THE BUDDHA PLAY Previews 9/10 at Baruch Performing Arts Center

Ascetic Productions and Baruch Performing Arts Center has announced that the New York premiere of "The Buddha Play", written and performed by Evan Brenner and directed by David Fuhrer, will begin previews Sept. 10 with an opening on Sept. 26 at Baruch Performing Arts Center at Baruch College, entrance on East 25th Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenues.

PROGRAM: The life of the Buddha in his own words - the evolution of his thought, his triumphs, and the rarely portrayed tragedy at the end of his life. The man we know as the Buddha lived in Northern India around 500BC and introduced the teaching known as Buddhism. Approximately 300 years after his death, an extensive oral history of the movement was written down, carried and copied throughout Asia, and this canon became the taproot of the entire Buddhist tradition. Framed in a most unusual and personal context, The Buddha Play brings to the stage these authentic texts to enact the extraordinary life of the man, start to finish.

The Buddha considered his own life a model for all our spiritual struggles saying, "He who knows me, knows the Dharma." It's no dry tale -- The Buddha's life stands among the great archetypal adventure stories.

After premiering in Boston to sold out houses and outstanding newspaper and television reviews, the show begins previews September 10 in New York and opens September 26 with five performances weekly through Nov. 1.

To purchase tickets, visit www.baruch.cuny.edu/bpac or call the box office at (646) 312-4085 or 5073. For more information and past reviews, please visit www.thebuddhaplay.com.

Background information:

Evan Brenner (Writer, Performer) is particularly interested in the Buddha's life as an expression and example of spiritual struggle, achievement, and ongoing challenge. He has a B.A. in Drama and Religion from Vassar College, and an M.A. in Dramatic Writing from Loyola Marymount University. He is a veteran writer and actor in New York independent film and theater. Brenner has practiced meditation and studied Buddhism for 20 years and, since 2003, has pursued canonical sutra studies in the Therevada tradition.

David Fuhrer (Director, Producer) spends most of his days producing and directing corporate and commercial videos, and otherwise servicing the film and media industry through his Manhattan-based studios and Production Company called Production Central, (www.prodcentral.com), but his heart is leading him back to the theater. After graduating Brown, went to conservatory and studied acting and directing with Mike Nichols and Paul Sills. His short (mostly comedic) films have shown worldwide and he has won many awards including Best Comedy Film at the Suffolk County Film Festival, the Andrea Zahler Award, First Place at National Black Programming Consortium, and many others. He has appeared in numerous plays and readings, in New York and in Boulder Colorado where he was a founder of the Continental Divide Theater Company.

Baruch Performing Arts Center
Baruch Performing Arts Center (BPAC) was launched in the fall of 2003 with a mission to bring the performing arts to the Baruch College community as well as general public. As part of the college's Weissman School of Arts & Sciences, BPAC's mission is to integrate performing arts into the lives of Baruch students through programming and allied activities that support and enrich the college's educational curriculum. Currently under the management and direction of John Malatesta, BPAC has presented a vast array of music (classical, chamber, baroque, jazz, world, contemporary), theater (modern, classic) and modern dance through series such as the Silberman Chamber Music Series, the Milt Hinton Jazz Series, 55 Underground Contemporary Concert Series, the Great Works Reading Series, the MasterWorks Preview Series, Weissman Talks Onstage Dialogue Series and a special residency with the Alexander String Quartet. Two plays have moved to Broadway from BPAC, including "Irena's Vow" starring Tovah Feldshuh, and a workshop production of "Spring Awakening" by the Atlantic Theater Company. The center is a state-of-the-art performance complex which includes the Nagelberg Theater, the Engelman RecitAl Hall, and the Bernie West Black Box Theater. For complete information on the center's full season of events, visit www.baruch.cuny.edu/bpac.

Tickets available online at www.baruch.cuny.edu/bpac or by calling (646) 312-4085 or 5073.
General admission is $50. Student admission is $25.

 

To post a comment, you must register and login.