Astoria PAC Presents MILKMILKLEMONADE, Begins 10/28

ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER is pleased to announce the encore Off-Off Broadway engagement production of Joshua Conkel?s MILKMILKLEMONADE, directed by José Zayas. MILKMILKLEMONADE will play a limited engagement at at the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church (30-44 Crescent St, Astoria, NY 11102. Entrance on 30th Road.) Performances begin Thursday, October 28 and continue through Saturday, November 13. Opening Night is Saturday, October 30 (8 p.m.). Press nights are

Emory is an effeminate 11-year-old boy who lives on a farm with his chain smoking Nanna and his only friend, a depressed chicken about to be processed. Nanna wishes Emory would get his head out of the clouds, stop choreographing ribbon stick dance numbers, and be more like Elliot, the boy down the road with a penchant for burning things. But Emory and Elliot have a relationship -- just not one Nanna would expect or approve of. With absurd, poignant dialog and brutal characterizations, MilkMilkLemonade is a bitterly funny exploration of gender, sexuality, life, death, and the human body.

In 2009 The Management and Horse Trade Theatre Group premiered MilkMilkLemonade, directed by Isaac Butler. That production was the recipient of a 2010 IT Award for best featured actress, was nominated for four IT Awards, and was voted Best Off-Off Broadway Show in 2009 by New York Press. Since that time, productions of MilkMilkLemonade has been seen at Empire Stage Theater (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Rogue Machine Theatre (Los Angeles, CA), Impact Theatre (Berkeley, CA), Shrewd Productions (Austin, TX) and will be at Standing Room Only (Ithaca, NY) in December.

"Hilariously absurd and moving tale...A must-see."
-Broadway World

?It feels like something Edward Albee might have written for a pair of 10-year-old protagonists. Conkel's play is bitterly funny and broadly satiric.?-nytheatre.com

?Clearly the show is on to something. And that something is old-fashioned stuff like, you know, a funny and poignant play, inventive direction and ace acting. In the end theater isn't much more than this, and it shouldn't be any less.? -New York Post

?Proof of how desperately comedy needs audacity: Here, as on your average chicken farm, only the plucky survive." -Time Out NY

MILKMILKLEMONADE stars Jess Barbagallo, Nikole Beckwith, Michael Cyril Creighton* (Winner! Best Web Series for Jack In A Box at the 2010 New York Television Festival), Jennifer Harder (2010 IT Award for Best Featured Actress in The Management Company's MilkMilkLemonade), and Andy Phelan*.

The production features scenic design by Jason Simms, costume design by Sydney Maresca, and lighting design by Bruce Steinberg (2009 IT Award for Best Lighting Design for Kate McGovern's Blue Before Morning). Choreography is by Nicole Beerman, David Margolin Lawson is the sound engineer and Alex Mark* is the stage manager.

MILKMILKLEMONADE plays the following regular schedule through Saturday, November 13:

Thursdays at 8 p.m.
Fridays at 8 p.m.
Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Tickets are $18, available online at www.apacny.org or by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre Box Office, 30 minutes prior to the performance.

Directions to the theatre: Take the N or Q Subway to 30th Avenue. Walk down 30th Ave. to Crescent St. (Mount Sinai Hospital is on the corner.) Walk one block South to 30th Road.

Running time: 75 minutes

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/kampfirefilms/MilkMilkLemonade#

Website: www.apacny.org

APAC is participating in the Free Night of Theatre Program. The Free Night of Theatre program introduces people to the thrill of live theatre - absolutely free of charge! A limited number of tickets on October 29 and 30 will be made available free of charge.

