Ars Nova Announces 'Missed Connections' Series Cast; Runs 1/27 - 1/31

Ars Nova presents Missed Connections NYC, short plays by Ars Nova's Play Group, playing for five performances only January 27 - 31.  From the pages of Craigslist to the Ars Nova stage, Ars Nova's Play Group presents a night of short plays and  live music inspired by ads for the ones that got away. Featuring plays by Annie Baker, Bekah Brunstetter, Dylan Dawson, Kristoffer Diaz, Zayd Dohrn, Tasha Gordon-Solmon, Amy Herzog, Samuel D. Hunter, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Steven Levenson, Matthew Lopez, Janine Nabers and Samuel Brett Williams, the show will be directed by Stephen Brackett, Adrienne Campbell-Holt, Tamara Fisch, Wes Grantom and Kerry Whigham.

The cast includes Aya Cash, Sue Jean Kim, Deirdre Madigan, Arian Moayed, Keith Nobbs, Zach Shaffer, Michael Warner and Susan Kelechi Watson.

The creative team includes Justin Levine (Musical Director), Burke Brown (Lighting Designer), Emily Rebholz (Costume Consultant), and Zane Birdwell (Sound Designer). Play Group is Ars Nova's vibrant and eclectic group of emerging writers who gather twice a month at Ars Nova to share new work and get peer feedback. The group offers members the chance to develop their plays with peer support, form collaborative relationships and build a strong sense of community within Ars Nova.

Taken directly from the subject lines of actual New York Missed Connections posts, the Missed Connections NYC play titles are: Gina from Yoga Two, Is That Your Boyfriend? by Amy Herzog;
Pharmacy in Brooklyn by Steven Levenson; Submit Party - From the Couple Having Sex Everywhere by Kristoffer Diaz; To This Very Day, I Miss Her by Samuel Brett Williams; Fifth Avenue Apple Store Genius by Annie Baker; Doritos Boy by Tasha Gordon-Solmon; Chuck E Cheese by Dylan Dawson;
It Was Wrong of Me: I Touched Your Butt on the L by Zayd Dohrn; Target Customer Service by Samuel D. Hunter; I Might be Supergirl, But... by Janine Nabers; Missing Jonathan L.C. by Matthew Lopez; Cuddle by Bekah Brunstetter; and You Were a Mexican With Friends by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.

All tickets are only $15 and can be purchased at www.arsnovanyc.com, by calling 212-352-3101 or
the Ars Nova box office starting 30 minutes prior to each show (subject to availability). Ars Nova
is located at 511 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019.

As New York's premier hub for emerging artists and new work, Ars Nova is committed to developing and producing eclectic theatre, comedy and music to feed today's popular culture. To that end, Ars Nova strives to create daring collaborations, meld disciplines and give voice to a new generation of artists. Past productions include Sax & Dixon: We Thee Wed, Mel & El: Show & Tell, Two Girls for Five Bucks and the Ten Dollar Heartbreakers, Playlist, Jollyship the Whiz-Bang, Boom, From Up Here, Dixie's Tupperware Party, At Least It's Pink, 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother, Holy Cross Sucks!, Freestyle Love Supreme and The Wau Wau Sisters.

In addition to its featured productions, Ars Nova supports and develops new work from the most promising emerging artists through its alternative comedy series (Tragedy Tomorrow), music series (Uncharted), public play-reading series (Out Loud), writer's group (Play Group), artist-in-residence program, and ANT FEST, a five-week festival of craziness showcasing fresh material from today's most exciting new talent. Ars Nova was founded in memory of Gabe Wiener.

Annie Baker's plays include Body Awareness (Atlantic Theater Company, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations), Circle Mirror Transformation (Playwrights Horizons), The Aliens (upcoming at Rattlestick), Nocturama, and The End of the Middle Ages. Annie is currently working on commissions for Center Theater Group and Playwrights Horizons.
Bekah Brunstetter's plays include Oohrah! (Atlantic Theater Company), Miss Lily Gets Boned (Lark Playwrights week, 2009) and Be a Good Little Widow (Commissioned by Ars Nova). She is currently working on Commissions for Naked Angels and the Roundabout Underground. She was Ars Nova's 2009 Playwright in Residence and is a member of the Women's Project Playwrights Lab. MFA, The New School for Drama.

Dylan Dawson is a proud member of the Ars Nova Play Group and contributed to last year's Group show, Playlist. He is also a member of the Naked Radio writers initiative at Naked Angels and a mentor at the 52nd St. Project. His plays have been produced on both coasts.
Kristoffer Diaz's plays include Welcome to Arroyo's (world premiere in April 2010 at American Theater Company) and The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (Victory Gardens/Teatro Vista and Interact). He is a 2009-10 Jerome Fellow. kristofferdiaz.wordpress.com
Zayd Dohrn's plays have been produced and developed at MTC, The Public, Naked Angels, MCC, Berkshire Theatre Festival, South Coast Rep, Kitchen Dog, NYTW, the Royal Court, etc. He's writing screenplays for American Film Company and Vox3 Films, holds an MFA from NYU, and was a playwright-in-residence at Juilliard.

