Pictured above is a first look into the world of Riti Sachdeva's PARTS OF PARTS &STITCHES, directed by Cat Parker to premiere March 15th at The Theater at the 14th Street Y (334 East 14th St).  Pictured is our tragic bride Yamuna (Mariam Habib) surrounded by three of our vultures (Antonio Miniño [MTWorks Founding Member], Deanna McGovern & Eric Percival). With suggested costumes by Karen Ann Ledger and photography by MTWorks Company Member Shelly Feldman.


1947 - Punjab Region. For one young couple, matrimonial bliss is violently interrupted by the turmoil of Partition.

MTWorks' Final MainStage show of 2012

MAR 15-31, 2012
The Theater at 14th St Y

$18-12

VISIT UP NEXT TO PURCHASE TICKETS AND LEARN MORE

PARTS OF PARTS AND STITCHES
Writer: Riti Sachdeva
Director: Cat Parker

CASTING BREAKDOWN


ROLE:

Vulture: Seeking Caucasian Male, 18+;  The vultures have a hermaphroditic quality, working the continuum of masculine-feminine. They function independently and as a sort of “Greek Chorus.” They are onstage at all times. They instigate, inform, and bait. The ability to play an instrument, dance/move well, and/or sing is helpful.

NOTE: British accents for the role of Vulture welcome but not necessary.

About the Play: “Parts” is about a relationship coming together, while a people are torn apart. The action takes place in a small village in the Mianwali district of the NorthWest Frontier Province/Punjab (in what is now Pakistan). A young couple takes their final steps toward marriage, with all the joy and pressure that such a union creates with people all over the world. But their union is short-lived, horribly aborted by the violence that accompanies the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. A woman, horribly widowed, must make a journey to find the pieces of her husband in order to reconcile his loss. “Parts” deals with a very real issue in a fantastical way, and uses a “greek chorus” of vultures to prod, illustrate and underline the story.

AUDITIONS: 

Tuesday, January 17th, 4pm-8pm; BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Please email headshot and resume to:
mtworkscasting@gmail.com 
Attn: David Stallings
Subject Line: Vulture Role

Job Start Date:  2/11/2012

Job End Date: 3/30/2012

Salary: Stipend

AUDITION LOCATION:

Ripley Grier Studios, 10th Floor
(We will email room number with the time of your appointment if selected to audition)


Notes/What to bring:

We will email you with more information. Auditions by invitation only.

Isn't that the most adorable photo ever? we couldn't resist. Now on to our "NewBorn". You might have  read the news on the twittersphere or facebook but it's not official until it's on our website, and it is now.

We proudly introduce the directors for the 2012 National NewBorn Festival plays! "The Dream Team" as our Board of Director's Vice-Chair Karen Tortora-Lee commented earlier today.

"NewBorn" will take place Thursday, February 2nd through Saturday, February 4th, 2012 with a total of 4 readings (3 winners and 1 resident). All readings will take place at The City College of New York's North Academic Center (160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031).


Thursday, February 2nd at 7pm
THE TRAGEDY OF DANDELION
by Duncan Pflaster
directed by Leah Bonvissuto

Friday, February 3rd at 7pm
DENNY AND LILA
by August Schulenburg
directed by Tom Wojtunik

Saturday, February 4th at 5pm
ABSINTHE
by Joe Musso
directed by Dev Bondarin

Sunday, February 5th at 8pm
ON EGDON HEATH
by David Stallings
directed by Glory Kadigan

There you have it! we are already taking reservations and you can learn more about the plays by visiting "up next" on the site.
See you at NewBorn!

Company Actor Member Louise Flory is this week's featured bodyheart gal.

Click here to read her inspiring story.

bodyheart™ is a program that teaches you how to stop the WAR inside yourself. Our offerings are designed to give you ultimate fulfillment in your body & life. Through education and exploration, bodyheart™ provides you with practical steps to discovering peace and a newfound passion for your life & body. Designed to illuminate and inspire you to see the ART of you, bodyheart is more than a workshop – it is a transformational experience uniting like-minded, empowered women who are willing to embrace and embody a new way of being in the world.

Company Member Russell Jordan will be appearing in a reading of The Hour by Susan Goodell as part of Blue Curtain Theater's Drink for Words.

Drinks for Words is a forum where actors and writers can interact, share ideas and career goals, and build relationships with each other for future collaborations. Local writers will have the opportunity to have their original works read by local actors in a stage reading. Free wine and cheese will be provided at the event.

Other readings that afternon include Go For Broke by Walter Gulack, Where Is Dan? by Lloyd Pace and Rooftop by Tammy McNeill.


DRINKS FOR WORDS
By Blue Curtain Theater
Sunday, December 4, 2011 
1:30pm - 4pm
The Players Theater
115 MacDougal Street
New York, New York
View on Facebook

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 National NewBorn Festival, our annual reading series which will take place once again at the City College of New York.

We are honored to be sponsored not only by the Psychology Club and Deparment of the City College of New York but this year New York theatre company On the Square Productions has joined us in sponsoring the Audience Favorite Award.

