BETWEEN HERE AND THE CITY OF MEXICO to Launch Abingdon Theatre Company's 2017 Ghostlight Reading Series

Abingdon Theatre Company launches their 2017 Ghostlight Reading Series Monday November 6, 7PM at The Vineyard Theater (108 E. 15th Street) with BETWEEN HERE AND THE CITY OF MEXICO by Tony Meneses and directed by Tony Speciale.

Readings are free to the general public but reservations are required. Visit abingdontheatre.org or email tickets@abingdontheatre.org for reservations and further information.

It's 1968, and as a wave of student protest washes over Mexico City, a girl journeys into the ever-shifting capital to find a path to call her own. BETWEEN HERE AND THE CITY OF MEXICO is a beguiling, sweeping ode to a city flush with the promise of revolution, and to the times in life when everything seems possible.

BETWEEN HERE AND THE CITY OF MEXICAO features Frankie J. Alvarez (HBO's "Looking"), Danaya Esperanza (Men on Boats, Our Lady of Kibeho), Diana Gonzalez-Morett (Intersections, Guthrie Theatre), Zabryna Guevara (Fox TV's "Gotham;" Water by the Spoonful, Second Stage), Jeffrey Omura (These Seven Sicknessesl; EPBB; Carnival Kids, Lesser America) and Roman Torres (Hello Again, Getting Go the Go doc Project).

With an eye toward production-ready scripts, the Ghostlight Reading Series provides an opportunity for writers, directors and collaborators to share their work with an audience before transitioning into production. By focusing on scripts that reflect our social, historical and cultural diversity, Abingdonaims to become a destination for artists grappling with big questions.

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Abingdon Theatre Company will present two additional Ghostlight readings in December:

SUBVERTED, written and performed by Dominique Fishback

Monday, December 4 at 7PM at The Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher Street

Subverted is the story of the destruction of black identity as seen through the eyes of Eden, an 18-year-old girl living in an urban city in the USA. Through the colliding viewpoints of friends, family members, and historical figures, Eden discovers that the promise of "equal opportunity" still, to this day, does not exist. She questions why the people she loves the most continue to live blindly subverted by an unrelenting history that they did not live through, yet inherit and must accept.

THE GENTLEMAN CALLER by Philip Dawkins

Directed by Tony Speciale

Monday, December 11 at 7PM at The DR2 Theatre, 101 E. 15th Street

Although now regarded as two of history's finest American Playwrights, back in 1944, William Inge and Tennessee Williams hadn't yet experienced anything close to success. Before the Chicago premiere of The Glass Menagerie, Inge, a dissatisfied newspaper critic, invites Williams to his St. Louis apartment for an interview. This sexy, fraught rendezvous sparks a relationship, which radically alters the course of their lives and the American Theatre.

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ABOUT THE PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:

Tony Meneses (Playwright,Between Here and the City of Mexico) was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and grew up in Albuquerque and Dallas. His plays include Guadalupe in the Guest Room and The Women of Padilla, which both had world premieres at Two River Theatre. He's a past Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab member, Ars Nova Resident Playwright, Playwright Fellow at The Sundance Institute Playwrights Retreat at Ucross, Playwrights Realm Writing fellow, and has been previously developed at the LARK Playwrights' Week and the Berkeley Rep Ground Floor. He's also a previous recipient of the Kennedy Center ACTF Latino Playwriting Award. He is published by Dramatists Play Service and is under commission from the Denver Center and Two River Theatre. Alumni: Youngblood at EST. MFA: Iowa Playwrights Workshop. BA: The University of Texas at Austin. He is currently in the Lila Acheson Wallace Playwrights Program at the Juilliard School.

Tony Speciale (Director,Between Here and the City of Mexico) joined Abingdon Theatre Company as its Artistic Director in October 2015. Abingdon directing credits: The Boy Who Danced On Air, music by Tim Rosser, book and lyrics by Charlie Sohne; The Mother of Invention, written by James Lecesne; Jason O'Connell's The Dork Knight; and Stet by Kim Davies. Other credits: Unnatural Acts (Classic Stage Company-Drama Desk Award nominee, GLAAD Media Award nominee), The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey (Dixon Place, Westside Theatre, Old Globe, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Hartford Stage, Bay Street Theater, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Laguna Playhouse); Barry Manilow's Harmony (ALLIANCE THEATRE, Ahmanson Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream featuring Bebe Neuwirth, Christina Ricci and Taylor Mac (Classic Stage Company), Matthew-Lee Erlbach's Handbook for an American Revolutionary (The Gym at Judson) and Romeo and Juliet (Actors Theatre of Louisville). Tony served four seasons as Associate Artistic Director of Classic Stage Company, studied musical theatre at The Boston Conservatory and holds an M.F.A. in Directing from Columbia University. He is also the proud recipient of a Princess Grace Theatre Honorarium and a Suzi Bass Award.

Dominique Fishback (Playwright/Actor, Subverted) is a Brooklyn native, and accomplished spoken word poet, playwright and stage actress. She currently stars as "Darlene" in HBO's critically acclaimed drama series The Deuce. TV credits: HBO's Show Me a Hero as "Billie Rowan," The Affair (Showtime), Blue Bloods(CBS) and Royal Pains (USA). Dominique is currently in production on FOX's feature film The Hate U Give, which is based on the best-selling young adult novel of the same name. She also recently wrapped production on the leading role of Angel in Jordana Spiro's Night Comes On, which is due for release in 2018. Fishback is an artist in residence atAbingdon Theatre, where she continues to develop exciting new works. Additionally, she has toured internationally, with performances at the White House, the United Nations in Switzerland and as part of a TedX Talk. Her groundbreaking original one-woman show, Subverted, was nominated for an Innovative Theater Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.

Philip Dawkins (Playwright, The Gentleman Caller) plays include Charm (Northlight Theatre-Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work, MCC Theatre), Failure: A Love Story (Victory Gardens Theater), Miss Marx: Or The Involuntary Side Effect of Living (Strawdog Theatre-Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Work), The Homosexuals (About Face Theater), Le Switch (About Face Theatre, The Jungle), and The Happiest Place on Earth (Greenhouse Theater/Side Show-Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Solo Performance), as well as the book and lyrics for Dr. Seuss's The Sneetches, the Musical with composer David Mallamud at Children's Theater Company, Minneapolis. His plays, The Burn and The Gentleman Caller (commissioned by Raven TheatreCompany) will premier this winter in Chicago at Steppenwolf and Raven Theater Company respectively. Dawkins teaches playwriting at Northwest University, Loyola University Chicago, and through the Victory Gardens ACCESS Program.

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