Bristol Riverside Theatre To Present Fred Curchack 9/5

Bristol Riverside Theatre is thrilled to kick off its Bridges Informance Series with renowned solo theatre artist Fred Curchack on Friday, September 5th.  Curchack will share some of his inventive one man adaptations of Shakespeare's work as BRT gears up for the February 2009 World Premiere of What You Will, a BRT original urban theatre adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night.  The event begins at 7:30 p.m. at Bristol Riverside Theatre, located at 120 Radcliffe Street in Bristol.  Tickets are $15 for adults or $10 for students and are available by calling the BRT Box Office at (215) 785-0100 or online at www.BRTstage.org.

Curchack has been called "brilliant", "a virtuoso man of the theatre," and "a genius," for his spellbinding solo performances. A Guggenheim Fellow and Gold Medalist at the International Festival of Solo Theatre, he has been featured at dozens of international theatre festivals around the world.

Curchack has created seventy original theatre pieces (forty-four ensemble works and twenty-six solos). He has received the American Theatre Wing Award, Critics' Awards in L.A., San Francisco, Dallas, Austin, and his work has been "Top ten of the year" in The New York Times, "Best of the week" in the L.A. Times, "Top ten of the decade" in the Austin Chronicle, and the "Top ten of all-time" in The Dallas Morning News. His work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts International, The Henson Foundation and Creative Capital.

After receiving a drama degree from the High School of Performing Arts in N.Y., and a BA and MA in Theater from Queens College, Curchack studied Indian Kathakali, Japanese Noh, Balinese Topeng, choreography with Alwyn Nikolais, and he trained with Grotowski's Polish Theater Lab.  He has taught theatre at the United Nations International School, N.Y.; Sonoma State University, California; and he is currently Professor of Art and Performance at The University of Texas at Dallas.

To illuminate the unique concept of What You Will, BRT presents the Bridges Informance Series bringing nationally renowned theatre artists to Philadelphia area.  Part-performance, part-discussion each event will challenge and inspire audiences' ideas of theatre today.

Upcoming informances include Puerto-Rican born actor/writer/director Ted Castellanos (October 17) whose work fuses world cultures, religion and music; New York-based award-winning actor, rapper, playwright, and educator Will Power (December 5), a pioneer of hip-hop theatre; and Donald Byrd's Spectrum Dance Theatre (January 9) who will present an evening of dance on the BRT stage.

A daring and bold take on Shakespeare's classic comedy Twelfth Night, What You Will premieres on February 10 and runs through March 1, 2009.  This new adaptation is created by BRT Artistic Director Keith Baker and collaborator Donald Byrd, acclaimed choreographer of Broadway's The Color Purple and Artistic Director of Seattle's Spectrum Dance Theatre.  Shakespeare's original language is heard with a distinctively contemporary American voice as the worlds of modern urban and classical theatre are fused. Music by composer and hip hop producer Justin Ellington completes the marriage of text, high-energy movement and heart-pounding music.  Ellington also composed music for Will Power's acclaimed The Seven and is a member of the multi-platinum production company Bangladesh which has created songs for artists such as Ciara, Kelis, Marsha (Floetry), Lil Wayne and Ludacris.

The Bridges Informance Series has been supported by a grant from the Marketing Innovation Program, a program of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, and administered by The University of the Arts, Philadelphia.

What You Will has been supported by a grant from the Philadelphia Theatre Initiative with additional support from the Marketing Innovation Program, both programs of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, and administered by The University of the Arts, Philadelphia.

To post a comment, you must register and login.