Nunya Productions Presents U.S. DRAG At American Theatre of Actors' Sargent Theatre

Nunya Productions announced today that it will present Gina Gionfriddo's acclaimed, prize-winning play U.S. DRAG. The production will be the inaugural outing for the newly-formed theater company. Performances are set to begin on January 27 at American Theatre of Actors' Sargent Theatre (314 W. 54th Street).

The founding partners of Nunya Productions, who are committed to using proceeds from each of their productions to help vital non-profit organizations in need, have decided to donate 100% of the profits of U.S. DRAG to Doctors Without Borders' emergency relief efforts in Haiti following last week's devastating earthquake. A collection will also take place immediately following each performance, so that audience members who so desire can donate more.

Gina Gionfriddo's Blackburn Prize-winning play U.S. DRAG, a sharp-as-a-knife social satire, tells the darkly comic story of two recent college grads on the hunt for love, money, meaning, and Ed - New York's most elusive serial attacker.

The cast of U.S. DRAG includes Katherine Horlitz (Allison), Mariya King (Angela), Matt Brown (James), David Carl (Ned), Michael Scott King (Evan), Reid Andres (Christopher), Laura King (Mary), Nicole Stoica (Janice/ Store Manager/ Bartender/ Christen).

Directed by Michole Biancosino, U.S. DRAG will feature scenic design by Rome Brown, Michole Biancosino and Michael Scott King, lighting design by Rome Brown and Michael Scott King, and sound design by Amit Prakash.

Nunya Productions was formed with two goals in mind: to create opportunities for New York actors to perform meaningful work and to make a positive global impact while doing so. Founding members Michael Scott King and Mariya King started the company in 2009 as an antidote to the impact that the faltering economy has had on New York's independent theater scene. The company is committed to using proceeds from each of their productions to benefit vital non-profit organizations in need throughout New York and around the world.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971. Today, MSF provides aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. MSF provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need. MSF reserves the right to speak out to bring attention to neglected crises, to challenge inadequacies or abuse of the aid system, and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols. In 1999, MSF received the Nobel Peace Prize.

U.S. DRAG will perform Wednesday, January 27, Thursday, January 28, Friday, January 29, Saturday, January 30 and Sunday, January 31. All performances are at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $25.00 and available via www.theatermania.com.

Gina Gionfriddo (Playwright) was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for her most recent play, Becky Shaw. The play was commissioned and first produced by Actors Theatre of Louisville, and received its New York premiere Off-Broadway at Second Stage. Other plays include After Ashley (Humana Festival 2004, The Vineyard Theatre in New York, regional theatres throughout the country, and abroad in Poland); U.S. Drag (Off-Broadway by the stageFARM, Clubbed Thumb at HERE, and several regional productions); Guinevere (O'Neill Playwrights' Conference); and the one-acts Squalor and America's Got Tragedy (commissioned and presented by the stageFARM). Gina has received an Obie Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (for U.S. Drag), The Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, and an American Theatre Critics Association/Steinberg citation. She has written for the television programs Law and Order, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Cold Case, and The Borgias (forthcoming). She has contributed essays on rock music to the literary journal, The Believer, and short fiction to Canteen. A graduate of the MFA Playwriting Program at Brown University, she has taught writing at Brown, Providence College, and Rhode Island College. She is currently at work on a new play commissioned by Playwrights Horizons.

Michole Biancosino (Director) is the Artistic Director of Project Y Theatre Company, where she has directed shows in Washington, D.C. and New York City over the past 10 years. With Project Y, she has led various professional productions, as producer, director, and performer. As a writer, her own play, The After Party, was given a reading at the Roy Arias Center, and her one woman show, Thérèse Raquin Desire, was produced at Stage Left Studio for an extended run in 2008. As a founder of the New Orleans Theatre Experiment, she produced and directed The Trashbag Tourist at the Fine Arts Center in New Orleans, as well as Thérèse Raquin Desire and Baby Boom both at the New Orleans Fringe Festival. She is interested in supporting and exploring new work, and has produced or directed readings/workshops of new plays for Crossroads Theatre, Charter Theatre, Milesquare Theatre, the Lark, Woolly Mammoth, Luna Stage, and the Kennedy Center New Play Festival. Michole received the 2008 SDCF Sir John Gielgud Fellowship for directors and traveled to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival to serve as assistant director to Laird Williamson on Coriolanus. Michole is also a classically trained saxophonist and jazz vocalist, having performed throughout her entire life under the direction of her father, through their joint venture, The American Heritage Wind Ensemble. An instructor of acting at the New York Film Academy, she holds a M.F.A. in Directing from Rutgers University.

Katherine Horlitz (Allison) studied Musical Theater at The Catholic University of America. Some of her favorite credits include Peggy Sawyer in 42nd Street, Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime, and re-opening the Kennedy Center Opera House in the Street Chorus of Bernstein's MASS. Visit her website for more info: www.katherinehorlitz.com

Mariya King (Angela), originally from Kiev, Ukraine, is a graduate from AMDA (The American Musical and Dramatic Academy). Her previous roles include Willie in Tennessee Williams' This Property is Condemned, Woman in Neil Labute's one woman show Madea Redux, and Older Sister in artist Sue de Beer's film Sister. She is a founding member of Nunya Productions.

Matt Brown (James) recently appeared in a workshop production of Tuesday Night Poker, an original piece he co-wrote. Tuesday Night Poker will enjoy a run at Theatre Row in late-March. Matt graduated from The American Musical and Dramatic Academy.

David Carl (Ned). Theater credits include Baby Boom at the New Orleans Fringe Festival, Awesome 80's Prom, The Horton Foote Project and The 365 Play. Television credits include "Guiding Light" and "All My Children." He also performs stand-up throughout New York. He has an MFA in Acting from Rutgers.

Michael Scott King (Evan) is an AMDA and NJF alumnus. Television credits include "Guiding Light," "One Life to Live," "The Triboro," and more. Film credits include Midnight Passion and the Yes We Can film series, as well as starring roles in the upcoming films Cred and Mirrors. He is a founding member of Nunya Productions.

Reid Andrés (Christopher) will be seen in the upcoming feature film Carmen G (Lucerna Studios/ Mandala Film Production), and was last seen onstage playing Brian (lead) in a reading of Blind Date at the Sage Theater. Reid played multiple roles in the stage production of The Best Party Ever. He starred in Just One Coin, a NYU thesis film. Reid is a professional musician who plays drums and percussion in New York City and internationally.

Laura King (Mary). A graduate of Trinity College (BA Theatre and Dance), King is a frequent performer in Merely Players' Mortal Folly Performance Salons and a part of A Festival of Fools theater group. She is currently working with "the Fools" on a performance of Sartre's No Exit (as Estelle). Other recent credits include On Baile's Strand (Bric Theater), Warm Morado Wood and Try, Try Again (The Tank) and Stop the World! I want to get off! (Cornerstone Playhouse).

Nicole Stoica (Janice/ Store Manager/ Bartender/ Christen) is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and The New School for General Studies. This is her professional New York debut.

Photo credit: Peter James Zielinski

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