THE OFFENDING GESTURE Makes World Premiere at The Tank Tonight

THE OFFENDING GESTURE -- a play by Mac Wellman -- will be given its world premiere by The Tank (a non-profit arts presenter and producer) this winter with previews beginning tonight, January 6th, prior to opening on January 9 at The Connelly Theater (220 East 4th Street). THE OFFENDING GESTURE is scheduled to run through January 23rd 2016. Meghan Finn, Producing and Associate Artistic Director of 3-Legged Dog directs. Alaina Ferris (Daredevil, The Brick) has composed the score.

Wellman's play is a humorous and poetic indictment of American foreign policy in Iraq, told through the true story of Hitler and his dog, Blondi. Wellman takes as his subject a political incident that occurred in 1941 just before Germany invaded the Soviet Union, when Tor Borg, a Finnish businessman infamously taught his own dog Jackie to do the Nazi Party Salute in response to the command, "Heil Hitler."

Featured in the cast are Starr Busby (La MaMa Cantata, international tour), Julia Sirna Frest (Half Straddle's Seagull, The New Ohio COIL Festival), Layla Khoshnoudi (Nobody's Girl, NJ Rep) (Dido of Idaho, E.S.T. Unfiltered), Kristine Haruna Lee (How to Get Into Buildings, The Brick) (Futurity, The Connelly), Lacy Rose, and Abby Rosebrock (THREE SISTERS, La Jolla Playhouse/WOW Festival), (DIFFERENT ANIMALS, Cherry Lane).

The creative team includes Scenic Designers Christopher & Justin Swader (Cherry Lane Theatre, La MaMa and Manhattan School of Music) and Emily Blumenauer (Person Of Interest, CBS) as Costume Designer.

THE OFFENDING GESTURE runs January 6th - 23rd at The Connelly Theater, 220 East 4th Street in NYC's East Village. Tickets: $35 Premium Reserved Seats | $25 General | $15 Student. Visit www.thetanknyc.org or call: 212-563-6269. For more on THE OFFENDING GESTURE, go to thetanknyc.org/theater/429-the-offending-gesture.

The Tank -- a midtown theater company dedicated to developing and presenting new works for the stage by emerging artists, announces this 2015 -- 2016 Flint & Tinder season opener.

This new work is presented as part of Theater at The Tank's flagship program, Flint & Tinder that is curated by Josh Luxenberg, Jon Levin, and Rosalind Grush. Flint & Tinder is a series of exciting new shows featuring physical or devised theater, clowning and puppeteering. Past shows have included Manual Cinema's Ada/Ava (NY Times Critics' Pick) and Split Knuckle Theater's The Curious Case of Phineas Gage (recent Time Out New York Critics' Pick in the New York International Fringe Festival). Says Artistic Director Rosalind Grush: "I am so excited to be following up our wildly successful 2014-15 season by bringing such beautiful and powerful work from around the country and the world to New York City, and we are also very proud that the majority of this season supports work by incredibly talented women." The Flint & Tinder season as presented by The Tank fills a gap in the New York art scene by showcasing incredibly imaginative artists for a diverse audience, and providing a unique package of resources for artists pushing the boundaries of the theatrical artform.

Remaining shows in our 2015-16 Season include: Reverse Cascade, a new piece of puppetry by Anna Fitzgerald; YOUARENOWHERE by Andrew Schneider at 3-Legged Dog, New York Times Critics' Pick in Performance Space 122's 2015 COIL Festival; Lipstick & Slapstick, a new piece of phyiscal comedy by Ariel Lauryn and Lucy Shelby; and The Paper Hat Game, a piece of toy puppet theater by Torry Bend at 3-Legged Dog.

The Tank is a non-profit arts presenter serving emerging artists engaged in the pursuit of new ideas and forms of expression. We serve over 1,000 artists every year in over 350 performances, and work across all disciplines, including theater, comedy, dance, film, music, public affairs, and storytelling. Our goal is to foster an environment of inclusiveness and remove the burden of cost from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers and experimenting within their art form. The heart of our services is providing free performance space in the intimate 62-seat blackbox that we operate in Manhattan, and we also offer a suite of other services such as free rehearsal space, promotional support, and a cut of the box office. We keep ticket prices affordable and view our work as democratic, opening up both the creation and attendance of the arts to all.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM:

Mac Wellman's (Playwright) recent work includes Muazzez at The Chocolate Factory produced by PS122 in January 2014, 3 2's; or AFAR at Dixon Place in October 2011, The Difficulty of Crossing a Field (with composer David Lang) at Montclair in the fall of 2006 (and elsewhere more recently), and 1965 UU for performer Paul Lazar, and directed by Stephen Mellor at the Chocolate Factory in the fall of 2008. He has received numerous honors, including NEA, Guggenheim, and Foundation of Contemporary Arts fellowships. In 2003 he received his third Obie, for lifetime Achievement.

