Ran Xia's IN BLUE to Premiere at The Tank

The Tank will present the World Premiere of In Blue, written and directed by Ran Xia (2018 Tank Artist of the Year; Resident Director at The Flea and The Tank) at The Tank (312 West 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues), December 4-15. Performances will be on Wednesday, December 4 at 7pm, Thursday, December 5 at 7pm, Friday, December 6 at 3pm, Friday, December 6 at 7pm, Saturday, December 7 at 7pm, Thursday, December 12 at 7pm, Friday, December 13 at 7pm, Saturday, December 14 at 3pm, Saturday, December 14 at 7pm, Sunday, December 15 at 3pm, and Sunday, December 15 at 7pm. Tickets ($20 General/$30 VIP) are available for advance purchase at www.thetanknyc.org. The performance will run approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission.

Theirs is a friendship measured in 28 postcards, 5 horses painted blue, and all those letters from war. On her posthumous search of Franz Marc's missing masterpiece, The Tower of Blue Horses, Else Lasker-Schüler must learn to let go.

Between December 1912 and April 1914, Franz Marc sent Else Lasker-Schüler 28 post cards, all of which depicted the wildest imaginations the two artists share. One of those postcards was a prototype of Marc's most renowned (and mysteriously missing) work The Tower of Blue Horses. In Blue is inspired by Marc's paintings, Lasker- Schüler's writings, and the fascination relationship between them.

The cast will feature Alyssa Simon* (The Marriage of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein at HERE; The Golfer with Gemini Collision Works at The Brick) and Finn Kilgore* (Independent Study, The Tallest Man In The World, and Old Names for Wild Flowers at The Tank; Pomegrenade at IRT) with a Live Score by Luke Santy (My Life in a Nutshell at HERE), Scenic Design by Sarah Edkins (The Shooter at TheaterLab; No Man's Land at Dixon Place), Lighting Design by Becky Heisler McCarthy (Emma and Max at The Flea; LOU with Theatre 4the People), and Costume Design by Florence LeBas (Truth & Reconciliations at the Tank, De Profundis in the Midtown International Festival). The Production Stage Manager and Assistant Director will be Gabrielle Giacomo with Stage Manager Kelly Teaford. *Appearing courtesy of the Actors' Equity Association.

Ran Xia (Playwright/Director) is a Shanghai born, NYC based interdisciplinary theatre artist. Her plays have been seen on stages around New York City, including Pomegrenade at IRT; Harmony at HERE Arts Center, [ai] at The Brick, and many more. Member of Pipeline Theatre's PlayLab 2020. She is currently a Resident Director at The Flea (Serials, etc.) and The Tank (Inaugural Artist of the Year). She directed the world premiere of Ben Gassman's Independent Study, and US premiere of Ailís Ní Ríain's The Tallest Man in the World. She wrote and directed Creative Time's The Privilege of Escape (created by Risa Puno), co-authored Exquisite Corpse Co.'s The Enchanted Realm of Rene Magritte, and the audio/visual installation version of Echo at the Memory House on Governors Island. Assistant Directing credits include: The Invention of Tragedy (by Mac Wellman, Dir. Meghan Finn at The Flea), The Great Leap (by Lauren Yee, Dir. Taibi Magar at Atlantic Theater Company), Two Mile Hollow (by Leah Nanako Winkler, Dir. Morgan Gould at WP Theatre), and Refrigerated Dreams by Carrie Mae Weems, Nona Hendryx, Francesca Harper, and Niegel Smith at Joe's Pub. Ran is a staff critic at Theatre Is Easy and Exeunt. www.ranxia.info

The Tank is a non-profit arts presenter and producer. Our mission is to remove economic barriers from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers and experimenting within their art form, and to do so in an environment that is inclusive and accessible. We serve over 2,000 artists every year in over 800 performances, and work across all disciplines, including theater, comedy, dance, film, music, puppetry, and storytelling. The heart of our services is providing free performance space in our two-stage theater complex Manhattan, and we also offer a suite of other services such as free rehearsal space, promotional support, artist fees, and much more. We support work at all phases of development, from readings and residencies to fully-produced world premieres. We keep ticket prices affordable and view our work as democratic, opening up both the creation and attendance of the arts to all.

Recent Tank-produced work includes Drama Desk-nominated productions Ada/Ava (2016), youarenowhere (2016), The Paper Hat Game (2017), the ephemera trilogy (2017), and The Hunger Artist (2018), as well as New York Times Critics' Picks OPEN by Crystal Skillman, directed by Jessi D. Hill (2019), Red Emma & The Mad Monk by Alexis Roblan, directed by Katie Lindsay (2018), and The Offending Gesture by Mac Wellman, directed by Meghan Finn (2016). www.thetanknyc.org

Photo: Alyssa Simon & Finn Kilgore, Photo credit: Ran Xia

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