Talk Back Series to Accompany Urban Stages' UNSEAMLY

Located in the heart of the fashion district, Urban Stages will present a series of talk backs to accompany, the American Premiere of Oren Safdie's (Private Jokes, Public Places) play UNSEAMLY this October.

Directed by Sarah C Carlsen, UNSEAMLY will begin performances on October 8; Opening night is set for October 14 through November 1 at Urban Stages (259 West 30 Street) Tickets will be $55 ($35 during previews) and are available at UrbanStages.org.

Inspired by a variety of sexual harassment allegations brought against well-known clothing companies, UNSEAMLY follows a young woman seeking legal advice to initiate charges of sexual harassment against her former boss, the CEO of an international clothing company known for its risqué billboards. In UNSEAMLY, female sexuality confronts male corporate power.

"The topic of sexual harassment in the work place is such an important topic that it needs to be discussed. Oren has done an amazing job telling this story for all angles and as a theatre company we look to find the truth. We are so fortunate to have so many talented people who are leaders in their field join us at Urban Stages to discuss UNSEAMLY," said Urban Stages Founding Artistic Director, Frances Hill.

Schedule of participants in Q&A after performance of UNSEAMLY:

(more to be announced, line up may change)

- October 8th - Oren Safdie playwright of UNSEAMLY, professor of Playwrighting at the University of Miami. Sarah C Carlsen, director of UNSEAMLY.

- October 9th & 10th - Sarah C Carlsen, director of UNSEAMLY with members of the cast.

- October 11th - Frances Hill, Artistic Director of Urban Stages

- October 15th - Yvonne Cantowitz, Global Director of Human Resources at Annalet Company

Bennitta Joseph partner in law firm Joseph & Norinsberg, specializing in Sexual Harassment cases. She has 17 years of experience litigating cases. Former prosecutor at the New York District Attorney's office.

- October 16th - Sarah C Carlsen, director of UNSEAMLY with members of the cast

- October 19th - Patron's night Rikki Klieman, actress, Television Commentator, author, lawyer.

Porter Bibb, former editor of Rolling Stone Magazine, producer of GIMME SHELTER, heads Media Tech Capitol Company, Commentator on CNBC TV.

- October 21st - Derek T. Smith, The Derek Smith Group is one of the leading employment, harassment and discrimination in the work place in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

- October 23rd - Zafer Akin of The Akin Group specializing in Sexual Harassment and discrimination law.

- October 26th - Stephen Snyder, MD practicing psychiatrist and sex councilor

- October 29th - Marjorie M. Mesidor, lead counsel for Phillips & Associates, recognized for her outstanding service to clients who have been victims of sexual harassment or discrimination.

The cast of UNSEAMLY, includes: Gizel Jimenez (National Tour West Side Story; Regional: Up Here, In The Heights, The Theory of Relativity), Tommy Schrider (Broadway: War Horse. TV: "Madame Secretary," "The Americans."), and Jonathan Silver (Original cast of Canadian production of UNSEAMLY. TV: JFK: The Smoking Gun). Creative Team includes: Brian Dudkiewicz (Set and Costume Designer), Christina Watanabe (Lighting Designer), Douglas Mills (Sound Designer), Nicholas Blade Guldner (Projection Designer), John Lavigne (Technical Director), Krystle Henninger (Production Stage Manager), and Alex Nixon (Assistant Stage Manager).

UNSEAMLY was originally presented in Canada at the Infinite Theatre (co - directed by Artistic Director , Guy Sprung, and Sarah C Carlsen) and garnered national attention including being featured in BuzzFeed (click here for story) and fashion site RACKED. The production was called "intense and gut-felt" Montreal Rampage; "powerful and timely," RoverArts, and was listed on the Montreal Gazette's Best of 2014.

