Maieutic Theatre Works Presents BARRIER ISLAND, 4/30-5/22

Maieutic Theatre Works (MTWorks) is pleased to present the world premiere of David Stallings? BARRIER ISLAND, directed by Cristina Alicea. BARRIER ISLAND will play a 4-week limited engagement at Center Stage NY (48 West 21st Street, 4th Floor, Buzzer 401#). Performances begin Friday, April 30th through Saturday, May 22nd.

Press are cordially invited Saturday, May 1st at 8:00 p.m.; Sunday, May 2nd at 7:00 pm & Monday, May 3rd at 8:00 p.m. (Unofficial press dates will be accommodated, upon request.)

It is true that living on a potential disaster spot has tended to develop in its citizens a philosophy which is at the same time nonchalant, fatalistic, imperturbable, stoic and with a sort of paternalistic pride in the blows that nature can give and that 30 miles of sand bar can take...? (Prominent Galvestonian).

Barrier Island tackles the nature of a fearless community that chooses to stake their lives on the strength of the historic Galveston seawall -- built to protect the island from natural disasters -- as they await the arrival of one of the most devastating hurricanes to hit the United States since Katrina, Hurricane Ike. Nominated for the 2009 Weissberger Award (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Barrier Island is the first play in ?The Galveston Cycle.?

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The production features Alex Bond* (Flamingo Court), David L. Carson* (Nixon?s Nixon), Anthony Crep, Mark Emerson*, Anne Claire Gibbons-Brown, Carol Hickey* (The Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge; Original cast of Urinetown), Frankie Seratch, Stewart Steinberg* (The Seagull: The Hamptons: 1990?s) and Jennifer Laine Williams*.

Julie Griffith is the producer. Set design by Craig Napoliello, costume design by David Withrow, lighting design by Dan Gallagher, and sound design by Martha Goode. Courtenay Drakos is the production manager, and Carolynn Richer is the production stage manager. Nichol C. Rosas-Ullman is the assistant stage manager.

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BARRIER ISLAND plays the following schedule through Saturday, May 22nd:

Friday, April 30 & Saturday, May 1 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, May 2 at 7:00 pm

Monday, May 3 at 8:00 pm
Thursday, May 6 through Saturday, May 8 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, May 9 at 7:00 pm

Thursday, May 13 through Saturday, May 15 at 8:00 pm
Sunday, May 16 at 7:00 pm

Wednesday, May 19 through Saturday, May 22 at 8:00 pm

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Tickets are $18 ($15 Students/Seniors/Texans with valid I.D.). Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.theatermania.com, or by calling 212-352-3101. Tickets may be purchased at the theatre?s box office half hour before the performance.

Center Stage NY is located at 48 W 21st St, 4th Floor (Buzzer #401), between 5th Avenue and Avenue of the Americas (6th Ave).

**Running time: 2 hours including one intermission**

This production is partly made possible with support from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council 

*Appearing Courtesy of Actors? Equity Association. Equity Showcase (Approval Pending)

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BIOGRAPHIES

THE GALVESTON CYCLE is a three play series written by award-winning playwright and Galveston native David Stallings that take place in Galveston Island before and after Hurricane Ike. BARRIER ISLAND tackles a fearless community that rests their lives against the historic wall that protects the Island from natural disasters, and the young generation that challenges the emotional disasters no wall can protect, before the arrival of Hurricane Ike. A SONG FOR ST. MICHAEL?S, where a schoolboy's death stirs the people of the Island, soon after the devastation of Hurricane Ike. THE SEAWALL, where three single mothers must come to terms with an absent father, two years after Hurricane Ike, and one year after a National economic crash.

