Gender-Reversed Debate Play HER OPPONENT to Close Off-Broadway This Month

Prismal Productions has announced that HER OPPONENT, a new event that re-stages verbatim excerpts from three of 2016's deeply contentious presidential debates (replicating the actual text, gestures, and movements of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump with gender-reversed casting) will end its run in Times Square at The Theater Center, 1627 Broadway, on May 24.

The production garneRed Press attention worldwide, and was co-created by Maria Guadalupe, (an economist and Associate Professor in the Economics and Political Science department at INSEAD, France) and Joe Salvatore (Clinical Associate Professor of Educational Theatre at New York University's Steinhardt School).

Guadalupe and Salvatore decided to close the production so that they could focus their attention on projects that build off of what they've learned from the creation and performance of HER OPPONENT and the audience feedback they've received.

"We want to build on what we have discovered with "Her Opponent" and move on to new projects. We also want to focus on making this work more widely available to people beyond New York City. We believe it is important work and people need to see this! So stay tuned..." says Guadalupe. "I look forward to getting back into the rehearsal studio for more experiments with new material," says Salvatore.

HER OPPONENT is a dynamic re-staging of excerpts from the 2016 presidential debates with gender-reversed casting that uses documentary theatre techniques and verbatim performance (word for word and gesture for gesture) to explore the following question: Could experiencing what the two U.S. presidential candidates said and how they said it during the three 2016 presidential debates -- but with the genders inverted -- cause people to revisit their own personal biases and develop insights or a different perspective? The hour-long event includes a performance of the debate excerpts followed immediately by an interactive discussion with the audience.

Neither Trump or Clinton's names are used within the piece, with actors Rachel Tuggle Whorton taking on Trump's persona "Brenda King" and Daryl Embry taking on Clinton's persona "Jonathan Gordon." Andy Wagner takes on the role of moderator.

HER OPPONENT features costume design by Márion Talán, hair design by Troy Beard. Stage manager is Angie Hesterman. Assistant Stage manager is Emily Edgarton.

Performances of HER OPPONENT are Wednesdays at 8PM and Saturdays at 5PM. Tickets are $52-$82, with student rush available. Call the box office at 212 921 7862 or go to ticketmaster.com. For more about the show, go to www.heropponent.com.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Maria Guadalupe (Co-Creator) is an Associate Professor in the Economics and Political Science department at INSEAD and the Academic Director of the INSEAD Randomized Control Trials (RCT) Lab. Guadalupe obtained a PhD in economics from the London School of Economics in 2003. Prior to joining INSEAD she was an Associate Professor at Columbia Business School. Guadalupe teaches PhD, MBA and Executive MBA courses on Organizational Design. Her research is on the drivers of firms' organizational choice and the effect of gender norms on the careers of women. Guadalupe's work has been published in top economics, finance and management journals, is an associate editor in top economics and management journals and has been awarded a number of prizes for her contributions to research including the Brattle Distinguished Paper prize awarded by the American Finance Association.

Joe Salvatore (Co-Creator / Director) is a playwright and director based in New York. His most recent project, co-written and co-directed with Keith R. Huff, is a site-specific, immersive serial play called Full City+ that takes place in a Harlem coffee shop. Salvatore served as the director and dramaturg for Jenny Macdonald's solo play Enthroned which premiered at Dublin's First Fortnight Festival in January 2016 and then had its American premiere at the 2016 New York International Fringe Festival. Other plays and performance pieces include ga(y)ze (with Troy Hourie and Caleb Teicher on 14th Street, NYC), Towards the Fear, Bromancing the OK (Part of Torrent Theatre's Mindflood, NYC), "Like" Like (part of Hall Pass, NYC and San Diego), Mother's Milk (part of Play/Date, NYC), open heart (FringeNYC, 2010), and fag / hag (with Kate Nugent, FringeNYC, 2000). His play III received the Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Play from FringeNYC (2008) and was subsequently published in Best American Short Plays 2008-2009 (Applause Books). Other play publications include open heart (Indie Theater Now and excerpted in Johnny Saldana's book, Ethnotheatre: Research from Page to Stage (Left Coast Press)) and A Whole Latte 4-1-1 (Heuer Publications). Clinical Associate Professor of Educational Theatre at New York University's Steinhardt School. Member: Dramatists Guild of America and the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. Alumnus: Lincoln Center Directors Lab.

Daryl Embry (Jonathan Gordon) is a Brooklyn-based actor/designer/director. Theatre credits include (selected): The Underpants, Perfect Wedding, open heart, and III (both directed by Joe Salvatore). Numerous voice-over/commercials, and appearances on Blue Bloods (CBS) and What Would You Do (ABC). He is the co-creative director of THE RIDE (Drama Desk nominee for Unique Theatrical Experience), and an adjunct instructor at NYU Steinhardt in the Program in Educational Theatre.

Rachel Tuggle Whorton (Brenda King) is a performer, director, writer, and arts educator. As a pianist, vocalist, actor, and music director, Rachel has collaborated with groups across the country including San Diego Musical Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, The New School, New York University, CO/LAB Theatre Group, Havas Luxe Events, Upright Citizens Brigade, The Acappella Company, & New York City Center. As a writer, she has published articles in RiDe: The Journal of Applied Theatre & Teaching Artist Journal, and her short film Micro was an official selection of Cinewest's 2016 Women in Media Arts and Film Festival in Sydney, Australia. As a Master Teacher with The National YoungArts Foundation, Rachel created original devised work with emerging artists at National YoungArts Week in Miami, FL. She is also an adjunct instructor and student teacher supervisor at NYU, where she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Educational Theatre. Love and thanks to Darren, always! www.racheltugglewhorton.com

Andy Wagner (The Moderator) graduated from Yale University with a BA in Theatre Studies in 2009. His Television credits include The Newsroom,Law and Order: SVU, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, NCIS. Film credits: Kidnap (w/ Halle Berry), Hopeless Romantic (w/ French Stewart and Brandon T. Jones). While working in Los Angeles, he performed with sketch comedy troupe IT'S THE COPS! at the iO West Theatre and taught Improv to Teens at the Aquila Morong Studio in Hollywood. Since moving to NYC, Andy has been working as a Teaching Artist with Wingspan Arts and is currently pursuing his master's degree in Educational Theatre at NYU Steinhardt.

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