Fault Line Theatre Sets 2023 Season Featuring New Plays in Development

Fault Line Theatre has announced their 13th Season. In 2023, Fault Line Theatre will launch a new program in their play-development pipeline - Fault Line Theatre: (plays) In Previews. backstroke boys by Xavier Clark and directed by Sivan Battat and the beautiful land i seek by Matthew Barbot, directed by José Zayas, two scripts selected from their 2022 Irons in the Fire plays, will each receive four weeks' worth of focused development, rehearsal, and two weeks of performances.

"This is an exciting and essential step in leveling these scripts up to their ultimate world premieres," shared Aaron Rossini. "It is our conviction that (plays) In Previews. will be a game-changing program for new play development in NYC's downtown, independent theatre scene. We expect huge downstream returns for the company and all the artists involved, and we cannot wait to get started."

Fault Line Theatre: (plays) In Previews. will be an essential step in the company's ongoing play development-process. This program will give artists the chance to experiment and explore their work, and it will allow the company to forge partnerships and create an audience to support each play on the way to its world premiere. Additionally, audiences will have the opportunity to experience some of the most cutting edge and innovative work as it is emerging. The must-see theatre of next season is already here, and Fault Line Theatre's audience will see it first.

In addition to (plays) In Previews. Fault Line will share the 7th season of Irons in the Fire, the organization's workshop and reading series of new plays in development. The season will include Moderation by Lily Akerman; Apple Bottom by Karina Billini; Legitime by Zachariah Ezer; and marked green at birth, marked female at birth by Sophie Sagan-Gutherz.

Irons in the Fire is a year-round program that presents free public presentations of works in progress, typically hosted in an environment that appropriately celebrates that particular new script. These reading events are the culmination of a few hours, a few weeks, or even a few months of rehearsal, depending on what each project requires. This format for both process and presentation is intentionally malleable, as every play and every playwright requires something a little different. It is an invitation for the audience to join in the process of creating new work.

Applications for the 2024 season will be accepted from April 21 to June 21, 2023.

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FAULT LINE THEATRE: (PLAYS) IN PREVIEWS.

backstroke boys | October 27 - November 4, 2023

By Xavier Clark

Directed by Sivan Battat

On his first day of swim practice at a brand new high school, and country, Quentin befriends Zia, the captain of the swim team, and through their growing relationship they open up a whole can of worms. A coming of age story that grapples with the question of how can you hold on to your faith when your faith is showing grace and acceptance towards everything else but your own self?

Xavier Clark [he/him] is a multidisciplinary theatre artist, born and raised in Turkey. As a playwright, his full-length plays include: Where Angels Fear to Tread (Workshop: Echo Theatre Company, Los Angeles), supper (Workshop: National Black Theatre, Semi-Finalist: 2021 IATI Theatre Cimientos), retrofit(s) (Semi-Finalist: 2020 O'Neill Center NPC, 2020 Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Finalist: 2019 Mitten Lab, The Lark 2019 Playwrights' Week) and backstroke boys (Finalist: New Harmony Project 2020 Spring Conference, 2019 Theatre Viscera Queer Playwriting Contest). He was a semi-finalist for The Civilians' 2020-21 R&D Group, a finalist for the National Black Theatre's 2020-21 I AM SOUL Playwright Residency and was a member of Echo Theatre's 2020 National Young Playwrights Residency. He has worked at many theaters across the country in various capacities including: Williamstown Theatre Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, Ojai Playwrights Conference, The Civilians and more. He earned his B.F.A. from NYU Tisch and his M.F.A. from UC San Diego.

Sivan Battat [she/they] is a theatre director & cultural organizer, and the Director of New Work Development at Noor Theatre. Sivan has developed work with companies including Roundabout, the Park Avenue Armory, NYTW, Drama League, Atlantic, Ars Nova, National Queer Theatre, New Georges, Goodman, New York Stage & Film, Cape Cod Theatre Project, Mercury Store, Long Wharf, MCC, and more. Recent credits include: Layalina (World Premiere, Goodman Theatre), Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Studio Theatre), Brass Knuckles (Ensemble Studio Theatre), Trouble in Mind (AD, Broadway). Fellowships include: Roundabout Directing Fellow, Drama League Musical Directing Fellow, TCG Rising Leaders of Color, The Workshop JOCSM Arts Fellowship. As an organizer, Sivan works regularly with Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ) and has curated several iterations of Salon Al-Mahjar صالون المهجر, a performance salon for queer & trans MENASA artists. sivanbattat.com

the beautiful land i seek | November 10 - 18, 2023

By Matthew Barbot

Directed by José Zayas

In 1951, two would-be assassins on a train from New York to Washington, DC discuss their plan to strike in the name of Puerto Rican independence. The lock to their compartment is busted, however, and each time the door swings open they find themselves interrupted by figures out of art and history, reflections of what their country means to them and has meant to the United States. As the borders of their reality begin to shift and their train chugs along, the two must finalize their plan and decide how they want their sacrifice to be remembered.

