UNDER St. Marks
94 St. Marks Place.
btwn 1st Ave and Ave A

click here for special ticket discounts

Tickets:
Adults $18
Students/Seniors $14

July 10th thru 20th
8PM
Thursday thru Saturday
3PM Sunday

Founding Artistic Director, Akia has selected the work of 3 up and coming playwrights as part of their “Aspire to Inspire” Series, one of RSP’s many programs created to support the work of emerging and established NYC theatre artists. Two of the plays are making their stage debut, and the other scripts have been paired with new directors to allow a fresh perspective on the work. All of the pieces feature the critically acclaimed Rising Sun Ensemble & Guest Artists.

[pwnd]
Written & Directed by Kitt Lavoie
Associate Director Jenny Kirlin
Suspicious of the friendship that has developed between his two roommates – his fiancé and his best friend – a young man levels an accusation that unleashes secrets and long-hidden resentments that threaten to tear all of their relationships apart.

In the Meantime
Written by Sharon Cooper
Directed by Jenna Dempesy
When Paul and Amber break up after their three month relationship, Amber, surrounded by their receipts, explore the nature of love and time running out.

The Fur Coat
Written By Candice Jarrett
Directed by Matthew Kreiner An intimate story that tells the journey of two young sisters who live with their jaded mother in the heart of southern Louisiana. In a world where reality is cold, harsh, and unforgiving, the wild imaginations of the two girls thrive as they struggle to maintain their innocence while coming of age.

The Cooking King
Written By Sharon Cooper
Directed by Jason Tyne
A lonely mom seeks companionship with her television. When her husband arrives home on an anniversary of sorts, secrets are revealed and the couple must cope with the past

Creative and Production Crew:

Akia (Director/Founding Artistic Director) is an active member of the flourishing Off-Off/Indie & Off Broadway theatre communities having produced, directed, and performed with numerous NYC companies since 1997. Proudly, she is the Founding Artistic Director of the Rising Sun Performance Company, now in its sixth season, and has been involved on all levels with each of its 30+ productions.  She is on staff at Horse Trade Theatre Group, a Board Member of The Paul Butterfield Fund & Society, and Company Manager for The New York Innovative Theatre Awards, where she serves on their honorary awards committee as Sub-Committee Chairman and as an At-Large Judge. This past year she was the General Manager for FRIGID New York, a new international theatre festival and worked as an associate producer at the Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre. Akia is also contributing writer/reviewer for several theatre websites and is now testing her hand at playwriting. Most recently Akia joined the Blue Man Group as their Company Manager.  She would like to thank her wonderful ensemble, cast, & crew for their devotion and hard work to this production and for adding to our insane family. As always many thanks to Erez, for giving RSP such a wonderful home.

P. William Pinto (Lighting Designer/Technical Director) Graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in '03 with a degree in playwrighting, minoring in Directing. He has been a member of RSP (and later a staff member) since '04, and has since created and co-directed four of RSP's past musical shows: Let's Just Be Friends, Love Me! Love Me!, Growing Up is Hard to Do, and Love & Money, he also appeared in Beneficial Bawdiness and Full Moon Follies. Past plays produced in New York City include his works A Night at the Party, Triptych: A Study in Fear, and RadioPlay '34. He is thrilled to have worked with such a dedicated cast and crew, and wants to extend a special thanks to the Directing Team, and his partner Joey

Sabrina R. Morabito (Production Stage Manager)

Matthew Kreiner (Director, The Fur Coat) doesn’t like writing bios.  It is bothersome and time-consuming and it’s really just a waste for him.  So Matthew outsourced his bio writing duties outside the United States.  Unfortunately, Matthew is also cheap and paid for the lowest cost shipping he could find and now that bio is currently lost on a boat crossing the Atlantic Ocean.  So enjoy this bio:  Matthew Kreiner directs theatre.  He has directed before.  He hopes you all take something away from the Fur Coat and get home safely.  Good night and good luck.

Jenna Dempesy (Director, In The Meantime)

Jason Tyne-Zimmerman (Director, The Cooking King)

Kitt Lavoie (Playwright/Director - [pwnd]) has directed more than seventy five shows in New York City, including the original productions of more than thirty plays. He is author of eighteen produced plays and musical books, including Twice Rather Perish and The Median Line (both winners of the Robinson Award for Dramatic Writing), as well as Makes Three, Party Girl, and realer than that - all of which were developed with The CRY HAVOC Workshop.  His new full-length play, A Writer for Children, is currently in development with CRY HAVOC, along with the book of his most recent (as-yet untitled) musical. Kitt also regularly assists director Lonny Price, with whom he has recently worked on the Roundabout Theatre’s Broadway revival of 110 in the Shade (starring Audra McDonald and John Cullum), the PBS filming of the Tony Award winning revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, and, most recently, the New York Philharmonic/Live from Lincoln Center staging and filming of Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot (starring Gabriel Byrne).  Kitt is happy to be working again with Rising Sun following their earlier productions of his plays Good Enough, Not Entirely Platonic: Variations on a Confession (both which he also directed) and The Median Line, as well as his serving as Advising Director for RSP’s first productions, Marcus is Walking and their original Hell Cab.  He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School and is a Founding Member of the Professional Playwrights Workshop at the Players Club.  Kitt is Artistic Director of The CRY HAVOC Company (www.cryhavocnyc.com) and is a Member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.  For more info, check out www.kittlavoie.com.

