Casting Announced for First Floor Theater's World Premiere of DEER AND THE LOVERS

First Floor Theater is excited to announce the cast of the first play of their fifth season,THE DEER AND THE LOVERS, a rollicking and revelatory world premiere from Emily Zemba, directed by Company MemberJesse Roth.

The cast will feature Kay Kron, Matt Nikkila, Tony Santiago, Alex Stage and Shadee Vossoughi.

DEER AND THE LOVERS will play November 5 - December 4, 2016 at The Den Theatre, 1333 N Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets will go on sale October 1, 2016 at firstfloortheater.com. The press opening is Wednesday, November 9, 2016 at 7:30pm.

Qiana and Peter take a romantic weekend getaway to New Hampshire only to find that a deer has crashed through the window and died. Things really go off the rails when Peter's brash sister, Marnie, and her daft husband, Felix, show up unannounced. The dead deer, a mysterious animal control officer, and nightfall in the forest expose the harsh truths of each lover's life. DEER AND THE LOVERS is a bold new farce about being lost in love, lost in the woods, and forging a new path when life veers off track.

The production team for DEER AND THE LOVERS includes Eleanor Kahn (scenic design), Karli Blalock (sound design),Cassandra Bowers (costume design), Emily Breyer and Audrey Fierberg (Props and Puppet Design), Sophie Blumberg(dramaturg), Alex Madda (Assistant Director), and Julie Leghorn (Stage Manager).

PRODUCTION DETAILS:

Title: DEER AND THE LOVERS

Playwright: Emily Zemba

Director: First Floor Company Member Jesse Roth

Cast: Kay Kron (Marnie), Matt Nikkila (Lenny), Tony Santiago (Felix), Alex Stage (Peter) and Shadee Vossoughi (Qiana).

Location: The Den Theatre, 1333 N Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago

Dates: Previews: Saturday, November 5 at 7:30pm and Sunday, November 6 at 3pm

Press Performance: Wednesday, November 9 at 7:30pm

Regular Run: Thursday, November 10 - December 4, 2016

Curtain Times: Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm; Sundays at 3pm. Note: There will be two added performances on Monday the 14th and 28th. Also, there will not be a performance on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 24th.

Tickets: Previews: Pay What You Can . Regular Run: $10-20. Tickets will go on sale October 1, 2016 at firstfloortheater.com.

About the Creative Team

Emily Zemba (Playwright) is a New York based playwright and performer. Emily's work has been developed with Williamstown Theater Festival's Professional Training Company, Exquisite Corpse Company, Rattlestick Theater (F*ck!ng Good Plays Festival 2015), The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis (Core Apprenticeship 2015), Great Plains Theater Conference PlayLabs (2015), LAByrinth Theater Company's One Act Experiment (2014), and Theater Masters National MFA Playwright's Festival. She is a member of The Middle Voice, and co-founder of The Party Line Theater Company. Emily has taught Playwriting at Wesleyan University. BA, Sarah Lawrence College. MFA, Yale School of Drama.

Jesse Roth (Director) is a Chicago-based theatre director. Her recent directing projects include World Builders by Johnna Adams at First Floor Theater and The Terrible by Morgan McNaught at The New Colony. She regularly assistant directs at The House Theatre of Chicago (The Hammer Trinity, The Last Defender, Death and Harry Houdini) where she also serves as New Works Development Associate. She is a company member and the Literary Manager at First Floor Theater and graduated from the University of Chicago's Theater and Performance Studies program.

About First Floor Theater

First Floor Theater stages stories of individuals facing moments of radical change.Through a process of collaborative dramaturgy, FFT expands these stories to ask urgent social questions. FFT was named the "Best New Theater Company" in the Chicago Reader's Best of 2013 Reader's Pick edition. First Floor Theater is a Resident Company at The Den Theatre.

For more information on First Floor Theater, visit http://firstfloortheater.com/