David Stallings (Playwright) has been involved in New York theatre for the past seven years. He has worked with several theatre companies including The Culture Project, Manhattan Theatre Source, Prospect Theater Company, Early Stages and Oberon Theatre Ensemble. He is a founding member of Maieutic Theatre Works, and serves as their Artistic Director. David has written seven full-length plays and numerous short pieces. Maieutic Theatre Works produced Folie a Deux: Insanity in Pairs in the fall of 2006 in New York City. Brandon Voss of HX Magazine called the play, "Riveting" and named Stallings as the "playwright to watch". Other plays include Deceiving Chance, Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell (1st Prize Winner Boston Theatre Works--Unbound Festival 2007--Semi Finalist for the Princess Grace Award 2008), Arpeggio (produced Fall '07 at the 45th Street Theater), A Daughter of Israel, and The Family Shakespeare. On MTWorks' 2008 NYC Fringe production of Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell, the Village Voice said, "Thank the gods for David Stallings' 'Anais Nin Goes to Hell'... a uniquely polished presence at the Fringe", and The New York Press said, "For a play about women but written by a man, it captured the greater female psyche." David is currently working on A Song for St. Michael's, the second play in The Galveston Cycle, which was recently featured in MTWorks' 2010 National NewBorn Festival. David has a BFA in Theater from the College of Santa Fe, NM. He is also a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. www.stallingswrites.com

CRISTINA ALICEA (Director) is a founding member and the Executive Director of MTWorks. She has worked with theatres throughout New York City, some of which include The Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Michael Chekhov Theatre Company, The American Globe Theatre, Thirteenth Street Repertory Company, Creative Stages Theatre, and the FringeNYC Festival. Some directing highlights include Blackbird by Adam Rapp, Stop Kiss by Diana Son, A Couple of White Chicks Sitting Around Talking by John Ford Noonan; Folie a Deux: Insanity in Pairs, Arpeggio, and Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell by David Stallings, Conversation with a Kleagle by Rudy Gray, The Oath by Jacqueline Goldfinger, and The State of the Art, a short-play that premiered as a part of Women Center Stage - a national festival highlighting 4 Emerging Female Directors - for the Culture Project (Off Broadway). Regionally, Cristina directed the West Coast premiere of A Beautiful View by acclaimed Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor at Theatre Rhinoceros in San Francisco. Cristina has a B.A. from George Mason Universty, is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, and is an associate member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. www.cristinalicea.com

MAIEUTIC THEATRE WORKS (MTWorks) is a non-profit NYC based theatre company that has premiered various plays and brought numerous Broadway performers to Off-Off Broadway audiences since 2006. Now a family of 12 theater professionals and 28 company actors, MTWorks? mission is to birth new plays inspired by playwrights and regions outside of New York City. In June 2010, MTWorks will be producing Carol Carpenter?s Good Lonely People at The Planet Connections Theatre Festivities.

Past productions include The 2010 National NewBorn Festival at Asya Geisberg Studio, various directors; Underworld: Duets at The Triad NYC (Benefit); 4 Variations of Mee at Manhattan Children?s Theatre, various directors; Louise Flory's Look After You at The SoHo Playhouse (FringeNYC 09), directed by David Stallings; Jacqueline Goldfinger's The Oath at The Arclight Theater, directed by Cristina Alicea; The 2009 National NewBorn Festival at The ArcLight Theater, various directors; Into the Underworld: A Broadway Understudy Tell All...With Music at The Triad NYC (Benefit); David Stallings' Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell at The Connelly Theater, directed by Cristina Alicea (FringeNYC 08); Cody Daigle's Providence at The Rock Theatre, directed by Ian Crawford; Underworld: A Night With Broadway's Understudies at The D-Lounge (Benefit); The 2008 National NewBorn Festival at The Payan Theatre, various directors; David Stallings's Arpeggio at The 45th Street Theatre, directed by Cristina Alicea; The 2007 National NewBorn Festival at The Payan Theatre, various directors; and David Stallings? Folie a Deux: Insanity in Pairs at The Rock Theatre, directed by Cristina Alicea. www.mtworks.org