The year? 1849. The place? A Dingle workhouse! It’s the Irish Potato Famine! There are disguises! Star-crossed lovers! Betrayals! Songs! The Great Hunger takes us on an anachronistic, genre-bending journey through the past and into the present, exploring the different ways we define pain, suffering, and connection.
THE GREAT HUNGER by Kallan Dana. Coming to New York September 2021.
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Help us bring the latest in a series of joyous collaborations between playwright/director duo Kallan Dana and Erica Zippel Schnitzer to in-person audiences this fall. We are elated to finally be able to safely bring this play to the stage, and provide opportunities for many young artists who have been unable to work in live theatre for over a year.
Like so many emerging artists in our industry - our lives and careers were put on pause during the pandemic. We have missed the joys of being in an artistic community with one another in a shared space. We cannot wait to get back to the breathless first-day of school excitement of the first rehearsal, the deep camaraderie of the late nights of tech, and the singular elation of the moment the crowd starts to hush as the show begins on opening night - but we need your help to get there.
We're already well on our way - with a successful fundraiser as a part of the Tank's June Pridefest lineup where we were able to share a sneak preview of the show!
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Every dollar raised from this campaign will go directly into the pockets of the ALL-STAR team of collaborators we are assembling to work on this project.
Including:
- A cast of five actors
- A Stage Manager
- An Intimacy Coordinator
- A Composer
- A Musician (did we mention there is live original music?? How cool !)
- A Production Designer
- A Dramaturg
- A Music Director
We believe in the fair and equitable compensation of all artists - no matter their experience or age. Too often emerging artists in our field are asked to work for very little payment and we refuse to see and accept this as a "rite of passage." In donating to our campaign you will let our team know that their work and time are valuable, and will be treated as such.
You will also be helping to fuel an ecosystem of young freelancers in the new work development field--a vital branch of the American theatre industry that was hit hard by the inability to produce work without the resources afforded to larger organizations and institutions.
We LOVE this play and would be so grateful if you played a part in helping us share it with the world.
A Little Bit More About Who We Are...
Kallan Dana (Playwright/Producer) (she/her) is a writer and performer originally from Portland, Oregon and now living in Brooklyn. She has worked with Dixon Place, The Tank, The Jam at New Georges, and Permafrost Theatre Collective, and she is a member of the Citadel of Playwrights. Her play, Playdate, was directed in a commissioned workshop production at Dixon Place in September 2019. Her plays can be found on New Play Exchange and her writing has been featured on Culturebot, Broadway Beat, and Fleas on the Dog. In September 2021, she will be a first-year student in the MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage at Northwestern University.
Erica Zippel Schnitzer (Director/Producer) (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based Director and Theater Maker. Select credits include Open Call (The Shed), A Dozen Dreams (EnGarde Arts) My Teenage Wet Dream by Kallan Dana (The Tank) Playdate by Kallan Dana (Dixon Place), Plastic Bag Store by Robin Frohardt (Pomegranate Arts), What The Constitution Means to Me by Heidi Schreck (NYTW), The Recipe (The Momentary), Black Light by Daniel Alexander Jones (Greenwich House Theater), and Mile Long Opera (The Office Arts). In addition, Erica has worked with a variety of theater companies, production companies, and other major institutions including, New York Theatre Workshop, HERE Arts Center, Two Headed Rep, BRIC Arts Media, New York Musical Festival, Theater For a New City, The New Museum, and the 14th St. YMCA Theater. Erica is a founding member of 3DaysPrior Productions and Four Person Phantom. For upcoming projects and additional credits go to ericaschnitzer.com.
Ruiran Xun (Composer) (she/her) is a Pittsburgh-based collaborative pianist and music director. She is a rising senior at Carnegie Mellon University studying chemistry and computer science, and outside of academics she is actively involved in theatre and other musical endeavors. Ruiran has previously worked with the Pittsburgh Festival Opera (resident artist pianist, assistant music director) and the CMU School of Music (voice lesson and rehearsal pianist). She's currently the assistant conductor for the CMU All-University Orchestra, and continues to serve in various music direction-adjacent roles on productions by Scotch'n'Soda Theatre, CMU's student-led theatre organization. It was actually through a S'n'S production that Ruiran got her first taste of composition, and she's thrilled to continue exploring this arena by working with the creative team of The Great Hunger to bring the show's music to life!
Liv Wilson (Dramaturg) (she/they) is a dramaturg, playwright, librettist, and theatremaker based out of Washington, D.C. Their work has been seen at The Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center, Boise State University, The University of Texas at El Paso, The College of William & Mary and at The Premiere Theatre Playwriting Competition. Liv is the recipient of the Howard Scammon Prize for Drama and the Martin Jurow Theatre Arts Award for artistic excellence. Liv has worked as the dramaturg for Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. and for Cadence Theatre Company's Sitelines BLM series as well as freelancing and tackling devised site-specific projects at the historical Wren Building in Williamsburg, VA. Liv received their Bachelor's degree in History from The College of William and Mary in 2021 and is a recent National Theatre Institute alum.
Rebecca Rovezzi (Producer)(she/her) is an East Coast based Theatre Artist. She graduated from Skidmore College with a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Directing, and has trained with The SITI Company as a participant in their 2017 Summer Intensive. She has worked on new play development at Portland Stage, The Portland Fringe Festival, Rorschach Theatre Theatre's Klecksography, The Manhattan Repertory Theater, and Ruthless Nightingale Theatre Company. Rebecca has also been a reader for The Playwrights Realm, The Magic in Rough Spaces New Play Lab, and The Clauder Competition. She has spent the last two years at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company serving most recently as their New Work Associate. rebeccarovezzi.com
Shea Leavis (Associate Director) (they/them) is a Brooklyn-based performer and director. Most recently they have performed with Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble in The Art of Luv Part 6: Awesome Grotto! (Abrons Arts Center), in Annie Dorsen’s The Slow Room (Performance Space New York), and in Dylan Guerra’s Let’s Have A Seance (HERE Arts). Shea worked as Movement Director for the premiere of Playdate by Kallan Dana (Dixon Place). Assistant directing credits include Joe Diebes’s original opera Oyster (dir. Phil Soltanoff), and Who Will Carry the Word by Charlotte Delbo (dir. Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly). They have also worked on productions at Drop Forge & Tool, The Tank, The Flea, The PIT, Mass Live Arts, The Bushwick Starr, and Roulette Intermedium. Shea trained at the Moscow Art Theatre School through the National Theater Institute, and holds a B.S. in Theater from Skidmore College.
All the Ways You Can Help!
- Make a contribution! Any amount helps.
- Share the campaign on your social media platforms and/or via email. Tell people why you’re just as excited about THE GREAT HUNGER as we are.
- Follow our journey on Instagram @thegreathungernyc
- Join our email list here, to stay in the loop.
