ASTORIA STORIES to Celebrate Iconic Locations in Corner of Queens

The Award-Winning Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) is pleased to announce the world premiere production of ASTORIA STORIES, directed by Artistic Director Dev Bondarin. A collaborative production of plays and musicals written by Kari Bentley-Quinn, Nathan Brisby & Lizzie Hagstedt, Ty Defoe & Tidtaya Sinutoke, Dyan Flores, Ben Gassman, Holly Hepp-Galvan, Alexander Sage Oyen, Christopher Torres, and Kathleen Warnock celebrating the area of Queens that APAC calls home.

The limited engagement will be at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 30-44 Crescent St (at 30th Road), in Astoria, Queens. (*Sunday February 22nd at 7:30pm performance will be at Museum of the Moving Image.) Performances begin Friday, February 19 and continue through Saturday, February 27.

Astoria Park, the Bohemian Beer Garden, Socrates Sculpture Park. Each iconic Astoria location tells a story... ASTORIA STORIES celebrates the places we know and love and explores how they transform, affect, and engage residents and visitors. In a neighborhood rife with history, nine short plays and musicals bridge the past with the ever-changing present. Featuring the work of Queens-based writers and performed by an ensemble of actors, this production will pay homage to the area of NYC that APAC calls home.

According to Bondarin, "Writers were asked to take a familiar Astoria location and to write a 10-minute piece centered around that place. This workshop production will run the gamut from public spaces, stores, to cultural sites unlocking the unique landscape of the neighborhood."

In addition to their performances at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, ASTORIA STORIES marks the first time that APAC will be performing in the Kaufman Arts District. On Sunday, February 22nd at 7:30pm, APAC will be presenting ASTORIA STORIES at Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Avenue, Astoria, Queens.

"This is what being part of a creative community is all about," said Tracy Capune, Vice President of Kaufman Astoria Studios. "We founded the Kaufman Arts District to celebrate all the different arts organizations that have come together in this neighborhood. To have the Astoria Performing Arts Center, one of those organizations that makes its home here, present a work that in turn celebrates Astoria is a great treat. We're really looking forward to ASTORIA STORIES."

Casting to be announced at a later date.

The production features music direction by James Higgins, props design by Katie White, and lighting design by Dan Jobbins.

ASTORIA STORIES plays the following schedule:

Friday February 19th @ 8pm
Saturday February 20th @ 2pm
Saturday February 20th @ 8pm
Sunday February 22nd @ 7:30pm ** at Museum of the Moving Image
Friday February 26th @ 8pm
Saturday February 27th @ 2pm
Saturday February 27th @ 8pm

Tickets are $10 and are now available online at www.apacny.org. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the box office 1⁄2 hour prior to performance. Running Time: 100 minutes. For more, go to www.apacny.org/shows-and-events/current-season-2015-2016/astoria-stories.

BIOGRAPHIES:

† notes a Queens-playwright

† Kari Bentley-Quinn's (Playwright) plays have been performed in New York, Chicago, Dallas, and more. Plays include Paper Cranes (Princess Grace Semi-Finalist), The Unlikely Ascent of Sybil Stevens (BAPF 2013 Finalist), The Ocean Thought Nothing (2014 O'Neill NPC Finalist), and Prepared (Kilroys List Honorable Mention). MFA Playwriting - Hunter College. She is a cofounder of Mission to (dit)Mars, a theater company based here in Astoria, Queens.

Dev Bondarin (Director) is celebrating her first anniversary as APAC's Artistic Director. During her first season, APAC was nominated for eight New York Innovative Theater Awards and won three--including Outstanding Production of a Musical for Merrily We Roll Along, which she directed. At APAC, Dev also directed In The Bones, nominated for Outstanding Premiere Production. Other credits: King Lear (American Bard Theater, two NYIT Award nominations), A Home Across The Ocean (MTWorks), Reefer Madness (NYIT Award nomination for Outstanding Musical), andRaised by Lesbians (FringeNYC, 4 Stars Time Out). As Associate Artistic Director of Prospect Theater Company, she curates/directs an annual musical theater lab that has produced over 50 new, short musicals. Member: Lincoln Center Directors Lab. Associate Member: SDC, League of Professional Theatre Women. MFA: Brooklyn College. and BA: Brandeis University. www.devbondarin.net

†Nathan Brisby (Book/Lyrics) is the founder of Broadway Gives Back, an organization that produces events which connect non-profits and the Broadway community. Recent writing projects seen in NYC include Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot (with Matt Patrick Walsh), Camo Girl (with Lizzie Hagstedt), Franz & Kafka (with Lizzie Hagstedt), I Am (Mr. Spaceman) (with Jason Livesay). His songs have been heard at various concert venues in NYC and on Sirius XM. He is a member of the Advanced Workshop at BMI, as well as a member of The Circle Songbook.