In 2006 his third novel, Q's Q, was published by Green Integer, and in 2008 a volume of stories, A Chronicle of the Madness of Small Worlds, was published by Trip Street Press as well as a new collection of plays The Difficulty of Crossing a Field from Minnesota Press. His books of poetry include Miniature (2002), Strange Elegies (2006), Split the Stick (2012) from Roof Books, and Left Glove (2011), from Solid Objects Press. His novel Linda Perdido won the 2011 FC2 Catherine Doctorow Prize for Innovative Fiction. He is Distinguished Professor of Play Writing at Brooklyn College.

Meghan Finn (Director) is the Producing and Associate Artistic Director at 3LD. Most recently she directed a tour of American Power performed by photographer Mitch Epstein and Composer/Cellist Erik Friedlander at the V&A in London and The Wexner Center, Columbus, Ohio. She is currently preparing to direct the World Premiere of Mac Wellman's THE OFFENDING GESTURE at The Connelly Theater coproduced by The Tank and 3LD. She is the associate director of the New York Premiere of Futurity at Soho Rep. Recent work includes Gary Winter's DAREDEVIL at The Brick, following two celebrated world premieres of The Downtown Loop by Ben Gassman (3LD/3D+ Productions/Teeth of Tooth Atelier) and Take Me Home by Alexandra Collier set in a taxi cab (Incubator Arts Project/LPR). Other recent credits include: The Service Road by Erin Courtney (Adhesive Theater Project/NYTIMES Critics' Pick), Motel Cherry by Peggy Stafford (Summerworks Clubbed Thumb/New Georges HERE Arts Center Huffington Post Top 10 of 2012) and 3 2's; or AFAR by Mac Wellman (Dixon Place), Relative Value by Jesse Longman (3LD), Saturn Nights by Jess Barbagallo (Incubator Arts Project), Waltz by Corina Copp (CSC -Weasel), Blue Dress Reduction featuring Eliza Bent (PS122), HIM by E.E. Cummings (Walkerspace), The Fake History of George the Last by Misha Shulman (the longest lunch/TNC), A Week at the NJ Shore by Valerie Work (the longest lunch/The Bushwick Starr, and others). Finn holds an MFA in Directing from Brooklyn College and a BA in Theater from the University of Southern California. She was a member of the 2009 Lincoln Center Director's Lab, 2009/10 Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, New Georges' The Jam, a 2014 & 2016 New Georges Audrey Resident and co-founder of the longest lunch (2002-present).

Alaina Ferris (Composer/Performer) is a composer, vocalist, and poet located in Brooklyn, Her recent composition credits include William Burke's The Keeners (in development), Scott Adkins's The Kioskers (St. Ann's Warehouse's Labapalooza, North American Cultural Laboratory's Deep Space Residency). She has music directed and performed in Eliza Bent's Toilet Fire (Jack, Abrons Arts Center) and Van Cougar's Tube (Incubator Arts Project). She played many instruments in Gary Winter's Daredevil (Brick). She performed as keyboardist, drummer, and vocalist in Temporary Distortion's six-hour durational music performance, My Voice Has An Echo In It (Watermill Center, Stereolux in Nantes, Exit Festival at Maison des Arts de Créteil in Paris). She was a 2015 Finalist for the National Poetry Series.

Christopher & Justin Swader (Set Designers) are New York-based scenic designers and directors. Working collaboratively as a team, they have recently designed for Classical Theatre of Harlem, Columbia Stages, National Black Theatre, Luna Stage, Cherry Lane Theatre, La MaMa, Manhattan School of Music, Park Avenue Armory, Trusty Sidekick, Astoria Performing Arts Center, Theater for the New City, Shadowland Theatre, The Orchard Project, IRT Theater, & The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Upcoming: An Octoroon (ArtsEmerson and Company One, Boston) and A Foreign Body (Le Parker Méridien Hotel, Site-Specific Production) Originally from Indiana, they are graduates of Ball State University. www.cjswaderdesign.com

Emily Blumenauer (Costume Designer) received her MFA in Design and Technical Production from Brooklyn College and member of USA Local 829. Currently the Assistant Costume Designer/ Shopper for CBS "Person Of Interest"; Her Credits Include: "Daredevil" (Brick Theater) Assistant Costume designer for events at "Sleep No More" NYC, including Heineken's web commercial "Guest of Honor"; "A Time Traveller's Trip to Niagara" (Hudson Guild) "Take Me Home" (Incubator Arts Project for Other Forces Festival); "The Downtown Loop" (3LD Technology Center).

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