The 2010–2011 Season
Workshops
Machinal
ArtCamp SexyTime FootBallWorkshops
The Storm: A Staged Reading and Soiré
- By Aleksandr Ostrovsky
- Translated and adapted by Laura Wickens
- Directed by Jessica Burr
Katrina attempts to escape her loveless marriage through forbidden and inexhaustible passion. Will she lose herself being pummeled by nature in Ostrovsky’s world of hypocrisy and righteousness? The truth will come at a dear price, and everyone gets wet. Called the most poetic of all Russian plays, The Storm is a dangerous pas de deux of romance and immorality unleashed.
- Featuring
Dave Edson, Catherine Gowl, Jason Griffin, Eunjee Lee, Sophie Nimmannit, Darrell Stokes, April Sweeney, David Townsend, Ian Wen - Stage Managed by
Jaimie Van Dyke - Lighting Design by
Michael McGee
ArtCamp SexyTime FootBall: Workshop II
- Directed and choreographed by
Jessica Burr - Featuring
Catherine Gowl, Jason Griffin, Nick Micozzi, Sophie Nimmannit, Damen Scranton, Laura Wickens - With writers
Teddy Jefferson and Matt Opatrny
A Note from the Director
We had a first workshop of ArtCamp SexyTime FootBall, beginning with only the title as source material. This might make you think we’re making a show about s’mores, smut and cheerleaders. While there is always room for those things in my plays, a very strong aesthetic and multiple story lines have been developing in a really exciting way, coming largely from the experience and collective unconscious of the cast. It is still too early to answer the "what is this really about?" question, but we are having fun creating our smutty, sweaty show and also delving into something more layered and less known.
Machinal
February 19 – March 14, 2011
In Blessed Unrest's tenth season we proudly presented the first authorized professional production in five years of Sophie Treadwell's masterful expressionist drama.
Written by Sophie Treadwell in 1928, Machinal is a powerful expressionist drama about women’s financial dependence on men, and one woman’s attempt to break free. It is a play about New York City, about claustrophobia, about the maddening banter of people going through the motions, about faith and God and the role of religion. It is about decent people craving love in a disconnected world.
The intensity of the true story along with Treadwell’s choice of language, rhythm, and scene structure, combine to create a play that is powerful, moving, and surprisingly funny. It was ahead of its time in 1928, and is remarkably relevant today. It is a play that has been neglected, and we are excited to be bringing it back to the stage in New York.
The Interart Theatre
500 West 52nd Street, NYC
(just west of 10th Avenue)
- By Sophie Treadwell
- Directed by
Damen Scranton - Damen Scranton
Jaimie Van Dyke - Design by
Rachel Gilmore & Benjamin C Tevelow - Featuring
Zenzelé Cooper
Eunjee Lee
Nurit Monacelli
Sophie Nimmannit
Celli Pitt
Darrell Stokes
Laura Wickens
Jason Winfield
What audiences said about Machinal
Interviews with the cast and director
ArtCamp SexyTime FootBall
May 5–23, 2011
Gratuitous nudity
faux intellectualism
and a parade.
This original creation, born out of the collective brilliance and humor of the ensemble, builds on over ten years of theatre making by Blessed Unrest.
The Interart Theatre
500 West 52nd Street, NYC
(just west of 10th Avenue)
- Conceived and Directed by
Jessica Burr - With text by
Teddy Jefferson, Matt Opatrny, Damen Scranton, and the ensemble - Stage Managed and Sound Edited by
Jaimie Van Dyke - Jaimie Van Dyke
Benjamin C Tevelow - Costume and Set Design by
Rachel Gilmore - Sound Design by
Damen Scranton - Created by and Featuring
Catherine Gowl
Jason Griffin
Nick Micozzi
Vaishnavi Sharma
Ian Wen
Laura Wickens
Blessed Unrest’s work is made possible by New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; SHS Foundation; Ruth and Hal Launders Charitable Trust; A.R.T./New York Creative Space Grants, supported by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; and the generosity of individual donors. Blessed Unrest is a member of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York, and the Network of Ensemble Theatres.