Eden Theater Company Will Present World Premiere of COMPLICITY at the New Ohio Next Month

Eden Theater Company will present the World Premiere of Complicity written by Diane Davis and directed by Illana Stein at The New Ohio Theatre, September 30 - October 15.

Complicity tells a story about women holding women accountable amidst the pervasive sexual harassment and abuse in Hollywood.

In 2018, three women negotiate surviving the system of complicity that supported a Hollywood predator. One woman, actress Tig Kennedy, seeks justice by upending the status quo. Her sister, Sima, works as Tig's agent supporting her recovery and career. While Sima works to promote her own successes within the Hollywood system, she crosses paths with Lilia Gordon, a top female producer. All three women try to navigate the in-between as they claim power in the competitive and compromising world of producing movies. The further each woman goes in disrupting the status quo of systemic abuse, the more they must confront their own complicity.

In the wake of #MeToo hundreds of stories about sexual abuse in Hollywood came out. Everyone says that it was an open secret. But if they knew, why didn't they put a stop to it? Who was complicit in the abuse? Partially inspired by the Weinstein scandal, the women who supported him and those that survived his abuse, Diane Davis' play Complicity explores an untold side of the story. Playwright Diane Davis was accepted into Columbia University's prestigious MFA Playwriting Program this fall, based largely on Complicity.

Performances will take place on Friday, September 30 at 8pm, Saturday, October 1 at 8pm, Sunday, October 2 at 3pm, Tuesday, October 4 at 7pm, Wednesday, October 5 at 7pm. Thursday, October 6 at 7pm, Friday, October 7 at 8pm, Saturday, October 8 at 8pm, Saturday, October 8 at 8pm, Sunday, October 9 at 3pm, Tuesday, October 11 at 7pm, Wednesday, October 12 at 7pm, Thursday, October 13 at 7pm, Friday, October 14 at 8pm, Saturday, October 15 at 2pm, and Saturday, October 15 at 8pm. Tickets ($30-$45) are available for advance purchase at www.edentheater.org/complicity The performance will run approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission. Trigger Warning: this play discusses r*pe and/or sexual assault.

The cast will feature Tonia E. Anderson* (Trick of the Light with Pipeline Theatre Company; A Walk in the Sand at Abingdon Theatre), Katie Broad (Stop the Virgens with Adam Rapp at St. Ann's Warehouse/Sydney Opera House), Christian Prins Coen (Special Needs at the Magnetic Theatre), Ben Faigus* (One Night Stands at Avery Schreiber Theatre), Christian Paxton (The Perfect Murder on Discovery), Nadia Sepsenwol (Tarantula with M-34; Resident Company Member at The Mercury Store), and Zach Wegner* (Raw Pasta at the Ice Factory Festival; Rich Boyfriend with The New Group) with Set Design by Cassandra Paras and Johnny Sacko, Lighting Design by Betsey Chester, Costume Design by Janet Mervin, Sound Design by Jimmy Anthony, Projection Design by Lana Boy, and Intimacy Director Lexi Orphanos and Stage Manager Jessica Dell Beni.

Diane Davis (Playwright) is a playwright, director, and Artistic Director for Eden Theater Company. She is a member of The Actors Studio Playwrights and Directors Unit, and recently was an HB Studios Residency Fellow for her play Complicity. She has written and directed several ten-minute plays produced by Primary Stages, Barrow Group and AMIOS Shotz. She received her BA in Theatre from Bennington College, studied acting at The Royal Academy in London, with Sandy Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse, and is currently working on her MFA in playwriting at Columbia University. https://d-davis.com

Illana Stein (Director) is a freelance theatre director based in NYC, originally from Texas. Ms. Stein directed and co-wrote (along with Deborah Yarchun and Sean Hudock) the World Premiere of Hans & Sophie at Amphibian Stage which garnered five DFW Theater Critic Awards including Outstanding Director and Outstanding New Play. Other directing credits include the Regional premiere of A Lost Leonardo by David Davalos (Amphibian Stage), and the 2019 tour of Julius Caesar for Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival. Off-Broadway credits: Associate Director, Tamburlaine the Great (dir. Michael Boyd) and Pericles (dir. Trevor Nunn) at Theatre for a New Audience. Regional credits: Associate Director, Fingersmith (dir. Bill Rauch) at American Repertory Theatre. Assisting credits: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Signature Theatre, Pearl Theatre, Yale Rep, Hangar Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, and three years as Assistant to the Artistic Director at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Educational directing credits include productions at NYU (The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, Stella Adler, Gallatin School) and Post Theatre Company, Long Island University. Awards/Honors: Overall Award for Excellence in Directing, or what she will by Charly Evon Simpson (FringeNYC 2012) and a recipient of a 2018 Drama League First Stage Artist Residency. Ms. Stein is a member of the LCT Directors Lab 2012, Theatremacher Program Director for the Alliance for Jewish Theatre, and a board member for the League of Professional Theatre Women. www.Illanastein.com

Eden Theater Company exists to create new and original plays that inspire a deeper understanding of the world around us through provocative storytelling. They seek to bridge the gap between all forms of identity alongside their collaborators and their community. They believe that all areas of society bear the mark of gender and root their stories in a feminine aesthetic. www.edentheater.org

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