Alexis Roblan's RED EMMA & THE MAD MONK To Premiere At The Tank 8/16-9/1

The Tank (Meghan Finn and Rosalind Grush, Artistic Directors), Katie Lindsay Productions, and Emma Orme will present the World Premiere of Red Emma & The Mad Monk, written by Alexis Roblan and directed by Katie Lindsay, with music by Teresa Lotz, at The Tank (312 West 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues) as part of the 2018 Lady Fest, August 16-September 1. Performances will be Thursday, August 16 at 8pm, Friday, August 17 at 8pm, Saturday, August 18 at 3pm & 8pm, Friday, August 24 at 3pm & 8pm, Saturday, August 25 at 9:30pm, Sunday, August 26 at 2pm, Tuesday, August 28 at 8pm, Wednesday, August 29 at 8pm, Friday, August 31 at 9:30pm, and Saturday, September 1 at 2pm & 8pm. Tickets ($20 advance; $30 premium) are available for advance purchase at www.thetanknyc.org. The performance will run approximately 100 minutes, with no intermission.

In the first few months of 2017, 12 year-old Addison has a lot of questions about the world -- and very little parental supervision. Her best (imaginary) friend is a turn-of-the-19th-century Russian mystic, and her favorite pastime is fighting with deplorables on the internet. But when Addison starts to learn about another turn-of-the-century Russian -- the American immigrant and Anarchist, Emma Goldman -- she begins questioning the meaning of political action and just how far we should go to fight oppressive systems.

Mystics, anarchists, Russians and "snowflakes" swirl in this sinister, absurd new musical about political action and what it means to stand up for one's beliefs in the face of oppression, confusion, and "interference."

After a sold-out performance at Ars Nova's ANT Fest last June, we are excited to bring this ambitious new play to The Tank as part of Lady Fest 2018, featuring new work by some of the most exciting lady-identified or gender non-conforming artists in New York - in celebration of womanhood and the female voice, in all its glory.

The cast will feature Maybe Burke (Love Letters to Nobody at The Wild Project; Delicious Filth: Grindr Play #3 at The Brick), Fernando Gonzalez* (A Walrus in the Body of a Crocodile with Clubbed Thumb;Breeders with New Light Theater Project), Drita Kabashi (Three Bitches at Hudson Guild Theatre; O.G.E.M.R.B. at Dixon Place), Jonathan Randell Silver* (Shear Madness at New World Stages;Engagements at EST), and Imani Pearl Williams (National Tour of Pippin) with Music Supervision and Arrangements by Isaac Alter (Broadway: Waitress; Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812; Frozen), Music Direction by Cassie Willson, Sound Design by John Salutz (Bareback Ink with Hardsparks/New Ohio; In the Car with Blossom and Len with Queens Theatre in the Park), Costume Design by Glenna Ryer (Billy and the Killers at HERE; Suddenly, a Knock at the Door at Theater for the New City), Wardrobe Supervision by Shannon O'Donnell, Lighting Design by Luther Frank (After the End at The Paradise Factory; Oddity at The Brick), Set Design by Diggle Designs (Electra at Dallas Theater Center; Why Do You Stand There in the Rain? at Edinburgh Fringe Festival), with Associate Scenic Design by Jocelyn Girigorie, Choreography by Yael Nachajon(Aplomb with The Habitat; What Happened at the Dolphin Show in the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival), Assistant Direction by Liza Couser, Props by Alex Wylie, Production Management by Mac Whiting, and Stage Management by Dara Swisher. *Appearing courtesy of the Actors' Equity Association (Equity Approved Showcase)

Alexis Roblan (Playwright) is a Brooklyn-based writer whose plays have been produced and developed at Clubbed Thumb, Ars Nova, Exquisite Corpse Company, Dixon Place, Project Y, New Perspectives Theatre Company, FringeNYC, Edinburgh Fringe, The Blank Theatre (Los Angeles), Theatre 503 (London), Festival de Teatro Alternativo (Bogotá), and more. She has been a Finalist for the Clubbed Thumb Biennial Commission (Samuel), the Seven Devils Theatre Conference (And It Spins Twice) and The O'Neill National Playwrights Conference (You Feel So Far Away Right Now), and recipient of the 2018 Thomas Barbour Playwrights Award (The Andrew Play). Her work as a screenwriter can be seen on the Go90 series Guidance (2017) and Love Daily (2018). www.alexisroblan.com

