ALIENS WITH EXTRAORDINARY SKILLS
WRITTEN BY Saviana Stanescu
DIRECTED BY Susannah Clark
August 20 - 27, 2016
ABOUT
SHOW INFORMATION
* Washington, DC Premiere *
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At the heart of Saviana Stanescus’ Aliens With Extraordinary Skills lies the question of the American Dream – how to obtain it, yes, but, perhaps more importantly, to whom does it belong?
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Stanescus’ funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful piece follows Nadia, a young Moldovan woman working as a birthday party clown in New York City. Her immigration status and questionable papers follow her like a spectre as she struggles to find her footing, pay her rent, and fall in love. With a loser musician, an exotic dancer, and fellow clown Borat by her side, Nadia weaves together her identity, legitimacy, voice, and balloon animals.
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PRESS
"****1/2 With its touching story, enthusiastic ensemble, and devout theatrical earnestness, these Aliens and their Extraordinary Skills will warm your heart "
- Robert Michael Oliver, DC Metro Theatre Arts
"***** Saviana Stanescu’s playful, sharp script and Director Susannah Clark’s astute eye for marrying tension and humor... make Aliens a show I’d watch again."
- Kelly McCorkendale, DC Theatre Scene
CREATIVE
CAST
Jordan Friend
BORAT
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Mark Ashin
BOB
Cheyanne Williams
LUPITA
Charlie Cook
INS 2
Julia Hurley
NADIA
Caroline McQuaig
INS 1
Run Time: 90 minutes
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The Classroom @ Woolly Mammoth
641 D Street NW
Showtimes:
August 20 @ 2pm and 8pm
August 21 @ 2pm
August 25 @ 8pm
August 26 @ 8pm
August 27 @ 2pm and 8pm
READ THE PROGRAM
GALLERY
CREW
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Susannah Clark
DIRECTOR
Anne Donnelly
STAGE MANAGER
E-hui Woo
LIGHTING DESIGN
Nathaniel Sharer
SET DESIGN
Saviana Stanescu
PLAYWRIGHT
Saviana Stanescu (www.saviana.com) is a Romanian-born award-winning playwright, one of the most exciting voices to emerge in Eastern Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Her work has been widely presented in the US and internationally. She left Romania for the US in August 2001, when she came to New York University as a Fulbright fellow. 9/11 changed her life and work forever.
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Saviana is a member of Ensemble Studip Theatre and a Usual Suspect with New York Theatre Workshop. She was a 2005-2007 TCG Fellow with the Lark Play Development Center, where her plays Waxing West and Lenin's Shoe had barebones productions. Ms. Stanescu has been the Director of Eastern European Exchange for the Lark Play Development Center, the curator of playgroundzero and New York With an Accent, and the founder of Immigrant/International Aritists and Scholars in New York (IASNY). Saviana holds and MA in Performance Studies (Fulbright fellow) and an MFA in Dramatic Writing (John Golden Award for Excellence in Playwrighting) from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, as well as a PhD in Theatre from the National University of Theatre & Film in Bucharest, Romania. She has taught Playwrighting and Theatre/Performance Studies at NYU Tisch (2004-2012), Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, and Fordham Univerity. Currently she is on tenure-track as an Assistant Professor of Playwrighting and Contemporary Theatre at Ithaca College.
