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THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY'S DREAM UP FESTIVAL TO PRESENT "REVOLUTIONARY" BY PRASAD PAUL DUFFY AND THEO GRACE. WHERE
AND WHEN NEW YORK -- "REVOLUTIONARY" is a futuristic musical about young, homeless musicians who become entangled in a revolution against fascism. Written and directed by Prasad Paul Duffy, with music and lyrics by Theo Grace, it is set in and around a graffiti filled apocalyptic version of Washington Square Park. Theater for the New City's tenth Dream Up Festival will present the piece's New York premiere run September 9 to September 15. The musical takes place in a near future where homelessness, drug abuse and prostitution are running rampant, the government requires citizens to have a computer chip planted in their arm, and those who don’t are subject to arrest by Robo Cops. Gabriel is a talented musician longing to live off the grid. After an encounter with a Robo Cop who tickets him for playing guitar without a chip, Gabriel meets a group of homeless people who have also been living without a chip. Wolf is a former police officer before the invention of the Robo Cops. Bethany is a meth-addicted sex worker under control of her abusive pimp. Jedi is a runaway who has the most proficient street skills out of everyone else. Maya is a drag queen psychic and mentor to Jedi. After Maya is taken to a FEMA camp for speaking out to a Robo Cop, Bethany brings the group to the Source Center, a sanctuary for the homeless preparing for the revolution. While there, they become entangled in an underground revolution to help fight the encroaching fascism. As part of their indoctrination into the movement, they undergo a series of trainings and initiations that empower them to become spiritual rebels. They are guided by the charismatic leaders of The Source Center, who help the homeless youth, heal their addictions and activate them to Fifth Dimensional Consciousness through meditation, therapy and Ayahuasca ceremony. Their lives are forever changed and in their new found freedom, some of them enter into romantic relationships with people they never have thought they would. Together they all become the personification of the evolution of revolution, as they shift into a new paradigm here on Earth. The actors are Zack Triska as Gabriel, Ramsay Pack as Wolf, Henry Nwaru as Jedi, Izabel Dorst as Bethany, Kurt Bantilan as Maya and Sean Katz as the Robo Cop. The ensemble also includes Seth Hale, Amanda Shy and Keivon Akbari. Choreography is by Leava Hall. Costume design is by Jennifer Anderson. Set design is by Sean Day Michael. Prasad Paul Duffy is playwright, director, author and filmmaker A graduate of NYU Film and Drama School in 1981, he wrote and directed his first short film, "Me and Max," about a child’s first day at a new school, which he sold to HBO. A few years later he wrote and directed "St. Mark's Place" (1985), an immersive play about homeless people on the Lower East Side. He has directed productions of "Bullpen" by Dennis Watlington starring Gian Carlo Esposito and Wendell Pierce, “When the Chickens Come Home to Roost," a play about Malcom X by Laurence Holder, "Whores of Heaven," based on The Mandrake" by Machiavelli, Paul Zindel’s "And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little" by Paul Zindel and "Tea and Sympathy" by Robert Anderson. His other plays inclyude "Joe's Paradise," a female-empowerment comedy about pole dancers, and "The Alchemy Hour," a drama about a bisexual man who has an affair with his girlfriend’s son. Duffy has also written a dozen feature length screenplays. He wrote and directed the short films "Desperate Hippies" (2005) a stoner comedy, and "Back from Iraq" (2008), about a wounded soldier in a VA hospital. He wrote and directed the TV pilot "Deprogrammed" (2016), a comedy about a rehab for religious fanatics. Composer Theo Grace is a Canadian born singer, songwriter, and producer now living in Portland, OR. He is one-half of the musical duo Entheo, whose performances include improvisation, ritual theater, and comedic play with spiritual stereotypes. Grace is also a member of the improvisational oracular music group Onedoorland. Choreographer Leava Hall has worked with Prasad Paul Duffy in the early 80’s, when she had a performance art company called Dance Hall. She choreographed, directed and produced numerous shows between 1982 and 1992. She has directed music videos for MTV and worked with playwright Israel Horovitz. She has taught at NYU Tisch, Coles Sports Center and The Lee Strasburg Institute. At SAB and American Ballet, she has trained young dancers with injuries and without. Many of her students dance with the companies today. She also teaches Pilates. ABOUT
THE DREAMUP FESTIVAL The festival does not seek out traditional scripts that are presented in a traditional way. It selects works that push new ideas to the forefront, challenge audience expectations and make us question our understanding of how art illuminates the world around us. In addition to traditional plays, a unique and varied selection of productions will again be offered, drawing upon a variety of performance genres including musicals and movement theater. The Festival's founders, Crystal Field and Michael Scott-Price, feel this is especially needed in our present time of declining donations to the arts, grants not being awarded due to market conditions, and arts funding cuts on almost every level across the country and abroad. # # #
Captioned, high-resolution photos of shows in this festival are available for download at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/8TM5hCWLmZbKzV4p9 The festival's website is www.dreamupfestival.org |