For
Immediate Release
April 9, 2008
Contact: James Slowiak
Co-Artistic Director
(330)867-3299
nwpl@lycos.com
PREMIERE OF NEW WORLD PERFORMANCE LABORATORY’S FRANKENSTEIN
AKRON, OH –New World Performance
Laboratory’s production of Frankenstein will premier
as part of the Cleveland Playhouse’s Fusion Fest with performances May 5 and 6 at 7:30 pm on the Bolton stage. The company will continue performances in Akron,
May 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, 31 at 7:30 pm in Sandefur Theatre, Guzzetta Hall, on The University of Akron campus. New World Performance Laboratory's investigation of the classic story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley incorporates images from the novel and scenes from Shelley’s own life. This company
creation depicts the epic battle between body, mind, and soul fought on a landscape of solitude and horror.
The characters of Frankenstein mingle with Lord Byron, Mary
Shelley, her husband, and their friends in a gothic nightmare that displays the deeply detailed physical style of NWPL’s
actors and a haunting vocal score exploring 19th century romantic motifs with new music composed by Megan Elk.
NWPL presents
these Northeast Ohio performances of Frankenstein prior to embarking on a tour to Poland
where the production will be performed in June and July as part of several international festivals including the Malta Festival
in Poznan and the Atelier Festival in Wroclaw. Co- Artistic Directors Jairo Cuesta and James Slowiak (who recently published a book,
Jerzy Grotowski,, Routledge 2007) will conduct a series of workshops while
in Poland and then travel to Italy where they will conduct workshops throughout the month of July in Rome,
Chieti, and at several locations in Umbria. When the company returns to the USA,
the group will travel to the Catskills to participate in North American Cultural Laboratory’s summer festival in mid-August.
Directed by NWPL co-artistic
director and University of Akron
theatre professor James Slowiak, Frankenstein features NWPL co-artistic director
Jairo Cuesta and company members Debora Totti, Christopher Buck, Megan Elk, Justin Hale, and Jamie G. Hale. Costume and set design is by Inda Blatch-Geib, lighting design by Chris Hariasz dramaturgy by Mike Geither, company and technical management by Danny J Durst, and photographs by Andrew McAllister.
NWPL works in residence at The University of Akron and under the auspices of the Center
for Applied Theatre and Active Culture (CATAC). For information on the company’s
performances, educational programs, and workshops call 330-867-3299 or visit the website at www.nwplab.org
