The Orchard Project to Present an Industry Reading of Ned Van Zandt's DEL VALLE

The Orchard Project, the NYC and Saratoga-based non-profit arts development organization, will be presenting an industry reading of Ned Van Zandt’s new work Del Valle, December 19 at AMT Theatre in midtown NYC. 

Amir Arison (2023 Theatre World Award Winner, The Kite Runner) will be directing. The one man show is written and starring Ned Van Zandt (Painkiller, The Iceman Cometh, Good Television). 

Del Valle, a true story, is the account of a well-born Texas man who hits rock bottom in prison on a drug charge. In prison, Van Zandt is recognized from his appearances on "One Life To Live" by the Junior Grand Dragon of the Texas Aryan Brotherhood who longs to be an actor himself and trades “protection” for acting lessons.

At a time when he feels hopelessly lost, he meets the fellow denizens of the lower depths, who confront him with who he really is: an artist on a path toward recovery. A tale of surviving — with sex, drugs, and rock and roll at the Chelsea Hotel, Sid and Nancy, Hollywood, and Chaka Khan thrown in for good measure —Del Valle is a moral tale, told with a wild sense of humor and suspense, of a man’s redemption through accepting himself for the first time with all his faults and gifts.

Del Valle was developed and presented by The Orchard Project, a leading American institution committed to the creation of bold new work, in collaboration with Jane Bergère Productions (The Shark is Broken, Funny Girl). 

For more information about the play, please email the Orchard Project at info@orchardproject.com

Ned Van Zandt (Playwright & Performer)

Ned Van Zandt is an actor and writer originally from Texas. His great grandfather was one of the founders of the city of Fort Worth. His second cousin was singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt. He has appeared in films, television, and on Broadway (The Iceman Cometh with Kevin Spacey). His first job in Hollywood was playing a teenage alcoholic on "The Young and the Restless." His first film role was playing a soldier in a scene with Gregory Peck in MacArthur. Recent work includes guest star appearances on The Blacklist, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Power, Marvel’s Daredevil, HBO's All The Way, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Hawaii Five 0, Person of Interest, Nurse Jackie and Lost. Currently seenm as Rudy Giuliani in Peter Berg’s Painkiller for Netflix. Upcoming: Ryan Murphy’s Feud: Capote’s Women directedm by Gus Van Sant on FX. Ned also appears as himself in three documentaries- Ghosts of the Chelsea, Sad Vacation and Who Killed Nancy? about his life at the Chelsea Hotel with Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungeon. His first play Del Valle is about that time and much more.

Amir Arison (Director)

Amir Arison is best known for his work on ten seasons of the NBC/Sony/Netflix international hit series The Blacklist. He is a 2023 Theatre World Award recipient for Outstanding Performance in a Broadway Debut for The Kite Runner. He's also performed in world premieres at NYTW, The Public Theatre, The Signature, MCC, Waterwell, LABryinth, Yale Rep, Huntington, La Jolla, the RSC & more. In 2022, he received the SJFF Pomegranate Award for Career Achievement in Acting. He is currently filming the Apple TV’s Sinking Spring from Ridley Scott & Peter Craig. As a director, he has recently helped develop Ned Van Zandt's Del Valle at the Orchard Project’s highly selective Summer Development series. He has directed numerous theatre workshops in NYC & Los Angeles for IAMA Theater Company, Circle X, Mind the Gap, & NWIFT. Arison produced and directed the award-winning short films, Fortress written by Anna Ziegler, as well as Tati’s Fashion Show for Angelight Films. He is the Emmy award winning host of NBC/Telemundo’s 2022 Clear The Shelters Campaign, and teaches/directs workshops for The New School, Pace University, YoungArts, The Acting Collective, The Watson Institute, United Arts Partnership, NBC Director’s Diversity Showcase, Broadway for All, Broadway Workshop, Hole-In-The-Wall-Gang-Camp, and Angelight Films where he was just named the Director of their Creative Advisory Board.

Jane Bergère (Producer)

Jane Bergère is an Olivier and multi-Tony Award winning producer. Prior to producing on and off Broadway Jane was the Artistic Director of Connecticut’s Broadway Theatre in Darien, CT where she produced over 50 musicals. Recognized by The New York Times, Jane brought Broadway to Connecticut and is responsible for launching the careers of many actors, directors, choreographers and current industry professionals working on Broadway. Jane's first Broadway production was the critically acclaimed show, Metamorphoses and since then she has produced over 40 productions including The Shark is Broken, Funny Girl, Beetlejuice, Kinky Boots, Angels in America, and War Horse, to name a few. Upcoming Broadway February 2024, Water For Elephants. Off-Broadway credits include The Exonerated and Blindness. Her film credits include the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody and The Collaboration. Jane produces in London, Australia, Canada, and Korea.

ABOUT THE ORCHARD PROJECT

The Orchard Project (OP) is a preeminent non-profit artistic development laboratory and accelerator for creators of performance and dramatic stories. Through programs in New York City, Saratoga Springs, and online, the Orchard Project inclusively supports and empowers dramatic storytellers from the United States and around the world. Through summer labs and other year-round programs that provide resources including community, accountability, and opportunity for artists at multiple stages of their careers, The Orchard Project pushes the dramatic form and lifts up a diversity of voices that inform, inspire, and provoke.

To date, led by Artistic Director Ari Edelson, OP has supported more than 1,400 resident artists, and maintained deep relationships with alumni, offering ongoing advice and resources for their work through OP Forward programs. Unlike other residency programs, OP’s signature Labs embrace projects from a diversity of trajectories, forms, and aesthetics, and support both emerging and established artists. Theatrical works developed at The OP have gone on to production at a wide variety of theaters—from Broadway and the West End to independent theaters across the world. Recent productions include Penelope(Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, upcoming at Signature Theatre), Bhangin' It (La Jolla Playhouse), In the Green (LCT3), Manual Cinema’s Frankenstein (Public Theater, Court Theatre), Amélie (Broadway), The Object Lesson (BAM Next Wave Festival, New York Theatre Workshop), and Savion Glover's BaRoQUe'BLaK TaP CaFe (The Joyce). Audio stories formed at OP have been presented on Audible, including the musical Row by Daniel Goldstein and Dawn Landes. Television pilots like Amy Jephta’s The Park - in development with Imagine Entertainment - have been developed in OP’s Episodic Lab. Some projects have gone on to live in multiple mediums, such as Laura Wade’s POSH and Robert Schenkkan’s All The Way, which had successful theatrical runs before becoming major motion pictures. Past OP residency companies include Tectonic Theater Project, The Royal Court, Elevator Repair Service, Public Theater, Pig Iron, The Rude Mechs, American Repertory Theater, Mabou Mines, and groundbreaking artists Jeremy O. Harris, Young Jean Lee, and Brandon Jacobs Jenkins, among others. Work developed at the Orchard Project has gone on to win awards including Obies, Drama Desks, Olivier Awards, and the 2014 Tony Award for Best Play for All The Way.

The core activities of the Orchard Project are a series of residency and artist support programs that occur in New York City and Saratoga Springs, NY. Programs include laboratories for theatrical plays and musicals, episodic content, and audio storytelling.

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