Working Theater Presents THE BEST OF THEATERWORKS: STORIES FROM THE 99%, Now thru 6/17

Working Theater presents the Off-Broadway production of The Best of TheaterWorks!: Stories from the 99%. The production will feature six of the best short plays to come out of Working Theater's TheaterWorks! program. The 10-year old program teaches working men and women (bus drivers, doormen, 911 operators, DMV workers etc.) to write and perform their own short plays about their experiences at work. The classes end with a stage reading style performance where the students are teamed with professional actors and directors. This production however will be fully realized by a professional cast and crew.

Directed by Tamilla Woodard the cast features: Maria Helan, Andrés Munar, Tony Naumovski, Jens Rasmussen, Gabriel Sloyer, Jeanine Serralles and Nikki E. Walker.

The playwrights are: Gail Baskerville (clerical worker – Department of Education), Mirsada Damms (Building Service Worker), Bernadette Elstein (911 Operator), Michael O'Hara (Building Maintenance Worker), Julian Pimiento (Doorman) and Eric Sposito (former laborer in NY Daily News print shop).

Set & Props Design: Deb O, Costume Design: Emily DeAngelis, Lighting Design: Christopher Weston, Sound Design: Jeremy J. Lee,Production Stage Manager: Amy Francis Schott , Assistant Stage Manager: Nicholas Betito.

Now in its 27th season, Working Theater is New York's only professional Off-Broadway theatre company dedicated to producing plays for and about the working men and women of New York. Past productions include Lisa Ramirez's play about nannies, EXIT CUCKOO directed by Colman Domingo, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's KING OF SHADOWS, Stefanie Zadravec's Honey Brown EYES; Israel Horovitz's HENRY LUMPER ; and Rob Ackerman's CALL ME WALDO, TABLETOP, and DISCONNECT.

The play will run from tonight, June 14th – June 17th, 2012: Thursday – Saturday at 7, Saturday at 2 and Sunday at 3. Dorothy Strelsin Theatre at Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex (312 W. 36 St.) in Manhattan.

Tickets are $15 at smarttix.com or by calling 212.868.4444. For more information call 212-244-3300, email mark@theworkingtheater.org or visit www.theworkingtheater.org.

TAMILLA WOODARD (Director) is a Director, Actor and Adapter residing in New York City. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, an alumnus of The Lincoln Center Directors Lab, and a founding member of The Internationalists, a collective of directors from around the world creating an interactive global theatrical community.

Most recent work includes Co-Creator of the site specific performance Hotel Project, that had its American premiere at Washington Jefferson Hotel and the Summit Grand Hotel in January 2012; Valiant by Lanna Joffrey at InterAct Theatre; Nightlands by Sylvan Oswald at HERE and the development and direction of Saviana Stanescu's Polanski Polanski (starring Grant Neale and produced by Nomad Theatricals) at PS122/SoloNOVA festival in New York City, Teatrul Odeon in Bucharest, The Sibiu InterNational Theatre Festival, TIFF International Festival in Cluj and HERE in NYC,. In addition, she developed and directed Overcoming Speechlessness based on the text by Alice Walker with adapter Dana Balicki for Culture Project's Women Center Stage.

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