La MaMa Presents A Remote Theater Project Production Of GREY ROCK

La MaMa is proud to present the Remote Theater Project production of Grey Rock, written and directed by Palestinian artist Amir Nizar Zuabi. This world premiere, which runs January 3-7, 2019, was commissioned by Remote Theater Project and marks the first time a U.S. theater company has commissioned a Palestinian artist to create an original work for American audiences. Grey Rock tells the story of a young Palestinian so enamored with the 1969 American moon landing that he muses, "shouldn't Palestine, the land of prophets, also have a presence on the moon?" Without money or technology, but with the help of his bemused West Bank neighbors, he sets out to build a space shuttle. Knowing full well that he can't succeed with this impossible, but necessary, task, the young man is visited by American heroes who guide him on his mission. Humorous and fantastical, Grey Rock explores the influence that America has had over Palestinian culture.

In addition to being his first U.S. commission, Grey Rock marks Zuabi's return to New York following the critically-acclaimed success of Oh My Sweet Land. That 2017 production was declared a New York Times critic's pick by Alexis Soloski who found the "wrenching and shrewd solo show" a "forceful and absorbing play."

"Grey Rock centers on the idea that human curiosity is stronger than gravity," said playwright and director Amir Nizar Zuabi. "I believe that art, which has no boundaries, can influence dialogue. I'm eager to share what I've created with this company of Palestinian actors."

Grey Rock also marks the debut of Remote Theater Project, an American theater company founded and led by Producing Artistic Director Alexandra Aron. The company is dedicated to bringing theater artists who are geographically or politically isolated to New York City to develop new work and help them to tour internationally to have their voices heard outside the confines of their region and reach.

"Grey Rock is about the inalienable right to dream," said Remote Theater Project's Alexandra Aron. "In 1995, when I first worked in Palestine, I met a vibrant theater community whose work spoke to me in profound ways. Following the war in Gaza in 2014, I was determined to bring the work of Palestinian artists to New York and, after meeting Amir Nizar Zuabi in 2016, I knew that commissioning a new work for American audiences was the best way to explore the relationship between the United States and Palestine."

Grey Rock is performed in English by a company of Palestinian actors including Khalifa Natour, Ivan Kevork Azazian, Fida Zaidan, Alaa Shehada, and Motaz Malhis. The creative team for Grey Rock includes Tal Yarden (set & video design) and Nicole Pearce (lighting design).

A series of post-performancediscussions with prominent Palestinian Americans and U.S. theater practitioners will be announced at a later date. Educational programs involving teens in New York and other parts of the U.S., as well as in the Middle East, are also being developed around the project including Virtual Education platforms for young people to discuss the work.

Performances of Grey Rock will take place January 3-7, 2019 at La MaMa's, located at 66 E 4th Street. Critics are welcome as of Thursday, January 3 which serves as the official opening. General admission tickets, which are priced $10-$30 plus $1 facility fee, are available at lamama.org and by calling OvationTix at 212.352.3101.

About the artists

Amir Nizar Zuabi (Playwright, Director) is an award-winning theater writer & director and is the Artistic Director of ShiberHur theater company. He is also an Artistic Associate of the Palestinian National Theater, an associate director of Young Vic London as well as a member of the United Theaters Europe for artistic achievement, and an alumnus of the Sundance theater program. Writing and directing credits include I am Yusuf and This is my Brother, In the Penal Colony, Alive From Palestine, Oh My Sweet Land, The Beloved (co-produced by ShiberHur/Young Vic) Three days of Grief, West of Us the Sea, Mid Spring Musical, Dry Mud, Against A Hard Surface (ShiberHur) Last Ward, Who Killed you Asmahan? Directing credits include Samson and Delilah (Flanders Opera, Antwerp) Jidarriya by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish (Edinburgh International Festival, Bouffes du Nord and world tour). Forget Herostratus, Le Mallade Imaginer, War or More, Comedy of Errors (Royal Shakespeare Company).

