Incubator Arts Project Presents THIRST(Y)

Three desperate souls adrift at sea await a maddeningly cruel fate bestowed on them by an angry God-a comedy which may or may not have absolutely nothing to do with race. (oh my god I am so) THIRST(y) is a slight adaptation of one of Eugene O'Neill's earliest plays, THIRST (1914), written while the playwright was confined to a sanatorium in rural Connecticut. THIRST had a single production in 1916 with The Provincetown Players, in which O'Neill himself originated the role of the Negro Sailor. The play subsequently sank into obscurity. Despite its rough edges, THIRST hints at O'Neill's later experiments with expressionism and American myth, as well as his forays into the dark underbelly of modernity. Creating a new work based on this public domain text, Little Lord exploits O'Neill's wildly imaginative assault on the very nature of performance and the possibilities of the theater. (oh my god I am so) THIRST(y) is at once grotesque melodrama, gothic horror, campy musical theater, and engrossing telenovela- a fantastical mix of No Exit, Waiting for Godot, The Count of Monte Cristo, "Amos and Andy," and Open Water.
 
Adapted and directed by Michael Levinton. Featuring Tonya Canada, Polly Lee, Michael Levinton, Hugh Sinclair, Laura von Holt & Donya K. Washington. With Megan Hill as Eugene O'Neill as The Negro Sailor, and introducing Stephanie Weeks as Shark #2. Designs by Jason Simms (scenic), Sydney Maresca (costumes), Dans Maree Sheehan (lights) and Kate Marvin (sound). Associate Producer and Dramaturg: Sarah Bishop-Stone.
 
(oh my god I am so) THIRST(y) received an initial production at The Chocolate Factory Theater, co-produced by Target Margin Theater, as part of the "Theater of Tomorrow" lab festival - May/June 2009.
 
LITTLE LORD (a theater company) manipulates classic texts, pillages faulty nostalgias, and celebrates the homemade as a means to create vibrantly bawdy, offbeat, intelligent, queer, funny (and often musical) theater. The company is led by Artistic Director Michael Levinton (who serves as the primary adapter and director of the company's work), Associate Producer/Dramaturg Sarah Bishop-Stone, and Associate Artistic Director Laura von Holt, as well as an ever-growing flock of associated artists named "The Lads."
 
Little Lord has been loosely operational since 2007. Past works include:  a new adaptation of the musical-extravaganza-turned-recession-spectacular BABES IN TOYLAND starring David Greenspan as the Master Toymaker (OHIO Theatre's Ice Factory Festival 2009); the NYC premiere of Tennessee William's kinky short play THE PRONOUN 'I' (Bushwick Starr 2010); (oh my god I am so) THIRST(y) (Chocolate Factory/Target Margin Theater 2009); BALABUSTAS (!), a queer yiddishkeit version of several of Aristophanes' raucous comedies (HERE Arts Center 2007); and THE BARBIE-STEIA: Curse of the House of Malibu, an absurdist take on Aeschylus' classic trilogy "The Oresteia" starring a chorus of Barbie dolls (OHIO Theatre 2007). Upcoming: JEWQUEEN - Little Lord's take on the classic Purim shpiel - March 17-26 at UNDER St. Marks and an untitled John Smith/Pocahontas play - May 19-June 4, both as part of a company residency with Horse Trade Theater Group. For more information:
http://www.littlelord.org
http://www.incubatorarts.org

About Incubator Arts Project
The Incubator Arts Project supports independent, experimental performing artists through a series of programs aimed at offering production opportunities and guidance with long-term growth and artistic sustainability. Its programs primarily support world premieres of original work and also include a concert series, work in progress opportunities and artist salons and roundtables.

The Incubator Arts Project grew out of the Incubator, a project of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater. In 2010, the Ontological-Hysteric Theater announced that it would leave its permanent home, St. Mark's Church, and that the Incubator would take over the space and operate year-round.
 
Beginning in 1993, the Ontological-Hysteric Theater, in addition to its primary support of the work of Richard Foreman, opened its doors to emerging, independent artists. Since 1993 the emerging artists program at the Ontological took many forms, including the Obie-winning Blueprint Series for emerging directors. In 2005, the OHT reorganized the programs under the name INCUBATOR, creating a series of linked programs to provide young theater artists with resources and support to develop process-oriented, original theatrical productions. By 2010, the program had quadrupled in size, involving a range of artists and increased support. The programs included the centerpiece Residency program for premieres, two annual music festivals, a regular concert series, a serial work-in-progress program called Short Form, and roundtables and salons aimed at keeping Incubator artists involved year-round. In May 2010, the Incubator received an OBIE grant.
 

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