A HANKY AND A TOP HAT! to Premiere at FRIGID Festival

Torkova Entertainment will present A Hanky and a Top Hat! written by Bobby Torkova and directed by Gene Santarelli. The production will be presented as part of the 2022 FRIGID Festival at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st Avenue and Avenue A) with performances on Friday, February 18 at 5:15pm, Saturday, February 26 at 10:30pm, Monday, February 28 at 8:45pm, Friday, March 4 at 8:45pm, and Sunday, March 6 at 1:45pm. Tickets ($18) are available for advance purchase at www.frigid.nyc. The performance will run approximately 60 minutes.

A Hanky and a Top Hat! is an autobiographical solo show of about a little boy who stutters, reads comic books and dreams of becoming a magician. While this is not your traditional magic show, it does feature magic performances to illustrate the story.

Bobby Torkova (Playwright/Performer) A scholar of magic and its history, Bobby has studied magic with Jeff Sheridan, Tony Slydini and Bobby Baxter; improvisation with John Monteith and mime with Richard Morse. He has performed on Penn & Teller's hit television show, Fool Us, and has appeared numerous times at The Magic Castle in Hollywood and Monday Night Magic in New York City. In 2004 he collaborated with producer Alan Miller and the Ying Quartet, for their No Boundaries concert at Symphony Space in Manhattan. In 2006, he wrote and performed his first original play, Thought Prints, at the New York International Fringe Festival. He has acted as magic consultant to Off-Broadway productions and has been featured in the bestseller, Magic for Dummies by David Pogue.

Gene Santarelli (Director) His NYC directing credits include the award winning production of Rats at the Direct Theatre. For Soho Rep, Gene directed G.B. Shaw's Overruled, Dandy Dick, A Time to Remember (original musical), and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. While working with the American Jewish Theatre he directed Cold Storage at the Henry Street Settlement and later King David and His Wives for AJT's American premiere production at the 92St.Y. Other NYC credits include The Misanthrope, You Can't Take It with You, The Man With a Load of Mischief, and The Gingerbread Lady. While on the administrative staff at the Juilliard School's Drama Division, he stage managed for Jack O'Brien and also the American Opera Center. He has directed and taught theatre arts to middle and high school students in Manhattan and at the Usdan Center for the Performing Arts, Long Island. As a founding member of Artistic New Directions, he currently leads the works-in-progress rehearsal workshop, Anything Goes, as part of the theatre company's mission to continue to help artists bring inspiration to life.

FRIGID Festival is an open and uncensored theatre festival that gives artists an opportunity to let their ingenuity thrive in a venue that values freedom of expression and artistic determination. In true support of the Indie Theater Community, 100% of box office proceeds go directly to the artists whose work is being presented. FRIGID is here to chill out the New York independent theatre scene's ideas of what a theatre festival can be! www.frigid.nyc