Government Bureaucracy Reaches Absurdist Levels in THE HOPE HYPOTHESIS

Voyage Theater Company is pleased to present the world premiere of THE HOPE HYPOTHESIS, a wickedly humorous take on the rabbit hole that is America's immigration system. Written and directed by Cat Miller, the play explores the current climate of suspicion and fear - and what it means to us as individuals and as a society. Opening on Tuesday, October 29th, THE HOPE HYPOTHESIS runs from October 25th through November 15th at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street). Tickets, priced at $37 ($27 for students and seniors), can be purchased at OvationTix.

Syrian-born lawyer-to-be Amena has everything in order to become a U.S. citizen, but something doesn't seem quite right to the teller at the immigration office. In a dizzying chain of Kafka-esque scenarios, each more incomprehensible than the last, what should have been a simple visit turns into a bureaucratic nightmare so outlandish you have to laugh in order to survive.

Continuing Voyage Theater Company's dedication to producing diverse new works, this absurdist dark comedy is the centerpiece of VTC's seventh season. "THE HOPE HYPOTHESIS is one of the most exciting, timely plays I have read in years. It's fast-paced, funny, and speaks to the current moment. I can't wait to see the audience's reaction to the show," says Mr. Maugans. According to Ms. Miller, "the play was inspired by a New York Times piece on the surprisingly comprehensive bureaucracy in the Islamic State - and by the experiences of a friend who was nearly deported in 2016 despite being married to an American."

Following a staged reading in December 2018, THE HOPE HYPOTHESIS was recognized as a semi-finalist in several national competitions, including the Premiere Stages Play Festival, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and PlayPenn New Play Development Conference.

THE HOPE HYPOTHESIS features Soraya Broukhim [The Enemy Within (NBC), The Who & The What at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre], Wesley Zurick [On the Shore of the Wide World at Atlantic Theater Company; The Lightning Thief at Theatreworks USA], Charlie O'Rourke [New York debut; A Christmas Carol at American Conservatory Theater], William Ragsdale [Fright Night (film); Herman's Head and Justified (TV); Biloxi Blues (Broadway)], Greg Brostrom [Richard III at American Shakespeare Center, FBI (CBS)], Connor Carew [One Man, Two Guvnors at Florida Studio Theater; 9 seasons with the Shakespeare Theatre of NJ], and Mary Hodges [Law & Order: SVU (Judge Anita Wright); It's Bruno! (Netflix); Assistant Director for Slave Play (Broadway)].

Scenic design is by Zöe Hurwitz; costume design by Katja Andreiev; lighting design by Bailey L. Rosa; and sound design by M. Florian Staab. Sarah Biery serves as Production Stage Manager, with Erika Blais and Morgan Eisen as Stage Managers. Ann Kreitman is Assistant Director. Technical Director is Eric Zoback. Casting is by Stephanie Klapper.

Cat Miller (Playwright/Director) is the recipient of a Drama League fall fellowship and first stage residency, and a finalist for the Edes Foundation Prize for emerging artists. Her play The Hope Hypothesis was a 2019 semifinalist for the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Premiere Stages Play Festival, and PlayPenn. She has directed and developed work at The Public Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, Steppenwolf, Ma-Yi Theater, HERE, The Lark, and Ensemble Studio Theatre. As assistant director to Anna D. Shapiro, her credits on and off Broadway include Fish in the Dark, Of Mice and Men, The Motherf**ker With the Hat, Domesticated, and The Pain and the Itch. Cat is a former directing resident at Playwrights Horizons and member of Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. She earned her MFA in Directing from Northwestern University. Associate Member, SDC; Member, The Dramatists Guild of America.

Voyage Theater Company (VTC) presents new and unheralded plays and playwrights from around the world, creating opportunities for collaboration between theater-makers of diverse cultures. Their inaugural production, part of La MaMa's 50th anniversary season, was the world premiere of Obama 44 by Mario Fratti in 2012, followed by Aleksei Arbuzov's My Poor Marat, performed in both Russian and English. VTC produced the world premiere of Intermission by Daniel Libman in 2014 at Theatre Row, the same year they launched the PARTS UNKNOWN Play Reading Series - free and open to the public - featuring new plays from around the world. Additional productions include the New York premieres of Sun by Adrienne Kennedy and Unveiled by Rohina Malik; August Strindberg's The Pelican; Unveiled at the South African National Arts Festival and Johannesburg 969 Festival; The Mecca Tales by Rohina Malik; and Tentacles by Tessa Flannery, at the 2018 Frigid NY Festival. Artistic Director: Wayne Maugans; Executive Director: Charles C. Bales; Producer: Michael Ngo. voyagetheatercompany.org

The schedule for THE HOPE HYPOTHESIS is as follows: Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 3pm. There will be an additional preview on Monday, October 28th at 7:30pm, with opening night scheduled for Tuesday, October 29th at 7:30pm. Please note: There will be no performances on Wednesday, October 30th and Thursday, October 31st. Performances continue at The Sheen Center through Friday, November 15th. Tickets, priced at $37 ($27 for students and seniors), are available at OvationTix.

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