Flux Theatre Ensemble's RIZING Begins Tonight

Flux Theatre Ensemble will present the world premiere of Jason Tseng's (Searching for Susan) RIZING, tonight, May 20, through June 4 at The Access Theater Black Box (380 Broadway, New York, NY 10013).

The production will be directed by Emily Hartford (Co-Founder, Rabbit Hole Ensemble) and will feature Tonia E. Anderson* (Prospect Park, New York Madness), Jessica Angleskhan* (Jacob's House, Flux Theatre Ensemble), Arthur Aulisi* (2008 Person of the Year, Indie Theatre Hall of Fame), Daryl Lathon* (The Honeycomb Trilogy, Gideon Productions), Lori E. Parquet* (The Honeycomb Trilogy, Gideon), Anna Rahn* (Honey Fist with Flux), Debargo Sanyal* (When January Feels Like Summer, Ensemble Studio Theatre), Alisha Spielmann* (Jane the Plain with Flux), and Gavin-Keith Umeh (Law & Order: SVU). *Appears courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

The creative team will include Scenic Design by Will Lowry (Jane the Plain with Flux), Lighting Design by Kia Rogers (2014 NYIT Award for Jane the Plain with Flux), Sound Design by Janie Bullard (2014 USITT/LDI Rising Star Award Winner, 2014 NYIT Nominee for Jane the Plain with Flux), Gore & Makeup Design by Stephanie Cox-Williams (2015 NYIT Award Winner for Innovative Gore Design, R&J&Z, Hard Sparks), Dramaturgy/Assistant Direction by Christine Zagrobelny (Welcome to The Fall, Communal Spaces Festival), and Fight Choreography/Assistant Direction by Stephanie Willing (Dark Water, MTWorks). The Production Stage Manager will be Jodi M. Witherell (Salvage with Flux).

RIZING is set many years after the zombie apocalypse in Shelter, the last living city on Earth. Infected family members, friends, and lovers have returned to life thanks to a daily regimen of drugs and therapy, but the living that have brought them back do not trust them. Now the drugs are starting to wear off, and Shelter's two-tiered society is poised on the verge of all-out war. Characters on both sides must choose between rebuilding the world as it was and creating a new one by force.

In addition to RIZING's fresh take on a classic sci-fi genre, the gender and race of each of its characters is unspecified, giving the director and production team tremendous flexibility in casting, and driving home the play's central themes of inclusion, marginalization, and shared humanity.

RIZING will be presented by Flux Theatre Ensemble at The Access Theater Black Box (380 Broadway, New York, NY 10013) May 20 - June 4, 2016. Previews will be May 20th & 21st at 8:00pm; Opening is May 22nd at 5:00pm; the show then Wednesdays through Sundays at 8:00pm through Saturday, June 4th. For more information and to dive into the world of RIZING, visit fluxtheatre.org/rizing.

Continuing the successful experiment pioneered with their last production, no financial transaction is required to attend a Flux performance. Instead, attendees reserve a "Living Ticket" and are prompted to donate based on Flux's open budget and commitment to reach living wages for all staff and artists. Living Tickets are available at fluxtheatre.org/rizing.

JASON TSENG (Playwright) Jason Tseng makes plays, comics, illustrations, and games-- mostly about queer people and people of color. His other plays include Apotheosis, a pan-mythic gender epic, and AirBnB, a queer Asian romantic comedy. Most recently, his work has been featured in GeeksOut's LGBT comics anthology Power, Sub Rosa Magazine, and Nonprofit Quarterly. He produces the podcasts Play x Play--the podcast featuring the best plays you've never heard of--and Queer and Present Danger, a queer nerd pop culture podcast. Find more at JasonTseng.com

EMILY HARTFORD (Director) is a director, actor, puppet designer, and fundraiser. She has directed pieces in Flux events including SpeakUp: The Street Harassment Plays and Breathe Free, and assistant directed the Flux productions Salvage and Jane the Plain. Emily is a co-founder of the New York Innovative Theatre Award-winning company Rabbit Hole Ensemble. emilyhartford.com

FLUX THEATRE ENSEMBLE produces transformative theatre that explores and awakens the capacity for change. As an ensemble-artist driven company, Flux believes that long-term collaboration and rigorous creative development can unite artists and audiences to build a creative home in New York.

Hailed as one of "8 Young (and Mighty) New York Theater Companies" by Backstage, Flux Theatre Ensemble is a nineteen-time New York Innovative Theatre Award nominee, including wins for Jane the Plain, Ajax in Iraq, and The Angel Eaters Trilogy. NYIT has also awarded Flux the prestigious Caffé Cino Fellowship Award for "consistently producing outstanding work." In 2016, Flux was named a Fractured Atlas' Arts Entrepreneurship Awards Honoree. Flux is the proud recipient of two NYC Fringe Festival Awards (2007 Village Voice Audience Favorite Award for Riding the Bull; 2008 Outstanding Direction Award for Other Bodies), received a Citation for Excellence in Off-Off Broadway Theatre from the Independent Theater Bloggers Association, and is one of Indie Theatre Now's "People of the Decade."

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