WON'T BE A GHOST to Run 4/14-23 at The Brick

Playwright Francis Weiss Rabkin and company Tight Braid Group present the interdisciplinary play Won't Be a Ghost. Growing out of several years of development, Won't Be a Ghost entwines the stories of two queer truth-tellers: Magnus Hirschfeld, early sexologist and gay rights advocate, and US Army whistleblower, Chelsea Manning. Taking structural cues from Ancient Greek tragedies, a chorus guides the audience from the gardens of Hirschfeld's Weimar-era Institute for Sexual Science to a US Army base in Iraq, where Manning tells her story via instant messenger. Refusing martyrdom, they find grace in the unjust through rituals of healing.

The play received development residencies from Dixon Place and The Drama League of New York, with workshop showings at Prelude '14, Dixon Place, and HERE. The 2015 Kilroy List recognized Won't Be a Ghost as an Honorable Mention.

Anchored in a research and rehearsal practice that prioritizes emotional and political engagement, Tight Braid Group pulls from diverse practices and experiences to tell complex stories and build close community bonds. Collaborators include poets, playwrights, musicians, choreographers, visual artists, dancers, and others.

Written/Directed: Francis Weiss Rabkin, Music: Leslie Allison

Francis Weiss Rabkin's plays and collaborations have been presented in Philadelphia, Chicago, and in New York at HERE Arts, Dixon Place, the Bushwick Starr, and the Prelude Festival. They are also the author of the plays Yay! Synchronicity in the Universe (Dixon Place, 2013) and Collecting Dust (Cha-Cha 'Razzi, 2008). They are honored to have received residencies at the Wassaic Project, the Millay Colony, the Drama League of New York, and Dixon Place. They were recently named a New York Theater Workshop 2050 Fellow.

Composer Leslie Allison writes songs, poems, and criticism. She has been creating choral works for collaborations with her partner Francis Weiss Rabkin since 2013, and she studies voice with Nick Hallett. Leslie's first book of poetry, Martha (2015), was published by Ugly Duckling Presse.

Won't Be a Ghost will play at The Brick (579 Metropolitan Ave at Lorimer Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn) April 14 - 16, 21 - 23 @ 7:30pm and April 17 @ 3pm. Tickets ($18) may be purchased online at www.bricktheater.com or by calling 866-811-4111.

The Brick is located at 579 Metropolitan Avenue (between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn on the L & G subway lines (L: Lorimer stop; G: Metropolitan stop). For more detailed directions & further information, visit http://www.bricktheater.com. The Brick and its non-profit company, The Brick Theater, Inc. were founded in September of 2002 by Robert Honeywell and Michael Gardner. Formerly an auto-body shop, a storage space and a yoga center, this brick- walled garage was completely refurbished into a state-of-the-art theater complex, with a large sprung floor and professional lighting and sound package.

Winner of THE 2009 CAFFE CINO FELLOWSHIP AWARD, The Brick is Williamsburg, Brooklyn's destination for subversive theatrical experiences. Home to the critically acclaimed premieres of Bouffon Glass Menajoree (NY IT Award Winner-Outstanding Play), Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War (NY IT Award Winner-Outstanding Play), Greed: A Musical Love $tory (NY IT Award Nominee-Outstanding Musical), Red Cloud Rising, Theatre of the Arcade and Suspicious Package (NY IT Award Nominee-Outstanding Play), The Brick has hosted some of downtown theater's most innovative artists, including Target Margin Theater, New Georges, Jason Grote, Annie Baker, Young Jean Lee, The Debate Society, The Mad Ones and Thomas Bradshaw.

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