The Bridge Theatre Company Presents PSYCHOMACHIA 10/28-30 At Shelter Studios

Ashlie Atkinson, Debra Jo Rupp, Tom Pelphrey, Frank Deal and Eric Michael Gillett headline the workshop of Jennifer Lane's Psychomachia, the first presentation in The Bridge Theatre Company's 2009-2010 season. Directed by Robin A. Paterson (Making Marilyn, Stress Positions), Psychomachia performs October 28 through 30, 2009 at 8:00 pm at Shetler Studios Penthouse 1 (244 West 54th Street, 12th Floor). Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis by E-mailing rsvp@thebridgetheatrecompany.com.

The Bridge Theatre Company will also further its mission to establish a strong Canadian presence in New York City with workshops of new pieces by Toronto playwright Kate Hewlett and Montreal playwright Nicolas Billon, as well as a spring production of the award-winning play Any Night, by Vancouver playwrights Daniel Arnold and MedIna Hahn.

The Season:
October 28 - 30, 2009 Workshop
Psychomachia
By Jennifer Lane
Directed by Robin A. Paterson
Shetler Studios Penthouse 1 (244 West 54th St., 12th Floor; Subway C/E to 50th, A or 1 to 59th)

Starring Ashlie Atkinson (Fat Pig), Frank Deal (August: Osage County), Eric Michael Gillett (Sweet Smell of Success), John Calvin Kelly (Really Sketchy), Tom Pelphrey ("Guiding Light"), Debra Jo Rupp ("That 70's Show"), Jennifer Laine Williams (Humans Anonymous)

The connection between the Mercer twins, Johnny and Lydia, was as profound as it was personal, until Johnny took his life and left his sister in the dark. Deep in mourning and desperate to find out why he killed himself, Lydia scours the journal her brother left behind. But as she begins to understand, she starts to see the logic behind the action and is drawn further into her brother's dark world. With a mourning family as her only means of support, Lydia slips into Johnny's obsessions, and it will take an extreme cry for help to draw her out again.

February 2010 Workshop
Greenland
by Nicolas Billon
Receding ice levels off the coast of Greenland have revealed that an area thought to be part of the mainland is actually a separate island. This discovery mirrors a growing rift between the island's discoverer and his increasingly distant family, set adrift after a catastrophic loss. Winner of the 2009 SummerWorks Festival's Outstanding Production, Greenland received a five-star review from NOW Magazine when in premiered in Toronto.

March 2010 Workshop
The Swearing Jar
By Kate Hewlett

From the writer of Humans Anonymous comes a smart new comedy about marriage, music, migraines...and swearing. Simon and Carey are the perfect couple. But when Carey performs at Simon's fortieth birthday celebration, she is forced to come to terms with the greatest lie her husband ever told.

Spring 2010 Production
Any Night
Written & Performed by Daniel Arnold & MedIna Hahn
Directed by Ron Jenkins

When a troubled modern dancer moves into a new basement suite, she finds herself drawn into a romance with the helpful young man above her. But what does it mean that she's suffering strange and violent behavior at night? Taking place inside her mind, Any Night shifts seamlessly between past, present and future as she struggles to piece together reality in her fractured world. Part romance, part thriller, the play is a personal exploration of the thin line between trust and fear and the immeasurable power of the subconscious.

Further details about The Bridge Theatre Company's 2009-2010 season will be announced soon. For more information, visit http://www.thebridgetheatrecompany.org.

Founded in 2004, The Bridge Theatre Company is a New York City-based ensemble of Canadian and American theatre artists dedicated to the cross-border development, workshop and production of new plays. The company examines the relationship between these two contemporary theatrical cultures through the work of emerging playwrights, actors and directors. Through its New Play Development program, the Bridge accepts a wide variety of script submissions from writers in the United States and Canada, hoping to discover and develop new plays that may examine everything from the bridges between two nations to the bridges between two people. For more information, visit http://thebridgetheatrecompany.org.