New drama about graffiti artists by award-winning playwright Jake Shore premieres
July 13 – August 11 at The Kraine Theater
Spin Cycle, Frigid & JCS Theater Company present the World Premiere of HIT THE WALL, a new play by Jake Shore, directed by Timothy Haskell.
Amir is the most famous graffiti artist in the world, but to stay out of jail, he must remain anonymous. His protégé, Rae, has great talent and is progressing, inching ever closer to tagging the perfect wall with her graffiti. Despite this, when the student threatens the teacher, things turn dire. Amir's sanity wanes. He begins wondering whether he's the central character in a play. Will Rae follow?
HIT THE WALL stars Adam Files (Adjust the Procedure, Fragments at Manhattan Rep) and Alexandra Guerrero (At Least He Didn't Die With Antlers On His Head) with a production team that includes Paul Smithyman (sets), Brynne Oster-Bainnson (costumes), Yang Yu (lighting), Zoe Stanton-Savitz (sound design), Jenn Susi (intimacy coordinator), and Caden Cox (stage manager).
HIT THE WALL runs July 13 - August 11, Thursday - Saturday at 7pm. The Kraine Theater is located at 85 E 4th Street, New York, NY 10003. Tickets are $25, available at www.frigid.nyc.
Jake Shore (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright whose play Holy Moly premiered at The Flea Theater in 2016 and was simultaneously released with its tandem novel, A Country for Fibbing. In 2017 Shore's play The Devil is on The Loose with an Axe in Marshalltown was selected as one of Playbill's "13 Shows Not to Miss Off-Broadway." His drama Down the Mountain and Across the Stream won the Overall Excellence in Playwriting Award at the 2013 New York International Fringe Festival. His Zoom play Adjust the Procedure was a streaming hit with multiple runs in 2021. Shore's short stories have been published in Denver Quarterly, Hobart, Litro, New Contrast, J Journal, Ginosko Literary Journal, Eunoia Review, Soft Cartel, New American Legends, The Pitkin Review and others. He is currently the Director of the Academic Advisement Center at St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn, where he also teaches. He earned his MFA in Creative Writing at Goddard College.
Timothy Haskell (Director) has directed over 20 commercial Off-Broadway productions and countless off-off Broadway shows including: Road House the Stage Play Off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theater, I Love Paris which ran Off-Broadway for 13 months at Blue Heron, Corporate Rock at Blue Heron, The Jaded Assassin (a show that took place in one 65 minute long action sequence), Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy starring Corey Feldman at Classic Stage Company, James and the Giant Peach at St. John’s University, Smile in NYC’s first Horror Theater Festival, This is Real Immersive production that ran in Brooklyn for 6 months, Last Life at the Ohio Theater, Stitching Off-Broadway at The Wild Project and then moved to Los Angeles at The Elephant, Sex You (I'm Gonna) at the ACE Hotel and Best In Fringe at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and over a dozen early career off-off Broadway productions.
Adam Files (Actor - Amir) is proud to be working with JCS Theater Company again. He's been acting since he was 4. He blames this on his Dad who was a High School Theatre coach in middle of nowhere North Dakota. He regularly works with Dysfunction Theater, Six of Six Productions, and White Horse Theater. He’s started to do a lot of Film and Television the last few years recently working on The Food That Built America, Evil Lives Here, American Dynasty, and Law & Order: Organized Crime. He is represented by Jim Keith at The Movement Talent Agency. www.adamfiles.com He thinks writing his bio feels uncomfortably egotistical. But loves getting on stage and being the focus of attention without a trace of irony.
Alexandra “Allie” Guerrero (Actor - Rae) is a writer, actor and comedic performer from Seattle, WA. She most recently completed a run in the production of "At Least He Didn't Die With Antlers On His Head" written by Thomas Levrier with the NYC Spring/Summerfest at Teatro Latea. Primarily a TV and Film actor, Alexandra is thrilled by the opportunity to work with this talented group of creators and get in front of a live audience once more.
