Marrow's Edge Opens NYC Premiere of WE ARE SAMURAI Today

Marrow's Edge will present the New York City premiere of We Are Samurai, a new immersive play written by Daria Miyeko Marinelli and directed by Ria T. DiLullo. We Are Samurai is a suburban revenge tragedy about four twenty-somethings engaging in petty acts of violence in an effort to absolve a millennia-old offense. As the piece unfolds simultaneously across four different playing spaces, it is up to the audience to choose what to witness.

We Are Samurai runs from today, September 26-October 6, 2013 at the 133rd Street Arts Center, 308 W 133rdStreet, West Harlem, New York. Performances are Thursday and Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday and Sunday at 5:00 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets: $18, audience size limited to 35. Buying in advance is highly recommended. To buy tickets, visit: http://wearesamurai.brownpapertickets.com/. For more information, visit www.MarrowsEdge.com.

After Josephine returns home to find her cats brutally murdered for a crime she committed in a past life, she enlists her boyfriend to help her avenge her cats' deaths. What follows is a series of small, violent acts that are mundane and yet deeply tragic in their cyclical nature. Rooted in both contemporary suburbia and the historical traditions of Japanese Theatre, We Are Samurai uses cats, iPhones, and simultaneous action to explore age-old questions of agency and entitlement.

"We wanted to create a piece of theatre that's about waking up and taking charge," says playwright Daria Miyeko Marinelli, "We're constantly surrounded by screens; it's very easy to sit down, zone out, and be passive. But this piece reminds you to stand up and be a creator of your own experience. The characters must do that in their world, and the audience is invited to do so as well. It's not just their story; it's also yours."

We Are Samurai was previously produced at Brown University under the direction of Erik Ehn, member of New Dramatists and Head of Playwriting at Brown University.

Now directed by Ria T. DiLullo, the cast includes performers Rachel Lin, Tess Avitabile, Karen Eilbacher, and Sean Devare. We Are Samurai features lighting design by Matt Bellas, sound design by Paula DiLullo, costume design by Matsy Stinson, puppet design by Andrew Murdock, graphic design by Kelly Carroll, and poster design by Harrison Densmore. Sarah Haber is the production stage manager andJonathan Huggins is the technical designer.

Daria Miyeko Marinelli (playwright). INTERNATIONAL: Espacio Arévalo: Untameable (reading). REGIONAL: Rites and Reason Theatre: We are Samurai; Production Workshop: Red, The Urnest Speaks, Schrodinger is Not for Birthdays (reading); The McCormack Family Theater: I'd Rather Not Say; Rye Country Day School: Done; StationNation: Station Ballet. AWARDS: Arnold Fellow, 2-Time Winner of the Weston Award in Playwriting, Spencer and Oettinger National Scholarship for Students in the Arts. UPCOMING: We are Samurai.

Ria T. DiLullo found her voice as a director by exploring theatre from its varying vantage points. After traveling to Romania to devise work for the Sibiu InterNational Theatre Festival, Ria returned to the United States, this time heading for San Francisco. In California, Ria trained with Jubilith Moore at Theatre of Yugen in Noh and Kyogen performance. In addition, Ria is a recipient of the Weston Award for Excellence in Technical Theatre, and has trained with Elaine Lamont, Kym Moore, and Lowry Marshall. Ria grew up in New York City and lives there now.

Marrow's Edge is a performance collective dedicated to creating new and exhilarating work that challenges the audience's relationship to theatre and theatrical experiences. Founded by Ria T DiLullo (director) and Daria Miyeko Marinelli (playwright), Marrow's Edge strives to create theatrical work that is boundary pushing and deeply visceral.

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