Theatre 4the People to Premiere Haley Rice's LOU at The Paradise Factory

Theatre 4the People will present the World Premiere of Haley Rice's LOU, directed by Kate Moore Heaney, May 19-June 3 at The Paradise Factory (64 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery, Second Theater), with performances Tuesday through Saturday at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm.

Tickets ($25) may be purchased in advance at lousalome.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 1-800-838-3006. A limited number of pay-what-you-can tickets will be reserved for every performance, in an attempt to keep theatre accessible to all. The performance will run approximately two hours, with one 15-minute intermission.

LOU is the story of Lou Salome, one of the first female psychoanalysts and an accomplished writer, poet, novelist and early scholar of the psychology of female sexuality. Lou had deeply intimate relationships with Freud, Nietzsche, and Rilke, along with other great thinkers of the day. Her brilliance matched (if not surpassed) that of these great men, though her work is hardly known. Through Salome's search for identity and fight to claim her place in a world dominated by men, the question arises: how far have we truly come? An all female cast comes together to reclaim her story, portraying these men through the mind and memory of the great Lou Salome.

The cast will feature Mieko Gavia (Summoned with Black Revolutionary Theater Workshop), Natasha Hakata (This Just In! with Crashbox Theatre Company), Erika Phoebus (Kiss It, Make It Better at The New Ohio), Jenny Leona* (The Beekeeper's Daughter at Theater for the New City), Olivia Jampol (member of The Bats at The Flea), and Valeria Avina (The Colors of Frida at Teatro SEA) with Costume Design by Katja Andreiev (Beardo with Pipeline Theatre Company), Sound Design by Almeda Beynon (Mytho? Lure of Wildness at Abrons Arts Center) Lighting Design by Becky Heisler (We Are Animals at The Brick), and Set Design by Marisa Kaugars (Scorched with The Araca Projects). *Appearing courtesy of the Actors' Equity Association.

This will be Theatre 4the People's first production under the new leadership of Artistic Director Erika Phoebus. "Following in the footsteps of founder Isaac Byrne, I'm excited to continue to develop early career playwrights and make a space for every voice. We all have our own internal narrative. The more voices we experience, the more room our own stories have for empathy and compassion. The world really needs that right now, people listening to each other's stories and having a place for their own stories to be heard. I'm looking forward to developing a company whose mission is community based and focuses on social activism. And what a way to launch this journey, and this female focused season, by restoring a brilliant woman's voice that never should have been thrown to the historical sidelines."

HALEY RICE (Playwright) hails from Nashville, TN. She graduated from the New York Film Academy's Musical Theatre Conservatory and has a BA in vocal performance from the University of South Carolina. She also studied extensively at the Matthew Corozine Studio and is a better artist for it. She is honored to be able to share Lou's story. This is her first play.

Kate Moore HEANEY (Director) is a director, producer, playwright and dramaturg committed to promoting empathy and investigating social, political, and human rights issues through theatre. Kate is a Resident Director at The Flea, Associate Artistic Producer at Noor Theatre, and a Shakespeare Society Ambassador. She has directed and developed new work at The Flea, Fundamental Theatre Project, The Director's Gathering Jam, Midtown International Theatre Festival, The Secret Theatre, The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, TinyRhino, Rising Sun Performance Company, and Playwrights at the Grand. She has worked, trained, and/or assistant directed at McCarter Theatre (2014-15 Directing/Producing Assistant), Second Stage, Clubbed Thumb, CRY HAVOC, Tale Institute for Music Theatre, and the Théâtre du Châtelet. BA: Yale University. www.katemooreheaney.com

THEATRE 4THE PEOPLE thrives on the development and creation of authentic, original, courageous theatre that speaks to all walks of life. By focusing on the integration of creative expression with social activism, we are committed to fostering a world where the relationship between artist and community is seamless. We believe that theatre is meant to be for all people and giving back to the community is our core intention. We are committed to providing a platform for minority, women, LGBTQ, and other marginalized voices. By examining both the past and present, Theatre 4the People is dedicated to developing artists and producing work that represents the current cultural climate as well as the inclusive societal norms we hope to witness in the future. www.theatre4thepeople.com

In alignment with Theatre 4the People's mission to use art as social activism, they will be donating a portion of the box office to Preemptive Love Coalition, an organization that gives education to at-risk children, assists with peacemaking in conflict-zones as well as counsel to policymakers in Washington D.C., London, Baghdad and beyond. www.preemptivelove.org

To post a comment, you must register and login.