General Mischief Dance Theatre to Present RASCALS WITH ALTITUDE, 4/25-5/4

General Mischief Dance Theatre presents its spring performance, Rascals with Altitude. Performances will take place from April 25 - May 4 at The Connelly Theatre, 220 East 4th Street, NYC. Tickets are $20 in advance for general admission ($25 at the door, $15 for students and seniors, $10 to children ten and under) and are available through Artful.ly or by calling (212) 714-4694. Performances: Friday, April 25 at 8pm; Saturday, April 26 at 8pm; Sunday, April 27 at 5pm; Friday, May 2 at 8pm; Saturday, May 3 at 3pm and 8pm; Sunday, May 4 at 3pm. Appropriate for ages 4 and up.

General Mischief Dance Theatre is dedicated to reinforcing the power that joy and laughter have in communicating ideas. The company's mission is to create and present theatrical dance works that engage audiences emotionally, socially, and kinesthetically. Combining aerial work with more earthbound forms of movement, the company removes spatial and physical limits from theatrical dance.

Suite Shel, a one-act suite of dances inspired by the poems of Shel Silverstein, choreographed by Celine Rosenthal, Pushpanjali Sharma, and Emily Smyth Vartanian

Duel, an interactive bungee duet, choreographed by Emily Smyth Vartanian

Duel is a face-off between rival baseball fans (Yankees v. Red Sox). They appear to have made peace by the time flying balls are added to the equation, but the very end of the dance calls that notion into question.

Buzz, choreographed by Emily Smyth Vartanian

Buzz is a multi-part, caffeinated cityscape of a dance. It shows the dancers slowly waking up in the morning, then features them interacting with various objects typical to the morning commute - coffee cups, books, and cell phones - as well as each other. The majority of the time, they pass each other by, unnoticed, but as the piece goes on they begin to connect with each other. The next section, lit only by the dancers' cell phones, takes place late at night and shows the dancers "connected" electronically, but not connected to the individuals they are supposedly spending time with.

This production will feature performers Jane Abbott, Dare Harlow, Gautam Nima, Pushpanjali Sharma, Andrea Steiner, and Emily Smyth Vartanian, with direction by Celine Rosenthal, and music from Grammy winning Ozomatli, Led Zepagain, and composer Lizzie Hagstedt.

Celine Rosenthal is an alumae of NYU Tisch and Founder of the Neela Theatre Project in Mumbai. She is currently an MFA Directing Candidate at the New School for Drama. Selected Credits - Director: Rose Petals (NYMF), The Post Office (Bank St), Hitgirls: The Musical (Manhattan Theater Source), The Weird (Manhattan Theater Source), Hapless Romance (Wings Theater). Producer: The Glass Menagerie (Booth), Seminar (John Golden), Leap of Faith* (St. James), The Spitfire Grill (The Sage), Turn of the Screw (Bank St). *Tony-nominated

Lizzie Hagstedt is a new member of the BMI Lehman Engel Advanced Musical Theatre Workshop. This past summer she saw a reading of her musical "Rose Petals" at the NYMF just one week after her musical Oneida was heard at the VOX Festival at Dartmouth College. Other current projects include musicalizing the YA novel Camo Girl and participating as one of the featured writers in Prospect Theater Company's Musical Theatre Lab this spring. An avid performer & member of Actors' Equity, credits include the new musical Southern Comfort at Barrington Stage Company, the NAMT, & CAP21 as well as the national tour of "Sweeney Todd". www.lizziehagstedt.com