The Lounge Series: No. 1
Unblessed
a staged reading of a new play by Kari Bentley-Quinn*
directed by Laura Pestronk*

In small town Nebraska, a young woman named Jenny shows up at the doorstep of her estranged best friend Tina after she was drugged and raped by someone who offered her a ride home from work. When Jenny is denied emergency contraception by a pharmacist for religious reasons, the consequences affect both the women’s lives more than either of them bargained for.

Unblessedwas written over the last year and workshopped at our monthly Pack meetings.  We are so excited to share it with you and hear what you think.

Featuring:  Gayton Scott*, Kat Garson, Polly Lee*, Gerald Kimble, Mark Watson, Christina Shipp* and Julian Stetkevych*.

Tuesday, January 12
7:00 PM

Jimmy’s 43
43 East 7th Street

Food wine and beer are available.  We hope to see you there!

For reservationsplease email laura@packawallop.org

*indicates Pack Member

Marea tells the story of Maria, a woman obsessed with classic Italian cinema, chianti and photography.  As her relationship with her partner Claudia unravels, she begins hearing noises behind a mysterious locked door in their apartment.  Soon, the appearance of a mysterious woman wielding a straight razor, a surprise visit from her maniacally religious grandmother, and a laced cup of tea unravel Maria’s reality and send her on a hallucinogenic journey from New York to Miami to Havana to discover the truth behind a tragic family secret.

4 performances only!

tickets

PACKAWALLOP PRODUCTIONS
Scott Ebersold and Alejandro Morales, Artistic Directors

presents
a work in progress presentation of

MAREA
a play by Alejandro Morales
directed by Scott Ebersold

featuring:
Maria-Christina Oliveras*
Polly Lee*
Maggie Bofill*
Judith Delgado*

scenic design by Jo Winiarski
costume design by Jennifer Paar
lighting design by Scott Bolman
video and projection design by Daniel Heffernan
sound design by Brandon Wolcott
properties by Buist Bickley
production stage management by Josh Parken-Ring*
casting by Judy Bowman
production management by Julian Stetkevych
assistant director Laura Pestronk

artistic associates:
Marc Solomon
Susan Louise O’Connor
Polly Lee
Julian Stetkevych

*appears courtesy of Actors Equity

When a mysterious woman wielding a straight razor appears in Maria’s apartment, reality unravels and she is sent on a hallucinogenic journey from New York to Miami to Havana to discover the truth behind a tragic family secret.

December 3, 4, 5 at 7PM
December 6 at 2PM
Tickets $18

for tickets: www.here.org or call 212-352-3101

www.packawallop.org

Packawallop wants to invite you to check out a screening of our film The Moment at the Gotham Film Festival October 22!

This is our first video project in a while and we’re very excited to share it with an audience at last!

Directed by Scott Ebersold and written by Adam Szymkowicz it stars Jeff Biehl and Outer Critics Circle Nominee and Theater World Award Winner for Blithe Spirit Susan Louise O’Connor.

Packawallop Productions
Scott Ebersold and Alejandro Morales, Artistic Directors

presents

The Moment
a film by Scott Ebersold

a short film featuring Susan Louise O’Connor & Jeff Biehl
written by Adam Szymkowicz

Produced by Lauren Fritz, Scott Ebersold and Marc Solomon
Director of Photography Greg Emetaz
Edited by Andrew McNown
Sound and Music Design by Ryan Maeker
Art Direction by Nicholas Vaughan and Kate Rusek
Script Supervisor Barry Paul Hitchcock
Craft Services and Production Assistance Jennie Crotero

Special Thanks Barry and Pamela Elisofon

“When Jane goes in to talk to her boss, in an instant of clarity, she notices something different in him that she never saw before. He sees it too in her. A new world opens up for them. Anything could be possible if they could just hold on to that moment.”

Thursday October 22
7pm
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick Street

Tickets $10

Scott Ebersold is directing 2009 Public Theater Emerging Writer Jordan Seavey’s Children at Play . . . which also features Packawallop company members Blithe Spirit’s (and star of Packawallop’s Nerve, the silent concerto, and The Moment) Susan Louise O’Connor and the silent concerto’s Drew Hirschfield.

Morgan Nickelfleck Gladystone wasn’t exactly voted Most Popular upon graduating elementary school, but as she enters 6th grade she finally finds a rag-tag gang of misfit friends. But this is junior high, so algebra comes along with fluctuating sexuality, eating disorders, groping teachers, guns, school bombings, nuclear fallout, and, most dangerous of all, love. Will they be lucky enough to escape the adults around them — and their own adolescence — in one piece? Come find out in a comedy so dark it puts the “fun” in dysfunctional and the “Cher” in Chernobyl.

featuring Rachel Craw*, Geoffrey Decas, John Halbach*, Drew Hirschfield*, Boo Killebrew*, Susan Louise O’Connor*, Jay Potter*, and Jennifer Dorr White*

sets by David Newell
costumes by Nikki Moody
lighting by Scott Bolman
sound by Brandon Wolcott and Daniel Kluger
choreography by Boo Killebrew
assistant direction by Kyle Fox
stage management by Liz Richards*
production photography by Jeanette Orlić
graphic design by Derek Rippe
press by SPIN CYCLE/Ron Lasko
produced by TJ Witham

The Living Theatre
21 Clinton Street
Between Houston and Stanton

October 29 – November 21

As we gear up for our upcoming presentation of marea, we’ll be updating this blog with lots of information about the project.

First off, marea is a play about a woman piecing together her identity and family history. One of the ways she does this is via her connection to two very different movies that came out in 1960, L’Avventura and Black Sunday (or La maschera del demonio).

