NEW WORLD PERFORMANCE LABORATORY’S FRANKENSTEIN returns to Akron as part of PLAY!

AKRON, OH –New World Performance Laboratory’s production of Frankenstein will be presented as part of PLAY! The Akron International Festival of Alternative Theatre, on August 13, 14, 15, 27, 28, 29 at 8PM in Sandefur Theatre, Guzzetta Hall, on The University of Akron campus.  Tickets are $15, $10 for under 18 and UA students.  Tickets for Frankenstein and other PLAY! events, plus Festival Passes, are available online at www.BrownPaperTickets.com or by phone at 1-800-838-3006.

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 Percy Shelley, 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’s Frankenstein, which premiered in 2008 as part of The Cleveland Playhouse’s Fusion Fest, has been called “a showcase of the actor’s craft,” “mesmerizing,”  “amazing,” and “provocative.”

NWPL presents these Northeast Ohio encore performance of Frankenstein following last summer’s successful tour to Poland where the production was performed in June and July as part of several international festivals including the Malta Festival in Poznan and the Openings Festival in Wroclaw. In August 2008, the group traveled to the Catskills to participate in North American Cultural Laboratory’s Catskill Festival of New Theatre and in November 2008 Frankenstein was presented as part of E.J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall’s Stage Door Series.  In November 2009, NWPL will tour the performance to Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina.

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, 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