Soho Rep's 2015-16 Season to Feature Premieres, Workshops & More

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Sarah Benson and Executive Director Cynthia Flowers, Soho Rep. has continually produced work by bold artists who harness the intimate power of the organization's own 73-seat black box theater, as well as other spaces, to create transformative experiences. Soho Rep.'s 2015-16 season, announced today, comprises two more ambitious new works-both characterized by irreverent humor, wild theatricality, and extraordinarily inventive language-and Write with Us, a series of open-to-the-public writing workshops led by acclaimed, Soho Rep.-produced playwrights.

At the Connelly Theater (220 E. 4th St.), Soho Rep. and Ars Nova will present the New York premiere of Futurity (October 6 - November 8), a deeply imaginative musical by César Alvarez (Composer and Music Director, Soho Rep.'s An Octoroon and Washeteria), with music by Brooklyn-based indie band The Lisps. Directed by Soho Rep. Artistic Director Sarah Benson, the production will feature 13 actor-musicians.

In Revolt. She. Said. Revolt Again. (April 5 - May 8, 2016), a U.S premiere, U.K.-based playwright Alice Birch introduces New York audiences to her startling, frightening, and very funny writing. Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz with both rigor and a playful spirit, the play examines how we talk to, and about, each other.

In February 2016, Soho Rep. invites audiences to join them as creators and collaborators for Write With Us, a series of free writing workshops led by nine playwrights who have been produced by Soho Rep., including César Alvarez, Annie Baker, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Lucas Hnath, Daniel Alexander Jones, Gregory S. Moss, Anne Washburn and more.

Benson remarked, "I couldn't be more excited to be sharing these new works and Write with Us with our audiences this coming season. César & Alice are each making their debuts as lead artists at Soho Rep. Both take on thorny ideas that relate to us here and now using very innovative form, and most importantly both are artists that share an interest in challenging their own assumptions and so ask the same of us. I hope the result will be thrilling civic theater."

SOHO REP. 2015-2016 PROGRAMMING

Soho Rep. and Ars Nova present
Futurity (New York Premiere)
Music by César Alvarez with The Lisps
Lyrics and Book by César Alvarez
Directed by Sarah Benson
in association with Carole Shorenstein Hays
October 6 - November 8
Preview Performances: October 6-11, 13-18 at 8pm; October 10 and 17 at 3pm
Opening: Tuesday, October 20, at 8pm
Regular Performances: October 21-25, 27-31, November 1, 3-8 at 8pm; October 24, 31 and November 7 at 3pm

The Connelly Theater (220 E. 4th St.)
Tickets: $35 general admission tickets, $55 premium seats.
$.99 Sundays: October 11 & 25 at 8pm.

Soho Rep. and Ars Nova present the New York premiere of César Alvarez's Futurity, a new, avant-Americana, musical with music by Alvarez and The Lisps, and lyrics and book by Alvarez. Soho Rep. Artistic Director Sarah Benson directs. The production is presented in association with Carole Shorenstein Hays.

In Futurity, two people try to imagine their way out of impossible circumstances. Julian is a Civil War soldier dreaming of a technological utopia. Ada is a mathematical genius thousands of miles away. Together, they're going to invent a machine to end one of the darkest periods in our history. Anelectrifying concert-story featuring an army of actor-musicians, including Alvarez, Andrew R. Butler, Fred Epstein, Eric Farber, Eamon Goodman, Karen Evans Kandel, Kristine Haruna Lee, Jessie Shelton, Kamala Sankaram, Darius Smith, Tanyaradzwa Tawengwa, Storm Thomas and Sammy Tunis.

The creative team includes Emily Orling and Matt Saunders (Set Design), Emily Orling (Costume Design), Yi Zhao (Lighting Design), Matt Tierney (Sound Design), Noah Mease (Props Design), Eric Farber (Percussion & Contraption Design), J. David Brimmer (Fight Choreography), David Neumann (Choreography), and Terri Kohler (Production Stage Manager).

