SEHNSUCHT Premieres at JACK this Month

Sehnsucht unpacks the longing we can feel for another time and place, whether real or imagined. Childhood. Years without war. Early human history. A time when everyone enjoyed the outdoors and raised chickens and heard gossip from the neighbors, when strawberries were tiny and sour. When empires were vast and allegiances strong--and actually, we were the Emperor, and we made the decisions and rode strong horses caked in jewels. When we looked up into the tall shelves of our grandmother's pantry in Wilmington, Delaware, sometime before cell phones.

Sehnsucht is a play about looking back. It sympathizes with, blames, laughs at, and tries to better understand when and how we do it. The play takes a couple mammoth leaps across human history, from Neolithic cavepeople, to 17th century Swiss schoolchildren, to early-2000s timeshare enthusiasts, in the hopes of gaining some perspective on our love of longing for the past. Our past. A past. Not now.

SARAH BLUSH is a New York-based director and creator of new work. Her original projects include Power Couple (Ars Nova ANT Fest), My Favorite Character Was the Talking Vase (HERE), and Still Life With Apples (Dixon Place). Other directing credits: Cátia Cunha's Swam Down Deep (Clubbed Thumb); Bekah Brunstetter's Like (Atlantic Acting School); Yasmeen Imam Bashir's The Mirror in Staging the World: Examples From Egypt with Tina Benko (NYU Abu Dhabi Institute). She regularly assistant directs off-Broadway and regionally for directors such as MarK Wing-Davey, Daniel Aukin, Rachel Chavkin, Young Jean Lee, and Lisa Peterson, among others. Sarah is a Julie Taymor World Theater Fellowship Semifinalist, a member of The Habitat's Directors Playground, and a New Georges Affiliated Artist. B.F.A. NYU.

Michael Norton is a playwright, performer, sound designer, and musician. Recent writing credit: My Favorite Character Was The Talking Vase (HERE). As an actor and musician, Michael has been seen at The Brick, Walker Space, The Bowery Electric and The Riant Theatre. He is a graduate of Playwrights Horizons Theater School.

Brian Bock (actor and co-creator): Recent credits include Dave Malloy's Beardo (Pipeline Theater Company); two previous collaborations with members of this company, Power Couple (Ars Nova) and My Favorite Character Was the Talking Vase (HERE Arts); and many productions at NYU Graduate Acting, including the world premiere of Qui Nguyen's Five Days Till Saturday.

Georgia Lee KING is a New York City based performer and graduate of NYU: Tisch School of the Arts. Her most recent theatrical credits include: Power Couple (Ars Nova), My Favorite Character Was the Talking Vase (HERE Arts Center), 245 and Counting (Theatre At St. Clement's), and MOCK (Theatre Row). Recent film: Signs He Made At Home. georgialeeking.com

RACHEL CHRISTIANSEN has collaborated on new work at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, Invisible Dog Art Center, HB Studio Theatre, HERE Arts Center, and Ars Nova. She has worked alongside, and learned from, producers at New York Theatre Workshop, Seattle Repertory Theatre, New York Stage & Film, BRIC Arts Media, and PS 122's COIL Festival. By day, Rachel is the Program and Administration Manager for the School of Drama at The New School.

SEHNSUCHT

Directed by Sarah Blush

Text by Michael Norton

Produced by Rachel Christiansen

Created by Sarah Blush, Michael Norton, Brian Bock, and Georgia Lee King

JACK in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn

July 26-30

tickets are available at: https://www.artful.ly/store/events/12656

Stage Manager - Kristy Bodall

Set Designer - Brittany Vasta

Associate Set Designer - Devin Petersen

Costume Designer - Christopher Metzger
Lighting Designer - Ken Wills

Sound Designer - Ben Vigus
Original Music by Deepali Gupta

Featuring: Willy Appleman, Marcela Biven, Kim Blanck*, Brian Bock, Anita Carey*, Rebecca S'manga Frank*, Jessica Frey*, Rosa Gilmore, Georgia Lee King, Keren Lugo*, Keilly McQuail*, Jay Smith*