For Immediate Release, Please June 23, 2020
Media Contact: Mark W. Soucy
mark@arlekinplayers.com 978-289-9887
ARLEKIN PLAYERS THEATRE EXTENDS ITS RUN OF
STATE VS NATASHA BANINA
A LIVE ONLINE WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION
May 17 – July 12, 2020
Needham, MA – Arlekin Players Theatre , and its presenting partner Cherry Orchard Festival in NY, will extend the run of the critically-acclaimed World premiere production, State vs Natasha Banina , through July 12, 2020. The live, theatre art experiment directed by Igor Golyak , based on Yaroslava Pulinovich’s Natasha’s Dream and featuring Arlekin company member Darya Denisova , has successfully performed to Zoom audiences in 35 US states and across the Globe in Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, China, Columbia, Egypt, England, France, Mexico, the Philippines, and Russia. The production was recently listed among the New York Times’ Critics Picks. Golyak and Denisova each received 2020 Elliot Norton Awards from the Boston Theater Critics Association for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Actress, respectively.
Performances take place online via the Zoom platform on Sunday evenings through July 12, 2020. Tickets are FREE, with a suggested donation. For more information or to reserve a Zoom spot, visit arlekinplayers.com or call (617) 942-0022. Each performance also offers a post-show discussion with the artists.
In State vs Natasha Banina, a girl tells the story of her life in a small-town orphanage, and her desire to be free; break out of her world. From the inside of a “ZOOM” courtroom, she will make twists and turns through her unique appeal to audiences as the jurors, letting them into her world where she dreams about love, family, acceptance, adjusting and her future. Ultimately the two worlds collide and the audience gets to decide her fate.
“The response to this production is truly gratifying,” says Golyak. “We set out to create a new art form to overcome social distancing, the pandemic, and ultimately unite people in one virtual space by merging theater, cinematography, and video games. With this success, we are no longer constrained by the location of our physical theatre and we are reaching people throughout the World. We now need to expand upon this successful model and see where it leads us for the upcoming 2020-2021 Season.
The creative team includes animation by Anton Lakhontov, video by Igor Golyak and music composed by Vadim Khrapatchev.
Arlekin Players Theatre was created in Boston in 2009 and has since toured to New York, Chicago, and Hartford, as well as to international festivals in Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, and Monaco. Arlekin takes strong pride in their emphasis on self-identity; they are a company of immigrants performing works that play on the ideas of cross-culture, home, and traditions, challenging the idea of nationality, and finding common themes that unite us all. The company makes its home in Needham, MA. For more information, visit www.arlekinplayers.com .
Artistic Bios
Igor Golyak (Director, Arlekin Founding Artistic Director) received the 2020 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director for Arlekin’s The Stone and was also nominated in the same year for his direction of Arlekin’s The Seagull . He is an Associate Professor at the Boston Conservatory, and has spent over a decade teaching the art of theatre. He is the founder of the Igor Golyak Acting Studio and Artistic Director of Arlekin Players Theatre which has won numerous awards in the United States and internationally. Arlekin Players Theatre is a multicultural, multi-national collaborative that is growing year to year in the number of audience members, company actors, and volunteers. His theatre has been invited to perform on famous stages and at world-renowned festivals all over the world, including Moscow Art Theatre, and festivals in Yerevan, Armenia, New York City, Chicago, Lviv, Ukraine, Monaco, and many others.
Darya Denisova (Natasha Banina) received the 2020 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Actress for her portrayal of Witha in Arlekin’s The Stone, which received three Elliot Norton Awards, including Outstanding Production. She has performed as the lead actress in various Arlekin Players’ productions, including Memorial Prayer in 2014, Natasha’s Dream in 2015, Tales of the Last Wednesday in 2016, Dead Man’s Diary in 2017, МЫ-US in 2018, The Stone in 2019 and The Seagull in 2019. She has also traveled to several international theatre festivals to perform with Arlekin Players Theatre, including the United SOLO festival, off Broadway, New York; SOLO Festival in Moscow, Russia; HighFest theatre festival, Yerevan, Armenia with her award-winning solo performance Natasha’s Dream . Darya has been recognized by Boston critics and leading reviewers for her roles at Arlekin Players. She studied acting at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts in Moscow, graduating in 2016. After she received her degree, she moved back to Boston to continue performing in Boston with Arlekin Players Theatre, which she
joined in 2013. She has taught documentary theatre at the Startalk School at Harvard University and the Stanislavsky method at the Igor Golyak acting studio.
Anton Lakhontov (animation) Igor Golyak (video) Vadim Khrapatchev (composer)
Additional Press Materials available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iJGXFFg0dAlEo_WdTSThCKvhh8-gspb5?usp=sharing
STATE VS NATASHA BANINA at a glance
Artistic Director: Igor Golyak
Theatre Manager: Mark W. Soucy
Producer: Arlekin Players Theatre
Presenting Partner: Cherry Orchard Festival
Play: State vs Natasha Banina
Venue: ONLINE via ZOOM
Author: Yaroslava Pulinovich
Translator: John Freedman
Director: Igor Golyak
Cast: Darya Denisova as Natasha Banina
Upcoming Performance Schedule: Sunday June 28, 8:00pm Sunday July 5, 8:00pm Sunday June 12, 8:00pm
Ticket Prices: Free with Suggested Donation
Online: arlekinplayers.com
Telephone: 617-942-0022
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