| WP Theater's WEIGHTLESS, by The Kilbanes, To Stream Beginning April 15 | |
| Last Edit: Official_Press_Release 04:28 pm EDT 03/24/21 | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 04:24 pm EDT 03/24/21 | |
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| WP THEATER PRESENTS WEIGHTLESS A theatrical concert film inspired by a tale from Ovid’s Metamorphoses BY THE KILBANES DIRECTED BY TAMILLA WOODARD TO STREAM APRIL 15 – MAY 30 EXCLUSIVELY AT WPTHEATER.ORG “Weightless has a well-crafted form, and its spoken dialogue melds beautifully with the propulsive score. Weightless is an accomplished work, and an entertaining one.”-New York Times “[T]he Kilbanes could fly endlessly into space on a single, hypnotically executed chord…To watch this show is to be reanimated with a childlike sense that our choices have magical origins and magical ripple effects.”-San Francisco Chronicle (New York, NY –March 24, 2021) WP Theater, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Lisa McNulty and Managing Director Michael Sag, are thrilled to announce the streaming dates for Weightless, a theatrical concert film featuring the propulsive and intimate musical storytelling of Bay Area indie rock band The Kilbanes - married songwriting and performing duo Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses - under the visionary direction of WP Lab Alum & former WP BOLD Associate Artistic Director Tamilla Woodard (Where We Stand, Hadestown). The film will begin streaming on April 15 at WPTHEATER.org. Filmed under strict Covid guidelines in a spectacular outdoor setting in the Bay Area, Weightless intertwines animation, live rock performance, and storytelling into a musical experience like no other. Sisterhood. Love. Betrayal. Flight. Weaving together ancient myth and indie rock, Weightless tells the tale of two deeply devoted sisters, Procne and Philomela, separated by circumstance, who must travel across worlds and make devastating sacrifices in order to reunite, and the god who shapes and is shaped by that journey. Inspired by a tale from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Weightless is a visual concept album—the band and the cast are one and the same—blurring the line between actors and musicians, between musical theater, video art, and rock concert, and between the virtual world and a world in which we can all hold and feel one another again. Kilbane (Procne/Bass) and Moses (Keyboards/Vocals) are joined onscreen by fellow performer/band members Lila Blue (Philomela), Kofy Brown (Iris/Percussion),, and Joshua Pollock (Tereus/Guitar)Dan Harris (Percussion). The creative team includes Animator & Editor Katherine Freer (Lifespan of a Fact, The Band’s Visit), Animator Yee Eun Nam (The Fall of the House of Usher), Cinematographer Peggy Peralta (award-winning documentaries Harana, and A New Color), Production & Costume Designer David Israel Reynoso (Sleep No More)and Sound Editor Gregory T. Kuhn (Horizon, Lortel Award). Weightless was line produced by WP BOLD Special Projects Producer, Nidia Medina. Weightless is produced with support from piece by piece productions. RESERVATION INFO: Weightless is the final offering of WP’s Spring 2021 Season, which aims to lift up the work of Women+ theater artists in creative new ways that reflect these complicated times. All events this season are free. To reserve your spot for Weightless, please visit:www.WPTheater.org. Once reserved, a web link will be e-mailed with instructions about how to access the piece. @WPtheater @WeightlessShow (FB,TW,IG) #WeightlessMusical BIOGRAPHIES: KATE KILBANE (Author/Procne/Bass, She/Her) & DAN MOSES (Author/Keyboards, He/Him). The Kilbanes are a theatrical rock band led by married songwriting duo Kate Kilbane and Dan Moses. Their rock musical Weightless ran at ACT after productions at the Public Theatre’s Under the Radar Festival and Z Space in San Francisco. Weightless received the highest rating from the SF Chronicle as well as a Bay Area Critics Circle Awards nomination for Best New Music. Their piece, Eddie the Marvelous, Who Will Save the World, was selected for the O’Neill National Music Conference in 2018. Eddie got its start at Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor and was featured at Theatreworks’ New Works Festival. The Kilbanes collaborated with SF Shakespeare Festival on a musical version of As You Like It that played throughout the Bay Area. They currently have commissions with Theatreworks Silicon Valley and ACT’s Youth Conservatory program and have collaborated on several pieces with nationally renowned playwright Lauren Gunderson. TAMILLA WOODARD (Director, She/Her) was recently named one of 50 Women to Watch on Broadway, she is the Artistic Director of Working Theater in New York; the founder of the site- specific international partnership, PopUP Theatrics; and the Associate Director of Tony Award-winning Hadestown on Broadway. Prior to joining Working Theater, she served as the BOLD Associate Artistic Director at WP Theater. She has directed at theaters nationally and internationally, including at WP Theater, Baltimore Center Stage, American Conservatory Theater, Classical Theater of Harlem, The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts with TheaterWorksUSA, and The Cleveland Public Theatre, among others. Recent highlights include the world premiere of Donnetta Lavinia Gray’s’ award-winning Where We Stand at WP Theatre, Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls at A.C.T.’s Geary Theater, and the critically- acclaimed immersive Off-Broadway production of 3/Fifths, by James Scruggs. Currently, she is represented online with the visionary, interactive digital tour of American Dreams, which she directs and developed with Leila Buck. Her work has been recognized with an Off-Broadway Alliance Award and Lucille Lortel Nomination. