Bill Bowers' BEYOND WORDS Kicks Off 2013 soloNOVA Arts Festival Today

terraNOVA COLLECTIVE and Producing Artistic Director, Jennifer Conley Darling, are pleased to present acclaimed mime, Bill Bowers' BEYOND WORDS, straight from a White House engagement to the west village: BEYOND WORDS will be a special headliner to kick off the 10TH Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival, the award-winning and longest-running solo performance festival in New York City, performing today, May 22 at 8pm and Saturday May 25 at 2pm at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street, NYC). The eight other solo shows included in the soloNOVA Arts Festival will play two weeks only at IRT Theater (154 Christopher Street, inside the landmark Archive Building). Performances begin Thursday, May 23 and continue through Sunday, June 2.

Through his first 3 plays UNDER A MONTANA MOON, NIGHT SWEETHEART NIGHT BUTTERCUP, and IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING), Bill Bowers explores the power of silence in our culture, and illuminates the experiences of Remaining Silent, Being Silenced, and Silencing someone else. In BEYOND WORDS, he investigates the effect of silence on gender identity.

Set against the backdrop of small town America, BEYOND WORDS takes us on a journey from boyhood to manhood and considers the lessons learned along the way. One of the most acclaimed multi-disciplinary artists, Bill Bowers employs an eloquent mixture of music, monologue and mime to create a vibrant and poetic montage that is BEYOND WORDS.

The production features costume design by Michael Growler, and original lighting design by Lee Terry. David Margolin Lawson is the sound designer and Laura Lindsay is the stage manager.

BEYOND WORDS will play today, May 22 at 8pm and Saturday May 25 at 2pm at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street, NYC). A complete list of the shows and their performance schedule can be found here: http://bit.ly/107S4cv. Special Event tickets are $30 (IRT Festival or 2 for $30 pass not applicable). IRT Show Tickets are $20 for individual shows; $30 for two shows; $80 IRT Festival pass (50% discount for all shows at IRT Theater).

For more information and tickets, visit www.terranovacollective.org. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at Box Office ½ hour in advance of the performances. Running Time: All shows are 90 minutes (or less).

Bill Bowers (actor, mime and writer, Beyond Words) has performed in all fifty states and throughout Europe and Asia. Beyond Words premiered at Urban Stages in 2011, and is now on tour throughout the US. In 2001, Urban Stages produced the world premiere of his solo show Under a Montana Moon, and since then it has been performed in Germany. Japan, Italy, Romania, Macedonia, Norway and Puerto Rico, as well as the Kennedy Center, Steppenwolf and theaters nationwide. Bill's autobiographical play, It Goes Without Saying, premiered at Rattlestick Theatre in 2006 and has also been produced nationwide in such venues as the Berkshire Theatre Festival, Adirondack Theater Festival, The Historic asolo and Two River Theatre Company. Hailed by critics as 'a great American mime' Bill has won top honors at the International United Solo Festival and International Fresh Fruit Festival, as well as the Dallas / Ft Worth Critics Award, Best of the Berkshires and the New York Times Critics Pick of the Week. He appeared on Broadway as Zazu in The Lion King and Leggett in The Scarlett Pimpernel.Other New York credits include Theatre for a New Audience, Ensemble Studio Theatre, HERE, La MaMa E.C.T., St Anne's Warehouse and the NY International Fringe Festival. He is featured in the film Two Weeks Notice and on television in Disney's out of the Box, Remember W.E.N.N., One Life to Live, All My Children, and the Onion News Network. He presently teaches at NYU Steinhardt and The Neighborhood Playhouse, and the Stella Adler Conservatory. He studied mime with the legendary Marcel Marceau. www.Bill-Bowers.com

soloNOVA Arts Festival (SAF) is now the longest-running solo performance festival in New York City. SAF began in 2004 as a vehicle to showcase innovative artists representing various disciplines and cultures, and whose solo performances reflect distinct perspectives. The festival hosts 8-10 performers annually, who perform three times each in repertory. SAF is specifically curated to showcase the best in puppetry, dance, magic, physical theater, multi-character monologues, multi-media, and other forms of storytelling, and aims to bring forth ideas and experiences from varying cultures. The New York Innovative Theatre Awards has presented SAF programming with 22 nominations and 6 awards over the past three years.

terraNOVA is an ever-expanding collective of artists devoted to nurturing distinct and innovative theatrical voices. It is dedicated to cultivating environments where the art of storytelling thrives, and actively seeks stages for the new theatre it develops.

Since its inception, terraNOVA has staged 8 full-scale productions, over 20 plays within 7 new play workshop series, and 8 annual solo performance festivals that feature diverse artists of many disciplines. Over the past 8 years, terraNOVA has developed more than 80 plays through Groundbreakers and Groundworks, and has given a platform to approximately 320 solo artists in the annual soloNOVA Arts Festival.

terraNOVA has been hosted within several artistic homes, including Performance Space 122, the DR2 Theatre and D-Lounge at the Daryl Roth Theatre (theatre-in-residence for two seasons), Barrow Street Theatre, HERE Arts Center and New Ohio Theatre.

terraNOVA Collective has received many accolades including 30 New York Innovative Theatre Award nominations, 8 of which were for the productions of 'Feeder: A Love Story' by James Carter and 'Blue Before Morning' by Kate McGovern. The remaining nominations have been for shows within the soloNOVA Arts Festival, of which 6 were awarded.

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