hotINK at the Lark Features DEBACLES, ALPENVORLAND and LOS ASESINOS, May-June 2014

hotINK at the Lark is proud to present three play readings, written by playwrights who hail from outside of the United States: DEBACLES by Marion Aubert (France), translated by Kimberly Jannarone and Erik Butler; ALPENVORLAND by Thomas Arzt (Austria), translated by Neil Blackadder; LOS ASESINOS by David Olguín (Mexico), translated by Daniel Jáquez.

"We started with translators that we know and love and asked them to choose playwrights that they know and love, and to then choose plays that excite both of them," said Lark's Director of Offsite Programs and Partnerships Lisa Rothe. "How often do we get to see the world from other perspectives than our own? We're bringing artists together from the U.S. and abroad to meet, play, and collaborate... I find this kind of cross-cultural pollination immensely exciting!"

In preparation for the public readings, each play will be given approximately 20 hours of workshop/rehearsal time at the Lark during the course of a week. The plays will receive roundtable readings and sessions dedicated to translation refinement in which playwrights and translators will meet one-on-one and work with a distinguished director and actors from the New York theater community.

"There is some hesitation on the part of U.S. theaters and audiences when it comes to presenting and attending plays in translation," said hotINK Program Director Catherine Coray. "I have a passion for demystifying the translation process and illuminating the value of experiencing work that originated in another idiom."

In an effort to deepen the relationships with writers, Coray and Rothe established a plan to alternate between an "open access" selection process (the historical format of the festival) and a curated process, in which a committee selects three to four translators and writers, all of whom have participated in hotINK or other Lark programs.

"In years past, we have had an open submission policy for playwrights who have plays that have already been translated into English, and we will return to this format every three years," said Rothe. "But for the next two years, we are curating a program starting with translators with whom we have a strong relationship, and we will work on plays that have yet to be translated."

Today, May 31st, the Lark, in collaboration with the PEN American Center, will host a panel on translation: Translating the Spoken Word: a Proper Challenge. Moderated by Judith Miller, author of Ariane Mnouchkine, the panel event will showcase excerpts of other works from the three participating playwrights. In an effort to bring attention to the challenges of theatrical translation, two translators will have translated each excerpt, and actors will read the excerpts aloud, followed by a conversation prompted by the different interpretations. Participants will include Claudia Case, Margaret Carson, Mariana Carreño-King, Tess Lewis, and Susan Bernofsky, Chair of the PEN American Center Translation Committee.

"Take all the complexities of translating for the page and compound them with the additional demand that each line be able to come to life when spoken aloud - sounds like a proper challenge!" said Bernofsky.

The public readings and panel are free and will be open to the public. Reservations will open Sunday, April 27th. Visit www.larktheatre.org for more information.

ABOUT hotINK AT THE LARK: hotINK began at the Tisch School of the Arts in 2002, and has been part of the Lark Play Development Center since 2011. Over the years, major support for hotINK at the Lark has been provided by Wendy van den Heuvel (W Foundation), Haley Joel Osment, James Roday and Daryl Roth. Since its inception, hotINK at the Lark has been curated by Catherine Coray, who has served on the acting faculty of the Tisch School of the Arts Experimental Theatre Wing since 1991. She now teaches part of the year at NYU Abu Dhabi, and collaborates with artists from around the globe as director, actor, teacher and curator.

hotINK has introduced New York audiences to plays from over 50 countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile,Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guadaloupe, Ireland, Japan, Libya, Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, The Netherlands, the U.K., the U.S. and Wales. Readings are attended by fellow playwrights, literary managers, producers, artistic directors, translators, dramaturgs, scholars, journalists, educators, students and New York theatre audiences.

THE 2014 hotINK PLAYS AND EVENTS

Saturday, May 31st @ 7PM
Translating the Spoken Word: a Proper Challenge, moderated by Judith Miller. Participants will include Claudia Case, Margaret Carson, Mariana Carreño-King, Tess Lewis, and Susan Bernofsky, Chair of the PEN American Center Translation Committee.

Monday, June 2nd @ 3PM
ALPENVORLAND by Thomas Arzt; translated by Neil Blackadder (AUSTRIA): A group of friends gets together for a barbecue back home. Hannes and Heidi, who invited the others, have something to celebrate: they've bought a plot of the countryside they all grew up in and are going to build a house there. Nostalgic feelings arise, but before the first bratwurst has even been eaten, old rivalries also come to the surface. And instead of finishing with dessert, the barbecue ends with a cake-fight. In later scenes, once Hannes and Heidi have split up, it's not just a question of whether the friendships among the group can withstand crises, but also how, among the choices of studying, pursuing a career, and having a family, each of the individuals will find a new place.

Monday, June 2nd @ 7PM
DEBACLES by Marion Aubert; translated by Kimberly Jannarone and Erik Butler (FRANCE): In DEBACLES, matters of real gravity-French resistance efforts during the Second World War- unfold in scenes that would be unbearably sad if anyone could see things for what they really are. Instead, events are strangely funny. Borne aloft by dreams and delusions about their role in history, Aubert's characters-who are realistically sketched precisely because they are so cartoonish-alternately talk right past each other and rush headlong into disaster. When tragedy and farce coincide, mankind's saving grace is oblivion. Evil may be banal, but goodness is stupid-and so, just maybe, it will ultimately prevail.

Tuesday, June 3rd @ 7PM
LOS ASESINOS by David Olguín; translated by Daniel Jáquez (MEXICO): A seemingly post-apocalyptic story of sicarios: the low-level assassins contracted by drug lords, drug traffickers and the sundry purveyors of violence that surround them. The drama takes place in a region devoid of time; a space that transcends all that is temporal and that which has been consumed by fear; a place where ashes are inhaled and a dense dust obscures the horizon; a devastated place full of trash, scraps and remains. The story starts in a mass grave from which these assassins bubble up to fulfill their destiny: becoming victims of their own violence. This group of specters, however, shows us that between their absurd and fleeting existence, they, like other human beings, live, dream, laugh, and fall in love.

