Critically acclaimed company, Mind the Art Entertainment, celebrates their 10th season with a new production of their award-winning musical WHISKEY PANTS: THE MAYOR OF WILLIAMSBURG, set to open September 28th at HERE.
"Williamsburg, Brooklyn: a land where the whiskey is always flowing. Here people live in blissful peace under the tenure of Whiskey Pants, their beloved Mayor. Since 'The Event', they've found it's dangerous to dream, leaving most to prefer to live their days in a drunken stupor. But now, their way of life is threatened by an ambitious newcomer from the outside world who seeks to sober their perpetual hangover. Will he ruin everything? Or will he discover that in Williamsburg, it's easier to drink?"
WHISKEY PANTS: THE MAYOR OF WILLIAMSBURG was created by Christian De Gré, Joseph Reese Anderson, and Serrana Gay, the 2016 New York Innovative Theater Award-nominated team behind Fatty Fatty No Friends. WHISKEY PANTS had it's world premiere in 2015 at New York's FRIGID Festival where it was the sold-out hit of the festival, receiving three awards, including best costumes and the audience choice award. WHISKEY PANTS has been hailed for its design, led by director Christian De Gré, makeup designer Kate Marley, video designer R. Patrick Alberty, photographer Ze' Castle, and New York Innovative Theater Award- nominated costume designer Ashley Soliman. This production is a part of SubletSeries@HERE: a curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical support.
Christian De Gré (Director/Composer) has served as President & Artistic Director of Mind The Art Entertainment over the last ten years. Here he has spearheaded numerous international projects in film, theater, television, music, publishing, web-media, fine-art and radio such Fatty Fatty No Friends (2016 Innovative Theater Award Nominations for Best Music and Best Musical), Beware The Chupacabra! (FringeFAVE 2015), Whiskey Pants: The Mayor of Williamsburg (Audience Favorite at FRIGID New York 2015) and Broken Crayons (Golden Palm at the Mexico International Film Festival). A self-taught composer, Christian De Gré has written and produced 22 original musicals/operettas in New York City at world renowned venues like HERE Arts Center, Feinstein's/54 Below and La Mama E.T.C. He has been commissioned to write music for The Discovery Channel, The Drama Desk Awards, The United Nations and The Mexican Cultural Institute of New York, among others. De Gré has trained activists in Eastern Europe, Northern Africa and the Americas as the Theater for Social Change Partner of the United Nations International Y-Peer Network and as a performer, he has been in various productions around the world. Other projects include a fine art exhibitor at the 69th Regiment Armory (Time-Out New York: Photo of the week) and published poet in Story Time with Mr. Buttermen: Fables for Adults Living in a Modern World. Having served as General Manager of The New York International Fringe Festival and as Artistic Director of Mind The Art Entertainment, he has overseen the opening of over 1,000 new theatrical productions in New York City. Visit www.mindtheartentertainment.com for more.
Serrana Gay (Book) is a bookwriter and Associate Producer at Mind The Art Entertainment and was their 2014 Artist in Residence. She is the writer of the children's book Fatty Fatty No Friends and co-wrote the musical adaptation of the same name, which went on to win an Overall Excellence award at FringeNYC, was extended to the Fringe Encore Series in 2014, and then moved Off-Broadway in 2015 where it received a 2016 New York Innovative Theater Award Nomination for Best Musical. Serrana is the co-creator of Whiskey Pants: The Mayor of Williamsburg which won the Audience Favorite Award at FRIGID New York in 2015. Serrana is currently developing two new projects with Mind The Art Entertainment, the opera The Vice of Berthe and the dark operetta Moonshine in b Minor, while also working on her first novel And She Exhaled.
Joseph Reese Anderson (Lyrics) has been writing with Mind The Art Entertainment for nearly ten years. Their collaborations include Jack of Hearts, Master of None, Fatty Fatty No Friends, Whiskey Pants: The Mayor of Williamsburg, and A Drink with Death. He's been commissioned to write poetry and lyrics for The TE'A Project and The Nitestar Program, and is a published poet in Story Time with Mr. Buttermen: Fables for Adults Living in a Modern World.
HERE builds a community that nurtures career artists as they create innovative hybrid live performance in theatre, dance, music, puppetry, media and visual art. The artist residencies support the singular vision of the lead artist through commissions, long-term development, and production support. HERE's programs and performances promote relationships among local, national, and International Artists. The space is a destination for audiences who are passionate about ground-breaking contemporary work and the creative process behind it.
DATES: September 28 - October 28; Wednesday - Saturday at 8:30PM/Saturdays & Sundays at 4:00PM
VENUE: HERE, 145 6th Ave. (Enter on Dominick, 1 Block South of Spring); For Tickets & Information: visit here.org or call 212-352-3101
TICKETS: $35/$50; http://here.org/shows/detail/1938/
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