Culture Project Announces Fall Season

 Culture Project (Allan Buchman, Artistic Director) announced today two new shows that will comprise the 2008 fall season – it will next present the New York Premiere of the award-winning play In Conflict (beginning September 18), a compelling portrait of Iraq War veterans speaking out on duty, loss and the fight to stay alive.   In October, Culture Project will present Ronan Noone's critically-acclaimed one-man-show, The Atheist, starring Campbell Scott.  The downtown NYC theater company continues its commitment to provoke, uplift and bring the national political conversation to life on the New York Stage and throughout the city.

It was also announced today that Culture Project will depart its Mercer Street theater following the run of its current production, Expatriate.  The SoHo space, which houses the organization's main performance venue and offices, has been sold, after a valiant effort on the part of Culture Project to compete for its acquisition.  Culture Project's fall productions will now be presented at the 199-seat Barrow Street Theatre in the West Village (27 Barrow Street at 7th Avenue South).  The search for a permanent Culture Project home remains ongoing.

Additionally, Mr. Buchman announced that Culture Project will be collaborating with the venerable Judson Memorial Church (55 Washington Square South), a self-described "sanctuary for progressive activism and artistic expression," on a series of events. The works will include a music series, an initiative that explores the debates surrounding the ratification of the constitution and a recurring "Guantanamo vigil" that recognizes the current illegality of the administration's actions, and rejection of basic human rights, freedoms and protections under the law.  Buchman says there is no better venue in New York for the presentation of such work.

 "Our long-term plans involve a permanent home," Buchman says, "to include a theater, screening room, a lobby/exhibition space, a concert/lecture hall and a resident café where politically-charged conversation can flourish.  Our love gives us a perfect opportunity to collaborate with like-minded organizations throughout the city while we continue our search."

A New York Premiere

In Conflict

Based on Yvonne Latty's ground-breaking book

Adapted and Directed by Douglas C. Wager

Previews begin September 18, 2008

Opening Night September 24, 2008

In Conflict is a compelling portrait of Iraq War veterans speaking out on duty, loss and the fight to stay alive amid one of the most controversial conflicts in modern American history. Based on Yvonne Latty's acclaimed 2006 book of the same name, the stage version of In Conflict, adapted and directed by three-time Helen Hayes Award-winner Douglas C. Wager, will begin performances on September 18, 2008 at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street).  Opening night is set for Wednesday, September 24.

In Conflict captures the unheard voices and unpredictable experiences of 17 Iraq War veterans whose lives have been changed forever.  Featuring men and women from all branches and ranks, Republican and Democrat, straight and gay, immigrants and natives, hailing from all parts of the country, these remarkable veterans represent America and its complexity.  In Conflict answers the question so often asked of soldiers when they return home: What happened? Their honest answers and unbelievable accounts will change the way we think about war.

Following Culture Project's critically acclaimed World Premiere of George Packer's Betrayed, In Conflict explores the Iraq War from the American perspective and asks a different set of questions.  What is the nature of patriotism and service in today's America? With an all volunteer army fighting a bewildering conflict (with doubts about the necessity and mission of this particular war), why is the re-assimilation process as brutal as it is?  And why are these young soldiers essentially disenfranchised from the political process of war?

After premiering last year at Temple University in Pennsylvania (where Philadelphia Weekly named it Best New Play of the Year), In Conflict will travel to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (July 31 – August 25) and also play the Philadelphia Fringe Festival (September 3 – 13), before finally having its much anticipated Off Broadway premiere at Culture Project.  The cast of 11, all young actors who have been with the show for its entire journey, are the same age as the majority of today's troops and causalities -- a generation that is paying the highest price for this war.

The Atheist

Starring Campbell Scott

By Ronan Noone

Directed by Justin Waldman

Previews begin October 6, 2008

Opening Night October 12, 2008

This special engagement of the dark comedy The Atheist, written by Ronan Noone, directed by Justin Waldman and starring Campbell Scott ("Six Degrees"), begins performances at Culture Project's temporary new home, the Barrow Street Theatre, on Monday, October 6 with an official opening night set for Sunday, October 12.

In The Atheist, Scott plays 'Augustine Early,' a crooked reporter who will do anything to get his next front-page story.  When Augustine turns a prominent local politician's tawdry predilections into front page news, the scandal threatens to undo the one person Augustine thought was immune - himself.  The Atheist is a searing and hilarious play about catching the perfect front-page headline, whatever the cost.

The one-man show returns to Culture Project after a sold-out special one-night-only engagement in May.  It also had a critically acclaimed run at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company last year and just completed an equally acclaimed run as part of the 2008 Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Culture Project moved to 55 Mercer Street in December 2006 and has since produced numerous acclaimed and award-winning productions in the 140-seat space, most notably Betrayed by George Packer, My Trip To Al-Qaeda by Lawrence Wright, A Question of Impeachment, Tings Dey Happen by Dan Hoyle, and Dai by Iris Bahr.  It is currently presenting Lenelle Moïse's Expatriate, a two-woman play with music about race, friendship, art and fame.   

Established in 1996, Culture Project's work aims to bear witness to injustice, stimulate conversation about the most profound and urgent matters of our time and convert interest, energy and engagement into a motivational demand for progressive change.  Culture Project has premiered such celebrated productions and events as The Exonerated, Sarah Jones' Bridge & Tunnel and Guantanamo.  Culture Project moved to 55 Mercer Street in December 2006 and has since produced numerous acclaimed and award-winning productions in the 140-seat space, most notably Betrayed by George Packer, My Trip To Al-Qaeda by Lawrence Wright, A Question of Impeachment, Tings Dey Happen by Dan Hoyle, and Dai by Iris Bahr.  It is currently presenting Lenelle Moïse's Expatriate, a two-woman play with music about race, friendship, art and fame.   

For more information about Culture Project and its productions, visit www.cultureproject.org.  Culture Project at the Barrow Street Theatre is located at 27 Barrow Street at 7th Avenue South.

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