American Theater Company (ATC) announces the Chicago Premiere of The Amish Project written by Jessica Dickey and directed by Artistic Director PJ Paparelli, featuring ATC Ensemble member Sadieh Rifai. The production will run September 23 - October 23, 2011 at American Theater Company, 1909 W Byron, Chicago, IL. Press opening is Monday, September 26, 2011 at 7:00PM.
Nickel Mines. 2006. Five years ago, a thirty-year old man walked into a one-room Amish schoolhouse and opened fire, killing 5 girls and himself. In a decision that shocks the world, the Amish community later the same day forgives his crime and offers aid to his grieving widow. ATC Ensemble Member Sadieh Rifai performs this devastating tour-de-force through the mystical world of the Amish and the ultimate limits of forgiveness.
"The Amish Project is one of the most provocative pieces of theatre I have ever read," says Artistic Director
PJ Paparelli. "The audience will share in a community's journey toward forgiveness in the wake of an unimaginable tragedy. It reminds us of the power of forgiveness: a strength within each of us. I feel very blessed to share this journey with Sadieh, a dear friend and brilliant collaborator."
ATC Artistic Director
PJ Paparelli, ATC Ensemble Member Sadieh Rifai, Set Designer William Boles, and Composer
Fabian Obispo, traveled to Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania this August to spend four days researching the 2006 Amish School shootings. The team spent a day with Dr. Donald Kraybill, one of the country's leading experts on the Amish and the main spokesperson for the Amish during the aftermath of the shootings. Dr. Kraybill shared with the team his extensive archive on the shootings and helped guide visits to Amish families in the area. While there, the Team interviewed Amish (and formerly Amish) families and individuals in and around Lancaster, PA, visiting their farms, places of work, and eating meals in and around Nickel Mines. An Amish woman agreed to design and build a traditional Amish dress for Sadieh to wear in the production, a special honor as traditional clothing is not available for retail purchase and must be handmade by women in each Amish household. The Team also spent time visiting the graves of the Amish girls who died in the shootings, as well as the unmarked grave of the shooter. The Team was able to see and photograph the new schoolhouse; the original building was torn down a week after the shootings. On the sunrise of the final day, the Team gathered at the site of the shootings, which is now an open field with four maple trees growing.
"I think the four of us will be forever changed by our time in Nickel Mines. Standing on the site of the shootings as the sun rose on Nickel Mines was breathtaking. I left with a profound sense of purpose as an artist: to share a remarkable story with Chicago," explains Paparelli. "While writing columbinus, I experienced the community of Littleton, CO in shambles 5 years after the Columbine shootings. But this tiny, remarkable community has moved to such a peaceful and healthy place. It's an extraordinary American community that we were truly honored to explore."
In observance of the five year anniversary of the Nickel Mines shooting on October 2, 2011, ATC will present a curated exhibition of photos by
Fabian Obispo taken during the artistic team's visit to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in August 2011. There will also be a post-show discussion following the matinee performance, featuring members of the production artistic team.
The creative team includes William Boles (set design),
Jesse Klug (lighting design), and
Fabian Obispo (music composition). Sadieh Rifai's costume is being designed and built by Amish women in Lancaster, PA. The stage manager is Katie Klemme.
Jessica Dickey (Playwright) hails from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, and lives in New York as an actor, writer and coach. She received her BFA from Boston University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts; she also attended the Pennsylvania GovernorÃs School for the Arts. New York credits have included Manhattan Theatre Club,
Keen Company, Cherry Lane, AndHow! and HERE, with countless workshops and readings with Rattlestick, New Georges,
Culture Project, and many others. Regional credits have included multiple productions with
Williamstown Theatre Festival,
Huntington Theatre Company,
George Street Playhouse, as well as the Denver Center, Portland Stage Company and the
Dallas Theater Center. Television credits have included Law and Order, The Education of Max Bickford and the pilot Cop Shop, the latter both starring
Richard Dreyfuss. Developing new work is a passion for Jessica; she is a Founding Member of The Fire Dept and has birthed several new plays with The New Harmony Project. Jessica has been a writer all her life - from designing magazines when she was little (cover to cover!) to creating expressive arts curriculum for all ages (winning her the Bell Atlantic Leadership Award in 1997), to being a semi-finalist in the
Emily Dickinson Poetry Contest in 2003, and now at the behest of her mentor,
Arthur Laurents, a bourgeoning playwright. The Amish Project is her playwriting debut.