Ty Defoe (Book/Lyrics) and †Tidtaya Sinutoke (Music) have written Clouds Are Pillows For The Moon (Yale Institute for Musical Theatre, ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop, 2015 Kilroy's honorable mention list), Tick-Tick (Prospect Theater's Musical Theatre Lab), In the Cards (Boston Contempo-International Festival), Crossing Borders (CAP 21 Residency). Concerts at Joe's Pub, Songbook at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, 54 Below, Goodspeed Opera House, Dramatist Guild National Conference, NAMT Songwriters Cabaret, and the Johnny Mercer Songwriting project in Chicago, IL. Current Projects include: Hart Island Requiem with The Civilians/R&D Group, Sunrise Prayer (with collaborator Mary Kathryn Nagle at Goodspeed Opera), and Gender Outlaw (Robert Rauschenburg residency) all for 2016. Both Ty and Tidtaya draw inspiration from food like bison burgers, kale, and deep fried anything. They began their collaboration together at NYU where they received MFAs in Musical Theatre Writing. www.defoesinutoke.com

†Dyan Flores (Playwright) is a graduate of New York University, a member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Writing Workshop, and a member of the Drama League's Bastard Playground. Dyan also is a librettist and composer who's had shows performed at the New York Library for the Performing Arts, American Theater Company, Milk Can Theatre Company, and NYU. You can find Dyan on Twitter at @dyanysus1116

†Ben Gassman (Playwright) is a playwright from Queens. The Downtown Loop, directed by Meghan Finn, premiered at 3LD Arts & Technology Center in October, 2013. Currently Ben, Meghan, and Loop veteran Sam Soghor are at work on a new play, Sam's Tea Shack, which has had developmental showings at Dixon Place, The Bushwick Starr, The Silent Barn in Bushwick, and most recently as part of the Prelude Festival at the CUNY Graduate Center. Ben is also a licensed NYC tour guide and he writes essays. MFA: Brooklyn College.

Lizzie Hagstedt (Music) is an actor / singer / musician / composer. Member of the BMI Workshop and the Circle Songbook. Previous projects as a writer include short musicals for Prospect Theater Company and NYU Steinhardt. Her musical Rose Petals (with Sarah Rebell) received a NYMF staged reading in 2013. Current projects include Oneida (with Beth Blatt) and Camo Girl (with Nathan Brisby and Celine Rosenthal). Currently appearing in Southern Comfort at the Public Theatre. www.lizziehagstedt.com

†Holly Hepp-Galva?n's (Playwright) recent productions include The Ambassador at The Secret Theatre, The Photo Album at FringeNYC, Departure at City Theatre Miami, and Tamed, an adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew, in Danville, KY.

Productions for children include Sprites for Ballet Austin and Peter and the Piper, The Big Bolt, and Trouble on the Double for Pollyanna Theatre Company. She holds an MFA in Playwriting from Hunter College and currently teaches on the faculty there.

†Alexander Sage Oyen (Book/Music/Lyrics) received the 2014 ASCAP Lucille and Jack Yellen Award. Credits: Outlaws (book: James Presson, dir. Noah Himmelstein-Goodspeed Festival of New Musicals, 2014 NAMT Finalist, 2014 ASCAP Workshop), Archie's Final Project (book: Presson, David Lee Miller), Diva (book: Sean Patrick Monahan), and Moment by Moment (dir. Brandon Ivie-54 Below, Mahidol University-Thailand, available on iTunes/Amazon). He was a 2013-14 Dramatist Guild Fellow, a Playbill.com "Contemporary Musical Theatre Writers You Should Know," and selected for the 2014 Johnny Mercer Songwriter's Project. Proud member of ASCAP, The Dramatists Guild

†Christopher Torres (Playwright) is a Queens bred, Ecuadorian-American storyteller. He studied creative writing at John Jay College of Criminal Justice while pretending to study for his forensic psychology degree. He's currently a MFA candidate in City College's creative writing program. He also performs stories on stage at slams in the NYC area, is an editorial assistant for J Journal: New Writing on Justice, and co-created the Fail Better Reading Series.

†Kathleen Warnock (Playwright) is an Astoria-based playwright. Her work has been seen in NYC, Dublin (Ireland and Georgia) and regionally. Recent productions include The Further Adventures of... (TOSOS/Theater 167 and International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival); Julie Andrews is the Devil, (Women's International Theater Festival, Provincetown). She hosts the Drunken! Careening! Writers! reading series the third Thursday of the month at KGB Bar (since 2004). She is a member of The Dramatists Guild and a longtime fan of APAC.

ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (APAC), The Astoria Performing Arts Center, Inc. (APAC), a not-for-profit organization, was founded in 2001 by Sue Scannell (Founding Executive Director, 2001-2005) and Brian J. Swasey (Founding Artistic Director, 2001-2008) and is currently led by Executive Director Jessica Bathurst and Artistic Director Dev Bondarin. APAC's mission is to bring high quality theater to Astoria, Queens, and to support local youth and senior citizens.

On its mainstage, APAC produces revivals and premieres of plays and musicals, and develops new works through readings and workshops. Its flexible theater space changes with each production. To date, APAC has received 36 New York Innovative Theatre Award nominations and 9 wins (including wins for Merrily We Roll Along, Allegro, Children of Eden, and Ragtime), as well as an Off-Off Broadway Theatre Review Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical (Is There Life After High School?). APAC was the recipient of the 2012 Caffe Cino Fellowship Award, under the leadership of Taryn Sacramone (APAC Executive Director, 2005-2013) and Tom Wojtunik (APAC Artistic Director, 2008-2014).

APAC offers free annual community programs, including a summer performance camp for children ages 8-13, an after school playwriting program for middle school students, and a performance program for Queens residents over the age of 60. These programs deepen ties with the community, and develop new audiences for theater. Diverse programming and consistent quality attracts a loyal and growing audience that reflects the diversity of Western Queens and also draws from the other boroughs and beyond.

In addition to its theater space within the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, APAC's offices are located within the historic Kaufman Astoria Studios.

For more information on APAC, visit www.apacny.org.

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