The Women of the Mahabharata

BY: EYEBLINK ENTERTAINMENT

Sep 17, NEW YORK (SUN) — The IT Awards were organized to bring recognition to the great work being done in Off-Off-Broadway and help create a community base for the estimated 40,000 artists working in the Off-Off-Broadway venue.

Our production of The Women of the Mahabharata is registered with the New York Innovative Theatre Awards. We are eligible for several awards, including Best Play, Best Ensemble, Best Director, and more! Your vote counts! You can vote for us at http://www.nyitawards.com. Just click "Cast Your Vote".

The Women of the Mahabharata

A world premiere adaptation by Wallace Dorian
Directed by Jonathan Warman
Choreographed by Dina Denis

October 9 - 26
Wednesday - Saturday at 8PM
Saturday and Sunday at 3PM

Roy Arias Theatre 2
616 Ninth Ave, between 43rd and 44th St., NYC

A fantastical telling of a 5,000 year old war, fought between 2 sets of cousins for a kingdom and a beautiful woman. In this play, actresses live the story, modern and South Asian dancers add to the emotions, and multi-media sets the atmosphere.

Starring: Qurrat Ann Kadwani, Victoria Guthrie, Ashley Noel Jones, Kathryn Neville Browne, Steph Van Vlack, Erin Huestis, Siras Nitithatsanakul, Jenna Kirk

With live music by Egemen Sanli
Artwork by Fareen Butt

Stage Manager: Carol A. Mahoney
Scenic Design: Nick Lazzarro
Light Design: Yuriy Nayer
Costume Design: Leslie Lowe
Multimedia Design: Nathaniel Milton
Sound Design: Mat Bussler
Graphic Design: William J. Carabano
Publicity: Stephen Sunderlin / Sun Productions, Inc.

Press Inquiries:
Contact Stephen Sunderlin / Sun Productions, Inc.
212.799.3753
stephen.sunderlin@verizon.net

View Press Release HERE
View New York Daily News article HERE

Help eyeBLINK provide 100 tickets a week to low income families! eyeBLINK is pairing up with various organizations in order to help children, women and families, who are underpriviliged, see this multicultural show! You can help bring hope! Donate today!

Notes
This theatre is unfortunately, not wheelchair accessible.
All tix are non-refundable, non-transferrable.
Tickets are also available for sale at the door for $25.00 cash on a first-come-first-served basis.
Please bring valid ID and proof of purchase if your tickets are Will Call.
This show is suitable for children.

For the 8PM shows, doors open at 7:15PM. Seating will start at 7:30PM.
For the 3PM shows, doors open at 2:15PM. Seating will starts at 2:30PM.

Please be sure to arrive to the theatre 30 minutes prior to the show if your tickets are Will Call. All tickets will be released 5 minutes before the show, in the case of no-shows.

Shows are from Oct 9-26; Wed - Sat at 8PM, Sat and Sun at 3PM
All tickets are $20 in advance, $25 cash at the door
100 tickets every week will be donated to underprivileged people, so buy your tix now!
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE OR OVER THE PHONE AT 800.838.3006

Questions or sponsorship/donation info? Email info@eyeblink.org

CREATIVE TEAM

Wallace Dorian (Playwright) is a writer based in Los Angeles. He has written several original screenplays, many plays and three novellas. His most recent original screenplays are, "Desert Rain" a romantic drama about a woman documentary filmmaker's plight, "Village of the Dead", a ghost-supernatural epic, and "Army Ants", a futuristic military adventure-fantasy about war, terrorism and miniaturization. His one-act play "Close To God" about a young deaf girl's divine encounter with the Archangel Gabriel and a new play, "Baghdad" is set to premiere in 2009. "The Women of the Mahabharata" is his first New York theatrical debut.

