Wreckio Ensemble

AMERICA IS ON SALE IN WRECKIO ENSEMBLE’S NEW PLAY

The Ladies Aide Society Invites You To A Poverty Party To Benefit The Foundation For Ethical Art And Culture

New play by American theatre company, about the cost of art, makes international premier at Thisisnotashop Gallery in Dublin

July 23rd to August 2nd
Wed – Sat

Show begins 8pm, Doors Open 7:30
Please Reserve Ticket (see below)

DUBLIN, IRELAND – Wreckio Ensemble’s new original work, The Ladies Aide Society Invites You To A Poverty Party To Benefit The Foundation For Ethical Art And Culture, was created especially for performance at Thisisnotashop. Inspired by the gallery’s unique architecture, which features a shop front window facing the street, the show blurs the lines between artist and spectator inspiring a dialogue about who art is for and at what cost it exists. The production makes its international premier July 23, 2008 at Thisisnotashop, 26 Benburb Street, following a controversial run in New York City.

BOOK TICKETS: To reserve your tickets please email info@wreckio.com with your name, the date of the performance you would like to attend and the number of tickets you would like to reserve. Tickets have no set price. You will be asked to “pay what you feel its worth” at the end of the show. There will be a cap of 12 tickets per performance available so please book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. If you have any questions regarding reservations or the show please email info@wreckio.com or call Jessamyn Fiore (thisisnotashop) at 087 986 7643

The American Theatre Company was invited by Thisisnotashop’s Director, Jessamyn Fiore, to present a show in her space after she was introduced to their work in New York last summer. Fueled by the challenge of creating theatre for a gallery space, the company spent the last year collaboratively creating a show that explores the intersection of power and art, but quickly discovered that central to that story would be another story. “The changing economic climate in America has greatly impacted our process and our narrative.” explains the show’s director Kimberlea Kressal “America has become the play’s main character, a tragic hero who is beginning to face her own limitations.” The company’s choice to expose those limitations and how they impact art incited debate surrounding the show’s premier in New York. “There was concern over some of the show’s more controversial imagery from people outside of the creative team.” says co-writer and performer Randi Berry “We found life very much imitating the art we’d created.” Another of the show’s writer/performers elaborates “We were suddenly faced with the possibility of being asked to censor our work; the cost of art was no longer an ethereal idea we were exploring in the play, but a reality we were experiencing in that moment.” Ultimately, the company was able to quell the concerns of outsiders without altering the show.

Debate and discourse are exactly what the company is hoping for from their audience. The show has no defined playing space, audience members move with the actors, sometimes participating in the action. They also choose their own ticket price after seeing the show. The company recognizes the risk they are taking in giving their audience so much agency over the piece. Kressal explains that examining the show’s central question requires a certain amount of peril and discomfort, “We’re exploring both the economic and very human costs of making and selling art, we can’t do that if we keep the audience at arms length, this is a dialogue we must have together and that is inherently unpredictable.”

The Ladies Aide Society Invites You To A Poverty Party To Benefit The Foundation For Ethical Art And Culture begins its Dublin run on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 8:00PM. The exclusive engagement at Thisisnotashop, 26 Benburb Street, Dublin, Ireland, runs Wednesdays – Saturdays at 8:00PM through August 2nd. Doors open at 7:30PM. Tickets are “pay what you feel it’s worth”. Reservations can be made for any performance by emailing info@wreckio.com .

The Ladies Aide Society Invites You To A Poverty Party To Benefit The Foundation For Ethical Art And Culture was written by the ensemble and directed by Kimberlea Kressal, the cast includes: Randi Berry, Dechelle Damien, Karly Maurer and Benjamin Spradley. The show was created in residence as part of the Performing Arts Residency @ chashama.

ABOUT WRECKIO ENSEMBLE
Wreckio Ensemble is a not-for-profit movement-rooted theatre collective incorporated in November 2000. Wreckio produces original, character rich, and socially relevant work in an ensemble setting. Wreckio has four foundational beliefs: 1) ample time must be allotted to artistic development and rehearsals; 2) administrative and creative decisions are made by consensus, 3) core members are encouraged to take on various roles in the production company: as director, designer, actor, writer, etc.; 4) having fun is mandatory!

Media Contact : Kimberlea Kressal 001.347.870.4848 kim@wreckio.com