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, where she also teaches. LILA BLUE(Philomela, She/Her) Off-Broadway credits include Anya in Cherry Orchard (Lake Lucille Chekhov Project), Philomela in Weightless (Z Space), and Lila in Live From the Basement (New Conservatory Theatre Center). Television and film credits include her original music in the film Story of A Girl (Lifetime), as well as original music in the upcoming documentary Each and Every Day (MTV). She is currently pursuing a B.A. at Sarah Lawrence. KOFY BROWN(Iris/Percussion, She/Her). An Oakland, CA musician, singer and songwriter, she has been a pioneering force in the Bay Area’s hip-hop soul/rock scene. She’s played the prestigious North Sea Jazz Festival, toured with Iggy Pop, and played with Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, Macy Gray and others as well as placing music on MTV, OWN and other independent films. Her band, the KBB (Kofy Brown Band), have spread the gospel of Brown’s unique style of soul, rock, funk and more all-over North America, Canada and Europe while on tour. She is also the drummer/singer for Skip the Needle and bassist/singer for Sistas in the Pit. Her new release, Child of Providence, an homage to her great great grandfather Providence Powers, is released on her indie label Simba Music. This is her 10th release – available on all electronic formats. JOSH POLLOCK(Tereus/Guitar, He/Him) is an actor, composer, and musician who's performed throughout the world in about 4,000 bands and in collaborations with the likes of John Cale, Flea, Acid Mothers Temple, and Van Dyke Parks, amongst others. He was last seen on stage as Catesby in Cal Shakes' The War Of The Roses, on television as Wolverine #2 in the series Trauma (NBC), and on film as Coughing Man in Steven Soderbergh's Contagion. He can also be heard narrating the audiobook of I'm Your Man: The Life Of Leonard Cohen, by Sylvie Simmons. JoshPollockInc.com DAN HARRIS (Percussion, He/Him) has been the drummer with the Kilbanes for over 10 years. He also plays with San Francisco rock band Society of Rockets. In the early and mid-2000s he produced hip hop with various rappers in St. Louis and played drums with the St. Louis hip hop band Sac Lunch. When not drumming, he develops cutting-edge digital audio technologies for consumer electronics and professional audio companies. He received his Master of Science degree in Music Engineering Technology from the University of Miami Frost School of Music. KATHERINE FREER (Animator & Editor,She/Her) Katherine Freer is a multimedia artist, filmmaker, organizer, and educator. Her artistic practice lives at the intersection of story, technology, and civic engagement. It is rooted in joy, curiosity, mutual learning, and the pursuit of justice for all living beings. She is a core collaborator with All My Relations Collective, Projections Design Instructor at University of the Arts (Philadelphia), and a Teaching Artist with Roundabout Education. She is a proud member of Wingspace Theatrical Design and United Scenic Artists Local 829. katherinefreer.com YEE EUN NAM(Animator, She/Her) is an award-winning set and video designer for opera, theater and any form for live performances based in LA. Recent design works include The Fall of the House of Usher (Boston Lyric Opera/ Opera Box.tv), Close Quarters (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra), Ghost Gun (Goodman Theatre), Legacy Land (Kansas City Rep), Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Aubergine, The Canadians (South Coast Rep), Black Super Hero Magic Mama (Geffen Playhouse), Sweat (Mark Taper Forum), Bordertown Now (Pasadena Playhouse), Mother of Henry, Members Only (Latino Theater Company), Citizen: An American Lyric (Kirk Douglas Theatre, Fountain Theater. Since 2020, she has been creating digital content and video art for the San Francisco Symphony, Boston Lyric Opera, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, LA Opera On Now, Goodman Theatre, Ma-Yi Theatre Company, The Movement Theatre Company. She is currently working as one of the production designers of Close Quarters with Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Yee Eun has multiple nominations for LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award and is a winner of LADCC Theatrical Excellence for CGI/Video in 2020. She is a member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829. MFA in Theater Design at UCLA. BFA in Design and Metal Craft at SNU in Seoul, Korea. Portfolio: www.yeeeunnam.com PEGGY PERALTA (Cinematographer, She/Her) Born and raised in the Philippines, Peggy at age 23, migrated to San Francisco in pursuit of living a creative life. There she earned an MFA in Motion Pictures from the Academy of Art University, fell more deeply in love with cinema and discovered her love for flying cameras. She is now a certified Steadicam Operator, one of the very few women practitioners in the industry world-wide. As a cinematographer, her work is distinct for its heart, energy and perspective. Every project she dives into becomes an opportunity to discover, create and inspire. She was awarded Best Emerging Filmmaker by SF International Women's Film Festival in 2005. Since then, she has continued to be a trusted collaborator of many directors, shooting projects