Jonathan Warman (Director) is conceiver of White City, a new musical with music and lyrics by Pete Townshend of The Who currently in development, and Artistic Director of NeoNeo Theatre Company. Proud member of Emerging Artists Theatre and TOSOS II. With Emerging Artists: WeimarHole (upcoming), Break, Recoil, Lucky Day, One of the Great Ones. With TOSOS II: The Physics of Love, Kitchenette (reading featuring Jackie Hoffman). With NeoNeo: Andru’s Head (co-directed with Mark Dendy, FringeNYC), American Fabulous, and Versatility. International: Dreams Reoccurring (Clubul CFR, Iasi, Romania). Notable assistant credits: Three Sisters (La MaMa ETC, dir. Richard Schechner) and Rosencrantz si Guildenstern sunt Morti (Teatru National Vasile Alecsandri, Iasi, Romania, dir. Ovidiu Lazar). He has also served as Literary Manager for Access Theater. For more info, see http://jonathanwarman.com.

Dina Denis (Choreographer) is a choreographer, dancer, and teacher from Queens, New York. Dina has a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Hofstra University. She is also a K-12 certified dance teacher who holds a Master of Arts in Dance Education from New York University. Dina currently teaches dance to grades 6-12 at the East Bronx Academy for the Future and Nadia’s Performing Arts Centre in Whitestone, Queens. Dina and Dance Into Light, Inc., founded in 2003, are dedicated to dance education through classes, performances, and lecture demonstrations. In addition to her own choreography, Dina has been a member of Joan Miller’s Dance Players for five years. She has also performed with choreographers, Robin Becker, Deborah Damast, Douglas Dunn, Sheila Kaminsky, Joan Peters, Joan Miller, Eleo Pomare, Martial Roumain, Abdel Salaam, Dr. Glory Van Scott, and Val Suarez. Dina has also formed collaborative partnerships with Classical Indian Dancer Ishrat (Rakhi) Hoque, visual artist Siona Benjamin in her production entitled "Rang de Nila (Color Me Blue)," and eyeBLINK.

Carol A. Mahoney (Stage Manager) is a recent graduate from Hunter College where she received her BA in theatre. She has been stage managing since she was 15 and has 23 shows since then! Carol is delighted to be working on her first production as a college graduate!

Leslie Lowe (Costume Designer) Born in a trunk from Zeus’ thigh in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Painted since an infant with whatever was available and have ever since. Earned the title of "The World’s Youngest Beatnik" at the age of five. Survived the Sixties in San Francisco and Chicago with sense of humor intact. Fulfilled life-long dream of being artist in New York City in 1982. Make-up and costumes for various plays, performances and independent films/videos, including Edgar Oliver at La Mama, Raquel Shapira at Franklin Furnace, collaboration with Jack Waters for "Nocturnes" 16mm film, and most ambitiously "Night of the Teardrop" at Le Petit Versailles Garden, a multi-media event celebrating a night of Egyptomania. Migrated to New Orleans in 1993 to pursue interest in alternative belief systems and music. Created many costumes for specialized Mardi Gras Balls and rock bands. Was blown back to NYC by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Considers make-up and costume design an extension of skills and vision as an artist. Draw inspiration from art, music, especially opera, myths and legends, diverse cultures and traditions.

Mat Bussler (Sound Designer) has designed sound for productions at The Gene Frankel Theatre, The Barrow Group Theatre, The Chester Theatre Company, The Tank, and 59E59 Theaters, among others. He is also an actor hailed by the New York Times as "especially impressive" and "rubber-faced" for his variety of roles in The City That Cried Wolf at 59E59 Theaters in December 2007, presented by State of Play Theatre, a theatre company he co-founded in 2006. He has also appeared in Double Pendulum at the Tank and King of Sorrows with Blackfriars Repertory Theatre, for which he has also worked as a stage manager and assistant director. Four of his short plays were presented in Foursome: An Evening of One Acts, at Shetler Studios in 2007. He is also the creator of and head writer for The Tweekleworth Twins, a radio comedy series about two young adventurers solving mysteries related to UFOs, Bigfoot, and other unusual encounters, available soon at stateofplaytheatre.com. He studied writing, acting and theatre production at Sarah Lawrence College.

Nate Milton (Multimedia Designer) grew up in Rhode Island and moved to New York when he was 18. Residing in Brooklyn. he made his first animation on his parents’ home video camera when he was six. Since then, he has made around 30 short films. He has a BFA with a focus in Traditional Animation from The School of Visual Arts.

