Lost & Found Project's World Premiere of 'KNOCK' Begins Tonight

Lost & Found Project, an edgy ensemble of next generation storytellers, curates a world premiere of KNOCK: A Journey to a Strange Country, a new play inspired by writings of the Russian avant-garde absurdist Daniil Kharms. KNOCK is written and presented by the award-winning Lost & Found Project, a division of National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) FolksbieneRU. Eleven performances will be staged at The Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal Street, in New York, N.Y., from tonight, March 4-22, 2015.

KNOCK: A Journey to a Strange Country takes a closer look at the experience of migration and the consequences of choices, while attempting to penetrate the paradoxical world of human nature, both tragic and comical. KNOCK blends approaches and perceptions in order to study what truly compels us to act or to fear, to follow or to rebel, to open up or to hide within our true selves. Exploring the ideas of fear and existence propels the company members to process their personal journeys through the lens of Kharms' writings, allowing us to discover the truth about "what is." Imagine a person coming out of his house, carrying a sack. He cannot be defined by words or labels. Where will the journey take him? Let's find out together.

The play continues a trend of absurdist-inspired international productions in New York City's modern Off Off Broadway scene combining Jewish sensibilities with the best of classical Russian/Stanislavsky theatre, including The Wooster Group's heralded 2014 Mikail Baryshnikov / Willem DeFoe production of The Old Woman at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and recent Eugene Ionesco and Samuel Beckett productions. Russian actress Darya Ekamasova (Best Actress, Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences' Nika Award 2012) and Israeli actor Gera Sandler (co-star of the feature film "A Tale of Love and Darkness," dir. Natalie Portman, 2015) are among the actors of the ensemble.

Acclaimed Russian director Alexandre Marine, who has adapted KNOCK with Boris Zilberman, will direct a cast of nine In addition to Ekamasova and Sandler, ensemble members include Masha King, Sergey Nagorny, Marina Reydler, Elena Rickman, Russell Verkhovskiy, Anya Zicer, and Boris Zilberman.

Continuing the company's convention of incorporating both traditional and Verbatim theatre and technique together with dramaturgy, KNOCK is the third original production by Lost & Found Project. The personal experiences of the company members and exploration of their deepest questions are merged, interpreted and developed by the writing team into a professional script used to present the stage production.

FolksbieneRU is a partnership initiative of Genesis Philanthropy Group and National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (www.nytf.org).

"We are thrilled to support FolksbieneRU and the Lost & Found Project in their innovative efforts to connect the Russian-speaking Jewish community with their roots through theater," said Marina Yudborovsky, regional director of Genesis Philanthropy Group in North America. "The Lost & Found Project brings true stories to life and relays the realities of the Russian Jewish American experience."

KNOCK plays for 11 performances from tonight, March 4-22, 2015. Performances are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. There is no performance on Saturday, March 7. Tickets are $35. Visit OvationTix.com or call 212-352-3101. The runtime is 90 minutes with no intermission.

"All of us are descended from immigrants, and many have forgotten this," stated RocketHub CFO Alon Hillel-Tuch. "Exploring the experience of migration within the confines of one of the world's most diverse and migratory cities, the Lost & Found Project finds a vast reservoir of experience to narrate a story that is unique and surreal, yet authentically-woven."

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