ICARUS, SPEAKEASY CIRCUS, SEXYBACK: OR WHAT YOU WILL Join OBERON Artists in Residence Program at A.R.T.

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) has announced continued programming as part of the Artist in Residence initiative at OBERON, its second stage and club-theater venue. This initiative is rooted in A.R.T's mission to expand the boundaries of theater by supporting local and emerging artists. OBERON launched this multi-year program of work and mentorship with three local performance groups: Liars & Believers, Boston Circus Guild, and Touch Performance Art. All three have worked previously in OBERON, creating events in the club theater model and harnessing a new form of theater that is rooted in a social environment.

OBERON serves as the artistic home to these three groups as each develops and presents work over the course of a 3-year program. The artists have access to the A.R.T. staff and resources while bringing their expertise to OBERON, and sharing their approaches to the artistic process, audience engagement and development. Colin Thurmond of Touch Performance Art stated, "The residency program has been a great opportunity to take risks and really grow our shows. It has been amazing to have the eyes of so many great industry professionals on our work, constantly giving us feedback and challenging us to improve."

"The guidance, support, and technical expertise that American Repertory Theater has provided us throughthis process has been so valuable," said Nancy Allen of the Boston Circus Guild. "Not only are we reaching a broader audience because of their support, our shows are better and more polished because of their critical feedback. We've already come so far in just this first year working with them."

Jason Slavick of Liars & Believers added, "This is a phenomenal opportunity for us to grow - to learn - from both the A.R.T. and from our fellow Residents. Touch and BCG are really exciting companies and I love what they're doing. I am especially pleased because our mission is very much in sync with that of the A.R.T. - to push the boundaries of what 'theater' can be - and to be a part of the Residency feels like a validation, saying 'Yes, we believe in what you're doing. Go do more of that.'"

After successful performances throughout the 2013/14 Season, OBERON continues with the next installment of exciting performance from Artist in Residence group. Liars & Believers bring their hit production of Icarus back to Boston after a launch in Cambridge and 2013's Outside the Box festival and a lauded run at New York's Musical Theatre Festival to OBERON from May 1st through 11th. The Boston Circus Guild (BCG) offers an entirely new version of their fall smash Speakeasy Circus,with new circus acts, a whimsical story and a live band to score the entireevent. BCG collaborates with A.R.T Artistic Associate Allegra Libonati on this thrilling monthly event from May through August. Touch Performance Art shares a 3 night workshop from July 16 - 18 of Sexyback: or what you will, a new take on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night featuring 90s boy band hits that create an immersive event. This workshop precedes a full run of the production in the fall of 2014.

OBERON continues to be the destination for theater and nightlife on the fringe of Harvard Square. The home of the A.R.T.'s hit productions of The Shape She Makes, The Lily's Revenge, Futurity, The Donkey Show, Cabaret, Prometheus Bound and Ryan Landry's Rocky Horror Show, OBERON is also a thriving incubator for local and visiting talent.

Information about the next installment of each Artists In Residence upcoming production follows:

LIARS & BELIEVERS and OBERON present

ICARUS

Conceived and Directed by Jason Slavick

Music and Lyrics by Nathan Leigh

Puppetry Design and Direction by Faye Dupras

Written by The LAB Ensemble

May 1st through 11th, 2014

After a successful launch in Cambridge, a capacity crowd at Boston's Outside the Box 2013, and an acclaimed run in New York last summer, ICARUS flies back to Boston for a two-week run at OBERON. Liars & Believers, a local experimental theatre company will present its new iteration of this myth May 1-11.

Devised collaboratively by the LAB ensemble, under the direction of Artistic Director Jason Slavick, ICARUS is an Americana Myth Musical. Based on the myth of the same name, ICARUS is set in a dark traveling side-show during the Great Depression. With young lovers, magical machines and monsters, it tells a tale of oppression and hope for a better future.