Nicholas Lazzaro (Scenic Designer) is pleased to work on this show, he has previously designed an "Eat Fest" with Emerging Artists Theatre. He is the Co-Production Manager and Technical Director for Theatre Breaking Through Barriers. Nick likes to span all the trades in theatre, while he can be found easy with a drill gun in hand, you might also find him with a script in hands as well. He is looking forward to many more projects that lets him show his talents and thanks everyone for being here.

Yuriy Nayer (Lighting Designer) was born in Belarus, but has proudly called New York his home for the last 11 years. Yuriy spent most of the last year helping realize others’ designs as an electrician Off- Broadway for Roundabout, New Group, Primary Stages, MCC and others. He is happy to now focus more of his time on his passion for lighting design. Yuriy recently lit the Dumbo Dance Festival presented by White Wave (Young Soon Kim, Artistic Director) and The Longest Running Joke of the 20th Century written and performed by Stephen O’Rourke and directed by Jase Draper as part of FringeNYC. Select Off- Broadway credits include: Runt of the Litter, Production Stage Manager (37 Arts); Some Kind of Bliss, Lighting Programmer (59E59); Secrets of a Soccer Mom, Lighting Programmer (Snapple Center/ Jerry Orbach Theater). Yuriy would like to thank Naomi and his family for all their support. "For mom". ( www.yuriynayer.com.

Fareen Butt (Artist) is a pointilist painter and film maker based in New York. Her works are abstract and minimalist, and are largely influenced by the writings of Surawardi, a sufi saint, and Vedic philosophy. Her artwork aims to interpret the experience of Light. Her paintings have shown in New York including MOMA, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and various galleries throughout the city. Internationally, she has shown at the Commune, Karachi, and Doual'art, Cameroon. As the Producer, Director of Photography, Assistant Director, and Director on various films, her pieces have shown and won at SAIFF 2007, and shown at Cannes 2008 and Harlem Film Festival 2008.

CAST

Qurrat Ann Kadwani (Draupadi) is the founding Artistic Director of eyeBLINK and the head of the Theatre department. She is a theater graduate of SUNY Geneseo and is a double scholarship recipient for her directing and acting contributions. She is currently the host of 100% Desi on Namaste America, a nationally syndicated show on cable TV appearances also include ABC News’ What Would You Do, As The World Turns, All My Children. Her stage work extends to Baby Taj (TheaterWorks Palo Alto), where she earned rave reviews from the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, India-West, Silicon Valley Metro, talkinbroadway.com, as well as many other publications. In NYC, she has acted in First Language (New Group), Inside Out (Abingdon Theatre Company), The Quaking (Abingdon Theatre Company), Falling Man (NYU), The Greeks (Imua Theatre Company), Beneath the Banyan Tree (eyeBLINK), and six productions of American Colors. She has also appeared in print campaigns for Dansk, Doral Bank, IMAX, and more. She is represented theatrically by The Krasny Office. Special thanks to her family and friends for their ongoing support!

Victoria Guthrie (Queen Kunti) New York Stage: "The Art of the Cross and the Double Cross" The Abingdon Theater, "Absolute Clarity", The Beauty Part"," Cat On a Hot Tin Roof"," Bad Habits", ‘"The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant" and readings at primary Stages and MTC. Film: numerous independent films in leading and supporting roles. Upcoming screenings" The Festival" Dec 08 Two Boots Screening Room dir. Richard Terassi (best dir. horror genre), "Priscilla" Dec. 17th 2008 New Filmmakers Festival www.newfilmmakersfestival.com dir Paula Eiselt, "How I Became That Jewish Guy," Nov. 09 The Quad dir. Matthew Cade ,"The Blind" date TBA dir Nathan Silver "Anecdote" official selection of Slamdance Film Festival.