Michelangelo Antonioni’s landmark film L’Avventura is basically the story of Claudia (played by Monica Vitti) whose best friend Anna (Lea Masari) mysteriously disappears off an island off the coast of Sicily.  Drawn together by their loss, Claudia and Anna’s lover Sandro begin a love affair.  Throughout the film Claudia is positioned against the privileged set that Anna and Sandro ran with and witnesses the spiritual emptiness of their world.  Antonioni masterfully used composition, editing . . . and of course the massive narrative jump of Anna’s disappearance to jolt the viewer’s perceptions and expectations.  It is a film that challenges the way we see things . . . and one in which our heroine is constantly observing . . .in fact, her back is often to the camera as she too watches the scene unfolding on the screen before us.  In marea, Maria is obsessed with Anna’s disappearance on the island, constantly turning the scene in her mind until it is no longer about Antonioni’s film, but about her life.

Mario Bava’s Black Sunday on the other hand is a gothic masterpiece that has gone on to influence many directors, most notably Tim Burton (whose Sleepy Hollow often feels like an homage to this film).  The film is about Vajda family and the curse laid upon them by their ancestor Asa, a witch who was executed in a very grisly way in the film’s prologue.  Asa and her virtuous descendant Katia are both played by Barbara Steele, lending the film a Jungian vibe with both Asa and Katia being two sides of the same coin (in fact, Asa hisses to Katia at one point “we are the same.”).  While tame by today’s horror movie standards, the film is chock full of rich imagery and atmosphere, which was part of Bava’s signature style.  The camera spends a great deal of time analyzing Asa’s face which is disfigured by the spiked mask that was nailed to it during her execution.  In marea, Maria’s partner Claudia is a fan of Bava and this film in particular.  Her revelation of this to Maria speeds up the creepy happenings Maria is experiencing as a her past begins to literally haunt her . . . and eventually sweep her away into a hallucination that feels like it was lifted from an old black and white horror film.

We gathered together a select group of talented theater and film artists who met once a month to share work, explore new ideas and share their experiences with fellow Pack members.

This proved very a successful and valuable resource to all its members and because of this we gathered together another group to form “The Pack” for the 2009-2010.

Packawallop is proud to welcome the following to “The Pack” 2009-2010. Our first meeting will be Monday, August 14th.

Michele Aldin, Isaac Butler, Tom Caruso, Drew Cortese, Anton Dudley, Neil Hellegers, Birgit Huppuch, Matthew Nichols, Wendy Seyb, Christina Shipp, Daniel Talbot, Travis York, Jeff Beihl, Britney Burgess, Scott Ebersold, Kyle Fox, Christina Gorman, Zabryna Guevara, Drew Hirshfield, Joanna Howard, Simon Kendall, Polly Lee, Sevrin Mason, Alejandro Morales, Ashley Morris, Susan Louise O’Connor, Gayton Scott, Julian Stetkevych, Pia Wilson, Josh Sohn, Crystal Skillman, Joan Rosenfels, Michael Tisdale, Adam Szymkowicz, Michael Frederic, Kari Bentley-Quinn.

If you are interested in joining the pack please contact Laura Pestronk or Kyle Fox at packleaders@packawallop.org

1. A Technical Director: The TD will be responsible for the smooth application of all technical elements of the production, organizing and implementing the set build, load-in, and strike as well as being the point person for communication between the venue and all technical aspects of the production. As this is off-off-broadway, the budget is modest but there is a fee. It is a great resume and networking opportunity for an up-and-coming TD.

2. Production Stage Manager

3. Stage Manager

Please send a cover letter and resume to info@packawallop.org, and indicate which position you are interested in.

Please pass this along to anyone you think might be interested.

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!

The Lounge Series is a program of new works of film and theater presented throughout the year in the style you’ve come to expect from Packawallop – stylish, sassy … and, naturally, with some cocktails.

Please join us at our first Lounge on Monday April 20th where we will present Adam Szymkowicz’s new play “Elsewhere” which was specially written for Packawallop Community Artists Susan Louise O’Connor, Polly Lee and Travis York. It will be directed by Scott Ebersold.

“When Teddy comes to Celia’s house to deliver a package, he doesn’t expect to be invited for dinner. When he comes to dinner, he doesn’t expect to be invited to live there. When he starts to live there, he doesn’t expect to be drugged or buried. And he certainly doesn’t expect Amanda, nor she him. A play about the unexpected, unearthed and elsewhere.”

Reservations are essential, please email info@packawallop.org to secure a seat.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Cheers!

Our own Susan Louise O’Connor is stealing the show in Broadway’s Blithe Spirit!  If you haven’t seen it yet, please do!  It’s witty, crisp and delightful.  Oh, yeah, and there’s someone named Angela Lansbury in the show and we thought she was pretty good too!

“But one of the most remarkable performances comes from Susan Louise O’Connor as the Condomines’ new maid, Edith.”–Hartford Courant

“Susan Louise O’Connor is a delightfully polished screwball in the small but crucial role of an inept maid.”–The New York Times

“Susan Louise O’Connor, playing the Condomines’ maid Edith, also proves to be a marvelous physical comedienne, as the mentally slow, but overly eager to please, Edith rushes through her duties around the living room.”–American Theater Web

“Susan Louise O’Connor steals each of her scenes as the jittery maid. In this company, that’s saying something”–Backstage

“Susan Louise O’Connor, as the hapless maid, nearly steals the show with her slapstick physical comedy.”–Hollywood Reporter

“The craftiest little scene-stealer on the premises is Edith the maid, who comes in two speeds — lunge and lope. She is played by a Broadway-debuting Susan Louise O’Connor.”–Playbill.com