Brynne Oster-Bainnson (Costumes) is a NYC based costume designer originally from Portland, Oregon. She received her MFA from NYU Tisch Design for Stage and Film in 2021. Recent theatrical design includes productions at Atlantic Acting School, NYU Tisch Graduate Acting, the Williamstown PTP Program, and an upcoming production of Don Giovanni at Aspen Music Festival. She has been an associate designer for productions at Glimmerglass Opera, Papermill Playhouse, Williamstown Theater Festival, and recently as the assistant costume designer for the Broadway production of Macbeth starring Daniel Craig. Her work, including recent film projects, can be seen at her website brynne-osterbainnson.com. Instagram: @brynnefinite
Caden Cox (Stage Manager) is a stage manager, actor, and writer from the 800 person town of Centerville, Texas. He currently trains at The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. Recent credits in Stage Management include: Rewind: An 80's Pop Musical by Geoffrey and Sam Rose (Theatre Row). Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl (Marilyn Monroe Theatre), Performance Spotlight: Asian Voices (Marilyn Monroe Theatre). Caden is grateful to the entire Hit The Wall team and to be able to participate in live theatre again. Instagram: @caden.cox4
Zoe Stanton-Savitz (Sound Designer) is a writer, designer, and stage manager currently studying theatre arts at Sarah Lawrence College. Previous sound design credits include Dance Nation (AADA), Seven Spots on the Sun (AADA), I Want a Country (AADA), Martyr (AADA), Disaster! The Musical (SLC), and It’s a Pleasure to Meet You (SLC).
Paul Smithyman (Set Designer) is the Production Manager at Lincoln Center Theater.
Jenn Susi (Intimacy Coordinator) is a NYC based Director and Theatre Educator from the Bronx! Jenn has been directing and developing work throughout NYC including A.R.T/NY Theatres, The Players Theatre, SheNYC Arts, Theatre 54, The NuBox, 13th Street Repertory Theatre, and Nuyorican Poets Cafe where she was a "Best of Fest'' winner. At the center of Jenn's work is trauma-informed storytelling through new plays. It is through this lens, she has found her voice and a mission to facilitate safe spaces through trauma and intimacy work! Member of Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, Artist -In- Residence at Abingdon Theatre Company, 2021. www.jennsusi.com
Yang Yu (Lighting Designer)is a New York based lighting designer for performing arts. She is interested in using light, space, and timing to create an emotionally charged environment, as well as visualizing music. Productions include Take Shape (Gural Theater/Broken Box Mime), Revolution (The Tank, 2021 Broadwayworld off/off-off Broadway Awards nomination), Prometheus Bound (2022 NYC Indie Theatre Film Festival), and The Shes (The Public Theater). She holds an MFA degree in Design and Technical Theater from Brooklyn College. yangyudesign.com
FRIGID New York’s mission is to provide both emerging and established artists the opportunity to create and produce original work without limit to content, form, or style, and to amplify their diverse voices. We do this by presenting an array of monthly programming, mainstage productions, an artist residency, and eight annual theater festivals that create an environment of collaboration, resourcefulness, and innovation. Founded in 1998, the aim was and is to form a structure, allowing multiple artists to focus on creating and staging new work and providing affordable rental space to scores of Independent artists. Now in our third decade, we have produced a massive quantity of stimulating downtown theater.
Since its founding in 1998, Spin Cycle has co-produced shows by artists including Joan Rivers, Anthony Rapp, Gavin Creel, Holly Woodlawn, Alison Arngrim, Alec Mapa, Alice Ripley, Laura Bell Bundy, Peppermint, Karen Finley, and Ain Gordon. Other producing credits include the World Premiere of The Donkey Show, Kiki & Herb’s Obie winning Jesus Wept, The Vaudevillians starring Jinkx Monsoon, Fruma-Sarah starring Jackie Hoffman, John Kelly’s Paved Paradise, Jacob Storm’s Tennessee Rising (directed by Alan Cumming) and the Rochester premiere of Woman Before A Glass (directed by Austin Pendleton). Current and recent theater PR clients include: 21 seasons with The New York International Fringe Festival; 21 seasons with The Flea Theater (including premieres by A.R Gurney, Elizabeth Swados, Will Eno, Christopher Durang, Adam Rapp, Thomas Bradshaw and Mac Wellman); and 7 years with P.S. 122 (including premieres by Spalding Gray, John Leguizamo, Elevator Repair Service, and Eric Bogosian); the long-running immersive hits Then She Fell, Voyeur and Bleach; and theater companies including Partial Comfort, the cell, The Civilians, Bedlam, SITI Company, Pig Iron, 3LD, Ars Nova, New Georges, The Culture Project, the cell, National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, Amerinda, wild project, Hypokrit, National Black Theatre, and Theater Breaking Through Barriers.