Catherine Ann Taylor's One-Act THIN SLICING Plays Manhattan Repertory Theatre's Best Of 2018 Showcase

The romantic comedy/drama, THIN SLICING, will have its second New York City production at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre Best of 2018 Play Showcase. The limited run will play December 14 and 15 in midtown Manhattan.

THIN SLICING is written by Catherine Ann Taylor, who produced and developed plays in Scotland and the US. She has also assisted and co-directed in the U.K. and Italy. The comedy/drama is also directed by Catherine Ann, whose credits include The Dos and Don'ts of Online Dating, written by and co-directed with Bernie Byrnes at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Catherine Ann's 2016 Edinburgh production of Jerry Finnegan's Sister by Jack Neary was nominated for three Derek Awards for emerging artists, and it ranked in the top 5% of 1,600 shows reviewed by the Derek panel of judges. New York directing credits in 2018 include Grim Reaper at Manhattan Rep, Jerry Finnegan's Sister at TaDa! Theatre, Girlfriends, Things Changed When We Got Here, and Songs for a New World in February 2019.

The production stars Jeremy Schwartz (A Streetcar Named Desire, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Brooks Center for Performing Arts) as Greg and Serah Beth Bennett (King Lear, Univ. of Florida, I'll Get You My Pretty, Tilted Windmills) as Anne.

It's after midnight - Greg's birthday has just ended. Greg and Anne stand outside of a New York City bar while their friends, Tovin and Cara, are inside. Anne wants to go home with Greg. Greg has a crush on Cara. Tovin has a crush on Anne, but they work together. The real problem is that trauma is the undercurrent fueling both Greg and Anne's desires. As that truth comes out, they start to fall for eachother. And it's the last thing they need. Or is it the first? Is it possible to grieve and love deeply at the same time? With a lot of arguing that might just be thinly veiled flirting, THIN SLICING is a play about vulnerability, desire and how pain from the past stops us from chasing - or knowing - what we really want.

Originally inspired by a true story from Catherine Ann's friend Haley Nemeth, the play enjoyed a previous production in Manhattan Rep's Fall One-Act Play Competition in September 2018, where the audience voted it into the finals round. It was then workshopped with the September production's cast, Lindsey Sagrera and Hunter Brown. A full-length version of the play is in development after a December 2018 reading with the Emerging Artists Theatre Playwrights Circle.

The creative and production team is Catherine Ann Taylor and Ken Wolf, artistic director of Manhattan Repertory Theatre.

When audience members reach the building at 17-19 W 45th Street, they should take the elevator to the third floor, then take a left to reach the theatre. Audience members are encouraged to arrive 15 minutes before the performance. Tickets are $20 and are available at the door (cash only). Seat reservations may be made online at www.ManhattanRep.com under "What's Playing." THIN SLICING is listed under "Best of 2018 Short Play Celebration - Series 2." Subways: B/D/F/M to 42nd Street, 4/5/6 to Grand Central.

Performance Dates:

Friday, December 14 @ 6:30 pm

Saturday, December 15 @ 6:30 pm

For more info visit www.manhattanrep.com.

Catherine Ann Taylor has produced her own plays at the Edinburgh Fringe and in New York. She graduated from Tulane University in 2016, where she ran the performing arts society, directing and producing over seven shows in her four years. She moved to NYC in February to work for the Broadway producers at Red Spear Productions. She has written three one-act plays in 2018: Girlfriends, Things Changed When We Got Here and Thin Slicing. Thin Slicing was a finalist in Manhattan Rep's Fall One-Act Play Competition in September, and is now selected for the Best of 2018 Play Showcase at Manhattan.

Catherine Ann has directed numerous productions in New York City, nationally and internationally. Highlights include Jerry Finnegan's Sister at the Edinburgh Fringe. 2018 highlights include a remount of the same show at TaDa! Theatre, Grim Reaper, Girlfriends, Things Changed When We Got Here, and the first production of Thin Slicing, which was a Fall One-Act Play Competition finalist, all at Manhattan Repertory Theatre. Songs for a New World will play under her direction in 2019 at Roosevelt's Island's Main Street Alliance Theater.

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