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PRESS
RELEASE
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press contact: Sam Rudy, 212-221-8466 Sexuality
and religion explored in hh Performances run January 22-February 15 ff The world premiere of KALIGHAT, new play written and directed by Paul Knox, highlights Mela: A South Asian Festival at Baruch Performing Arts Center (55 Lexington Avenue; theater entrance on 25th Street, between Lexington and 3rd Avenues), presented by Baruch Performing Arts Center and the Indo-American Arts Council. Performances begin Thursday, January 21, prior to an official press opening on Sunday, January 25th. Cultures clash at Kalighat, Mother Teresa's first home for the dying in Calcutta. KALIGHAT tells of Westerners who discover themselves and their role in a turbulent world. With a cast of 23, KALIGHAT dramatizes the work of Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, and seeks to build a bridge of understanding between West and East. The powerful new drama merges current Euro-American theater styles, politics and spiritual/religious perspectives with the traditions of South Asia. KALIGHAT has enjoyed development support at Circle Repertory Company, Circle East, La MaMa, HERE Arts Center, and with the Indo-American Arts Council. The production features choreography by Myna Mukherjee; scenic design by Mikiko Suzuki; costume design by Reshma Patel; lighting design by Brian Aldous and sound design by Bart Fasbender. Susan Kellerman is the associate director. The play costars a cast of 23 actors from 7 countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Japan, Ireland, Canada and United States. Mela: A South Asian Festival is a celebration of South Asian performing arts in contemporary Western culture. Mela runs January 21St-February 15th. Mela, meaning "fair" in Hindi, showcases performing and visual arts that include new works and classics. In addition to KALIGHAT, the festival includes a dance program from Nayikas Dance Company, choreographed by Myna Mukherjee; the films of Lifetime Achievement Academy Award-winner Satyajit Ray; two South Asian music nights; and an evening of South Asian comedy. Playwright/director Paul Knox worked at Kalighat; his play is based on his experiences there. Knox recently directed his work GEHRI DOSTI: FIVE SHORT PLAYS WITH A SOUTH ASIAN BENT at Harvard University. Knox is the Executive Director of Circle East, formerly the Circle Repertory Lab. His one-act INFORMED CONSENT, called "poignant" by The New York Times, was a highlight of Circle East's FIRST LIGHT: A FESTIVAL OF NEW SHORT PLAYS at Chashama last summer. His plays have been seen in the Circle Rep Lab, at Circle East, the Neighborhood Playhouse, the 42nd Street Project, the Columbia University Dramatists, the New York State Summer School for the Arts, Wellesley College, the Baxter Theater in Cape Town, South Africa and elsewhere. He is a co-recipient of the United Nations Society of Writers' Award for his cultural exchange work with the Russian Academy of Theater Arts (GITIS) in Moscow. Knox is a co-founder and trustee of the Tides Foundation-India Fund, which supports grass-roots education and community building efforts among sexually marginalized groups in South Asia, with particular emphasis on HIV/AIDS. Indo-American Arts
Council (IAAC) supports all the artistic disciplines in
classical, fusion, folk and innovative forms influenced by the arts
of India. IAAC works cooperatively with colleagues around the United
States to broaden our collective audiences and to create a network
for shared information, resources and funding. The focus is to help
artists and art organizations in North America, as well as, to facilitate
artists from India to exhibit, perform and produce their work here. Performances of KALIGHAT
run
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