For Immediate Release
Contact: Diane Mancher at One Potata Productions
onepotata@gmail.com
Girl Be Heard Debuts 9mm America
True Stories from the Front Lines of Gun Violence
June 1, 2013, New York, NY. Girl Be Heard (www.girlbeheard.org) debuts 9mm America, true stories from the front lines of gun violence, to premiere on June 1 at the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity. Written and performed by ten girls (ages 14 to 23 who live in NYC neighborhoods where gun violence is a daily threat. Celebrity talk backs will be led by Nigel Barker, Lynn Nottage, Kathy Najimy, Abby Disney and others to be announced.
Naeemah Cooks-Faulk, Age 18, from East New York says, "No one knows Linden Projects in Brooklyn. They only know my neighborhood as "4CD" which stands for the Four Corners of Death since so many people die on these streets from gun violence."
9mm America explores America's culture of violence. This theatrical uprising to stop gun violence is the story of 10 girls, told through spoken word, dancing and original songs. "The recent events in Newtown, Connecticut shed new light on a problem that Girl Be Heard members face on a daily basis -- gun violence in their own backyard," says Executive Director Jessica Greer Morris.
Girl Be Heard's youth-led activism inspires every production and this new show aims to raise awareness about gun violence. From New York stages to the White House, productions of Girl Be Heard inspire audiences to become change-makers in their communities under leadership of Artistic Director
Ashley Marinaccio. Marinaccio is the recipient of the
League of Professional Theatre Women's 2013 Lucille Lortel Women's Visionary Award.
Gloria Steinem, a long time supporter of Girl Be Heard, invites audiences to "join in the truth-telling as told by clear voices of girls before pretense or pressure have quieted them." Huffington Post calls Girl Be Heard "fearless, political theatre," Ebony Magazine lauds their "can't miss" productions and The New Yorker praises Girl Be Heard's "bright, confident young women holding forth on stage."
Girl Be Heard Presents the World Premiere of:
9mm America
A theatrical uprising against gun violence
Part of Planet Connections Theatre Festivity
Robert Moss Theatre
Saturday 6/1 at 6:30pm, Sunday 6/2 at 6:30pm, Tuesday 6/4 at 8:00pm, Friday 6/7/13 at 4:30pm, Sunday 6/9 at 5:00pm, Wednesday 6/19 at 8:00pm
For tickets visit:
Featuring work by: Aya Abdelaziz, Naeemah Cooks-Faulk, Dominique Fishback, Monica Furman, Melanie Martins, Breani Michele, Betsy Perez, Jai Raphael, Tiff Roma, Karen Vigo, Nykemah Warren
Directed by Ashley Marinaccio
Produced by Jessica Greer Morris
Associate Produced by Abby Disney and Barbara Dobkin
Choreography by Tiff Roma and Karen Vigo
Assistant Directed by Dominique Fishback
Dramaturgy by Sydney Arndt
Stage Managed by Tiffany DeBruyn
Assistant Stage Managed by Desiree Monae
Projection, Media and Sound Design by Gil Sperling
Postcard Design by Ileany Fields
Lighting Design by Mitch Ost
Prop Design by Tiff Roma
Set Design by Sparks Grassoy
Special Thanks to Grey Advertising for Donated Services
*****
ASHLEY MARINACCIO (Director) is an activist and artist dedicated to creating theatre that challenges the status quo. Her work has been seen at two TED conferences (where she's also been a featured speaker), The White House, United Nations, and on tour across the United States. New York: Culture Project, Brecht Forum, NY International Fringe Festival and Planet Connections Theatre Festivity (2012 - Outstanding Director). She has received critical acclaim for her work from the New Yorker, NY Times, Backstage, Huffington Post. She is the recipient of the 2013 League of Professional Theatre Women's Lucille Lortel Women's Visionary Award. Ashley is the Founder/Artistic Director of Girl Be Heard and a founding member of Co-Op Theatre East. Additionally, she's a performer, published playwright, blogger at The Green Room Blog and contributing photographer to The Indypendent. She is alumna of the Hemispheric Institute for Performance and Politics - EMERGENYC, American Theatre Wing's - SpringboardNYC and member of both the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and Old Vic/New Voices. She holds her MA in Performance Studies from NYU - Tisch and degrees in theatre and anthropology from Pace University. www.ashley-marinaccio.com.
JESSICA GREER MORRIS (Producer) is a published playwright who wrote and starred in a New York Times-acclaimed one-woman show and has produced work for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women conference, Samuel French One-Act Competition, NYC Fringe Festival, and the Estrogenius Festival. Jessica is also a principal at Man Up, a global youth-led campaign to stop violence against women that she helped launch in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup with 100 young activists from twenty-five countries. In 2012, Jessica was listed in Newsweek at one of the 150 Fearless Women Who "Shake Up the World" with Oprah, Lady Gaga and Hillary Clinton.
GIRL BE HEARD uses theatre as a vehicle to empower young women to become brave, confident, socially conscious leaders while exploring their own challenging circumstances. Girl Be Heard provides a safe environment to write, direct and perform theatre productions under the guidance of professional directors, playwrights, actors, activists and intellectuals. Girl Be Heard's performances have received critical acclaim from The White House, United Nations, New Yorker, NY Times, Huffington Post, Ebony Magazine, NPR, WBAI, NY1 NBC and outlets across the glove. Join the movement at
www.girlbeheard.org.
THE PLANET CONNECTIONS THEATRE FESTIVITY is New York's premiere eco-friendly theatre festival. Fostering a diverse cross-section of performances, the festival 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, while supporting organizations, which give back to the community at large.
