Elevator Repair Service Theater Inc

Programs: In the 2017 fiscal year (fy17), elevator repair service theater (ers) fulfilled its mission to create original works with an ongoing ensemble that explore and challenge the fundamentals of live performance. Highlights included: final rehearsals and work-in-progress showings of the company's new project based on william shakespeare's measure for measure; a seven-week run of the select (the sun also rises) at the shakespeare theatre company (washington, d. C. ), new work development on everyone's fine with virginia woolf, a new play written for ers by emerging playwright kate scelsa; an evening of performances at the bushwick starr hosted by ers, including the return of part one of no great society, last performed in 2006; educational programming via four weekend-long master classes that focused on erss theater-making process, and finally, the company's 25th anniversary, celebrated with a large-scale fundraising gala. ? Production ers enjoyed its longest out-of-town run ever when the shakespeare theatre company (stc) in washington, d. C. , presented the select (the sun also rises) february 8 april 2, 2017. The length of the engagement presented some challenges regarding casting, but ultimately proved to be a testament to erss nimble ensemble, and provided an opportunity to bring new performers into the fold. Newer company members were integrated with members of the original cast, and some roles were shared by multiple actors at different points throughout the run. This particular production helped strengthen erss growing presence in d. C. , with around 3,700 in attendance. Engagement opportunities with audiences were created with stc staff, including talk-backs with artistic director john collins, seminars and workshops on hemingway, and donor events with the select as the centerpiece. In the select, ers completed its trilogy tackling great american novels with a staging of parts of earnest hemingway's the sun also rises. Like erss renowned productions the sound and the fury and gatz, the play is not an adaptation; rather, ers stages with radical commitment hemingway's text verbatim. June 1315, 2017, ers presented the return of part 1 of no great society at the bushwick starr (brooklyn). No great society is a re-creation of jack kerouacs legendary appearance on william f. Buckley's political talk show the firing line. The topic that night was the hippies" and the program featured a hippie type, an academic expert on the movement, and a drunkenly raving kerouac. This revival of our original piece from 2006 headlined an eclectic program that also featured original short works by company members, ers interns, and friends from our downtown performance community. Three out of four of the performances during the three-day run were sold out, with nearly 240 in attendance. ? New play development ers, in partnership with the public theater, has created an original take on shakespeare's famously ambiguous measure for measure. It is fitting that, for its first foray into shakespeare, ers would choose a problem play. Problems, in the form of theatrically challenging source material, have always been erss primary inspiration. The company has created a body of work that surprises, illuminates and entertains. Measure for measure offers a feast of compelling problems to tackle for a company that has dedicated 25 years to experimenting with form while engaging unconventional sources. For the production, company member scott shepherd has created proprietary software that displays the plays text scrolling across monitors placed around the stage. Originally devised to give the actors freedom to move without scripts in hand, this teleprompter software has become a way to challenge them to perform sections of the play at radically different speeds - all based on a careful dramaturgical analysis of the text. For audiences, the compound effect of the dialogues visibility with the purposeful variation in the speed of its delivery enhances the piece's legibility. Two sold-out work-in-progress showings were held at access theater (manhattan) where ers enjoyed working as a company in residence throughout fy17. Two rehearsals at access were opened to presenters during the under the radar festival in january 2017, resulting in early interest from international and domestic presenters. The piece will have its world premiere at the public theater, with previews beginning september 18. The public has already extended the piece an additional week, through november 5th. In october 2016, work began on a brand new play written for ers by longtime company member and emerging playwright kate scelsa. Titled everyone's fine with virginia woolf, the piece is an insightful response to albee's classic who's afraid of virginia woolf? It serves as a feminist re-working of the familiar narrative that puts the ambitions of the play's iconic female lead, martha, at the forefront. Rather than conclude in her defeat at the hands of her husband, scelsas heroine triumphs in the end. A cast of five ers stalwarts (for whom the play was written) brings scelsas high-energy parody to life, deftly navigating complex yet timely issues of gender and sexuality. The overall effect is one of homage, de(con)struction and rebirth as albees 1962 play collides with 2017 feminist critique. Rehearsals continued into early december, culminating in two sold-out work-in-progress showings december 1718. Additional engagements followed, with readings as part of the greene space's 44 charlton variety show (manhattan), and at an event hosted by little city books (hoboken, nj). This new play turns erss usual collaborative process (drawing from non-theatrical source material and developing a piece as an ensemble over the course of 18-24 months) on its head. By allowing our embedded playwright to draw on her nearly 15 years with the company to write specific roles for her fellow ers members, we take on a more conventional process in a way that only a long-term ensemble can. ? Arts-in-education & engagement throughout fy17, ers continued to expand its theater making master class program. Given the success of offering two weekend-long sessions the last two years, we grew the program to include two additional weekends in fy17. A total of 71 participants attended the master classes, which were held at various locations in manhattan including access theater, primary stages studios, gibney dance studios, and lamama rehearsal studios. The goal of these master classes is to introduce our collaborative style and creative approach in an interactive setting with our audiences. In each two-day workshop, ers artistic director john collins and ensemble members lead participants in working with found material to offer an insiders perspective into the company's process of generating work based on raw material. John collins and ers company members also accepted invitations for shorter workshops and talks at various educational institutions, including pace university, davidson university (nc), rhodes college (memphis, tn), the pig iron school of theater (philadelphia), and friends seminary high school (manhattan). ? 25th anniversary fundraising initiatives fy17 marked erss 25th year as a company. To celebrate the occasion, the company hosted its first large-scale gala, held may 22nd at tribeca rooftop for a group of 265 guests. The evening's entertainment was emceed by stephen colbert, and included a retrospective performance by ers company members, remarks by actor/musician and longtime ers supporter steve martin as well as public theater artistic director oskar eustis, and a live auction. Advanced ticket sales and contributions to the event enabled ers to offer discounted or complimentary tickets to our ensemble members and other downtown artists. The early success of those sales, combined with contributions made during and after the event, provided over double the projected fundraising goal for ers.