PTP/NYC to Present Living Room Series With Snoo Wilson Tribute and More, 3/22-23

PTP/NYC (Potomac Theatre Project) will present their inaugural Living Room reading series on Sunday, March 22 and Monday, March 23, 2015 at 416 West 42nd Street between 9th Avenue and Dyer Avenue in New York City.

PTP/NYC's Living Room reading series ushers in a new era in the company's commitment to expanding the theatrical conversation. With its focus on new voices and texts that speak to the current moment, the series allows PTP/NYC to present this exciting work in a judgment-free setting without the responsibilities of a full production. The annual series will also feature special events, such as this year's tribute to the late, great Snoo Wilson.

All events are free. Seating is limited and reservations are required. To reserve email ptpnyc.livingroom@gmail.com. For info on PTP/NYC visit PotomacTheatreProject.org. Follow them on Twitter at @ptpnyc.

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A TRIBUTE TO SNOO WILSON: THE SURREAL, THE FARCICAL, THE SMART
Sunday, March 22 in the South Studio at 2:30pm

The program will include scenes and songs from Wilson's Lovesong of the Electric Bear, The Everest Hotel, Vampire and reminiscences from some of his collaborators, including actors Alex Draper, Tara Giordano and director/composer Jim Petosa. Also appearing are Jay Dunn, Sarah Lusche, Chelsea Melone, Lilli Stein, Lily Balsen, Adam Milano, Nicholas Hemerling, Meghan Leathers and Matt Ball. Directed by Cheryl Faraone with Musical Director Jim Petosa.

The Guardian's Simon Callow said, "There never will be and never was anyone like him. His collected plays constitute a glorious corybantic frieze...filtered through an imagination that took in anthropology, history, physics, alchemy, mathematics, painting, the occult. He was political, but in the way that Aristophanes was political - rude, lewd, uproarious, anarchic."

PTP/NYC had a very special relationship with Snoo Wilson. Since 1977 the company, first as the New York Theatre Studio, subsequently as PTP/NYC, produced seven of Wilson's works, all American premieres, and several more than once.

A READING OF HOWARD BARKER'S NO END OF BLAME
Sunday, March 22 in the South Studio at 7:30pm

Barker's lacerating and humorous work about the travails of a political cartoonist. With Alex Draper, David Barlow, Alex Cranmer, Stephanie Janssen, Bill Army, Jimmy Ryan, Jay Dunn, Adam Ludwig, Noah Berman, Christo Grabowski, Julia Proctor, Cori Hundt and Mari Vial-Golden. The reading will be accompanied by slides created for the original production by the noted contemporary cartoonist Gerald Scarfe.

"I am a cartoonist. I believe the cartoon to be the lowest form of art. I also believe it to be the most important form of art. I decided in my 24th year that I would rather be important than great. I decided this because I have always preferred shouting to whispering and humanity more than myself." (from No End of Blame)

Howard Barker is perhaps the signature writer of PTP/NYC; the summer of 2016 will see the 13th production of the writer's challenging and exhilarating work mounted by the company under the direction of Richard Romagnoli.

A READING OF DAN O'BRIEN'S THE HOUSE IN SCARSDALE
Monday, March 23 in the North Studio at 2:30pm

Dan searches for the key to unlock the secrets of his past. A ghost story about a splintered and inexplicable family. With Alex Draper and Danny Wolohan. Directed by Elizabeth Williamson.

Dan O'Brien's The Body of an American received the Horton Foote Prize for Outstanding New American Play in 2014, and will be produced by Primary Stages in their 2015-2016 season.

The Quietus said, "O'Brien's skill is that his most emotionally-charged images never seem histrionic because they are never allowed to become everything."

A READING OF JOHN KOLVENBACH'S SISTER PLAY
Monday, March 23 in the North Studio at 7:30pm

Two sisters, haunted by the memory of their dead father, encounter hope and heartache in a mysterious stranger. With Tara Giordano, Jonathan Tindle, Jennifer Van Dyck and Quincy Dunn-Baker. Directed by Andrew Pastides.

John Kolvenbach's plays are produced regularly in London's West End and across the country. Love Song was nominated for an Olivier Award and has had over 50 productions worldwide. Sister Play opens at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco in April 2015. The Boston Globe called Sister Play "fresh and potent." The New York Times said his play The Gravity of Means (produced by MCC) was full of "witty dialogue."

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PTP/NYC (Potomac Theatre Project) continues to redefine political theatre for the 21st century with an annual repertory season. The company's mandate is the presentation of highly theatrical and thought-provoking work of contemporary social and cultural relevance. In its 28 seasons the voices of PTP's writers have addressed art, pornography, AIDS, homelessness, censorship, totalitarianism, apartheid and gender wars.

PTP was founded in 1987 by the artistic team of Cheryl Faraone, Jim Petosa and Richard Romagnoli. The company's Associate Artistic Director is Alex Draper. Since moving to New York in 2007, PTP/NYC has produced 19 main stage productions and numerous late evening readings, workshops and experimental theatre pieces in their After Dark series. PTP/NYC's productions of Howard Barker's The Castle and Barker's Scenes From An Execution each earned Jan Maxwell a Drama Desk Award nomination. The company won a New York Innovative Theatre Award (Megan Byrne for Best Actress in Barker's No End of Blame) and has been the recipient of 5 New York Innovative Theatre Award nominations.

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