FULL CITY+ Announces Run at Manhattanville Coffee

An immersive, intimate theatrical comedy opens in Harlem this Friday, Oct. 14, 2016. Full City+, a site-specific experiential show, will take over Manhattanville Coffee for six, consecutive Fridays. Spectators become patrons in a coffee shop populated by an eclectic staff, first dates, long-distance meltdowns, and the next great American something. The show was conceived, written, and directed by Keith R. Huff and Joe Salvatore, and features actors Marissa Feinberg, Sarah Misch, John Noel, Andy Wagner, and Karl O'BrIan Williams.

"I wanted to explore the intimate relationships that we develop in public spaces," says Huff. "Coffee shops have become urban environments where people work, and build real relationships with baristas and people that go there every day. These relationships, much like our play, are site-specific; they rarely exist outside of that space, and that's what's fascinating. Why are these relationships secluded to this specific place and time? That's part of what this exploration is about."

Having backgrounds in site-specific theater, now trendy in the New York Theater scene with plays like Sleep No More, Huff and Salvatore intend Full City+ to be like a "live sit-com." The team developed characters for the audience to connect with, but also designed the series so that participants can still see one episode and still feel invested in the characters and their stories. Alternatively, enthusiasts can purchase a season's ticket and see the full arc unfold over six episodes.

"I love working in non-traditional theatre spaces because the delineation between audience and performer becomes more fluid," says Salvatore. "So much of our personal interactions are now mediated through phones, tablets, and computers, which can then cause audiences to want to connect more with performers. It's an intimate experience for everyone involved, and I think that intimacy is what appeals to me most. I also love that we have an audience of 30 people, eating and drinking together -- what better place for a communal experience than a neighborhood coffee shop?"

Coffee, tea, beer, wine, and light food will be available each evening, starting at 7:00 P.M. and throughout and after the performance, which begins at 7:30 P.M.The six, consecutive Friday performances include Oct. 14, Episode 1; Oct. 21, Episode 2; Oct. 28, Episode 3; Nov. 4, Episode 4; Nov. 11, Episode 5; and Nov. 18, Episode 6. Admission is $10 per episode, plus a one-drink minimum; or a season pass, which includes all 6 episodes, for $50, but does not include the one-drink minimum per performance. Tickets are available at bit.ly/mfullcity.

Full City+ is an immersive theatrical experience where spectators become patrons in a coffee shop populated by an eclectic staff, first dates, long distance meltdowns, and the next great American something. Conceived, written, and directed by Keith R. Huff & Joe Salvatore, the show features actors Marissa Feinberg, Sarah Misch, John Noel, Andy Wagner, and Karl O'BrIan Williams, and is produced in collaboration with Manhattanville Coffee, 142 Edgecombe Avenue at 142nd Street, New York, NY. The series schedule is: Oct. 14, Episode 1; Oct. 21, Episode 2; Oct. 28, Episode 3; Nov. 4, Episode 5; Nov. 11, Episode 5; and Nov. 18, Episode 6. Coffee, tea, beer, wine, and light food starting at 7:00pm and available throughout and after the performance, which begins at 7:30pm. Tickets are available at bit.ly/mfullcity.

Keith R. Huff is a writer and director based in New York City. His plays and devised works include: So this is Love, a play in lyrical prose and rhythmic poetry (produced in conjunction with NYU Steinhardt's Uproar Theatre Corps), Sara (part of NYU Steinhardt's Instant Gratification 24 hour play festival), [Pandemic] a social awareness play on HIV/AIDS (devised in conjunction with the advanced performance theater class at Boulder Creek High School), 9/11: An Exploratory Theater Piece, examining time in correlation to the 10th anniversary of 9/11 (devised in conjunction with the advanced performance theater class at Boulder Creek High School), The Facts in the Case of Edgar Allan Poe, Perception, Progression of a Rebellion, and A Life without Color. Keith holds an MA in Music and Performing Arts Professions from NYU Steinhardt College of Education, Culture, and Human Development and is currently Senior Education Manager at TADA! Youth Theater.

Joe Salvatore is a playwright and director based in New York. His plays and performance pieces include ga(y)ze (with Troy Hourie and Caleb Teicher on 14th Street, NYC),"Like" Like (part of Hall Pass in NYC and San Diego), Mother's Milk (part of Play/Date at NYC's Fat Baby), Bromancing the OK (Part of Mindflood by Torrent Theatre, NYC), A Whole Latte 4-1-1 (Heuer Publishing), open heart (FringeNYC, 2010; indietheaternow.com), and fag / hag (with Kate Nugent, FringeNYC, 2000). His play III received the Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Play from FringeNYC (2008) and was subsequently published in Best American Short Plays 2008-2009 (Applause Books). Most recently Joe served as the director and dramaturg for Jenny Macdonald's solo play ENTHRONED which premiered at Dublin's First Fortnight Festival in January 2016 and then had its American premiere at the 2016 New York International Fringe Festival. Joe is a Clinical Associate Professor of Educational Theatre at NYU's Steinhardt School, a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, and an alumnus of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. www.joesalvatore.com | @profjoesal

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