Sundance Institute & Public Theater Launch Resident Workshop

Sundance Institute and The Public Theater announced today the launch of the 2007 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in Residence at the Public Theater in New York.  This residency marks the first theatre workshop in New York for The Sundance Institute and will take place November 6-18 at The Public Theater (425 Lafayette Street, New York).

The Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in Residence at the Public Theater is a new 10-day workshop of intensive rehearsals and presentations involving plays and artists that have previously participated in a Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in Utah, at White Oak in Florida or the Ucross Playwrights Retreat in Wyoming.

New York-based playwright Marcus Gardley's …And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi has been selected for the inaugural workshop. The play, previously developed at the 2006 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, will have a full 10-day rehearsal period with director, cast and dramaturg followed by a two-day, invitation-only presentation scheduled for November 17 and 18 at The Public Theater.

…And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi is a poetic retelling of a Greek myth that weaves a fascinating yarn about family relationships during the Civil War. The play tells the story of a world where trees preach, rivers dance and Christ moonwalks.  Gardley (Dance of The Holy Ghosts) is a poet-playwright who teaches Playwriting at Columbia University. Robert O'Hara, whose plays include American Ma(u)l and Booty Candy, will direct this new play.

Additionally, the November residency includes a three-day reading project for David Adjmi's Marie Antoinette.  Adjmi participated in the 2006 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in Utah and the 2006 Ucross Playwrights Retreat in Wyoming. Marie Antoinette is a play about the life and reign of a famous queen and her downfall, told in sometimes sad, sometimes funny and surrealistic strokes.

This inaugural residency at The Public Theater is an extension of The Sundance Institute Theatre Program as well as a continuation of The Public Theater's mission.  It strengthens the 26-year-old Sundance Institute's connection with New York City artists and audiences and expands on the Public's commitment to new playwrights and original voices.

Sundance Institute Theatre Program has a strong connection to the New York Theatre community. While the work the Program supports is never chosen for its commercial viability -- and indeed, the vast majority of the projects defy easy classification -- more than 85% of Sundance work has moved on to production in regional theatres from coast to coast, as well as New York (off Broadway and Broadway) and internationally. Highlights include recent Broadway hits Grey Gardens, Spring Awakening, I Am My Own Wife and The Light On The Piazza, as well as off-Broadway and regional work such as Some Men, Blue Door, Crowns, Dogeaters, Most Wanted and (I am) Nobody's Lunch by The Civilians.

Other collaborations in New York include Sundance Institute at BAM. Since 2005, Sundance Institute has enjoyed a collaboration with Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) where the Theatre Program has presented a sampling of new and rarely-heard musical works by Sundance-supported theatre artists including Ricky Ian Gordon, Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater, Mark Bennett and Jessica Hagedorn, Adam Guettel, Mark Campbell, and Michael Friedman. Most recently, The Sundance Institute Theatre Program at BAM presented a concert reading of a new site-specific Mabou Mines piece, Song for New York, which premiered in New York City in September.  Sundance Institute at BAM is designed to showcase new talent in film, theater and music and to provide audiences with an opportunity to explore the creative and practical processes of filmmakers, playwrights, and composers.

The Sundance Institute Theatre Program is part of the Sundance Institute. Through its developmental activities at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, The Sundance Institute Playwrights Retreat at Ucross and The Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at White Oak, the Program identifies and assists emerging theatre artists, contributes to the creative growth of established artists, and encourages and supports the development of new work for the stage. Under the guidance of Producing Artistic Director Philip Himberg, more than 85% of the work coming out of the Program's labs has found professional production at theatres across the United States, Mexico and Europe.

Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is dedicated to the development of artists of independent vision and the exhibition of their new work. Since its inception, the Institute has grown into an internationally recognized resource for filmmakers and other artists. Sundance Institute conducts national and international labs for filmmakers, screenwriters, composers, writers and theatre artists. The annual Sundance Film Festival, a major program of Sundance Institute, is held each January and is considered the premier showcase for American and international independent film. The Institute supports non-fiction filmmakers through the Documentary Film Program by providing year-round support through the Sundance Documentary Fund and a series of programs that nurture their growth, encourage the exploration of innovative nonfiction storytelling and promote the exhibition of documentary films to a broader audience. Through The Sundance Institute Theatre Program, the Institute is committed to invigorating The National Theatre movement with original and creative work and to nurturing the diversity of artistic expression among theatre artists. The Institute also maintains The Sundance Collection at UCLA, a unique archive of independent film.

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Mara Manus, Executive Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 as the Shakespeare Workshop and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, productions of Shakespeare, and other classics at its headquarters on Lafayette Street and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.  The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day on stage and through its extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 40 Tony Awards, 141 Obies, 39 Drama Desk Awards, 23 Lucille Lortel Awards and 4 Pulitzer Prizes.

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