NYTE Presents UP, UP, DOWN, DOWN, 2/3

If you have the courage to face it, the truth is out there. Barton Bishop's Up, Up, Down, Down combines the addictive lure of video gaming with the paranoia of the Bush years and throws in a love story for good measure. New York Theatre Experiment will present the World Premiere of this multi-media dark comedy, directed by Erik Pearson, on February 3rd at the Access Theatre, located at 380 Broadway.
 
Twentysomething Joy's tranquil existence working in a video arcade is suddenly shattered when her long-estranged mother barrels back into her life, claiming to have stumbled onto a terrorist plot, the secrets of which are encoded in a video game she stole. At first Joy dismisses her mother's claims outright, but why is there a car now following them everywhere they go and who is the shadowy figure trailing them every step of the way? To find out what's real and what's not, and aided by a co-worker (and manic video gamer) she secretly loves, and her very best friend -- who technically might not even exist -- Joy may have to reveal a long-hidden secret in her past, before she loses everything she holds dear.
 
The cast of Up, Up, Down, Down features Carter Gill, Allyson Morgan, Jonathan O'Brien, Amy Tribbey, Christopher T. VanDijk and Ben Williams.
 
Barton Bishop's plays have been produced throughout the United States and internationally. His work has been published by Playscripts, Inc., Heinemann Press, and Smith & Krauss. New York productions include The Amphibian Song, The Complex, The Great Who Knows, God's Daughter, Things Fall, Meanwhile (which has been produced in over 15 states and internationally), Still the River Runs, and Eminene. In addition to writing for theatre, he has written over 300 episodes for several animated television series, including YuGiOh, Dinosaur King, Pokemon, Winx Club, and Shaman King (for which he also worked on the video game series), and he is a staff writer for Gameloft, a mobile game development company. He received a BA in Theatre from Rollins College in his home state of Florida, and earned his MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. At one point, Dramatist Magazine named him among the "Fifty Playwrights to Watch."
 
Erik Pearson has directed in New York for The Playwrights Realm, American Opera Projects, HERE, terraNOVA, The Lark and NYU/Tisch, as well as regionally for The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Shakespeare Santa Cruz and BRAVA! He was artistic director of The Quixote Project and co-artistic director of Rococo Risqué and Yale Cabaret. Erik has designed projections in New York for STREB, American Opera Projects, and the new musical Heading East with B.D. Wong. Regionally he has designed for The Magic, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Marin Theatre Company and Center Rep as well as Moorehouse/Spellman College, Brandeis Theater Company and U.C.S.C. where he taught theatrical projection design. He works regularly as Wendall Harrington's associate designer. He has an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.

More About New York Theatre Experiment (NYTE): Founded in 2004, New York Theatre Experiment is dedicated to artistic exploration and innovation. NYTE develops and produces works of theatre that expose the complexity of the human condition, as well has a special interest in works that explore the contemporary cultural moment. Past projects include Capture the Flag: A Festival of New American Plays, Charise Jones: The Comeback xxmas Tour, Burn, Fallen, The Long Christmas Dinner and A New York Christmas Carol, Stuck, and...and...and, and Feud. NYTE is also committed to the development of the next generation of theatre artists and audiences. NYTE's unique educational programs are designed to empower and inspire, and, like their productions, are intended to make theatre accessible, relevant and personal for all audiences.
 
Running through February 20th, Up, Up, Down, Down will be performed at the Access Theatre, located at 380 Broadway (between Walker and White Streets) on the 4th Floor. Show times are Wednesday-Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm and Sunday at 2pm. There is no Sunday performance on February 6th. All tickets are $18.00. Reservations: 1-800-838-3006 or www.brownpapertickets.com/event/145005. For further information, go to www.newyorktheatreexperiment.org., www.twitter.com/nytexperiment or www.facebook.com/newyorktheatreexperiment.

To post a comment, you must register and login.