The Barrow Group to Present World Premiere of Scott Organ's 17 MINUTES

The Barrow Group, under the leadership of Co-Artistic Directors Seth Barrish and Lee Brock and Executive Director Robert Serrell, will present the world premiere 17 Minutes, a spellbinding new play by Scott Organ (Phoenix) that takes an intimate look at how gun violence reverberates across a community. Directed by Seth Barrish (Director of Mike Birbiglia's The New One), 17 Minutes is scheduled to run at The Barrow Group Mainstage Theatre (312 West 36th St) from January 10 through February 15 with an opening set for January 22.

17 Minutes takes place in the aftermath of a school shooting. It centers on a sheriff's deputy who must come to terms with the choices he made during the tragedy. As he embarks on a search for redemption, his community comes together to ask, "What will we be known for?"

Director Seth Barrish remarks, "The Barrow Group is proud to have been an artistic home for Scott Organ since 2005. His plays illuminate the human experience. With 17 Minutes, he's found a very empathetic way for all of us to come together around the issue of gun violence."

The cast for 17 Minutes features Lee Brock as Cecelia Bauserman, Michael Giese as Dan Watson, DeAnna Lenhart as Samantha Rubens, Larry Mitchell as sheriff's deputy Andy Rubens, Shannon Patterson as Mary, and Brian Rojas as Virgil Morris.

The creative team includes Edward T. Morris (scenic designer), Solomon Weisbard (lighting designer), Emma Wilk (sound designer), Matsy Stinson (costume designer), Addison Heeren (props), and Allison Raynes (production stage manager).

Thirty two performances of 17 Minutes will take place January 10 - February 15 (see schedule above) at The Barrow Group, 312 West 36th Street in Manhattan. Critics are welcome as of January 16 for an opening on Wednesday, January 22. Tickets, priced at $35-$60 ($20-$25 students), go on sale to the general public on December 2 and can be purchased by visiting barrowgroup.org or by calling 866-811-4111.

Scott Organ's plays have been commissioned by The Atlantic Theater Company, developed by theaters including The Barrow Group, The New Group, Page 73, South Coast Rep, and performed and workshopped throughout the United States, Europe and South America. Organ's play Phoenix premiered at the Humana Festival of New American Plays and was subsequently produced at The Barrow Group and through Rattlestick Playwrights Theater at Cherry Lane Theater. Phoenix has been translated into Portuguese, Spanish, and French. His writing has been featured in Arts In The Armed Forces. Organ's plays can be found in New Playwrights - The Best Plays 2010, Humana Festival 2010 - The Complete Plays, New American Short Plays 2005, Best American Short Plays, and Great Short Plays. He is a writer on the short films Playdate (TriBeCa Film Festival, London City International Film Festival - 3rd place, Vimeo Staff Pick), The Board (TriBeCa Film Festival), and The One (Palm Springs International Film Festival), and the features Phoenix and History of Technology (written with David Shane.)

Seth Barrish is the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of The Barrow Group. Directing Credits include (Broadway) Mike Birbiglia's The New One; (Off Broadway) The New One (Drama Desk & Outer Critics Circle Awards OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE); The Tricky Part (OBIE Award, Drama Desk Nominations for BEST PLAY and BEST SOLO SHOW), All The Rage (Lucille Lortel Award for BEST SOLO SHOW), My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, (Lucille Lortel Award for BEST SOLO SHOW, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for BEST SOLO SHOW-Final performance at Carnegie Hall), Sleepwalk With Me (Nightlife Award for OUTSTANDING COMEDIAN IN A MAJOR PERFORMANCE), Pentecost (Drama Desk Nomination for BEST PLAY), Old Wicked Songs (Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award & Garland Award for BEST DIRECTION), and Good (Straw Hat Award for BEST DIRECTION), among dozens of productions spanning a 35-year career Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, in regional theater and internationally. Barrish co-directed Mike Birbiglia's feature film Sleepwalk With Me. He is a professional acting and directing teacher and is author of the book An Actor's Companion-Tools for the Working Actor. Barrish co-directed the Netflix Comedy Special Thank God for Jokes and directed the Netflix Comedy Special Mike Birbiglia, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend. He was a consulting producer for the film Don't Think Twice and a producer of Mike Birbiglia's CD Sleepwalk With Me Live. As an actor, Barrish appears regularly in film and on television. He is also a composer (SESAC).

