as•sem•bly |ə-sěm'blē| (noun)
1. a group of people gathered in one place for a common purpose.
2. a public facility to meet for open discussion.
3. the action of fitting together component parts of a machine or
other object.
4. a collective of artists dedicated to realizing a new American theater.
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THAT POOR DREAM
Production Timeline
2013 - The Ice Factory at The New Ohio (Workshop)
2013 - Prelude Festival (Workshop)
2014 - HERE Arts Center (Workshop)
2014 - The New Ohio (World Premiere)
2015 - The Tank's Flint & Tinder Series (Limited Run)
That Poor Dream received funding from a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant, Brooklyn Arts Council, ART/NY, and The Puffin Foundation.
Creative Team
Directed by Jess Chayes
Text by The Ensemble, Stephen Aubrey, Nic Benacerraf, Jess Chayes, & Eric John Meyer
Production Design by Nic Benacerraf
Dramaturgy by Stephen Aubrey
Sound Design by Asa Wember & Ben Truppin-Brown
Video Design by Ray Sun Ruey-Horng
Lighting Design by Derek Wright
Costume Design by Kate Fry
Stage Manager Abbey Bay
Cast: Edward Bauer (Pip), Ben Beckley (Drummle),
T. Ray Campbell (Havisham), Jocelyn Kuritsky (Estella), Moti Margolin (Joe), Emily Louise Perkins (Jaggers), Terrell Wheeler (Magwitch),
with Drew Hildebrand (Drummle at The Tank), and Ayesha Jordan (Estella at The Ice Factory)
Assistant Director Lila Rachel Becker
Assistant Stage Manager Lily Haje
Assistant Set Designers Emmie Finckel & Theresa Pierce
Props Design by Emmie Finckel
Assistant Sound Designer Alex Dietz-Kest
Associate Costume Designer Alexandria Hoffman
Build Crew Brad Burgess, Marisol Rosa-Shapiro, Stephanie Johnstone, Stephen Bennett, Emily Caffery, Lianne Arnold, Nathan Shreeve, Nicole Orabona, Seth Hamlin
Electricians Lauren Bremen & Serena Wong
Rehearsal Stage Manager & Graphic Designer Scott Melamed
Producer Alyssa Simmons
Associate Producer at The Tank Emily Caffery
Consulting Producer Dorit Avganim
Press Representative Emily Owens PR
A moving mosaic of what it means to be endowed with Great Expectations.
Set on a train traveling from New York City to Fairfield, CT, That Poor Dream unites worlds divided by geography, privilege, and time. Inspired by Charles Dickens’ classic novel about coming of age in a profoundly class-conscious society, the play draws on the company’s own complex relationship to class identity and economic disparity in American society to explore how class both defines and divides us, and how our shared humanity might bring us closer together.
"This bold and brave piece sets the spark for an introspective revolution....Let me tell you folks: Shit. Got. Real."
– Alaine Feehan, Theatre Is Easy
"The Assembly set out to explore Americans’ complex relationship to economic opportunity, the expectations we internalize as part of the myth of the American dream. Given that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about these things for days, I’d say they succeeded."
– Nathaniel French, Culturebot
"A gorgeous production... This is a sophisticated and brave show from a young, talented and ambitious company, both of which are worth watching."
– Julia Lee Barclay-Morton, New York Theater Now
Sources
Click below for a complete list of the sources that went into creating That Poor Dream.