FIRST FIG PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS

ARTISTS FOR ARTISTS

ERIC BOGOSIAN, JACQUELINE BROGAN, EISA DAVIS, JENNIFER GIBBS,
ROBYN HUSSA, TAYLOR MAC, AASIF MANDVI AND MORE
WITH MARVIN SEWELL

TONIC
107 NORFOLK ST.
BETWEEN DELANCEY & RIVINGTON

Exclusive Performance Gala Benefit
18 October 2004  One Night Only!  
6pm-10pm
Tickets Start At $50.00  
RSVP: 212.560.0903

PRESS CONTACT LEHUA CHONG 212. 645. 8006

NEW YORK- First Fig Productions, a producing collective of independent performing artists, proudly presents Artists For Artists, an exclusive one night only benefit and gala launch party at the experimental nightclub Tonic, located at 107 Norfolk Street, between Delancey and Rivington Streets, on Monday, October 18th, 2004, from 6-10pm. Tickets start at $50. To reserve a ticket please call 212. 560. 0903. A celebration of solo artists, the performance party honors the independent spirit, unique vision and strong sense of community of New York’s writer/performers and composer/musicians. Artists For Artists is the inaugural event for First Fig Productions, a producing collective of independent performing artists. The party begins at 6pm with complimentary drinks, appetizers and live music. Musicians scheduled to play include improvisational, abstract-expressionist composer/guitarist Marvin Sewell (formerly of Cassandra Wilson). A 90-minute show follows at 8pm, featuring a driven, energizing mix of emerging artists and stars — all solo performers. Performers range from the diverse worlds of Theater, Hip Hop Theater, Cabaret, Poetry/Spoken Word and Drag.  All amazing writer/actors, they are to present short pieces from new as well as established material, plus talk about how they began generating their own work and what it means to them. Performers include: Eric Bogosian (Talk Radio; subUrbia; Sex, Drugs Rock & Roll), Jacqueline Brogan (Girls of Nine), Eisa Davis (Angela’s Mixtape), Jennifer Gibbs (Edna St. Vincent Millay), Robyn Hussa (Old Fashioned Girl), Taylor Mac (The Face of Liberalism), Aasif Mandvi (Sakina’s Restaurant) and more. These award-winning stars and dynamic emerging artists will come together on one stage, one night only, to raise funds for a resource pool for First Fig member projects. A fresh cultural presence, First Fig debuts with a night of vibrant performances in Artists For Artists. Press requests should be faxed to 212. 645. 1950 or contact Lehua Chong by telephone 212. 645. 8006 or via email at chong@workhousepr.com.

Tonic nightclub, the downtown music mecca, is a fitting venue for Artists For Artists. For years, Tonic has provided an alternative outlet for New York’s experimental and improvised music scene.  Among the many accomplished musicians to have played there are: John Zorn, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Ikue Mori, Mike Patton, Vernon Reid, Yoko Ono, Chan Marshall, Yuka Honda, Miho Hatori, Sean Lennon, Vincent Gallo, Dave Douglas and Rashied Ali.  A former kosher winery, it is comprised of an intimate main space and a downstairs lounge featuring cozy seating inside of old wine caskets.  Tonic has been nominated for “Best Place to Hear Live Music” and “Best Jazz Club” by CitySearch, which writes, “Tonic has quickly become one of the city’s more adventurous musical outlets, with a genre-bending mix of jazz, rock and experimental electronica.”  Artists For Artists at Tonic marks the exciting intersection of the worlds of downtown music and downtown solo performance.

FIRST FIG PRODUCTIONS
First Fig is a not-for-profit producing collective of independent performing artists. Member artists pool resources to help one another make self-generated, self-produced work. Resources offered might include information, contacts, press representation or performing in a benefit event.  First Fig can also provide seed money. Members act as lead producers on their own projects.  First Fig recognizes that as artists our strength is our individuality; as producers, it is our collectivity. The first project on its roster is Edna St. Vincent Millay Speaks to the Committee on Immortality, a play for one woman.  In the first half of the 20th Century, Millay was the American poet.  A heroine of the Jazz Age, Pulitzer Prize winner and sexual revolutionary, she was celebrated, vilified, beloved, notorious. The Cherry Lane will present a public reading of Edna on November 19, 2004 in its Tongues Series.

THE ARTISTS

ERIC BOGOSIAN
Eric Bogosian writes plays, solos and books. Every now and then he acts in something. His best-known plays (both of which were made into films) are Talk Radio (in which he starred and received the Berlin Film Fest "Silver Bear") and subUrbia. Between 1980 and 2000 he created six full-length solos (Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll; Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead; et al) garnering three Obies and a Drama Desk Award. His most recent solo Wake Up and Smell the Coffee will be released this Fall on DVD and in January, Theater Communications Group will publish a collection of his plays (Humpty Dumpty and other works).

JACQUELINE BROGAN
A writer, performer, director and producer, Jacqueline Brogan is a founding member of Access Theater where she co-produced the original production of Stephen Belber’s Tape and co-produced the Access New Works Festival.  Her one woman show Girls of Nine was recently presented by Naked Angels at The Players Club as part of their readings series.

EISA DAVIS
Eisa Davis is a songwriter, playwright and performer whose work has been featured on the Showtime series Soul Food and at venues including BAM Café, CB’s Gallery, Nuyorican Poets Café, Symphony Space (with Burnt Sugar), Jazz Gallery, Galapogos and the Temple Bar in Santa Monica.  Eisa has been active in the Hip Hop Theater Festival since its inception. Her plays include Angela’s Mixtape, umkovu, Bulrusher and Paper Armor.

JENNIFER GIBBS
The Founder and Artistic Director of First Fig Productions, Jennifer Gibbs’ plays include The Sweater Girl, Diary of a Prophet and Edna St. Vincent Millay Speaks to the Committee on Immortality.  She has performed for New York companies including Lincoln Center, Signature Theatre Company, The new Group, The Lark, The Culture Project, The Hypothetical Theatre Company and Keen Company and is a company member of Transport Group.

ROBYN HUSSA
The Co-Founder and Associate Artistic Director of Transport Group theater company, Robyn Hussa recently appeared in their Drama Desk-nominated revival of Michael John LaChiusa’s First Lady Suite. She presented her first one-woman show, Old Fashioned Girl, at the West Bank Café last fall.  Robyn is a member of Creative Arts Workshops for Kids, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to developing arts programs that empower inner-city children to voice their needs and enhance their self-expression.

TAYLOR MAC
The recipient of the Ensemble Studio Theater’s New Voices Fellowship in playwriting, Taylor Mac’s solo work includes the play Okay and the two performance art shows The Face of Liberalism and Cardiac Arrest or Venus on a Half-Clam.  He is currently playing the title role in the new alt-rock musical Orpheus at HERE.  Taylor’s works have been published by Vintage, Smith and Kraus and Lodestar Quarterly.

AASIF MANDVI
The winner of the Obie Award for his critically-acclaimed one man show, Sakina’s Restaurant, Aasif Mandvi has been on screen in Spiderman 2, Analyze This, The Siege, Random Hearts, Die Hard 3, Sex and the City, OZ, CSI, Law and Order, Ed and Nash Bridges.  His New York stage credits include Oklahoma!, Homebody/Kabul, The Brave, Trudy Blue, Death Defying Acts and subUrbia.

MARVIN SEWELL
A guitarist and composer, Marvin Sewell played with Cassandra Wilson for six years and has toured along with Ani Difranco and Sekou Sandiata.  He currently spends most of his time writing music for his band, The Marvin Sewell Group, and is preparing for the release of his self-titled debut.