In conjunction with performances of Futurity, Soho Rep's FEED Humanities program will present a series of post-show discussions with experts from various fields. On October 17, award-winning author and renowned international relations scholar Joshua S. Goldstein will explore how peacekeeping is working and what we can learn from the decline of armed conflict around the world. On October 24, César Alvarez and Tony Award-winner Lisa Kron (Fun Home) will talk about dreaming up and putting together boundary-pushing new musicals. And on November 17, the Lisps' drummer and Percussion and Contraption Designer, Eric Farber, will give a "touch tour" of a large-scale instrument that is featured prominently in Futurity. All events are free and take place at The Connelly Theater immediately after matinee performances.

César Alvarez is a New York-based composer, lyricist and writer. His recent composition credits include Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' An Octoroon (Soho Rep., TFANA; Drama Desk nomination); Washeteria (Soho Rep.); The Foundry Theatre's Good Person of Szechwan (LaMaMa, Public Theater; Drama Desk nomination); Mac Wellman's 3 2's; or AFAR (Dixon Place); and Full Still Hungry for Contra-Tiempo (Ford Amphitheater, Dance Motion USA). In development: The Universe is a Small Hat, a multi-player participatory musical (Berkeley Rep Ground Floor, Civilians R&D Group, PRELUDE NYC, Babycastles), The Elementary Spacetime Show (Ars Nova Uncharted, EST/Sloan Commission, Polyphone) and Castro with Lucas Hnath (Berkeley Rep Ground Floor and Space at Ryder Farm). Alvarez is an Artist-in-Residence at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and the Artistic Director of Polyphone, a festival of the emerging musical at UArts.

The Lisps formed in the South Bronx in 2005 as a collaboration between composer César Alvarez and actress/singer Sammy Tunis. Percussionist and kinetic sculptor Eric Farber joined in 2007. Since then they have released four albums and played hundreds of shows around the country. They created music for The Foundry Theatre's Drama Desk-nominated Good Person of Szechwan, directed by Lear deBessonet at La MaMa and the Public Theater. The Lisps' music has also been on Shameless (Showtime) and in the 2015 documentary A Woman Like Me, directed by Alex Sichel and Elizabeth Giamatti (SXSW Jury Award). The Lisps' albums include The Vain, The Modest and The Dead (2006); Country Doctor Museum (2008); Are We at the Movies? (2011); and Futurity (2012).

Sarah Benson (Director) has been the Artistic Director of Soho Rep. since 2007. For Soho Rep., she has directed Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's An Octoroon; Lucas Hnath's A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney; David Adjmi's site-specific Elective Affinities, with Zoe Caldwell; Sarah Kane's Blasted (OBIE Award, Drama Desk nomination); and Gregory Moss' Orange, Hat & Grace. She also directed Futurity at A.R.T. & Walker Arts Center, Gregory Moss' House of Gold (Woolly Mammoth) and Sophocles' Ajax (A.R.T.). Upcoming projects include Richard Maxwell's Samara.

Ars Nova is committed to developing and producing theater, comedy and music artists in the early stages of their professional careers. Its unique development programs are designed to support outside-the-box thinking and encourage innovative, genre-bending work. By providing a safe environment where risk-taking and collaboration are paramount, Ars Nova gives voice to a new generation of artists and audiences, pushing the boundaries of live entertainment by nurturing creative ideas into smart, surprising new work.

