The Bushwick Starr to Present PHILADELPHIA AND OTHER STORIES, 12/18-20

Writer Paul Rome and composer Roarke Menzies present a new work of performance literature about road trips, relationships and an irritating rash. A disgruntled writer grapples with the existential angst brought on by the appearance of a mysterious skin condition. A casual New Year's Eve hook-up turns into a spur-of-the-moment day trip to the City of Brotherly Love, complete with the songs-Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, Drake, Talking Heads-and memories encountered on the car ride there and back. A young musician revisits an ex-lover, while a young American recalls her time spent living in France post-college.

With Philadelphia and Other Stories, Rome and Menzies, along with performer Katie Schottland, deliver new works of fiction accompanied by original music. Taking cues from audio storytellers like Ira Glass, Jad Abumrad and Garrison Keillor, as well as innovative monologists like Joe Frank and Spalding Gray, Rome and Menzies draw equally on the traditions of radio drama, literary readings, performance art and theatre in this intimate new stage work. The evening also features solo performances by guitarist David Kammerer and singer-songwriter Katie Mullins.

Created and produced by Paul Rome and Roarke Menzies, Philadelphia and Other Stories features text by Rome and music by Menzies, with additional songs by David Kammerer and Katie Mullins, respectively. The production is directed by Mark Jaynes, with dramaturgy and production assistance by Rachel Levens.

Performances play The Bushwick Starr theater, located at 207 Starr Street, Brooklyn, NY [between Irving and Wycoff]. Directions: Via Subway take the L Train to Jefferson Street, exit at Starr Street, walk against traffic on Starr, and the theater is 3/4 of a block on the right. For detailed driving directions visit: www.thebushwickstarr.org/DIRECTIONS. Tickets are $18.00 at www.thebushwickstarr.org.

About the Artists:

Longtime neighbors in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, Paul Rome and Roarke Menzies have collaborated since 2010. Their most recent production, Calypso, played The Bushwick Starr in 2012 for a sold out, four-night run before returning later that year for another sold out weekend. Other works include 2011's The You Trilogy, an audio fiction miniseries that The Faster Times describes as "a trio of what can only be called radio dramas... Rome's calculated and sometimes dramatically erudite formulations, in Rome's unassuming and quiet, yet commanding monotone, are delightful." Rome and Menzies' first stage work together, 2010's And Once Again, was described by Bushwick BK as "a study of a jazz collector, his small town life, and a mythical record that shakes things up... The engrossing show reminded us of the power of sound performance to reveal much - even about other sounds and other performances."

Paul Rome is a writer of fiction and performance literature. His first novel, We All Sleep in the Same Room, was longlisted for the 2014 PEN/Bingham Prize for debut fiction. He has also written for The Huffington Post, PEN America, The Minetta Review and Mercer Street. Rome's previous performance works include And Once Again, The You Trilogy, Jacob Grimfeld and Calypso. Rome lives in Brooklyn where he manages the Wyckoff Starr coffee shop. paulrome.com

Roarke Menzies is a New York City-based artist and composer. He has created original music for VICE Media Group, BalletX, game developers InterAction Education, dance-theater artist Jack Ferver and many others. Menzies has worked extensively in performing arts management and production, producing and curating events and multi-disciplinary arts projects in and around New York, and coordinating tours to major US venues including the Walker Arts Center, the Wexner Center, the Mondavi Center, the Andy Warhol Museum and the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA. roarkemenzies.com.

About The Bushwick Starr: The Bushwick Starr is an Obie Award winning non profit theater that presents an annual Season of new work in theater, dance, and puppetry. We are an organization defined by both our artists and our community, and since 2007, we have grown into a thriving theatrical venue, a vital neighborhood arts center, and a destination for exciting and engaging performance. The Bushwick Starr's mission is to help ambitious artists and ambitious audiences find each other. We provide a springboard for emerging professional artists to make career-defining leaps, and we are a sanctuary where established performance companies come to experiment and innovate. Our past seasons have included new work from cutting edge companies such as The Debate Society, the TEAM, Elevator Repair Service, Half Straddle, and Witness Relocation.?