Bushwick, are you ready to show-off your kitchens? PlayCo (the acclaimed Off-Broadway theatre production company) is seeking private and community kitchen spaces within all New York City boroughs to host the U.S. premiere of Amir Nizar Zuabi’s Oh My Sweet Land – an intimate one-woman play inspired by stories of Syrian refugees and their resilient spirits. Starring the German-Syrian actress Nadine Malouf, the performances will be exclusive – averaging around ten audience members per show. The producers hope to secure approximately 25 large, open-plan kitchens to host in September and October 2017.
“The play has been presented around the world varying in degrees of production, including staged readings and full productions,” PlayCo’s Director of Marketing Michael Yuen-Killick tells Bushwick Daily. “This will be the U.S. premiere, but will also be the first time Oh My Sweet Land is presented within intimate spaces as an immersive production.”
PlayCo hopes the intimate setting will provide “a theatrical experience that will be close, personal and lift what’s happening in Syria out of the news cycle and into a simple human interaction that allows us to hear and feel in a different way.”
Yuen-Killick expresses PlayCo’s deep interest in well-representing New York City’s many communities when choosing the participating kitchens, and also how the production company aspires to bring a performance of this caliber to neighborhoods that might not normally have similar opportunities.
After the kitchens are chosen in mid-July, PlayCo will handle ticket sales in a very Sofar Sounds way – sharing only neighborhood intersections and keeping all other details top secret. The actual addresses will be announced privately to ticket holders right before the performance.
So … you want to apply? Before you do, here are some important requirements to be aware of.
-The performer needs to use your kitchen fully, and so all appliances (stove, refrigerator, power sockets, exhaust fan or other ventilation system) should be in full working order.
-The performance includes cooking meat, onions, wheat, and spices – bear this in mind if you or any other residents in your space are vegetarian, kosher or have allergies.
-For patron or production accessibility reasons, PlayCo is looking for homes and venues that can either be reached by elevator, or no more than 3 floors up if an elevator is not available.
Learn more about the story behind Oh My Sweet Land. For more information and ticket announcements, please contact PlayCo.
Featured image courtesy of Pavel Antonov