Planet Connections Theatre Festivity presents Baby Plays The Banjo, a new play written by Kimberly Pau. Eric Mercado directs a cast of four including Richard Brundage*, John Buxton*, Valerie Graham and Elizabeth Spano. Six performances for Baby Plays The Banjo will be held at The Studio Theatre, 45 Bleecker Street, NYC from May 30-June 18 as part of The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. The Festivity will take place May 30th through June 24th at The Theatres at 45 Bleecker in New York City. AEA Showcase. *Member, Actors’ Equity Association.
Marie is in love with the pop star Justin Bieber. Her mother is too large to get off the sofa, and her Dad spends most of his time with his best friend Rob both racing bicyclists who are always in uniform. Too busy IMing Justin to become the famous dancer her mom wants her to be, Marie confesses to her mom that Justin Bieber has impregnated her. Mom attempts to confront Justin by watching and responding to an interview with him on YouTube, while Marie is spontaneously able to play the banjo. Baby Plays the Banjo explores our love of the mainstream media and how it comforts us.
From the Playwright
I recently heard Adam Curtis lecture, and he said something that really moved me and summed up what I’m going for thematically with Banjo, “because all we think about is ourselves we are imprisoned by our own feelings.†So, to be more specific, I hope the audience is influenced by the show’s depiction of our dependence on the American media and also on celebrities to provide an emotional and social construct for our collective behavior and the consequences of finding comfort there.
Baby Plays The Banjo is written by Kimberly Pau. Director: Eric Mercado; Original Music Composer: Vin Hill; Production Designer: Rachel R. Blackwell; Sound Designer: DJ Karl Marx; Publicist: Paul Siebold/Off Off PR.
Baby Plays The Banjo plays for six performances on the following schedule as part of the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity: Wednesday, May 30 @ 6pm; Sunday, June 3 @ 10pm; Tuesday, June 5 @ 9pm; Sunday, June 10 @ 8pm; Saturday, June 16 @ 6:30pm; Monday, June 18 @ 10pm.
Tickets are $18 and can be purchased online at http://planetconnections.org/baby-plays-the-banjo/ or by calling 212-352-3101.
The runtime for Baby Plays The Banjois approximately 75 minutes, no intermission.
Kimberly Pau’s (playwright) plays have been produced and developed at Theater for the New City (Deactivated), The Gene Frankel Theatre (Bomb Shelter), Ensemble Studio Theatre (Long Island Bores Me), Blue Heron Arts Center (Casualty of Lovely), The Stella Adler Conservatory for Acting (Chew), Tisch School of the Arts: Department of Dramatic Writing (Casualty of Lovely) and Experimental Theatre Wing (Young Woman) and The Green Building (Deactivated). Kimberly studied Dramatic Writing and Drama at Tisch School for the Arts at NYU and has developed work at the International Experimental Theater Workshops in Amsterdam, the International Film & Television Workshops in Rockport, ME and the Play Development Collective in NYC. Acknowledgements include: Named one of the Top Ten Off-Off Broadway Theatre Professionals of 2011 by reviewfix.com; Bomb Shelter, 8 Award Nominations, Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, finalist for the TrapDoor Ensemble Playwright Competition; Fredrick & Imanuel, finalist for the SPF Festival; Shithead, semi- finalist for Eugene O’Neill Playwright’s Conference. Kimberly is also Artist In Residence at The Green Building in Gowanus, Brooklyn, Artistic and Producing Associate at Aquila Theatre and a member playwright at Sanctuary: Playwright’s Theatre. www.kimberlypau.com
Eric Mercado (director) Eric Mercado is a Brooklyn based director and lighting designer. He holds a BFA from NYU Tisch where he studied creating original work. Previous directing/devised theatre credits include: The Ape and the Child at the Wings Theater, Ach Du Lieber Himmel and Wine and Spirits, both at New York Theater Workshop with Theater In Asylum, Bomb Shelter at the Gene Frankel (Planet Connections Award nomination for Best Director), and EBE Ensemble’s reading of Choking the Butterfly at the Fourth Street Theatre. He assisted director Jean Randich on A World Apart at the Flea , Annie Tippe on The First Ladies Project at the Robert Moss Theater, and Johnua Gelb on Sometimes in Prague at The Tank. Lighting design credits include: The Flitch at the Robert Moss Theatre, The Death/Memory Project at New York Theater Workshop, Yo Girl! at both 59E59 and Surgeon’s Hall at the Edinburgh Fringe, and DK Display’s showroom in Chelsea. Eric recently served as Staff Director for Aquila Theatre’s national tour of Macbeth and The Importance of Being Earnest and Associate Director and Lighting Designer of Julia Locascio’s stage adaptation of the novel The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. www.EricRMercado.com
THE PLANET CONNECTIONS THEATRE FESTIVITY is New York‘s premiere eco-friendly theatre festival. Fostering a diverse cross-section of performances, the festival seeks to inspire artists and audiences both creatively and fundamentally, in a festive atmosphere. At the heart of the festivity are like-minded individuals striving to create professional, meaningful theatre, while supporting organizations, which give back to the community at large.
Planet Connections Theatre Festivity Presents
Baby Plays The Banjo
Written by Kimberly Pau
Directed by Eric Mercado
Planet Connections Theatre Festivity
May 30th – June 24th
45 Bleecker Street Theater
Tickets $18. For tickets visit http://planetconnections.org/
More Info:Â Â http://tinymarielovesjb.com
Benefiting
Brooklyn Public Library
Six performances
Wednesday, May 30 @ 6pm
Sunday, June 3 @ 10pm
Tuesday, June 5 @ 9pm
Sunday, June 10 @ 8pm
Saturday, June 16 @ 6:30pm
Monday, June 18 @ 10pm
Runtime: 75 minutes – no intermission
For more information, visit http://planetconnections.org/
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