Vineyard Theatre Releases Weekly Schedule for LESSONS IN SURVIVAL

Vineyard Theatre Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern have announced the weekly schedule for Lessons In Survival, beginning October 6, and the return of "The VT Show" on the last Tuesday of each month beginning September 29 at 5:30 pm ET.

Memberships, all-access passes, and single tickets to Lessons In Survival are now available at www.vineyardtheatre.org or by calling the box office at 212-353-0303.

"The VT Show" programming is free and open to the public, and can be accessed by visiting Vineyard's Theatre's YouTube page or Facebook page. Recordings of the "The VT Show" will also be available on both platforms for later viewing, as well as on The Vineyard's website, www.vineyardtheatre.org.

Fueled by the urgency of our present moment, The Commissary, a multigenerational collective of more than 40 theatre artists, have come together to reinvestigate the words of trailblazing artists and activists who survived and created in times of revolution in our country. Baldwin. Giovanni. Davis. Lorde. Hansberry. Rustin. Hamer. In Lessons In Survival, a cohort of actors channel historic conversations, interviews and speeches, listening to original broadcasts on an in-ear feed and speaking exactly what they hear. In bringing these words to new life in the present, they ask what these voices can teach us about our country now and the opportunity for true change that stands before us. How might they propel us to look courageously at the effects of systemic racism, to imagine ourselves outside of its prescriptions, and to create, together, a shared future of collective liberation?

Conceived by Marin Ireland, Peter Mark Kendall, Tyler Thomas, Reggie D. White and directed by Thomas, Lessons In Survival will continue to develop throughout the season, with The Commissary as an artistic-collective-in-residence at The Vineyard and will be shared with audiences at different stages over the coming months.

Lessons In Survival features video design and editing by Josiah Davis; music by Daniel Kluger; production design by You-Shin Chen; production coordinator Clarissa Marie Ligon; and performed by The Commissary, with Kyle Beltran, Dan Butler, Helen Cespedes, Kalyne Coleman, Crystal Dickinson, Brandon J. Dirden, Ricardy Fabre, Yonatan Gebeyehu, Marin Ireland, Peter Mark Kendall, Nicole Lewis, Nana Mensah, Joe Morton, Deirdre O'Connell, Keith Randolph Smith, Ryan Spahn, Chris Stack, Myra Lucretia Taylor, TL Thompson, Nicole Villamil, Victoria Villier, and Reggie D. White.

Week 1

October 6 at 8:30 pm
EP 1: "Survival Is Not A One Time Decision"
Nina Simone; Lorraine Hansberry (1964); Audre Lorde/Blanche Cook (1982)
Featuring: Nicole Lewis, Kalyne Coleman, Myra Lucretia Taylor, Deirdre O'Connell

October 7 at 8:30 pm
EP 2: "I'm Trying to Make You See Something"
James Baldwin/Dick Cavett/Paul Weiss (1969)
Followed by live tweeting the Vice Presidential debate with The Commissary.
Featuring: Ricardy Fabre, Chris Stack, Dan Butler

October 8 at 8:30 pm
Live Open Rehearsal*: Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis (2002), and more TBD
Featuring: Crystal Dickinson, Brandon J. Dirden, Victoria Villier

October 11 at 5:30PM
Live Community Conversation**

Week 2

October 13 at 8:30 pm
EP 3: "When You Say Revolution... What Do You Mean?"
Angela Davis (2008); Georgia Gilmore (1979); Fannie Lou Hamer (1968)
Featuring: Nicole Lewis, Ricardy Fabre, Crystal Dickinson, Helen Cespedes

October 14 at 8:30 pm
EP 4: "The Old Leadership is Dead"
Bayard Rustin (1967)
Featuring: Kyle Beltran, Yonatan Gebeyehu, TL Thompson

October 15 at 8:30 pm
Live Open Rehearsal*: Bobby Seale/Bob Costas (1992) and more TBD

October 18 at 5:30 pm
Live Community Conversation**

Week 3

October 20 at 8:30 pm
EP 5: "Something is Beginning to Crack"
Maya Angelou/Mavis Nicholson (1987); James Baldwin/Mavis Nicholson (1987)
Featuring: Myra Lucretia Taylor, Marin Ireland, Joe Morton, Deirdre O'Connell

October 21 at 8:30 pm
EP 6: "This Country's My Problem and Your Problem"
Toni Morrison/Charlie Rose (1993); James Baldwin and R.H. Darden (1968)
Featuring: Dan Butler, Yonatan Gebeyehu, Nana Mensah, Ryan Spahn

October 22 at 8:30 pm
Live Open Rehearsal*: Muhammad Ali/Nikki Giovanni (1971), Joan Baez (1967, 1983), Pete Seeger (2006) and more TBD

October 25 at 5:30 pm
Live Community Conversation**

Week 4

October 27 at 8:30 pm
EP 7: "Lie To Me"
James Baldwin/Nikki Giovanni (Parts 1 & 2 of 4)(1971)
Featuring: Kalyne Coleman, Crystal Dickinson, Reggie White

October 28 at 8:30 pm
EP 8: "To Teach is a Revolutionary Act"
James Baldwin/Nikki Giovanni (Part 3 & 4 of 4) (1971)
Featuring: Kyle Beltran, Nana Mensah, Kalyne Coleman, Joe Morton

Single tickets are based on the size of the viewing household and range from $9-$24. Viewing access for single ticket holders is available for 18 hours beginning at the scheduled start date and time. All Access Passes are available for $60. All Access Passholders can watch all eight episodes and four open rehearsals on their own schedule through a private link available through November 15.

*Open Rehearsals are ticketed events that provide an inside look into The Commissary's process of rehearsing and creating Lessons In Survival. Each week, a group of actors and director Tyler Thomas will explore material not seen in other episodes, working on it and talking candidly about the content and the process.

**Community Conversations are free and open to the public and can be viewed on The Vineyard's YouTube and Facebook pages.

"The VT Show," a monthly online series featuring Vineyard artists, will return on Tuesday, September 29 at 5:30 pm ET with a conversation about Lessons In Survival with artists from The Commissary; followed by Tuesday October 27 at 5:30 PM ET; and finally November 24 at 5:30 PM ET with special guests to be announced.

"The VT Show" programming is free and open to the public, and can be accessed by visiting Vineyard's Theatre's YouTube page or Facebook page. Recordings of the live shows will also be available on both platforms for later viewing, as well as on The Vineyard's website, www.vineyardtheatre.org.

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