A New Play by Susan Bernfield

Directed by: Alexandra Aron

June 26th - July 19th

The Vital Theatre Company, a non-profit company now in its fifth season, is proud to present Out From Under It, the premiere of a new play by Susan Bernfield. Alexandra Aron directs. This production will play a special limited run from Thursday, June 26th through Saturday, July 19th at the Vital Theatre Company (432 West 42nd Street, 2nd Floor). Official Opening Night is set for Tuesday, July 1st at 8:00 PM.

In Out From Under It, Joanna thinks too much and works too much, and dates too little, when she falls in the snow and doesn't wake up for three years. Now she's up, and just wants to get back to normal. But normal is so strange these days -- and why is it still snowing? Tuned to an unfamiliar clock, Joanna learns to navigate being awake.

Playwright Susan Bernfield 's Barking Girl will workshopped this summer at the O'Neill Theater Center's National Playwrights' Conference. Out From Under It enjoyed developmental readings at Playwrights Horizons, Mill Mountain Theater and New Georges. Other full-length works include Nice Chair, produced by New Georges at Walkerspace and Tracy Petunia, featured in the Magic Theater's Script-in-Hand series. Her plays have been finalists for PlayLabs at the Playwrights Center and Mill Mountain Theater's New Play Competition. She has presented her solo work at Dixon Place, HERE Arts Center and the San Francisco Fringe Festival and is currently at work on a solo musical with composer Jenny Giering and director Daniella Topol. Susan is founder and artistic director of New Georges, a nonprofit theater company that has produced and developed new plays by women in New York City since 1992. There, she has produced 25 new plays and 12 festivals of new work, received an Obie Award for Artistic Achievement and written the introduction to Women Playwrights: The Best Plays of 2002 (Smith & Kraus). She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A.R.T./New York).

Director Alexandra Aron’s New York credits include Rob Urbinati’s Karaoke Night at the Suicide Shack (Queens Theater in the Park), Eloise and Ray by Stephanie Fleishmann (New Georges, Village Voice Season Highlight 2000-01), Bei Nacht - A Klezmer Musical, composed by Frank London / book and lyrics by Glen Berger (La Mama, Julliard), Vinegar Tom by Caryl Churchill (Third Eye, NYC) and the world premiere of Glen Berger’s Great Men of Science (Access Theater and Curican Theater). Seattle productions include Dark Ride by Len Jenkin and Salome (Annex Theater). She directed the world premiere of The Mole’s Dance by Mohammad Kamel Jabr in Arabic (Assiraj Theater in Ramallah, Palestine) as well as No Second Troy by Karen Hartman in Jerusalem. She also directed As You Like It for Shakeperience Productions this Winter. She is a member of the Women’s Project & Productions Artistic Leadership Forum as well as WP&P’s Directing Forum, Lincoln Center Theater Directing Lab and serves on the Kitchen Cabinet for New Georges Theater. Alexandra will be directing The Reign in Spain as part of Peculiar Works Project’s Don Quixote at HERE in the Fall.

Out From Under It features Addie Johnson (MCC, Soho Rep, NYTW, Rattlestick, Berkeley Rep) as “Joanna,” Christy Meyer (Target Margin, EST, Williamstown Theatre Festival), Saxon Palmer (Roundabout Theatre, Naked Angels, New York Stage & Film, etc.), Pamela Dunlop (Pittsburgh Public Playhouse, NYTW, Joyce Theatre), Camilla Ender (Drama League, Syracuse Stage, Hangar Theatre), Alison Weller (Joe's Pub, La Jolla Playhouse, NJ Shakespeare Festival). This production includes Scenic Design by Lauren Helpern, Lighting Design by Diane Fairchild and Costumes by Oana Ban.

Now in its fifth season, Vital Theatre Company's main stage has seen 12 full-length productions, five short-play series and seven installments of Vital Signs Festival of New Work. Vital also presents five Vital Children's Theatre productions each year and tours as well. Over 25,000 people have experienced a Vital play. This year, a Vital Theatre production is featured on Ellis Island where over 30,000 visitors are expected. Vital Theatre Company is a three-time winner of the Off-Off Broadway Review's Award for Excellence. It was also named the 2002 Theatre Company of the Year by the New York Theatre Experience. Founded in 1999, Vital Theatre Company’s mission is to provide a home where the creative impulses of theatre artists can be nurtured and explored.

Out From Under It will play as follows at the Vital Theatre Company: Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00 PM. PLEASE NOTE: Performance schedule for July 4th week varies. Dark Thursday, July 4th through Tuesday, July 8th. Performances resume on Wednesday, July 9th. Special added performance on Sunday, July 13th at 8:00 PM.