INTAR Opens New Season with TEACH, TEACHER, TEACHEST, Now thru 10/5

INTAR presents the first production of its 2014 - '15 season: Teach, Teacher, Teachest by David Koteles, directed by Daniel Irizarry, beginning tonight, September 12th and continuing through October 5th only. Opening Night is set for Thursdsay, September 18th.

Teach, Teacher, Teachest tells the story of a pupil who arrives at the apartment of a new tutor for a lesson. What happens to her is as unexpected and random as life itself. Loosely based on Eugene Ionesco's modern classic The Lesson, Teach, Teacher, Teachest is a cat and mouse struggle that questions what is happening and what is not. Daniel Irizarry directs this look at controlling influences, expectations, and the abuse of authority in the contemporary world. As Saul Alinsky famously said in Rules for Radicals, "he who controls the language, controls the masses." Teach, Teacher, Teachest is the second production to be presented as part One-Eighth Theater's residency at INTAR.

Daniel Irizarry will direct a cast that includes Michael Leonard as The Maid, Laura Butler Rivera as The Student and himself in the role of The Professor. Teach, Teacher, Teachest will have scenic design by Susan Zeeman Rogers, lighting design by Lucrecia Briceno, costume design by Aris Mejías, and sound design by Marcelo Añez.

Founded by its Artistic Directors Daniel Irizarry and Laura Butler Rivera, One-Eighth is continuing its two-year residency at INTAR Theatre with Teach, Teacher, Teachest.

"INTAR exists to promote and support Latino voices in the American theater. Some of these voices come not from a single person but from collaborations of like-minded artists, supporting collaborations as well as individuals speaks to the breadth of INTAR's reach as well as our history. Daniel Irizarry is an extraordinary voice from our community. INTAR is proud to help support his newest venture, along with Laura Butler Rivera and David Koteles," said INTAR Artistic Director Lou Moreno.

Performances will be Thursdays to Saturday evenings at 8pm and Sundays at 5pm Special added performance on Monday September 15th at 8pm. Performances will take place at INTAR's theater space (500 West 52nd Street, at Tenth Avenue, on the 4th Floor). Tickets may be purchased at www.intartheatre.org or by calling 212/352-3101. For more information, visit INTAR on the web at www.intartheatre.org.

David Koteles is a New York City indie playwright. Teach, Teacher, Teachest is David's third journey into the world of Ionesco. Other plays include After the Chairs, which premiered last summer at the Wild Project as part of the Fresh Fruit Festival and the award-winning, GLAAD-nominated Bald Diva! The Ionesco Parody Your Mother Warned You About, which is published by NYTE in the anthology Playing with Canons: Explosive New Works from Great Literature by America's Indie Playwright. Other plays include The Trick (the HomoGenius Festival), Edison's Elephant (co-written with Chris Van Stander for the Metropolitan Playhouse Gilded Age Festival), and My First Lady (the Metropolitan Playhouse Founders' Festival). David's enjoyed productions, workshops and readings of his work at EST, MCC, Rattlestick, Alice's Fourth Floor, Primary Stages, Perry Street Theatre, Urban Stages, Manhattan Theatre Source, Clemente Soto Velez, Fresh Fruit Festival, Homogenius Festival, Cherry Picking, Red Room, Metropolitan Playhouse, and West Bank Café. His adaptation of "You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up" has been on national tour since October 2011. He is currently at work on a new play inspired by Sophocles' Philoctetes.

Daniel Irizarry, director and performer of Teach, Teacher, Teachest, is an Artistic director of One-Eighth Theater. Recently directed Eugene Labiche's classic comedy An Italian Straw Hat at Folkwang University and Maschinen Haus Theatre in Essen, Germany. Directed and performed in UBU, by Adam Szymkowicz, a Time Out New York Critics Pick at INTAR Theatre (Also performed at soloNOVA Arts Festival and IRT Theater). He is a two-time Mabou Mines Resident Artist (Woyzeck '08 & Cho H Cho '11). Co-directed and performed The Orphans at La MaMa Theatre. He has directed Anton Chekhov's The Bear, and The Festivities in Seoul, South Korea Kookmin University; a reconstitution of Anton Chekhov's The Proposal for the undergroundzero festival; Albert Bermel's The Recovery at the Eugene Lang College, and Titus Maccius Plautus's Amphitryon at Columbia University. Other performer credits: The Dentist (Orin Scrivello D.D.S.) at BAM for Little Shop of Horrors Sing-Along. Performed and collaborated in Thania Acarón's dance project Piecing the Peaces at Dance Base Edinburgh, Scotland; Castle of Giants with The Windmill Factory at Cartagena, Colombia; Lysistrata at La MaMa Theatre directed by Theodora Skipitares; Bride with Lone Wolf Tribe directed by Kevin Augustine; The Constant Prince, Comedy of Errors, and Philosopher Stone directed by Niky Wolcz; Betrothed, part of the Ice Factory, with Ripetime directed by Rachel Dickstein; and Benvenuto Cellini and Faust directed by Andrei Serban at the MET. He holds an MFA in Acting from Columbia University, and a BA in Drama from The University of Puerto Rico. danielirizarry.org

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