Team Set for World Premiere Production Of TRACES At CUNY Queens College

What Will the Neighbors Say? has announced the team for their world premiere production of "TRACES" at CUNY Queens College's Goldstein Theater in March. The devised production, researched and written by the students at CUNY Queens College and directed by Co-Artistic Directors James Clements and Sam Hood Adrain, represents the culmination of the Neighbors' three years as Artists-in-Residence at the College. "TRACES" will open on Thursday, March 9th and run Thursdays-Saturdays at 7pm and Sundays at 3pm through Sunday, March 19th at the Goldstein Theatre (153- 49 Reeves Avenue, Flushing, NY 11367). For more information on the production, or to purchase tickets, please visit their website.

"TRACES" is a new devised documentary theater piece commissioned by CUNY Queens College. It is a story about the complex, interweaving lives lived in one apartment in Queens, on a block built at the turn of the 20th century. The play examines a sample of the residents that have called this apartment home over the last century, focusing specifically on the stories of the immigrant residents who have dwelled there during the great pandemics that swept the United States - Spanish Flu, polio, HIV/AIDS and COVID-19. This production is premiering as a CUNY Queens College Mainstage production for the Spring semester.

"TRACES" features lighting design by faculty member Jeffery Greenberg, with sound design and composition by Liam Bellman-Sharpe, props by Jessie Blackman, set design by Jessica Cancino, costumes by Brynne Oster-Bainnson and video by Cosette Pin. The production will be stage managed by Ashlei Miller, with Joanny Baez assisting, and production managed by Ralph Carhart. The production is being devised by CUNY Queens College students Celine Bancone, Ayi Bolaji Soares, Skye Bryan, Angie Etwarroo, Rose Gonzales, Anthony Kwan, Soraya Mahieddine, Josiah Rodriguez, Yenilé Rosario, Skye Pallo Ross, Leah Weintraub and Alan Wong. Further writing, from the Neighbors' undergraduate class in Fall 2022, came from Amanda Aulet, Casandra Foy, Gautam Khosla, Aleksandra Miller and Adleen Zia.

For "TRACES," the Neighbors' have collaborated with community partners including the Queens Memory Project, the Queens Public Library and the Queens Historical Society. The project is made possible with funds from the National Endowment of the Arts. "We have had the most incredible time at CUNY over these years, and are thrilled to present this piece as a culmination of our time at the College," noted Hood Adrain. "We are especially proud to be uplifting immigrant stories, celebrating domestic history and labor and reflecting the diversity and variety of this amazing borough," added Clements.

What Will the Neighbors Say? is an investigative theatre company that provokes questions through untold stories. Led by a collaborative cohort of International Artists, the Neighbors present overlooked social, cultural and historical narratives that challenge the audience to reflect on the current moment. Through a combination of original plays, arts education workshops and dynamic community gatherings, the troupe incites rowdy and rigorous debate at the theatre and throughout the Neighborhood.

For more information visit: www.wwtns.org