Most recently, Ars Nova was honored at the 2015 OBIE Awards with The Ross Wetzsteon Award and received a 2014-2015 Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics' Circle "for sustained quality and commitment to the development of new work." Past productions include: the critically-acclaimed world premiere of SmallMouth Sounds by Bess Wohl, directed by Rachel Chavkin (sold-out extended run, Spring 2015); JACUZZIby The Debate Society; By The Water by Sharyn Rothstein (Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club in association with Ars Nova as part of The Writer's Room); Charlatan by Vinny DePonto and Josh Koenigsberg (Drama Desk nomination); Eager to Lose, created by Matthew-Lee Erlbach, Wes Grantom, Portia Krieger and Tansy; Core Values by Steven Levenson (Drama Desk nomination); the award-winning smash-hit Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy (Off-Broadway transfer production at Kazino); The Lapsburgh Layover by The Berserker Residents; Be a Good Little Widow by Bekah Brunstetter; Bloodsong of Love by Joe Iconis; Jollyship the Whiz-Bang by Nick Jones and Raja Azar; boomby Peter Sinn Nachtrieb; From Up Here by Liz Flahive; Dixie's Tupperware Party by Kris Andersson; At Least It's Pink by Bridget Everett and Kenny Mellman; and Freestyle Love Supreme by Anthony Veneziale and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Soho Rep. in association with John Adrian Selzer presents
Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. (U.S. Premiere)
Written by Alice Birch
Directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz
April 5 - May 8
Preview Performances: April 5-10, 12 - 17at 7:30pm and April 9 and 16 at 3:00pm
Opening: Tuesday, April 19 at 7:30pm
Regular Performances: April 20-24, 26-30, - May 1, 3-8 at 7:30pm and April 30, 30 and May 7 at 3:00pm

"Adverb adjective noun. Adverb adjective noun. Adverb adjective noun. Do you see?"

Soho Rep. in association with John Adrian Selzer presents the U.S. premiere of Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. a biting new play about how we talk to, and about, each other,written by award-winning U.K.-based playwright Alice Birch and directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz.

How do you love learn work mate marry watch shop listen win dress think feel fight eat take beg birth give weigh serve scream write die play walk worry laugh share sleep lose dance play piss age bleed bake yell? How do you talk about it? A series of provocations overlap, intersect, and explode to create this wildly theatrical and irreverent new play.

Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. was originally commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2014. Described by The Guardian Newspaper as "kaleidoscopic, unruly, searing, sharply funny" and by The Daily Telegraph as "a cluster-bomb of subversion," Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. was joint winner of the George Devine Award, whose alumni include Mike Leigh, Hanif Kureishi and Lucy Prebble; and won the Birth the Arts Foundation Award for Playwriting 2014.

Alice Birch's plays include We Want You To Watch (National Theatre), The Lone Pine Club (Pentabus), Little Light (Orange Tree), Little on the inside (Almeida / Clean Break), Salt (Comedie de Valence), Many Moons (Theatre 503) and Flying the Nest (BBC Radio 4). Her first feature film, Lady Macbeth (BBC Films / BFI / Creative England), will shoot this fall. She is currently under commission to Clean Break, The Young Vic, Paines Plough, the National Theatre, and the Royal Court Theatre.

Director Lileana Blain-Cruz's recent projects include Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' play War at Yale Repertory Theater, SALOME atJACK, Much Ado About Nothing at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Christina Anderson's Hollow Roots at the Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater, a new translation of The Bakkhai at the Fisher Center of Performing Arts at Bard College, and A Guide to Kinship and Maybe Magic, a collaboration with Jacobs-Jenkins and choreographer Isabel Lewis at Dance New Amsterdam. She was an Artistic Associate of The Exchange and The Orchard Project, a member of the Lincoln Center Director's Lab, and a NYTW 2050 fellow. Her next project is Lucas Hnath's Red Speedo at New York Theater Workshop.

Soho Rep presents
Write with Us
February 6 - 14, 2016

Write with Us invites the public for the ultimate Soho Rep. open house-a festival of free writing workshops with writers who have received Mainstage productions at the theater. Instructors will include César Alvarez, Annie Baker, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Lucas Hnath, Daniel Alexander Jones, Gregory S. Moss, Anne Washburn and more. All sessions will be open to the public and reservations will be taken starting January 2016 at sohorep.org.

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