Matthew Barbot [he/him] is a writer from Brooklyn, NY. His play El Coquí Espectaculare and the Bottle of Doom (Kennedy Center Darrel Ayers Award, Kennedy Center Latinidad Award) received its world premiere at Two River Theater in January of 2018. Infallibility (2018 Sheen Center Playwriting Fellowship) was selected as one of Indie Theater Now's "Best of FringeNYC 2013." Princess Clara of Loisaida (2018 Columbia@Roundabout New Play Series) and Saints Go Marching were selected to feature on Steppenwolf's The Mix list. The Venetians was a winner of Roundabout Theatre Company's 2019 Columbia@Roundabout New Play Series. Recently, his short play A List of Some Shit I've Killed was published as part of the Red Bull Theater's anthology Red Bull Shorts Volume III. Matt's first play for young audiences, Stoo's Famous Martian American Gumbo, was commissioned by Peppercorn Theatre and was produced in Summer 2019. Matt received his MFA from Columbia University, and was recently a New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellow and a member of The Civilians' R&D Group.

José Zayas [he/him] is an award-winning director. He has directed over 100 productions in New York, regionally, and internationally. Credits include: El Perro del Hortelano (Gala Theatre), Fandango for Butterflies (and Coyotes) (En Garde Arts), The Queen of Basel (Studio Theatre, DC), Exquisita Agonía (Repertorio Espanol), The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir (BAM, MASS MoCA, US & European Tours), A Nonesuch Celebration (BAM), Washed Up on the Potomac (San Francisco Playhouse, The Flea Theater), Undocumented (Joe's Pub), Pinkolandia and El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom (Two River Theater), The House of the Spirits (Teatro Espressivo, Gala Theatre, Denver Center, ACE, HOLA, and Ovation Awards for Best Production and Direction), Your Name Will Follow You Home, La Nena Se Casa, Love in the Time of Cholera, In the Time of the Butterflies, In The Name of Salome, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, Burundanga (Repertorio Español, ACE and HOLA Awards for Best Production and Direction for the latter two), Corazon Eterno, (Mixed Blood), Southern Promises and Strom Thurmond is Not a Racist (PS 122, The Brick), Useless (IRT), Father of Lies and Vengeance Can Wait (PS 122); P.S. Jones and the Frozen City, Feeder: A Love Story (TerraNOVA Collective); Privilege, Okay, Mrs. Jones and the Man From Dixieland (EST), The Idea of Me (Cherry Lane Theatre), The Queen Bees (Queens Theatre in the Park), Manuel Vs. The Statue of Liberty and Children of Salt (NYMF), Cancun, Chronicle of a Death Foretold (Gala Theatre, DC), Wedding Dress, The Island of Lonely Men (Teatro Espressivo, Costa Rica).

José has premiered works by Stephin Merritt, Hilary Bettis, Nilo Cruz, Caridad Svich, Robert Askins, Thomas Bradshaw, Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, Taylor Mac, Marco Antonio Rodriguez, Lynn Rosen, Saviana Stanescu, Carlos Murillo, Rob Urbinati, Kristina Poe, Catherine Filloux, James Carter, Gerardo Cardenas, Matt Barbot, Susan Kim, and Jordi Galceran. Notable fellowships and affiliations include: a Drama League Fellowship, Lincoln Center Theater's Directors Lab, SoHo Rep's Writer/Director Lab, and the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. He is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre and he was the Resident Director at Repertorio Español from 2008-2018. José was born in Puerto Rico. He holds a B.A. from Harvard University and an M.F.A. in Directing from Carnegie Mellon University.

