Recognize Theatre To Present EXPOSED at MCS Theatre

Recognize Theatre will present a new performance of their play Exposed, conceived and directed by Kristin Heckler and written in collaboration with the actors, Jacob Sebastian Philips, Sarah Raimondi, and Pauline Sherrow, at the MCS Theatre (357 West 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues, 2nd floor), February 8-24, 2019. Performances will be on Friday, February 8 at 8pm, Saturday, February 9 at 8pm, Sunday, February 10 at 7pm, Friday, February 15 at 8pm, Saturday, February 16 at 8pm, Sunday, February 17 at 7pm, Friday, February 22 at 8pm, Saturday, February 23 at 8pm, and Sunday, February 24 at 7pm. Tickets ($20; $15 students & seniors) are available for purchase in advance at https://exposed.bpt.me or by calling (917) 426-2381. The performance will run approximately 85 minutes with no intermission.

Lauren, a college freshman, chooses to do adult films to pay for her tuition. When Lauren's secret is discovered she is bombarded with harassment from fellow students, social media and talk show hosts. She defends all of these criticisms with grace and intelligence, but are the consequences worth it?

Exposed is a devised theater piece inspired by true events, fictionalized by writers Kristin Heckler, Jacob Sebastian Phillips, Sarah Raimondi, and Pauline Sherrow. The script was created through improvisation, original dialogue, text and audio from actual interviews, blog posts and tweets. Naturalistic scenes, centering on a familiar coming of age story, juxtapose choreographed pornography scenes.

Kristin Heckler (Playwright/Director) is a theatre director and producer residing in New York City. Favorite directing projects include A Kingdom, A Country, A Wasteland in the Snow (la micro), Dolores (NSWFTW), Or, (NSD), Paraphilia: Everyone Has A Sexual Disorder (FringeNYC), How I Learned to Drive (Recognize Theatre), Stop Kiss (Philadelphia Fringe Festival). As Artistic Director of Recognize Theatre, she produces and creates work which challenges discrimination on the basis of gender and sexuality. Kristin is also Associate Producer of On Her Shoulders, a staged reading series dedicated to reviving forgotten plays written by women before 1970. Her directing roots stem from Montgomery Theater in Souderton, PA where she assistant directed Becky Shaw, The Prisoner of Second Avenue and Any Wednesday. She is a proud member of The League of Professional Theatre Women and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Kristin grew up in Sellersville, PA holds an MFA in Theatre Directing from The New School for Drama and BA's in Women's Studies and Spanish from Duke University. In 2015, Kristin co-founded Uprooted Flower Truck with her wife, Ashley. www.kristinheckler.com

Jacob Sebastian Philips (Writer/Actor) has an MFA in Acting from The New School for Drama where he received the Newman Scholar for excellence in acting. Jacob Sebastian has also trained at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Los Angeles and was selected as one of fourteen to study at The LAByrinth Theatre Company under the direction of the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman and is currently a member of the prestigious Naked Angles Theatre Company. Select professional NYC theatre credits include: Uncle Vanya in Uncle Vanya, Greg in A Kid Like Jake, Jonah in Boundless, Iago in Othello, Alan in Equus, George in Titus Rex, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, and Tom in The Glass Menagerie. Jacob Sebastian's one man show, Eyes Closed, Lips Parted debuted at the Studio Theatre on Theatre Row in Spring 2017. He currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with his dog Zucchini. www.jacobsebastianphillips.com

Pauline Sherrow (Writer/Actor) is an actress, dancer, stand-up comedian, and Nichiren Buddhist. She is a graduate of Pratt Institute and has trained with Matthew Corozine Studio and The Kimball Studio. Select credits: T.V./film: "Sex & Drugs & Rock n Roll" (FX), "The Onion News Network" (IFC), "SNL" (NBC), "All My Children" (ABC), "How to Make it in America" (HBO), "Ironside" (NBC), "Vinyl" (HBO), The Winning Season (Dir. James C. Strouse), Split (Dir. Deborah Kampmeier). www.paulinesherrow.com

Sarah Raimondi (Writer/Actor) is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory. New York Theater: Fred Hammond's Cain and Able Off- Broadway, Shakespeare Shakedown's Hamlet (Hamlet) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Hermia), Recognize Theatre's How I Learned to Drive (Li'l Bit). Regional Theater: Jason Odell Williams', Handle with Care (Ayelet -Fluent Hebrew), Stephen Massicotte's Mary's Wedding (Mary). Film: Amelia (2017- present), in addition to acting, Sarah serves as co-writer of Amelia. Dead Reckoning (2016). www.sarahraimondi.com

Recognize Theatre creates theatre in New York City which challenge society's persisting discrimination with regard to gender and sexuality. We produce theatre from all eras with a focus on new plays, female playwrights and devised theatre. Our work calls for people to recognize that while progress has been made, many women and members of the LGBTQ+ community suffer discrimination in small ways every day. We love to explore how sexuality and gender expression are repressed in recognizable, common settings, such as a therapist's office or a college dorm room. Our goal for audiences of all backgrounds and ideologies to reconsider their assumptions about gender and sexuality in today's world. www.recognizetheatre.org

Photo credit: Kyle Mencel