Tasha Gordon-Solmon's plays have been developed and produced at the Public, American Globe Theatre, Alumnae Theatre, Theatre in Her Shoes, Studio Tisch, The O'Neill and the Walking Fish Festival. She writes for the Huffington Post, is a Girls Write Now Mentor, and has an MFA from NYU.
Amy Herzog Recipient, 2008 Helen Merrill Award. Productions: EST, ACT in San Francisco, Williamstown, Yale School of Drama. Readings/workshops: MTC, NYS&F, Arena in D.C., Black Dahlia in LA, the Rattlestick, etc. Commissions: Yale Rep, Williamstown. Alumna, Younglood; Member, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab; Writing Fellow, The Playwrights' Realm. MFA, Yale School of Drama.
Samuel D. Hunter: BFA: NYU, 2004; MFA: Iowa Playwrights Workshop, 2007; Playwright-in-Residence at Juilliard, 2007-2009. Plays presented at London's Arcola Theatre, O'Neill Playwrights Conference, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Ontological-Hysteric Theater, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Ojai Playwrights Conference, elsewhere. Awards: Lark's PONY Fellowship, two Lincoln Center Le Compte du Nuoy Awards, others.

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's plays include Appropriate, The Change, Content, Zoo, and Thirst, or Getting to Know Me. He is the recipient of the 2009 Princess Grace Award and is currently the Dorothy Strelsin Playwriting Fellow at Soho Rep. In February 2010, The Public Theater will produce his play Neighbors in its PublicLAB series.

Steven Levenson's plays include The Language of Trees (Roundabout Underground, published by Dramatists Play Services), Seven Minutes In Heaven (ANT FEST), Almost Stuck, and Girls Day. A graduate oF Brown University, Steven is currently working on new play commissions for Roundabout and Lincoln Center Theater.

Matthew Lopez's The Whipping Man will receive its West Coast Premiere next spring at The Old Globe in San Diego. His play Tio Pepe was presented at The Public Theater as part of SPF 2008. Other plays include Reverberation, Zoey's Perfect Wedding and Phemmi Klompers: Agent to the Stars.

Janine Nabers is a Dramatist Guild playwriting Fellow and a Member of the Soho Rep Writer Director Lab. Recent honors: The Sam French New School for Drama Emerging Writer Award, MacDowell and Sundance at Ucross residency. Her plays have been developed in Chicago and New York. She is published by Sam French.

Samuel Brett Williams's plays have been seen at the O'Neill, Kennedy Center, Lark, Naked Angels, Yale University, P73, Cherry Lane, and Ars Nova. Brett recently received the Helen Merrill Emerging Playwright Award and a National New Play Network Commission. He is published in Best New American Plays 2004-2005, 2006-2007, and by Northwestern Press.

Stephen Brackett's (Director) credits include F@#king Up Everything (NYMF), The Confidence Man (Woodshed Collective), Whore (SPF), You Will Experience Silence (Dixon Place), Kilroy Was Here (Williamstown Workshop) and Bloody Mary (Bushwick Hotel). Assistant Director of Passing Strange at the Belasco and Public Theaters. He is a founding member of 425D Director's Lab.
Adrienne Campbell-Holt Upcoming: One Child Born: The Music of Laura Nyro (Joe's Pub). Recent credits: Steven Levenson's Seven Minutes in Heaven (Ars Nova/ANT FEST), Autobahn (NYU/Tisch), and Three Days of Rain (Amphibian Stage). Adrienne is an EST/Sloan grant recipient and she co-wrote and directed In Communicado at LA's DIAVOLO. Adrienne founded the Production Company Nest in 2002.

Tamara Fisch (Director) spent two summers at Williamstown Theatre Festival, where she recently directed After the Revolution by Amy Herzog. She has developed/directed plays at New York Theatre Workshop, Ensemble Studio Theatre (Director in Residence 2008-2009) and the Hangar Theatre, among others. Education: Yale, University of Washington. Drama League Directing Fellow.
Wes Grantom: Most Recent: Mine by Bekah Brunstetter (Slant); Sci Fi Bandits (Ars Nova). Also worked with: Roundabout, Williamstown, The Alley, Asolo Rep, George Street, New Harmony, Cherry Lane, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, and Theatreworks USA. 2008 Drama League Fall Directing Fellow, co-founder of Slant Theatre Project, BFA: Evansville.
Kerry Whigham just finished his stint as Director-in-Residence at Ars Nova, where he has directed Nobody Likes the Mormons, Girls I've Like Liked, Playlist, and Barack and Me. He is now the Resident Director for Naked Angel's Naked Radio project. He is also pursuing his Masters in Performance Studies at NYU. www.kerrywhigham.com.

Justin Levine (Musical Director) Recent credits include: Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, (The Public), and Two Girls for Five Bucks and the Ten Dollar Heartbreakers (Ars Nova). Upcoming projects include Bonfire Night, for which he's written the book, music and lyrics. He's also the co-creator of the downtown musical comedy duo Pepper and Sam and performs with The Clinton Curtis Band.