Jenny Kirlin (Associate Director, [pwnd]) has assistant directed or stage managed over a dozen productions with Kitt Lavoie, including New York productions of Sunday on the Rocks (CB Productions), October 31 (Brooklyn Playwrights Theater), I’ll be Jonah if you be the Whale (Epic Repertory Company), Good Enough, Party Girl and Yukon Brass (CRY HAVOC), Not Entirely Platonic, Good Enough (Rising Sun Performance Company), Romeo & Juliet: Part II (Spokane Civic Theater in the Samuel French New Playwrights Festival), Italian American Reconciliation (Sanctuary Theater Company) and Sleepover (Theater for the New City). Other stage management credits include: Creative Writing (Luna Stage), Curtain of Light (New York Fringe Festival, New London Arts Festival) and Conflict of Interest (Boston Platform Festival).  Jenny is a Resident Member of The CRY HAVOC Company. www.jennykirlin.com

Candice Jarrett (Playwright, The Fur Coat) is a 25-year-old professional songwriter who has achieved success in the world of acoustic music, having performed internationally and having opened for such acts at Roger McGuinn of The Byrds and Michael Glabicki of Rusted Root. When she first announced to her friends and fans that she had written “The Fur Coat” – many of them were surprised to hear that it wasn’t a musical. For more information about Candice Jarrett and her music, visit Candice online at www.CandiceJarrett.com.

Sharon Cooper (Playwright, The Cooking King/In The Meantime) Born in Massachusetts and raised in Virginia, Sharon's plays have been produced in New York, Maryland, Idaho and Virginia. Most recently, Sharon’s full-length play Running was produced by the Milk Can Theatre Company. Sharon's short play "Mistaken Identity," written at the Kennedy Center’s Playwrighting Intensive Program, is published in the anthology Laugh Lines: Short Comic Plays (Lane/Shengold, ed.) and it was read at the Drama Book Shop. Sharon is a member of the Dramatist's Guild. One of the founding members of the Milk Can Theatre Company, www.milkcantheatre.org, Sharon has written five short plays for Milk Can’s short play festivals. She is very pleased to be a guest artist with Rising Sun.

Lindsey Smith (Actor, In The Meantime) is a B.F.A. graduate of Adelphi University, a member of Rising Sun Performance Company and a proud member of Screen Actors Guild. Favorite roles include Brenda in Hellcab and Peaches and Grace Slick in DeCADEnce. Currently you can see Lindsey in her first national commercial for Bank Of America/Major League Baseball. She would like to thank Jenna and Joe for being great! She would also like to thank her wonderful support system of friends. Lastly, thanks to Mom, Dad, and Gram for being highly entertaining individuals and for always making the trip!

Becky Sterling (Actor, [pwnd]/The Cooking King)  has been working and studying in New York for the past year and half. She came from Seattle to lovely Saranac Lake, NY to star in a new play called “A Series of Small Doors” directed by Joe McLaughlin before settling in Manhattan. She is currently studying at the T. Schreiber Studios: scene study, Shakespeare and Improv, with amazing teachers. Before New York, Becky worked with small theatre and film companies in Seattle and LA, playing roles such as Helena in “Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Addaperl in “The Wiz”, Tiffany in “Hell Hole High” and Holly in “Movie Pizza Love”, as well as other known and unknown characters.  Becky is thrilled to be working with Rising Sun Performance Co. for the second time. She was “Edgar” in the staged reading of “King Lear” earlier this year directed by Jason Tyne-Zimmerman. She is very happy to be a part of both “The Cooking King” directed again by Jason and “(pwnd)”, written and directed by Kitt Lavoie. Thank you to everyone who has helped make my crazy journey possible!  Especially my Mama!!

Rob Richardson (Todd, [pwnd]) was born in Baltimore, Maryland and is a graduate of the American Musical & Dramatic Academy. His recent works include the new play All Types of Shifty Villains & A-spress.

Josh Hyman (Gabe, [pwnd]) is a working New York City standup comedian doing clubs and colleges around the Tri-State area, as well as a member of the Rising Sun Performance Company.  Recently, he's been busy creating lively characters doing educational children's theater with The Grumbling Gryphons and the National Theater for Children, and he's a current player in the improv troupe Sporknotes, which debuted at FrigidFest 2008 and continues on a monthly run.  Other recent works include the play Trying To Get To The Moon (Interborough Repertory Theater), and the independent films The Film You Did Not See and Arnold Special Hero.  Josh would like to say Lobado to friends, family, and NYC bus drivers for all their support.