Ashley Noel Jones (Uttara) is thrilled to be working with eyeBLINK Theatre again, but this time in an acting capacity! Ashley first worked with the company in their Tomorrow's Gold! New Work Series, directing John Watt's God is A Puerto Rican. Some other recent stage credits and projects have been: Barcinda Forest(Original Intent Theatre), Musical!(Public Art Fund),Goliath(Williamstown Theatre Festival), Late Night Cabaret(WTF), 365 Days/365 Plays(The Public Theater), Get This Lake Off My House: Our Tempest(NOLA Project), Mother of Modern Censorship, School For Scandal, All's Well…(NYU). Ashley was also an Apprentice at the Williamstown Theatre Festival(07') and graduated with honors from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Drama. She is also the co-artistic director of the Movement Theatre Company Big thanks to Mom, Thomas, Debbie and my whole support system who help make the dream possible!

Siras Nitithatsanakul (Dancer) a native of Thailand, holds a BFA in dance performance with 1st Class Honors from Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok where she won the Golden Coin award for top score in 2003. She has a commended certification in classical ballet from Royal Academy of Dancing in London. While in Thailand, she danced in several shows with various choreographers and dance companies such as The Bangkok City Ballet company. Siras has choreographed and performed across Thailand and the United States. She moved to America in 2004. She was a scholarship student at Dance New Amsterdam in NY and performed the works of choreographers such as Adrienne Hawkins, Sridhar Shanmugam, Vina Lee and Maura Burn. She was a dancer with Impulse Dance Company, Modern Boogie Dance group and NTDTV. She has performed in very well known theaters all over the U.S. including Radio City Music Hall in NY, Arie Crown Theater in Chicago, and the California Center of the Arts in LA. Siras has toured around the U.S. and Canada with NTDTV in 2006 and toured over 15 states with The Arch, Inc in 2007. Currently, she is a member of The Arch, Inc and The Fire Walk Dance Companies.

Erin Huestis (Dancer) A native of New York, Erin has been dancing since the age of five. From 2000-2003 she trained at the Alvin Ailey School’s year round program on fellowship under the directorship of Elena Commendador and Tracy Inman, and performed works by Earl Mosely, Troy Powell, Nancy Torano, Fred Benjamin, and Robert Garland, among others. Some of the additional programs she attended were with Parsons Dance, Aspen Ballet, Kirov, Ballet Met, Joffrey, and NYSSSA. In 2007 Erin graduated from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase with a BFA in ballet and modern performance. While there, she had the opportunity to perform works by Bill T. Jones, Bettijane Sills, Megan Williams, and David Parsons.

Egemen Sanli (Sitar) The modern dervish traveling to find his own voice within world music. This young man carries an incredible passion for music of all corners, and is keenly interested in exploring the roots of all music while carrying the flag of his Turkish roots as a musician. Egemen Sanli considers himself an ambassad of today's shrinking world. He works as a producer/performer in the music industry, bringing musicians all over the world together in various projects crossing genres and creating interesting fusions.

Kathryn Neville Browne (Gandhari) is delighted to appear in The Women of the Mahabharata as Gandhari. Kathryn studies acting with Howard Meyer and Rachel Jones; she recently appeared in a Christopher Durang spoof of The Glass Menagerie with the Darien Players (For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls - Amanda.) Favorite roles in various workshops include Martha from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Roberta from Danny and the Deep Blue Sea. She also appeared in The Laramie Project with the Riverdale Repertory Company. Special thanks to Chris, Sean and Patrick for their support.

Steph Van Vlack (Satyavati) Steph’s first role was at the age of 6, as a Page in a children’s community play in Vermont, where she forgot her one line. Undaunted by the initial embarrassment she continued auditioning and performing. She’s appeared as Kate in "The Taming of the Shrew ", Lucy Brown in "Three Penny Opera", and Queen Eleanor in “The Lion in Winter”. She has also appeared in regional and national TV commercials including The Discovery Channel and TLC. She thanks her friends for their continual support, and especially Steve. More about Steph can be found at: www.sceneinteractive.com/talents/stephvv

Jenna Kirk (Dancer) is thrilled to be a part of The Women of the Mahabharata. She is a recent graduate of the University of Arkansas where she received her MFA in acting. Some of her favorite roles inculde Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Sister James in Doubt, and Lydia in Big Love. Jenna has also studied ballet and modern dance all of her life and in 2007 she traveled to Armenia with fellow dancers to study and perform with the Barekamutyn Dance Troupe under the guidance of Noryar Mehrabian and Natasha Davison.