HOW CAN YOU CONNECT TO THE PEOPLE OF GROUND ZERO?

HELP LAUNCH ORANGE ALERT.

ORANGE ALERT is a play in two acts on loss, construction and love.
The setting is Ground Zero. The time is present day.  

How the play ORANGE ALERT relates to the lives of people in Ground Zero:

ORANGE ALERT takes place in present day Ground Zero and deals with the rejuvenation of the area. The play traces the lives of six people, two construction workers in the new tower and four other characters in a diner that survived the 9/11 attacks. The common thread between the characters is not only that they work in Ground Zero but the fact that they are locked in a heightened state of uncertainty caused by the events of 9/11. The six characters all have a glimmer of hope and struggle to move forward in their lives. The gaping hole in lower Manhattan takes center stage in this haunting and exciting new play.

Sample scenes from the play reading:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxTAaQ4jxMU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEh75JSHKLo

About the Project:

In honor of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11, the creative team of ORANGE ALERT would like your help to produce a workshop production of the play in a space in lower Manhattan.

The goal of the project is to stage the initial production of the play near the Ground Zero site in a theater or a commercial space that would support 3-6 performances during September 2011. The cast will consist of experienced and well-known actors, Broadway veterans, a talented music composer and an experienced theater director. Given the fact that various museums in the Ground Zero area are now attracting the highest numbers of visitors to New York in the past few years, the production has the potential to reach not only New Yorkers, but also tourists from all over the world.

Currently associated with the play are: John Doman ( HBO's The Wire), Wayne Maugans (August, Osage Country on Broadway), Leslie Silva (NBC's Providence, CBS's Numb3rs) to name a few. Lucie Tiberghien, the director, has extensive experience developing new plays with the following playwrights: Lee Blessing, Katori Hall, Steven Belber, and Tracy Thorne. 

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From the playwright Stephen Girasuolo: 

ORANGE ALERT is a story that allows the audience to reflect in their own ways to the events of 9/11. The story, told very sparingly, is painted like dots on a canvas. As we follow the characters in ORANGE ALERT and witness their most unexpected choices in moments of desperation, pain and uncertainty, we may connect to that strong bond which was formed by many of us only hours and days after 9/11. Where did that kind of bond go, that sense of connection and purpose that we had as a community and family? Hopefully, this play will not only entertain us, but also inspire us and remind us of that resiliency and courage that we all have inside of us.

What your support will be used for:

We have already raised $1500 to initiate the project but now we need additional funds for the following:

• Venue rental for rehearsals and performances: $3300
• Administrative: $1200
• Technical: $1400

Total: $5,900

This is the minimal budget needed to start a bare-bones production. We will proceed to launch this play with this minimum budget.

Additional support will move the play forward to a next level:

• Set designer and architect: $1100
• Music composition and production: $1500
  
• Publicity and PR team: $1300

Total: $9,800 and more.

We are asking for your support to launch this project.

JOIN US TO COMMEMORATE THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11 WITH THIS CULTURAL AND EMOTIONAL EVENT WITH DEEP CONNECTIONS TO GROUND ZERO!

Thanks so much for your contribution.

Special thanks to Katie Hyde Lewars for putting together the Kickstarter Video, to Bryan Chadwick and Linda Cho for hosting the special reading of Orange Alert at their Soho loft in May 2011, to the precious talents of the cast and director that evening: Director: Lucie Tiberghien; Actors: John Doman, Wayne Maugans, Christina Pumariega, Ivan Sandomire, Leslie Silva and PJ Sosko, to Nina Phuong Ha for her development and fundraising efforts, to Leslie Silva for her photography and to Trung Ha for his invaluable advice.

Additional thanks to the following individuals and organizations for their valued support during the two year development of ORANGE ALERT: Paradise Theater Company, Workshop Theater Company, Signature Theatre Company, Adam Bernstein, Gary Bernstein, Bhavesh Patel, Isiah Whitlock, Jr., Maxwell Williams, Danton Stone, Scott Sickles, Robert Capadonna, Steven Nicastro and every actor who has participated in the play, everyone who has attended the various workshops and readings, and to all supporters and future contributors like you willing to join in this very special project.

Video music courtesy of Alexi Murdoch 

"Orange Sky" by Alexi Murdoch

Photographs courtesy of Leslie Silva