Antigravity Performance Project Presents MISS JULIE

Antigravity Performance Project presents MISS JULIE, a classic tale told with a fresh perspective and directed by Kym Moore, co-artistic director of Antigravity Performance Project, running Sept. 27 - Oct 13 at Chain Theatre. Though Antigravity is best known for devising new performance works (Yermedea Raw, Dear Diary LOL, Nellie/Nellie), Miss Julie is part of the company's larger mission to "incite and encourage new conversations about the collective human experience that challenge socio-political norms."

Reframing the iconic Julie as a powerful (yet tragic) heroine, Antigravity's production portrays Julie as a free spirit with a passion to live fully. What happens to a woman who, bound by society's rules and expectations, steps out of line? "Julie is often played as a powerless and desperate woman," says actor Martha Epstein, "and I want to challenge that. I believe it's important, especially in today's climate, to reconsider this character. Why has she been so misunderstood, and how might we know better now?"

Similarly, Jean is trapped by the circumstances brought about by servitude and lack of access to resources. "Jean spends the entirety of the play fighting to break out of the class constraints which bind him," says actor Xavier Markey-Smith. "Every rehearsal I realize that there are more and more layers to him... It's difficult and thrilling to work on a role with so much texture."

How can one find any true semblance of love under such confounding social conditions?

This is Kym Moore's third time directing Miss Julie, but her first time setting it against the original backdrop of 19th-century Europe. "I've always been intrigued by Strindberg, in spite of his designation as the quintessential 'misogynist' playwright, because it is so clear that he fears women, like so many men today," states Moore. "That fear undergirds the need to control women at every turn. There are conditions, perceptions, and beliefs that date far back into antiquity and unconsciously hold women back from exercising their intrinsic powers. Our intention here is to reveal the way society disrupts our ability to naturally connect as human beings, making 'love' a near impossibility. And I wonder -- is a life without love actually worth living?"

Introducing Brown University Alumni Martha Epstein as Miss Julie, Xavier Markey-Smith as Jean, and Ava Langford as Kristin. Production team includes Kym Moore, Director; Ellie Gravitte, Associate Director; Renee Surprenant Fitzgerald, Set Design; Michael Costagliola, Sound/Composer; Natali Arco, Lighting Design; Kameron Neal, Graphic Design; Ron Cesario, Costume Design; Gabriella Piccolino New York PSM; Ken Lumb, Providence PSM; Thom Jones, Vocal Coaching; Liz Hayes, Vocal Coaching; Toro Communications, Public Relations.

Miss Julie's 15-show limited engagement at Chain Theatre (312 W 36th) begins Friday, September 27th and continues through Sunday, October 13th. Tickets are $25 for General Admission and can be purchased online here at Eventbrite. Learn more about the production company at: https://antigravityperformanceproject.org/.