Fault Line Theatre Presents Michael Perlman's FROM WHITE PLAINS, 5/31-6/10

By: May. 08, 2012
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Michael Perlman, whose critically acclaimed NYFringe solo show, Flying on the Wing, was named Outstanding Solo Show of 2006, will debut his new ensemble play, From White Plains, produced by Fault Line Theatre at the CSV Cultural Center from May 31st through June 10th. Perlman's solo show powerfully and imaginatively dealt with the playwright's personal struggles dealing with Stickler's Syndrome and coming to terms with his sexuality.

A few months ago Perlman approached Fault Line Theater with an idea for a play dealing with the issue of gay bullying, From White Plains. Though the piece is fictional it is drawn from many personal experiences of Perlman and the rest of his artistic team comprised of four actors and four designers. In contrast to the current prevailing model of new play development which workshops over many months or years, Perlman and Fault Line have teamed up to create a piece written and realized in four short months. A play about 2012, for 2012.

Just because it gets better doesn't mean it didn't happen…After a shocking announcement on international television, 30 year old Ethan Rice finds himself finally having to confront who he was and what he did as a teenager. The story follows four men, both straight and gay, as they attempt to take responsibility for their past and move beyond it, aided and complicated by social media and viral videos. The play examines how male relationships change as boys grow into men and asks who gets to speak for a victim of bullying when he is no longer here to speak for himself?

Fault Line Theatre presents:

From White Plains

conceived and directed by Michael Perlman

featuring Craig Wesley Divino, Karl Gregory, Jimmy King and Aaron Rossini
designed by John Eckert, Tristan Jeffers, Chad Raines and John Racioppo

May 31 - June 10, 2012
La Tea Theater
Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural Center
107 Suffolk St, New York, NY

Tickets: $18, available at smarttix.com

Michael Perlman is a NYC based director and playwright who earned his MFA in Directing from the Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Directing Program.Directing credits include A Christmas Carol and The Mourner’s Bench (Trinity Rep) Time of Your Life, Uncle Vanya, Hamlet (Motif Award: Best Director) and A Doll’s House (Brown/Trinity MFA Programs), Velocity of Autumn (Boise Contemporary Theater) Oklahoma (Maples Rep), Dog Park and Life Science (Brown/Trinity Playwrights Rep), We Are Proud to Present a Presentation… and Exquisite Corpse (New Plays Festival), Love, I Hear (Stephen Foster Productions), Iphigenia and Other Daughters (Temporary Theatre Company), The Last Five Years (Stamford Center for the Arts), Winnie-the-Pooh (Hangar Theatre Kidstuff), Emperor of Ice Cream… and Romeo and Juliet (Hangar Theatre Lab Company.) In addition, Michael has directed workshops and readings at Trinity Rep, The Magic Theater and Young Playwrights, Inc. Assistant directing credits include Suicide, Inc. (Roundabout), Cymbeline (Fiasco Theater), King Lear (Public Theater, Director James Lapine), The Laramie Project (Matthew Shephard Foundation Benefit, Director Moises Kaufman),Cabaret and The Importance of Being Earnest (Trinity Rep). In addition, Michael’s one-person show Flying on the Wing was presented at the New York Fringe Festival, where it was the winner of Outstanding Solo Show of 2006. Michael is proud to be a member of SDC, a Drama League Directing Fellow, and holds a BA and MFA from Brown University. www.michaelsperlman.com

Fault Line Theatre was founded in 2010 by Brown/Trinity Repertory MFA actors Craig Wesley Divino and Aaron Rossini and Trinity Rep set designer Tristan Jeffers. Fault Line is dedicated to producing plays, classical and modern, that they love. They strive to understand and transmit a story from within the text to create productions that engage and inspire. Previous NYC productions include Doctor Faustus, Frogs and From The Same Cloth.  www.faultlinetheatre.com

"Perlman's endlessly creative, non-textual touches wring out the humor from the first entrance…In fact, Perlman seems almost boastfully assured of his and Chekhov's ability to make us laugh. In a play where even the characters lament about their boredom, Perlman dares to add languorous silences and extended pauses. For Perlman, six or seven silent characters on stage are a chance to foster creative plot details with face and body language. One character looks hopefully towards another, or nervously away from another, or attempts to speak and thinks better of it – several times. The play ends on a very long fade, but not a shuffle is heard from the audience... This coup de grace is Perlman's final boast: See? Chekhov can be spellbinding." -ArtsMash RI (Uncle Vanya)



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