About the Cast

Lee Brock has overseen, developed, and/or produced more than 170 projects with The Barrow Group. Directing credits include: Abigail's Party (New York Times Critic's Pick), The Pavilion, The Timekeepers, Orange Flower Water, Save Me, Art, and Uncle Vanya, among others. She has appeared in theaters throughout the country including Manhattan Theatre Club, The Kennedy Center, and La Mama e.t.c. Her television appearances include: Orange is the New Black, Law & Order, Law & Order: SVU, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, among others. In 2009, Brock created FAB (For, About, and By Women), a developmental wing of The Barrow Group dedicated to creating women's projects. One of Brock's personal missions is to help artists create their own work. She teaches classes with The Barrow Group. Thousands of students from all over the world have studied with her in the last 30 years.

Michael Giese is an award-winning actor who has been seen on television in As The World Turns and Nurse Jackie, in multiple short and feature length films, most recently Life Hack, which can be found on Amazon Prime, and in numerous national network commercials. He appeared in Grand Theft Auto V as yoga instructor Fabien LaRouche and in Red Dead Redemption II and has been seen on stage regionally and Off-Broadway in various plays including Henrik Ibsen's Enemy Of The People, A Low Lying Fog and AWAKE all at The Barrow Group where he also teaches. For more information, visit speakgiese.com.

DeAnna Lenhart is thrilled to be working at The Barrow Group. Most recently she was seen in another Scott Organ play, The Thing with Feathers, also at The Barrow Group. Prior to that, she appeared in Point Last Seen, which was performed at the Atlantic Second Stage, and The Barrow Group's production of Phoenix. Other Barrow Group credits include The Fear Project, Release, Short Stuff II, and Short Stuff III. Other New York credits include Runners at Atlantic Theater Company's 453 New Works, Escape From Happiness and The House of Yes (Tantrum Theatre) and What I Like About Breasts (Exploding Moment). Regional Credits: A Midsummer Night's Dream (Idaho Shakespeare Festival) and Sincerity Forever (New City Theater, Seattle). Short Films: Curfew and So Grown Up. She has a BFA in Acting from Cornish College of the Arts.

Larry Mitchell's most recent appearance at The Barrow Group was in the title role (Dr. Stockmann) in Enemy of the People. Previously he has appeared in The Barrow Group productions of Lobby Hero, Orange Flower Water, and Short Stuff II, among others. Mitchell originated the role of Joey in the NYC workshop premiere of A Steady Rain and conceived, produced, and performed the solo show, When I Wished I Was Here; Dispatches from Fallujah; compiled entirely from the memoirs of former Marine Sgt. Derek McGee. On television, Mitchell starred as Jay Paterno alongside Al Pacino in Barry Levinson's Emmy-nominated film, Paterno for HBO. Guest star & recurring TV highlights include Jessica Jones, NOS4A2, The Blacklist, The Enemy Within, Blue Bloods, Sneaky Pete, Hostages, Mysteries of Laura, among others. Film highlights include The Departed, American Gangster, Blame, and Aaron Sorkin's upcoming directorial release, The Trial of the Chicago 7. He is from Littleton, CO.

Shannon Patterson has called The Barrow Group her artistic home, where she also teaches and has spent the last decade developing and directing new plays. She is thrilled to be returning to the stage for this production of 17 Minutes. As a director, her most recent credits include the New York Premieres of Torben Betts' Muswell Hill (a co-production between The Barrow Group and The Pond) and Erik Gernand's The Beautiful Dark, as well as John Yearly's The Unrepeatable Moment also at The Barrow Group. Visit shanpatterson.com for more information.

Brian Rojas is a Colombian-American actor and native New Yorker. This is his debut at The Barrow Group where he developed his acting approach, His recent stage credits include: Savana Clacial (Fringe NYC - UT Patet Theater Co.), an immersive Macbeth (Red Monkey Theater Group), Dead Man's Cell Phone (RMTG), Stop Kiss (RMTG), and reading of Swing (Negro Ensemble Co.). His Film/TV credits include network television series, feature films, graduate thesis projects, and commercial campaigns.