Spring is Sprung - Under the Blue Sky premiers on May 19th!

As winter in NYC finally seems to be leaving us (we actually saw cherry blossoms this morning!) MTG is gearing up for a busy spring with a little loving Under the Blue Sky. Thanks to an immensely successful Kickstarter campaign earlier this year rehearsals are now well under the way for the NYC premier of David Eldridge's award-winning play which opens at The Kraine Theatre in the East Village on Thursday May 19th 2011. First staged at The Royal Court in 2000, Under the Blue Sky centers on six teachers and their various psycho-sexual hang-ups, so it's sure to be a doozy of a show! Here's the info:

WHAT: Under the Blue Sky
WHERE: The Kraine Theatre, 86 E. 4th St, New York, NY 10003 (between 2nd and 3rd Ave - take the F train to 2nd Ave)
WHEN: May 19th 2011 - June 5th 2011, Thurs-Sat at 8pm and Sun June 5th at 3pm
TICKETS: $18.00 available HERE or by calling 866-811-4111

The cast  includes MTG Company members Stuart Williams, Elizabeth Jasicki (The New Group's Abigail's Party), Richard Hollis, Christine Rendel, Jonathan Tindle and Sarah Manton (Baby in the West End production of Dirty Dancing.)

Grab your tickets now, and tell your friends, because this show is sure to sell fast! We look forward to seeing you at The Kraine. Happy Spring!

- The MTG Team.

Mind The Gap Theatre Participates in Theatre Uncut

Reclaim Productions in association with Meeting Point Productions, supported by Southwark Playhouse presents Theatre Uncut in response to the UK-wide spending cuts affecting the arts. Across the UK thousands of people are involved in protests and debates, sparked into action by the largest cuts to public spending since World War Two. Theatre Uncut is a national theatre event in response to these cuts, bringing together some of the UK’s leading dramatists.

As NYC's premiere British Theatre Company- and as a US company all too familiar with arts cuts in the states - Mind The Gap has a particular interest in showing support for our fellow theatre artists back in the UK and will be presenting readings of the commissioned plays, free of charge on March 19th.

Theatre Uncut’s flagship event will be held at The Vault, Southwark Playhouse UK from 16th March to 19th March 2011. March 19th will see drama groups, universities, youth clubs and theatre companies nationwide join the event, staging their own versions of the shorts in a national theatrical uprising. The events will be linked together through online networking and video conferencing.

Writers for Theatre Uncut include Mark Ravenhill, David Greig, Dennis Kelly, Jack Thorne, Lucy Kirkwood, Laura Lomas, Anders Lustgarten (based on an initial idea by Simon Stephens and Anders Lustgarten), Mark Ravenhill, and Reclaim’s writer in residence, Clara Brennan, all of whom have agreed to donate their work rights free for the duration of the event.

Theatre Uncut in New York is being organised by Mind The Gap Theatre and will take place at:

The Workshop Theater
312 W. 36th St, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Saturday 19 March at 12:00pm
FREE admission

Mind The Gap will be presenting readings of the 8 short pieces featuring company members Katie Fabel, Henrietta Clark, Daniel Damiano, Paula Burton Bain, Holly Hamilton, Martin Ewens, Maria Pastel, Elizabeth Jasicki and Michael Graves.

Reclaim Productions Artistic Director Hannah Price says:

‘Theatre Uncut is a theatrical response to the cuts outlined by the coalition in October. These cuts are the turning point of a generation, undermining the welfare state, state higher education and the arts in one fell swoop. By creating a nationwide event spearheaded in London we hope to create a theatrical uprising and play our part in the anti cuts movement that is already underway. We are delighted to have such fantastic writers and directors on board to help us achieve something extraordinary.’

We expect this to be a popular event and seating is limited, so we highly recommend advance reservations - call 212.252.3137 now to reserve seats.

As always, thanks for your support.

-The MTG Team.

Under the Blue Sky casting announced!

MTG has confirmed the cast for the NYC premiere of David Eldridge's West End hit Under the Blue Sky running May 19 - June 5, 2011 at the Kraine Theater.

The Cast includes MTG company members Richard Hollis, Elizabeth Jasicki (The New Group's "Abigail's Party"), Sarah Manton (Baby in the West End production of "Dirty Dancing"), Christine Rendel, Victor Villar-Hauser and Stuart Williams.



The play will be directed by Mind The Gap Theatre's Artistic Director/Founder Paula D'Alessandris. Set design will be by Kristin Costa.

Show times are 8pm Thursdays through Saturdays with one Sunday matinee on June 5th at 3pm.

