Blessed Unrest

The Snow Queen

Photo by Maria Baranova

A courageous girl embarks on a quest to rescue her friend from a frozen and unfeeling world. Fearless physicality and magical transformations illuminate the wild lands and creatures of Andersen’s beloved story of the power of determination and compassion.

Developed in New Victory LabWorks, a residency with one of the leading presenters of family theatre in the country, The Snow Queen is the dynamic fusion of Blessed Unrest’s aesthetic with a fairy tale that will thrill adults and kids alike.

“…An epic adventure performed in 80 minutes by 6 performers who seem like a cast of thousands… strong text, compelling characters, exciting movement, lucid direction, and clever small-scale spectacle provide a great theatrical experience. Even on the coldest day, The Snow Queen will warm your heart.”

“The Snow Queen magically comes to life through dance, creative staging, and a spectacular cast. But this is not your typical production… a very imaginative journey that could only be seen on a downtown stage.”

“A delightful balance of comedy, adventure, and just a tinge of melancholy… an allegory about loss, grief, and the frightening aspects of love, whether for a friend, family member, or sapiosexual princess.

“Mostly, though, The Snow Queen is a lot of fun: energetic and funny, family friendly but not sentimental, with eye-catchingly creative costuming and some great movement work… The Snow Queen will melt even the most frozen of hearts this cold winter season.”

• Featuring
  Rich Brown, Todd Grace, Tatyana Kot, Zach Libresco, Nancy McArthur, Celli Pitt, Joshua Wynter
• Scenic Design
  Samuel Vawter
• Costume Design
  Sydney Maresca
• Lighting Design
  Jay Ryan
• Sound Design
  Beth Lake
• Production Stage Manager
  Darielle Shandler
• Assistant Director
  Ben Peterson
• Publicist
  PR-ism, Kamila Slawinski & Ivan Talijančić

Platonov
or A Play with No Name

Photo by Maria Baranova

• February 17 – March 11, 2018
• The New Ohio Theatre
  154 Christopher Street, NYC
• Translated and adapted by Laura Wickens
  from the play by Anton Chekhov
• Directed by
  Jessica Burr

A man of status with questionable sexual ethics runs rampage. A society fixated on the chaos of the moment ignores their collapsing economic system. A culture of open gun possession leads to rash and deadly consequences. Laura Wickens’s focused, raw, and riotous adaptation rips the heart out of Anton Chekhov’s scandalous first play, with six actors delivering all the intensity of the five-hour classic in 90 minutes.

“This is a gutsy, high-velocity production that resonates with both the age of the author and our own, whether the subject is gender, guns, class, or the desire for meaning, which is perennial.”

“…the striking physicality of much of the acting, and the overlapping and interruptions in the delivery of the dialogue all work with the space itself to create a captivating immediacy. This crisply directed production tosses the audience in in medias res and sweeps it along, the overlapping dialogue reflecting the web of the characters’ entanglements, and the continuous action is itself Shakespearean in its unbroken flow across a bare stage… the entire cast does magnificent work.

“In a city where one can’t swing an actor-waiter without hitting an adaptation of The Cherry Orchard, Blessed Unrest’s Platonov brings familiar Chekhovian themes to refreshingly new life.”

“Sensationally presented and vividly performed…. Rampant silliness collides with requisite melancholy in the spirited Anton Chekhov adaptation…. Laura Wickens&resquo; treatment is a faithfully sly condensation…. It all works due to the sensational presentation that’s performed in the round. Director Jessica Burr’s fast-paced yet thoughtful staging includes over-lapping dialogue, rapid entrances and exits all over the space and striking visual flourishes. Ms. Burr’s tremendous grasp of stagecraft markedly benefits the play…. The performances are uniformly delightful.”

• Featuring
  Irina Abraham, Ashley N. Hildreth, Javon Q. Minter,
  Becca Schneider, Darrell Stokes, Taylor Valentine
  
• Production Stage Manager
  Darielle Shandler
• Set Design
  Matt Opatrny, Teddy Jefferson, Anna Alisa Belous
• Costume Design
  Sarah Thea
• Lighting Design
  Miriam Nilofa Crowe
• Sound Design
  Fan Zhang
• Dramaturg
  Jessi Blue Gormezano
• Fight Choreographer & Assistant Director
  Ben Peterson
• Publicist
  PR-ism, Kamila Slawinski & Ivan Talijančić

This Is Modern Art

Photo by Maria Baranova

Marginalized young men risk their bodies to make their voices heard, defying our assumptions about what art is and where it belongs. A crew of artists of color introduce themselves to the hallowed Art Institute of Chicago by painting a fifty-foot graffiti mural on the towering wall of the Institute’s New Modern Wing.

This Is Modern Art is based on a real event in 2010 when art became a crime. The acclaimed and controversial play ignited a fiery debate about race, privilege, and representation after being called “irresponsible” and “potentially damaging” by the Chicago Sun-Times. The mural has been blasted away, but the artists’ boundary-breaking act and the conversation it spurred are kept alive by Blessed Unrest’s dynamic staging of the play’s NYC premiere.

• Featuring
  J.Stephen Brantley, Andrew Gonzalez, Ashley N. Hildreth, Nancy McArthur, Shakur Tolliver, Landon G. Woodson
• Production Stage Manager
  Darielle Shandler
• Set Design
  Matt Opatrny
• Costume Design
  Haydee Zelideth
• Lighting Design
  Miriam Nilofa Crowe
• Sound Design
  Adrian Bridges
• Scenic Artist
  KEO XMEN
• Assistant Director
  Ben Peterson
• Publicist
  PR-ism, Kamila Slawinski & Ivan Talijancic