"FRAGMENTS, A LIVE AUDIO STORY" TO RETURN FOR 12 PERFORMANCES ONLY THIS MAY

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Michael Jorgensen
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

“FRAGMENTS
A LIVE AUDIO STORY”

TO RETURN FOR 12 PERFORMANCES ONLY
MAY 1-2, 8-9, AND 15-16

LIVE DANCE, VIDEO PROJECTIONS, ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS, AND A TIMELESS STORY
FULLY ENGULF THIS
LIVE ART EXPERIENCE

TRAILER, PHOTOS, AND ARTWORK AVAILABLE HERE


New York, NY (April 8, 2021) – The performance art piece Fragments, a live audio story will return this spring, playing three successive weekends in May. Featuring a stunning array of live dance, video projections, original composition, and a timeless story, Fragments has been adapted in accordance with current New York State health guidelines. For tickets and more information, please visit www.MandieRapoza.com/Fragments.

Through the fog of Alzheimer's, Austrian-born Herta wrestles with the foundational moments of her past, including a childhood involvement with the Hitler Youth. Through interactions with her caregiver, her estranged daughter, and her own fractured memories, Herta is forced to confront deep-held regrets and hard truths left unspoken. Fragments centers on one fundamental question: "How much of ourselves must give to the ones we love?"

Fragments premiered at Dixon Place to a sold-out audience in the summer of 2019. Originally produced as a dance/theater fusion piece, it was adapted in November 2020 to be presented in the current, deeply changed, COVID-19 world. Now, rather than a traditional narrative, the production has been reimagined as a live audio installation, supplemented with two live dancers and projected video content. Audiences will get to experience Fragments in a brand new, deeply intimate way, with the soundscape and original musical score serving as the primary design element.

Fragments will play Saturdays and Sundays at 6:00pm and 7:30pm, on May 1-2, May 8-9, and May 15-16, at Liberated Fitness (1005 Columbus Avenue). In accordance with New York State guidelines, all performances will accommodate socially distanced seating at a maximum of 10 people per performance, with face coverings required for everyone including performers, as well as a contactless temperature check upon arrival and health questionnaire in order to get into the building.

Tickets, priced $20-25, are available for purchase by visiting fragments.ticketleap.com/fragments. Private pod performances, priced at $300 for up to 10 guests, can be arranged on the days of existing performances by emailing fragmentstickets@gmail.com. A portion of all proceeds will benefit the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

Conceived, directed, and choreographed by Mandie Rapoza, Fragments is written by Brian Kettler and features an entirely original score by Kate Marlais, with videography by Julia Discenza, sound design and engineering by Maxine Gutierrez, and lighting design by Riley Cavanaugh.

The piece features live dance performances by Hannah Balagot and Celia Mei Rubin (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812), with virtual appearances from Autumn Hurlbert (Legally Blonde, runner-up “The Search for Elle Woods”), Patrick John Moran (Something Rotten! tour), Sophie Lee Morris (Dirty Dancing tour), James Patterson (Gigi), Jennifer Smith (Anastasia), and Oumou Traore.

For more information, please visit www.MandieRapoza.com/Fragments.


BIOGRAPHIES

MANDIE RAPOZA (Director/Choreographer/Creator). Mandie's performance and creative work has played on stages from London to LA including Broadway, National Tours and downtown New York theatres. Originally from London, Mandie moved to NYC in 2012. She was the 2016 SDCF Traube Fellow, and worked under the mentorship of Casey Nicholaw. Select credits include Something Rotten! (1st National Tour, Dance Captain), You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown (The York Theatre, Assistant Director), The Parlor (SOHO Rep, Movement Director), Flocking (The Old Vic Tunnels, ensemble), and Pandemic Voices (Choreographer/ Artistic Director, UptownWorks NYC). This March, Mandie was Artist in Residence at New Dance Alliance, working on a new piece exploring The American dream.

BRIAN KETTLER (Playwright) was a Resident Playwright at The Flea Theater for the past two years. He was a finalist for the 2020 Nickelodeon Writing Program and a former recipient of the Oregon Literary Fellowship in Drama. His full-length plays include: Lyla School 3 (UTNT, Austin, TX), Fragments (Dixon Place, NYC), and Poor Boys’ Chorus (Broadway Bound Festival, NYC). He earned his MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas-Austin. In Portland, Brian has worked for several arts education organizations, including Literary Arts Writers in the Schools, Oregon Children’s Theatre Young Playwrights for Change, The Red Door Project and Playwrite Inc.

KATE MARLAIS (Composer) is a composer, writer, musician and performer based in London. She gained a Music degree with Composition major from King’s College London, and recently was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music for her work in music. She was the 2018-19 Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer at Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. Recent composer credits include Anahera (Finborough Theatre; Composer); Abandon (Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith; nominated for Best Composer Stage Debut Award). Own projects currently in development include I Cannot Make Noise When I Scream in collaboration with Luke Brown Dance Company (workshop at Lyric, Hammersmith) – project’s concept album released soon. Other recent work in music includes Enter Achilles (DV8/Rambert Ballet); Musik (Jonathan Harvey/Pet Shop Boys); The Niceties (Finborough Theatre; Sound Designer); Chorus of Others (Frantic Assembly, National Theatre), Princess (Luke Brown Dance Company, National Theatre); Leave To Remain (Kele Okereke - Bloc Party, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith); For You I Long the Longest (Luke Brown Dance Company, Tour), Fatherland (Frantic Assembly/Karl Hyde Underworld, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith & Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester).

HANNAH BALAGOT (Live Dance Performer) (she/her) is an actor, dancer, and singer of mixed Filipino and Eastern European descent. She believes art is a way to investigate how we are connected and that by seeing ourselves more clearly, we can cultivate a path to healing. She has performed and collaborated to develop dance/movement based theatre, musical theatre, plays, and short films. Hannah loves to delve into storytelling mediums that blur traditional lines and her work has been seen on major US and international stages. Hannah grew up dancing in the San Francisco Bay Area then graduated from UC Irvine with a BFA in Music Theatre, Honors in Acting. She is based in NYC and can talk your ears off about her favorite authors, her students, or her Toni Collette fandom.

CELIA MEI RUBIN (Live Dance Performer). Broadway: A Christmas Carol; Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812; Matilda. West End: Parade, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Candide. Favorite touring: Chicago as Hunyak (U.S. national). Favorite regional: A Chorus Line as Val (TUTS Houston). Cast albums: Parade (OLC), Matilda (OBC), The Great Comet(OBC). Other appearances: Tony Awards, Olivier Awards, “Good Morning America,” “The Late Show with David Letterman.” Love: Mom, Dad, Joyce, Victor. @celia_mei

JENNIFER SMITH (Virtual Artist). 15 Broadway shows including original companies of La Cage, The Producers, The Drowsy Chaperone, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, and Tuck Everlasting. Film and television: “Law and Order: SVU” and “Criminal Intent,” “High Maintenance,” Dead Beat, and Skeleton Twins. Lubbock, Texas native and proud Actor’s Equity Association member.


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www.MandieRapoza.com/Fragments
Instagram: @FragmentsLive

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