 |
Theater Reconstruction Ensemble |
 |
|
|
||||||||||||
was formed in 2010 as a collective of theater artists striving to reconstruct both classical and contemporary experiments in theater through the playful development of works over time. Recent productions include Ibsen’s A Doll’s House at The Access Theater and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus at The Brick. Committed to a collaborative approach to theater making, we function as an ensemble of actors, playwrights, designers, and directors working together to thoroughly examine each element of a theatrical text, from major themes to minute details, and collectively reconstruct canonical works, staying true to the original texts while simultaneously using our own personal connection to these texts to establish unique structures in which to explore and invent.
Schedule of Upcoming Productions
Production History
A Doll's House
| Open: 04/14/11 Close: 04/17/11
by Henrik Ibsen
sound design: Kate Marvin
| |
 | |
Salesmen: A Meditation On Masculinity And The American Real
| Open: 10/24/13 Close: 11/09/13
In the heyday of the American drama, the forefathers of realism were seeking to create a new form of story-telling in which characters could be plucked from the everyday humdrum of reality, and the actors portraying could pass for your neighbor or your brother or the man seated next to you. Tired of the melodramatic flare, these artists were working together to rebel against the established norm by experimenting with the unknown and reveling in the process of development and creation. More than half a century later, Theater Reconstruction Ensemble has assembled a group of eight men struggling to create their own process of theatrical story-telling, following in their forefathers' footsteps - examining their greatest works and challenging their most legendary of methods. By looking to the past, we have created a new piece of theater - a patchwork of style, drama, realism and what lies beyond - that pushes the boundaries of our now-established norms of playwriting and theater-making. We are continuing their experiment by exploring our own process and venturing ourselves into the great unknown. Theater Reconstruction Ensemble presents SALESMEN: a meditation on masculinity and the American REAL a world premiere piece conceived and directed by John Kurzynowski and developed by the company. The cast for SALESMEN includes Michael Barringer, Hunter Canning* (Bway: War Horse), Jonathan Gordon* (Bway: Orphans), Eben Hoffer, Patrick Scheid, Nick Smerkanich, Hugh Trimble, and Merlin Whitehawk.
was formed in 2010 as a collective of theater artists striving to reconstruct both classical and contemporary experiments in theater through the playful development of works over time. Recent productions include Ibsen’s A Doll’s House at The Access Theater and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus at The Brick. Committed to a collaborative approach to theater making, we function as an ensemble of actors, playwrights, designers, and directors working together to thoroughly examine each element of a theatrical text, from major themes to minute details, and collectively reconstruct canonical works, staying true to the original texts while simultaneously using our own personal connection to these texts to establish unique structures in which to explore and invent.
| |
| |
Set In The Living Room Of A Small Town American Play
| Open: 02/21/13 Close: 03/09/13
A world premiere play written by Jaclyn Backhaus. John Kurzynowski directs a cast of twelve, including Harlan Alford, Jaclyn Backhaus, Mikey Barringer, Andrew Butler, Nick Fesette, Nick Lehane*, Emily Marro, Sydney Matthews, Anastasia Olowin, Patrick Scheid, Tina Shepard*, and Lauren Swan-Potras. *Actor appearing courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association | Equity Approved Showcase
Realism ... the authentic revelation of truth. The Method of acting truthfully under imaginary circumstances. In this world premiere nod to the heyday of the American drama, the Lorimer family has gathered to welcome home their former golden boy after tragedy has forced him to retreat to the living room of his youth. A revolving door of newly explored stock characters reveal their inner demons while struggling to achieve the American dream – life, liberty and the pursuit of authenticity. Theater Reconstruction Ensemble’s epic dissection of the American REAL attempts to rebuild the most iconic and praised theatrical style of the past century while simultaneously questioning its core components. Can we ever truly create something REAL onstage? Or is it only in the struggle to do so that we stumble across that ever-elusive TRUTH? About the Company: Theater Reconstruction Ensemble was formed in 2010 as a collective of theater artists striving to reconstruct both classical and contemporary experiments in theater through the playful development of works over time. Recent productions include Ibsen’s A Doll’s House at The Access Theater and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus at The Brick. Committed to a collaborative approach to theater making, we function as an ensemble of actors, playwrights, designers, and directors working together to thoroughly examine each element of a theatrical text, from major themes to minute details, and collectively reconstruct canonical works, staying true to the original texts while simultaneously using our own personal connection to these texts to establish unique structures in which to explore and invent.
| |
| |
The Three Seagulls, Or Mashamashamasha!
| Open: 03/01/12 Close: 03/10/12
“Russian ideologies run Russianly rampant throughout this very Russian text!”
Masha finds herself being pursued by three men: the boring one she married too early in life, the depressed one she spent her youth unrequitedly pining for, and the dashing model of perfection she meets far too late. She struggles to take action to remedy her past mistakes and choose the path that holds the key to her future. Will she ever break this cycle of stasis and sadness?
