Co-Op Theatre East and Project Girl Performance Collective debuts Ten Years Later, a cutting-edge, ensemble-devised play, created by youth between the ages of 9 and 23. The young cast explores what it means to come of age in a post-9/11 society, living in the shadow of Twin Towers that most of them have never seen. "My first view of the Manhattan skyline was without the towers," said cast member Emily Rupp. "When I first saw it, I tried to imagine what it could have looked like. It was like putting together a puzzle." These youth grew-up in a world where terrorism, fundamentalism, orange alerts, airport security, subway sniffing dogs and tea party patriotism are the norm.
The Ten Years Later cast may not have seen the World Trade Center, but as their revealing stories and struggles show, the impact of that horrifying day in September 2001 weigh heavily on their minds and hearts.
Ten Years Later: Voices from the Post 9/11 Generation Speak opens 8:00 pm on September 12th, 2011 at Peter Jay Sharp Theatre and then tours the tri-State area. Please contact Casey Cleverly at casey@cooptheatreeast.org if you have any questions or would like to book the show this Fall.
About Co-Op Theatre East: Founded in Spring 2008 by three graduates of the Performance Studies program at Tisch School of the Arts, Co-Op Theatre East produces socially minded performance that deals with the questions of today, the situations we find ourselves immersed in as New Yorkers, Americas, and world citizens at this moment. Co-Op Theatre East believes in the power of art to foster a dialogue for social change. We provide an entertaining performance forum in which to ask evocative, challenging questions of artists and audiences on our way to creating collaborative answers. www.cooptheatreeast.org.
About Project Girl Performance Collective: "It was inspiring to see bright, confident young women holding forth onstage" (The New Yorker, September 3, 2010) was the response to the Collective's most recent show at The Fringe Festival. Project Girl Performance Collective (PGPC) empowers young women by creating a safe space to address contemporary social, political and cultural issues through the performing arts and written word. The Project Girl Performance Collective is committed to the idea of theatre and performance as a medium for awareness, action and social change. www.projectgirlperformancecollective.org.
The cast includes
Kate Bralower (10, Manhattan)
Tiffani-Amber DiGrazia (9, Queens)
Samantha Phillips (15, Westchester)
Monica Furman (15, Brooklyn)
Arianna Hanson (15, Bronx)
Hank Chen (23, Washington, D. C.)
Nick Wolf (21, New Jersey)
Stacey Oliver (19, Connecticut)
Deanna Alexandra (16, Long Island)
Emily Rupp (21, Brooklyn)
Peter Kendall (20, New Jersey)
Mariah Adkins (23, Brooklyn)
Haleigh Spasjevich (22, Manhattan)
Laura Killeen (23, United Kingdom).
It is directed by Ashley Marinaccio and Robert A. K. Gonyo, Artistic Directors of Co-Op Theatre East, Assistant Directed & Stage Managed by Daniel Mendoza and produced by Jessica Greer Morris, Executive Director of the Project Girl Performance Collective, 9/11 Worker and Chair of the World Trade Center Community Advisory Board (2001-2004).
