POP Presents A Night of One-Acts At The Producers Club

Project Oriented Productions (POP) is proud to feature the works of playwrights Kellie Arens and Jonathan Albert in a night of two one-acts: Cornered and Transit,  two plays fighting against a stagnant country with 88-hour work weeks and $8.00 cups of coffee.  It's enough to drive a person insane! The official press opening is May 1st, 2008 and it is running until May 18, 2008. The two plays delve into something that POP calls Contemporary Absurdism.  Arens and Albert have taken the absurdity of our time and dropped it into two tragically comedic  plays. Boxed In: Two New Plays will be presented at The Royal Theatre at The Producers Club. Showtimes are Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm and 7pm. Tickets are $18.00 and can be purchased online at: www.smarttix.com or by phone at 212-868-4444. Senior discount:$15.00.

Cornered, a one act play by Kellie Arens, is a contemporary absurdist take on being lower than the lowest step on a corporate ladder.   Fawn, a young woman drowning in student loans and credit debt, decides to take a cashier position at Corner World to make extra cash.  She quickly realizes this casual "job" will cost her more than she expected.  She attends an orientation led by Roberta, a conservative, Dinosaur-obsessed corporate cheerleader and there is no escape!  Inspired by Eugene Ionesco's The Lesson, this play explores the question at the back of each and every one of our minds: "does a person's job define the person?"  Cornered toys with the scary possibility that it does. Cornered will be directed by Debbie Slevin.
Transit by Jonathan Albert is inspired by Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.   It is about two men, Pat and Sam, waiting for change to come in the form of a train, ferry or something less tangible, something to take them away from their stagnant routine.  They are stuck, trapped, boxed in by their own life choices and only with the realization that individual strength is the only salvation will anything ever change. Transit will be directed by Cristina Alicea. 
Cast Members: Cornered
Kellie Arens and Melissa Derfler

Transit
Jonathan Albert and Anthony Crep

Kellie Arens, playwright: Kellie received her MFA in Acting from the Actors Studio Drama School and her BA in Theater from UCLA.  She is a native of Southern California.  Her most recent play, Bottomless, was produced last year at the Bowery Poetry Club in New York City.   Lunch Buddies, which she wrote and directed, has had several successful runs in Los Angeles.  As An actor, Kellie's Off-Broadway roles include:  Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy; Roadhouse: The Play; and Corporate Rock.  Other New York credits include:  The Onion Lovers (Fringe NYC, Ensemble Award); Dirty (Stamford Center for Performing Arts); The Great Black Sambo Machine (Ars Nova); On Dry Land (Blue Heron); Mud (ASDS); For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls (New School for Drama); Feisty Pussy (Samuel French Festival); and Streetcar's Lost Scenes (Actors Studio).  She is a member of the Arkham Playwrights in NYC, and the Orphans Theater Company and People's Republic of Improv in Los Angeles.  Kellie is a member of Actors Equity Association.
Jonathan Albert, playwright: Jonathan is a New York City actor and playwright. After graduating with his Masters in Fine Arts from The Actors Studio Drama School, he was inducted as a Lifetime Member of The Actors Studio.  Jonathan has been working with Alexa Kelly and Lesli Steele at Pulse Ensemble Theatre for two years developing a full length piece, The Order, a long days journey for a Jewish family trying to celebrate Passover.  Additionally, Jonathan has another full length piece running at Manhattan Repertory Theatre in their Amazing Playwright's Festival.  Hoist the Colors can be seen April 23rd – 25th at Manhattan Rep.  As an actor, Jonathan's favorite roles include:  Tobin Grey in Meautic Theatre Work's production of Arpeggio by David Stallings, directed by Cristina Alicea, Baylis in Blackbird by Adam Rapp at The Michael Chekhov Theatre Company, Dorian Gray in The Portrait of Dorian Gray, and Sam Shepard's Red Cross, Chicago and Cowboys #2.  Jonathan enjoys Darjeeling Tea, cool rain in hot summer, and seeing an idea scribbled on a piece of scrap paper travel to a beautiful place called fruition.
 
Project Oriented Productions dedicates themselves to the project, the work, the moment at hand.  Yes, we learn from the past, inspired by playwrights who used ink to change conditions. Indeed, we ponder, consider and dream about our future, yet we focus, we drive ourselves in this moment, every moment, every project.  Our mission is simple – develop new work, take risks and collaborate in a safe space. Simpler than that: POP wants to perform plays and get people to come see them. So come check us out. You might enjoy the moment.
Press reservations or interview inquiries with Kellie Arens or Jonathan Albert: Please call Michael Martinez, 212-712-7362

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