Theodora Skipitares Directs and Adapts LYSISTRATA At Ellen Stewart, Opens 2/6

The world-premiere adaptation of LYSISTRATA by the renowned puppet artist, writer and director Theodora Skipitares - which mixes Aristophanes' ancient comic tale about a group of Greek women who withhold sex from their husbands and lovers with video and newsreel footage of actual modern-day international sex strikes -- will be presented by La MaMa ETC in association with Skysaver Productions, with an official press opening February 6 at the Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 E. 4 St.) in Manhattan.

Directed and adapted by Theodora Skipitares, LYSISTRATA has an original score written and performed by circus composer Sxip Shirey. Choregraphy for LYSISTRATA is by Angela Harriell, director/choreographer of The Love Show, the dance company that bills itself as "a little cabaret, a little ballet and a whole lot of rock and roll." The Love Show most recently debuted NUTCRACKER: RATED R.

Ms. Skipitares applies a variety of theatrical and multi-media twists to the 2500-year-old tale of LYSISTRATA and her fellow Greek women's ploy to convince the men of ancient Greece to find a peaceful end to war by withholding sexual privileges: from various forms of puppetry to music, choreography, burlesque, a Greek chorus attired in masks and costumes inspired by the ancient Roman Circus and - by way of contrast between the fanciful and the serious- newsreel and video of several sex strikes that have taken place in recent years around the globe, including "The Strike of the Crossed-Legs" conducted by the girlfriends of gang lords in Colombia, a strike in Kenya in the wake of a deadly, corrupt election, and an ongoing naked protest by farmers in Mexico City in retaliation for government appropriation of land.

LYSISTRATA features a cast that includes Antonevia Ocho Coltes (in the title role of Lysistrata), Daniel Irizzary (as the Magistrate and Cinesias), Minna Taylor (as Myrrhine), and others. Puppet design is by Cathy Shaw, Theodora Skipitares and Cecilia Schiller, lighting design is by Jesse Belsky, and costume design is by Lara de Bruijn.

As well, LYSISTRATA reunites Ms. Skipitares with circus composer Sxip Shirey, who has written original music and lyrics as he did previously for Ms. Skipitares' THE TRAVELING PLAYERS PRESENT THE WOMEN OF TROY in 2009.

In its review, The New York Times called THE TRAVELING PLAYERS PRESENT THE WOMEN OF TROY "an inspirational play...a dark gem." "This collaborative work packs a thought-provoking and emotional impact in a brief space of time," wrote Show Business Weekly. And nytheatre.com called WOMEN OF TROY "a unique experience...it combines its elements very well and creates an atmosphere of inspiration."

Theodora Skipitares has been creating large-scale theatre works with puppets for more than 25 years, making her La MaMa debut with UNDERGROUND in 1992. Ms. Skipitares recently presented TRILOGY about which The New York Times wrote: "With abundant ingenuity, Theodora Skipitares makes the Trojan War, a central saga of Greek tragedy, a puppet spectacular." Other credits include THE AGE OF INVENTION, DEFENDERS OF THE CODE, UNDER THE KNIFE and A HARLOT'S PROGRESS. Her works have been produced throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.
She has received numerous grants and awards, including Guggenheim and Rockefeller Fellowships, six NEA grants, and a UNIMA Citation for Excellence in Puppetry. In 2005, Ms. Skipitares' adaptation of Euripides' IPHIGENIA won two New York Innovative Theatre Awards. In 2000, she received the American Theatre Wing Design Award for A HARLOT'S PROGRESS and in 2004, she won the Helen
Merrill Distinguished Playwriting Award. In 2000, Ms. Skipitares was a Fulbright Fellow in India where she created two original works.

Sxip Shirey has played the exploding circus organ for the pyro-technic clowns of the Daredevil Opera Company at the Sydney Opera House and the Kennedy Center, industrial flutes for acrobats on mechanical jumping boots at The New Victory Theater in New York, tamponophone with The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus at Bonaroo, hillbilly music for gypsies in Transylvania and gypsy music
for hillbillies in West Virginia with The Luminescent Orchestrii. Shirey has performed at Boston's First Night as support act for Dresden Dolls US tour; at The Round House in London; at Joe's Pub, The Knitting Factory and CBGB's in New York; at TED in Monterey, California; at the Big Ears Festival,
Edinburgh Fringe Festival; and at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in Australia. Shirey worked with Chorographer Heidi Lasky and disabled dancers on "GIMP,"which had a Boston Premiere at The Institute of Contemporary Art; and composed for the feature film "Hotel Gramercy Park" by director Douglas Keeve (Unzipped);

La MaMa Experimental Theatre is a world-renowned cultural organization led by founder Ellen Stewart. For 48 years La MaMa has passionately pursued its original mission to develop, nurture, support, produce and present new and original performance work by artists of all nations and cultures. We believe that in order to flourish, art needs the company of colleagues, the spirit of collaboration, the comfort of continuation, a public forum in which to be evaluated and fiscal support. Since La MaMa's doors first opened in 1961, our primary dedication has been to new works. Many of the best plays and playwrights of the 60's and 70's have come from our lower East Side stages and workshops. The face of Theatre as we now know it on Broadway and beyond was

Performances of LYSISTRATA run February 3 through February 13 at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 East 4th Street, 2nd floor). Performance schedule is Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm, and Sundays at 2:30pm. Tickets are $25 (students and seniors are $20). For reservations call 212-475-7710 or visit www.lamama.org

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