NYC Company Gogol Annex Premieres ANTEBELLUM in New Orleans, Now thru 11/24

GOGOL ANNEX (NYC/Toronto) is pleased to announce the world premiere of Antebellum, a portrait of the notorious, the famed, and the wicked in pre-Civil War era New Orleans. Antebellum was invited to premiere at the 2013 New Orleans Fringe Festival this November, as part of the curated Fringe-managed venue performance series. The vibrant experimental theatre performance is inspired by the real-life histories of three characters roaming in New Orleans at the time, illuminating the notion of fame and celebrity in the antebellum era. Antebellum will run today, November 21-24 at Mardi Gras Zone (Architect St., Riverside). Tickets are $8 with $3 Fringe button available at the door or at www.nofringe.org.

Antebellum includes performances by Nicole Kontolefa, Leah Loftin, and Taylor Sutherland, with a soundscape from acclaimed composer Nathan Halpern (Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Marina Abramovi?: The Artist Is Present - HBO Films).

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION: Antebellum presents three haunting and comedic portraits loosely inspired by the historical narratives of real-life characters roaming in mid-19th century New Orleans: Bricktop (murderous prostitute and serial killer), The Colonel (notorious steamboat gambler), and The Nightingale (egomaniacal opera sensation commodified by P.T. Barnum).

In this vibrant performance, GOGOL ANNEX devises a bold theatrical form - part historical period drama, part choreographed performance art, and part experimental soundscape - to create a gripping tale that bring the character portraits to life. Antebellum fuses historical texts with songs and sounds from the period to take a fresh look at this potent and oft-overlooked moment of southern history. Learn more about the production at www.gogolannex.com.

The ensemble of performers behind GOGOL ANNEX, based in Brooklyn and Toronto, have been collaborating together for over 8 years with various companies in New York and Russia, primarily with Studio Six of the Moscow Art Theatre (NYC) and SounDrama (Moscow). Their work is devoted to experimental and expressionistic storytelling that integrates movement, music, and sound with original historical and literary adaptations.

The collaborators behind Antebellum recently completed an extended performance residency together in Russia, where they created an original, award-winning Russian-American production entitled Gorod.OK (History. A Town.) with Moscow's acclaimed theatre company SounDrama, directed by Vladimir Pankov. Fusing Washington Irving's A History of New York with Saltykov-Shchedrin's History of a Town, the play was an apocalyptic mash-up examining how governors abuse their citizens. The play was commissioned by and premiered at the Chekhov InterNational Theatre Festival in Moscow, and was followed by a sold-out run at The Meyerhold Center and theMossovet Theatre in Moscow, as well as performances at the 2012 International Experimental Theatre Festival in Chisinau, Moldova. Gorod.OK was named Moscow's 'Best Experimental Theatre Production' of 2012.

The performers behind GOGOL ANNEX have created a number of works involving adaptations of Gogol, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, and Bulgakov, in addition to original new works. GOGOL ANNEX is currently developing an original performance surrounding the diabolical social ambition and rebellion in the Gilded Age, which has been invited to premiere in January 2014 in New York City at The Metropolitan Playhouse.

ABOUT THE COMPOSER: Nathan Halpern is a composer and singer/songwriter from New York City. He has composed the original scores to such films as the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Marina Abramovi?: The Artist Is Present (HBO Films) and Robert Redford's Primetime Emmy-nominated All the President's Men Revisited (Discovery). Halpern made his film scoring debut in 2011 with Renee (ESPN Films/30 for 30), whose music was lauded as an "excellent score" by The Huffington Post and "a hauntingly poetic score" by The Examiner. In 2013, Nathan Halpern was commissioned to create a sound/music installation at New York City's Lexington Armory, commemorating the 100 year anniversary of the first International Exhibition of Modern Art in 1913. The Armory performance was presented in collaboration with SITU STUDIO (environment/installation) and Processional Arts (performance installation). Halpern has scored a number of additional award-winning documentaries, and is currently in production with the score for The Poisoner's Handbook (PBS / American Experience). www.copticonmusic.com

ANTEBELLUM
by GOGOL ANNEX
A wickedly delicious portrait of the famed and notorious in Pre-Civil War era New Orleans
A new theatre performance installation from GOGOL ANNEX
2013 New Orleans Fringe Festival (Fringe-managed Venue)
November 21-24, 2013
Mardi Gras Zone (Architect St., Riverside)
with performances by NICOLE KONTOLEFA, LEAH LOFTIN, and TAYLOR SUTHERLAND
with a soundscape from NATHAN HALPERN
SHOWTIMES: 11/21 at 9pm, 11/22 at 5pm, 11/23 at 7pm, 11/24 at 11pm
TICKETS: $8 with $3 Fringe button available at the door or at www.nofringe.org.
www.gogolannex.com

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