The Dirty Blondes to Present HALLOWED GROUND, 2/23

The Dirty Blondes announce HALLOWED GROUND, a textual, collage-based theater piece sculpting familiar and unfamiliar literature to create a one-night performance examining the balance between the search for wealth and the search for inner peace.

Artistic Director Ashley J. Jacobson, with director/choreographer Courtney Laine Self, along with a cast of five actors will manipulate and perform a curated script of texts chosen from the Humans of New York blog, Colum McCann's This Side of Brightness, the manifesto and critique for Occupy Wall Street rhetoric Tennesseee William's The Glass Menagerie, Arthur Miller's The Death of a Salesman, and original language.

The play will use performance of Humans of New York confessions to create a commentary on the classical texts such as Death of a Salesman and The Glass Menagerie that challenge a New Yorker's unique sense of purpose and fulfillment in trying to live a happy life within the constraints with a world ruled by wealth. What is the definition of a valuable life? What is the balance between the pursuit of freedom, artistic or otherwise and the pursuit for financial security? How do you carve out a life, and make a living?

The Dirty Blondes invite you to ask these questions together, igniting your senses through the medium of theater and live performance. HALLOWED GROUND will also function as a developmental step in Ashley Jacobson's new play THE TUNNEL PLAY, and you will be invited to converse and offer feedback with the artists in a post-show discussion.

HALLOWED GROUND will feature performances by Tim Aslin, Brett Epstein, Brandon Ferraro, Kay Capasso, and Turquoise Olezene, production by Elizabeth Sarkady, and stage management by Alexandra White.

HALLOWED GROUND will run at The Brick Theater on February 23 at 5:00pm. Doors open at 4:30pm. Running time is approximately sixty minutes. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Visit http://thedirtyblondes.org to purchase tickets.

The Dirty Blondes was founded with a mission to develop beautiful and subversive new works of theater by fostering a community of diverse artists dedicated to creativity and collaboration. Founded in Brooklyn, The Dirty Blondes have presented sold-out works at The Collapsable Hole, The Bleecker Street Theater, and The Brick Theater. They are the winners of Outstanding Lighting, Outstanding Direction, and Outstanding Production of a New Play for THE AMERICAN PLAY at The Planet Connections Theater Festivity (2012).

Winner of the The Caffe Cino Fellowship Award, The Brick is Williamsburg, Brooklyn's destination for cutting-edge theatrical experience. The Brick and its company, The Brick Theater, Inc, were founded in 2002 by Robert Honeywell and Michael Gardner. Formerly an auto-body shop, a yoga center, and various storage spaces, this brick-walled garage in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was completely refurbished as a state-of-the-art performance space.

The Brick has been home to many critically acclaimed premieres, including Bouffon Glass Menajoree (NY IT Award Winner-Outstanding Play), In a Strange Room (Time Out New York's Top Ten Plays), Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War (NY IT Award Winner-Outstanding Play), Suspicious Package (ITBA Award Winner-Best Unique Theatrical Experience), Craven Monkey and the Mountain of Fury (NY IT Award Nominee-Outstanding Performance Art Production), and Greed: a Musical Love $tory (NY IT Award Nominee-Outstanding Musical), The Brick has hosted some of downtown theater's most innovative artists, including Annie Baker, Young Jean Lee, The Debate Society, Thomas Bradshaw and Nick Jones.