Play Readings With Friends Theater Company to Present SORTING IT OUT by Matteo Esposito

[NEW YORK, NY, July 27, 2023] Play Readings With Friends, a New York City nonprofit theater company, presents autistic Canadian playwright Matteo Esposito's powerful play Sorting IT Out. The production, a U.S. premiere in association with New Circle Theatre Company's solo show The Azure Sky in Oz: Yellow by William Leavengood, runs August 3 through August 13.

This profoundly Moving Theatre duo examines two pinpoints of the countless manifestations of autism, sharing powerful messages of love, connection, and human understanding.

Inspired by events in the playwright's own life, Sorting IT Out takes on the understanding and the misunderstanding of the autism spectrum. In the play, Frank's son Ed reckons with prejudgments and misunderstandings due to a forced encounter with his father's Autistic friend, Nik. As Ed's own challenges are revealed, he realizes that accepting help in life is not a sign of weakness and ultimately we are more alike than different, regardless of outward appearances. During the world premiere in Toronto, Canada, the Ghost Light Review described the show as "confront[ing] difficult questions, before leaving [the audience] with a gut-punching message."

Matteo Esposito is an up-and-coming autistic playwright and disability arts advocate from Oakville, Ontario. His play Sorting IT Out was workshopped by Play Readings With Friends in June 2020 as part of a weekly virtual series led by artistic director Jon L. Peacock, who is thrilled to bring this story onto the stage in New York City.

The show is on a double bill with Amanda Ladd's tour de force one-woman show, The Azure Sky in Oz: Yellow, direct from Edinburgh Fringe.

Yellow is the true story of Michelle Feulner-Castro, a nationally recognized, emerging visual artist whose life is radically transformed by the birth of her profoundly autistic son, Trevor. Exploring the hard truths of parenting a child with special needs, actress Amanda Ladd explores the experiences of Feulner-Castro, whose dramatic tale of reinvention and self-discovery seeks to understand: "Can I be both a true artist and a good mother?"

Written and directed by William Leavengood-a nationally awarded, two-time Eugene O'Neill playwright-this powerful, funny, and unflinching drama tells the true stories of two women whose lives are changed by the autistic and neurodiverse teens that they parent and teach. This production will be the presentation of Act I Yellow only.

This double-feature production of Sorting IT Out and The Azure Sky in Oz: Yellow runs from August 3 to August 13 at The Sandbox Theater (140 W. 44th St. #2). Tickets are available online at s://cutt.ly/IwaVhzFc

CAST & CREATIVE

The cast of Sorting IT Out is comprised of four experienced New York actors who are eager to bring this story to life. The central role of Nik is played by Giselle Elise, featuring Glenn Stoops as Frank, Jeffrey Roth as Bob, and Will Ketter as Ed.

Helmed by Artistic Director Jon L. Peacock, Play Readings With Friends Theater Company has been reading, developing, and workshopping new plays in New York City since 2011. In 2021, PRWF presented a successful virtual production of Star Chamber: The Trial of William Shakespeare by Robert Gulack. Multiple works developed through the company have been recognized as semi-finalists at the Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference and the Princess Grace Awards, and have received productions by several prominent theater companies, including The New Circle Theater Company and The Secret Theatre.

Developed at New Circle Theatre Company by members William Leavengood and Amanda Ladd, The Azure Sky in Oz enjoyed a successful run of 28 performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022, which the Scotsman called "genuinely inspirational." As an official selection and critic's pick at The United Solo Festival 2022: "[Ladd] skillfully represents the women's triumphs and frustrations... Ladd's authentic delivery and loving treatment of the material make for an extremely enjoyable and absorbing performance." Sean Lynch, an award-winning writer, said of the performance: "...kinetic, compelling and compassionate...This is the seamless craftwork of an incredible actor wrapped in a deeply personal and relatable story." Recently, The Azure Sky in Oz opened the 2023 summer season at Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre in Mars Hill, NC.

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

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