Threads Theater Company Announces Premiere of 'The Pearl Merchant' Starting 9/23

THREADS THEATER COMPANY is pleased to announce the world premiere production of THE PEARL MERCHANT, directed by Misti B. Wills. THE PEARL MERCHANT will play a limited engagement at The Space (Times Square Arts Center, 300 West 43rd Street, Ste. 402.). Performances begin Tuesday, September 23 and continue through Saturday, October 4. Opening Night is Friday, September 26 (8 p.m.).

Press are invited: Wednesday, September 24th at 8pm; Thursday, September 25th at 8pm; Friday, September 26th at 8pm

Hannah, a painter and preschool teacher, is unable to bear a child. During a visit to her mother-in-law's home in the mountains of North Carolina, she tells her husband Tom that she wants to adopt one of her students, a boy whose single mother is gravely ill. Tom and his mother express misgivings about the idea for different reasons, some of which remain unspoken to Hannah. A mysterious woman arrives, asking probing questions about the child and triggering a series of revelations that challenge Hannah's beliefs and shake her marriage to its core. This new play brings the audience deep questions and glimpses of great hope.

The production features scenic design by April Bartlett, costume design by Deanna Frieman, and lighting design by Bobby Bradley. Kim Fuhr is the sound designer, Rachael Harrington-Davis is the props master and Amanda Bailey is the stage manager. For Threads Theater Company, Frank Mihelich is the company manager and Kim Prentice is the managing director.

THE PEARL MERCHANT plays the following regular schedule through Saturday, October 4:

Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
Wednesdays at 8 p.m.
Thursdays at 8 p.m.
Fridays at 8 p.m.
Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Tickets are $15 and are now available online at www.theatermania.com or by calling 212-352-3101. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at The Space Box Office ½ hour prior to the performance for cash only.

www.threadstheatercompany.org

The Pearl Merchant was produced with help from Gifted Hands (giftedhandsnyc.com), a Manhattan volunteer program that offers recreation and healing through art, design, and craft classes for a range of populations, including at-risk youth, the homeless, people living with HIV/AIDS, and the elderly.

Talk-back: September 26, 2008 Moderated by Sheila Speller from Orielle Creative Company with Rebecca Mendel (Rosin, Steinhagen & Mendel) an adoption attorney and more guests tba...check www.threadstheatercompany.org for more information.

BIOGRAPHIES

CECILIA BRIE WALKER (Playwright) is a writer, director and performer from Austin, Texas, whose work focuses on the development of new plays and "community-engaged" theatre.

Her journey to New York began as an avid watcher of Reading Rainbow in the mountains of North Carolina, where she began lessons in dance, violin, and acting. After a detour through Texas and a half-hearted attempt at preparing for medical school, she spent four years working with college students during which she took an acting class that re-ignited her passion for theatre. She swiftly moved to Austin, where she dove into the theatre community, earning a nomination for Best Actress in a Play for Youth for her portrayal of Lucy and the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe, and portrayed Charlotte in a staged-radio-show interpretation of Charlotte's Web, which won Austin's B. Iden Payne award for "Best Production of a Play for Youth."

Brie assisted the late Dr. Barbara Haum, a performance/multi-media artist, in the direction of a "distributed performance" between NYU and Tel Aviv University, Trespassing Boundaries, and a second project, 54 Weeks, which is an online, multi-media, interactive meditation on the yearly schedule of Torah readings. Brie's own work has been performed in Austin's FronteraFest fringe theatre festival and HopeArts festival, and in New York at New Dramatists, NYU's Theatrix Festival of New Work, and The Village Church.

She holds an MA in Educational Theatre from NYU where she co-founded a laboratory workshop for students exploring "devising" techniques, and performed in two seasons of New Plays for Young Audiences, workshopping with playwrights including Byrony Lavery, Y.York, Susan Zeder, and Laurie Brooks.

MISTI B. WILLS (Director) is a director, actress, producer, and teacher. An award-winning director and producer, she has launched numerous productions, from classic musicals to a bilingual touring show to her favorite directorial challenges: experimental, concept-driven renderings of classic stories. NY directing credits include Off-Broadway's In Search of Euphoria at New World Stages, Songs for a New World, and a national tour of The Imaginary Invalid. With a BA in Communications (Theatre Concentration) from Eastern Nazarene College and an MA in Theatre Education from Emerson College, she has worked as a theatre educator at the secondary and university levels. Currently she is on the faculty at the New York Film Academy and the Fidelity Futurestage program in collaboration with Richard Frankel Productions. As an actress, she has trained with David Mamet and HB Studios and worked in film, stage, and voiceover. Recent film credits include Sex and the City the Movie. As a director she has trained with Anne Bogart, Michael Mayer, and Kristin Linklater.

THREADS THEATER COMPANY is a New York City-based non-profit theater company focused on producing plays that start inclusive conversations about faith and contribute to cultural renewal.

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