After her father succumbed to cancer, playwright Jackie Rosenfeld turned to her craft as a means of coping with the loss. The senior lecturer in theatre at Stephen F. Austin State University chose to focus on the effects of breast cancer, and the resulting “keepingabreast” will open in New York on Friday, Oct. 21.
The Manhattan Theatre Mission’s production of the play will be the third time the play has been produced by a professional company.
“But this time it is being presented in an Off-Off-Broadway venue, The Looking Glass Theatre,” said Rosenfeld. “It’s in the right place for the right people to see it and perhaps take it further.”
The play focuses on a 28-year-old breast cancer patient who must decide whether or not to undergo a mastectomy to rid herself of the cancer that has proven resistant to chemotherapy treatments.
While the subject is serious, the play is usually billed as a dramatic or dark comedy because it also deals with society’s fascination with and the many nicknames assigned to breasts.
The play is being directed by Heidi Mueller Smith, a breast cancer survivor.
Rosenfeld sees her play as an excellent fit for The Manhattan Theatre Mission since two of their goals are to expose and educate people on social issues and to give back financially to organizations supporting these causes.
The company’s six performances of the play, Oct. 21 through 29, all fall within Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to cancer research.
http://manhattantheatremission.com/Home.php
ATTENTION!!! KEEPINGBREAST IS POSTPONED DUE TO HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS IN THE THEATRE: PLEASE READ
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
Dear Friends of MTM,
Last night our production team and actors arrived to our rented venue for their final dress rehearsal to find the theatre completely flooded with parts of the theatre’s roof caving in above their heads and water streaming down the walls. Thankfully only a few props were damaged. I’m sure you can gather that this incited a lot of panic and distress and attempts at emergency repair, however, the conditions of the theatre were deemed hazardous for both our actors/production team and the audience. After having spent a significant amount of time preparing our show to be performed in that theatre, the idea of exploring new venues was not attractive. Many of our actors have other upcoming projects following this one, and we have ultimately decided that it is best to postpone the show until they are all available. This is such a lovely production and everyone has worked so incredibly hard, we feel that it would be unfair to present it without the production quality it’s worth.
The playwright, Jackie Rosenfeld will still be joining us and we are currently planning a gala of sorts this Friday evening in order to celebrate her, fundraise for the future production of the play and perhaps do a staged reading type version of the show. We are waiting on confirmation of the restaurant, but will get back to everyone with details. We would love all ticket holders, friends and family members who hoped to see the show over the next two weeks to join us!
All pre-purchased tickets will be reimbursed. Please bear with us as we now have a long week ahead of us but will work to get everyone reimbursed as soon as possible. Thank you so much for your support.
Sincerely,
Katy “Tex” Baker, The Administrative Board of MTM, and The Cast and Crew of KEEPINGABREAST
—
Katy “Tex” Baker
Producing Artistic Director
Manhattan Theatre Mission
http://www.manhattantheatremission.com
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