ICARUS features an original Americana score by Nathan Leigh (IRNE award), the fantastical puppetry of Faye Dupras and the indie-folk sound of the ICARUS house band, Store Bought Absinthe. Every performance begins at 7pm with local guest bands, sideshow acts and specialty drinks.

At the New York Musical Theatre Festival last summer, ICARUS received Honorable Mention for both book and design. The New York Times called it an "...intriguingly ominous ... showbiz fable" with "clever lyrics and a tangy score."

In addition, Liars & Believers brings exciting pre-show entertainment to every performance beginning at 7pm, each night featuring a different act:

May 1: Revolutionary Snake Ensemble Duo

May 2: Tony Leva

May 4: Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band

May 8: What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?

May 9: Dirty Water Brass Band

May 11: Ezekiel's Wheels Klezmer Band

More information available at LiarsAndBelievers.com.

Liars & Believers creates original live performances which move the heart, challenge the mind and feast the senses. Dubbed "the region's most experimental and visionary artists" by the Boston Survival Guide, Liars & Believers expands the language of live performance. In its first five years, the LAB produced six original, multi-disciplinary shows in Boston, two of which went on to win awards at the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

BOSTON CIRCUS GUILD and OBERON present

SPEAKEASY CIRCUS

Every fourth Friday from May through August 2014

Boston Circus Guild's sold-out sensation SPEAKEASY CIRCUS returns to OBERON for a spring and summer run.

Following a successful run of sold-out shows this winter, OBERON and Boston Circus Guild will be bringingback SPEAKEASY CIRCUS to OBERON for a monthly residency beginning May 2014.

"Each month we will transform OBERON into the Oberon Social Club, a hot new underground cabaret where seedy thugs mingle with drunken socialites, flappers dance their cares away, and the band keeps the joint jumpin'." says Artistic Director Nancy Allen. "For the spring run our house band will liven things up, adding elements of electroswing to their already smokin' hot jazz standards."

Get front row seats to a spectacular show both on and offstage. The cool cats and dapper dames from the Boston Circus Guild will amaze you with acrobatic feats of strength, astounding juggling, high-energy hooping, titillating burlesque, and glamorous aerial performances, all set to the sounds of the hippest electroswing and jazz in Boston. Through it all, the club's proprietor will have to make deals with bootlegging gangsters, keep away from the fuzz, and manage one sassy diva.

Boston Circus Guild (BCG) is a collaboration of over fifty musicians, artists, circus performers, dancers, and event producers from the Boston area. BCG members regularly perform at prestigious events and venues throughout New England including the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Pfizer, Cirque du Soleil, and TheBoston Bruins Foundation. BCG produces its own events throughout the year including Speakeasy Circus, Cirque of the Dead, and Bohemian Bacchanalia. Following a packed-house performance at the inaugural Outside the Box Festival in 2013, BCG is now one of three artists in residence withAmerican Repertory Theater's OBERON. www.bostoncircusguild.com

TOUCH PERFORMANCE ART and OBERON

Present a workshop presentation of

SEXYBACK: or what you will

July 16th through 18th, 2014

From Touch Performance Art comes a limited engagement workshop production of their newest production, Sexyback: or what you will- a new immersive club-theater experience of boy band hits and killer dance moves- inspired by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

SEXYBACK captures the feeling of that first concert you went crazy for with a traditional male ensemblethat ignites the boy band fever we had- plus all the hilarious gender-bending glory of Shakespeare. Party, drink at the bar, and dance to all the hits as the show fulfills all your '90's boy band reunion fantasies.

The production will have a full run in the fall of 2014, alongside a return of Touch Performance Art's monthly smash AcousticaElectronica.

Touch Performance is a performance design firm located in Boston and NYC dedicated to the creation, production and distribution of event productions, artistic works and customizable immersive experiences. Touch creates high quality, innovative performances by integrating music, theatre, dance, performance, visual art and technology. Touch does what its name suggests, invites its audience to feel.

OBERON is located at 2 Arrow Street at the corner of Mass Ave. in Harvard Square, Cambridge. For more info and tickets visit www.cluboberon.com.