First Light Theater Group Premieres THIRST, Runs 3/10-4/12

First Light Theater Group invites you to the World Premiere of THIRST: a spell for Christabel. This new play by Monika Bustamante, based on the unfinished gothic poem "Christabel" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), is produced on an Off-Broadway contract at HERE Arts Center (145 6th Avenue between Spring and Broome). Performances run March 10 - April 12.

THIRST retells Coleridge's gothic story in an abandoned forest suffering from an apocalyptic drought. Christabel and her father, stubborn hold-outs in the dying woods, are visited by a mysterious and opportunistic woman who quickly transforms their quiet world. Soon they must choose between her frightening, seductive promises and the quickly diminishing safety of the life they've always known.

You are invited to attend one of the following performances of THIRST:
- Friday, March 13 at 7pm
- Saturday, March 14 at 2pm
- Saturday, March 14 at 7pm
- Sunday, March 15 at 2pm
- Tuesday, March 17 at 7pm (opening night)
- Wednesday, March 18 at 7pm
- Thursday, March 19 at 7pm

THIRST: a spell for Christabel will feature Matthew Cowles (Veronika Decides to Die, Life on Mars, Oz), Lori Funk, and Elizabeth Gross as Christabel, with set by Susan Zeeman Rogers, costumes by Chloe Chapin, lighting by Justin Townsend, and sound design by Arielle Edwards. Stage management will be by Rosie Goldman.

Monika Bustamante's plays include A Mother with Light (Humana Festival finalist), Io: a myth about you (four Austin Critics Table Award nominations), The Only Children (Princess Grace Award finalist), Perdita: a story for ghosts (three Austin Critics Table Award nominations, including the David Mark Cohen New Play Award), and Stillborn: a bedtime story (three Austin Critics Table Award nominations). She received her MFA in Playwriting with a James A. Michener fellowship from the University of Texas at Austin.

Director Elena Araoz's recent New York directing credits include Carl Djerassi's plays Three on a Couch at Soho Playhouse and Phallacy at the Cherry Lane Theatre. She has also staged concerts of Cosi Fan Tutte and Falstaff for the Brooklyn Philharmonic at BAM and has directed for the Pearl Theatre and the Workshop Theatre. Regionally, she directed Arthur Miller's The Price at Northern Stage in Vermont, Monika Bustamante's Io: a myth about you (four Austin Critics Table Award nominations, including Best Production of a Musical), and Titus Andronicus for Austin Shakespeare Festival (B. Iden Payne Award winner). She was a finalist for the NEA/TCG 2006-2007 Directing Fellowship, is a Drama League Directing Fellow and served as the 2008 Geva Theatre Directing Fellow.

First Light Theater Group was formed in April 2008 when four New York City-based artists discussed their desire to create new and relevant theater that would disrupt the perceptions of stereotypical stock characters in and throughout traditional media. As a new non-profit theater company, First Light Theater Group is dedicated to developing and producing new works that shed light on those that are misrepresented and misunderstood. The Group plans to produce one fully staged production per year in addition to engaging the community through benefit performances, workshops, and readings. Thirst: a spell for Christabel was specifically commissioned by the Group as its inaugural production. For more information, please visit www.fltg.org.

 

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