ECCENTRIC THEATER COMPANY PRESENTS

A developmental workshop production of:

Fuck la vie d’artiste

A play by Georgette Kelly

Directed by Chelsea Anderson-Long

JULY 5, 2015 -- NEW YORK, NY: ECCENTRIC THEATER COMPANY (producer of ZAMBONI, the sold-out hit from NYC Fringe 2016 and Fringe Encore Series) will produce a developmental workshop production of Georgette Kelly’s Fuck la vie d’artiste, fresh off a reading in the 2017 Source Festival in Washington, D.C. Fuck la vie d’artiste features NAYIB FELIX (I and You, The Next State Theater), HANNAH KARPENKO (The Wondrous Strange, 40th Humana Festival), and MOUNA R’MIKI (Benghazi Bergen-Belsen, La Mama ETC).

 What does it mean when your own country sees you as an outsider? France, 2005: Zenab is an aspiring French-Moroccan artist, stuck giving tours of the room where Vincent Van Gogh died. When Vincent’s ghost begins to speak to her, she finds herself torn between her art and Avery, the American woman she’s fallen in love with. Meanwhile, riots explode near Paris after two young men of color are killed in a police chase. Zenab joins the riots, easel in hand, to paint her own version of France—one that digs deeper than the postcard-perfect veneer sold to tourists. Based on the true story of Bouna Traoré, 15 and Zyed Benna, 17, whose deaths inspired weeks of sustained rioting across France.

“This play is the encapsulation of everything the modern American theater should be,” says director Chelsea Anderson-Long. “The events in this play echo contemporary issues in the U.S., including police violence against young men of color, antagonistic sentiments against immigrants from Muslim-majority African and Middle Eastern nations, and social and economic inequalities. Additionally, where women and people of color are often left out of the traditional LGBT theater canon, it puts a queer, intercultural relationship between two young women on stage.”

Scenic Design by DAN DALY (The Good Girl, Joyseekers Theater @ 59E59), Projection Design by MATTHEW WASSER (At Home in Gaza and London, Brentford Arts Centre), Lighting Design by JENN BURKHARDT (Assistant Lighting Designer, LA Opera).

Fuck la vie d’artiste workshop runs July 26-30, 2017 at Theater 54 @ Shetler Studios (244 W 54th St, New York, NY 10019) Performances are Wednesday - Saturday at 8PM; Sunday at 2PM. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at EccentricTheaterCompany.com/fva. Group Tickets (8+) are $20 each. Student and Artist Tickets are $15 each.

GEORGETTE KELLY (Playwright) is a playwright based in Chicago and New York. She received the inaugural Hope on Stage Playwriting Award and is a resident of Chicago Dramatists. Her work has appeared on The Kilroys List and at The Kennedy Center, NNPN, The Source Festival, terraNOVA Collective, Taffety Punk, Diversionary Theatre, and DCASE. She has also been a finalist at the O’Neill, The Lark, the Goodman Playwrights Unit, and the Alliance/Kendeda Playwriting Competition. Georgette’s plays include: Ballast, In the Belly of the Whale, I Carry Your Heart, F*ck la vie d’artiste, how to hero, and an adaptation of Jeanette Winterson’s Lighthousekeeping. GeorgetteKelly.com.

CHELSEA ANDERSON-LONG (Director) Chelsea Anderson-Long is an New York based freelance director with an interest in developing new plays, especially plays written by and for women. NYC directing credits: Like Forever (Ruddy Productions), Petting Zoo Story (Short Play and Musical Festival), Lunchtime at Westfeld High (Artistic New Directions), Devil's Food Cake, Spriggy and Manx (The Bakery), Strays, Family Business, (Open Tent Theater Company). She has directed readings at New Jersey Repertory Theater, Urban Stages Theater, and Hudson Theatre Works. She holds a B.A. in Theater Arts and a M.S. in Professional Communications from Clark University. ChelseaAndersonLong.com

MOUNA R’MIKI (Zenab) is an actor, writer, producer, and dialect/language coach, working on various multicultural and multilingual projects. She has performed at La MaMa ETC, Signature, Skirball Center of Perf. Arts, Dixon Place, JACK, Theaterlab, Bushwick Starr, Kraine Theater, among others. She co-wrote, co-produced & acted in Nowhere/Now Here directed by John Gould Rubin & Kat Yen. Film: Writer, co-producer and actor in The Green Lottery, Sara in The Guest (Festival circuit: "Special Mention Award of Merit " at the LA Best Shorts Competition / Castell Award at the Barcelona Film Festival); SAGA (Tangier Film Festival official selection) / TV-: “La Recette de l'Amour” (2M TV Morocco).

HANNAH KARPENKO (Avery) holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Nazareth College and is a former member of the Professional Training Company at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Previous credits include: Wondrous Strange (40th Humana Festival), Dracula, Lost Weekend (Actors Theatre of Louisville), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Geva Theatre), and Rent, Les Misérables (Bristol Valley Theatre). She was also the first winner of the Region 2 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Musical Theatre Initiative Award.

NAYIB FELIX (Vincent Van Gogh / Voyou) Favorite credits include Anthony in I and You with THE NEXT STAGE and Metellus Cimber in Julius Caesar at the Penn State School of Theatre. He has also contributed to the web-series “Platonic Love” and films such as Ballistic: Rogue and Wax Lover’s Playlist. He has recently trained at THE ACTING STUDIO and is honored to have been chosen as an apprentice at the Actors Theatre of Louisville.

ECCENTRIC THEATER COMPANY (Producer) is a collection of artists dedicated to pushing the boundaries of a standard theater company. We believe that the lines between different facets of art are currently too rigid, and we aspire to create a space where an audience member can experience a play, a jazz club, an art gallery, and sometimes all three at the same time! ETC. combines the fast-paced nature of professional artistic work with the warm environment of community theater to produce skillful art created with love. ETC. also stands for etcetera. There are no limits to what etcetera can stand for, and there are no limits to the types of art we hope to produce. If you can create it, we want to showcase it. EccentricTheaterCompany.com