Florida Rep's 2014-15 ArtStage Season Begins with TRIBES Tonight

Florida Rep will kick off its 2014-15 ArtStage season with the Florida premiere of Tribes, a daring new play by Nina Raine. Winner of the 2012 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, Tribes plays Nov. 7-30, with three nearly sold-out previews tonight and tomorrow, Nov. 5 and 6.

"We are thrilled to be giving this hot, new drama its Florida premiere," said Founder and Producing Artistic Director, Robert Cacioppo. "Tribes took London and New York by storm, and won every major award that an Off-Broadway play can win. Not only will it make you laugh, but it will take your breath away. It really is one of the best-written plays in recent years, and tells a sometimes hilarious and sometimes heartbreaking story of one eccentric family's journey to understanding one another."

Florida Rep's ArtStage Studio Theatre is a 120-seat black box located just fifty yards down the hall from the Arcade Theatre's lobby. This smaller venue offers audiences a unique opportunity to experience theatre in an incredibly intimate setting where no one is more than three rows from the action. The ArtStage Studio Theatre is the perfect space to see a complex and realistic drama like Tribes.

Just back from college and starting out in life, Billy, born deaf in a hearing world, was raised inside a fiercely idiosyncratic and politically incorrect cocoon. As the youngest of three siblings, he's had to adapt to his family's unconventional ways and to reading lips in order to communicate. Though deaf, Billy is the only one who truly listens. When he falls in love with Sylvia, who is losing her hearing, she opens his eyes to the rich and varied world of Deaf culture-a world he never knew existed. Tribes is a sharp, witty story about finding the place where you can be heard and a family that feels like home.

One of the most-produced plays in America this season (American Theatre Magazine), Tribes features Florida Rep Company Members, Carrie Lund and David Breitbarth, and a stellar cast making their Florida Rep debuts: Brittany Albury, Britt Michael Gordon, Katrina Michaels, and John Skelley.

Ms. Lund is Florida Rep's co-founder and Associate Producer, and was last seen in Heart Song and the nationally acclaimed production of Arsenic and Old Lace; Mr. Breitbarth, also a company member at Sarasota's Asolo Rep, appeared most recently in Florida Rep's Social Security and Lend Me a Tenor.

An FGCU graduate, Ms. Albury has been seen on stages around Southwest Florida including Florida Rep's inaugural PlayLab festival. Mr. Gordon makes his Florida Rep debut after recently graduating from Florida State. Ms. Michaels and Mr. Skelley come to Florida Rep's stage from New York; Ms. Michaels is a recent graduate of NYU's CAP21 program, and Mr. Skelley has worked extensively with the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis as well as on regional stages across the country.

Florida Rep Associate Artistic Director, Chris Clavelli (Time Stands Still), directs the production and is joined by an expert creative team including set designer Bruce R. Bailey (My Three Angels), lighting designer Kate Smith (Collected Stories), Costume Designer Roberta Malcolm (Heart Song), sound designer John Kiselica, and Production Stage Manager and Company Member, Janine Wochna (Santaland Diaries).

Tribes by Nina Raine plays Nov. 7-30 in the ArtStage Studio Theatre with three nearly sold-out previews tonight and tomorrow, Nov. 5 & 6. Performances are Tues.- Sat. at 8pm, with matinees on Wed., Sun., and selected Saturdays. Single tickets are priced at $45 and $25 for discounted previews, and are now on sale through the box office at 239-332-4488 and online at floridarep.org. Subscriptions for the 2014-15 season offer the best seats and the biggest savings. Packages start as low as $130 for 6 plays and offer up to 43% off single ticket prices.

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