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Stories to Get Us Through the Night

Isabelle Smith

February 16 - February 25

$20

Brick Aux presents
Stories to Get Us Through the Night
by Isabelle Smith
February 16-25, 2024
at Brick Aux – 628 Metropolitan Ave

What kinds of stories do you want to hear at the end of the world? Stories to Get Us Through the Night, is a play about storytelling and the end of the world in which the audience members use candlelight to determine which of four distinct endings is enacted on the characters.

Isabelle Smith, playwright
Erin Gray, director
Eliana Gershon, assistant director/stage manager
Naomi Schiller, producer
Alexandra Wilensky, costume design and styling
with
Naomi A. Jackson as Someone
Lydia Sims as The One
Billy Bates as Anyone
KCA as The First Teller

Produced by The Living Room

Stories to Get Us Through the Night, is a play with multiple endings in which the audience members use candles to determine which of four distinct endings is enacted on the characters. The story follows three storytellers at a makeshift academy 20 years after an apocalyptic event. People now live in semi-nomadic groups, depending on a “teller” to share stories that help them fall asleep at night. There are two points during the show when the audience members use their candles to choose between stories, choosing to illuminate or obscure what they hear. We ask “who are you to tell me what kind of stories I want to hear at the end of the world?”

Art by Eve Anderson

CW: floor seating (chairs will also be available), candles, darkness

Follow them: @thelivingroomzine

Candle Safety: Please be advised that the main source of light in the play will be candlelight from the audience. There are multiple moments in the play in which the audience will be asked to light or extinguish their candles and make choices to determine the course of the play. We ask that everyone be extremely mindful of their use of the candle, their personal space, and the space of those around them to make this successful. There will be vessels of water and sand available to the audience and our stage manager will be present in the space with additional fire safety equipment should any assistance be needed. If an audience member is uncomfortable participating with a candle they may opt out.
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Bios

Billy Bates (Anyone) is a transfemme nonbinary person born in Evanston, IL and raised here in New York City. They graduated from Colorado College in 2022 with a BA in Theater. Besides acting, Billy is a film photographer interested in moving light and painting with film. Inspired by artists such as photographer Saul Leiter, filmmaker Marie Menken, and sculptor Isamu Noguchi, as well as the aesthetics of Marcel Duchamp, John Cage, and Cy Twombly, Billy applies these approaches primarily to concert photography with improvised no-flash long and double exposures. They are also obsessively interested in 20th and 21st century music history and speculative fiction. They try to put all this mess into their acting without trying too hard to act. It’s a perpetual work in progress, and they love you. And hey look up those people mentioned above! It’s good for you!

Lydia Sims (The One) is extremely lit to be a part of this project. Previous acting credits include: How To Make Friends & Kill Them, HIR, and Gertie & Alice. Lydia is a recent graduate of Sarah Lawrence College where she spent a semester studying at The National Theatre Institute. At those places, she learned really helpful things like Chekhov and how to embody an egg frying on the ground. When she is not acting she is usually swimming, talking, eating, and dancing. Find me at lydiacsims.com

Naomi Jackson (Someone) was born from an egg after her father Venasaur met her mother Ditto in daycare. She’s been nominated for two Broadway World awards for her work with FUSE Theater Ensemble in Portland, Oregon. Her Instagram is @jaomi.nackson and her Venmo is @nalthea, just in case you wanted to kick her a couple bucks.

KCA (The First Teller) is an interdisciplinary artist based in New York City. 

Naomi Schiller (Producer) is an arts administrator and producer from the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently the administrative associate for the props department at the Metropolitan Opera and recently produced Joan of Arc in a Supermarket in California by Chloe Xtina in collaboration with The Tank. She was the Company Management Fellow for Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s ‘21-’22 season. Her experience also includes music video producing and script supervision as well as stage management, wardrobe coordination, costume design, and event facilitation with Berkeley Playhouse, Oakland Theater Project, and the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden. She graduated from Occidental College with a degree in sociology and gender studies.

Isabelle Smith (Playwright, Producer) is a game developer, playwright, and educator based in Brooklyn. She is currently in her first year of NYU’s game design MFA. She received her BA from UCLA’s theatre program, specializing in playwriting and arts education. Her fiction writing can be found in the Living Room Zine. She is the developer of Swallowed by the Subway and The Happiest Place to Give Birth, which you can play at imissmywisdomteeth.itch.io. 

Eliana Gershon (Stage Manager, Assistant Director) is thrilled to be a part of this wonderfully wacky and poignant project. Eliana’s most recent theatrical experience includes directing for the musical theater showcase at Hunter College, puppeteering a squirrel in an original play (also at Hunter College), and studying Meisner technique at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Acting this past summer. She also loves reading and writing poetry. Above all, Eliana believes in the profound power of theater to help us find meaning in the little connections we make with one another every day. 

Alex Wilensky (Costume Designer) is a gender-fluid nonbinary person born and raised in Los Angeles, California. From 2017 to 2021 they lived and went to school in Asheville, NC before moving to New York and attending Brooklyn College. They plan to transfer to fashion school in the upcoming fall semester. Alex is a writer, a tattoo artist, and above all else, a designer. Their main medium is crochet. They focus on large intricate handmade pieces that take up to a year to make, meant to give the maker and viewer a better understanding and appreciation for the hands behind every piece of clothing. They are immensely inspired by the marriage of revolution, storytelling, and fashion as exemplified by artists like Miguel Adrover, Allison Schulnik, and Eva Hesse. Alex’s main goal is activism through fashion design as they hope to help transform an industry that desperately needs it.

Erin Gray (Director) is a director and interdisciplinary artist from Berkeley, California. She received her BA from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film, and Television with a minor in art history. Erin loves to work on strange new work. Recent directing credits include Between Lightning and Thunder by Colette Shaw, Push Pull by Evelyn Coffey, I Build Giants by Ryan Stevens, and Galatea by Jacob Menke. Erin is fond of puppets, messy and tactile performances, site specificity, and collage. In New York, Erin works supporting productions at theaters including Performance Space New York, Target Margin Theatre, Stairwell Theater, and Mabou Mines. She is the creator of The Living Room, a collaborative zine and art collective.

***

The Brick is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. We rely on the generosity of our patrons. Consider giving a tax-deductible donation today to help make The Brick a sustainable hub of experimental performance for many years to come. Donate Here or Join Our Patreon

Mask Policy: The Brick strongly encourages but does not require masks for audience members. We are in ongoing conversation with our artists and audiences as we continue to adapt our covid policies and it is subject to change at any time. Thank you.

A Note on Accessibility: The Brick has trigger warnings posted in the space for each show for you to check if you so choose. If you would rather ask questions in advance of being in the space or would like to enter in advance of house opening due to our seating not being assigned, please reach out to theresa@bricktheater.com.

 

Details

Date:
February 16
Time:
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Cost:
$20
Website:
https://ci.ovationtix.com/122/production/1188978

Organizer

Isabelle Smith

Venue

Brick Aux
628 Metropolitan Ave
Brooklyn, 11211 United States
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