Crystal Skillman's OPEN to Premiere at The Tank

The Tank in association with All For One Theater will present the World Premiere of Open, written by Crystal Skillman (Rain and Zoe Save the World, 2018 EMOS Award-Winner; King Kirby at The Brick; Geek with Vampire Cowboys) directed by Jessi D. Hill (Surely Goodness and Mercy with Keen Company; Interstate at NYMF), and featuring Megan Hill (Do You Feel Anger? at Vineyard Theater; Eddie and Dave at The Atlantic) at The Tank (312 West 36th Street between 8th and 9th Avenues), June 7-22. Performances will be on Friday, June 7 at 8pm, Saturday, June 8 at 8pm, Sunday, June 9 at 3pm, Tuesday, June 11 at 8pm, Wednesday, June 12 at 8pm, Thursday, June 13 at 8pm, Friday, June 14 at 8pm, Saturday, June 15 at 3pm & 8pm, Sunday, June 16 at 3pm, Tuesday, June 18 at 8pm, Wednesday, June 19 at 8pm, Thursday, June 20 at 8pm, Friday, June 21 at 4pm & 8pm, and Saturday, June 22 at 8pm. Tickets ($25) are available for advance purchase at www.thetanknyc.org. The performance will run approximately 60 minutes, with no intermission.

Open is a magic show with no magic. A woman called The Magician seems to pantomime a myriad of tricks, but her act reveals she is attempting the impossible-to save the life of her lover, Jenny. And yet, is it possible that the more we believe in their love, the more The Magician's illusions are actually becoming real? The clock is ticking, the show must go on, and as impossible as it may seem, this Magician's magic act may be our last hope against a world filled with intolerance and hate.

Crystal Skillman (Playwright) is an award-winning Brooklyn based playwright. Plays include Geek, Cut, King Kirby (New York Times Critics Pick), Rain and Zoe Save the World (2018 EMOS New Play Competition Winner), and Pulp Vérité (workshopped at the Playwrights Foundation; 2015 The Clifford Odets Ensemble Play Commission). Crystal is the book writer of Mary and Max, with composer/lyricist Bobby Cronin, which premiered at Theatre Calgary, directed by Stafford Arima. Postcard American Town was selected for a 2018 Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. Awards: 2018 MUT Award (Critics' Prize), Clifford Odets Ensemble Play Commission, NY Innovative Theatre Award. Work in TV/Comics includes "Adventure Time" and Eat Fighter, published on Webtoon where new episodes premiere each Saturday. www.crystalskillman.com

Jessi D. Hill (Director) is a theatre director based in New York City. New York credits include new work at New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater/Joe's Pub, The Playwrights' Center, Primary Stages, Keen Company, Labyrinth, The Women's Project, 59E59, P73, The New Group, Rattlestick, Ensemble Studio Theatre, terraNOVA Collective, Culture Project, Musical Theatre Factory, The Acting Company, The Barrow Group, New Dramatists, The Lark, The Playwrights Realm, New Georges, and many others. She has been a director and teacher in professional training programs at Yale School of Drama, Juilliard, Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center/NTI, Fordham University, Long Island University, Powerhouse/NY Stage & Film, NYU/Tisch, The Atlantic School, Playwrights Horizons Theatre School, Hunter College, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and many others. Jessi is a recipient of the Denham Fellowship from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, an Alum of the Women's Project Lab, and an Affiliated Artist at New Georges. She served as Associate Artistic Director of terraNOVA Collective from 2009-2015 where she co-created the Groundbreakers Playwrights Group and Groundworks new works program. She is currently the Artistic Associate at Flying Carpet Theatre Co and the Literary Team Director at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Her work has been seen internationally in Edinburgh, London, New Zealand, Berlin and Hamburg. MFA: Yale. Member SDC.

Megan Hill (The Magician) has originated roles in the world premieres of Do You Feel Anger? (The Vineyard and Humana Festival), Eddie and Dave (The Atlantic), Kentucky (P73/EST), Hand to God (EST), and Crystal Skillman's Cut (The Management), to name a few. As an actor and writer, her play The Last Class: A Jazzercise Play (created with Amy Staats and Margot Bordelon) has enjoyed sold-out runs in New York, D.C., and Seattle. She has also worked with Bushwick Starr, Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor, SPACE on Ryder Farm, NACL, Soho Rep Lab, Ars Nova's ANT Fest, Playwrights Horizons, Primary Stages, The Lark, HERE, Morgan Gould & Friends, New Dramatists, NYTW, Clubbed Thumb, New Georges, Labyrinth Lab, Target Margin, Ma-Yi, Pittsburgh Public, Stein/Holum, Intiman, Seattle Children's Theater/Speeltheatre Holland, Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, and The Guggenheim, among others. BFA: Acting/Original Works, Cornish College of the Arts. MFA: ART/MXAT IATT at Harvard University.

All For One Theater (AFO) is dedicated to producing and developing extraordinary solo theater. AFO believes the solo show is more than a vehicle for personal narratives; it blurs the line between performance art and theater, and has the capacity to forge connections between artists and audiences more personal than those of traditional theatrical storytelling. Since 2011, AFO has presented acclaimed full-length solo plays Off and Off-Off Broadway, nurtured dozens of the brightest mid-career solo theater artists through the AFO Solo Collective, and initiated an Artist In Residence program to incubate one artist's new work for up to 18 months of development. www.afo.nyc

The Tank is a non-profit arts presenter and producer. Our mission is to remove economic barriers from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers and experimenting within their art form, and to do so in an environment that is inclusive and accessible. We serve over 2,000 artists every year in over 800 performances, and work across all disciplines, including theater, comedy, dance, film, music, puppetry, and storytelling. The heart of our services is providing free performance space in our two-stage theater complex Manhattan, and we also offer a suite of other services such as free rehearsal space, promotional support, artist fees, and much more. We support work at all phases of development, from readings and residencies to fully-produced world premieres. We keep ticket prices affordable and view our work as democratic, opening up both the creation and attendance of the arts to all.

Recent Tank-produced work includes Drama Desk-nominated productions Ada/Ava (2016), youarenowhere (2016), The Paper Hat Game (2017), the ephemera trilogy (2017), and The Hunger Artist (2018), as well as New York Times Critics' Picks The Offending Gesture by Mac Wellman, directed by Meghan Finn (2016) and Red Emma & The Mad Monk by Alexis Roblan, directed by Katie Lindsay (2018). www.thetanknyc.org