Thinking Cap Theatre Presents Florida Premiere of Mark Ravenhill's POOL (NO WATER), 2/21-3/8

Thinking Cap Theatre will present the Florida premiere of Mark Ravenhill's Pool (No Water), a darkly comic, brutally honest investigation of what it means to be an artist and to survive in the art world. The production will run from February 21st through March 8th at the Muse Center for the Arts in Fort Lauderdale.

Pool (No Water) centers on a group of artists, who are former classmates, longtime friends, and ongoing rivals. The play's twisting, lyrical narrative recounts the highs and lows of their journey together as they have struggled to preserve their humanity while pursuing their passion. Directed by Nicole Stodard, the production will feature a seven-person ensemble: Hannah Citrin, Casey Dressler, Niki Fridh, Noah Levine, Desiree Mora, Miles Smith, and Scott Douglas Wilson.

The poignant subject matter of Ravenhill's play prompted TCT to reach across disciplines and include two additional components to its presentation of Pool (No Water): A solo exhibition of paintings by artist Yana Dimitrova and a 'Call to Florida Artists', asking them to submit poetry, prose (flash fiction or non-fiction), and video illustrating or explaining what inspires them; brings them back to art after a harsh review; prompts them to push through a bout of writer's block or a creative slump; and propels and impels them to continue on their chosen path of creativity. The winners were announced on February 7th:

Flash Lit Winners:

1st place - Mitchell Silverman

2nd place, two way tie - Christopher Demos Brown, Glenn Hutchinson

Film Winners:

1st place - Ann Gillespie

2nd place - Cat Del Duono

The poetry and Flash Lit Winners will read their work on opening weekend (Feb. 22) and their winning submissions will be printed in the program. Film winners will have their work screened for audiences during pre-show throughout the run of the production.

Thinking Cap Theatre's Artistic Director, Nicole Stodard, discovered Yana Dimitrova's work while doing rehearsal research for Pool (No Water) last fall. She contacted Dimitrova and began planning how TCT might incorporate the artist's work into TCT's production. Dimitrova's painting, "Empty Swimming Pool," is not only the visual image for the production, but the 54" X 65" original is also being shipped from a gallery in Atlanta to serve as part of the actual set. The original painting, priced at $4000 as well as signed, limited series of prints will be available for purchase.

Playwright Mark Ravenhill was born in 1966 in Sussex and educated at Bristol University, where he studied English and Drama. He was Literary Manager of Paines Plough, a company founded to develop new writing, from 1995 to 1997 and he was appointed Artistic associate at the National Theatre in 2002. His first work, a ten-minute dialogue titled Fist, was staged at London's Finborough pub theatre venue and caught the attention of Max Stafford-Clark, director of Out of Joint Theatre Company, who invited Ravenhill to contribute a full-length play. This becameShopping and F**king, which opened at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in September 1996 and was followed by a national and international tour. His other works include Faust is Dead (1997);Sleeping Around (a collaborative writing project, 1998); Handbag (Evening Standard Award - Most Promising Playwright, 1998); Some Explicit Polaroids (1999) ; Mother Clap's Molly House (first performed 2001); Feed Me (a radio play broadcast by the BBC in 2000); two plays for teenagers:Totally Over You (2003) and Citizenship (2006); and The Cut, which opened at the Donmar Warehouse, London in early 2006 with Sir Ian McKellen in the lead role. At this year's Galway Arts Festival, he will perform his play Product, a monologue which debuted at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2005. Ravenhill's work concerns itself with the anxieties and preoccupations of modern life, exploring themes such as the commodification of culture, the relentless impulsion to consume and the desire for instant celebrity. Ravenhill is currently Writer in Residence as Royal Shakespeare Company.

Yana Dimitrova completed her studies at the School of Fine Arts "Acd. Iliya Petrov" in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2002 and received her BFA (2006) and MFA (2008) from the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia (USA). Her most recent exhibits took place in Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Berlin, Budelsdorff (Germany), Bath, Manchester (UK), New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta (USA) and Sofia (Bulgaria). Dimitrova is a lecturer at The New School for liberal Arts in New York. She is currently based in Brooklyn, NY. With a strong sense of repetition, her work often functions as a social critique; Through the use of paintings, drawings and installations, Yana aims to construct a deceptive space, while questioning concepts of desire and the proposed values of the every day. http://yanadimitrova.com/blog2/

Tickets for Pool (No Water) will run from February 21st through March 8th at the Muse Center for the Arts in Ft. Lauderdale. Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased at www.thinkingcaptheatre.com or by calling 813-220-1546.

For more information about Thinking Cap Theatre, visit www.thinkingcaptheatre.com.