Cherry Lane Theatre Announces Casting For 2018 Mentor Project

Cherry Lane Theatre has announced casting for the final production of the Obie award-winning MENTOR PROJECT now in its 20th season. Sam Chanse's THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION is being presented at Cherry Lane (38 Commerce St.) from March 28 - April 7,2018, it has been announced by Seri Lawrence and Janio Marrero, Cherry Lane's Co-Artistic Directors. Angelina Fiordellisi is Cherry Lane's Founding Artistic Director. Ms. Chanse is mentored by recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts playwriting fellowship and the Helen Merrill Distinguished Playwright Award, Migdalia Cruz.

Directed by Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, the cast of THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION featuresJennifer Lim (Broadway: Chinglish (Theater World Award, IASNY Trophy for Excellence & Drama Desk Nom), Dominic Rains (TV: "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," "General Hospital") and Andrea Negrete (NYC: Hissifit).

In THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION, Mel and Arjun embark on a last-minute camping trip to take refuge from the brewing storm of their lives. Georgia is studying the impact of climate change on the imperiled Joshua tree. Navigating a world in crisis, what does it mean to survive in the face of annihilation?

This is the 20th season of MENTOR PROJECT, which annually pairs new playwrights with seasoned writers for a season of play development, casting, rehearsals and a fully-staged production.

THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION's creative team includes Raul Abrego (Scenic Design),Loren Shaw (Costume Design), Seth Reiser (Lighting Design), Lee Kinney (Sound Design),Nicole Van Denburg (Casting Director), Carrie Mossman (Properties), and Bob Brownell(Production Stage Manager).

THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION plays March 28 - April 7, 2018, Tuesday - Friday at 7pm,Saturday at 3pm & 7pm, Sunday at 5pm. Single ticket $25, available at cherrylanetheatre.org / or by calling Ovationtix at 866-811-4111, or in person at the box office during box office hours.

Cherry Lane Theatre's Mentor Project is thrilled to announce a new partnership with the School of Drama at The New School, College of Performing Arts as a means of expanding Mentor Project's mission, which seeks to widen the professional experience and exposure of emerging artists. To this end, Cherry Lane will present afternoon readings to the public of works by the graduating class of The New School's MFA program in playwriting. Readings of plays mentored byLisa D'Amour, Halley Feiffer, and Martyna Majok will be presented April 3rd - 6th at 3pm, upon the set of Mentor Project's production of The Opportunities of Extinction.

Who's Who:

One of the most renowned theatres in the country, Cherry Lane Theatre has produced a large succession of plays by leading writers from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Gertrude Stein, Samuel Beckett, Edward Albee and Harold Pinter. Cherry Lane remains devoted to developing and producing new works for the stage through its various programs including the award-winning Mentor Project, which each year pairs established playwrights with emerging writers for a season of dramaturgy, rehearsal, casting and production. Mentor Project recently concluded its 19th season with mentors Lucy Thurber, Stephen Adly Guirgis and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.

Angelina Fiordellisi is Founding Artistic Director of Cherry Lane Theatre; Seri Lawrence and Janio Marrero are Co-Artistic Directors, and Diane Alianiello is General Manager.

SAM CHANSE (Playwright) In addition to The Opportunities of Extinction (2017 Kilroys List, Rita Goldberg Playwrights Workshop at the Lark, Ars Nova Out Loud), Sam's plays include The Other Instinct (Playwrights Realm Writing Fellowship, Lark Playwrights' Week, O'Neill Semifinalist, 2017 & 2016 Kilroys List Honorable Mention, StageLeft Leapfest), What You Are Now (EST/Sloan commission, Civilians R&D Group), Fruiting Bodies (2015 Kilroys List, Lark Studio Retreat, the Claque, Ma-Yi Labfest), Trigger (Leviathan Lab), and Lydia's Funeral Video (Kaya Press, San Francisco Arts Commission). She is a resident playwright at New Dramatists, and a member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab and Ars Nova's Play Group. A former Playwrights Realm Writing Fellow, Sundance/Ucross Playwright Fellow, MacDowell Fellow, and Rita Goldberg Playwrights' Workshop Fellow at The Lark, she has also received residencies from Djerassi, Tofte Lake Center, and SPACE at Ryder Farm. Commissions include Ensemble Studio Theatre/Sloan, Ma-Yi/the Flea, Second Generation, Leviathan Lab and the San Francisco Arts Commission. Her work has also been developed with The Civilians R&D Group, The Yale Institute of Musical Theatre, Labyrinth Theater, Ars Nova's ANT Fest, Bindlestiff Studio, Asian American Theater Company, and the New York International Fringe Festival. more info: www.samchanse.com

MIGDALIA CRUZ (Mentor) Migdalia's works have been produced internationally at Ateneo Puertorriqueño (PR), National Theater of Greece (Athens), Foro Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (Mexico City), Vancouver Players (Vancouver, B.C.), the Old Red Lion Theatre (London), Miracle Theatre (Portland, Oregon), and Houston Grand Opera. Her work has been produced in New York City at Playwrights Horizons, Mabou Mines, Classic Stage Company, INTAR, Brooklyn Academy Of Music, Monarch Theater, En-Garde Arts, HOME, Shaliko Company, New York Shakespeare Festival's Festival Latino, Theatre For The New City, and the W.O.W. Cafe. Cruz is the recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts playwriting fellowship (in 1991 and 1995), the Helen Merrill Distinguished Playwright Award, and Kennedy Center's Fund for New American Plays. Her over 50 plays include El Grito Del Bronx, Another Part of The House, The Have-little, and SALT.

Ed Sylvanus Iskandar (Director) is "an alien of extraordinary ability" who tells stories to cultivate community. Ed has directed, commissioned and developed 150+ productions of new works, musicals, classics and immersive experiences globally, most recently the immersive Caughtat Think Tank Gallery (LA Times Critics' Pick, LA Times Best Theater of 2017, LA Drama Critics Circle nominee for Best Production) and repertory productions of Sojourners* and Her Portmanteau* (NY Times Critics' Picks, NY Times Best Theater of 2017) at New York Theatre Workshop. Inaugural SDCF Breakout Award recognizing "the 'rising star' moment of a director" forCharles Francis Chan Jr.'s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery* (NAATCO), Sojourners (Playwrights' Realm) and The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare Theatre Company); Drama Desk Special Award for "visionary direction" of The Mysteries* (The Flea) and The Golden Dragon^ (PlayCo); NTC Emerging Artist Award; Drama Desk nominations for Outstanding Direction of Restoration Comedy* and These Seven Sicknesses* (The Flea). Ed is the Founding Artistic Director of Exit, Pursued By a Bear, an NYC invite-only collective cum theatre speakeasy that has served 12,000 homemade meals over the course of 150 nights of socially immersive theatre, admission free. Ed is honored to be collaborating with Cherry Lane, Migdalia Cruz and the wonderful Sam Chanse. *NY Times Critics' Picks / TONY Critics' Pick. www.ediskandar.com | ed@epbb.org

Photo by Janio Marrero

To post a comment, you must register and login.