Karin Coonrod's 'texts&beheadings' Heads to BAM Tonight

BAM presents Karin Coonrod's deconstructive drama texts&beheadings/ElizabethR, tonight, Oct 21, thru Oct 24 at BAM Fisher (Fishman Space), 321 Ashland Pl at 7:30 p.m.

A multi-faceted portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I, created with her own letters, poems, prayers, and speeches, texts&beheadings/ElizabethR makes its New York Premiere via Compagnia de' Colombari. Created and directed by Karin Coonrod, the production features dramaturgy and scenic design by John Conklin, music by Gina Leishman, costume design by Oana Botez, lighting design by Peter Ksander and movement by Adrian Silver.

Queen Elizabeth I left an indelible mark on history, inspiring a number of artistic works attempting to capture her extravagant iconography. In texts&beheadings/ElizabethR, director Karin Coonrod constructs a full-length theatrical work from Elizabeth's own writings-letters, speeches, prayers-as well as those of her contemporaries. Four actresses portray the ever-changing spirit of the queen throughout this four-part work which investigates the great monarch's as writer, director, designer, and actor of her own "performance" of royalty.

Karin Coonrod is a theater maker whose work has been seen and heard across the country and around the world. Coonrod founded two theater companies-Arden Party (1987-97), in downtown New York which re-imagined the classics-and Compagnia de' Colombari (2004-present), an international company, based in New York, which began a new tradition of theater in Orvieto, Italy when it presented the medieval mystery plays in public spaces and a music-theater piece More or Less I Am (from Walt Whitman's Song of Myself) performed around New York City. Coonrod is known for her Shakespeare productions including her epic Henry VI (1996) and surprising Love's Labor's Lost (2011), both at the Public Theater where she was artist-in-residence from 1995-96; King John (2000), Julius Caesar (2003) and Coriolanus (2005), all with Theatre for a New Audience; Othello at Hartford Stage (2005), and most recently, Tempest at La MaMa (2014). Other seminal productions include Roger Vitrac's Victor or Children Take Over (1996) at the Ohio Theatre, Coonrod's own creation for the stage of non-dramatic material: Flannery O'Connor's Everything That Rises Must Converge developed at the University of Iowa, Sundance Theatre Lab, and premiered at New York Theatre Workshop (2001), Anne Sexton's Transformations with Arden Party (1991-95), and a cabaret adaptation of Lorca's Poeta en Nueva York with flamenco dancer La Conja at New York University (2002). Coonrod is on the faculty at Yale School of Drama (since 2002).

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafe? are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn's only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafe?, operated by Great Performances, offers a dinner menu prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafe? also features an eclectic mix of live music for BAMcafe? Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a bar menu available starting at 6pm. For ticket information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.

Photo Credit: Teresa Wood

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