BEARS Receives NY Premiere at 59E59 Theaters

59E59 Theaters welcomes Sans A Productions with the New York City premiere of BEARS, written by Mark Rigney and directed by Kristin McCarthy Parker. BEARS begins performances on Thursday, March 14 for a limited engagement through Sunday, March 31. Press opening is Sunday, March 17 at 3:30 PM. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:30 PM; Friday and Saturday at 8:30 PM; and Sunday at 3:30 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $18 ($12.60 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or go to www.59e59.org.

What if the apocalypse happened and the only apparent survivors were three bears? Two grizzlies in captivity, Growl Bear and Timmy Bear, find themselves stuck in a suddenly deserted zoo. Enter Susie, a new wild bear, who convinces them to leave the safety of their cave and venture into the wilderness. Now they must learn who they are and how to survive. What does it truly mean to be a Bear? Due to adult themes and situations, this play is not suitable for anyone under the age of 14.

BEARS features Nick Abeel (Anatomy of Gray at the Kennedy Center); Jonathan Dickson (Endgame at Milwaukee Rep); and Jenna Panther (Eventide, A Prayer for Owen Meany at Denver Center Theater).

The scenic design is by Ashlee Springer; the lighting design is by Austin Bransgrove; the costume design is by Steven Manuel.

Kristin McCarthy Parker (director) has served as assistant director on Far From Heaven, dir. Michael Greif (Playwrights Horizons); Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, dir. Wendy C. Goldberg (Playmakers' Repertory Company); The Syringa Tree, dir. Jenn Thompson, and Last Gas, dir. Sally Wood (Portland Stage Company). Her directing credits include Lindsay Joy's Travelin' Show, Mat Smart's From One Sunday to the Next, Sevan Seloustian Greene's Starburst (all with aMios' monthly Shotz); The House of Blue Leaves (University of Evansville). Readings and workshops include kumrads wont (Sans A Productions), Tasting Tears (Little Festival of the Unexpected), Winter Wagon and Parlous State (RAW Workshop, PSC), The Four Seasons (NC Governor's School). Dramaturgy includes PSC, Portland Fringe Festival, University of Evansville. Graduate of the University of Evansville.

Mark Rigney (playwright) is the author of Acts of God (Playscripts, Inc) and Deaf Side Story: Deaf Sharks, Hearing Jets and a Classic American Musical (Gallaudet University Press). "Migratory Birds of Iraq," a Heideman finalist, appears in Best Ten-Minute Plays 2012 (Smith & Kraus). His plays have been performed in nineteen states plus Canada, with Bears winning the 2012 Panowski Playwriting Contest and earning a place at the 2012 EMOS Ecodrama Festival, curated by Carnegie Mellon University. His stage work has been produced and developed at the Alleyway Theatre, the Foothill Theatre Company, the Ark Theatre, the Tofte Lake Center, and the Plays in Progress series at the Utah Shakespearean Festival. His short fiction has appeared in many venues including The Best of the Bellevue Literary Review, Realms of Fantasy, and Black Static, with a novella, "The Skates," forthcoming from Samhain Press