World Premiere of A FAMILY TREE Launches Pressure Players' Community Charity Initiative

Audiences have raved in the month since The Pressure Players' world premiere of Cris Eli Blak's A Family Tree, a 45-minute radio drama following a family dealing with what Blak said is, "growth in the times when we want to do nothing more than shrink into ourselves and disappear. It is about coming to terms with ourselves and, in turn, being forced to come to terms with where and who we come from."

"Tears welled in my eyes on multiple occasions...the most moving production that I've heard in a long time," said Founding Patron Paul Dende, "I downloaded this evening and listened not once, but twice! Holy crap, this was well done!"

With that in mind, The Pressure Players decided to pay tribute to their communities this holiday season by giving a portion of proceeds for all copies sold through the site for the month of December to a charity.

Here's how it works:

There are two radio plays currently available for $7.99 on the company website: www.thepressureplayers.com. Regardless of whether listeners apply a discount code, $1 of every copy of the radio plays will be given to an organization called One Warm Coat.

"The pandemic has been hard on everyone," said Artistic Director Danielle Kogan, "especially on the art industries and nuclear families. I want those numbers down, and I feel like that won't happen if people don't even have the resources to keep their bodies warm. So far we've raised at least $20 for the group, mostly via this world premiere which feels both surreal and exciting, but after this blizzard, it felt like the least we could do."

"I think I can speak for all Actors when I say that we look for wonderful words and characters to play; brilliant Actors to play with; Directors and Producers that care about the piece and the performers and the audience; and the opportunities to learn and grow.
I have found all of this and more with The Pressure Players. I have been honored to work with them and the aforementioned brilliant Actors, and have truly never felt safer and heard," said actor Jai Sada.

In previous coverage of A Family Tree, Pressure Players co-founder and director Greg McGovern said, "Directing A Family Tree has been one of the most memorable benchmarks of my artistic career. I was blessed with such a talented, hardworking cast and had beautiful words of Cris Blak guiding my decision making. As an actor-turned-first time director, I treated the rehearsal process as a scene study, since that is what I know...I hope that all who experience A Family Tree, do so with eyes closed and an open imagination."

"Great story, portrayed with passion and believability. Very touching...[and] true to life," said listener and NYC resident Stephen Kutoloski.

"This is a play that will connect to families, regardless of race, creed or culture. It is a universal story because it is about the things we all feel: love, pain, regret, confusion," said Blak, "we are all searching for something, and sometimes the only way to find it is to go back home, where the seed was planted. That is really what I think the essence of this piece is."

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