Photo Flash: The Amoralists' COLLISION Opens at Rattlestick Tonight

The Amoralists Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of Collision, written by Lyle Kessler and directed by David Fofi; the New York Premiere of Rantoul and Die, written and directed by Mark Roberts; and the World Premiere of The Cheaters Club, written by Derek Ahonen. Collision runs Off-Broadway from tonight, January 10 - February 17, 2013 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, located at 224 Waverly Place between Perry & West 11th Streets in New York City. Meet the cast in the photos below!

In Collision, chance encounters prove calculated when three students, a professor, and a stranger come together in this incendiary black comedy. Set in a college dormitory somewhere in the heart of America, this band of incongruous intellectuals with hidden scars embarks on a dangerous course to create order out of chaos. Their unitEd Moral compass will guide them to The Edge of the cliff...and beyond. What happens when all the wrong people meet at exactly the right time?

The cast for Collision includes Michael Cullen (Bus Stop on Broadway, Bug, Cobb), Craig 'muMs' Grant (HBO's "Oz"), James Kautz (The Bad and the Better, The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side, The Hallway Trilogy), Nick Lawson (The Bad and the Better, The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side, Happy in the Poorhouse) and Anna Stromberg (The Bad and the Better, HotelMotel).

The creative team for Collision includes Alfred Schatz (Set Design), Jaime Torres (Costume Design), Phil Carluzzo (Sound Design) and Michael J. Kessler (Assistant Director). Judy Merrick is the Stage Manager.

Lyle Kessler's (Playwright) play Orphans will be produced on Broadway in March 2013, starring Alec Baldwin and Shia LaBeouf, and directed by Dan Sullivan. Orphans has been an international success in almost every country in the world since its Steppenwolf Theater Production in Chicago and New York. London's West End production starred Albert Finney. Kessler's other plays include The Watering Place, Possession, Robbers, Unlisted and The Great Divide. His films include Orphans, Gladiator, The Saint of Fort Washington and Touched, which he co-starred in. Kessler's a member of The Actors Studio and LAByrinth Theater Company, and served as the Director of the Sundance Screenwriter's Lab. He co-moderated the Playwright/Directors Unit of The Actors Studio West for eleven years.

David Fofi (Director) is the Artistic Director of the Elephant Theatre Company, founded in 1995 in downtown Los Angeles. In 1998, along with Don Cesario, he created Elephant Stages and the Lillian Theatre in Hollywood, where The Elephant Theatre Company now makes its home. His directing credits include the World Premiere of Farm Boy (Los Angeles Times Critics Choice, Back Stage Critic's Pick), the West Coast Premiere of Sam Shepard's The Late Henry Moss (Back Stage Critic's Pick), the West Coast Premiere of Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Little Flower of East Orange (Ovation Recommended), Guirgis' In Arabia We'd All Be Kings (4 LADCC Awards including Best Production, LA Times and Back Stage Critic's Pick) and the World Premiere of Mark Roberts' Parasite Drag (Ovation Recommended, Back Stage and LA Weekly Critic's Pick).

The Amoralists is a theatre company that produces work of no moral judgment. Dedicated to an honest expression of the American condition, their ensemble explores complex characters of moral ambiguity. Leaving no stone unturned, they plunge the depths of the social, political, spiritual and sexual characteristics of human nature. They were selected as a 2012 Person of the Year by NYTheatre.com.

The Amoralists are a self-funded theatre company and they depend on the generosity of contributors to sustain their organization and their mission. Help sponsor the development and production of fearless, dynamic new plays while fostering a new generation of theatre artists. Join the Amoralists as an "Amoralyte" and partake in a range of benefits bringing you in to the fold of the Amoralists community for the 2013 season, the company's 7th, including 75% off ticket prices, special events and access to the creative process. See all the levels and benefits at www.SupportTheAmoralists.com.

Previews begin January 10 for a January 22 opening. Performances are Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7pm, and Sundays at 5pm. There is no performance on Sun 2/3. Tickets are $55 and can be purchased online at CollisionThePlay.com or by calling 1-866-811-4111. A limited amount of $20 student tickets are available online (valid student ID is required at the box office). The running time is 90 minutes.

Photo Credit: Russ Rowland