Katie Lindsay (Director) is a new play director working in New York and Los Angeles. Recent credits include Keeping Up with the Prozorovs by Lucy Gillespie (Hollywood Fringe 2018; Encore Producers Award & Female Director of Distinction nomination), What Happened at the Dolphin Show by Miranda Rose Hall (Winner, Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival) and Harry & The Thief by Sigrid Gilmer (The Habitat). Katie has developed and directed new work with IAMA Theatre Company, The Flea, Dixon Place, Fresh Ground Pepper, Atlantic Acting School, Williamstown Theatre Festival and Dartmouth College. Katie is the co-founding Artistic Director of The Habitat, a Resident Artist with Skylight Theatre Company in Los Angeles, received a 2017 SDCF Observership with Robert O'Hara at Dallas Theatre Center, and most recently served as Rebecca Taichman's assistant director on Broadway. www.katie-lindsay.com

Teresa Lotz (Composer) writes music and words. Her work includes She Calls Me Firefly (World Premiere, Parity Productions & New Perspectives Theater Company, Soho Playhouse, 2018); Mommy's Little Princess (2018 Barbour Award Finalist); ThreeTimesFast (O'Neill Theater Festival Semi-Finalist, Pallas Theater Table Read Series Winner 2017, New York Film Academy) with Naomi Matlow; A Surrealist Sort of View (Prospect Theater Company's WORLD VIEWS 2017) and The Awakening (Musical Theatre Factory Developmental Series at Playwright's Horizons, 2016) with Sarah Rebell. Teresa is a member of Dramatist's Guild, ASCAP, and the League of Professional Theatre Women. Musical Theatre Writing, M.F.A. New York University. TeresaLotz.com

EMMA ORME (Producer) is an actor, singer, and producer, born and raised in Brooklyn. She has worked as a video producer for The New York Times, an actor and event producer for the WIlliamstown Theatre Festival, and is a member of The Bats, the Flea Theatre's resident acting company. Recent credits include: LOCKED UP BITCHES (The Flea), Napoli, Brooklyn [reading] and Song For A Future Generation (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Spring Fling (F* It Club), The Bacchae (LaMama Experimental Theatre), APLOMB (The Habitat), Autocomplete (Robert Wilson Arts Center), and Electra (Two Headed Rep). BA: Dartmouth College. www.emmaorme.com

The Tank is a non-profit arts presenter serving emerging artists engaged in the pursuit of new ideas and forms of expression. We serve over 2,000 artists every year in over 400 performances, and work across all disciplines, including theater, comedy, dance, film, music, public affairs, and storytelling. Our goal is to foster an environment of inclusiveness and remove the burden of cost from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers and experimenting within their art form. The heart of our services is providing free performance space in our 98 seat proscenium and 56 seat blackbox that we operate in Manhattan, and we also offer a suite of other services such as free rehearsal space, promotional support, artist fees, and much more. We keep ticket prices affordable and view our work as democratic, opening up both the creation and attendance of the arts to all.

Past Tank produced-work includes Drama Desk-nominated productions Ada/Ava (2016), youarenowhere (2016), The Paper Hat Game (2017), the ephemera trilogy (2017), and The Hunger Artist (2018), as well as New York Times Critics' Pick The Offending Gesture by Mac Wellman, directed by Meghan Finn (2016). Since its founding in 2003, artists who have come through The Tank include Alex Timbers, Amy Herzog, Lucy Alibar, Mike Daisey, Reggie Watts, Kyle Abraham, Andrew Bujalski, We Are Scientists, and tens of thousands of others. www.thetanknyc.org

Red Emma and the Mad Monk was originally produced in association with The Habitat.

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