The Brewing Dept. to Present BOBRAUSCHENBERGAMERICA, 8/30

The Brewing Dept. will present a free, outdoor production of Chuck Mee's bobrauschenbergamerica directed by Emily Kaplan this Labor Day weekend.

A collage play inspired by the work of artist Robert Rauschenberg, bobrauschenbergamerica is a theatrical panorama of American life that explores our contradictions, romances, fears, and ultimately, hope for the future. As re-imagined and staged nontraditionally by TBD founding member Emily Kaplan, the audience will play an integral role in bringing the show to life. So grab a spot on the picnic blanket, bring along your lunch or dinner, and join us for a celebration of life, art, and of course, America.

bobrauschenbergamerica features Yonatan Gebeyehu, Claudia Givings, Dennis Hall, Yasmeen Jawhar, Brian LaPerche, Katerina Madson, Theo Maltz, Matthew McShane, and Caroline Siewert. It is assistant directed by Cody Holliday Haefner and produced by Thomas Kapusta, with graphic design by Eric Emch.

The performance schedule for bobrauschenbergamerica is:

Friday 8/30/13 - 7:00pm

Saturday 8/30/13 - 2:00pm

Saturday 8/30/13 - 7:00pm

Emily Kaplan is a theatre artist based in Brooklyn and a founding member of The Brewing Dept. Since graduating from Barnard College in 2011, Emily has performed, directed, and assisted at Dixon Place, HERE Arts Center, 59E59, The Wooster Group, New Dramatists, Incubator Arts Project, The Bushwick Starr, and The Living Theatre, among others. Her adaptation of Henry James' Turn of the Screw, entitled The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, was workshopped last year at Dixon Place, and her multimedia adaptation of The Little Prince was produced at Barnard College.

Chuck Mee has written Big Love and True Love and First Love, bobrauschenbergamerica and Hotel Cassiopeia, Iphigenia 2.0 and Trojan Women: A Love Story, and Summertime and Wintertime among other plays - all of them available on the internet at www.charlesmee.org. He was honored with a full season of his plays at the Signature Theatre. Among other awards, he is the recipient of the gold medal for lifetime achievement in drama from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and of the Richard B. Fisher Award. He is also the author of a number of books of history, and the former Editor-in-Chief of Horizon magazine, a magazine of history, art, literature, and the fine arts. His work is made possible by the support of Richard B. Fisher and Jeanne Donovan Fisher.

The Brewing Dept. is a collective of theater artists made up of Columbia University graduates from 2011 and 2012 that is committed to separating the definition of artistic success from the idea of a final, polished performance. We aim to make dynamic, living theater by allowing artists the time and creative space to best develop their work. We seek to connect audiences with the creative process and promote a dialogue between artists and audiences before opening night, and continuing beyond the piece's closing performance.

More information about The Brewing Dept. can be found at thebrewingdept.org, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheBrewingDept, or on Twitter @TheBrewingDept.