Flux Theatre Ensemble to Present World Premiere of METRA: A CLIMATE REVOLUTION PLAY WITH SONGS at Abrons Arts Center

Flux Theatre Ensemble will present the World Premiere of Metra: A Climate Revolution Play with Songs, a speculative mytho-musical drama written by Emily and Ned Hartford with songs by Ned Hartford, directed by Emily Hartford. The show will be performed at the Abrons Arts Center (466 Grand St, New York, NY 10002) as part of the @Abrons Series, October 28-November 19.

The year is 2045. Despite lip service toward climate action, the fossil fuel industry continues to thrive. Shit's bad. The rich choose to ignore it, insulated in air-conditioned Bubble communities and continuing to reap the benefits of disaster capitalism. But in a roadside bar on the Outside, a movement of collective power is brewing. A group of revolutionaries-a journalist, a hedge fund manager, and an ancient tree nymph-are tapping into a mythic and elemental magic that will demand that the powerful break the cycle of destruction, or face its consequences.

Performances will take place on Friday, October 28 at 7:30pm, Saturday, October 29 at 7:30pm, Tuesday, November 1 at 7:30pm, Thursday, November 3 at 7:30pm, Friday, November 4 at 7:30pm, Saturday, November 5 at 7:30pm, Tuesday, November 8 at 7:30pm, Thursday, November 10 at 7:30pm, Friday, November 11 at 7:30pm, Saturday, November 12 at 7:30pm, Sunday, November 13 at 2:30pm, Tuesday, November 15 at 7:30pm, Wednesday, November 16 at 7:30pm, Thursday, November 17 at 7:30pm, Friday, November 18 at 7:30pm, and Saturday, November 19 at 7:30pm. The performance will run approximately 2 hours, with an intermission.

Continuing the award-winning audience and community-building strategy of their last nine productions, no financial transaction is required to attend a Flux performance. Instead, attendees reserve a "Living Ticket" and are welcome to donate based on Flux's open budget and commitment to reach living wages for all artists and staff. For their work with the Living Ticket, Fractured Atlas gave Flux their Arts Entrepreneurship Award. Living Tickets for Metra will be available soon at www.fluxtheatre.org/metra-a-climate-revolution-play-with-songs/

The creative team includes Scenic Design by Will Lowry, Lighting Design by kia rogers, Costume Design by Raphael Regan, Sound Design by Nathanael Brown, and Music Direction by Ned Hartford. The Production Stage Manager is Jodi M. Witherell and the Production Manager is Mackenzie Trowbridge. Flux Theatre Ensemble has engaged Jem Pickard as Climate Action Designer, to work with the director, designers, and production team to manifest Metra's themes of climate revolution in ecological approaches to production, and inspiring the audience toward climate action.

Emily Hartford (Co-Writer/Director) is a 2022 Drama League FutureNow Stage Directing Fellow-a national honor with prestigious alumni, including Sam Gold, Rachel Chavkin, and the late Chadwick Boseman. This summer, her fellowship included launching, co-producing, and directing in the inaugural FutureNow Festival at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York. Emily is a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and her work has been supported by the Orchard Project, the Puffin Foundation, and the SDCF Observership Program. Her productions have appeared at Abrons Arts Center, the Gym at Judson, the Hangar Theatre, and more. With Flux, Emily directed Operating Systems and Rizing, and is a Lead Creator of the interactive audio project, Our Options Have Changed (with Corey Allen and Will Lowry). Her first short film, Type A, premiered at the Woods Hole Film Festival in 2021 and has appeared in festivals across the country. Emily is a proud Creative Partner of Flux Theatre Ensemble.

Ned Hartford (Co-Writer/Lyrics & Music) is an award-winning songwriter and performer (including runner-up in Billboard Magazine's Best Unsigned Band Competition, and winner of the International Songwriting Competition for his song "In The Park"), and has played his music to audiences as large as 80,000 people. After Ned's last record deal ended (with a rock label out of Nashville), Ned moved back to NYC with the goal of writing musicals. His musicals have been produced at The Gym at Judson, Theater Row, and The Barrow Group. Ned is also an accomplished voice-over actor, sound designer, and film composer.

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. Since 2006, the company has created twenty-eight productions and supported the development of countless plays. Flux Theatre Ensemble is a twenty-three time New York Innovative Theatre Award nominee, including wins for Operating Systems, Jane the Plain, Ajax in Iraq, and The Angel Eaters Trilogy. NYIT also awarded Flux the prestigious Caffé Cino Fellowship Award for "consistently producing outstanding work." Flux Theatre Ensemble's Living Ticket Initiative has been honored with the Fractured Atlas' Arts Entrepreneurship Award, and has influenced ticketing policies for numerous companies nationwide. www.fluxtheatre.org

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.