The Neurodiverse Theatre Company Actionplay to Present a New Musical Comedy
The Surface (or, That One Time Atlantis Washed Up on the Beach)
Two performances – Saturday, May 14 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 15 at 2 pm at the Baruch College Performing Arts Center
Actionplay, a theatre company dedicated to providing autistic, neurodivergent, and disabled teens and young adults equal access to the theatre-making process, is pleased to announce their next production, the new musical comedy The Surface (or, That One Time Atlantis Washed Up On the Beach).
The Surface was developed through improvisation by an ensemble of young Actionplay autistic artists who are part of the company’s Action-Improv Musical Series. The Surface was created in collaboration with Broadway musical director Or Matias, who composed the music, and award-winning autistic writer Jackson Tucker-Meyer who created the lyrics. The production is directed by Executive Director and Actionplay Founder Aaron Feinstein.
The production will have two performances on Saturday, May 14 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 15 at 2 pm at Baruch College Performing Arts Center in New York City. Running time: 90 minutes.
Director Aaron Feinstein shared his thoughts on the upcoming production, “Actionplay is incredibly excited to perform live on stage for the first time in two years! Our neurodivergent cast devised “The Surface,” which was composed by the incomparable Or Matias, Music Director of “Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” and brilliant neurodivergent playwright Jackson Tucker-Meyer who recently received a Marvels of Media award for his mockumentary “Satan Cured My Autism!” Or wrote the music, and Jackson wrote the lyrics based on the improvisations during our stay-at-home workshops over zoom. It’s great to be back!”
The cast features Nico Corrao, Adelaide DeSole, Ethan Donn, Sam Drezner, Ben Dworken, Samantha Elisofon, Carol Frye, Lev Garfein, Patrik Gelbart, Sandy Karpe, Maximilian Moore, Georgina Ruiz, Jackson Sinatra, Lexi Spindel, Jackson Tucker-Meyer, and David Wayne.
The creative team includes assistant director Kate Trammell, assistant music director Casey Reed, choreography by Kimberly Hale, costume/prop design by Diane Jones and Jane Licata, lighting design by Julie Trudden, sound design by Dante DeSole, projection/animation design by Grant Duffrin, graphic/poster design by Sean Devare, and stage management by Dahlia Ramsay. Volunteer production support, Ben Dworken, Samantha Elisofon, and Jackson Sinatra.
Performances occur on Saturday, May 14 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 15 at 2 pm at the Engelman Recital Hall at Baruch College Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010 (enter from 25th Street, between Lexington and 3rd Avenue). Tickets are $25 for general admission, available at www.actionplay.org.
Actionplay is an NYC-based 501(c)(3) programming, outreach, and education organization dedicated to providing autistic, neurodivergent, and disabled teens and adults equal access to education, arts, and culture. Actionplay helps develop life skills in a fun-filled and supportive environment where participants thrive. Actionplay strives to build a more inclusive world through our innovative programs, outreach, training, and professional development.
BIOGRAPHIES
Jackson Tucker-Meyer (lyrics)
Actionplay’s Program Manager is a fabulously autistic writer, theatre artist, filmmaker, and educator. Jackson’s film Satan Cured My Autism won Best Mockumentary at the Museum of the Moving Image’s inaugural Marvels of Media Awards in 2022. Jackson’s play Banana Guy and Banana Girl with Banana Dreamz in a Krazy World was part of Roundabout Theatre Company’s inaugural Reverb Theatre Arts Festival.
Jackson is a graduate of the Teaching Artist Project and the Teaching Artist Training Institute and has worked as a teaching artist with the Sarah Lawrence College Theatre Outreach Program, Kaiser’s Room, and the Actionplay Neurodivergent Playwriting Lab, a program which Jackson first conceived, designed, and taught in 2021. www.jacksontuckermeyer.com
Or Matias (composer)
Or Matias is an Obie award-winning composer, lyricist, orchestrator, and music director based in NYC. Or has worked extensively with Josh Groban, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Ingrid Michaelson, Phillipa Soo, Dave Malloy, Rachael Yamagata, Rachel Chavkin, and tap dancer Andrew Nemr, and countless others. Or was the music director and conductor for the hit Broadway musical Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, which was nominated for 12 Tony awards. Other select music directors and music supervisor credits include Octet at the Signature Theater (NYT Critic’s Pick; Obie Award), for which he also produced the cast album (released by Nonesuch Records and Warner Music Group); First Daughter Suite at the Public Theater (NYT Critic’s Pick); Preludes at Lincoln Center, in which he also co-starred as Sergei Rachmaninoff (Lortel Award nomination); and Moby Dick at A.R.T. (Elliot Norton Award nomination).
Or’s original musical, The Wave, received its world premiere at the prestigious Landestheater Linz in 2020 and won top prizes at the 2021 Germany Tony Awards, including ‘Best Musical,’ ‘Best Score,’ and ‘Best Book’. Or was a member of the 2020 New Dramatists Composer-Librettist Studio and the 2019 Composer-in-Residence at the venerated SPACE on Ryder Farm. He holds a BM from The Juilliard School and an MFA from NYU. Or is a Yamaha Artist.
- www.ormatiasmusic.com
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- www.instagram.com/actionplayarts
- www.twitter.com/actionplayarts
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