THE WALL and 'THE MUSE'S SONG' Set for NY Shakespeare Exchange Reading Series, 10/15-25

New York Shakespeare Exchange, producer of the internationally-acclaimed The Sonnet Project and ShakesBEER: NYC's Original Shakespearean Pub Crawl, is pleased to announce their upcoming 2 Plays. 1 Conversation Reading Series. The annual series, featuring lightly staged readings of two plays, explores the intersection of classical and contemporary theater and engages artists and audiences in an open dialogue about the place of Shakespeare in today's society.

This year's series features THE WALL by Kevin Brewer, directed by Cristina Lundy and THE MUSE'S SONG: A TALE OF TROY adapted and directed by Diana Green.

Rotating performances begin on Wednesday, October 15 for a limited engagement through Saturday, October 25. Performances are at The Access Theater Gallery (380 Broadway, at White St. - A/C/E/N/Q/R/J/Z to Canal St). The performance schedule is Muse's Song - October 15, 17, 23, & 25; The Wall - October 16, 18, 22, & 24. All performances start at 8:00PM and are followed by a post-show discussion with the artists and guest scholars. Each reading is lightly staged, with the primary focus remaining on the language and story. The regular ticket price is $18 and there is a series pass, including one ticket to each show for $25. For tickets, call Brown Paper Tickets on 1-800-838-3006 or visit www.2P1C.brownpapertickets.com. For more information, visit www.ShakespeareExchange.org.

THE WALL is a new play inspired by the myth of Pyramus and Thisbe, best known as the play-within-the-play in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Two young people meet "voice-to-voice," and grapple with the freedom and uncertainty that comes from forming a bond with someone you've never seen. In this uniquely theatrical experience the audience is divided by the same wall that separates the characters, bringing the spectators into a direct understanding of young, sometimes impetuous desire.

In THE MUSE'S SONG: A TALE OF TROY the texts of Shakespeare's Troilus & Cressida and Euripides' The Trojan Women are woven together, highlighting the stark differences between how war is viewed by soldiers and politicians from within, and how the aftermath affects those left to pick up the pieces. Shakespearean and Greek poetry meld to create a soaring tapestry of language and emotion.

THE WALL features Kelsey Didion and Erik Olson. THE MUSE'S SONG: A TALE OF TROY features Stephen Bel Davies, Bernard Bygott, Page Clements, Adam Donshik, Emmanuel Elpenord, Dakota Green, Amy Jo Jackson, Liz Kimball, Michael Lopez, Kate Lydic, Alex Seife, and Brian Vaughan,

Cristina Lundy (director - THE WALL) has worked as a director and assistant director in San Francisco (Exit Theatre), and in NYC (Studio Tisch, Columbia University, T. Schreiber Studios and 3 Roads Productions). For NYSX, Cristina directed their mainstage production of Othello, as well as Romeo & Juliet and Spring's Awakening for 2 Plays, 1 Conversation in 2013. She's also helmed many scenes for ShakesBEER, NYC's Original Shakespearean Pub Crawl. She was assistant director on both The Life and Death of King John and Island. Graduate of Trinity College.

Kevin Brewer (playwright - THE WALL) is an award-winning playwright and actor based in New York City. His plays Island and The One Man (Two Man (not quite)) Hamlet have both received full-productions with NY Shakespeare Exchange. Other NYC productions include 3x3 (co-written with Shane Breaux) with The Survivalists; An Evening of Kevin Brewer One-Acts with Sonnet Repertory Theater; and JINX with the Strawberry One-Act Festival (1st Place). Some acting credits include North Carolina Shakespeare Festival (Caliban, The Tempest), Great Lakes Theatre Festival (Rosencrantz, Hamlet), Cleveland Shakespeare (Brutus, Julius Caesar) and the Cleveland Play House (Angelo, Measure for Measure). Education: BFA (English/creative writing), Michigan State University; MFA (acting), Case Western Reserve University.

Diana Green (adapter/director - THE MUSE'S SONG: A TALE OF TROY) is the founder and Artistic Director of Children's Shakespeare Theater in Palisades, NY where she has directed over 50 full-length productions of Shakespeare's plays starring children of all ages. Most recently, she has established The Strange Bedfellows, an adult company to supplement the work of CST and bring together professional actors with parents and friends of the company. Diana is also an actor and has had the opportunity to dig into many of the great Shakespearean roles, including Beatrice, Paulina and Feste. Diana studied primarily at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA.

New York Shakespeare Exchange (NYSX) offers innovative theatrical programming that explores what happens when contemporary culture is infused with Shakespearean poetry and themes in unexpected ways. Providing fresh points of entry to the work so that modern audiences will be exposed to the intrinsic power of Shakespeare, NYSX's goal is to encourage an enthusiastic appreciation of classical theater and to expand the reach of the art form within new and existing audiences. www.ShakespeareExchange.org