This just in... WARD 9 has been accepted to the 2008 New York Musical Theater Festival! Debut set for late September!
Help make it possible and donate! (see how below)
Financial Goal = $25,000
Funds raised as of 5/1 = $7,500
Introducing WARD 9 a new dance play directed and choreographed by Matt Williams and co-conceived by Gregory Victor.
Ward 9, Matt Williams' lastest choroegraphic creation, is a comedic dance play set to an all Beethoven score. This full-length production is an expansion of One Flew Over, a seven-minute ballet loosely based on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. WARD 9, however, is a different story...
Imagine an insane asylum existing in a parallel universe and especially reserved for the "genius-insane". Picture a place where history's greatest mentally disturbed artists and intellectuals have been locked away. Envision an asylum with a prodigous "dream team" of mental-cases including Howard Hughes, Vincent van Gogh, Vivien Leigh, Bobby Fischer, Sylvia Plath, Ludwig van Beethoven and Vaslav Nijinsky. Welcome to Ward 9. See what happens when these famous characters clash with nurses and doctors who attempt to "cure" them of their creative madness. Straitjackets, pill cups and electric shock treatment are the specials of the day. Take a seat, strap yourself in and get committed, because it's medication time on Ward 9!
Click play for a preview!
GREGORY VICTOR (writer/co-director) is a historian, a dramaturg, and a stage manager. As an acting student at New York University, he studied at the Circle in the Square Theatre School. He first studied dance while working at the Joffrey Ballet as assistant to choreographer Gerald Arpino. Gregory received a BA in History from St. Edward’s University (Austin, Texas) and an MA in History from San Francisco State University. On Broadway and on tour he has stage managed; Movin’ Out, Footloose, Swing!, The Music Man, A Chorus Line, Aida, Jay Johnson: The Two & Only, and Monty Python's Spamalot. He was also the dramaturg for the Twyla Tharp/Billy Joel musical Movin’ Out, as well a casting associate for both the Broadway and National Touring productions of the show. In addition to his work with choreographer Matt Williams, Gregory is also an artistic associate for Rasta Thomas' dance company, The Bad Boys of Dance. Gregory is currently working on a research project on behalf of the Jerome Robbins Foundation. The end result will be a published reference Catalogue detailing the entirety of Mr. Robbins’ creative output.
We need your financial help!
To make a 100% tax-deductible donation to help produce the N.Y.M.F production of WARD 9 please mail a check made out to The Field and earmarked for Matt Williams.
Mail to:
Matt Williams
720 West 181st #55
New York, NY 10033
Or, log on to The Field. Type "Matt Williams" under Artist Name and enter your contribution amount.
$25 buys one pair of dance shoes, $50 buys 3 hours of rehearsal space and $100 buys one month of psycho-therapy for the director. Thank you!!!