I AM ANTIGONE Makes World Premiere Tonight as Part of TNC's Dream Up Festival

Theater for the New City's Dream Up Festival presents the world premiere of I Am Antigone, tonight, September 8th, through September 16th at Theater for the New City (155 First Avenue).

A contemporary adaptation from Sophocles by poet Saudamini Siegrist, I Am Antigone, is a timely and contemporary story of one woman's stand against the abuse of political power.

The play stars Broadway and screen actress Nicole Ansari (Tom Stoppard's Rock and Roll) and internationally renowned Comedie Francaise actor and dancer Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam. I Am Antigone is directed by award-winning Myriam Cyr.

Tickets are $20, and are available by phone at (212) 254-1109 and online at here.

Defiant, real, and an unapologetic defender of truth, I Am Antigone's timely commentary denounces the abuse of power, testifying to the ability we all possess to oppose injustice and government corruption.

Defying Creon's command by performing burial rites for her beloved brother Polynices, Oedipus's daughter Antigone is condemned to be buried alive. And there, impervious to time, she lives to this day. Subverting Sophocles' chorus, she will use them and any means available to her, to tell us her story - the story of Antigone. A rebellion not only of her own time, but of all times. A struggle retold over the ages creating an inspirational call to action. This is I Am Antigone.

Playwright Saudamini Siegrist has received three nominations for the Pushcart Prize and has been published in numerous publications, including Forge, Crack the Spine, Salamander, Free State Review, and Zone 3. Saudamini lives in New York City, where she led a team on child protection and emergency humanitarian response, working for UNICEF for over two decades. Her I Am Antigone is informed by her years defending human rights and a life dedicated to humanitarian action.

Poet Laureate Myriam Cyr is a theater director, critically acclaimed writer, and award-winning actress intent on promoting female narratives, whose works includes Letters of a Portuguese Nun. She last direcTEd Simon Says at the Culture Project with Brian Murray, which The New York Times hailed as "thrilling". Ms. Cyr is currently Artistic Director of The Black Box Lab in Hamilton, MA, dedicated to developing new works. She was nominated as best director by Broadway World in 2016. Her book, Letters of a Portuguese Nun, was named "Book of the Month" by The Guardian and translated into eight languages. As an actress, Myriam was a member of Steven Berkoff's company at the Royal National Theatre under Richard Eyre and played Salome opposite Al Pacino. She is currently producing Hedda Gabler for Universal Studios in a screenplay adaptation by Oscar and Tony Award winner Christopher Hampton. She will be directing the Falling in Love with Mr. Dellamort this Fall in NYC and The Confession based on The New York Times bestselling novel for Blue Gates Musical in Nashville Tennessee.

In addition to Nicole Ansari as Antigone and Shahrokh Moshkin Ghalam as Creon, the cast of I Am Antigone includes Roshan Affolter as teenage Antigone, Sam Flahive as Ismene, with Peter Halpin, Jake Nameroff and Logan Pitt as the Chorus.

Set design is by award-winning Janie Howland. Lighting design is by Kevin Dunn, with costumes and graphic design by Catherine Stramer.

The performance schedule for I Am Antigone is as follows: Friday, September 8 at 9:00 pm; Saturday, September 9 at 8:00 pm; Tuesday, September 12 at 6:30 pm; Wednesday, September 13 at 9:00 pm; Saturday, September 14 at 6:30 pm; Friday, September 15 at 6:30 pm and Saturday, September 16 at 2:00 and 8:00 pm. Tickets are $20, and are available by phone at (212) 254-1109 and online at www.dreamupfestival.org or by clicking here.

The 8th Annual Dream Up Festival is being presented by Theater for the New City from August 27 to September 17. An ultimate new work festival, it is dedicated to the joy of discovering new authors and edgy, innovative performances. Audiences savor the excitement, awe, passion, challenge and intrigue of new plays from around the country and around the world. The festival does not seek out traditional scripts that are presented in a traditional way. It selects works that push new ideas to the forefront, challenge audience expectations and make us question our understanding of how art illuminates the world around us.

A unique and varied selection of productions will again be offered in the 2017 festival that draw upon a variety of performance specialties including singing, clowning, poetry, street music, magic and movement. Dream Up Festival founders Crystal Field and Michael Scott-Price feel this is especially needed in our present time of declining donations to the arts, grants not being awarded due to market conditions, and arts funding cuts on almost every level across the country and abroad.

Photo by Tim Dobrovolny.

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