Trusty Sidekick to Bring 'TOULOUSE MCLANE' and 'HAUNTING OF ICHABOD CRANE' to the Armory This Fall

Trusty Sidekick Theater Company (TSTC) will perform back-to-back presentations of two original immersive productions created for school and family audiences, presented during the Company's time as Artists-in-Residence at Park Avenue Armory. These exciting site-specific productions, each challenging conventional notions of what it means to be an audience member, will take young audiences on an immersive theatrical adventure through the Armory's stunning historic rooms. Over the course of three weeks, the Company will offer performances for both public and school audiences, presented by the Armory as part their mission to provide access to high-quality artists and artistic experiences to underserved New York City public school students.

Originally commissioned by Park Avenue Armory in 2013 and shown as part of the Armory's Under Construction Series, The 7 and 1⁄2 Mysteries of Toulouse McLane (October 13-19) will ask audiences to boldly step behind the curtain and follow a group of mysterious figures down the vast North Hall. Each will offer a clue about the life of the curious Ms. McLane, whose past is uniquely intertwined with the Armory building itself. Inspired by the real-life history of the site, this boldly original piece of theater will send audiences on an unforgettable journey, from the deck of the infamous Lusitania to the glamorous parties of the Armory's own Seventh Regiment, to uncover the truth about the life and times of the one and only Toulouse McLane. The production is suitable for ages 8 and older, and the run time is approximately one hour.

Just before Halloween, The Haunting of Ichabod Crane (October 25-30) will delight and spook all audiences brave enough to take a seat at the table. This site-specific storytelling event will bring audiences up close and personal with the tale of the nervous schoolteacher Ichabod Crane and the legendary Headless Horseman. After climbing the grand staircase of the Armory, the audience will enter mysterious room and take their seats at a large banquet table to conjure the spirit of Ichabod Crane and experience the tale. The production re-imagines Ichabod's past as a 15-year-old American revolutionary at the helm of a cannon on the battlefield and the headless horseman as a fallen Hessian soldier who lost his life during the same battle. The actors combine the original text of Washington Irving classic short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with real-life New York revolutionary-era history as an eerie new legend unfolds. Originally staged at the Old Stone House in Brooklyn (October 2012), this new version of the show has been designed specifically for the Armory. The production is suitable for ages 8 and older, and the run time is approximately one hour.

Public family presentations of The 7 and 1⁄2 Mysteries of Toulouse McLane will be held on October 13 at 2pm, and October 18 and 19 at 2pm and 7pm, with additional performances for schools.

Public family presentations of The Haunting of Ichabod Crane will be held on October 25 at 2pm and 7pm and October 26 at 2pm and 7pm, with additional performances for schools.

Tickets for public are available for purchase now at the Park Avenue Armory website (www.armoryonpark.org) and by phone at (212) 933-5812.

Trusty Sidekick Theater Company is a New York-based theater company creating bold, sophisticated and high-quality artistic performances for young people and their families. The company combines immersive staging and inventive theatricality to tell old and new stories, challenge preconceptions of live performance, and introduce theater to a new generation. The company's work is multidisciplinary, and its ensemble of collaborators includes artists trained in physical theater, puppetry, music, dance, animation, and video projection. Since its founding in early 2011, Trusty Sidekick has developed and presented new work at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The New Victory Theater, Cleveland PlayhouseSquare, Old Stone House (The House of Ichabod Crane), Abrons Arts Center (The Little One and the Sea of Letters), and The Performance Project @ The University Settlement (Shadow Play; Off the Map). The company recently co-produced The Boy at the Edge of Everything by Finegan Kruckemeyer with Seattle Children's Theater, which premiered in Seattle in March 2014. This work was previously developed as the pilot residency of New Victory LabWorks, the 2012 John F. Kennedy Center New Visions/New Voices Program, and Cleveland PlayhouseSquare's Launch Residency Program.

Part palace, part industrial shed, Park Avenue Armory fills a critical void in the cultural ecology of New York by enabling artists to create-and audiences to experience-unconventional work that cannot be mounted in traditional performance halls and museums. With its soaring 55,000- square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall-reminiscent of 19th-century European train stations- and array of exuberant period rooms, the Armory offers a new platform for creativity across all art forms. Since its first production in September 2007-Aaron Young's Greeting Card, a 9,216-square- foot "action" painting created by the burned-out tire marks of ten choreographed motorcycles- the Armory has organized a series of immersive performances, installations, and works of art that have drawn critical and popular attention. Among the highlights of its first six years are: Bernd Alois Zimmermann's harrowing Die Soldaten, in which the audience moved "through the music;" the unprecedented six-week residency of the Royal Shakespeare Company in their own theater rebuilt in the drill hall; a massive digital sound and video environment by Ryoji Ikeda; a sprawling gauzy, multisensory labyrinth created by Ernesto Neto; the event of a thread, a site- specific installation by Ann Hamilton; the final performances of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company across three separate stages; the New York Philharmonic performing Karlheinz Stockhausen's sonic masterpiece Gruppen with three orchestras surrounding the audience; and WS by Paul McCarthy, a monumental installation of fantasy, excess, and dystopia. Concurrent with the development of its artistic program, the Armory has undertaken an ongoing $200-million revitalization of its historic building, designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron. Arts Education for underserved New York City public school students has become one of the Armory's three major priorities, along with artistic programming and historic preservation. Arts Education at the Armory gives students and families the tools to think creatively and trust their own aesthetic judgment through production-based programming, partnership school program and Youth Corps program which offers paid internships for NYC public school students.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTIONS:

THE 7 AND ½ MYSTERIES OF TOULOUSE MCLANE

October 13 at 2pm

October 18 at 2pm and 7pm

October 19 at 2pm and 7pm

Ages 8 and up

Do you know about the remarkable life of Toulouse McLane? Well, you're about to find out. Bravely step inside and follow a mysterious figure down the vast North Hall. Or peek behind a door and follow another figure inside. Listen carefully, as they may offer you a clue about the curious Ms. McLane. Inspired by the real-life history of the breathtaking Park Avenue Armory, this boldly original piece of theater will send audiences on an unforgettable journey, from the deck of the infamous Lusitania to the glamorous parties of the Armory's own 7th Regiment, to uncover the truth about the life and times of Toulouse McLane. Are you ready to go? Let's Go.

THE HAUNTING OF ICHABOD CRANE

October 25 at 2pm and 7pm

October 26 at 2pm and 7pm

Ages 8 and up

What really happened to poor Ichabod Crane? And how might he be connected to the hallowed ground where the Park Avenue Armory now stands? Be our guest this Halloween season and uncover the truth in this immersive retelling of a haunting American legend. Bravely embark on an eerie journey from the hallowed revolutionary war battlegrounds of Manhattan to the bewitching glen of Sleepy Hollow. Who knows what troubled spirits and strange sights await those who dare to climb the stairs of the mysterious Park Avenue Armory...

To post a comment, you must register and login.