OPEN

a world premiere 

by Crystal Skillman

June 7 - 22, 2019 at The Tank

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OPEN is a magic act that reveals itself to be a resurrection. A woman called The Magician presents a myriad of tricks for our entertainment, yet her performance seems to be attempting the impossible—to save the life of her partner, Jenny. But is our faith in her illusions enough to rewrite the past? The clock is ticking, the show must go on, and as impossible as it may seem, this Magician’s act may be our last hope against a world filled with intolerance and hate.

Written by Crystal Skillman

Directed by Jessi D. Hill

Performed by Megan Hill*
* Member of Actors' Equity Association / Equity Approved Showcase

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Production Stage Manager Sydney Golden*

Lighting & Scenic Design by Sarah Johnston

Sound Design by Emma Wilk

Costume Design by Becky Bodurtha

Assistant Director Chelsey Smith

Production Supervisor Donghyuk Chang

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The Tank

312 West 36th Street, 1st Floor

New York, NY 10018

"Besides its intrinsic worth, Open should bring more attention to a pair [Crystal Skillman & Megan Hill] of downtown’s most bracing talents."

- The New York Times

AFO is thrilled to launch our new Open Dialogue series.

Please join us for post-show panel discussions after these performances:

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Thursday, June 13 - Writing Magic

Crystal Skillman, playwright   •  Gina Femia, playwright   •  Mathew Paul Olmos, playwright  •  

Winter Miller, playwright  •  Aaron Colman, playwright   

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Thursday, June 20 - Performing Magic

Megan Hill, actor   •  Brandon Williams, magician   •  Rachel Wax, magician

Friday, June 21 (after the 4PM show) - Representation on Stage

Jessi D. Hill, director   •  Maybe Burke, actor, writer, human rights advocate  •  Crystal Skillman, playwright

Tanya Everett, playwright  •  Margaret Baughman, Honest Accomplice Theatre Dramaturg 

CRYSTAL SKILLMAN (Playwright) Plays include Geek, Cut, King Kirby, Rain and Zoe Save the World (2018 EMOS New Play Competition Winner), and Pulp Vérité (workshopped at the Playwrights Foundation). Crystal is the book writer of Mary and Max, with composer/lyricist Bobby Cronin, which premiered at Theatre Calgary, directed by Stafford Arima. Postcard American Town was selected for a 2018 Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. Awards: 2018 MUT Award (Critics’ Prize),  Clifford Odets Ensemble Play Commission, NY Innovative Theatre Award. Work in TV/Comics includes “Adventure Time" and Eat Fighter, published on Webtoon where new episodes premiere each Saturday.  crystalskillman.com

JESSI D. HILL (Director) is a theatre director based in New York City. New York credits include new work at New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater/Joe’s Pub, The Playwrights’ Center, Primary Stages, Keen Company, Labyrinth, The Women’s Project, 59E59, P73, The New Group, Rattlestick, Ensemble Studio Theatre, terraNOVA Collective, Culture Project, Musical Theatre Factory, The Acting Company, The Barrow Group, New Dramatists, The Lark, The Playwrights Realm, New Georges, and many others.  She has been a director and teacher in professional training programs at Yale School of Drama, Juilliard, Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center/NTI, Fordham University, Long Island University, Powerhouse/NY Stage & Film, NYU/Tisch, The Atlantic School, Playwrights Horizons Theatre School, Hunter College, American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and many others. Jessi is a recipient of the Denham Fellowship from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, an alum of the Women's Project Lab, and an Affiliated Artist at New Georges. She served as Associate Artistic Director of terraNOVA Collective from 2009-2015, where she co-created the Groundbreakers Playwrights Group and Groundworks new works program. She is currently the Artistic Associate at The Flying Carpet Theatre Company, and the Literary Team Director at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Her work has been seen internationally in Edinburgh, London, New Zealand, Berlin and Hamburg. MFA: Yale. Member SDC.  jessidhill.com

MEGAN HILL (Performer) has originated roles in the world premieres of Do You Feel Anger? (The Vineyard and Humana Festival), Eddie and Dave (The Atlantic), Kentucky (P73/EST), Hand to God (EST), and Crystal Skillman’s Cut (The Management), to name a few. As an actor and writer, her play The Last Class: A Jazzercise Play (created with Amy Staats and Margot Bordelon) has enjoyed sold-out runs in New York, D.C., and Seattle. She has also worked with Bushwick Starr, Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, SPACE on Ryder Farm, NACL, Soho Rep Lab, Ars Nova's ANT Fest, Playwrights Horizons, Primary Stages, The Lark, HERE, Morgan Gould & Friends, New Dramatists, NYTW, Clubbed Thumb, New Georges, Labyrinth Lab, Target Margin, Ma-Yi, Pittsburgh Public, Stein/Holum, Intiman, Seattle Children’s Theater/Speeltheatre Holland, Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center, and The Guggenheim, among others. BFA: Acting/Original Works, Cornish College of the Arts. MFA: ART/MXAT IATT at Harvard University.