IRONS IN THE FIRE 2023

marked green at birth, marked female at birth

Written by Sophie Sagan-Gutherz

Directed by Mack Brown

Presentation on Thursday, April 27th

In the year 2008, six tweens navigate the simultaneous horror and bliss of middle school. From fighting "the obesity pandemic" with forced 5-mile-runs in phys ed to the life and death question: "Who are you going to The Dance with?" these characters unlock new friendships, discover queer desires, and find a celebration of themselves amongst each other that they weren't taught elsewhere. They chase after survival in a world where we ask what are these young girls ACTUALLY taught in this education system and why is anyone who is not a cis-het-male expected to just "SHHHHHhhhhhHHHHHHhhhh!!!!!"??????

Sophie Sagan-Gutherz [they/them] is a writer, actor + singer who schleps around NYC occasionally donning a butterflied-covered cane. Current member: Greenhouse Lab (Orchard Project). Full-lengths: marked green at birth, marked female at birth (Pride Plays); they want me dead so i choose breath (Barrow Group First Fridays); the zoo (O'Neill NPC Semi-Finalist; Speakers Corner). Other honors include the BRB Retreat w/ Fresh Ground Pepper, the Fall Residency at The Barn at Lee, as well as finalist placements for the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab w/ Jaye Hunt, the Williamstown J. Michael Friedman Fellowship, The Civilians R&D Group, New Georges The Jam, The Public Emerging Writers Group and EST Youngblood. Select performer collaborations include Lincoln Center, Ars Nova, TFANA, The Public, and Williamstown. sophiesagangutherz.com.

Mack Brown [they/them] is a big-hearted Brooklyn-based butch. Mack builds vibrant worlds that center lesbians and trans people. They wield structure and specificity to unlock rehearsal rooms that glow with mutual ownership, and they love to develop sharp new musicals. Mack is the current Roundabout Directing Fellow for RTC's 2022-23 season, a member of the third cohort of the Roundabout Directors Group, and holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from the Boston University School of Theatre. Most summers, they serve as an artistic producer and director at The Summer School for the Performing Arts in Massachusetts. CURRENTLY: Associate Director to Bartlett Sher on Sharr White's Pictures From Home, which began performances on Broadway in January 2023.

Apple Bottom

Written by Karina Billini

Directed by Candis C. Jones

Presentation on Thursday, May 18th

The plastic surgery procedure, Brazilian Butt Lifts, are sweeping the wallets of the women in Miami. And the staff at the post-BBL recovery house, Apple Bottom Spa, hopes to ride on this wave. Krissy, Winnie, and Caro are just regular women, with their own butt augmentations experiences, who are responsible for taking care of multiple patients who walk through their doors. When a humble childhood neighbor, Andrea, and a high-strung black-fishing social media influencer, Belinda, arrive as new patients, Apple Bottom Spa struggles to keep both women and the house afloat. An intimate examination of female-to-female caregiving, body dysmorphia, and what it means when the brown/black female body is both ostracized and commodified by the masses.

Karina Billini [she/her] is a Dominican-American playwright, poet, and educator from Brooklyn. Karina completed her undergraduate degree in playwriting at Marymount Manhattan College (2011) and received her MFA in Playwriting from The New School for Drama (2018.) She is a proud alum of the New Harmony Project Conference, Ensemble Studio Theatre's Youngblood, Pipeline PlayLab, Gingold Theatrical Group's Speaker's Corner, among others. Her plays have been workshopped and/or produced at Alliance Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, New Harmony Project,Teatro Vivo, Cherry Lane Theatre, among others. Her plays include: 2144 South St (Barrington Stage's Bonnie and Terry Berman's New Play Award Finalist), Faded (Williamstown/Alliance/Kendeda Finalist), Becoming Lucy (EST/Teatro Vivo), and All The Helium Hearts Over Belt Parkway (EST). She is a recent recipient of the 2021 Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation commission.

Candis C. Jones [she/her] Selected credits: Detroit '67 (D.C. Signature Theatre), Black Solo Plays (Willamstown Theater Festival), cullud water, shadow/land (The Public Theater), 53% Of (The Alliance Theater), B*tch (Page 73), Everybody (NYU Tisch), Trapt (Joe's Pub), House of the Negro Insane (Bay Area Playwrights Festival), Pipeline (Detroit Public Theater), Nike (A.C.T. New Strands Festival), The Wolves (American Academy), Brother Rabbit (New Black Fest), Name Calling (Kennedy Center), Morning in America (Primary Stages), TEMBO! (Zanzibar International Film Fest), School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play (Cincinnati Playhouse). Awards and Fellowships: 2016 Lilly Award, WP Theater's 2018-2020 Lab, Drama League alum.

