[Capdist-announce] New Works Festival Will Cap Ancram Opera House Summer Season

[Lauren Letellier]

*FOR IMMEDIATELY RELEASE*

*July 27, 2023*



Contact: Lauren Letellier

917-747-5250

pr at ancramoperahouse.org



*The Plein Air Plays Will Cap Ancram Opera House’s Summer Season of All-New
Works*



Ancram Opera House will cap its 2023 Summer Season with three captivating
new works written for specific outdoor sites in bucolic Ancram, NY. Audiences
will travel between locations to experience these self-contained plays in
immersive environments that enhance their stories. The Plein Air Play
series runs Thursday through Sunday, Aug 10-13 & Aug. 17-20, with two
showings each evening. Each play in the triptych runs approximately 20-25
minutes; the total performance experience, including travel, is 90-100
minutes. Showtimes vary; for tickets and information visit
www.ancramoperahouse.org.



The three new works are:



*Giving up the Ghosts, *written and performed by Salty Brine. A gravedigger
in a small town finds himself trapped in an existential crisis that has him
contemplating everything from love to philosophy to dead pets in his search
for the answer to life’s biggest question.



*Made in Pakistan, *written by Mukta Phatak and performed by Abuzar Farrukh.
 A soccer coach meditates on family, connection, and his relationship to
the land as he gets ready for an important game.



*Summer, *written by Barbara Wiechmann and performed by Martina Deignan and
Glenn Barrett. On a summer evening, sitting under a tree, an older couple
argue bitterly over differing versions of the story of their marriage.



“If we’ve pursued a theme this season, it’s that we’ve focused exclusively
on nurturing and growing new work, taking our inspiration from our area’s
bountiful farming community,” said Paul Ricciardi, Co-Director of Ancram
Opera House. “All of this season’s productions, from “You are Not the
Lonely One” to “The Lucky Few” to The Plein Air Plays are
works-in-development by exceptional theatre artists who are not often seen
in our area. The artists get the time and space to cultivate their pieces
in Ancram and then, we hope, will take their work out into the world to
flourish.”



*Plein Air Plays Plus Benefit Performances*

Ancram Opera House will host two special benefit performances at 4:30pm on
Saturday Aug. 12 & 19. The evening will start with prosecco at the site of
“Made in Pakistan,” be followed by a performance of all three plays, and
end with cocktails and supper for 6-8 in a private home.



“These special benefit performances are an opportunity for us to connect
with our audience of theater enthusiasts and collectively celebrate vibrant
arts in our community,” said Jeffrey Mousseau, Co-Director of Ancram Opera
House. For benefit tickets, visit ancramoperahouse.org.



*About the Artists*



*MUKTA PHATAK* is a writer/performer/educator living in NYC. Her play
adaptation of the Newbery Award winning book *The Night Diary *was
commissioned by the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte and premiered there in
March 2023. As an actor she has worked on projects as varied as
fringe-devised plays, indie plays, large scale musicals, and TYA shows. She
graduated from Bucknell University with a B.A. in Theatre. Member: Actors
Equity Association

*SALTY BRINE *is a New York-based cabaret artist, writer, and actor. He is
the creative force behind The Living Record Collection, a series of cabaret
performances that weave together iconic, popular albums with major cultural
touchstones from classic literature to opera and beyond. Additional
performance credits: *The Elementary Spacetime Show* (Are Nova, FringeArts);
 *Clown Bar* (Pipeline Theatre Company, The Box); Taylor Mac's *The Lily’s
Revenge *(HERE).  www.thesaltiestbrine.com


*BARBARA WIECHMANN*’s work has been produced in New York City at P.S. 122,
The Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, BACA Downtown,
HERE, the Ohio Theatre, The Samuel Beckett Theatre, at the Edinburgh,
Seattle, Toronto, and Philadelphia Fringe Festivals, and at colleges and
universities around the country. She is a Hamilton College graduate.



*ABUZAR FARRUKH* is an actor, born and raised in Lahore, Pakistan. This is
Abuzar's third project with Ancram Opera House, having performed in
*Invasion! *and Crystal Radio Sessions in 2022. Select credits:  *Disgraced
(*Chester Theatre Company), *The Night Diary *(Children's Theatre Of
Charlotte), *Refugee* (Joakim Interfest, Serbia), *Mitigating Damages*
(Castillo
Theatre), *Much Ado About Nothing* (Brown Box Theatre Project). He holds a
BA in Theatre from UMass Amherst, where he was the recipient of the Ed
Golden Acting Award.



*GLENN BARRETT* has been performing since 1969. In New York at La Mama
ETC., The Manhattan Theatre Club, The Westbeth Theatre and in The New York
Shakespeare Festival’s Tony Award winning revival of Threepenny Opera.
Regionally with Long Wharf Theater, Great Barrington Public Theater,
Barrington Stage. A founding member of the Berkshire Public Theater he
toured throughout Germany as guests of Ensemble Remsheid. In Shakespeare &
Company’s production of Golden Leaf Ragtime Blues, he was nominated for a
Berkshire Critics Award.



*MARTINA DEIGNAN* has been a professional actor working in film,
television, and on stage in

New York and Los Angeles for many years. She is also a playwright and
member of

Howl Playwrights in Rhinebeck where three of her plays have been developed
and

read. Member: AEA, SAG-AFTRA, The Dramatists Guild.



The Plein Air Plays are generously sponsored by Taconic Ridge Farm in
Hillsdale, NY.



Ancram Opera House is an award-winning theater located in New York's Hudson
Valley. Housed in an historic Grange Hall, AOH has since 2016 presented
prestige work by nationally recognized theater artists. AOH receives annual
support from the New York State Council on the Arts and in 2023 was awarded
a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. For more
information visit www.ancramoperahouse.org.



Direct link to show page:
https://www.ancramoperahouse.org/plein-air-plays-2023

Direct link to Plein Air Plays Plus page:
https://www.ancramoperahouse.org/plein-air-plus





#  #  #


[image: Made in Pakistan. Abukar.Farrukh.jpg]

Made in Pakistan, written by Mukta Phatak, performed by Azubar Farrukh


[image: Giving Up the Ghosts.jpg]

Giving Up the Ghosts, written and performed by Salty Brine



[image: Summer.jpg]

Summer, written by Barbara Weichmann, performed by Martina Deignan and
Glenn Barrett
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