Civilians Theatre Co To Premiere BROOKLYN AT EYE LEVEL 12/4-12/7

The Civilians (Steven Cosson, Artistic Director), the award-winning New York-based theater company, will premiere a work-in-progress performance of their newest project, Brooklyn at Eye Level December 4 – 7, 2008 at The Brooklyn Lyceum (227 4th Avenue).  Performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday begin at 8:00 p.m with 3:00 p.m. matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday.  In addition, a number of special guests will act as host for each performance, introducing the show and participating in post-performance discussions with the artists.  Special guests include Theo Moore of FUREE on Thursday, Michele De la Uz of the Fifth Avenue Committee on Friday, Deb Howard of the Pratt Area Community Council on Saturday evening and Gilly Youner of the Park Slope Civic Council on Sunday afternoon.

Brooklyn at Eye Level is the culmination of a long-term investigation of development in Brooklyn and its effect on neighborhood and community.  This lively presentation of theater, dance and music takes its inspiration from interviews with the real life players in the story of Brooklyn: residents both old and new, community activists, developers and politicos, among many others.  Performances are Pay-What-You-Can and reservations can be made in advance by visiting www.brooklynateyelevel.org.

Directed by Civilians Artistic Director, Steve Cosson, Brooklyn at Eye Level was developed in collaboration with Urban Bush Women, composer Michael Friedman, Michael Hill's Blues Mob, local youth from the Atlantic Terminal Community Center, Brooklyn Tech High School, Hip-Hop Theater Festival's Affiliate High School Brooklyn Community Arts and Media and more.

Brooklyn at Eye Level is created from material gathered during a community investigation over the last six weeks that focused on the controversial Atlantic Yards development project.  A team of professional actors conducted interviews with residents, business owners, politicians and civic organizations and collected information everywhere, from public events to beauty salons, developing insights into how buildings, services, public space and economic issues shape the ecology of the neighborhood around us.  Also providing inspiration for the piece are a series of Community/Artist Labs connecting playwrights Lucy Thurber and Carl Hancock Rux to local groups of community youth.

The production features Marsha Stephanie Blake, Billy EuGene Jones, Melanie Nicholls-King, Greg McFadden, Joaquin Torres and Colleen Werthmann.

The New York-based Civilians, whose other works include the musical hit Gone Missing and their recent Paris Commune, was founded in 2001 by Steven Cosson. The renowned company develops original projects inspired from investigations into real life, using methods that combine documentary and artistic practices.  The Civilians' seven original shows have been presented by numerous arts festivals and a range of venues that include La Jolla Playhouse, The Public Theater, A.R.T., HBO's US Comedy Festival, the Humana Festival, London's Soho Theatre, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Fringe First Award, 2006) and other venues worldwide.

In addition to Brooklyn at Eye Level, The Civilians are deeply involved in their newest work, This Beautiful City, a play with music that details the explosion of America's evangelical Christian movement that will be produced at NYC's Vineyard Theatre in early 2009.

For more information, visit www.thecivilians.org.

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