spit&vigor Presents NEC SPE / NEC METU Tonight at the United Solo Festival

spit&vigor presents NEC SPE + NEC METU, written by Sara Fellini (winner - 2014 Planet Award for Outstanding New Script, nominated - 2015 NYIT Award for Outstanding Full Length Script) and directed by Emma Rosa Went (AMP - HERE Arts, Boxcar - The Tank).

The two monodramas will both be performed tonight, October 10th, with NEC METU at 7:30 PM and NEC SPE at 9 PM. These performances will be part of an extremely limited engagement at The Studio Theater at Theater Row (410 W 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036) as part of the United Solo Fest.

Tickets are $35 for each performance, $70 for both. Tickets are sold separately for each show. For advance reservations, visit unitedsolo.org/us/necmetu-2017 for NEC METU and unitedsolo.org/us/necspe-2017 for NEC SPE.

NEC SPE / NEC METU (no hope / no fear) is a collection of two dovetailing monodramas.

In NEC SPE, the great Baroque painter Caravaggio confesses his hideous sins to an imagined or ethereal priest after his own brutal and untimely death, possibly searching for forgiveness. But his swagger and violent personality leave us to question whether he truly wants his sins washed away, or whether he would rather justify his actions in the eyes of God and man.

In NEC METU, the great Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi recounts her notorious rape and torture in order to reclaim her legacy and illuminate her brilliant life and art. She tells her story with wry wit and humor, offering an alternative and often-neglected perspective on art history and her intimate relationships with some of the world's greatest artists.

From the critically-acclaimed and award-winning company members that brought IN VESTMENTS to site-specific West Park Presbyterian Church and THE EXECUTION of MRS. COTTON to IRT Theatre, NEC SPE / NEC METU is a deeply intimate story of two wayfaring ghosts that ache to be remembered on their own terms. Although it is set in post-Renaissance Italy, the play delves into issues that are still intensely relevant today, including class and meritocracy, the value and purpose of art, gender politics, sex and violence, as well as sin and redemption.

The cast features Adam Belvo (2015 Planet Connections Outstanding Lead Actor winner, 2016 NYIT Outstanding Lead Actor nominee)and Sara Fellini (2015 Planet Connections Outstanding Lead Actress nominee). The costumes were designed and constructed by Virginia Davis and the set was constructed by Ian Petersen. The play features original musical compositions by Colt W. Keeney, singer and songwriter for the Austin-based band The Bad Invaders, and a life-sized puppet designed and constructed by Pandora Gastelum of the mudlark public theatre in New Orleans. Photography is by Yvonne Allaway.

For more information, visit www.spitnvigor.com.