PUSH brings DRACULA to life for Halloween

Groundbreaking Work gets World
Premiere at Geva Theatre

PUSH’s Darren & Heather Stevenson:
2009 Arts Council Performing Artist of the Year

PUSH's Dracula

Rochester, NY – Award-winning PUSH Physical Theatre will premiere its new, long-form piece, Dracula, in Geva Theatre Center’s Nextstage for 16 performances October 23 – November 8, 2009.  Call 585-232-GEVA (4382) or visit www.gevatheatre.org to purchase $20 general admission tickets, with discounts available.  Please visit PUSH’s Facebook Page for behind the scenes photo’s and video, and to hear from PUSH cast members and download free Dracula desktops.

With the addition of respected Rochester actor and writer, Danny Hoskins, Dracula is not only an experiment in true collaboration, but a daring departure from the company’s usual silent treatment. Hoskins wrote the loose adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 Gothic horror novel and plays the part of “Renfield,” from whose point of view the classic story of seduction, desire and madness is told. Creative music and sound design have always been an integral part of PUSH – as they are in Sound Designer Dan Roach’s brilliant soundscape for Dracula –  but beyond co-founder Darren Stevenson’s entertaining curtain speeches, the word has always been mum…until now.

“Combining our physical theatre with Danny’s excellent acting and writing talents has resulted in something that’s quite possibly groundbreaking – I certainly have never seen anything quite like this before,” says Darren.
The six-member company not only uses its physicality to play the story’s characters, but incredibly transforms itself into set pieces, props, creatures and more. PUSH presented a five-minute sneak peek during its May/June Time Remix Geva run, as well as two full-length workshop performances in Geva’s What’s Next: Festival of New Theatre in June, both to very enthusiastic audience response.
In addition to Heather, Darren and Danny, the second-act piece also features PUSHers Johanna Bystrom, Jonathan Lowery, Christine Prewitt and Isaac Carter.  Act One of the program will feature PUSH favorites including “Galileo” and “The Visit.”

The complete Dracula schedule is as follows:

Friday, October 23:  7 p.m. (opening night)

Saturday, October 24:  4 & 8 p.m.

Sunday, October 25:  1:30 p.m

Wednesday, October 28:  7 p.m.

Thursday, October 29:  7 p.m.

Friday, October 30:  7 p.m.

Saturday, October 31:  4 & 8 p.m. (Halloween)

Sunday, November 1:  1:30 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 4:  7 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 5:  7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 6:  7 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 7:  4 & 8 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 8:  1:30 p.m.

In addition, the George Eastman House’s Dryden Theatre will run PUSH’s two-minute Draculapreview before select films in its “Fangs for the Memories” Vampire Movie Retrospective (Oct. 1 – 31): Thursday, October 15th’s 8 p.m. showing of John Carpenter’s Vampires; Tuesday, October 20th’s 8 p.m. screening of Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola); and the Thursday, Oct. 22nd (Members’ Movie Night) 8 p.m. showing of Interview with a Vampire, starring Brad Pitt, Christian Slater and Tom Cruise.

PUSH Physical Theatre has been called “a cross between fine art sculpture and the hit movie, The Matrix,” but its co-founders currently (and with tongue firmly in cheek) characterize it as: “like regular theatre…but more painful.” Founded in Rochester, NY in 2000 by husband-and-wife team, Darren and Heather Stevenson, PUSH represents the couple’s desire to “push” the boundaries of conventional theatre. Its physical feats can be awe-inspiring (hence the “painful” attribute), but the cherry on top of this acrobatic sundae is PUSH’s ability to grab hold of audiences’ emotions through exceptional storytelling.

“Darren and Heather inspire us to be better artists and better people by their daily interactions with us and their performances on stage,” she says. “Rochester, and the world, are better places because of their work and their very presence.”On November 19th, Darren and Heather Stevenson will accept the Arts & Cultural Council for Greater Rochester’s 2009 Performing Artist of the Year Award at the Council’s annual Arts Awards luncheon. They were nominated by Young Audiences of Rochester Executive Director McKenzie Keenan.In addition to a busy school-performance and residency schedule, as well as event and concert appearances, the company has toured the U.S., England and Mexico, and has been profiled on PBS and NPR.  They also received the Anton Germano Dance Award in February from the “Community of Color” Black History Month World Culture Celebration.

PUSH's Dracula

Media, please note:  Many high-resolution photos of Dracula are available, and interviews and photo/footage opportunities may be arranged.  Please visit www.pushtheatre.org for more information.

Media Contact:  Sally Cohen, 585-749-1795

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 at 3:08 pm and is filed under 2009 Shows, Press Releases . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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