Lydia's Funeral Video

LYDIA'S FUNERAL VIDEO

August 9 - 23, 2008

written & performed by Samantha Chanse
directed by Thomas Connors

presented as as part of the New York International Fringe Festival, FringeNYC, a production of The Present Company

The Milagro Theatre at CSV Cultural Center
107 Suffolk Street (between Rivington & Delancey Streets), NYC

The not-so-distant future. A dream-invading embryo. An obsession with the apocalypse. And four weeks to shoot a video, do some standup comedy, and terminate a pregnancy.

Holy shit.

a “powerful antidote” to 2007’s collection of “unintended-pregnancy-fests”
-- Claire Light, KQED Arts & Culture blog

"Spiked with surreal celebrity trash-culture references, sardonic moral relativity, and Chanse's biting wit, LFV celebrates irreverent political incorrectness and the societal gray areas in all of us."
-- Connie Hwong, Flavorpill

SamanthaChanse/Thomas Connors is proud to present LYDIA’S FUNERAL VIDEO at the Milagro Theatre of the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center as part of the 11th annual New York International Fringe Festival - FringeNYC, August 8 - 24th, 2008. The East Coast premiere of the dystopian comedic solo play LYDIA’S FUNERAL VIDEO, which enjoyed a sold-out first run in San Francisco in February 2008, is written and performed by NYC native and current SF-based writer/performer Samantha Chanse, and directed by NYC-based director/filmmaker Thomas Connors.

Performance dates/times:
SAT 8/9 @ 2:45pm
MON 8/11 @ 9:30pm
SAT 8/16 @ 5:15pm
WED 8/20 @ 5:15pm
SAT 8/23 @ 7:00pm

Tickets available at www.fringenyc.org

For industry comps, contact Daniel Simon at LydiasFuneralVideo@samanthachanse.com.

Click here to read the Lydia blog >

View our two trailers!
Featuring original music from the show composed by Kendall Li.

Note: the trailer uses footage from a live February 2008 performance at San Francisco's Dark Room Theater. This production was directed by Wilma Bonet. Big thanks to our team of videographers for the February 2008 run: Catherine Chanse, Jim Espinas, Gary Chou, and Ian Johnson.

Trailer #1:

In the not-so-distant future, abortions are legal only within twenty-eight days of conception, Tokyo Hilton has embarked on yet another reality show, and apocalypse-obsessed Lydia Clark-Lin is minding her own business, doggedly pursuing a career in monetary units while she waits for the end to come. Then a mysterious being claiming to be her hours-old embryo invades her dreams, announces that Lydia is both pregnant and dying, and commands her to create a video to be screened at her funeral before terminating the pregnancy. As the embryonic orders continue (“talk to the celebrity abortion doctor!” “interview your mother!” “do some standup comedy!”) and Lydia is on the brink of losing her job and her mind, a deadline fast approaches, the end of the world beckons, and hecklers loom on the San Francisco horizon.

Trailer #2:

This show features writer/performer Samantha Chanse, recipient of an Individual Artist Commission from the San Francisco Arts Commission; direction by award-winning filmmaker and director Thomas Connors, whose work has screened at festivals nationwide; technical direction by Daniel Tien Simon; costume design by Gail Baugh; and music design and composition by Kendall Li. Images and high-resolution images available at

www.LydiasFuneralVideo.com

Click here for more information about FringeNYC!

What people are saying about LYDIA'S FUNERAL VIDEO:

Read a review of LYDIA on KQED Arts · Culture Blog: http://www.kqed.org/arts/performance/index.jsp?id=21881

Or a review on the HYPHEN Blog: http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archives/2008/02/lydias_funeral.html

Or a preview by Flavorpill here: http://flavorpill.com/sanfrancisco/events/2008/1/31/lydia-s-funeral-video

ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Samantha Chanse (Writer/Performer) is a writer and performer, primarily of plays and standup comedy. A native of NYC who has been living in SF since 2001, her work has been produced by the Asian American Theater Company and Bindlestiff Studio, and has been presented at Berkeley Repertory Theatre through the San Francisco PlayGround series, the Magic Theatre, American Globe Theatre (NYC), and Calaveras Repertory Theatre, among others. She received an individual artist commission from the San Francisco Arts Commission to develop her first full-length solo play, LYDIA’S FUNERAL VIDEO, which premiered in February 2008 at the Dark Room in San Francisco. In May, she shared a bill with comic performer Marga Gomez and her new solo show at the San Francisco theater The Marsh. As a standup comic, Sam plays a range of rooms, from dimly lit bars and cafes to venues including Herbst Theater, The Laugh Factory (NY and LA), and Punchline Comedy Club. In addition to writing and performing, Sam is also a curator, editor, and all-purpose arts administrator who spent over half a decade working with SF-based arts organization Kearny Street Workshop, where she served as the artistic director and currently serves on the board of directors. www.samanthachanse.com

Thomas Connors (Director) grew up in New York City and in Rome, Italy. He directed his first feature film in high school, and began writing screenplays shortly thereafter. In 2003, Thomas began film school at Columbia University in New York. While at Columbia, he directed several short films, including the horror comedy Mommy Deadest, which had its premiere at the 2007 Terror Film Festival in Philadelphia, and has since screened at numerous other festivals nationwide. He is currently editing his new short film, Day Job, as well as revising his screenplay The Great A Train Robbery, a quarterfinalist in this year's ASA International Screenwriting Competition, co-sponsored by the Gotham Writer's Workshop. LYDIA’S FUNERAL VIDEO is Thomas's second theater collaboration with Samantha Chanse; their first collaboration, HAVANA HEARTLAND, was produced as part of the 2007 New York City15-Minute Play Festival presented by Turnip Theatre Company in association with American Globe Theatre.