Moderation

Written by Lily Akerman

Directed by Lily Kanter Riopelle

Presentation on Thursday, June 15th

A team of content moderators working for a tech behemoth sift through flagged content online, classifying it by clicking Accept or Reject. Some of the content is traumatic, and our moderators cope with that trauma through smoking weed, playing video games, (very) dark humor, and most importantly: friendship. As their bosses become more demanding-- and as content and trauma accumulate-- it gets harder and harder to cope. Some become disillusioned, others become extremists.

Lily Akerman [she/her] is a playwright from New York. Recent work includes The Commons at 59E59, and The Stalls at Cork Opera House (nominated for Best Opera by the Irish Times). Her work has appeared in the Dublin Fringe Festival, Cork Midsummer Festival, and Dixon Place. It has been developed with The Hearth, Clubbed Thumb, the Bechdel Project, and the New Theatre in Dublin. Her play Hedgehog Years was a winner of Playing-On-Air's 2018 James Stevenson Prize and her play Hippo was a Finalist for the Leah Ryan Prize. She's a Fulbright scholar and a New Georges affiliated artist. MFA: Hunter College, under Annie Baker and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.

Lily Kanter Riopelle [she/her] is a Brooklyn-based director of new plays, musicals, and reimagined classics. She is an alumna of Clubbed Thumb's Directing Fellowship and the Williamstown Theatre Festival's Directing Corps, a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, and a New Georges Affiliated Artist. She was recently a Directing Fellow at Manhattan Theatre Club, where she served as the assistant director on the Broadway revival of How I Learned to Drive. She is a founding co-artistic director of Two Headed Rep, a company that commissions new plays written in response to classics and produces the old and new works in rep. She studied Theatre and Computer Science at Williams College and attended The National Theatre Institute's Directing Program. When she's not directing plays, Lily spends her time building web applications and making wheel-thrown ceramics out of a community studio in Brooklyn.

Legitime

Written by Zachariah Ezer

Directed by Dominique Rider

Presentation on Friday, September 15th

Legitime is an adaptation of the myth of Electra (taking inspiration from both Sophocles' and Euripides' eponymous tragedies and Aeschylus' The Libation Bearers) into a Black-, trans-bedroom farce. The play focuses on the moment of the myth where siblings, Electra and Orestes (along with friend Pylades), have sneaked their way into their mother Clytemnestra's castle (which she shares with her new husband Aegisthus and child Chrysothemis) in order to avenge their father, King Agamemnon. Legitime turns ALL THIS into a dinner party.

Zachariah Ezer [he/him] is a playwright whose work animates theoretical quandaries through dramaturgical forms. His plays include "Address the Body!" (The University of Texas at Austin UTNT Festival, The Echo Theater Company's National Young Playwrights in Residence), The Freedom Industry (The Playwrights Center, New York Stage & Film), An Unclear World (Hi-ARTS), and Black Women in Tech (The Fire This Time Festival), among others. He is currently a Core Apprentice at The Playwrights Center and under commission from Theater J. MFA: UT Austin (2023). BA: Wesleyan University.

Dominique Rider [they/them] is a Brooklyn based director whose work seeks to answer the question: "What is a world unmade by slavery?" while attempting to analyze the layers of anti-blackness that maintain the world we live in. Deploying theatre and performance as tools of Afropessimism, Dominique has developed and staged work with The Park Avenue Armory, Audible, The New Group, NYTW, Roundabout, The Atlantic, Princeton, Rattlestick, BRIC Arts, Two River, Portland Center Stage, and more. Past fellowships/residencies include Hi-Arts, The National Black Theatre, TheaterWorks Hartford, NYSAF, BRIC Arts, Roundabout, and NAMT. Dominique is a producer with CLASSIX.

ABOUT FAULT LINE THEATRE

Fault Line Theatre creates and produces socially relevant, character-driven plays for today's audiences. By employing the best members of our artistic community, Fault Line Theatre strives both to challenge veteran theatergoers and welcome those new to the art form. Fault Line Theatre is small but mighty, and we will stay active, curious, and loud. We will create safe and inclusive spaces for our entire community of artists to work, grow, and experiment. We will listen, learn, and do our part to dismantle the ruling class, put an end to racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, white supremacy, and all forms of oppression.

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