SECURITY
Nine new short plays examining “security”; specifically, who’s in charge of it, who needs it the most, and what will they do to get it. With themes ranging from dramatic to wildly satirical.
Presented by TheDrillingCompaNY.
78th Street Theatre Lab
236 West 78th Street (between Broadway & Amsterdam Avenues)
(please note: the theatre is not wheelchair accessible)
June 6th-June 25th
Wednesday-Saturday at 7:30pm, Sunday at 3pm
TICKETS: $18.00
RESERVATIONS: 212-868-4444 or www.smarttix.com
INFORMATION: www.drillingcompany.org
More info about the show:
SECURITY
Who’s Got It, Who Needs It, When is There Too Much of it?
TheDrillingCompaNY Looks at This Issue From All Sides Now Through June 25th
The Award-winning TheDrillingCompaNY, known for its short play projects around common themes (REVENGE, HONOR, THEFT) take on the subject of SECURITY, presenting an evening of nine newly commissioned works from cutting edge American writers. Playing at TheDrillingCompaNY’s company’s resident home, the 78th Street Theatre Lab, located at 236 West 78th Street, SECURITY began performances on June 9th and runs through June 25th.
“We choose themes we hope will generate a social and political response from playwrights and interest from audiences,” explained Hamilton Clancy, the company’s artistic director. “People are hearing about SECURITY all of the time – national, homeland, social – but not actually feeling more secure. It’s become the greatest commodity in the world. And the greatest political football.”
SECURITY features new works from writers often seen in the Off and Off-Off Broadway scene: Brian Dykstra (CLEAN ALTERNATIVES, HIDING BEHIND COMETS), P. Seth Bauer (EARLY IN THE MOURNING, IPHIGENIA), Stephen Bittrich (BIG APPLES), Neil Olson (DEALERS), Sheri Graubert, C. Denby Swanson (ATOMIC FARMGIRL), Paul Siefken and Kate McCamy.
Among the SECURITY scenarios presented:
A young woman is preparing to settle down to a safe, secure (re: boring) marriage, but her tree-hugging feminist grandmother, a refugee from the 1960’s, thinks whole idea is a big mistake. What happens when one generation doesn’t always believe in the dreams and ideals of a previous one? And just what does the battle between the sexes mean anyway?
What happens when the FBI, NSA, Justice Department, Homeland Security and CIA, which isn’t even present officially, can’t agree on what an intercepted conversation means, and won’t work together in order to find out? It means the country is in a hell of a mess – the whole thing would be quite funny if it weren’t so serious.
A fortysomething white upper class couple, unhappy with the way the neighborhood has been going, stock up on weapons and get themselves a state of the art security system–all in the name of protection. However some times things can be taken a little too far, as shown in this biting comedy about race relations, parental responsibility, Viagra and the dangers of overthinking your personal safety.
Going through a bad patch both at work and at home, and feeling emasculated when his wife is mugged, Miles decides to buy a gun for protection. But he’s unprepared what happens when he, his wife, and the gun dealer get into a heated philosophical discussion about what’s really important in life and what good is security if you’re too afraid to live.
A lone man tells the audience he has a gun that’s going to go off and takes those watching on a journey of possibilities of how and when it will be fired and just who will be hit by the bullet.
The world of rap music comes up against the interests of Homeland Security in this drama set in a night club where the DJ spins the sounds, rappers play the message and where the need to be identified for safety’s sake is the new American pastime.
In Hampshire, England in 1815, a wealth landowner tries to entice a free-spirited young girl into the security of marriage and societal success. Of course, love has nothing to do with the equation whatsoever.
A team of directors joins Clancy to helm the various works: including Laura Strausfeld, Bradford Olson, Peter Bretz, Thomas Sherman, Shana Gold and Richard Mover. The ensemble is led by Carol Halstead (B’way’s BEST MAN), Rebecca Darke (PEER GYNT, BASIC TRAINING OF PAVLO HUMMEL w/Al Pacino); Coney Island Vaudevillian Scott Baker; as well as company members Karen Kitz, Michael Gnat, Don Carter, Dave Marantz, Bill Green, Elowyn Castle and Colleen Cosgrove; with newcomers Randie Shane, Josh Foldy, Stephanie Cozart, Jesus A. Del Rosario, and Kwaku Driskell.
Founded in 1999, TheDrillingCompaNY has fostered the careers of Will Eno (THOM PAIN: BASED ON NOTHING, Pulitzer Prize nominee), Vincent Delaney (KUWAIT, Heidemann Award) and Melody Cooper (READING ZIMBABWE) among others. TDC’s HONOR was recently published by the New York Theatre Experience’s Best Plays.
Running through June 25th, SECURITY will be performed at the 78th Street Theatre Lab, located at 236 West 78th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues). Show times are Wednesday-Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $18.00. Reservations: 212-868-4444 or www.smarttix.com. Further information can be found at www.drillingcompany.org.
