Nicu's Spoon Presents BAD SEED, Closes 4/24

NICU'S SPOON is pleased to announce their production of Maxwell Anderson's BAD SEED, directed by S. Barton-Farcas. BAD SEED will play a three-week limited engagement at the Spoon Theater (38 West 38th Street, 5th Floor). Performances close on Sunday, April 24. 

Eight year old Rhoda Penmark is the perfect child in a perfect family. That is, until you have something she wants. You see, she isn't like most children...for Rhoda murder is just child's play.

The production features scenic design by Nicu's Spoon, costume design by Rien Schlecht, and lighting design by Steven Wolf. S. Barton-Farcas is the sound engineer and Juni Li is the stage manager.

 

Tickets are $18 and are now available online at www.spoontheater.org. Tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Spoon Theatre Box Office, 30 minutes prior to the show.

Running Time: 2 Hours with intermission

Website: www.spoontheater.org

BIOGRAPHIES

Maxwell Anderson (Playwright) was a famous playwright whose contributions to American Drama are well noted. He showed support in the theatres, teaching, and newspaper work. Poetic tragedy was Anderson's ambition as a playwright.

Maxwell Anderson was born in Atlantic, Pennsylvania on December 15, 1888 to William Lincoln and Charlotta Perrimela Stephenson Anderson. He attended the University of North Dakota, and achieved his B.A. in 1911. He continued his education at Stanford University and received his Master's Degree in English in 1914. Anderson married Margaret Haskett in 1911, and together they had three children: Quentin, Alan, and Terence. His second marriage was to Gertrude Anthony after the death of his first wife and they together had a child: Hesper. Outliving two wives, Maxwell married a third time to Gilda Oakleaf. Maxwell Anderson died February 28, 1959, just married five years to Gilda.

The early 1920s brought a new insight to American Drama. Prior to World War I, playwrights were just starting to emerge and New York City became popular for new actors, stage designers and directors. After the war, new audiences emerged to support the contemporary plays. This became a time for young playwrights to show their serious artistic writing.

Anderson's writing reflected mostly tragedies, comedies, and plays in verse and in prose, satires, musicals and social protest. The plays were meant to relate to the outside world, and since the war had ended, the world needed a place for expression. Maxwell Anderson also expanded into writing poetry, and studying Philosophy. In 1925 he published his poetry, Who Have Dreams, which became well known because of the lack of formal experimentation. No matter what his job, he dedicated his life to writing. His main interest remained in traditional literature.

In the fall of 1924, with the production of What Price Glory, Anderson's career as a playwright began. This play reflected a deglamorization of wartime. The language used in this play was blunt and straightforward, eliminating the formalistic dialogue. He used profanity in the dialogue to correspond with the attitudes deplicted in the war--from soldiers to Frenchmen to Englishmen. The high success of this play allowed Anderson to pursue his career as a playwright, and he produced six more plays. "He came to see that verse was an extra tool and that through skillful use of such elements as rythm and imagery and allusion the playwright could increase the impact of a play on its audience." (DLB 7, 28) This helped him achieve his goals of capturing the audience's attention and relating to the audience. Anderson used irony and satire to help his production of four poetic tragedies. Two were based on English history and two were based on American history. Later, his audience related his plays to that of a historical dramatist.

Anderson wrote his plays in the service of hope of improvement and development of the humanity. He focused on dreams and inspirations in developing his plays. (Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 8: Maxwell Anderson." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. URL:http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap8/anderson.html 3/14/11)

S. BARTON FARCAS (Director) has directed many shows in NYC including the award winning SubUbia, The Little Prince, Buried Child, Displaced and To Kill a Mockingbird. Her favorite acting roles include Nuclear Family and Talk Show (both Off-Broadway), Jenny Diver in Threepenny Opera, Gwen in Fifth of July, Josie in Steaming and her shows with Nicu's Spoon, The Swan, Skin Tight and Elizabeth Rex for which she was the recipient of the 2008 NY Innovative Theatre Award for Best Actress in a lead role, playing Queen Elizabeth I in both the off-off and Off Broadway Premieres. She is a member of AEA and SAG. She has been in the films Sleepy Time Gal (finalist in 2008 at Sundance), Backward Looks, Far Corners, Sour Times as well as Finding in NYC. She is also seen in [Untitled]. She has also been dialect coach for various off-Broadway shows on Theater Row, as well as being a private accent, audition and acting coach.

NICU'S SPOON launched into the New York Indie Theatre scene in 2001 with their first play, Displaced, a new play written by five women, based on the stories, testimonies, songs, and poetry of women and children refugees, which was submitted for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize. Their 2002 multi-racial production of To Kill a Mockingbird was hailed by Back Stage as "nothing short of inspiring!" In Perpetuity Throughout the Universe, a story of a woman who is a ghostwriter for hate books completed the 2002 season, and was a Village Voice "Voice Choice". In 2002 special performances with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation were added to the productions. In 2003, Nicu's Spoon presented two pieces focusing on individuality: George Orwell's 1984 and A Murder of Crows by OBIE Award winner Mac Wellman. Inclusion of handicapped actors was an important element in both shows. 2004 brought the production of SubUrbia by Eric Bogosian and was awarded the OOBR award for best production and an additional nomination for the Alliance of NY Arts Organizations' Advancing Cultural Development Award. In 2005 United Stages profiled them in their "Seeing Stars" series and nytheatre. com picked them as an Editors Choice for The Swan, as well as Stumps, which introduced a new kind of performance for Deaf and hearing audiences, called "co-playing." 2006 produced a hit: the US premiere of Skin Tight, named the High5 pick of the week, as well as Buried Child, which challenged the stereotype that a Deaf actor could not speak on stage. In 2006, they were recognized by the Thom Fluellen Award by the NYU Community Fund for excellence in service to the diverse New York community. Time Warner Corporation was a 2007 season sponsor in their Diverse Voices program.

During the 2007 season, while producing Tales of the Last Formicans in a theater not their own, they searched for a home; not only to use as a company but also to rent to other artists at reasonable prices. For the second Nicu's Spoon production in 2007 they debuted Richard lll (the lead actor was differently abled from polio) in their very own theater - a home, located at 38 West 38th Street, 5th Floor! Following that with the U.S. premiere of Kosher Harry (co-played with hearing and non hearing/speaking artists) to round out the 7th season. Celebrating the First Anniversary in the new space with Elizabeth Rex started the 8th season in NYC. The show garnered 2 Innovative Theatre Awards and an Off-Broadway run at Center Stage. In between, building and developing a space that pops with creativity for other artists and companies to come enjoy and work. The 2008 season addressed women and identity issues and Snapple awarded the company the ‘Best People to work with in NY City' award. The 2010 season focuses on outcasts. The 2011 season will reflect on ‘Monsters'. Please come and support the theater in midtown where Nicu's Spoon is changing the world one play at a time. www.spoontheater.org

Nicu's Spoon Presents
Bad Seed
by Maxwell Anderson
directed by S. Barton-Farcas
April 6 - 24 2011
Spoon Theater
38 West 38th Street, 5th Floor
$18
www.spoontheater.org