Epic Theatre Ensemble Cancels Repertory Performances This Weekend; Extends thru 11/25

Due to the loss of power downtown, the Award-winning Epic Theatre Ensemble, now in their 12th season, will cancel performances this weekend, while extending for an additional week (November 19th – November 25th). Dispatches From (A)mended America, directed by Ron Russell will now run through Saturday, November 24th and Hold These Truths, directed by Lisa Rothe, will now run through Sunday, November 25th. Both Off Broadway productions are playing in repertory at the Theater at the 14th Street Y (344 East 14th Street). Dispatches From (A)mended America, and Hold These Truths, developed at Epic will continue with post-show discussions following each performance.

Tickets (which include post show discussions) are $40 and are available by visiting www.epictheatreensemble.org. or by calling 866-811-4111. Above the Fold* offers $20 supplement price tickets for Dispatches From (A)mended America.

It's an election season- a time when we re-define or re-assert who we are as a nation and asks the question "What is it like to be an American?" So in this time of decision and affirmation, we look at this one very big question through the lens of two provocative new American plays about two very personal journeys.

Dispatches from (A)mended America began as a conversation between Godfrey L. Simmons Jr., a 42-year-old black man, and Brandt Adams, a 25-year-old white man. It was post-election 2008 and both men discovered they were nagged by the "race question". In the month leading up to the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, Simmons and Adams travelled throughout the South conducting 100 interviews in an attempt to better understand the significance of the election of America's first African-American President. Dispatches from (A)mended America uses live theatre, audience participation and interactive social media to challenge assumptions about race through the words of the writers, the interviewees and the audience. Ron Russell directs this production, written and performed by Brandt Adams and Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. The ensemble includes Jacob Ming-Trent, Lori E. Parquet, James Wallert and Sarah Winkler. Dispatches from (A)mended America now runs through November 24th.

Joel de la Fuente stars in Hold These Truths, Jeanne Sakata's one-man show inspired by the true story of first generation Japanese-American Gordon Hirabayashi, a college student during WWII. Agonizing over the forcible removal of all people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast. Gordon journeys toward a greater understanding of America's triumphs-and a confrontation with its failures. Gordon Hirabayashi was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor in May of 2012, posthumously by President Obama. Lisa Rothe directs this production. Hold These Truths now runs through November 25th.

The performance schedule for DISPATCHES FROM (A)MENDED AMERICA is Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m., with matinees on Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. For the week of November 19t, the schedule is Wednesday and Saturday at 7PM, with a matinee on Sunday at 3PM. Running time 80 minutes.

The performance schedule for HOLD THESE TRUTHS is Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays at 7:00 p.m., with matinees on Sundays at 3:00 p.m. For the week of November 19th, the schedule is Monday and Friday and Sunday at 7pm, with a matinee on Saturday at 3pm. Running time 80 minutes.

Both plays are produced by Epic Theatre Ensemble, Ron Russell (Executive Director), Melissa Friedman (Artistic Director), Robert Chelimsky (Managing Director) and James Wallert (Assoc. Artistic Director).

Founded in 2001, Epic Theatre Ensemble is a company of artists and activists dedicated to creating socially minded Off-Broadway productions, and to connecting these theatrical events to NYC Public Schools through rigorous in school and after-school residencies. Epic aims to inspire vital dialogue about social, ethical, and political issues and to build thoughtful citizenship in local communities. Epic's past productions include: the critically acclaimed New York premiere of Sarah Ruhl's Passion Play; Nilaja Sun's No Child… (commissioned, developed and premiered by Epic prior to its commercial transfer and national tour); the premieres of Beauty on the Vine by Zak Berkman (featuring Epic associates David Strathairn and Olivia Wilde), Hannah and Martin by Kate Fodor (featuring David Strathairn), Einstein's Gift by Vern Thiessen (featuring Aasif Mandvi and Shawn Elliott), Habitat by Judith Thompson; and the revivals of George Bernard Shaw's Widowers' Houses (with Peter Jay Fernandez), Henrik Ibsen's Little Eyolf, and J.B. Priestley's Time and the Conways. Epic Theatre Ensemble was founded by Zak Berkman, Melissa Friedman, Teri Lamm, Ron Russell and James Wallert, and the founding team has since been joined by additional Producing Artists Godfrey L. Simmons Jr. and Sarah Winkler. Epic is the proud recipient of OBIE, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics and OTTO Awards, the 2009 "Coming Up Taller" Award from the President's Council for the Arts and Humanities for their flagship educational program, Shakespeare Remix, as well as citations from Mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg.

*Above The Fold is an investigative theatre company, founded by the playwrights of Dispatches from (A)mended America, that uses the tools of both journalists and theatre makers, striving to create new ways for disparate communities to communicate with each other. Above The Fold raised thousands of dollars to ensure that $20 tickets would be readily available, so that nobody would be excluded because of the cost of participation. Supplemented tickets are available after responding to a brief, anonymous survey on the Epic Theatre Ensemble Website.

For more information, go to www.epictheatreensemble.org.

Pictured: Brandt Adams and Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr. in Dispatches from (A)mended America. Photo credit: Steven Boling.

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