Winsome Brown's HIT THE BODY ALARM Opens Tonight at The Performing Garage

Winsome Brown, the actress and writer who enjoyed considerable success with her solo play THIS IS Mary Brown at La MaMa last year, returns to the stage with her newest work, HIT THE BODY ALARM, presented by The Performing Garage (33 Wooster St.). The solo play's official opening night is tonight, September 22. Directed by Brad Rouse and Winsome Brown, HIT THE BODY ALARM is scheduled to run through October 2, 2016.

Created and performed by Winsome Brown, HIT THE BODY ALARM is a solo performance event that blends the classic texts of John Milton's LOST PARADISE and James Joyce with new, material that reflects the world we live in today by Ms. Brown and Mr. Rouse. The score is by John Zorn.

The combination results in four tales of imprisoned souls on the brink of the abyss:

-- Satan after he has fallen from Heaven

-- Eve before she eats the fruit

-- a struggling actress so determined to end her own life without a trace that she commits infanticide

-- and the title piece, a chilling tale about the failures of our penal system

"Hit the body alarm" is a prison slang for how a guard responds when a prisoner falls to the ground. In the quartet of tales in HIT THE BODY ALARM, each central character is a body in crisis.

These four tales are bound together by Sean Hagerty's sound design, in which live sampling of voices creates a strange and beautiful soundscape of lost souls. Recorded music by John Zorn completes the sonic universe of the play, with lighting design by Michael O'Connor.

According to Ms. Brown, she undertook the project to debut specifically during this election year: "As the United States stands on the brink of a major election, HIT THE BODY ALARM explores the irrevocable decisions we make as human individuals, and the permanent consequences they bring."

Winsome Brown is a writer, director, and Obie-award winning performer. Her most recent play THIS IS Mary Brown - about her iconoclastic and wickedly funny Irish immigrant mother -- played in NY at LaMaMa last year, and travelled to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Ms. Brown has also performed in THE BURIAL AT THEBES at Irish Rep, and played Hillary Clinton in the opera WOMEN: THE WAR WITHIN at Baryshnikov Arts Center.

The Performing Garage Presents is The Wooster Group's artist-in-residence program. It is supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

HIT THE BODY ALARM

Created & performed by Winsome Brown; Directed by Winsome Brown and Brad Rouse

Recorded Music by John Zorn; Sound design by Sean Hagerty

Begins September 20- October 2, 2016; Opening night is September 22

The Performing Garage is located at 33 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10013

Playing schedule: Shows Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30 pm; Sunday at 3:00 pm

Tickets are $18 and can be purchased by visiting ThePerformingGarage.com.

For more information, visit winsomebrown.com.

WHO'S WHO:

Winsome Brown (Performer/ Creator/ Co-Director/ Writer) is a writer, director, and Obie-award winning performer. Her most recent play THIS IS Mary Brown (LaMaMa/ Edinburgh) was called "Lovely, poignant, honest," by the New York Times and "warm & funny, beautiful... inspiring," by The Scotsman. Recent work: THE BURIAL AT THEBES (Irish Rep) Hillary Clinton in Du Yun and Paul Warner's Opera WOMEN: THE WAR WITHIN at Baryshnikov Arts Center; Irina Brook's LA VIE MATERIELLE; international tour of Jay Scheib's WORLD OF WIRES (Festival d'Automne, Paris). André Gregory & Wallace Shawn's THE MASTER BUILDER and the film dir. by Jonathan Demme. Film directing: THE VIOLINIST (2011). Marc Ribot is currently touring with a live score for SHADOWS CHOOSE THEIR HORRORS, a film Winsome stars in and co-wrote with director Jennifer Reeves. Stage directing: THE LOST VICTROLA SESSIONS (Hudson Opera House).Stage: TALE OF 2CITIES UCLALive/ PS122 (OBIE); In Los Angeles, TAKING SIDES (Odyssey) & WELCOME TO WINSOMELAND (Tamarind). American Living Room Series (HERE), BLUEPRINT SERIES (Ontological-Hysteric), MONOLOGUES IN STEREO (Issue Project/ John Jay). Film: HEIGHTS (Merchant Ivory, dir. Chris Terrio, Seattle Weeklytwo-minute Oscar), NIGHTFALL with David Carradine. Winsome just wrote and starred in a short film with director Harry Sinclair called EVERYTHING I KNOW ABOUT LOVE.

Brad Rouse (Co-Director/ Writer) has directed plays and musicals at The Public Theater in New York City, City Center Encores!, the Ahmanson Theater, Hartford Stage, Juilliard, City Theater in Pittsburgh, and NYU. Last season he directed Winsome Brown's THIS IS Mary Brown at La Mama and the Edinburgh Fringe. He received an award from the Connecticut Critics Circle for his production of HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH (starring Anthony Rapp) and was nominated as Best Director in Los Angeles and Philadelphia for THE MICE by Julia Jordan, Nell Benjamin and Laurence O'Keefe (choreographed by Rob Ashford.) His production of Billy Porter's GHETTO SUPERSTAR was nominated for a Drama League and GLAAD media award. Brad's work has been featured on CBS's 60 Minutes II and NPR's All Things Considered. As a writer, his work has been seen at the York Theatre Company, Issue Project Room, John Jay College, and the Cornelia Street Café.

Sean Hagerty (Sound Design, live electronics) is a Sound Designer, violinist, and composer best known for his original music for THEN SHE FELL (Bessie Award), THE GRAND PARADISE, and the off-Broadway revival of AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. This marks his second collaboration with Winsome Brown, along with the multi-media production of THE LOST VICTROLA SESSIONS.

Michael O'Connor (Lighting Design) has designed over five hundred productions across the globe. He has extensive experience in Theater, Dance, Concerts, and Events. He was the lighting designer for Winsome Browns THIS IS Mary Brown at La MaMa in 2015. Outside New York, his work has been seen in L.A., Las Vegas, and Orlando, as well as numerous other cities. Michael is the resident Lighting Designer for The American Academy of Dramatic Arts NYC and the New Light Theater Project. He has also been the Lighting Supervisor for Tere O'Connor Dance since 1997.

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