Target margin theater lab: Beyond the Pale

December 11-21, 2013

Target Margin Theater culminates their journey into the exploration of Yiddish theater with a season of extraordinary literature from the West’s great unknown culture. The themed two-year series, Beyond the Pale, includes staged productions, one-time events, concerts, installations, panel discussions, and a reading series of new translations. The series offer an array of Yiddish plays and adaptations of the work of giants: I. L. Peretz, Mendele Mocher Sforim, Sholem Asch, Osip Dimov, I.J. Singer, Dovid Pinski, Sholem Aleichem, and more. Productions are planned at various locations throughout the boroughs in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.

It all begins in December at JACK with four diverse shows exploring Yiddish poetry.

FIRST WEEK DOUBLE BILL:
Wednesday, Dec. 11 - Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7:30pm
Late night show Friday the 13th at 9:30pm

Sisters Mine
Lead Artist: Alex Randrup
A spool of thread spins the poetry of Morris Rosenfeld and Anna Margolin into a kaleidoscopic cutting of the historical cloth. Moments from within and without the Triangle Factory Fire burst in this investigation of the artistic expressions of tragedy and time.

Celia
Lead Artist: Raymond Blankenhorn
A collection of vignettes brings to life the brilliant and provocative mind of Celia Dropkin (1887-1956), the sexiest Jewish poet since the Rose of Sharon. This isn’t your mother’s seyder tkhines. Get ready for Yiddish Rated R.

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SECOND WEEK DOUBLE BILL:
Wednesday, Dec. 18 - Saturday, Dec. 21 at 7:30pm
Late night show Friday the 20th at 9:30pm

DAY?NIght?fuck…
Lead Artist: William Burke
Text from Moyshe-Leyb Halpern/william burke
A mashing of Yiddishness, Moyshe-Leyb Halperness, the modern degradation of ritual and values and the flurry/fury of New York, the sexy allure of the Williamsburg Bridge and the blasting of internal and external urges which at times will be a harsh quiet whisper of insanity or maybe…just maybe a murmur wondering how full does the heart have to be before it explodes? Answers? Answers.

Outside/In
Lead Artist: Emily Rea
How do words travel? Exploring both the political and domestic concerns of early 20th century Yiddish poets, Outside/In imagines a space that is both public and private. From a living room to the printed page to the airwaves and beyond, a host of writers explore and explode early notions of broadcasting and publication, giving voice to a rich historic landscape through text, song, and play.

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Target Margin Theater (TMT), founded in 1991 by David Herskovits, has been at the forefront of New York’s alternative theater scene and has been praised for its bold and sometimes wild interpretations of classic dramas and lesser-known works. Target Margin has presented ambitious re-thinkings of plays by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Brecht, Gertrude Stein, and Beaumarchais, among others. The company’s production of Mamba’s Daughters received the Obie Award and was a sensation of the 1999 Spoleto Festival, and its epic production of Goethe’s Faust received critical acclaim. Recent productions include The (*) Inn at Abrons Arts Center, Uncle Vanya and The Tempest at HERE, and Second Language and A Family of Perhaps Three at The Chocolate Factory. Outside of NYC, TMT has been presented at the Spoleto USA Festival, Mass MoCA, The Lied Performing Arts Center at the University of Nebraska, and the Bonn Biennale in Germany. Target Margin’s 2013-14 season will take place at JACK, Abrons Arts Center, and The Chocolate Factory with special partnerships planned with the JCC Manhattan and the NYPL Dorot Jewish Division.