Open Q&A with THE BULLPEN Creative Team Follows Off-Broadway Performance Tonight

Eric Krebs, in association with The Fortune Society, presents a special industry performance of THE BULLPEN, a new play written and performed by Joseph Assadourian and directed by Richard Hoehler. The event is set for tonight, June 20th at 4 p.m.

Following the afternoon performance, the creative and producing team of The Bullpen Off-Broadway will host an industry Q&A with a panel featuring Writer/Performer Joe Assadourian, director Richard Hoehler, producer Eric Krebs, and Fortune Society Founder David Rothenberg. Special audience guests will include professionals from The Legal Aid Society, NYC Jails Action Coalition, Fortune Society, and more.

Joseph Assadourian was released from prison in 2013 after serving 12 years of a 25 year sentence for attempted murder. Two years before his release, he reluctantly became one of two-dozen inmates who joined a theatre workshop at Otisville Correctional Institution in upstate New York. Actor/director Richard Hoehler, a volunteer at the institution, used acting techniques to guide inmates through the rehabilitation process. Joseph, who had never before even seen a play, quickly discovered his special skills and, with Hoehler's guidance, began creating an 8-minute scene that incorporated characters he had met during his incarceration. The Bullpen evolved from that short sketch into a full-length production which premiered at Otisville Correction Facility; upon his release from prison, Assadourian also performed at the Fortune Academy (The Castle) - a residence in NYC for formerly incarcerated men and women.

Richard Hoehler has premiered three original solo shows Off-Broadway, New Jersey-New York, Working Class (OOBR Best Solo Performance) and Human Resources (Best of the Fest, MITF). He was the founding Artistic Director of the American Line Theatre Company that premiered over forty new plays. His original play Fathers and Sons opened Off-Broadway in 2009. As an actor he has performed in New York, regionally and abroad. He's also been featured on "Law and Order," "NYPD Blue," "Third Watch," and "The Black Box." Richard is also the creator and director of Acting Out, a professional acting class and performance workshop for at-risk teens and adults that is in residence at the Fortune Society and Otisville Correctional Facility.

Eric Krebs has been a theatrical producer as well as a professor for over 40 years. On Broadway he produced Electra, It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues, Bill Maher in his Victory Begins at Home, Avery Brooks in Paul Robeson and Neil Simon's The Dinner Party. His Broadway productions have received 10 Tony Award nominations. Off-Broadway, he produced over 40 productions, including Sam Shepard's Fool For Love, Neil LaBute's Bash, The Capitol Steps, etc.

David Rothenberg's multilayered life thrust him into Broadway's brightest lights, prison riots, political campaigns, civil rights sit-ins, and a Central American civil war. David produced an Off-Broadway prison drama, Fortune and Men's Eyes, which reshaped his life. John Herbert's chilling play led directly to the creation of the Fortune Society, which has evolved into one of the nation's most formidable advocacy and service organizations in criminal justice.

The Bullpen plays at The Playroom Theater, 151 W 46th Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY. To RSVP for the Industry Q&A event on Friday, June 20th, at 4:00pm, email info@StepInTheBullpen.com. Space is limited.

For more information, visit www.StepInTheBullpen.com.

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