'BOB, Blessed Be The Dysfunction That Binds' Announces Talkbacks

The Open Book (Marvin Kaye, Co-founder and Artistic Director) has announced post-show talkbacks immediately following its production of "BOB, Blessed Be The Dysfunction That Binds" written and performed by Anne Pasquale and directed by Mary Ann Hay on January 19th, 20th and 21st. The production previews Thursday, January 19th at 8:00 pm and opens Friday, January 20th at 8:00 pm.  Performances continue Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, January 19th through February 4th 2012.  All tickets are $18.00 and can be purchased on line at www.smarttix.com or by calling (212) 864 4444.  The 78th Street Theatre Lab is located at 236 West 78th Street, just East of Broadway.

TALK BACK SCHEDULE INCLUDES

Thursday January 19th

Joan Merwyn,  Lead Teaching Artist of EASE (Everyday Arts for Special Education) , Manhattan New Music Project.   Joan Merwyn has been working creatively with both general education students and with special needs populations throughout New York City since 1983. As a movement, mime and theater specialist, Joan conducts artist-in-residencies, professional development training seminars for educators and mentoring services for teaching artists.  Through Manhattan New Music Project, Joan currently trains teachers of autistic students in a federally funded, multi-arts program, Everyday Arts for Special Education (EASE) Joan served special needs populations for 25 years through Hospital Audiences, Inc. where she has been as a Workshop Evaluator, Seni! or Teaching Artist and Mentor to workshop artists.  Additionally Ms. Merwyn is an award winning and critically acclaimed performing artist, teacher, choreographer and stage director. She has performed and taught in Europe, Canada and the U.S. with her solo performances and as a founding member of numerous experimental and physical theater companies. She has appeared across the United States and Canada, Eastern and Western Europe in site-specific, outdoor locations, to colleges, international performance festivals and opera houses. Joan Merwyn Physical Theater reflects 30 years of experience in the field of mime and movement theater.

Friday, January 20th

Nancy Kleaver, Executive Director, Manhattan New Music Project, Originator of  The EASE Program (Everyday Arts for Special Education).  Nancy was the Director of School Programs for the DreamYard Project in the Bronx for 6 years, where, in addition to leading the organizations yearlong in-school and after-school programs, she formed the Bronx Arts Learning Community, a network of Bronx public schools and educators dedicated to creating consistent pathways of arts learning for all K-12 students. Prior to DreamYard, she served as the Associate Program Director for Young Audiences New York, Program Director of the New York State’s Council on the Arts’ Empire State Partnerships, and Education Coordinator of the Hangar Theater in Ithaca, NY. Nancy! graduated from Binghamton University, where she studied sociology, theater and vocal performance. In 2010 she received a Masters in Public Administration from Baruch College and is a member of Pi Alpha Alpha, the National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration.    

Saturday, January 21st 

Family members Donna DePasquale and Anne Pasquale Playwright /Actress Creator of BOB join Barbara Oliver, Communications Director for LIFE Supported Independent Living  in Cape Cod Massachusetts.  Ms. Oliver has more than fifteen years experience in non profit program development and communications. She studied for a BFA at Massachusetts College of Art and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. She is currently studying emerging media (integrated social media) models at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and serves in a marketing capacity on the Philanthropy Day Committee of the Planned Giving Council of Cape Cod.    

In “BOB, Blessed Be The Dysfunction That Binds,” when mental illness comes home the entire family has special needs. Actress and writer Anne Pasquale invites you to meet her special needs brother Bob, her family and share with them in the crisis, craziness, laughter, tears and triumph that highlight this coming of age journey. This 90 minute solo show promises to shed some light on the lives of folks with disabilities and those who love them. You can learn more about the project at www.kickstarter.com or by visiting http://kck.st/sU1Kmi.    

Playwright and performer Anne Pasquale has appeared in The New Dramatist's “Three Sisters,” Lincoln Center's “A View from the Bridge,” Theatre of the Open Eye’s “Birdbath,” The 78th Street Theatre Lab’s “Ruffian on the Stair” and “Paradise Lost” at The Actors Studio and  Gallery Player’s “The Altruist” by TJ Edwards directed by Mr Brad Malow.  Ms. Pasquale is a founding member of Accidental Repertory Theater and as such she has appeared in various ART productions under the direction of Mr. John Strasberg including Serafina Della Rosa in the “Rose Tattoo” section of “Tennessee Williams: “The Writer and His World,” Emma Goldman and Kristina Linde in “Variations on a Do! lls House,” and the role of Judith Keith, the Jewish wife in “Brecht on Brecht.”  Additionally Ms. Pasquale is an established teaching artist, the proud recipient of the Young Audience New York 2009 Roster Artist of the Year Award and creates and tours her repertoire of educational assemblies under the banner of “Living History Programs” for audiences of all ages in venues along the East Coast.  Ms. Pasquale is also a member of The Actor's Studio.  www.annepasquale.com.

Director Mary Ann Hay has directed and choreographed numerous musicals in collaboration with ArtsConnection and Music Theatre International in New York City.  As an actress she has appeared in theater, film, TV and commercials including the role of Real Jean opposite Denis Leary in Rescue Me on FX TV.  She is a member of SAG, AFTRA, AEA, Theatre Artists Workshop of Westport, Polaris North and Accidental Repertory Theater in New York City.

The design team includes sound by Keith Herron.

Founded in 1975, THE OPEN BOOK is New York’s oldest professional readers theatre company whose mission is to present the best of all worlds of literature—prose, poetry, drama and even nonfiction—to culturally diverse audiences with an emphasis on new under-appreciated literature and works of excellence.