APAC to Kick Off 14th Season with Cody Daigle's IN THE BONES World Premiere, 11/6

The Award-winning Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC), is pleased to announce their 14th season will begin with a world premiere play by Cody Daigle (resident playwright for The Playhouse Tulsa's 2013-14 season) called In The Bones, directed by Dev Bondarin, beginning November 6, 2014.

APAC has also been nominated for six 2014 Innovative Theatre Awards for last season's productions of The Cottage and Allegro. APAC's performance venue is located at the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 30-44 Crescent St (@30th Rd), in Astoria, Queens. This will be the first production under the capable hands of the new Executive Director, Erin Moore.

"APAC is thrilled to be working with Cody Daigle and Dev Bondarin on the World Premiere of this touching, timely, and innovative piece of theatre. In The Bones promises to continue APAC's tradition of adventurous theatre, and it is a privilege to produce it for our audiences."

In September APAC will be celebrating with the New York Innovative Theatre awards with six nominations. The Cottage received three noms, including Ryan Moller for Outstanding Costume Design, Evan Roby for Outstanding Lighting Design, and Stephen K. Dobay for Outstanding Set Design. Allegro also garnered three nominations, which are Outstanding Choreography for Christine O'Grady, Outstanding Actress in a Featured Role for Manna Nichols and Outstanding Production of a Musical. Under the leadership and direction of former Artistic Director, Tom Wojtunik, APAC received six previous nominations for their spring musicals including Blood Brothers, Triumph of Love, Ragtime, The Human Comedy, The Secret Garden, and won for Children of Eden, in 2010.

The season commences on November 6th with the world premiere of Daigle's In The Bones, directed by Bondarin. The show runs through November 22nd. When a soldier home from serving in Afghanistan ends his life, grief settles over his family and the partner he leaves behind. In a series of scenes moving ahead a year at a time, loss transforms a family and sorrow finds a home in the bones of those left behind.

Tickets are $18, ($12 student/senior) available at www.apacny.org or 888-596-1027. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Theatre Box Office, 30 minutes prior to the performance. Venue: Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, 30-44 Crescent St (@30th Rd), Astoria, NY 11102

Directions: Take the N or Q Subway to 30th Avenue. Walk down 30th Ave. to Crescent St. (Mount Sinai Hospital is on the corner.) Turn left on Crescent Street. Walk one block south, then turn right onto 30th Rd. Entrance is second set of red doors on left.

BIOGRAPHIES

CODY DAIGLE (Playwright) is a Louisiana-born playwright and teaching artist now living in Hartford, CT. He was the resident playwright for The Playhouse Tulsa's 2013-2014 season, the company playwright for Acadiana Repertory Theatre and a company playwright for Manhattan Theatre Works. Plays for The Playhouse Tulsa: William and Judith, Tulsa! A Radio Christmas Spectacular, Little Women and the recently commissioned The Bottom of the Sea. Plays for Acadiana Repertory Theatre:In the Bones, The Survivalists. Plays for Manhattan Theatre Works: Providence, A Home Across the Ocean. His work has been read and developed at New Jersey Repertory Theatre, The Actors Company Theatre and The Great Plains Theatre Conference.

DEV BONDARIN (Director) is a freelance director and the Associate Artistic Director of Prospect Theater Company, where she curates and directs the annual musical theater lab, which has produced over 45 new, short musicals by established and emerging writers. She is also a member of MTWorks where she has directed many pieces of new work, including the mainstage production of Cody Daigle's A Home Across the Ocean. Other credits: Two Bugs are Better than One (Making Books Sing), King Lear (American Bard Theater, two NYIT Award nominations), Reefer Madness (Gallery Players, NYIT Award nomination for Outstanding Musical), Raised by Lesbians (FringeNYC, 4 StarsTime Out), and numerous readings, concerts, and workshops across NYC. Dev is an SDC Observership recipient and a member of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. She is also an Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and the League of Professional Theatre Women. www.devbondarin.net

ASTORIA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (APAC), a not-for-profit organization, was founded in 2001 by Sue Scannell (Founding Executive Director, 2001-2005) and Brian J. Swasey (Founding Artistic Director, 2001-2008). APAC's mission is to bring high quality theater to Astoria, Queens, and to support local youth and senior citizens.

On its mainstage, APAC produces revivals and premieres of plays and musicals, and also develops new works through readings and workshops. Its flexible theater space changes with each production. To date, APAC has received 22 New York Innovative Theatre Award nominations and 5 wins (Children of Eden & Ragtime), as well as an Off-Off Broadway Theatre Review Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical (Is There Life After High School?). APAC was the recipient of the 2012 Caffe Cino Fellowship Award, under the leadership of Taryn Sacramone (APAC Executive Director, 2005-2013).

APAC offers free annual community programs, including a summer performance camp for children ages 8-13, an after school playwriting program for middle school students, and a performance program for Queens residents over the age of 60. These programs deepen ties with the community, and develop new audiences for theater. Diverse programming and consistent quality attracts a loyal and growing audience that reflects the diversity of Western Queens and also draws from the other boroughs and beyond.

In addition to its theater space within the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, APAC's offices are located within the historic Kaufman Astoria Studios.