Studio Six of the Moscow Art Theatre Presents WOMAN AT THE FUNERALS, 6/13 - 6/29

Studio Six of the Moscow Art Theater presents Woman at the Funerals, a new play about human malfunction and a budding funeral planner written by Elena Balyberdina. Ben Sargent will direct a cast of twelve including Stewart Alden, Cameron Berner, John Blaylock, Tonya Marie Canady, David M. Farrington, Doug Hartwyk, Sarah Michelle McAvoy, Pete Macnamara, Samantha Opitz, Benjamin Russell, Najla Said, and RaShelle Stocker. Woman at the Funerals will be staged for 16 performances at IATI Theater, 64 East 4th Street in NYC from June 13-29, 2014.

Woman at the Funerals is a dark satire about delusional perception. After a contentious divorce, Anna struggles to find a place among her lying boyfriend, troubled teenage children, manipulative ex-husband, and his new wife. Anna's provocative identity crisis takes a turn as she becomes a sought-after funeral planner, unearthing an array of eccentric characters in their time of need. The superficial layers of personality that Anna, and those in her life, have always relied on, are glitching, decaying and disintegrating. Anna's metamorphosis involves shedding everything artificial about herself, nearly her entire identity.

Woman at the Funerals is presented by Studio Six of the Moscow Art Theater. Director: Ben Sargent; General Manager: Good People Management Group; Casting Director, Robin Carus; Public Relations: Paul Siebold.

Elena Balyberdina (playwright) has a rich living, intellectual and artistic experience. She started at Bolshoi in Moscow as a young ballerina, then immigrated to the United States, where she has earned three degrees in psychology, philosophy and mental health counseling. She was a co-author of a 2007 acclaimed feature "A Book Of Truth, A Book Of Lies." Elena is in private practice as a philosophical counselor and continues to write plays that reflect her long-standing interest in existential and post-lacanian theories and self-inflicted psycho-traumas.

Ben Sargent (director) graduated from the Moscow Art Theater School with an MFA in 2005. As a founding and current member of Studio Six of the Moscow Art Theater (studiosixnyc.org), he has performed in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Boston, Connecticut, New York, Baltimore, and Montreal. He began directing in 2008: Gogol Project, I Heart Chekhov, La Cueca, and Doroga. Among other publications, Ben's work has been featured in The New York Times and Backstage. Teaching credits include the Lee Strasberg Institute (Biomechanics, Movement for the Actor), Studio Six workshops (Acting and Movement), and New GeneRussian (Moscow Art Training). More information can be found on his website, cargocollective.com/bensargent and on his blog, madtroika.tumblr.com/

Tickets are $18 can be purchased by visiting OvationTix.com or calling 212-352-3101.

Performances will be held Wednesdays-Saturdays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm & Sundays at 3pm.

The runtime for Woman at the Funerals is 75 minutes with no intermission.

Studio Six is an ensemble based theater company, the sixth studio to be born out of the Moscow Art Theater School, and the only American one. The company was founded in 2005 by the graduates of the only American class to have completed the four year course of study at the Moscow Art Theater School. This company is dedicated to a theater of strong ensemble acting, directorial vision and creating dynamic relationships with audiences.

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