SMOKE Begins Performances 8/22 at The Flea

The Flea Theater will present the World Premiere of Kim Davies' SMOKE, directed by Flea Resident Director Tom Costello (The Wundelsteipen) and featuring members of The Bats, the resident acting company at The Flea. Previews begin August 22 with opening slated for September 7. Says Producing Director Carol Ostrow, "where 50 Shades of Grey dances on the surface of BDSM, Smoke cuts to the core.

In this BDSM erotic power play, SMOKE brings an entitled college student and a jaded wannabe artist - with more in common than they thought - past the verge.

The production features Stephen Stout (a cautionary tail, Job, Restoration Comedy, These Seven Sicknesses), Madeleine Bundy (a cautionary tail), Ivan Dolido, and Adelind Horan (The Mysteries).

The creative team includes Andrew Diaz (Set Design), Beth Goldenberg (Costume Design), Daisy Long (Lighting Design), Lee Kinney (Sound Design), Jesse Geguzis (Fight Choregraphy) and Ben Andersen (Stage Management).

Kim Davies (Playwright) is a member of Youngblood and an affiliated artist with New Georges. Short works, including "Untitled Play about Balls," "Miss Authenticity," and "The Love of Richard Nixon," have been produced with the Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Weasel Festival, and the 24 Hour Plays. Her plays have received readings and development with The Flea Theater, Partial Comfort Productions, and the Lark, among others. She is a recent graduate of Mac Wellman and Erin Courtney's MFA in playwriting at Brooklyn College.

Tom Costello (Director) Originally from Ithaca, NY, Tom has been a freelance director in New York since receiving his BFA in Drama from NYU/Tisch. He is a Resident Director at The Flea where he directed The Wundelsteipen (and other difficult roles for young people); #serials@theflea: Lucifer ex Machina by Sevan K. Greene, Undesirables by Jeff Ronan; The Shakes: Romeo and Juliet - Act 3,The Honest Whore - Act 3; The Flying Latke (co-director, 2011). He is an ensemble member of Pipeline Theatre Company where he has directed Sleepless City by Tim Chawaga,Shakespeare the Dead by Alex Mills (Dream Up Festival) and Bubble and Squeak by Evan Twohy which was a finalist in the 2011 Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival. He has also directed Libra Theater Company's The Thirteenth Commandment by Joshua H. Cohen and traveled to Slovakia and Ecuador with Dramatic Adventure Theatre to teach theater and devise short plays with actors based on their cultural experiences. Also a faculty member at Atlantic Acting School where he has directed numerous productions.

The Bats are the resident acting company members of The Flea Theater. Each year over a thousand actors audition for a place in this unique company. The Bats perform in extended runs of challenging classic and new plays. The Bats have recently appeared in premieres by A.R. Gurney, Will Eno, Adam Rapp, Beau Willimon, Mac Wellman, Elizabeth Swados, Thomas Bradshaw, Itamar Moses, Sheila Callaghan, Julian Sheppard, Ken Urban, Tommy Smith, Jonathan Reynolds, Trista Baldwin, Laurel Haines, Qui Nguyen, Sean Graney, and Amy Freed.

The Flea Resident Director Program is an intensive program that invites young directors to work in support of The Flea's season under the supervision of Artistic Director Jim Simpson. Residents direct readings and workshops with The Bats throughout the season with the goal of a full production. Resident director productions include My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer, Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love, The Recommendation, a cautionary tail, White Hot, I Hate Mexicans, Job, The Wundelsteipen, The Electric Lighthouse, American Sexy, and Just Cause.

The Flea Theater, under Artistic Director Jim Simpson and Producing Director Carol Ostrow, is one of New York's leading off-off-Broadway companies. Winner of a Special Drama Desk Award for outstanding achievement, Obie Awards and an Otto for political theater, The Flea has presented over 100 plays and numerous dance and live music performances since its inception in 1996. Past productions include the premieres by Steven Banks, Thomas Bradshaw, Bathsheba Doran, Will Eno, Karen Finley, Amy Freed, Sean Graney, A.R. Gurney, Hamish Linklater, Enrique Gutiérrez Ortiz Monasterio, Itamar Moses, Anne Nelson, Qui Nguyen, Adam Rapp, Jonathan Reynolds, Roger Rosenblatt, Elizabeth Swados, and Mac Wellman. Recent successes include Drama Desk nominated She Kills Monsters, These Seven Sicknesses and Restoration Comedy, The Mysteries and eight World Premieres by A.R. Gurney including the WSJ Best New Play of 2013, Family Furniture.

SMOKE runs August 22 through September 28. Thursday - Saturday at 9PM and Sunday at 7PM. The Flea Theater is located at 41 White Street between Church and Broadway, three blocks south of Canal, close to the A/C/E, N/R/Q, 6, J/Z and 1 subway lines. Tickets $15 - $35 with lowest priced tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. They can be purchased by calling 212-352-3101 or online at www.theflea.org. Note: The production will include nudity and sexual situations.

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