Anton Chekhov, famous for his use of subtext and samovars, gave the modern world a new form of theatrical expression through such monumental works as The Seagull and Three Sisters. Drawing upon such similarities as unrequited love, a relentless yearning to escape to Moscow, and a central character named Masha, Theater Reconstruction Ensemble has created an elaborate experiment of truly Russian proportions. A MASHA-up unlike any seen before! In combining these two extraordinary plays into one, TRE company member Jaclyn Backhaus and artistic director John Kurzynowski seek to explore the foundation of modern theatrics by forcing twenty-four of Chekhov’s most exciting characters into one world. And with twenty-four actors inhabiting the depths of New York’s iconic HERE Arts Center, this is one Chekhovian experiment that’s not to be missed!
Featuring: Celeste Arias, Jaclyn Backhaus, Michael Barringer, Robbie Baum, Caitlin Bebb, Scarlett Bermingham, Andrew Butler, Matt Carr, Matt Connolly, Nick Fesette, Leigh Jones*, Nathaniel Kent, Alex Kveton, Whit Leyenberger, Christopher Norwood*, Josh Odsess-Rubin*, Anastasia Olowin, Jon Riddleberger, Kelly Rogers, Eugene Michael Santiago, Patrick Scheid, Lauren Swan-Potras, Merlin Whitehawk, Brian Williams
Sound Design: Kate Marvin Lighting Design: Marika Kent Set Design: Jonathan Cottle Stage Manager: Dina Rodriguez
JACLYN BACKHAUS (playwright) is an actor, playwright, and screenwriter based out of Brooklyn, NY. She is a co-founder of Fresh Ground Pepper, a developmental series for emerging artists and new work. The Three Seagulls, or MASHAMASHAMASHA! marks her third collaboration with director John Kurzynowski and Theater Reconstruction Ensemble, of which she is a founding ensemble member. As an actor, she appeared in John's productions of A Doll's House (Access Theater Gallery) and Hamlet (The Paradise Factory). Other credits include Our Farm (The Tank, The Cherry Pit, Philadelphia's Underground Arts) and Michael Caine's Egypt School (an original web series). Written works include Folk Wandering, a new musical, (debuted at Fresh Ground Pepper PlayGround December 2011); What It's Like When Two Geeks Love Each Other (Fresh Ground Pepper at The Tank); James Franco Brings the Light of God to the Linguistics Department at the University of Buffalo (FGP Twenty, September 2010); Black Canyon City (breedingground's Spring Fever Festival); The Forgetting of Things (workshopped in association with Naked Angels, produced at The Bushwick Starr). She is a frequent contributor to The Hypocrite Reader and Anna in the City, as well as her own blog, These Are Snacks. Her first feature-length film, Phillip and Falling Asleep, is currently in pre- production with wuliHAUS, a traveling film collective founded with filmmaker Mary Wuliger. BFA: NYU.
JOHN KURZYNOWSKI (director) is the founder and artistic director of Theater Reconstruction Ensemble. As an actor, he has appeared in The Really Big Once, The Magic Flute, a Sound-Op Era (Target Margin), Babes in Toyland (Little Lord), Henry VI (New York Neo-Classical), Our Farm (Fresh Ground Pepper), and readings of David Greenspans A Horses Ass (CSC) and Chiori Miyagawas This Lingering Life (New Dramatists). As a director, he has staged Pullman Car Hiawatha (Target Margin), Hamlet (Organs of State), A Dolls House, and Doctor Faustus (TRE) as well as developmental workshops of Alexander Kveton's Fat Fat Fatty for Fresh Ground Pepper. BFA: NYU.
KATE MARVIN (sound designer) is a sound designer, composer, and singer in NYC. She is the Associate Artistic Director of Theater Reconstruction Ensemble, an Associate Artist with Target Margin Theater and Little Lord, a member of The MetropoliTones, and a founder of Doll Parts, the new Dolly Parton cover band. Recent: Alice or The Scottish Gravediggers (Polybe & Seats), The Tempest (TMT), A Doll’s House (TRE), Second Language (TMT) The Magic Flute, a Sound-Op Era (TMT Lab), Thirst (Little Lord), Blue Dress Reduction (PS122), The Really Big Once (TMT), Hamlet (Organs of State), Mountain Shouting (Ontological), The Deluge (Bushwick Starr), Babes In Toyland (Ice Factory), Old Comedy (TMT), Pullman Car Hiawatha (TMT Lab), The Penitent Hours/Home Birth (Bushwick Starr).
About the Company: Theater Reconstruction Ensemble THEATER RECONSTRUCTION ENSEMBLE was formed in 2010 as a collective of theater artists striving to reconstruct both classical and contemporary experiments in theater through the playful development of works over time. Recent productions include Ibsen’s A Doll’s House at The Access Theater and Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus at The Brick. Committed to a collaborative approach to theater making, we function as an ensemble of actors, playwrights, designers, and directors working together to thoroughly examine each element of a theatrical text, from major themes to minute details, and collectively reconstruct canonical works, staying true to the original texts while simultaneously using our own personal connection to these texts to establish unique structures in which to explore and invent.
www.reconstructionensemble.org
| |
| |