Leviathan Lab Alum Karen Lee and Jessica Anne Cox in Robert Kuang's THE PIANO

Sep 28

The Piano, a semi-autobiographical full-length drama by Robert Kuang, and starring Jo Yang and Leviathan Lab alumni Karen Lee and Jessica Anne Cox, enters its closing weekend of performances at Manhattan's Theater for the New City, 155 1st Avenue. Tickets are available for $15 at http://thepiano.brownpapertickets.com.

In The Piano, a Chinese-Jewish-American family collides with music, food, and identity crises after a death in the family. The Piano is directed by Stephen Cedars and produced by Play On Authentic.

Those involved with the project are very proud to feature a diverse cast, both in terms of race and age. To complete the vision of this piece, the production will include spoken Mandarin as well as live piano music.

The Piano was created at the Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing at NYU, a division of Tisch School of the Arts, and received workshops with Suzan Lori-Parks and Janet Neipris. The playwright, director, and co-producer Jessie Bear are all alumni of the Department of Dramatic Writing, and are proud to represent the program with this passion project. In addition, the play was workshopped with Writers Group at the Axial Theater, and was named a 2014 semi-finalist of the National Playwrights Conference.

Location:

Theater for the New City
Community Space Theater
155 1st Ave., New York, NY 10003

Performance Dates and Times:

Thursday, October 2 at 7:00pm
Friday, October 3 at 7:00pm
Saturday, October 4 at 7:00pm

Ariel Estrada

Actor | Producer | Graphic Designer | Grant Writer Ariel is an actor, singer, producer, and Executive Director of Leviathan Lab, a creative studio for Asian American performing artists. Under Leviathan Lab, he has produced acting and writing salons, cabarets, fundraising events, staged readings, showcase productions, and short films – including a critically acclaimed 2011 production of TWELFTH NIGHT, starring Obie-award winning actor Jojo Gonzalez, and directed by Nelson T. Eusebio III (Assistant Director under Daniel Sullivan, The Public/NYSF 2011; Lincoln Center Directors Lab), with music by Jason Ma (Broadway: MISS SAIGON, THE SLY FOX, SHOGUN THE MUSICAL). In 2012, Ariel served as Executive Producer for Leviathan Lab’s multiple-award winning short film TWO WEEKS (Featured Film, 2013 Screen Actors Guild Shorts Showcase; Winner, 2013 Film Festival Flix Short Film Competition; Winner, Best Ensemble, 2013 Asians on Film Festival; Award of Merit: Asian American, Best Shorts Competition (December 2013); and Official Selection, 20th Annual Filipino American Cine Festival, (December 2013). As Executive Director, Ariel has secured two consecutive grants (2012, 2013) from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council for his work with Leviathan Lab, as well as for the international award-winning men’s barbershop chorus Voices of Gotham (2013) and for Empire City Men’s Chorus (2013). Ariel served as both a performer and Executive Producer of Leviathan Lab's first LMCC-supported project, MIGRATION NATION, which took ten new short plays inspired by the experiences of Filipina overseas contract workers, and assembled them into a three day, site-specific, immersive theatre event at the Tribeca brownstone/artists collective Space on White. For Leviathan's second LMCC-supported project in 2013, Ariel served as Executive Producer, Assistant Teaching Artist, and Performer for their Chinatown Kids' Playbuilding Project (JOURNEY TO THE WORLD OF PLAYWRITING), which took plays created through a 10-week workshop with the 5th grade students of P.S. 124, and produced them using the adult professional actors and directors of Leviathan Lab. Leviathan was also a 2011 resident artist at Space on White, and was recently selected for the 2013 Artists-in Residence program at University Settlement. As an actor and singer, Ariel has performed on television, film, commercials, industrials, new media, and on, Off, and Off-Off Broadway. You can visit his IMDB page here. Ariel is also an accomplished, Fortune 500 level graphic designer. To view his design portfolio, please visit arielestradadesign.com.

Leviathan Lab Alum Karen Lee and Jessica Anne Cox in Robert Kuang's THE PIANO

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