Irondale Ensemble Project Opens Off-Broadways Newest Theatre, the Irondale Center 10/11

The Irondale Ensemble Project, a renowned theatrical, outreach and education outfit: Terry Greiss, Executive Director, Jim Niesen, Artistic Director, Maria Knapp, Managing Director, is proud to announce that construction on their big, beautiful new Off-Broadway venue is nearly complete and is opening its doors on Saturday, October 11th, from 1:00PM to 10:00 PM!

A full roster of events is planned for the free, daylong open house.

In addition to guided tours of the new theatre, guests will be able to participate in Games Workshops-some geared specifically for children and families-see a sneak preview of Irondale's upcoming production of Peter Pan, join in a Drum Circle, tuck into a potluck dinner provided by neighborhood restaurants and merchants, and enjoy an evening of free entertainment by artists including Bluemouth, Inc, Lava, Strike Anywhere and Universes. The event is jointly sponsored by the Irondale Ensemble Project, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and Brooklyn Brewery.

For more information about the Open House on October 11 and a complete schedule of events, visit http://www.irondale.org/openhouse or call 718.488.9233.

Located right in the heart of the BAM Theatre District, The Irondale Center for Theater, Education and Outreach or The Irondale Center (at the historic Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, 85 South Oxford St, Bklyn, NY between Lafayette and Fulton Streets) underwent a $2.5 million renovation beginning in February. The first show in the space will be the company's dark, adult version of Peter Pan beginning October 22nd. For more information please visit www.irondale.org

Just down the street from BAM, The Irondale Center is housed in the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church's former Sunday school, which sports a grand room spanning 5,400 square feet on the ground, with 28-foot ceilings, a 1,900-square-foot mezzanine/gallery, gothic-style wall paintings and staiNed Glass windows. Irondale's plan, with design by architect Leonard Colchamiro, was to retain the original scale, character and details of this distinctive space. The Center includes a flexible, 168-seat performance space (that can be expanded to 199 seats) and much-needed offices for Irondale. In addition to rentals both theatrical and otherwise, the Center will allow the resident company, Irondale Ensemble Project, to expand their programming, workshops, outreach and arts and education.

The Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church has a long and vital activist history. It was originally nicknamed the "Temple of Abolition" and played an important role in the Brooklyn abolitionist movement prior to the Emancipation Proclamation. In the 1860's it sheltered runaway slaves in its basement, Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call in Brooklyn from the church, Frederick Douglass, Charles Dickens and PT Barnum have all spoken there, and the original pastor was one of a coterie of Brooklyn abolitionists who urged Lincoln toward emancipation. Renovation of the space as the Twyla Tharp Dance Studio was originally planned to be the first major project of the BAM LDC. For various reasons that project didn't materialize and Irondale stepped in and presented the church with a compelling proposal to create a vibrant resource for innovative theater and education projects

The Irondale Project, established in 1983, is a theater company that creates and presents original work, through the research and exploration of emerging themes in our society. The company has roots in improvisation, traditional Stanislavski techniques, extensive movement work, and collaborative writing techniques. The primary goal of the ensemble is to discover how theater can be utilized as an important or central aspect of daily life. Irondale has approached this mission from two different angles, through an exploration of what types of theater resonate most meaningfully with today's audiences, and through an application of theatrical techniques in non-theater situations (prisons, schools, shelters, etc.). Irondale has produced 42 major Off-Broadway shows including the American premiere of Brecht's Conversations In Exile and 16 original pieces. During this time the company has mounted two international and three domestic tours.

Irondale is a constituent member of TCG ART New York and founding member of the Network of Ensemble Theaters and is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

The campaign for the Irondale Center is supported by the Independence Community Foundation of New York, The Booth Ferris Foundation, the BAM LDC, the Samuel H. Scripps Foundation and the Holtsinger Foundation, as well as the city of New York and Borough President Marty Markowitz.

The Irondale Center is accessible by almost any train to Atlantic Avenue: 2,3,4,5, D, Q, N and follow the signs to BAM. Walk up Hansen St. to South Oxford, turn Left walk 1 block or the C Train to Lafayette Ave, exit at S. Oxford St.)

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