WHERE WE BELONG to Begin Performances at The Public Theater Next Week

The Public Theater will begin performances for the New York premiere of Where We Belong, written and performed by Madeline Sayet and directed by Mei Ann Teo, with a Joseph Papp Free Performance on Friday, October 28. The latest stop in a nationwide tour produced by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in association with Folger Shakespeare Library, Where We Belong will run in the LuEsther Hall through Sunday, November 27, with an official opening on Wednesday, November 9.

In 2015, Mohegan theater-maker Madeline Sayet moved to England to pursue a PhD in Shakespeare, grappling with the question of what it means to remain or leave, as the Brexit vote threatens to further disengage the UK from the wider world. Moving between nations that have failed to reckon with their ongoing roles in colonialism, she finds comfort in the journeys of her Native ancestors who had to cross the ocean in the 1700s to help her people. In this intimate and exhilarating solo piece directed by Mei Ann Teo, Sayet asks us what it means to belong in an increasingly globalized world.

WHERE WE BELONG is performed by Madeline Sayet and Emily Preis serves as standby. The production features production design by Hao Bai, costume design by Asa Benally, composition and sound design by Erik Schilke, and dramaturgy by Vera Starbard. Grace Chariya serves as production stage manager.

In addition to Where We Belong, The Public's 55th anniversary season at Astor Place also includes Elevator Repair Service's BALDWIN AND BUCKLEY AT CAMBRIDGE in the Anspacher Theater, running through October 23. The production is a profoundly relevant presentation of the legendary debate between virtuosic writer James Baldwin and father of American conservatism William F. Buckley, Jr. The fall season continues with Lorraine Hansberry's A RAISIN IN THE SUN, directed by Robert O'Hara, marking the legendary playwright's Public Theater debut and only the second time that this classic has been produced Off-Broadway. The Public will close out the fall in Joe's Pub with the World Premiere of Suzan-Lori Parks' theatrical concert PLAYS FOR THE PLAGUE YEAR. It is a personal story of one family's daily lives, as well as a sweeping account of all we faced as a city, a nation, and a global community. Working in collaboration with Niegel Smith as director, Parks' groundbreaking new work is brimming with humanity, bears witness to what we've experienced, and offers inspiration as we look ahead. Beginning January 4, join us for the 18th annual UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL. The full festival line-up will be announced at a later date.

In keeping with guidance from city, state, and federal officials, proof of vaccination against COVID-19 and the use of face masks are no longer mandated for entry into The Public's theaters, restaurant, or the facility. This change in policy is effective immediately. The use of face masks is encouraged at all performances, but will only be required at Saturday and Sunday matinee performances, Tuesday evening performances, as well as Joseph Papp Free Performances. These mask required performances are to accommodate those who are immunocompromised or uncomfortable in an unmasked environment. Learn more at Safe At The Public.

The Library at The Public serves food and drink Tuesday through Sunday, beginning at 5:00 p.m. and closing at midnight. The Library is closed on Mondays. For more information, visit publictheater.org.

BIOS:

Madeline Sayet

she/her (Playwright, Performer) is a Mohegan theatre maker who believes the stories we pass down inform our collective possible futures. She is an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University with the Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and is Executive Director of the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program. She was a Forbes 30 Under 30 in Hollywood & Entertainment, TED Fellow, MIT Media Lab Director's Fellow, National Directing Fellow, Drama League Director-In-Residence, NCAIED Native American 40 Under 40, and a recipient of The White House Champion of Change Award from President Obama. As a writer, her plays include Where We Belong, Up and Down the River, Antigone or And Still She Must Rise Up, Daughters of Leda, The Neverland, The Fish (in development). Directing work includes: Tlingit Christmas Carol, Whale Song (Perseverance Theatre); A Midsummer Night's Dream (South Dakota Shakespeare); Henry IV (Connecticut Repertory Theatre); As You Like It (Delaware Shakespeare); The Winter's Tale (Amerinda/HERE); Poppea (Krannert Center); The Magic Flute (Glimmerglass); Macbeth (NYC Parks); and Miss Lead. www.madelinesayet.com. Where We Belong is published by Bloomsbury.

EMILY PREIS

she/her (Standby for Madeline Sayet) is a proud citizen of the Osage Nation and a New York City-based maker, performer, and organizer. Since receiving her BFA from NYU Tisch's Experimental Theatre Wing, she has collaborated with her advisor, Mauricio Salgado, to turn her thesis, Performance as an Act for Tribal Sovereignty, into a Theatre Studies course at NYU. She was one of the finalists for Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program's inaugural Misty Upham Award for Young Native Actors. Credits include: Lovely Dark & Deep (Broadway Podcast Network), Fairly Traceable (American Bar Association), Tree Tales (Prospect Theater), Your Good Friend Jay Silverheels (YIPAP), Bingo Hall (AICH), and When Farah Cries (Borderlight International Theater Festival).

