Photo Flash: Red Fern Theatre Co Presents We in Silence Hear a Whisper

The Red Fern Theatre Company will present the World Premiere of We in Silence Hear a Whisper, written by Jon Kern and directed by Melanie Moyer Williams. We in Silence Hear a Whisper runs from October 5 - 23, 2011 in a limited engagement at The Theater at the 14th Street Y, located at 344 East 14th Street between First and Second Avenues in New York City. Previews begin October 5 for an October 8 opening. For more information visit http://RedFernTheatre.org.

Performances are Thursdays - Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm, with additional performances on Wednesday, October 5 at 8pm and Monday, October 17 at 7pm. There is no performance on Friday, October 7. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at http://www.TheaterMania.com or by calling 1-866-811-4111. Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. Train access via the N, R, Q, 4, 5, 6 to Union Square or L to 1st Avenue.

To lay her brother's soul to rest, a young Darfuri refugee must escape the relentless Man on the Horse, chased through the wilds of Sudan down into the landscape of her own mind. With riveting action, surprising humor and elegant puppetry, We in Silence Hear a Whisper explores the redemptive power of connection and how the greatest tragedies only happen when we look away.

The Red Fern Theatre Company is a New York City based 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in 2006, celebrating their 6th season. Through its productions and outreach, the RFTC provokes social awareness and social change. Each play produced by the RFTC addresses social issues that range in scope from local to global. They pair each of their productions with a philanthropy whose work relates to the social themes of the play. A portion of the ticket sales from each play is donated to the designated philanthropy, and they educate their audiences on their mission and activities. By associating each production with a philanthropic organization, they are able to respond directly to the people affected by the issues addressed in the play. Since their inception, they've produced 10 revivals, 1 World Premiere, 1 New York Premiere and two evenings of commissioned short plays. They're excited to call the newly renovated Theater at the 14th Street Y their home for the entire year.

For this production, the RFTC has chosen to partner with SaveDarfur.

Unity Statement for SaveDarfur:

We stand together and unite our voices to raise public awareness and mobilize a massive response to the atrocities in Sudan's western region of Darfur.

Responding to a rebellion in 2003, the regime of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and its allied militia, known as the Janjaweed, launched a campaign of destruction against the civilian population of ethnic groups identified with the rebels. They wiped out entire villages, destroyed food and water supplies, stole livestock and systematically murdered, tortured and raped civilians. The Sudanese government's genocidal, scorched earth campaign has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives through direct violence, disease and starvation, and continues to destabilize the region. Millions have fled their homes and live in dangerous camps in Darfur, and hundreds of thousands are refugees in neighboring Chad. Violence continues today. Ultimately, the fate of the Darfuri people depends on establishing a lasting and just peace in all of Sudan and in the region.

We are committed to the goals that the Save Darfur Coalition advocates for, including:
Ending the violence against civilians;
Facilitating adequate and unhindered humanitarian aid;
Establishing conditions for the safe and voluntary return of displaced people to their homes;
Promoting the long-term sustainable development of Darfur; and
Holding the perpetrators accountable.
We call on the United States, other governments, the United Nations and regional organizations to focus their efforts on ending this crisis. The situation in Darfur is very complex and constantly changing; more detailed information is available at http://www.SaveDarfur.org/pages/learn.

Jon Kern's full-length works include Modern Terrorism, or They Who Want to Kill Us and How We Learn to Love Them, Do Not Disturb: a hotel experience and Telefonesis: The Art of Mental Murder. His short plays have been performed at Ensemble Studio Theater, The Brick, The Flea and in the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival. He's a member of the Ma-Yi Writers Lab, The Civilians R&D Group, The Old Vic New Voices Network, and Ars Nova Play Group, and an alumnus of EST/Youngblood. Kern received a 2010-2011 Van Lier Fellowship in Playwriting from New Dramatists and a 2010 Alfred P. Sloan Commission and he was a 2010 Heideman Award finalist.

Melanie Moyer Williams, a cum laude graduate of Duke University, is the Founder and Executive Artistic Director of The Red Fern Theatre Company. Her directing credits for the company include the New York Premiere of Shirley Lauro's All Through Night, the World Premiere of A Shot Away: Personal Accounts of Military Trauma, Miss Evers' Boys from +30NYC and The Exonerated, among others. Her other directing credits include the World Premiere of Henry Kissinger (FringeNYC), That Is The Question in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival (named one of the Best in the Festival) and A Tribute To Andrew Lloyd Webber with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of El Salvador in El Salvador with Wanderlust Theatre Company.

The cast includes Parker Leventer, Stephen Conrad Moore (The Civilians, Classical Theatre of Harlem), Matthew Park, Devere Rogers and Keona Welch (Colored People's Time and Savanna Black & Blue with the Negro Ensemble Company), along with puppeteers Hansel Tan (The Ohmies, Will Sing with Ma-Yi Theatre Co., Future Anxiety at The Flea Theater), Marcy Agreen and Crystal Beth.

The creative and production team consists of Ken Hall (Red Fern Managing Director), Lori Singleton (Associate Producer), Kel Haney (Red Fern Artistic Producer), Amelia Mathews and Elizabeth Barrett Groth (Puppet Design), Katherine Akiko Day (Set Design), Marie Yokoyama (Lighting Design), Elizabeth Barrett Groth (Costume Design), Colin J. Whitely (Sound Design), Julie Foh (Accent Coach), Laura Luciano (Production Stage Manager) and Sara Lyons (Assistant Director).

The Red Fern Theatre Company continues to garner acclaim in the theatrical community. In October 2010, American Theatre Magazine named the group as "one to watch." NYTheatre.com applauded the company, saying, "Red Fern Theatre Company is to be commended for their mission of fostering documentary performance[s]." Back Stage writes, "A Shot Away has its compelling moments, and it is surely an effective way to get the word out about a problem that affects thousands of soldiers annually." Broadway World raves, "Gentrifusion not only provides a wonderfully multi-racial and talented cast, and a great evening of theatre, but each of the plays is paired with a philanthropy (all of which Red Fern has worked with before on previous projects). If you like provocative new urban theatre, this is not to be missed."

 

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