Adaptations Project Presents KADDISH 9/28-10/9

The Adaptations Project will present their inaugural production, Kaddish (or The Key in the Window), based on the poem by Allen Ginsberg. Kaddish (or The Key in the Window) is created and performed by Donnie Mather and directed by Kim Weild. Their most recent collaboration was WeildWorks' New York Premiere of Charles Mee's Fêtes de la Nuit, a 2010 Drama Desk Award nominee for Unique Theatrical Experience that also garnered 7 New York Innovative Theatre Award nominations, including Outstanding Director.

The production marks the 50th Anniversary of the poem's publication and runs from September 29 - October 9, 2011 in a limited engagement at the 4th Street Theatre, located at 83 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery in New York City. Previews begin September 29 for a September 30 opening. Performances are Tuesday-Saturday at 8pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets are $18 for adults and $13 for students/seniors and can be purchased online at http://www.BrownPaperTickets.com or by calling 1-800-838-3006. For more information visit http://www.AdaptationsProject.org.

Allen Ginsberg's poem Kaddish springs to life in this multimedia memory play created by The Adaptations Project. In the poem, a son mourns the death of his mother. He wrestles with painful memories of her battles with mental illness and the guilt of signing for her lobotomy. Kaddish is a moving story of loss, family and the grace that comes from confronting one's own mortality. Ginsberg's stream-of-conscious narrative employs the same poetic language that made him one of the finest poets of the Beat Generation.

Kaddish is the traditional Jewish mourner's prayer. In 1961, Ginsberg wrote his poem three years after the death of his mother Naomi Ginsberg. Performer Donnie Mather and director Kim Weild retain the original text as the basis for the evening's story. Award-winning designers Brian H. Scott (Set & Lights), Darron L. West (Sound) and C. Andrew Bauer (Projections) provide the theatrical environment for Ginsberg's poetry with their aural and visual landscape. Originally workshopped in 2009, the play was presented by The New York International Fringe Festival, a production of The Present Company, at HERE Arts. The current production is made possible with special permission from The Allen Ginsberg Estate.

Donnie Mather launched The Adaptations Project in 2011 to continue and expand numerous creative relationships, and to explore new forms of narrative with an ever-expanding collective of artists and designers. For several years, Mather was an Associate Artist of Siti Company (Anne Bogart, Artistic Director) where he performed in Macbeth, Nicholas & Alexandra, Lilith and Seven Deadly Sins. While an Associate, Mather created and performed A Show of Force, directed by Leon Ingulsrud, which ran at the NY Fringe, Hudson Guild, Hope College and the Manizales Theatre Festival of Colombia. He has also worked with Tina Landau at En Garde Arts (Trojan Women A Love Story), with Josh Fox at International WOW Company, Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, Theatre Askew, and Rude Mechanicals (NY). Mather also collaborated with director Kim Weild on Uncle Vanya (Official selection Prague Quadrennial), in which he played the title role.

Kim Weild's directing credits include WeildWorks' New York Premiere of Charles Mee's Fêtes de la Nuit, which received a 2010 Drama Desk Award nomination for Unique Theatrical Experience and a New York Innovative Theatre Award nomination for Outstanding Director. She has worked at The Women's Project, Williamstown, Foundry Theatre, Ohio Theatre and Carnegie Hall. As an Associate Director to Michael Blakemore on Broadway, she worked on Terrence McNally's Deuce, Mark Twain/David Ives' Is He Dead?, and the revival of Blithe Spirit. Weild has also associate directed for Tina Landau on Tarell McCraney's Wig Out! at the Vineyard Theatre and Charles Mee's Iphigenia 2.0 at The Signature Theater. For more information visit http://www.KimWeild.com.

The creative and production team includes Brian H. Scott on Set and Lighting Design (Siti Company, Signature Theatre, Rude Mechs, The TEAM, Henry Hewes Design Award-winner), Darron L. West on Sound Design (Siti Company, Obie Award-winner, EDDY Award-winner, Princess Grace Award-winner, Lucille Lortel Award-winner, Henry Hewes Design Award-winner, Bay Area Theater Critics Circle Award-winner), C. Andrew Bauer on Projection Design (Fela!, 9 to 5: the Musical at Lightbox Theatre, 2010 NY Innovative Theatre Design Award-winner for Fêtes de la Nuit) and Terese Wadden (Costume Design).

The 2009 NYC Fringe production of Kaddish (or The Key in the Window) received high marks from the New York press. The Village Voice said the play "Vibrates with invocatory power" and EdgeNewYork proclaimed, "Mather conveys masterfully...Frankly, he's mesmerizing to watch." CurtainUp declared, "Mather's precise, contained performance allows the words to be heard in their beauty, fervor and acerbic tone," and NYTheatre.com wrote, "Mather clearly relates to the material. He speaks with a clear voIce That conveys the understanding of a man suffering the loss of a loved one." Anne Bogart cheers, "Donnie Mather is the genuine article. I love his acting, his artistry, his seriousness and his wild flights of fancy."

The Adaptations Project creates a theatrical body of work based on unusual source material by an ever-growing roster of Associate Artists. Founded by Donnie Mather in 2011, The Adaptations Project adapts new forms of storytelling to create new works for a new century. For more information visit http://www.AdaptationsProject.org. Follow the company on Twitter at AdaptProject and on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/AdaptationsProject.

The play's running time is 80 minutes with no intermission. Train access via the F to 2nd Ave. or #6 to Bleecker St.

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