Contact: Judd Hollander & Cynthia
Leathers
Bunch of People Press & Publicity
/ 212-242-1648 / BNCHPEOP@AOL.COM
A Restless Spirit and Broken
Archeologist Find Rebirth
in Ankhst -A Transcendent Drama about a
Forgotten Pharaoh
Beginning February 17th at the
American Theatre of Actors
A man born way too
soon, who could only speak to the future. Such was Akhnaton, ruler of
ancient Egypt circa 1360 B.C., whose vision harmonized humanity with
nature, in Clarinda Karpov's time-spanning drama Ankhst.
Directed by Ted Mornel, and produced
by the Alternative Theater of Manhattan,
this tale of dreams, loss and rebirth will begin performances on
February 17 at the Beckmann Theatre at the American Theatre of Actors, located
at 314 West
54th Street.
At an Egyptian dig in the late 1980s, Dr.
Alexandra Philips, an archeologist on her first excavation since recovering from
a nervous breakdown, uncovers a heretofore unknown burial chamber. As she probes
the mystery of the tomb, the imprisoned spirit of Akhnaton, the forgotten
husband
of Queen Nefertiti and the father of King Tut-Ankh-Amun, appears to her and shares his story of a time
when he held the world in his hands, before it was all cruelly ripped away. It’s
a feeling Alex herself remembers, as she is continually second-guessed about her
abilities to still do her job. Feeling an unexpected kinship with this lost
soul, yet craving a
return to academic heights, Alex is torn when Akhnaton's longing to be
at peace challenges her duty to science and her own career. But
can Alex, like Akhnaton, risk all to rise a phoenix from the ashes of her
life and be true to her own conscience above all else?
First produced in 1989, Ankhst tells the story of a man who
believed in the existence of only one god and who tried to teach his people new
ways of understanding long before they were ready -- an idea which put him
squarely in conflict with the priests of Egypt, who were determined not to lose
the power they tightly held. Told in a style which combines blank verse,
modern-day prose, incidental music and Near-Eastern dancing, the multi-ethnic
cast of Ankhst features: Maggie Alexander,
Seon Britton, Shelly Christian, Ryan F. Cupello,
Izzy
Durakovic, William York Hyde, Jharrel Jerome, Kendra Peters, Ann Saxman*, Alia
Thabit, Sly Turner*, Anwar Uddin, William J. Vila*, Joe Williams, and
Michael Young. Dancers: Cristina, Dena, Elisabeth, Rayhana, Sonziry. The set and
lighting is by the show's co-producer William York Hyde, and the chorography is
by Joe Williams. The production is an Equity Approved
Showcase.
Clarinda Karpov's plays have been
produced regionally; in England; in
New York
City (Expanded Arts
Summer One-Act Festival, New York International Fringe Festival); and nationally
(three plays in KVNO-FM's TekniKolour Radio series, broadcast
by National Public Radio). Karpov is the artistic director of
performance troupe, How
Now! She conceived and co-created The Earl of Southampton's
Fair, a Renaissance Arts Festival at the ruin of
England's Titchfield Abbey,
home of Shakespeare's patron, the probable "young man of the
sonnets." The Fair has since blossomed into an annual Shakespeare
festival. Karpov writes, acts, directs, and performs as a
musician.
Ted Mornel is considered one of the pioneers of the off-off
B’way movement, having worked at such seminal theaters as Cafe Cino, White
Masque, Theater Crossroads, Bastiano’s Playwrights Workshop, Playbox Studio and
many more. The playwrights he has worked with include Robert Patrick, Lanford
Wilson, Michael Mathias, Michael McGrinder and Donald Kvares. He has premiered
over 200 new plays, including Secrets by Gerald Zipper which played in the
summer of 2006 off-B’way, at Theater at St. Luke’s. He directed a revival of
Driving Miss Daisy in Jersey City and the world premiere of Joel Shatzky’s Girls
of Summer at the Impact Theatre. His body of work has earned him inclusion
in Don Marguis' Who's Who In American
Theater.
Running through March 6th, Ankhst will be performed at Beckmann
Theatre at the American Theatre of Actors, located at
314 West
54th Street (between 8th & 9th Avenues) on the 2nd Floor.
Show times are Thursday-Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $18.00 for adults and $13.00 for
students and seniors. Tickets can be ordered by calling 212-868-4444 or at www.smarttix.com. Further information can
be found at www.ankhst.com. Members of the press are
invited to all performances
The Saturday, February 19th performance
will be a benefit for the Amarna Project,
which is devoted to the exploration, preservation and study of the ancient Egyptian city of Tell el-Amarna (or
simply Amarna), which was the short-lived capital built by the Pharaoh Akhenaten
and which was abandoned shortly after his death (c. 1332
BCE). Information:
www.amarnaproject.com
There will also be a special
performance of Ankhst on Saturday, March 12th at
7:30pm at the New York Open Center, located at 22 East 30th Street, (between 5th
& Madison Avenues). Tickets for this performance are $16.00 for members,
$18.00 for non-members. Reservations: 212-219-2527, ext. 2 or www.opencenter.org.
Information for Listing
Editors
WHAT:
Ankhst
By Clarinda
Karpov
Directed by Ted
Mornel
Sets/Lighting by William York
(co-producer)
Choreography by Joe
Williams
Featuring: Maggie Alexander,
Seon Britton, Shelly Christian, Ryan F. Cupello,
Izzy
Durakovic, William York Hyde, Jharrel Jerome, Kendra Peters, Ann Saxman*, Alia
Thabit, Sly Turner*, Anwar Uddin, William J. Vila*, Joe Williams, and
Michael Young.
Dancers: Cristina,
Dena, Elisabeth, Rayhana, Sonziry
An Equity Approved
Showcase
Synopsis:
In 1980s
Egypt, Dr. Alexandra Phillips, a once-respected
archeologist, now recovering from a nervous breakdown, uncovers an ancient tomb.
As she tries to uncover the secret of the crypt, the spirit of the pharaoh
Akhnaton appears to her and shows her a time long-forgotten, when he held the
world in his hands and had the chance to change the course of history. This
drama about rebirth and beginning again was first staged in
1989.
WHERE:
Beckmann
Theatre
American Theatre of
Actors
2nd
Floor
314 West 54th Street (between 8th
& 9th Avenues)
(Please note: the theatre is
wheelchair accessible)
WHEN:
February 17th-March
6th
Thursday-Saturday at 8pm
Sunday at 3pm.
TICKETS:
$18.00 for
adults
$13.00 for students and seniors
Saturday, February 19th
performance will be a benefit for the Amarna
Project, http://www.amarnaproject.com
RESERVATIONS:
212-868-4444 or at www.smarttix.com.
Members of the press are invited to all
performances
INFORMATION:
www.ankhst.com
SUBWAY
INFO:
Take the A, C or E train to
50th
Street
or the A, C, B, D or 1 train to
59th
Street
There will also be a special performance on
Saturday, March 12th at 7:30pm at the New York Open Center, located at 22 East 30th
Street,
(between 5th & Madison Avenues). Tickets for this performance are $16.00 for
members, $18.00 for non-members. Reservations: 212-219-2527, ext. 2 or www.opencenter.org.
* - member of Actors'
Equity
*
*
*
If
you have received this email in error, or would like to be removed from our
list, please reply to this message with “” . You
will be promptly remove