fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Denizen Theatre in New Paltz brings sense of surprise to new season

by Frances Marion Platt
March 1, 2019
in Stage & Screen
0
Denizen Theatre in New Paltz brings sense of surprise to new season

Last Saturday, The Denizen Theatre in New Paltz announced its 2019 season of plays. Pictured are the Denizen Theatre founding artistic team (L-R): Harry Lipstein, Ben Williamson and Brittany Proia. (Photo by Lauren Thomas)

Pictured are the Denizen Theatre founding artistic team (L-R): Harry Lipstein, Ben Williamson and Brittany Proia. (Photo by Lauren Thomas)

A play about mental illness directed by the TMI project’s Eva Tenuto and a one-person play that the actor is forbidden ever to have read or seen prior to getting onstage to perform it are two of the dramatic treats in store at New Paltz’s Denizen Theatre in 2019. The new little-black-box-that-could, located on the upper level of the Water Street Market in New Paltz, unveiled the offerings for its second season last Saturday.

Each of the stageworks being planned is cutting-edge in its own way, but the third show scheduled seems by far the most bonkers. Set to run from July 7 to 28, Nassim Soleimanpour’s White Rabbit Red Rabbit is, according to Denizen founder Harry Lipstein, “a theatre social experiment. Each night, a different actor comes to a stage and is given a script. They don’t know what’s in it… I’ve done this, and it’s extremely terrifying.” There’s no director, no set; just a sealed envelope with the script hidden inside. Both of Denizen’s co-artistic directors, Brittany Proia and Ben Williamson, are among the ten actors recruited so far to participate. “This is something you want to see more than once,” Lipstein recommended, since White Rabbit Red Rabbit becomes a different theatrical experience each time a new “sequestered” actor takes up the challenge and spontaneously interprets and performs the text.

The new season kicks off with a luminary of our region’s theatrical circuit, TMI Project founder Eva Tenuto, bringing her considerable experience in staging personal memoirs to the director’s chair for Every Brilliant Thing. Written by Duncan Macmillan and described as “a heartfelt story full of hope, resilience and joy,” Every Brilliant Thing is “about a child’s exposure to the mental illness of a mother,” Lipstein explained, and addresses the question: What makes life worth living? Tenuto’s familiarity with how to bring “real stories” to life makes her “perfect for that piece,” he added. Previews of the play will be shown on April 3 and 4, and it will run from April 5 to 28.

Next up is a regional premiere: Companion Piece by Drama Desk Award-winner Kevin Armento, described as “a witty comedy that explores the nature of what it means to make human connections” in an age of cyber-entertainment and online dating. After months in an online relationship, Dolores comes to New England and meets Leonard for the very first time. This face-to-face encounter begins to unravel secrets about his previously lonely existence. Previews for Companion Piece will happen on June 5 and 6, and the play will run from June 7 to 30.

A US premiere of a feminist dystopian tale will be next on the schedule after the aforementioned White Rabbit Red Rabbit. Proia described Penelope Skinner’s Meek as “The Handmaid’s Tale meets Black Mirror,” featuring “three ferocious female roles.”  In a futuristic society where private lives become political and freedom of expression is not an option, we find Irene imprisoned, unaware of her crimes. The play affords a haunting vision of ruthless state theocracy, tense relationships and one woman’s determination not to be broken. Meek will be in preview on August 7 and August 8, with the full run from August 9 to September 1. 

Sender by Ike Holter will wrap up the 2019 Denizen season, previewing on October 2 and 3 and running from October 4 to 27. According to Williamson, this play is “a comedic, raw look at Millennials.” A friend, lover and idol dies; a community mourns; 366 days later the unimaginable happens. This witty, raw and razor-sharp play forces its characters to confront their adolescence and asks the question: What does growing up mean?

A new season on the way means that it’s the best possible time to purchase a season ticket to Denizen Theatre. You can get a full-season subscription and see all three plays for $125; a $75 “Flex Subscription” lets you take your choice of three. But why not make the full commitment, so you won’t be tempted to stay home and miss any of them? Individual shows (which often sell out, especially on weekends) cost $28 general admission, $24 for seniors, $15 for youth under 30 and $5 for students. To order, call the box office at (845) 303-4136 or visit www.denizentheatre.com. The Denizen Theatre is located at 10 Main Street in New Paltz.

Thank you for reading Hudson Valley One. We rely on your support to continue providing local, substantive news. Please check out our subscription options to keep local journalism alive in the Hudson Valley.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Women’s History Month gets a serious upgrade in Kingston

Next Post

New Paltz parents learn another principal is leaving

Frances Marion Platt

Frances Marion Platt has been a feature writer (and copyeditor) for Ulster Publishing since 1994, under both her own name and the nom de plume Zhemyna Jurate. Her reporting beats include Gardiner and Rosendale, the arts and a bit of local history. In 2011 she took up Syd M’s mantle as film reviewer for Alm@nac Weekly, and she hopes to return to doing more of that as HV1 recovers from the shock of COVID-19. A Queens native, Platt moved to New Paltz in 1971 to earn a BA in English and minor in Linguistics at SUNY. Her first writing/editing gig was with the Ulster County Artist magazine. In the 1980s she was assistant editor of The Independent Film and Video Monthly for five years, attended Heartwood Owner/Builder School, designed and built a timberframe house in Gardiner. Her son Evan Pallor was born in 1995. Alternating with her journalism career, she spent many years doing development work – mainly grantwriting – for a variety of not-for-profit organizations, including six years at Scenic Hudson. She currently lives in Kingston.

Related Posts

Woman at War next Movies with Spirit screening May 21
Stage & Screen

Woman at War next Movies with Spirit screening May 21

May 15, 2022
Murder Café performs Murder at the Speakeasy May 13-14 at Bevier House
Stage & Screen

Murder Café performs Murder at the Speakeasy May 13-14 at Bevier House

May 5, 2022
Bardavon Gala features Audra McDonald on May 7
Art & Music

Bardavon Gala features Audra McDonald on May 7

May 4, 2022
Live at Shadowland
Stage & Screen

Live at Shadowland

May 1, 2022
G. Steve Jordan completes short film for National Wildlife Federation
Stage & Screen

G. Steve Jordan completes short film for National Wildlife Federation

April 23, 2022
Onteora High/Middle School stage The Little Mermaid April 28-30
Stage & Screen

Onteora High/Middle School stage The Little Mermaid April 28-30

April 16, 2022
Next Post
Lenape Elementary in New Paltz welcomes new principal

New Paltz parents learn another principal is leaving

Trending News

  • Bubbe’s Deli opens in Gardiner’s former Mountain Harbor 1.7k views
  • The moon is down in Central Hudson 739 views
  • Ryan and Molinaro run for Congress, Gallagher available to move up 320 views
  • School budgets cruise to approval 308 views
  • Village of Saugerties planners hold public hearing for Dragon Inn 300 views







Latest HV1 Podcast

Weather

Kingston
◉
57°
Light Rain
5:31am8:13pm EDT
Feels like: 57°F
Wind: 2mph NW
Humidity: 69%
Pressure: 29.89"Hg
UV index: 0
ThuFriSat
68/48°F
82/63°F
97/68°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Ulster County COVID-19 Active Cases

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In

© 2022 Ulster Publishing