Dizozza & Maingrette's FLOAT Musical Set for TNC's Dream Up Festival, 9/7-19

"Float" is a musical written by Peter Dizozza and directed by Francesse Maingrette. The piece originated from the turmoil and personal exploration following the death of the playwright's mother. It uses music, poetry, comedy, drama and dance to chronicle the development of two surviving members of the Floater Family as they go out of their element (water) to experience life on land, air and fire. We see through the eyes of the members of the Floater family and the characters find themselves through their exploration of the world by enjoying each of its four elements. "Float" will have its world premiere September 7 to 19 in Theater for the New City's 2015 Dream Up Festival.

"Float" groups four different families living in the natural world with their representative elements: the Floaters, the Farmers, the Flyers and the Flames. Under the leadership of The Floater Children (Jordan and Curious), these families unite to become one volatile extended family -- The New Floater Family. In this way, "Float" is also a family drama that looks at the way the four families clash but also work to stick together.

The music, described as "folk rock musical theater with oceanic melodies and harmonies," is written and composed by Peter Dizozza. Dizozza (concept, script, score) composed music for "Chasing Heaven," "Convertible" and TNC's "155 First Avenue" and "155 Thru the Roof," both by Toby Armour. Through La Mama's Experiments Reading Series, he wrote and developed scripts for "A Question of Solitude" (The James Bond Opera), "TentagatneT" (produced by La Mama and directed by George Ferencz), "The Eleventh Hour" (a ghost story), "The Golf Wars," "The Last Dodo," and the mystery plays "Prepare to Meet Your Maker" and "The New Floater Family." Other large works include "Hermaphroditism Through the Ages" and "Pro-Choice on Mental Health." Cinema VII administers his creative catalog. He majored in music at Queens College and participated in the ASCAP and BMI Music Theater Workshops. He is a member of The Lambs and the Dramatists Guild and is Theater Director at The Williamsburg Art and Historical Center in Brooklyn.

The musical is directed by Francesse M. Maingrette, a Haitian New York-based artist. She is the curator for the Film Festival within TNC's Lower East Side Festival of the Arts. She developed TNC's "New City New Film New Media," a monthly forum for independent filmmakers and visual artists to showcase their work. She is author of " Roomies," a full length play about living with roommates in NYC, as well as the upcoming web series "The Main Theatre," a 12 chapter webisode on the life at a small theater community. On stage, Maingrette was last seen in "Finding My Way Back Home," written and directed by Michael Vasquez and the staged reading of "Relation-Shifts" written and directed by Joanie Fritz Zozike and performed at Dixon Place. Before that, she has played Venus in "155 Thru The Roof," written by Toby Armour and directed by George Ferencz, presented by Theater For The New City. She is regularly featured with her musical ensemble "French Twist," where she explores the French and American Song Book with pianist Ellen Steier. Maingrette directed "Marcus Inferno" performed at Manhattan Theatre Source. She is in post-production for her first documentary, "The House That Steve Canon Built: A Gathering Of The Tribes." She is a graduate of Brooklyn College with a BFA in film.

The sixth Dream Up Festival (www.dreamupfestival.org) will be presented by Theater for the New City (TNC) from August 30 to September 20, 2015, offering a lineup of wide-ranging and original theatrical visions embracing drama, musicals, improv, aerial and more. This year, owing to growing popularity, the festival has expanded beyond its primary venue. Previously, all productions were presented at Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. This year, 19 productions will be presented at TNC and seven will be presented at an outside venue, The Producers Club Theaters at 358 West 44th Street.

The festival is dedicated to new works. TNC feels this festival is especially needed now in a time of declining donations to the arts, when grants are not being awarded due to market conditions and arts funding is being cut across the country and abroad. The festival aims to push ideas to the forefront through imaginative presentations so as to challenge audience expectations and make us question our understanding of the way art illuminates the world around us.

IF YOU GO:

FLOAT
September 7 at 6:30 PM, September 9 at 9:00 PM, September 11 at 9:00 PM, September 14 at 9:00 PM, September 18 at 9:00 PM, September 19 at 5:00 PM.
Theater for the New City (Community Theater), 155 First Ave.
Presented by Theater for the New City (Crystal Field, Artistic Director) as part of the Dream Up Festival 2015.
Tickets $18
Box office: (212) 254-1109, www.dreamupfestival.org
Runs: 95 mins. Critics are invited to all performances.
Buy tickets online: http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=floB62

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