InViolet Repertory Theater will present the World Premiere of KISS ME ON THE MOUTH by Melanie Angelina Maras. This new romantic tragicomedy will be directed by Stephen Adly Guirgis at Center Stage (where several of Guirgis' plays were originally staged by LAByrinth Theater Company). Performances of this limited engagement begin previews on November 3rd with opening night slated for Thursday, November 5th.
KISS ME ON THE MOUTH is about best friends Christina and Amy. Christina is a party girl who just wants a stiff cocktail and a rich man to cater to her every whim. Awkward Amy has given up on men altogether and has decided to join a convent. But when each of them inadvertently meets the man who could be "Mr. Right", their budding relationships take very different courses. Ultimately, KISS ME ON THE MOUTH asks: Do we really need love to survive?
The production stars Ken Matthews, Aubyn Philabaum, Megan Hart and Troy Lococo with set by Lauren Helpern, sound by Dina Alexander, costumes by Dana Covarrubias, and stage management by Helene Montagna.
Stephen Adly Guirgis has been a member of NYC's LAByrinth Theater Company since 1994. His plays, which include Our Lady of 121st Street; Jesus Hopped the ‘A' Train; In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings, and The Last Days of Judas have been produced on five continents and throughout the
US. His most recent play, The Litttle Flower of East Orange, starring Ellen Burstyn and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, just completed a run at The Public Theater. Stephen was awarded a 2006 PEN/Laura Pels Award, a 2006 Whiting Award, and a 2004 TCG fellowship. He developed and directed Liza Colón-Zayas' Sistah Supreme for Danny Hoch's Hip Hop Theater Festival, and Marco Greco's award winning Behind the Counter. As an actor, he can be seen in films including Todd Solondz's Palindromes, Jailbait (opposite Michael Pitt), Kenneth Lonergan's upcoming Margaret, Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York (Robert Altman Award for Best Ensemble Cast), Adam Rapp's Blackbird and more. A former Violence Prevention Specialist/H.I.V. Educator, he has facilitated numerous workshops in New York area prisons, schools, shelters, and hospitals. He graduated from SUNY Albany and The William Esper Acting Studio.
Melanie Angelina Maras is a playwright, performer, and producer. Kiss Me On The Mouth is her first full-length play. Melanie was hand picked by Curt Dempster for an Artistic Associate residency at the Ensemble Studio Theatre where she served as Assistant Director for Serendib. As an actor, Melanie worked on the independent features, The Understudy (Avignon Film Festival 2008), The Marconi Bros (SXSW 2008) and the short, The Grass Underground (New York Film and Video Festival 2008).??She last appeared on stage in InViolet's Force Majeure and she has also performed at EST, Cherry Lane Theatre, Actors Playhouse, and Center Stage.?Melanie is a graduate of the Maggie Flanigan Studio.
InViolet Repertory Theater was founded in 2008 by an assembly of actors committed to diversifying their talents into writing, directing, and producing. The company is under the Artistic Direction
of Michael Henry Harris and Angela Razzano. Their inaugural production was Richard Etchison's Force Majeure at Abingdon Theater in 2008.
KISS ME ON THE MOUTH runs November 3 - 21, Monday & Wednesday - Saturday at 8pm. Center Stage is located at 48 West 21st Street between 5th & 6th Aves., accessible from the F&V subway lines at 23rd Street. Tickets are $18 and are available (beginning Oct. 17) at 212-352-3101 or www.InVioletRep.com.
