NYC Premiere of Emily Schwend's TAKE ME BACK Set for Walkerspace, 2/28-3/22

Kindling Theatre Company has announced the World Premiere of TAKE ME BACK, written by Emily Schwend and directed by Jay Stull. TAKE ME BACK begins performances on Friday, February 28 for a limited engagement through Saturday, March 22. Opening Night is Wednesday, March 5 at 8 PM. The performance schedule is Wednesday - Saturday at 8 PM, with added performances on Monday, March 3 and Tuesday, March 4 at 8 PM. Performances are at Walkerspace (46 Walker Street, between Broadway and Church Streets). Tickets are $18 and are available by calling SmartTix at (212) 868-4444 or visiting www.smarttix.com.

After a four-year stint in federal prison, Bill is back at home, living with his diabetic Mom and looking for a way out of Oklahoma. But today's America doesn't give a guy like Bill many options. How far is he willing to go to change his fortune? With a dose of melancholic nostalgia infused with dark humor, TAKE ME BACK examines the impossibility of the American dream when surrounded by nothing but minimum wage Big Box stores and chain restaurants.

TAKE ME BACK marks the NYC playwriting debut of Emily Schwend, whose plays have been produced at Steppenwolf's Next Up Rep and the Humana Festival of New American Plays at The Actors Theatre of Louisville. She was recently awarded a year-long playwriting residency at Second Stage Theatre, supported by a grant from the Tow Foundation.

The cast features Charlotte Booker (Inside Llewyn Davis), Jay Eisenberg (Showtime's upcoming Happiness; The Capables), James Kautz (The Amoralists), and Boo Killebrew (The Play About My Dad).

The design team includes Greg Kozatek and George Hoffmann (set design), Nick Houfek (lighting design) and Amy Altadonna (sound design).

Emily Schwend's (playwright) plays include CARTHAGE, SOUTH OF SETTLING, SPLINTERS, ROUTE ONE OFF, TAKE ME BACK, and BEHIND THE MOTEL. In 2012, her play SOUTH OF SETTLING was produced in Steppenwolf's Next Up Rep. Her ten-minute play, HALFWAY, is the winner of the 2013 Heideman Prize and was produced at the Humana Festival of New American Plays at The Actors Theatre of Louisville. She is the recipient of an upcoming Tow Foundation grant for the creation, development and production of a new play through Second Stage Theatre in New York. Her work has been developed at The New Group, Roundabout Theatre Company, ACT Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Partial Comfort Productions, Ars Nova, the ALLIANCE THEATRE, the Source Festival in DC, and the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, among others. She is a frequent contributor to Christine Jones's Theatre for One booth. She is a two-time Lecomte du Nouy Prize winner, the recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship, the 2011 ACT New Play Award winner, the 2009 David Calicchio Emerging American Playwrights Prize winner, a finalist for the 2011 ATCA/Steinberg prize, and a 2009 Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition finalist. She is a two-time Interstate 73 member. She is a proud alumna of the playwriting programs at Juilliard and Tisch.

Jay Stull (director) is a Brooklyn-based theater maker. Recent New York directing credits include Mark Robert's Rantoul and Die at The Cherry Lane with The Amoralists (NY Times Critic's Pick), Fever! Three Plays by Tennessee Williams (Girl In Red Productions), and Michael Rabe's The Future Is Not What It Was (Kindling). His written work has been developed or seen at Joe's Pub with The Civilians, at the Lark, the Judson Memorial Church, Ugly Rhino, and The Culture Project. His play THE CAPABLES was produced in 2013 by Neighborhood Productions and the GYM at Judson. He is the Literary Manager of The Amoralists Theatre Company, curates the AmoraLAB and AmoralFEST, and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Literary Wing at the Lark Play Development Center. He is also member of the artistic collective Bastard Playground, hosted by The Drama League.

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