WHO'S WHO:

OREN SAFDIE (Playwright) attended the Graduate School of Architecture at Columbia University before turning his attention to playwriting. After receiving his MFA - also from Columbia - he was awarded a Woolrich Fellowship, which he used to launch The West End Gate Theatre. He first became a playwright-in-residence at La MaMa back in 1996, when he produced the first ever Canadian Theatre Festival in New York. More recently he helmed the Malibu Stage Co. where his off-Broadway / London hit PRIVATE JOKES, PUBLIC PLACES first debuted. (The Wall Street Journal listed it as one of the top six new plays reviewed last decade.) His next play, The Last Word..., also moved off-Broadway, starring two-time Emmy Award Winner Daniel J. Travanti ("Hill Street Blues"). Other New York productions include UNSEAMLY, False Solution, Checks & Balances, The Bilbao Effect, West Bank, Uk, Jews & Jesus, Fiddler Sub-Terrain, Broken Places, and La Compagnie, which he developed into a ½-hour pilot for Castle Rock/CBS. As a screenwriter, Oren scripted the film You Can Thank Me Later starring Ellen Burstyn, Amanda Plummer, Mary McDonnell and Genevieve Bujold, which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Newport Film Festival, and the Israeli film Bittersweet, which played the Jerusalem and Montreal World Film Festivals. Oren has also written for Metropolis, Dwell, The Forward, Canadian Jewish News, Arutz Sheva, Jerusalem Post, Times Of Israel, The Algemeiner and The New Republic. Playwrights Canada Press, Dramatists Play Service and Original have published his plays, and he is the recipient of numerous grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, CALQ, The John Golden Foundation, and The Graham Foundation. He teaches Playwriting at The University of Miami.

SARAH C CARLSEN (Director) is Montréal theatre artist and professional actor who has worked with numerous theatre companies across the city since graduating from Concordia University's Theatre Department. Her acting credits include The Other Theatre's love u lovecraft [lab], Imago Theatre's Divinity Bash: nine lives, and Centaur Theatre's With Bated Breath, as well as numerous independent productions at the Fringe Festival, The National Theatre School, Festival Trans Amériques and Festival de théâtre à L'Assomption. She is also an Actra Award nominated actor, having worked in television, voice and film projects alongside her career in the theatre.

URBAN STAGES (Producer) is an award-winning, not-for-profit, Off-Broadway Theatre Company founded in 1984 by current Artistic Director Frances Hill. For over 30 years, Urban Stages have produced dozens of world, American and NYC premieres including Pulitzer Prize Finalist Bulrusher (2007) by Eisa Davis. We have been honored with awards, nominations and recognition from the Drama Desk, Obie Awards, Audelco, Outer Critics Circle and much more. For instance, our world premiere of the musical Langston In Harlem by Walter Marks (music and book) and Kent Gash (book and direction) garnered a Drama Desk Nomination, a Joe A. Calloway award and 4 Audelco awards including Best Musical Production of 2010. More recently, our 2014 spring premiere of Jim Brochu's Character Man was nominated for a Drama Desk and an Outer Critics Circle award for Best Solo performance. Our 2014-15 season included the American premiere of Shatter by Trina Davies and the NY premiere of Robert Dubac's solo plays, The Book of Moron and The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron, in repertory. After production, most plays move on to larger venues. Men On The Verge Of A Hispanic Breakdown by Guillermo Reyes and Minor Demons by Bruce Graham both moved to commercial theatres. Chili Queen, a play by newscaster Jim Lehrer, transferred to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (1989). Honky (2013) by Greg Kalleres saw a regional run at San Diego Rep. My Occasion Of Sin (2012) by Monica Bauers won critical acclaim when it moved to Detroit Rep. Bill Bowers has toured the United States and the world with his two Urban Stages premieres blending mime and theatre - Beyond Words (2012) and Under A Montana Moon (2002)! Some Urban Stages premieres have even been developed into film and television projects such as Scar by Murray Mednick, Conversations With The Goddesses by Agapi Stassinopoulos, and Cotton Mary by Alexandra Viets. In addition to plays and musicals, annually we hold a benefit music festival - Winter Rhythms - that features famous and up-and-coming singers, musicians and songwriters from cabaret, musical theatre, jazz, rock, hip hop and classical music. In 2015, Winter Rhythms was honored by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs with the Ruth Kurtzman Benefit Series Award, including a $1,000 donation to the Urban Stages Outreach Program.

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