Tickets are $18 and are on sale now. They can be purchased by clicking here, visiting TheaterMania.com or calling 866-811-44-111. The Kraine Theater is located at 85 E. 4th Street between 2nd & 3rd Aves.

Thank you to everyone who pledged their support for our Kickstarter campaign and helped to make this production a reality. We can't wait to see you at the show!

-The MTG Team.

Pledge your support to MTG - time is running out!

Thanks so much to everyone who has already pledged their support for MTG's spring production of the New York premier of Under the Blue Sky by David Eldridge. You're all truly amazing people and we couldn't do this without you. For those of you who have yet to Kickstart your philanthropic tendencies for the new year with a friendly tax-deductible donation to your favourite contemporary British theatre company, there has never been a better time to take action!

We have just 18 days left to reach our goal of $4000.00 in pledges at Kickstarter.com. 18 DAYS, people! If we don't meet that goal, none of those fabulous folk who have already offered us their support will be charged for their pledges and MTG gets nothing! Zip! Nada! We're almost half way towards our goal but we need your help more than ever before in the final stretch to make our spring production of this wonderful, funny and poignant play a reality.

Please consider supporting us with as little - or as much (we're not picky!) - as you can. Just CLICK HERE and follow the simple steps to become a backer of a project we are thrilled to be bringing to New York audiences for the first time, a project it has taken us TEN YEARS to acquire! We're so excited about the show, and hope you will be too.

-The MTG Team.

Fancy a Cuppa One-Acts this November?

MTG's Cuppa One-Acts Staged Reading Series (with tea service, naturally) is taking place this month at Atlantic Theatre Studios.

On Sunday, November 14th at 2pm we will be presenting adrenalin...heart by Georgia Fitch followed by Mr. Nobody by Philip Ralph on Sunday, November 21st at 2pm.

Everything you need to know is listed below. We'd love to see you there!

A Cuppa One-Acts

Atlantic theatre Studios, Studio A

330 W. 16th St between 8th & 9th Aves

Tickets are just $15.00 for each reading (CLICK HERE to purchase single tickets)

or $25.00 for both (CLICK HERE to purchase a 2-Reading Package)

-The MTG Team.

Help Kickstart MTG's Spring Production!

It's official! Mind The Gap is excited to announce the launch of our Kickstarter campaign. In May 2011, we will present the NYC premiere of David Eldridge's award-winning play at The Kraine Theatre and we need you to help us make it happen!

We're a thrifty bunch and can do a lot with a little - we've existed as an entirely volunteer-run organization since 1999 - but we rely on the generosity of friends, family, and supporters - in other words people like you - to help us continue towards our goal of bringing the best of contemporary British Theatre to New York audiences.

"What can I do to help?", I hear you cry!

"It's very simple", say we.

Just CLICK HERE and pledge as little as $1.00 to this project - though we'd love you foerver if you wanted to pledge more! We really do mean it when we say that every penny helps. We've set ourselves a lofty goal of $4000.00 with just 90 days to raise the cash, and that's where you come in. Your pledge to this project will help us to mount a full length production of Eldridge's funny and poignant West End hit in our very own East Village, as well as enabling us to hire a publicist who can help us reach new audiences and make this production our biggest success yet!

Thanks for your support!

-The MTG Team.

Operation MTG Blog Follower

As you know, MTG has an affinity for the good old short play - small and perfectly formed with something for everyone, the latest installment of our popular short play festival BritBits 7 played to great acclaim at Manhattan Theatre Source in June when we welcomed some fabulous new British exports/expats into The Company.

But for our Fall production we're taking a break from the short stuff and hope to be able to announce very soon the two full length shows which we will be performing in repertory at The Source in November 2010.

However, in the meantime we have another agenda. Like all off-off-Broadway companies MTG is always looking for new audiences to pack those seats, and that's where you come in. We're starting with a simple request. It will take just 5 seconds of your time and cost you not a single penny! May we announce:

Operation MTG Blog Follower!

We need blog followers, and that means YOU! If you've supported MTG in the past we need you to support us now. Please follow the MTG blog using the link on the side bar and ask your friends to do the same. The more people we can tell about the amazing work MTG continues to produce the more top class British theatre we can bring to New York audiences. But it ain't cheap and we need to get the word out so that when our fall show opens we fill those seats and cover those overheads! We'd love for you to re-post this link (http://mindthegaptheatre.blogspot.com/2010/08/operation-mtg-blog-follower.html) on Facebook and Twitter and help us reach our goal of 100 followers by the end of August! It's a modest goal and one we hope we can smash. It's just one click and is the easiest way for you to stay informed about everything MTG is up to. Please help!



We look forward to triple digit followers very soon! Thanks for reading.

-The MTG Team.