Theater for the New City Premieres Spookfish's PORNOGRAPHY FOR THE PEOPLE, Now thru 9/2

Spookfish Theatre Company will present the world premiere of Pornography for the People, a new political drama by Ming Peiffer about sex, surveillance and censorship, today, August 26, 2012 through Friday, September 2, 2012 - at the Theatre for the New City, (155 1st Avenue, NYC). The production is part of the Dream Up Festival: Theater For The New City's Summer Showcase. Directed by Kat Yen.

Pornography for the People navigates the trajectories of four Chinese "netizens" as they act out their fantasies and lives via the Internet: A British expat turned journalist whose research and sex life become dangerously tangled. A notorious sex blogger whose fame and happiness dwindles as her anti-patriarchal lifestyle becomes an official target. A farm girl turned Do-It-Yourself pornographer whose skewed views on sex play into her risky lifestyle and a respected magazine editor who becomes a public nuisance when his falsified online literary fame hits government officials a little too close to home.

Inspired by real interviews, banned blog posts, government issued statements, news articles, and scientific research, Pornography for the People spotlights worldwide policy-making (SOPA, Green Dam Youth Escort, etc.) and the prevalent censorship in today's increasingly technology dependent social and economic spheres.

The cast of Pornogrpahy for the People features Katie Peters, Josh Mendelow, Ying Ying Li, Vichet Chu, Amora Lin, Nancy Sun, Christopher J. Tan.

Artistic direction and sound design is by Ming Peiffer, video design is by Matthew Forell, and lighting design is by Porsche McGovern. Stage Manager is Monica Daniels.

Playwright Ming Peiffer is the Co-Artistic Director and Resident Playwright of Spookfish Theatre Company, and a working actress based in NYC. A current 2012 LAB Member for NPTC's Women's Work Project, she is the author of "WABI SABI! Not Wasabi", the New York Times pick for Theater for the New City's "Dream Up Festival" in 2010. Other works include: "Pornography For The People" (UPCOMING: Summer 2012@ Theater for the New City), "RELAX! ALICE" (Under St. Mark's, UPCOMING: June Havoc), "TELLMEYOULOVEME" (Colgate University), and Spookfish Theatre Company's Guerilla Theater Series: "HOMELESS KITTY", an ongoing public puppet show aimed at raising the awareness of homelessness in NYC. She is a co-author of the play, "The Privilege of Death: or how everything went from bad to good" (Gene Frankel Theater, The Doctorow Center of the Performing Arts). She is an active member of the Asian American Arts Alliance and a Sponsored Artist at The Field.

Director Kat Yen is the Co-Artistic director and Resident Director of Spookfish Theatre Company. Recent NYC directing credits include: RELAX! ALICE by Ming Peiffer, the NY Times headliner for the 2012 Midtown International Theater Festival (Under St. Mark's, June Havoc); WABI SABI! Not Wasabi by Ming Peiffer developed with Kat Yen, the NY Times headliner for Dream Up Festival at Theater for the New City; The Privilege of Death: or how everything went from bad to good by Ming Peiffer and Eamon O'Rourke (Co-Director, The Gene Frankel Theater) and Anything Goes by Lisa Reinke as part of the Detention series at Primary Stages. Recent assistant directing credits include Hand Over Hand by Padraic Lillis, Night Before Christmas by Lindsay Joy Murphy, and Blinded by the Night by Shira-Lee Shalit. Regional credits include Blasted and Oleanna (Colgate University). Other projects Kat has worked on include The Talk, a short scene written and directed by her put on at LAByrinth Theater as part of their Ensemble Workshop and Homeless Kitty, a guerilla puppet show performed on NYC subways. A member of the Asian American Arts Alliance and a sponsored artist at The Field, Kat has had the opportunity to study theater at St. Andrews University and has worked on over twenty productions cumulatively during her Colgate University years where she earned her BA in Theater. Since then she has had the pleasure of working with The Public Theater, the McCarter Theater, TeatroStageFest LITFNY, Juneteenth Legacy Theatre, Ripe Time, and Red Bull Theater on various shows in various roles.

Performances of Pornography for the People are on 8/26 – 8:00pm; 8/28 – 6:30pm; 8/30 - 9:00pm; 8/31 – 9:00pm; and 9/2 – 8:00pm. The production runs approximately 90 minutes.

Tickets are $15 and available HERE and at the box office prior to each performance.

Spookfish Theatre Company is a group of diverse young artists committed to making inventive and explosively theatrical artwork that exposes underlying issues concerning self-identity and the human condition that are continually underrepresented or misrepresented in our society. By providing a multicultural lens through artistic collaboration in which mixed media and original text serve as the forefront, we explore issues of race, gender, sexuality, and socio-economics with a unique style and voice that challenges audiences to explore their own volatile worldview.

As multi-ethnic theatre artists, we believe in exploring our art as a true reflection of the world we live in, and thus, actively seek gender and race equality concerning our casting, subject matter, and hiring opportunities.

For more information, visit www.spookfishtheatre.org.

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