VATICAN FALLS By Frank J. Avella Set For October At The Tank

Vatican Falls, the controversial play written by Frank J. Avella that closely examines the Catholic sex abuse scandal while telling real survivor stories and exploring the fictional journey of one particular survivor will make its world premiere this Fall in a limited engagement run Off-Broadway. The production begins previews on Thursday, October 27th and will run through Sunday, November 20th at The Tank NYC. The play will be co-directed by Avella and Carlotta Brentan (Lured) and is a High Voltage co-production with The Tank.

Vatican Falls has had seven world premieres canceled in four different countries in the last decade, most notoriously in Rome, Italy in 2011 at Teatro Vascello, when the plug was pulled on the show by fearful producers the night before opening amidst controversy and claims of death threats.

Based on factual accounts and events, Vatican Falls follows the life of one survivor who struggles with understanding how those closest to him could damage him the deepest. The multi-genre, non-linear play probes the conflicting feelings involved in most sexual abuse situations and dares to confront the truth about the ever-growing scandal and the Church's complicity in it. The piece also takes a dramatic fictional twist.

The cast of Vatican Falls features Carlotta Brentan, Tucker Aust and Alice Barrett Mitchell*. Additional casting is soon to be announced. (*Member of AEA)

Performances will run Thursdays through Sundays at 7:00pm, except on 11/5, 11/12 & 11/19 when performances will be at 3:00pm.

Costume design is by Shirlee Idzakovich. Movement Choreography is by Christine "Cappy" Dow. Publicity is by Daniel DeMello / DDPR, Casting by Judy Bowman and social media will be managed by John David West. The rest of the Vatican Falls creative and tech team will be announced in September.

Frank J. Avella recently wrote and directed his first film, the multi-award-winning short "Fig Jam." He is the recipient of an International Writers Residency at Arte Studio Ginestrelle (Assisi, Italy), a Bogliasco Foundation Fellowship, a Helene Wurlitzer Residency Grant and a NJ State Arts Council Fellowship Award. Frank's feature length screenplays include "Consent," "Lured," and "Screw The Cow" which, along with "Fig Jam" have won over 30 awards and are selections/finalists in over 190 Festivals/Contests worldwide. He has written numerous plays including "Vatican Falls," (2021 O'Neill semifinalist), "Lured" (2018 O'Neill semifinalist, produced in NYC & Rome), "Consent" (2x O'Neill semifinalist) and most recently, "Lockdown." His screenplays have won 27 awards and have been Finalists/Official Selections for over 170 Festivals/Comps in 16 countries.

Carlotta Brentan is a New York-based theater artist specializing in the development of challenging new plays as an actor, producer, director and translator. Stage highlights: World Premieres of Frank J. Avella's Lured, (also co-directed, sold-out runs at Theater for The New City in NYC and OnStage! Festival in Rome), Paolo Bignami's The Journey I Never Made (also translated from the original Italian, Cherry Lane Theatre), Erik Ehn's Clover (La MaMa ETC) Carlotta is also a film actor, prolific voiceover artist and award-winning audiobook narrator.

High Voltage Productions was birthed by Ashley Garrett and Frank J. Avella. HVP produced the award-winning short film, "Fig Jam," in 2021.

Founded in 2003, The Tank is an Obie Award-winning, multi-disciplinary non-profit arts presenter and producer, which provides a home to emerging artists working across all disciplines, including theater, comedy, dance, film, music, puppetry, and storytelling. Led by Artistic Director Meghan Finn, Managing Producer Molly FitzMaurice and Director of Artistic Development Johnny G. Lloyd, The Tank champions emerging artists engaged in the pursuit of new ideas and forms of expression. In doing so the company removes the economic barriers from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers and experimenting within their art form. From the company's home with two theaters on 36th Street, The Tank serves over 2,500 artists every year, presents over 1,000 performances, and welcomes 36,000 audience members annually. The company fully produces a curated season of 13-18 theatrical World or New York premieres each season. During the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis, The Tank has launched CyberTank, a virtual gathering space and programming platform for artists to share work. With weekly themed variety shows, ongoing series and evening-length shows made for the virtual frame, CyberTank has already presented the work of over 4,093 artists in over 468 performances to over 20,000 audience members across the country and the world. Recent Tank-produced work includes The New York Times Critics' Picks Taxilandia by Flako Jimenez (2021); OPEN by Crystal Skillman, directed by Jessi D. Hill (2019); Red Emma & The Mad Monk by Alexis Roblan, directed by Katie Lindsay (2018); and The Offending Gesture by Mac Wellman, directed by Meghan Finn (2016), as well as Drama Desk Award-nominated productions The Hunger Artist (2018), The Paper Hat Game (2017), the ephemera trilogy (2017), Ada/Ava (2016) and youarenowhere (2016).

To post a comment, you must register and login.