PLAYWRIGHT BIOS

Thomas Arzt grew up in a small village in upper Austria. He moved to Vienna to study theater history, and began writing poems and short dramas inspired by the Austrian dialect and the tradition of folk comedy. In 2011, he was awarded the Hans-Gratzer-Grant for his first play, GRILLENPARZ, which was subsequently premiered at Vienna's Schauspielhaus, where he was writer in residence for 2010-11. Besides holding a degree in Theater Studies from the University of Vienna, Arzt also attended the University of Television and Film in Munich, Germany. Arzt is the recipient of Vienna's Playwright Grant, as well as the Thomas-Bernhard-Grant from the city of Linz. ALPENVORLAND, his second play, was awarded the Authors' Prize at the 2012 Heidelberger Stückemarkt, and during 2013 was staged in Linz and Heidelberg.

Marion Aubert wrote her first play, PETITE PIÈCE MÉDICAMENT, in 1996, while training as an actor at the Montpellier Conservatory. This play was staged the following year, when she founded the Tire pas la Nappe Company with Marion Guerrero and Capucine Ducastelle. Since that time, all of her plays have been staged, most often by her company, and most often directed by Marion Guerrero. The majority of these plays are edited by Actes Sud-Papiers. Marion's work has been commissioned by outside companies, directors or choreographer, including the Comédie Française, The Rond-Point Theater in Paris, the National Theatre Centre in Vire, Am Stram Gram Theater in Geneve, le Théâtre du Peuple de Bussang, Philippe Goudard, Guillaume Delaveau, Babette Masson, Matthieu Cruciani, Marion Levy. Her plays have been translated into German, English, Italian, Czech and Catalan. She has been a playwright in residence at the Chartreuse in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, the Francophone Theatre Festival in Limousin, the Théâtre de la Tête Noire in Saran (Orléans), the Saint-Herblain Library (Nantes), and the Royal Court in London. Recent works include DÉBÂCLES, UNE PIÈCE FRANÇAISE; LA NOUVELLE; ESSAI SUR LE DÉSORDRE ENTRE GÉNÉRATION; and RENDEZ-VOUS, TENTATIVES DE DÉTOURNEMENTS D'UN QUARTIER MONTPELLIÉRAIN. Marion Aubert is on the reading committee at the Rond-Point Theatre in Paris, a member of the writing department at ENSATT and founding member of the Playwrights' Cooperative, initiated by Fabrice Melquiot. She is writer in residence at the Théâtre Jacques Cœur in Lattes and at the Scènes du Jura, a National Theatre Centre in Lons-le-Saunier. Marion Aubert is also an actress. She has performed in several plays, including several of her own pieces, but has also acted in works by de Musset, by Ionesco, by Copi and by Lagarce.

David Olguín studied acting in the University Theatre Center (CUT) and stage direction with Ludwik Margules. He received a M.A. in Theatre Studies from the University of London. In 2001, his play BELICE was awarded the National Prize and has since been published and staged in several languages. His most recent works include: SIBERIA (awarded in Spain), CASANOVA OR BRIEFNESS, THE TONGUE OF THE DEAD, THE FOOLS (National Communication Prize Pagés Llergo, 2010). Olguín is a recipient of the Juan Ruiz de Alarcón Prize. He wrote DESPERTAR AL SUEÑO, an opera for the music of Federico Ibarra. Recently he directed UNCLE VANIA by Chekhov and his play THE REBELS (LOS CONJURADOS). Olguín is a member of El Milagro, a theatre company home to Ediciones El Milagro, the main publisher of contemporary theatre books in Mexico.

ABOUT LARK PLAY DEVELOPMENT CENTER: The Lark Play Development Center, now in its 20th year, is a laboratory for new voices and new ideas, providing playwrights with resources to develop their work, nurturing artists at all stages in their careers, and inviting them to express themselves freely in a supportive and rigorous environment. The Lark reaches across international and cultural boundaries to seek out and embrace unheard voices and diverse perspectives, celebrating differences in language and worldviews. By placing authors at the center of the creative process, and giving them the tools they need to succeed financially and professionally, Lark's goal is to empower them to tell their stories and reflect the world back to us in unique and important ways. Lark's focus is on maintaining a laboratory where talent is rewarded, diversity abounds, and everyone's idea is worthy of consideration.

In April 2012, the Lark opened a new 10,000 square foot custom-designed, play-creation studio in New York City's theater district. As part of its growth over the last few years, the Lark has created a portfolio of major playwriting fellowships that provide economic flexibility to writers at different stages of their careers including the PONY Fellowship. Last year, Lark served 1103 artists, including 193 playwrights; partnered with over three dozen theaters and universities; welcomed 3,886 audience members to 51 public presentations and had 63 Lark-developed plays move on to 95 productions around the world. Lark has supported numerous projects serving a diversity of communities, such as a touring residency program for Roma youth in Eastern Europe, an annual U.S.-Mexico Playwright Exchange and, in partnership with Signature Theatre, a Contemporary Chinese Playwriting Series. Recent plays substantially developed at the Lark include Dominique Morisseau's Detroit '67, David Henry Hwang's Chinglish, Mona Mansour's The Way West, Katori Hall's The Mountaintop and Rajiv Joseph's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. The Lark is led by its co-founder and Artistic Director John Clinton Eisner and Managing Director Michael Robertson. For more information about the Lark Play Development Center, visit: www.larktheatre.org.

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