Actionplay Presents The Neuro-inclusive Musical WELCOME TO MY WORLD At The Sheen Center

Actionplay presents the World Premiere of the neuro-inclusive musical, Welcome To My World. The musical was created by the participants in the company's AIMS (Action Improv Musical) program, a 25-week musical theatre devising workshop. Welcome To My World runs Saturday, May 18 at 7 pm and Sunday, May 19 at 2 pm at The Sheen Center. The limited run is directed by Executive Director Aaron Feinstein, Artistic Director Gabriel Lit serves as musical director.

Welcome To My World is an original musical that follows a teenage autistic girl named Aliza who is visited by an unexpected guest from another planet. The idea of the show and the theme song was created by actor Natalie Kaiser, a participant on the autism spectrum in Actionplay's AIMS program. The story and songs were devised by the group and reflect many themes the group deals with on a daily basis including feeling different.

The cast features Alan Basiev, Adelaide Desole, Patrik Gelbart, Shafer Gootkind, Elijah Goring, Ryan Hanna, Karen Isabelle Hara, Natalie Kaiser, Sandy Karpe, Emily Kendall, Ana Meneses, Josh Miller, Max Moore, Garrett Newman, Georgina Ruiz, Ariella Sandberg, Nick Talcott, Nicholas Tangney and Emmalee Weinstein.

The creative/production team includes Assistant Director Sara Morgulis, Assistant Music Director Sarah Morris, and stage management by Anna Whitty.

Performances take place at the Sheen Center Loreto Theater, 18 Bleecker Street (between Mott & Elizabeth Street), New York, NY, 10012. Subways: 4/5/6 to Bleecker Street, B/D/F/M to Broadway/Lafayette, N/Q/R/W to Prince Street. Tickets are $25 for general admission, $100 for VIP tickets and afterparty on May 18, and are available at http://www.sheencenter.org/world.

More info is available at www.actionplay.org.

Actionplay is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing children, teens, and adults on the autism spectrum and related conditions equal access to education, arts, and culture. The company provides a creative and compassionate learning environments, professional development, and training modules teach respectful ways of inviting people on the autism spectrum to experience education, arts, and culture. Actionplay is dedicated to improving the lives of individuals on the autism spectrum, their families, and the community at large. Actionplay strives to build a more inclusive world.

Actionplay's signature program, Action Improv Musical, is open to the general public and is a neuro-inclusive improvisational music and theatre residency for teens and adults on the autism spectrum and with related conditions. Led by theatre director Aaron Feinstein and Music Therapist Gabriel Lit, the group creates original pieces about the unique interests and passions of our performers in a supportive space. Action-Improv Musical is inspired by the work of Elaine Hall and The Miracle Project, The Miracle Project New York, DIRFloortime developmental approach, and Nordoff Robbins music therapy, the goal of this program is to encourage greater confidence and increase communication and social skills.

Aaron Feinstein (Director) is a film/theater director and arts educator based in NY. Aaron is the creator of the AIMS inclusive improvisational musical comedy workshop program, and the Actionplay Chorus that was featured on the HBO and Comedy Central Broadcast of Night of Too Many Stars. He co-directed the widely celebrated pilot program The Miracle Project with Elaine Hall which has been featured at the 92nd Street Y, Rebecca School, Celebrate the Children and the Educational Alliance. The Miracle Project was the subject of the 2006 HBO 2-Time Emmy Award Winning Documentary Autism: The Musical. Aaron has presented nationally at the United Nations, NYC Department of Education, NYU Forum on Educational Theater, Wonderplay, Arts in Education Roundtable, The Voice Foundation, Museum Access Consortium, and ICDL, among many others - and is the published author of several books, articles and journals focused on changing the stigmas surrounding disability.

Gabriel Lit M.A., MT-BC (Musical Director) is a composer, performer, and board-certified Music Therapist from Austin, Texas currently living in Queens. He obtained his Master's Degree in Music Therapy from New York University, finishing his clinical internship at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy, and his Bachelor's Degree in Music Composition from the University of North Texas. Gabriel has worked as a staff Music Therapist at Arts For Healing since 2009, was the Music Director of the Miracle Project NYC from 2009-2014, and is thrilled to be a founding member and the Artistic Director of Actionplay. He has a wealth of experience in a wide variety of Music Therapy settings from Early Intervention through End of Life Care with Arts For Healing, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, the Creative Music Therapy Studio, and Heartsong Inc., as well as 5 years and counting of co-creating shows with children and teens on the Autism spectrum. Gabriel has composed, orchestrated, and performed original, interactive orchestral music for developmentally diverse audiences with the Greenwich Village Orchestra, and has recorded and performed with numerous professional bands and ensembles.

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