PJ Paparelli (Artistic Director/Director) Season 27 marks PJ's fifth season as Artistic Director of American Theater Company. ATC credits include The Original Grease, the World Premiere of Yeast Nation, Hedwig and the Angry Inch (highest grossing show in ATC history), True West (both Caucasian and African American casts), and the regional premiere of Speech & Debate (Jeff Nomination; TimeOut Chicago & New City Stage's top 10 productions of 2007). He made New City's "Top 50 Most Influential Theatre Players in Chicago of 2008." This season he will direct Distracted and has been commissioned to develop a documentary style theatre piece on Chicago's Public Housing with Congo Square and the National Public Housing Museum. From 2004-08, Paparelli was the Artistic Director of Perseverance Theatre in Juneau, Alaska. His directing credits include the World Premiere of Yeast Nation, Equus, The Who's Tommy, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, the premiere of a new version of Hair, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Voyage, and columbinus. In 2002, PJ founded the United States Theatre Project, where he conceived, co-wrote, and directed columbinus, which premiered at Round House Theatre and Perseverance, and ran Off-Broadway at NY Theatre Workshop. columbinus was nominated for 2
Lucille Lortel Awards, 5 Helen Hayes Awards, is published by Dramatic Publishing, and has seen over 30 productions around the world. Other directing credits include Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis), Twelfth Night at Shakespeare Santa Cruz (2005 Newsweek's Top 5 summer productions), Merchant of Venice (American Shakespeare Center), Action (Circle Rep) and True West in Russian at the Moscow
Art Theatre School. Paparelli has worked in education and administration at
The Public Theatre, Pittsburgh Public, and Circle Rep, and has directed and/or taught Shakespeare at Juilliard, Bread Loaf School of English, NCSA, UAlaska-SE, UNC at Chapel Hill, Catholic U, UPenn, and Johns Hopkins. He holds a BFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon and graduate studies in acting at the Moscow
Art Theatre School. He is a member of the SSDC and is represented by
Creative Artists AgencySadieh Rifai has been an ensemble member at American Theater Company since 2008 and has appeared at ATC in The Original Grease, Welcome to Arroyo's, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Distracted and Speech and Debate for which she won an After Dark Award for outstanding performance. Sadieh was most recently seen in The Piano Teacher at Next theatre. Other Chicago credits include understudying the role of Johnna Monevata in August: Osage County (
Steppenwolf Theatre), Ski Dubai (
Steppenwolf Theatre First Look), and Merchant on Venice (Silk Road Theatre). Sadieh is a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf. She is very proud to be a part of the film The Wise Kids being released this fall and the new mockumentary comedy series Bad Sides.
Title: The Amish Project
Written by: Jessica Dickey
Directed by: PJ Paparelli
Dates: Previews: September 23 - September 25, 2011
Press opening: Monday, September 26, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
Regular run: September 29 - October 23, 2011
Schedule: Thursdays & Fridays: 8:00pm
Saturdays: 3:00pm & 8:00pm
Sundays: 3:00pm
Location: American Theater Company, 1909 W Byron St., Chicago
Tickets: Previews: $10 rush tickets at the door, or reserved seats for $30
Regular run: Thursdays & matinees $35; Fri & Sat evenings $40
Opening night including post-show reception $50
Box Office: The Box Office is located at 1909 W Byron St., Chicago;
773.409.4125;
www.atcweb.org
