Gothic Coleridge Poem Inspires Off-Broadway Premiere, THIRST Begins Previews March 10

First Light Theater Group, in association with The Pyramid Media Company and 9Squared Entertainment, present the World Premiere of THIRST: a spell for Christabel, a new play by Monika Bustamante, based on the unfinished gothic poem "Christabel" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834). Directed by Elena Araoz and produced by David Davoli on an Off-Broadway contract, previews begin March 10th at HERE Arts Center. Opening is slated for Tuesday, March 17th.

THIRST: a spell for Christabel 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.

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.

Playwright Monika Bustamante is a member of Austin, Texas-based Hyde Park Theatre, Refraction Arts Project, Shrewd Productions, and Austin Script Works. Her 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.

This production is being presented through HERE's Supported Artist Program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical and administrative support. Since 1993, the OBIE-winning HERE Arts Center has been a premier arts organization in NYC and a leader in the field of new, hybrid performance work. Under leadership of Founding Artistic Director Kristin Marting and Producing Director Kim Whitener, HERE has served over 12,100 emerging to mid-career artists developing work that does not fit a conventional programming agenda. Work presented at HERE has garnered 13 OBIE awards, an OBIE grant for artistic achievement, three Drama Desk nominations, two Berrilla Kerr Awards, three NY Innovative Theatre Awards, an Edwin Booth Award and a Pulitzer Prize nomination. HERE proudly supports artists at all stages in their careers through full productions, artist residency programs, festivals and subsidized performance and rehearsal space. Work at HERE is curated based on the strength and uniqueness of the artist's vision. HERE's Artist Residency Program (HARP) provides development, commissions and full production for up to 20 artists over one-to-three years. In 2005, with the support of the FJC, a foundation of donor advised funds, Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the City of New York, HERE Arts Center purchased its long-time home as part of a five-year "Secure HERE's Future" campaign. With full-scale renovations to the space concluding last June, thanks to generous support from the City of New York, HERE is poised to continue and expand its role as a downtown haven for the finest emerging art. Offering a comfortable, eclectic setting for artists and audiences alike, HERE features a new and improved café/gallery and two state-of-the-art performance spaces.

THIRST: a spell for Christabel runs March 10 - April 12, Tuesday - Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 2pm & 7pm, and Sunday at 2pm. HERE is located at 145 6th Avenue between Spring and Broome -- accessible from C/E to Spring St. 1/9 to Houston St. or N/R to Prince St. Tickets are $25, available at 212-352-3101 or www.here.org

 

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