Gideon and Ground UP Stage World Premiere of ASYMMETRIC at 59E59, Beginning Tonight

Ground UP Productions in association with Gideon Productions will present the New York Premiere of Mac Rogers' Asymmetric at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street between Park and Madison Avenue) tonight, November 14-December 6. The production will be directed by Jordana Williams (The Honeycomb Trilogy) and feature Rob Maitner* (Frankenstein Upstairs; World Premiere of Urinetown), Kate Middleton* (Pratfalls with Ground UP/Abingdon Theatre; The Late Christopher Bean with The Actors Company Theatre), Seth Shelden (Blast Radius), and Sean Williams (Advance Man).

The creative team will include Costume Design by Amanda Jenks (2014 NYIT Award nominee for Rubber Ducks and Sunsets with Ground UP; The Honeycomb Trilogy), Set and Lighting Design by Travis McHale (2014 NYIT Award for Rubber Ducks and Sunsets with Ground UP), and Sound Design by Jeanne Travis (Mac Rogers' The Honeycomb Trilogy; Frankenstein Upstairs) The production stage manager is Devan Hibbard*. *Appearing courtesy of the Actors' Equity Association.

After his wife walked out on him, brilliant spymaster and interrogator Josh Ruskin left the CIA, crawled into a bottle, and stayed there... until tonight. Now the former subordinate who took his place has dragged him back into the shadow world of global intelligence that Josh swore he had left behind forever. It seems one of the Agency's best operatives has sold out one of it's darkest secrets, and only Josh can get the traitor to confess before time runs out. There's only one problem... he used to be married to her. Asymmetric is a lean, suspenseful thriller that explores marriage and espionage in tandem, delving into the ways secrets can erode both love and nations... and how redemptive honor can be found in the strangest places.

Asymmetric was first developed in episodic form as part of the Vampire Cowboys popular Saturday Night Saloon series and debuted at Philadelphia's New City Stage theater company in May of 2012. This will be the play's New York premiere.

Asymmetric will play at 59E59 Theatres (59 East 59th Street between Park and Madison Avenue) November 14-December 6, Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8:30pm, and Sunday at 3:30pm with an additional performance on Saturday, November 29 at 2:30pm. No performance Thanksgiving Day. Tickets ($25) are available online at www.59e59.org or by calling 212-279-4200. The performance runs approximately 85 minutes, with no intermission.

Mac Rogers (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright based in Brooklyn, New York. His plays include Sovereign (New York Times and Backstage Critic's Pick), Blast Radius (New York Times Critic's Pick), Advance Man (Backstage Critic's Pick and winner of the New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Premiere Production), Frankenstein Upstairs (New York Magazine Approval Matrix), Ligature Marks (CityBeat Critic's Pick), Asymmetric (produced by Philadelphia's acclaimed New City Stage Company), Viral (winner of Outstanding Play at FringeNYC 2009 and Best Off-Off Broadway Play from the New York Independent Theater Bloggers), Universal Robots (nominated for four New York Innovative Theatre awards and winner of Best Off-Off Broadway Play from the New York Independent Theater Bloggers), Hail Satan (Outstanding Playwriting Winner at FringeNYC 2007), and Fleet Week: The Musical (co-written with Sean and Jordana Williams; winner of Outstanding Musical at FringeNYC 2005).

Jordana Williams (Director) has directed numerous plays by Mac Rogers, including Ligature Marks, Frankenstein Upstairs (NYIT Award Nomination, Outstanding Premiere Production), Sovereign (NY Times and Time Out NY Critic's Picks), Blast Radius (NY Times Critic's Pick), Advance Man (NYIT Award- Outstanding Premiere Production), Viral (FringeNYC Award, Outstanding Production of a Play), and three seasons with the Vampire Cowboys' Saturday Night Saloon. Other recent directing credits include Kill Shakespeare (HERE and NY Comic Con), The Blueprint Project (Gideon), and The Particulars (The Bridge Theatre Company). She has also directed for Flux Theatre Ensemble, Boomerang Theatre Company, Ground UP Productions, kef Productions, The Brick Theater, and The 24-Hour Plays. She is a founding member of Gideon and a 2012 nytheatre.com Person of the Year

Gideon Productions crafts gripping plays that explore what's strange about being human and what's human about being strange, using familiar genres and cultural touchstones as a springboard to something wholly unexpected.
Ground UP Productions creates honest, intimate theatre. They believe in telling character driven stories with heart, bringing to life "The New Classics" - new works as well as old favorites produced in unique ways. They take pride in the aesthetic: design, attention to detail, and clever use of space. They believe theatre should be approachable and fun, and they want their audiences to feel included, impressed and inspired. 2014 is Ground UP's 9th season.

For more information, visit www.gideonth.com, www.groundupproductions.org or www.59e59.org.

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