Transatlantica Panel Discussion Held on Art, Comedy and the Denial of Death 10/3

Psychiatrist, Dr. Heather Lewerenz M.D. and Playwright Kenny Finkle will participate in a panel discussion on Art, Comedy and the Denial of Death, for members of the Death Care industry after a special performance of Finkle's comedy play Transatlantica.

The performance and discussion are open to the public. General Admission is $18. Members of the Death-Care industry receive discounted admission by contacting producer Dori Ann Scagnelli.

WHEN: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 3rd, 2:30 PM

WHERE: Fourth Street Theatre, 83 East 4th Street, East Village

MORE: Dr Heather Lewerenz M.D. is a licensed psychiatrist with a private practice in New York City; formerly an attending physician and associate director of the psychiatric emergency room at Bellevue Hospital; as well as former chief resident at Beth Israel Medical Center. She holds a degree from the University of Kansas Medical Center.

Kenny Finkle (playwright) is the author of Alive and Well, which had its world premiere this year at The Old Globe in San Diego. His play Indoor/Outdoor was produced off-Broadway by Daryl Roth. Penelope, of Ithaca, produced by the Hangar Theatre in July, was recipient of a New York State Council on the Arts grant. His work has been seen at Playwrights Horizons, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Portland Stage and the Atlantic Theatre Company, among others. He has received commissions from Ford's Theatre, Virginia Stage Company and Theatreworks USA. He is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship and the University of Illinois' Inner Voices prize. He is a graduate of Columbia University's MFA Playwriting program and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Transatlantica, is Finkle's comedic fable about the denial of death; Directed by Jason Schuler; and featuring Anna Foss Wilson of The Donkey Show.

Transatlantica tells the story of Dr. Reginald Reinhold, whose psychoanalytic session with an eccentric patient Ilyria (of the land of Ilyria), is interrupted by his wife, and news that she is dying. By coincidence, Ilyria, too, is dying, as is every subsequent visitor to his home - a parade of increasingly eccentric guests. With death dancing at every door, Dr. Reinhold is forced to confront his own peculiar relationship with mortality. The setting is the parlor of Dr. Reinhold's mansion (festooned with mythical taxidermy and curious artifacts) on the shores of the fantastic continent of Transatlantica, a topsy-turvy world where gardens are planted with cake and lovers grow into trees.

The Operating Theater's past productions include: The Garden of Forked Tongues ("Best of the Best of 2009: The Year According to Papermag"), Van Driver (Two runs at Cherry Lane's Cherry Pit Late Night), The Present Perfect (2007 NYIT Award: Excellence in Lighting Design, Peter Hoerburger; Nominee: Excellence in Set Design).

Transatlantica will run at the Fourth Street Theatre, 83 East Fourth Street, New York, NY 10003. Press Preview is September 30 at 7:30 PM. Performances run Oct 1-17 Thurs-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2:30pm. Tickets are $18. For general reservations visit www.WhereisTransatlantica.com or call 800-838-3006.

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