Magis Theatre Company adds performances of *mark through April 29th

 

Magis Theatre Company hss added additional dates to their critically acclaimed production of *mark - A Solo Performance of the Gospel of Mark with George Drance in the role of the storyteller. *mark will be performed at Theatre 315 located at  315 W. 47th St. New York, NY. The full schedule of remaining shows dates is as follows:  April 20 at 7PM, April 21 at 8PM, April 22 at 2PM, April 26 at 7PM, April 27 at 7PM, April 28 at 8PM and April 29 at 2PM. Tickets are $39.47 and available at Eventbrite: tinyurl.com/36h7rzdt. This production is directed by Jackie Lucid.

"George Drance is stunning in the role." – The Front Row Center

Originally produced at La MaMa ETC and directed by Luann Purcell Jennings in 2014, *mark  - A Solo Perfomance of the Gospel of Mark features Magis founder, George Drance, as the storyteller, and original music composed by internationally acclaimed, award-winning composer Elizabeth Swados. Drance's grandparents on both sides were born in Western Ukraine. Recently he has performed with Virlana Tkacz's Yara Arts Group in "Radio 477" alongside Serhiy Zhadan and Daria Kolomiec. He will perform at the Ukrainian Museum in May with Ping Chong's "Undesireable Elements." 

 The Gospel of Mark, the oldest of the four gospels, had an early tradition of being performed aloud from start to finish. It was finally written down during Nero’s brutal persecution of the followers of “the Way.” Recited in its entirety to give courage to this community of quiet rebels, their radical compassion put them in danger because their inclusivity threatened the Empire’s status quo. Today it is rare for an audience to hear this gospel performed in its totality, or to experience it with the immediacy of that dangerous period of oppression. In his contemporary solo performance, Drance, reclaims the urgency of the words as when they were first spoken.  He examines the message of commitment and love through the eyes of a street artist, using drawings to illustrate and illuminate the text.

The Gospel of Mark, the oldest of the four gospels, had an early tradition of being performed aloud from start to finish. It was finally written down during Nero's brutal persecution of the followers of "the Way." Recited in its entirety to give courage to this community of quiet rebels, their radical compassion put them in danger because their inclusivity threatened the Empire's status quo. Today it is rare for an audience to hear this gospel performed in its totality, or to experience it with the immediacy of that dangerous period of oppression. In his contemporary solo performance, Drance, reclaims the urgency of the words as when they were first spoken. He examines the message of commitment and love through the eyes of a street artist, using drawings to illustrate and illuminate the text.

"Magis Theatre Company is daring to be different." - The New York Times

Magis Theatre Company, founded in 2003, is an ensemble of actors and teaching artists who came together out of desire: desire to teach, desire to train, and desire to act. The company has produced a variety of actor driven, physically based theatre productions that explore the human condition. Recent productions include: Thornton Wilder's The Alcestiad performed at FDR Four Freedoms Park; Calderon's Two Dreams, presenting both the 1636 comedia and the 1677 auto sacramental of Life is a Dream; Leslie Lewis' Miracle in Rwanda, testifying to the transformative power of prayer and forgiveness. Their adaptation of C.S. Lewis's fantastical spiritual tale The Great Divorce was hailed by the New York Times as "thought provoking... long on theatrical skill and remarkably short on preachiness."

Actor George Drance, Artist-in-residence at Fordham University, has performed and directed in over twenty countries on five continents. He has served as artistic director of Theatre YETU in Kenya and artistic associate for Teatro la Fragua in Honduras. Drance has been a guest artist and lecturer at Columbia University, Cornell University, Marquette University, Marymount Manhattan College, Hebrew Union College, and Boston College. In March, Drance, who is Ukrainian, will appear at LA Mama in Radio 477!, a new show created by Yara Arts Group and Ukrainian artists about the city of Kharkiv, its jazz history, and how it stood up to Putin today. With texts and lyrics by award-winning Ukrainian poet Serhiy Zhadan, music by Anthony Coleman, it is directed by Virlana Tkacz.

Perhaps best known for her Broadway and international smash hit Runaways, the late Elizabeth Swados (1951-2016) composed, wrote and directed issue-oriented theatre for over 30 years. Some of her works include the Obie Award winning Trilogy at La Mama, and Alice at the Palace with Meryl Streep at the New York Shakespeare Festival.

 

 

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