehearsed, visually emblematic, yet totally vivid. Through this "stripped" style, At Hand is able to reduce materials, reuse resources, conserve energy, and produce more eco-friendly theatre.

Playwright John Patrick Bray is a PhD Student in the Department of Theatre at Louisiana State University, having earned his MFA in Playwriting from the Actors Studio Drama School at New School University. His full-length plays include AS WE SPEAK (commissioned by the re:Directions Theatre Co.); HOUND (forthcoming production with the Planet Connections Festivity); DOWN LOW and DANCING WITH THE VIRUS (co-written with Keith Dorwick under grants from the Acadiana Arts Council and Acadiana C.A.R.E.S.); and LINER NOTES (staged readings with the New School for Drama and 3STC). His one-acts include "AmeriKan Mine" (produced with the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival); "Goodnight Lovin' Trail" and "On Top," (both published in the Riant Theatre's The Best Plays from the Strawberry One-Act anthologies); “Southern Werewolf” (produced with the Rising Sun Performance Company, where John was a resident writer); “Astronaut” (commissioned by the Brooke Point Players in Virgina); and “Lincoln and Lee” (staged reading at the Louisiana State Archives featuring Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne). He is an Associate Member of The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc., and an Equity Membership Candidate. His research interests include play development and musical theatre. John lives in the Deep South with his wife, their son, and two cats.

Daniel Horrigan has produced and directed several shows, including Nicky Silver's The Altruists, and Jeff Keilholtz' Nightswimming, both at Access Theatre. He assisted director Connie Grappo on the Lark Barebones Workshop of Rob Ackerman's Disconnect (then titled The Last Word). In 2003, he co-produced Access Theatre's Galleryworks: Will the Circle Be Unbroken with Margarett Perry and Jack Batman. Also, Daniel has served as a Litwing member and directing liason for the Lark Playwright Development Center. With At Hand Theatre, he has produced POP! for the past 2 years, as well as Andrea Lepcio's One Nation Under. At Hand directing credits include Brilliant Traces, Brian Dykstra's Silence!, and last summer’s Cake and Plays…Without the Cake.

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