funded by organizations like San Francisco Film Society, Danish Arts Council and French National Center of Fine Arts. Her works have screened in film festivals around the globe including the Rotterdam International Film Festival & Busan International Film Festival among others. In 2013, she received a Cinematography Special Jury Award from the LA Asian Pacific Film Fest for lensing the documentary Harana. A New Color, her 2nd feature documentary, premiered at the 2015 Mill Valley Film Festival. Both feature documentaries won Audience Awards in various film festivals and have aired on PBS. She is passionate about telling stories that amplify alternative voices. She believes in the power of cinema to not only entertain but to also challenge our ways of seeing, thinking and feeling. She continues to thrive as an artist in San Francisco, a city she’s proud to call her second home. In 2019 she embarked on an indie feature called This Is Your Song, a cinematic feat that challenged her to light and shoot a 97minute handheld oner. DAVID ISRAEL REYNOSO (Production & Costume Designer, He/Him) is an internationally renowned, scenic, costume, and exhibit designer, as well as the Obie Award–winning costume designer of Punchdrunk's Sleep No More (Boston, New York and Shanghai). His celebrated theatrical designs have been featured at The Finnish National Ballet, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, American Conservatory Theater, Portland Center Stage, American Repertory Theater, Arena Stage, Seattle Repertory Theater, among many others. Reynoso is the founder of OPTIKA MODERNA and the creator of Portaleza (2020), Las Quinceañeras (2019) and Waking La Llorona (2017). His scope of work extends beyond theater/film to include designs for globally recognized theme parks and companies such as: Meow Wolf, 13Exp and The San Diego Museum of Us. www.davidreynoso.com. GREGORY T. KUHN (Sound Editor, He/Him) is a multidisciplinary collaborator in the performing and fine arts with decades of production, composition, sound and visual design credits. He collaborates on diverse projects for opera, theater, dance, multimedia, and contemporary music performances. Recognition includes the Isadora Duncan Award for S.F. Ballet’s Ballet Mori (2007, Goldberg/Packer), and the Lucille Lortel Award for Rinde Eckert’s Horizon (2008, dir. David Schweizer.) He also served as Production Manager for SFJAZZ (2013-15) and Director of Production for Kronos Quartet (2015-17.) Recent premieres include World’s On Fire by ODC (Weare/Way) and Iron Shoes (Kitka/Shotgun Players.) ABOUT WP THEATER (Lisa McNulty, Producing Artistic Director; Michael Sag, Managing Director), now in its 43rdSeason, is the nation’s oldest and largest theater company dedicated to developing, producing, and promoting the work of Women+ at every stage of their careers. For over four decades we have served as leaders of a global movement towards gender parity, and the example we set and the artists we have fostered have grown into a robust, thriving community in theater and beyond. WP empowers Women+ artists of all kinds to reach their full potential, challenging preconceptions about the kinds of plays they write and the stories they tell. Founded in 1978 by Julia Miles as Women’s Project Theater, WP Theater has earned acclaim as a home for Women+ theatermakers, historically marginalized in the field, to hone their craft while becoming leaders, change-makers, and advocates in the industry. To date, we have produced more than 600 Mainstage productions and developmental projects and published 11 anthologies of plays by Women+ artists. WP Theater is proud of the ways in which we have made a difference in the artistic landscape of New York and beyond, and we continue to forge forward by offering these artists a platform to develop and present their stories. Today, WP accomplishes its mission through several fundamental programs, including: the WP Lab, a celebrated two-year mentorship and new play development program for Women+ playwrights, directors, and producers; the Domestic Partner residency program; the Developmental series of workshops and readings; the Commissioning program, and the Mainstage series, which features a full season of Off-Broadway productions written and directed by extraordinary theater artists. Current artists under commission are: Donnetta Lavinia Grays, Emily Kaczmarek, MJ Kaufman, Sylvia Khoury, Zoe Sarnak, and Leah Nanako Winkler. WP Theater received a 2018 Lucille Lortel Award, a 2019 Obie Award, both for Outstanding Body of Work, and a 2020 Special Drama Desk recognizing WP and its founder, Julia Miles. As the premier launching pad for some of the most influential artists in theater, television, and film, our work has a significant impact on the field. Nearly every notable female theater artist has been through our doors, including: 2019 Tony Winner Rachel Chavkin; two-time Pulitzer Prize Winner Lynn Nottage, 2018 Pulitzer Prize Winner Martyna Majok; 2018 MacArthur “Genius” Grant Winner Dominique Morisseau; 2013 Tony Winner Pam MacKinnon; and 2013 Tony Winner Diane Paulus. At WP, these powerful women found an early artistic home and are a testament to our role as a driving cultural force. When we say Women+ we mean people who are cis women, trans, non-binary, or gender-nonconforming people, and all gender identities which have been systematically oppressed throughout history in the theater and beyond. |
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| Link | http://WPTHEATER.ORG |
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