Alexandra Aron (Producing Artistic Director) founded Remote Theater Project in 2016 with the goal of bringing theater artists who are geographically or politically isolated to New York City to develop new work, tour internationally and have their voices heard outside the confines of their region and reach. As the Managing Director for Soundbrush Records, she has produced over 40 recordings, dozens of concerts and videos. Her work in theater is primarily as a director of plays and multi-media productions including A Night in the Old Marketplace with music by Frank London, lyrics by Glen Berger has been seen on stages in São Paulo, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Toronto, Milan, New York City, MASS MoCA, Berkeley Rep, and Summerscape/Bard College. Current directing projects include Salome: Woman of Valor by Frank London and Adeena Karasick (Vancouver Chutzpah! Festival (March, 2018) and Toronto's Harborview Center Sept. 2018) as well as Judith Sloan's It Can Happen Here (Jamaica Performing Arts Center, Sept. 2018). Previous directing works includes: Naked Old Man by Murray Schisgal (EST), Imaging Madoff by Deb Margolin (Theater J), Jewel Casket by Peggy Stafford and puppet designer Lake Simon (Dixon Place), Three Seconds in the Key by Deb Margolin (New Georges), Karaoke at the Suicide Shack by Rob Urbinati (Queens Theater in the Park), Eloise and Ray by Stephanie Fleischmann.

Aron worked in Palestine directing The Mole's Dance by Kamel Jabr in Arabic in Ramallah (1995). She produced and directed Two Altars and a Cave (2013) starring Lois Smith was seen at Sarasota Int'l Film Festival, Catskills, Citizen Jane, Southampton Int'l Film Festival and others. As an arts educator and administrator; Alex has taught students in dozens of schools in New York City. As a Fulbright scholar to Argentina in 2005, she worked with educators and theater practitioners in Argentina guiding them through collaborative playwriting and ways of integrating theater into the classroom. She is an affiliated artist of New Georges Theater, an alumna of the Actor's Studio Playwrights and Directors Forum, Lincoln Center Directing Lab and Women's Project Directors Forum. Alex is a graduate of Wesleyan University. www.alexandraaron.com

Tal Yarden (Set & Video Design) is an internationally recognized video designer who has designed for over 100 theater, opera and dance productions at venues including Shakespeare in the Park, Yale Repertory, Roundabout, New York Theater Workshop, BAM, La Monnaie, Barbican, Kommische Oper, Opera de Lyon and Teatro Real. Recent productions in New York include Network, The Waverly Gallery, The Damned, Indecent, and Sunday in the Park with George. He frequently collaborates with director Ivo van Hove and has also worked with Reza Abdoh, Conway & Pratt, Stephen Petronio, Kristin Marting, Sarna Lapine, Daniel Sullivan, and Rebecca Taichman. He has also designed events, video installations & projections for clients including People's Climate March, UNAIDS, United Nations, Microsoft, New York Times, Levis, Coca-Cola, Heineken & Red Cross. Additionally, he has directed live video and VJ'd for concerts with Annie Lennox, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alicia Keys, Snoop Dogg, James Brown, Garbage, Wyclef Jean, Peaches, Patti Smith, and Moby. According to his birth certificate, Tal was born in Jerusalem, Palestine.

Nicole Pearce (Lighting Design) is an international lighting designer for dance, theater, and opera based out of Queens New York. Her work has been seen across the United States, Europe, Siberia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, and Cuba. Recent works include Her Notes with Jessica Lang and American Ballet Theater, Das Rheingold with Brian Staufenbeil and Minnesota Opera, and Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage and Directed by Jade King Carroll at the McCarter Theater NJ.

Bonnie Sue Stein is the Executive Director and founder of GOH Productions, an arts services organization based in NY, focusing on the creation and development of global and local arts projects. Since 1988, she has produced projects in NYC, East/Central Europe, former Soviet Union, Asia, and the Middle East. Stein is a consultant to numerous organizations in production and international exchange. With La MaMa Theatre, she has co-produced and consulted on many projects since the mid-1980s. www.gohproductions.org

About La MaMa

La MaMa is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. La MaMa's vision of nurturing new artists and new work remains as strong today as it was when Ellen Stewart first opened the doors in 1961. La MaMa has presented more than 5,000 productions by 150,000 artists of all nations, cultures, races, and identities. Cultural pluralism and ethnic diversity are inherent in the work created on our stages. Here, artists find a supportive environment for artistic exploration, and audiences are part of the development of an artist's work over time.

A recipient of the 2018 Regional Theater Tony Award, and more than 30 Obie Awards and dozens of Drama Desk, Bessie, and Villager Awards, La MaMa has been a creative home for thousands of artists, many of whom have made lasting contributions to the arts, including Blue Man Group, Peter Brook, Ping Chong, André DeShields, Harvey Fierstein, Tadeusz Kantor, Adrienne Kennedy, Diane Lane, Warren Leight, Michael Mayer, Bette Midler, Meredith Monk, Kazuo Ohno, David and Amy Sedaris, Julie Taymor, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

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