Vacant Lot Theatre Presents BORN OF A FAIRYTALE at Triskelion Arts Zoo, Now thru 4/20

Williamsburg's conversion from affordable artists' enclave to destination for luxury condominiums is the stuff of twisted fairy tales, making it a fitting backdrop for the New York debut of Vacant Lot Theatre Company's Born of A Fairytale, a modern mashup of classic tales penned by Eli Sibley. Having debuted before sold-out audiences at the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, DC, the one-woman show is given new life by Vacant Lot with a new actress, Thea Brooks, and new director, Kathleen Amshoff. Opening tonight, April 3 and running for three weekends through Sunday April 20 at Triskelion Arts Zoo Theater, Born of a Fairytale tickets are $18.00 and available at brownpapertickets.com. Triskelion Arts Zoo Theater is located at 118 N 11th Street between Wythe and Berry, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Mining the vocabularies of modern dance, theatrical movement and pantomime to depict the varied experience of the female body as it passes through life, Sibley's stream-of-conscious narrative references The Red Shoes, The Frog Prince and other tales in the half-remembered, personalized and embellished style that characterizes great oral traditions. In Born of a Fairytale we see these fairy tales through the dark prism of Sibley's imagination. "The reality is horrible things happen in fairy tales," says Sibley, a veteran of Vacant Lot Theatre who has also worked with Cherry Lane Theatre, Dramatist's Guild, Kennedy Center and The California Shakespeare Festival. "As this story of a girl fallen from her castle unfolds, contemporary dance melds with Disney and funk while the seriousness of Grimm stories are revealed through mime and Top 40 artists and the fabulous journey through a young woman's life is entwined with poetry and Red Shoes," she says.

As "The Girl," musician, dancer and actress Thea Brooks (appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association), with credits that include Dirty Dancing (the Musical), Jewtopia, For The Record, Lion in Winter, After the Fall; and the television series, True Blood, will draw from her full palette of dramatic skills in this production by Vacant Lot Theatre. Founded by Ryan Whinnem and Emily Clare Zempel, the company is devoted to a collaborative approach to theater. Their projects are based on the assumption that all artists can contribute to the aesthetic and ideas on stage. With a repertory that spans from classical to contemporary, kinetic pieces and international partnerships, the troupe prefers to create theater without knowing what the script will be.

Additional production credits for Born of a Fairytale (an Equity-Approved Showcase) are Set Designer, Elle Kunnos de Voss; Costume Designer, Loren Shaw; and Lighting Designer, Dan Jobbins.

Born of a Fairy Tale will run Thursday April 3 - Saturday April 5 at 7:30pm, Sunday April 6 at 3:00pm, Thursday April 10- Friday April 11 at 8:00pm, Sunday, April 13 at 3:00pm, Monday April 14 at 7:00pm, Thursday, April 17-Saturday, April 19 at 8:00pm, and Sunday, April 20 at 3:00pm.

For more information, visit www.vacantlottheatre.org.

Photo Credit: Vacant Lot Theatre Company

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