Photo Flash: Dixon Place presents MAGIC This Spring

Strange reports of magicians losing their powers make their way to the royal magistrate. When two tricksters arrive with their fake magic show, the royal magistrate believes they have found the root of the problem. Facing arrest, the two escape to a mystical forest where they discover the true cause of why magic is disappearing. Having to choose between risking the wrath of the royal court or taking their discovery to their graves, the tricksters must decide whether saving a kingdom is more important than saving themselves.

MAGIC? A comedic drama. Director: Christopher Erlendson, Writers: Yaakov Bressler and Christopher Erlendson, Score: Kelly Catlin

Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie St, New York, NY 10002. East Side (By subway: B/D to Grand, F to 2nd Ave, J/Z to Bowery, 6 to Spring St, M to Essex St). Wednesday, April 19 @ 7:30 pm. Tickets:$15. Available online at http://dixonplace.org/performances/magic/ or by phone at 212-219-0736.

This new full length play follows a society of witches and wizards who investigate why magic is draining from the world. The show is the result of a collaboration between co-writers Yaakov Bressler and Christopher Erlendson. They met through the Leela NYC community, an artistic ensemble dedicated to bringing unconventional and diverse stories to life on stage. After developing the vision and arc of the piece, composer Kelly Catlin was brought onboard to score the show and add a musical dimension to the work.

MAGIC? was first developed in October 2016 at the LIC One Act Festival at the Secret Theatre. The show was nominated for best play, best actor, and best director for its scenography and comedic timing. Following the premiere in Queens, Dixon Place invited the ensemble to expand the piece into a full-length production.

The expansion of the piece is motivated by a desire to create colorful, uplifting, and profound performance art. The artistic goals of the creation of MAGIC? is to highlight and bring into the foreground the subject of creativity and its relevance as an instrument of conducting societal change.

Yaakov Bressler is a playwright and former medical researcher at Columbia University Medical Center whose plays have been produced in four international theatre festivals. He is a graduate of Brooklyn College where he founded its creative writing magazine, Stuck in the Library. His works include MAGNIFICENT SCIENTIFIC, a play about ambition in the world of medical research, JUNG & CRAZY, a dark comedy about anxiety, and THE GOLDEN SMILE which has been raved as "A Kooky Comedy" by Broadway World. MAGIC? In collaboration with Christopher Erlendson is his latest work.

Christopher Erlendson is an NYC theater director and actor. During his time at Pitzer College and Columbia Engineering he studied theater, dance, physics, and computer science. In October of 2016 he directed a staged adaptation of WAR OF THE WORLDS by Howard Koch. Most recently he directed A KREUTZER SONATA, a play about a Jewish piano prodigy who navigates the worlds of religion, music, and love in his freshman year of college. He is also a participating director in the Leela Play-In-A-Day events and an active performing artist in the Casa de Beverly play reading series.

Kelly Catlin is a New York City based flutist, composer and teacher. As an orchestral flutist, she has performed in concert with the New York City Master Chorale and in the US premier of critically acclaimed composer Vasco Mendonça's opera, The House Taken Over. She has also played with the American Youth Symphony and the Young Artists' Orchestra of Los Angeles, two of Southern California's most competitive orchestras for up-and-coming musicians. Ms. Catlin holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Flute Performance from California State University, Long Beach, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. She currently attends the Manhattan School of Music, pursuing her Master of Music degree in Classical Flute Performance.

An artistic incubator since 1986, Dixon Place is a Bessie and Obie Award-winning non-profit institution committed to supporting the creative process by presenting original works of theater, dance, music, puppetry, circus arts, literature and visual art at all stages of development. Presenting over 1000 creators a year, this local haven inspires and encourages diverse artists of all stripes and callings to take risks, generate new ideas and consummate new practices. Many artists, such as Blue Man Group, John Leguizamo, Lisa Kron, David Cale, David Drake, Deb Margolin and Reno, began their careers at DP. In addition to emerging artists, Dixon Place has been privileged to present established artists such as Mac Wellman, Holly Hughes, Justin Bond, Karen Finley, Kate Clinton and Martha Wainwright.

The Dixon Place Lounge is open before and after the show. Proceeds from the bar directly support Dixon Place's artists and mission.

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