The winners of the 2012 National NewBorn Festival are,

DUNCAN PFLASTER with his play THE TRAGEDY OF DANDELION
AUGUST SCHULENBURG with his play DENNY AND LILA
JOE MUSSO with his play ABSINTHE

All three plays are a reflection of the direction and quality we strive for here at MTWorks - thought provoking, theatrical, ensemble driven plays with stories that take place outside of New York.

Joining the winning playwrights will be resident reading of Artistic Director David Stallings' ON EGDON HEATH, a new adaptation from Thomas Hardy's novel The Return of the Native.

For complete schedule details and to make early bird reservations click here.
We will be announcing directors mid December.
All readings are FREE and open to the public.

We are honored to have Captain Michael Ace and Captain Ann Genn from the New York City U.S. Army Medical Recruiting Company as our talk-back guests after the Tuesday, November 15th 7pm performance of COSTA REHAB.

Captain Ann Genn has 2 deployments and one of those was a 15 month tour at the Baghdad Combat Support Hospital. Captain Michael Ace has 3 deployments and dealt with managing Combat Medics that provided care at the point of injury and patient movement from both combat zones back to the US.

COSTA REHAB is a comedy about three Iraq army veterans in a rehab facility and the nurses that take care of them.

TALK-BACK Tuesdays are moderated by Artistic Director David Stallings and are executed in a "talk show" format with audience participation.

To purchase tickets to COSTA REHAB click here.


Playing tonight at 7pm through November 19th

Tuesdays-Thursdays at 7pm
Fridays-Saturdays at 8pm

by Antonio Miniño

You might know Dave Charest is the guy with "wicked smaht' marketing tips for indie artists" or you might follow his insights on twitter. I know Dave as the marketing director of Astoria Performing Arts Center, which is on the top of my favorite indie theatre company list.

Katie Rosin of Kampfire PR suggested that just like shows swap postcards to help promote each other, Dave and I should swap interviews as fellow marketing directors. You'll be able to check out my answers on his website very soon. In the meantime here's what Dave had to say.

How did you get involved with marketing theater?

Hmm, I've always ended up the marketing guy whenever I'm involved with a project. When I'm engrossed in something I get really enthusiastic about it. And my enthusiasm tends to take over from there. It's infectious. So I'm pretty good at getting people excited about the things I truly believe in.  When I was studying a lot of online marketing I was intrigued by how theaters and artists could take advantage of this platform especially with the rise of social media. I thought it really lent itself to creative people and storytellers in particular. As I observed what different artists and theaters were doing I found myself disappointed with a lot of the marketing I had been seeing. Too much of it was ad based "buy tickets now" type of stuff.  I thought this approach was a big mistake. Especially for smaller, self-producing types who didn't have the luxury of throwing money at the marketing problem. I thought there was a better way. A way that allowed these artists to do something a bit more personal and really allow them to build connections with their audience. So I started blogging, interviewing people, and discussing my ideas with anyone who would listen. One of those people was my friend, Tom Wojtunik, Artistic Director of the Astoria Performing Arts Center. He put me in touch with Executive Director Taryn Sacramone. They where both game to try my ideas and some things that were a bit different from what they had been doing.  I've been on as Marketing Director since 2009 and it's been really great to see thing turns out like we thought they would since we've started to look at marketing in the long term.

What is your biggest challenge when it comes to marketing a particular show?

My biggest challenge is always convincing people that it's not about the marketing of a particular show. In fact, I don't think it's about theater at all. It's really about what you stand for. And the more you can connect with people on that level - with a system of beliefs - the more likely they are to buy-in to whatever it is you're producing.  For us at APAC, it's really all about Astoria and the people who make this community so great. It's the reason we showcase the artists we work with, it's the reason we promote our picks for the best Astoria restaurants, and it's the reason we offer programs for kids and seniors. It's a celebration of these amazing people coming together to share their stories.

If you had to choose only one marketing resource what would it be?

Wow. It's really hard to choose just one because your success is based on many resources working together. So to answer the question without limiting myself I'm going to say - people or word of mouth. If you can give people something to talk about they will. The technology and tools are always going to change but the need for people to share with one another will not. So do cool stuff and people will market it for you. 

What's your favorite thing about working with theaters?

As a marketer it's always my pleasure to introduce talented artists to audiences and vice versa. I view my work as a collaboration between myself, the artists and the audience. And I really love learning from and sharing with them both. It's fascinating.

What are you working on now? Tell us About it.

Right now we're producing the world premiere of Ashlin Halfnight's A Hard Wall at High Speed. And once again we're blessed with an amazingly talented cast and crew. This story about one man's mistake and how it changes a nation revolves around a truly compelling premise that will have people talking. We're thrilled to offer a home in Astoria for artists to develop this type of work and for Astoria audiences to see it.

Anything else you'd like to add?

To anyone who hasn't been to Astoria I'd like to make it easy for you to come out and experience some great theater and a wonderful community, our tickets never cost more that $18 and the prices are even lower for students and seniors. So come out have some dinner and see a show. I'm so confident you'll be glad you came out to Astoria that if for any reason you don't think the trip was worth it I'll personally refund the face value of your ticket. Just send a picture of your program and the date and time of the show you attended to me directly at: Dave (at) apacny.org and I'll make it happen.