Nylon Fusion to Present THE BIG FUNK & A SNOWFALL IN BERLIN in Rep, 3/12-4/6

Nylon Fusion Theatre Company presents two thoughtful and poignantly funny takes on the meaning of trying to define yourself in the world, and the nature of performance in life, on film and on stage with the world premiere of Don Nigro's noir comedy A Snowfall in Berlin (running March 12 - April 5) alternating with the revival of John Patrick Shanley's seldom-seen The Big Funk: A Casual Play (running March 13 - April 6). The plays will be presented in repertory at separate performances at Teatro LaTea @ Clemente Soto Velez, located at 107 Suffolk Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

In the somber and sensual A Snowfall in Berlin, an actress has drowned in a bathtub while making a film about a woman who drowned in a bathtub. As a police detective tries to uncover what actually happened, he finds himself getting caught in a web of half-truths and partial memories, almost becoming a character in the film himself. The unspooling story reveals demons of lechery and violent jealousy stemming from a snowy night sometime earlier, where a helping hand would lead a waif to outstrip her teacher, with the ultimate result too much for more than one person to handle. Directed by Shaun Peknic, the cast of A Snowfall in Berlin features Brandi Bravo, Don Carter*, Stephanie Heitman, Tatyana Kot, Jessica Vera* and Eric Percival. A Snowfall in Berlin is an Equity showcase, and will be performed from March 12th - April 5th.

John Patrick Shanley's fantastical comedic-drama, The Big Funk, is "a riveting and compelling look at the 'big funk' that is the modern condition and the power of compassion and faith in others to triumph over it." [1990 - NY Post]. Three friends - Austin, an actor with anarchistic tendencies; Omar, a professional knife thrower trying to adjust to become a father; and Fifi, his selfless wife - wrestle with that state of constant fear, worry and discontent that pervades their (and our) lives. Yet in the midst of all this sturm und drang, there are still ephemeral bits of happiness to be had if we can grab hold of them whenever they pass by, and meeting Jill, a woman with deep-seated neuroses, helps them to understand this truth as they try to balance out all of the ups and downs life has to offer. Directed by Lori Kee, the cast of The Big Funk features Ivette Dumeng, Meghan Jones, Josh Sienkiewicz, Jacob Troy, Paul Walling and will be performed from March 13th - April 6th.

Don Nigro is among the most frequently published and widely produced playwrights in the world and has continued to build a deeply interrelated and diverse body of dramatic literature, employing a wide variety of dramatic conventions and styles of presentation. Mr. Nigro has won a Playwriting Fellowship Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (for Fisher King), twice been a finalist for the National Repertory Theatre Foundation's National Play Award (for Anima Mundi and for The Dark Sonnets of the Lady), has won grants from the Mary Roberts Reinhart Foundation (for Terre Haute) and the Ohio Arts Council, and twice been James Thurber Writer in Residence at the Thurber House in Columbus. His work has been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, German, Polish, Greek, Russian, and Chinese. His plays written especially for Nylon Fusion, Marina and Mata Hari, won 4 Planet Connections Festivity Awards in 2013.

John Patrick Shanley's theatrical work is performed extensively across the United States and throughout the world. For his play Doubt, he received both the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Among his other plays are Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Italian American Reconciliation, The Dreamer Examines his Pillow, Sailor's Song (Drama Desk Nomination) Savage in Limbo, Four Dogs and a Bone, Beggars in the House of Plenty, Psychopathia Sexualis, Cellini, Where's My Money?, Dirty Story, Doubt (Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Play, Pulitzer Prize for Drama), and Defiance. As a screenwriter, he received an Academy Award for Moonstruck and an Emmy nomination for the HBO film Live from Baghdad. He was born in the Bronx.

Among the shows Lori Kee (director, The Big Funk) has directed include Building Sandcastles in the Moonlight, Ad Men, Origin, Manservant 3000, Last Call & Her Mark, Don Nigro's Goat, Tennessee (premiere) by John Patrick Shanley, Brilliant Traces, The Bridge, Human Resources, Death, it Happens... Paper Dragon, It's 3:45 am? That's Absurd, I'm Not Sure I liked the Way You Licked Me (MTS, USM) Are We Freaks Tanforan, The Experiment, Why; Male Man, Everything Will Be Alright & Through the Looking Glass - the last two both at CUNY - Borough of Manhattan CC where she is an Assistant Professor of Theatre). Ms. Kee is Nylon Fusion's resident director. www.lorikee.com.

Shaun Peknic's (director, A Snowfall In Berlin) credits include: Once (Associate Director - Broadway, West End, & National Tour), Pageant Princess (Bleecker Street Theatre), The Girl With the Red Balloon (The Tank), Must Be the Music (Ars Nova), The Wild Duck (Compassion Theater Company), Pieces (Gene Frankel Theatre), Chaser (NYC Fringe Festival), Marisol (Dreamscape Theater), Aimless (Theatre Row), A Streetcar Named Desire (New York University). Assistant Director: Arabian Nights (PlayCo., dir. Trip Cullman). Education: NYU (BFA), Lincoln Center Directors Lab. Adjunct Professor at NYU/Tisch School of the Arts. SDC Member.

Both A Snowfall in Berlin and The Big Funk will have Set Design by Cassie Dorland, Lighting Design by Wilburn Bonnell, Costume Design by Debbi Hobson and Sound Design by Andy Evan Cohen. For The Big Funk: Live music and sound by The Roly Polys. Stage Managed by Laura Hirshberg.

Founded in 2007, Nylon Fusion Theatre Company is a company of writers, actors and directors from a broad range of backgrounds committed to developing and producing original plays that explore and promote political, social and cultural awareness. www.nylonfusion.org

A Snowfall in Berlin and The Big Funk will be performed at LaTea @ Clemente Soto Velez, located at 107 Suffolk Street on Manhattan's Lower East Side. For the closest subway stop, take the F train to Delancey Street, or the J, M, Z trains to Delancey-Essex Streets. Tickets are $18.00. To purchase, call 1-800-838-3006, or online: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/572410 (A Snowfall in Berlin) www.brownpapertickets.com/event/572450 (The Big Funk)

* - appearing courtesy of Actor's Equity Association

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