Planet Connections & Ego Actus Present SAFE by Penny Jackson, Now thru 6/14

Planet Connections and Ego Actus present SAFE by Penny Jackson, directed by Joan Kane in the 2012 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. Nina Foster's mom is in rehab for alcoholism, her father goes on endless business trips, she hates high school and Liz, her anorexic best friend, wants to kidnap her baby niece. What else can she do but go to meet a dangerous man? SAFE is about trying to find your way in a scary world. In keeping with the social conscious values of Planet Connections this production is in support of the National Eating Disorders Association.

Safe will perform six performances at 45 Bleecker Theatre in New York City from tonight, June 1, 2012-June 14, 2012. The performances are scheduled on: Friday, June 1st at 7:00pm; Saturday, June 2nd at 3:00pm; Monday, June 4th at 10:00 pm; Wednesday, June 6th at 4:00pm; Saturday, June 9th at 8:00pm and Thursday, June 14th at 6:00pm. Tickets are $18.00 and are available at http://planetconnections.org/safe

Cast: Debby Brand, Todd Conner, Alexandra Gjerpen and Nick Palladino

Crew: Stephanie Fallone (Set Design), Erica Evans (Costume Design), Bruce A! Kraemer (Lighting Design), and Ian Werhle (Sound Design).

Penny Brandt Jackson is an award winning novelist and playwright. Penny's first novel, Becoming the Butlers, published by Bantam Books, was chosen as one of the best books of the year by The New York Public Library. Since then she has received numerous awards, including a MacDowell Colony Fellowship, a Mirrielees Fellowship , a Pushcart Prize award, and first prize in The Barnard College One Act Play Contest. Play productions include Charlie in Central Park in The New York City Icon Plays at Theater 54, Booze in the Boroughs at Joria Playhouse, and Safe which will be included in The Planet Connections Theatre Festivity in June. Another full length play, All Alices, is currently being developed by Ego Actus Productions and recently received a reading at The Lark Play Development Center Roundtable series. Penny is a proud member of The League of Professional Theater Women, The Dramatists Guild, and She Writes.For more information please see: http://pennybrandtjackson.com

Director Joan Kane was named one of 2011 People of the Year in indie theatre by nytheatre.com. She recently directed Play Nice! off Broadway at 59E59 Theaters, Aliens with Extraordinary Skills by Saviana Stanescu at Theater 54, The God Particle which was presented in the Lower East Side Festival and the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity, and Pizza Man at the Bridge Theater. She has directed plays and readings at the Lark Play Development Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Theater for the New City, the Samuel French Short Play Festival and for the Scandinavian American Theater Company. She has an MFA in Directing from The New School, an MS in Museum Education from Bank Street and is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.

The Planet Connections Festivity is New York's premiere eco-friendly/socially-conscious arts festival. Fostering a diverse cross-section of performances, the Festivity seeks to inspire artists and audiences both creatively and fundamentally, in a festive atmosphere. At the heart of the Festivity are like-minded individuals striving to create professional, meaningful theatre, film, music and art while supporting organizations, which give back to the community at large. http://planetconnections.org

Ego Actus (Latin for "My Way") is dedicated to doing art for art's sake. We produce, direct and design plays that are presented as a complete audience experience using all the elements of theatre: developed scripts, accomplished acting, designs for set, costumes, lighting, sound and props by people who have made those disciplines a focus of their lives. They each bring their own way of doing things to our shows and we unify them into a collective "My Way." We are affiliated with A.R.T. NY and Fractured Atlas. Website: http://EgoActus.com

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