Mei Ann Teo

they/she (Director) is a queer immigrant from Singapore making theatre and film as a director/devisor/dramaturg. Teo's work has been in international festivals including Belgium's Festival de Liege, Edinburgh International Fringe, Beijing International Festival, Singapore Theatre Festival. They helmed Dim Sum Warriors the Musical for China's national 25-city tour. They have directed and/or developed new work at OSF, Theatreworks Hartford, Playwrights Realm, Goodman Theatre, The Public, Berkeley Rep, Crowded Fire, History Theatre, Page 73, Musical Theatre Factory, and the National Black Theatre. Recent work includes Jillian Walker's SKiNFoLK: An American Show (Bushwick Starr), Madeline Sayet's Where We Belong (Shakespeare's Globe, Woolly Mammoth, BCS, PTC), Amy Berryman's Walden (Theatreworks Hartford), and Stefano Massini's 7 Minutes at Waterwell. Teo's awards include League of Professional Theatre Women's Josephine Abady Award, and they were the inaugural recipient of the Lily Fan Director Lilly Award. Teo is the Associate Artistic Director and Director of New Work at Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

ABOUT WOOLLY MAMMOTH THEATRE COMPANY:

WOOLLY MAMMOTH THEATRE COMPANY creates badass theatre that highlights the stunning, challenging, and tremendous complexity of our world. For over 40 years, Woolly has maintained a high standard of artistic rigor while daring to take risks, innovate, and push beyond perceived boundaries. Located in Washington, D.C., and led by Artistic Director Maria Manuela Goyanes, Woolly serves an essential research and development role within the American theatre. Plays premiered here have gone on to productions at hundreds of theatres worldwide and have had lasting impacts on the field. These include the world premiere productions of Danai Gurira's Eclipsed in 2009 that went on to be the first Broadway play with a cast and creative team of all Black women; Bruce Norris' Pulitzer Prize winner Clybourne Park in 2010; and Anne Washburn's Mr. Burns: a post-electric play in 2012. Woolly Mammoth acknowledges that the theatre stands upon occupied, unceded territory: the ancestral homeland of the Nacotchtank whose descendants belong to the Piscataway peoples. Furthermore, the foundation and most of the original buildings in Washington, D.C., were funded by the sale of enslaved people of African descent and built by their hands.

ABOUT FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY:

FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. The Folger welcomes millions of visitors online and in person. It provides unparalleled access to a huge array of resources, from original sources to modern interpretations. With the Folger, you can experience the power of performance, the wonder of exhibitions, and the excitement of path-breaking research. The Folger offers the opportunity to see and even work with early modern sources, driving discovery and transforming education for students of all ages.

The award-winning Folger Theatre in our nation's capital bridges the arts and humanities through transformational performances and programming that speak inclusively to the human experience. Now under the leadership of Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels, Folger Theatre continues its legacy through exciting interpretations and adaptations of Shakespeare and expands the classical canon through cultivating today's artists and commissioning new work that is in dialogue with the concerns and issues of our time. Folger Theatre thrives both on its historical stage and in the community, engaging audiences wherever they happen to be. During a multiyear building renovation, join the Folger online and on the road. Learn more at folger.edu.

ABOUT The Public Theater:

THE PUBLIC continues the work of its visionary founder Joe Papp as a civic institution engaging, both on-stage and off, with some of the most important ideas and social issues of today. Conceived over 60 years ago as one of the nation's first nonprofit theaters, The Public has long operated on the principles that theater is an essential cultural force and that art and culture belong to everyone. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public's wide breadth of programming includes an annual season of new work at its landmark home at Astor Place, Free Shakespeare in the Park at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park, the Mobile Unit touring throughout New York City's five boroughs, Public Forum, Under the Radar, Public Lab, Public Works, Public Shakespeare Initiative, and Joe's Pub. Since premiering HAIR in 1967, The Public continues to create the canon of American Theater and is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the upcoming production of Ain't No Mo' by Jordan E. Cooper. Their programs and productions can also be seen regionally across the country and around the world. The Public has received 60 Tony Awards, 184 Obie Awards, 56 Drama Desk Awards, 59 Lortel Awards, 34 Outer Critic Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards, 58 AUDELCO Awards, 6 Antonyo Awards, and 6 Pulitzer Prizes. publictheater.org

The Public Theater stands in honor of the first inhabitants and our ancestors. We acknowledge the land on which The Public and its theaters stand-the original homeland of the Lenape people. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this territory. We honor the generations of stewards and we pay our respects to the many diverse indigenous peoples still connected to this land.

The LuEsther T. Mertz Legacy Trust provides leadership support for The Public Theater's year-round activities.

The performance schedule is Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. (There will be no 2:00 p.m. performances on Saturday, October 29 and Sunday, October 30. There will be an 8:00 p.m. performance on Sunday, October 30. There will be no 8:00 p.m. performances on Wednesday, November 23 and Thursday, November 24.)

The Audio Described performance will be at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 13. The Open Captioned performance will be at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 19.

To celebrate and honor members of the Indigenous and Native community, complimentary tickets are available through the entire run of the show to those who identify as part of the community. Use code WWBINVITE at publictheater.org.

There will be an Indigenous Community Performance, followed by a talkback, at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 6. Anyone who identifies as Indigenous or Native can use the code WWBELONG to unlock this performance on publictheater.org.

The full performance calendar can be found at publictheater.org.

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