BIOGRAPHIES

JOSHUA CONKEL (Playwright) is a Navy brat who spent his childhood traversing the United States before settling in rural Washington State at ten. He moved to New York in 2003 to work for playwright Craig Lucas and joined The Management, a downtown theater company for whom he now serves as Artistic Director. Joshua's plays have been performed all over the country and include The Chalk Boy, I Wanna Destroy You, The Sluts of Sutton Drive, and countless shorts. He is currently working on a graphic novel for First Second Books, an imprint of Macmillan. Conkel blogs about pop culture at his blog (http://www.tarhearted.typepad.com) Upcoming projects include a Christmas play entitled Winter in the Bathroom and a web series starring Conkel and MilkMilkLemonade vet, Nikole Beckwith. MilkMilkLemonade was named best Off Off Broadway Show of 2009 by NY Press, is published by Playscripts and is featured in the anthology Plays and Playwrights 2010. It is now enjoying productions all over the country. He dedicates this play to queer children everywhere. Keep reaching for the stars!

JOSÉ ZAYAS (Director) is the Artistic Director of the Immediate Theater Company, which he founded in 2001, and is the director of over 60 U.S. and international productions. He holds a B.A. from Harvard University and an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University. His production of The House of the Spirits by Caridad Svich at Repertorio Espanol won numerous awards including HOLA and ACE awards for Best Direction and Production, and his second production of the play recently premiered in Chile with an all star cast. He directed the third production of the script at Denver Center in September. His work has been hailed by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Village Voice, Time Out New York, El Mercurio, La Tercera and many other publications as "sublime, passionate, haunting and excellent...,? and he was most recently profiled in the magazine PODER and PAULA in Chile. Recent projects include: his adaptation of Brian Evenson's novel Father of Lies (undergroundzero festival), Southern Promises and Strom Thurmond is Not a Racist/Cleansed by Thomas Bradshaw (5 New York Innovative Theater Award Nominations), Nowhere on the Border by Carlos LaCamara (winner of multiple HOLA and ACE awards), Cartas a Una Madre by Marcelo Rodriguez (HOLA and ACE Awards), Madre (El Drama Padre) (HOLA and ACE awards), Babes In Toyland adapted by Michael Levinton and starring David Greenspan, Okay by Taylor Mac (Ensemble Studio Theater). 2007 nytheatre.com people of the year, Drama League Fellow, Lincoln Center Directors? Lab, Phil Killian Fellowship, Kenneth Frankel Fellowship, John Pasquin Fellowship, Van Lier Fellowship, Soho Rep Writer/Director's Lab, Mellon Foundation Residency. He is a participant of the 2009-2011 NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Theater Directors.

ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (APAC), a not-for-profit organization, was founded in 2001 by actress Susan Scannell (?Dynasty?). Our mission is to bring high quality theatre and entertainment to Astoria/Long Island City and to support local youth and senior citizens. We are a professional theatre company that complements a full season of award-winning mainstage programming with dedicated community programming.

In July, APAC was recognized with three IT Award Nominations for last season?s Children of Eden: Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Choreography (Christine O?Grady) and Outstanding Set Design (Michael P. Kramer). Children of Eden was the recipient of the Best Musical award at this year?s ceremony.

Each year, APAC brings extended networks of artists, technicians, and volunteers together to produce musical revivals and modern plays. Our mainstage productions have been recognized for their quality and exceptional production values. We have received fourteen New York Innovative Theatre Award nominations and two wins (Ragtime, 2009), and an Off-Off Broadway Theatre Review Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical (Is There Life After High School?, 2004). We are invested in bringing visibility to new voices in American theatre, and through our series The 15/20s: Staged Readings of New Works, we present new plays by emerging playwrights. The readings allow writers the opportunity to hear their material with the involvement of professional actors and a director, encouraging the further development of new American plays and musicals. The 15/20s are produced under the AEA Staged Reading Guidelines, which permits 15 hours of combined rehearsal and performance time for AEA actors (20 hours for musicals), hence the name ?The 15/20s?.

Our commitment to local youth and senior citizens is reflected in our annual community programming. Examples include a free annual musical theatre performance program for children ages 8-13 (Summer Stars ? 8 years running) and an after school playwriting program for middle school students (Astoria Playmaking ? 6 years running). In 2005, we launched Senior Stars, a performance program for Queens residents over the age of sixty.