Ithaca, NY - To close their 42nd season, the Hangar Theatre will present Constellations by Nick Payne from August 4 until 13, 2016. Payne's award-winning play explores the unlikely relationship between a beekeeper and a quantum physicist. It is a story of infinite possibilities exploring how relationships might exist in a parallel universe. Constellations will be directed by Hangar Theatre Lab Company alum Linsay Firman, who is the Director of Play Development at the Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) in New York City. Join the cast, crew, and Hangar staff on opening night, Friday, August 5 at 8pm at the Hangar Theatre, located at 801 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca, NY 14850 in Cass Park.
Constellations is a spellbinding love story about a beekeeper, Roland, and a quantum physicist, Marianne. Constellations raises questions about destiny and ultimately tests the boundless connection between two people. In the Hangar Theatre's 2016 Playbill Magazine, director Linsay Firman comments that the hard science mentioned in this play raises a lot big questions for a human to think about. She says, "I get conceptually the idea that every possible action spins off its own reality, but that leads to infinite possibilities...It's a pretty mindblowing concept, that every choice that we do and don't make triggers its own reality. The play puts that in visceral terms by bringing us into multiple realities between two people." She also comments on the illusion of time, by saying, "There's a scientific idea in the play that is also very impactful-the idea that on a molecular level, time is not an arrow. All moment of time exist simultaneously, the way space does...I think that's a powerful, beautiful concept to offer the audience."
Constellations stars Robert Ross Parker, who plays Roland, and Makela Spielman, who plays Marianne. Parker is the co-artistic director of Vampire Cowboys. He has been recently seen in Frankenstein (Flying Machine/Soho Repertory Theatre) and a workshop of Light (Paper Canoe). Robert Ross Parker will be making his Hangar Theatre debut. Spielman's theatre credits include multiple shows with Anne Bogart and Saratoga International Theatre Institute Company, Arena Stage, and La Jolla Playhouse. Makela Spielman will be making her professional Hangar Theatre debut. Spielman is a Hangar Theatre Lab Company alum.
Take your theatrical experience to the next level, enjoy free programming before and after our Mainstage performances. Join us for a pre-show discussion at our Prologue 45 minutes before every Mainstage performance. Post-show discussions happen every Tuesday at our Tuesday Talkbacks featuring an interactive discussion between the audience and the cast and crew of the production.
Tickets start at $22 and can be purchased online at www.HangarTheatre.org, by phone at (607) 273-ARTS (2787), or in person Hangar Theatre Box Office at the theatre (Mon-Sat between 12pm and 6pm) and one hour before curtain time. Hangar Theatre is located at 801 Taughannock Blvd, Ithaca, NY 14850.
The Hangar Theatre is committed to making theatre accessible to the entire community though its Pay What You Can (PWYC) program. Patrons may pay what they can afford to see a show at the first Saturday matinee performance of each Mainstage production. A limited number of tickets are available for PWYC thanks to the generosity of our Mainstage PWYC sponsor Schlather, Stumbar, Parks & Salk, LLP.
Hangar Theatre gratefully acknowledges 2016 Partner in Flight sponsorship from CFCU Community Credit Union and Cayuga Radio Group. Premier sponsorship for Constellationsis provided by C.S.P. Management. The Hangar Theatreis dedicated to providing exceptional theatre experiences of high professional quality to enrich, enlighten, educate, and entertain the diverse audience in the Finger Lakes region and beyond. Strong educational and training programs are central parts of our commitment to the local and national artistic communities. Visit our website at www.HangarTheatre.org
BIOGRAPHIES
Linsay Firman (Director) is Director of Play Development at Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST), and Associate Director of the EST/Sloan Project. At EST, she has directed the World Premieres of Lucas Hnath's Isaac's Eye and Anna Ziegler's BOY, and the NY Premiere of Anna Ziegler's Photograph 51. She has also directed EST Marathon plays by Rachel Bonds, Garrett M. Brown, Darcy Fowler and and Jose Rivera. Other NYC productions include: Chairs and a Long Table by Han Ong (Ma-Yi Theatre), Perdita by Pierre Diennet (Lion Theater), Anne Washburn's Apparition (chashama) and Catherine Trieschmann's Crooked (Summer Play Festival). Linsay was a member of the Hangar Lab Company in 1995, and is thrilled to be returning to Hangar after so long.
Robert Ross Parker* (Roland) is a Brooklyn based director, actor, and writer. He is the co-artistic director of Vampire Cowboys. His acting credits include Frankenstein (Flying Machine/Soho Repertory Theatre) and the workshop of Light (Paper Canoe). His directing credits include Disgraced (Mirvish, Toronto) Six Rounds of Vengeance (Vampire Cowboys) Fast Company (Ensemble Studio Theatre) and Goodbye Cruel World which he also wrote (Roundtable Ensemble).
Makela Spielman* (Marianne) is thrilled to return to the Hangar Theatre, having spent a memorable summer as a Lab Company member back in 1992! Theatre includes: multiple shows with Anne Bogart and Saratoga International Theatre Institute Company, Denver Center, Arena Stage, The Shakespeare Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Magic Theatre, Keen Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, The Folger Shakespeare Library, Studio Theatre, and 9 seasons with the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference. Training: MFA, University of California, San Diego.
####
