UglyRhino Productions to Stage WHAT IT MEANS TO DISAPPEAR HERE, 4/25-5/17

UglyRhino Productions and Park Slope's Tea Lounge come together to present WHAT IT MEANS TO DISAPPEAR HERE, a world premiere play by Jeremy J. Kamps. Directed by Danny Sharron, this site-specific production runs at Port Royal, a found performance space under the Tea Lounge (837 Union Street, Brooklyn) on Thursday and Friday nights starting on Thursday, April 25 through Friday, May 17 at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $18 and are on sale now at uglyrhino.brownpapertickets.com. Specialty show-inspired cocktails, beer, wine, and food will be available before and after the performance. On select nights, live music will be performed immediately following the show.

A café in Cartagena, Colombia. Sitting across from each other are Yulieth, a young woman who speaks no English, and Mitch, an American pilot who speaks no Spanish and has come to buy her as his wife. He is looking for a woman to complete the outward appearance of his life. She is looking for escape.

In an attempt to reunite her family and find her true love who has been "disappeared," Yulieth will brave the chaos of the city slums, join the guerrillas fighting in Colombia's jungle, and make the long journey to America and back. Yulieth refuses to let the violence rob her of her integrity and humanity, but returning home to her daughter may prove as difficult as leaving. In WHAT IT MEANS TO DISAPPEAR HERE, one woman's story of motherhood, love, and sacrifice runs parallel to the political reality of "Plan Colombia," a US-backed drug war policy that has brought devastation to an already war torn nation.

The cast of WHAT IT MEANS TO DISAPPEAR HEREfeatures Felipe Bonilla, Liza Fernandez, Lillian Rodriguez, and Craig Mungavin.

WHAT IT MEANS TO DISAPPEAR HERE features scenic design by Rebecca Phillips, lighting design by Miriam Nilofa Crowe, costume design by Beth Goldenberg, and sound design by
Michael Costagliola.

JEREMY J. KAMPS (Playwright), a recent NYU Tisch School of the Arts Dramatic Writing MFA graduate, has been a finalist/semi-finalist for The Lark, Woodward International Playwriting Contest and the Eugene O'Neill Playwriting Conference. His play Water Hyacinth received awards from the NYU Festival of New Works and the Hudson Valley Writers Center in 2011. His plays have had readings at The Cherry Lane Theatre, with the Amoralists, Fresh Produce'd, Theatre Breaking Through Boundaries, at Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Axial Theatre Company and with Tiny Rhino. His fiction is published in various literary magazines, acknowledged for awards in Glimmertrain, Inkwell, The Caribbean Writer and New Millenium. Jeremy is also a youth educator who has taught/worked in Washington Heights, Brooklyn, New Haven, Latin America and East Africa.

DANNY SHARRON (Director) is a NYC-based director and producer, and co-Artistic Director of UglyRhino Productions. His primary focus is on developing and directing new work. Recent UglyRhino credits: Kyle Warren's #nyc (also at The Lark); Eugene Ionesco's Rhinoceros; and Glamdromeda,a new glam rock musical by Ben Bonnema, Christopher Staskel, and Bryce Norbitz. He also directed A People's History of 13P, a film documentary serving to illuminate the inner workings of the theater company 13P and featuring Sarah Ruhl, Young Jean Lee, and Erin Courtney, among others. He has worked at The Public Theater, Lincoln Center Theater and the Sundance Theatre Lab. Assistant Directing credits include Into the Woods (The Public's Shakespeare in the Park) and the upcoming Venice (The Public Theater).

UGLYRHINO PRODUCTIONS is a new way to experience theater. Expanding on our high quality productions, we integrate dynamic arts programming ranging from emerging musicians to warehouse parties. UglyRhino curates affordable evenings with a social atmosphere that capture the inimitable spirit of Brooklyn. www.uglyrhinonyc.com

TEA LOUNGE has been operating for more than twelve years in Park Slope, Brooklyn. We serve the best certified micro roasted organic coffees and more than 65 fresh loose organic teas along with a selection of locally baked goods and freshly made sandwiches. What truly sets us apart though from the competition is our mission to help revive and nurture a sense of community. We believe, as do our years of loyal customers, that we have created a place where people can "Come Together." We are the community Café supporting local bakers, artists, musicians, writers, and performers with a comfortable place to highlight their products or showcase their talents.