Financial Crisis Takes Center Stage in PANIC! EUPHORIA! BLACKOUT At HERE 10/12

Obie-Winning Talking Band takes on the Financial Crisis in PANIC! EUPHORIA! BLACKOUT
Begins October 7 at HERE Arts Center ** Shareholder-based ticketing promises dividend payouts! **

Crash. Bubble. Crash. The Obie Award winning Talking Band create a theatrical world as timeless as money lenders, as new as credit default swaps, and as dangerously volatile as the swings of the stock market with the World Premiere of PANIC! EUPHORIA! BLACKOUT. Written and composed by Ellen Maddow and directed by Katie Pearl, previews begin October 7 at HERE Arts Center with opening slated for Tuesday, October 12.

In PANIC! EUPHORIA! BLACKOUT, three traders sit at a table swapping and bartering objects with encoded values, receiving orders and instructions by earpiece, and attempting to stay ahead of the ever-changing numbers that broadcast swings in the market. As they get caught in unpredictable swells and currents that they have no control over, their place in it all becomes clear: they are outsiders - middlemen who bear all the responsibility and none of the power. In exploring their relationship to each other and their society, this unique theatrical piece looks at the profound impact of lending, trade, debt, and finance in our culture.

Informed by today's financial crises while taking inspiration from the paintings of Renaissance painter Marinus van Reymerswaele and the diary of the Jewish Renaissance businesswoman Gluckel of Hamlen, PANIC! EUPHORIA! BLACKOUT stars downtown performance luminaries Randolph Curtis Rand, Mary Schultz, and Paul Zimet. The production team includes Lenore Doxsee (sets and lights), Kiki Smith (costumes), Faye Driscoll (choreography), and Joan Cappello (production stage manager).

Talking Band's original interdisciplinary performance work has been a cornerstone of New York's avant-garde theater community for over 35 years. Since its founding in 1974 by Paul Zimet, Ellen Maddow and Tina Shepard-all former members of Joseph Chaikin's seminal Open Theater-the company has collaborated with designers and musicians as well as poets from around the world to create new theater pieces of rich and energetic language underscored by a broad range of musical
expression and visual imagery. The company has produced over 40 new works since it's founding, each marked by a radical diversity of artistic expression and a re-imagining of the creative process.
Collectively, the founders have earned 11 OBIE awards recognizing their work. Talking Band has performed at nearly all of New York's celebrated experimental theater venues including La MaMa ETC, Ohio Theater, P.S.122, Dance Theater Workshop, The Flea, and HERE Arts Center. The company boasts an extensive touring history in the U.S., as well in 14 countries internationally. For more info visit www.talkingband.org.

PANIC! EUPHORIA! BLACKOUT runs October 7 - 24, Tuesday - Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 2pm & 7pm. HERE Arts Center is located at 145 Avenue of Americas at Dominick Street, one block south of Spring Street (accessible from the C,E trains at Spring Street). Tickets are $25*, available at 212-352-3101 or www.here.org.

*Taking its cue from Wall Street, Talking Band has devised a groundbreaking new ticket sales strategy for PANIC! EUPHORIA! BLACKOUT that turns ticket buyers into shareholders in the performance they are attending. Anyone who buys a ticket in advance will receive a cash
dividend payment at the end of the show in an amount commensurate to the number of tickets sold for that performance; the more people who attend, the higher the dividend payment. Once an audience member buys a $25 ticket online at www.here.org or at 212-352-3101, the buyer will
receive an email confirmation with a link to a website showing the current value of the ticket. At the theater, ticket buyers will receive a stock certificate at the beginning of the show and a cash
dividend of up to $5 following the performance. The fine print: 1). For weekday showings, the value of a ticket rises 50% faster than weekend performances, so consider optimizing your investment by attending the show on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday evenings; 2). Not FDIC insured or under the regulation of the SEC; 3). Loss of principal is a risk of investing.

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