FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: January 29, 2018
CONTACT: Elena Kostakis, 443-874-4917, [email protected]
The Strand Theater, 5426 Harford Rd., Baltimore MD 21214
Strand Theater Continues its 10th Anniversary Season with the Premiere of
Count Down
By Dominique Cieri
Baltimore, MD—The Strand Theater Company proudly presents the Second production of its 10th Anniversary Season, regional premiere of Count Down by Dominique Cieri. “I want to be a different girl born on a different day-” so say the seven young girls, who have been abused and neglected, and lost in the welfare system. When Carmela, a teaching artist, enters their lives she offers the girls a chance to express themselves and reclaim their voice, that is when the real challenge begins. Count Down exposes the inherent dissonance between the child welfare system and the reality of the girls who have no choice but to spend their childhood and adolescence in its care. The production of Count Down is a proud participant in the 2018 Women’s Voices Theatre Festival.
Count Down begins with a preview on February 14, officially opens the following night, and runs Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm, plus Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm, through March 4. Tickets are $20 General Admission, $10 for students, seniors and artists. All performances take place at 5426 Harford Rd. 21201. Tickets are available at strand-theater.org.
“The Strand in the midst of our 10th Anniversary Season as the Company dedicated to spotlighting the diversity of female voices”, says Strand’s Executive Director, Elena Kostakis. Count Down is an important piece of theater that brings to light stories of young women, who are so often invisible and overlooked in our society. In light of the transformational #MeToo movement, we are proud to bring this timely, powerful, and compelling play to Baltimore audiences.
Performance Dates:
February 15 - March 4 (Preview – 2/14)
Thurs-Sat at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays (2/24, 3/3)-Sundays at 2:00pm
Location: 5426 Harford Rd. Baltimore MD 21201
Ticket Information: Visit www.strand-theater.org to purchase tickets.
Ticket Prices: General Admission - $20, Student/Senior/Artist - $10
About the Playwright
Dominique Cieri is the recipient of two Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Playwriting Fellowships. Her plays have been produced in New Jersey, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. She is a master teaching artist dedicated to her work with incarcerated young men, girls in group homes, learning-disabled students, and a Holocaust program, adapting over 20 Holocaust stories for the stage. Her Arts and Education essays have been published in the New York Times, and Teaching Artist Journal.
Press Packets & Interview Requests:
Complimentary press passes are available for the Opening weekend, February 15-18. Please contact Elena Kostakis at [email protected] to reserve your tickets and press packets, and to arrange interviews.
About the Strand.
The Strand Theater Company champions challenging and provocative theater that especially celebrates women’s diverse voices and perspectives while bringing together the creative talents of both women and men as artists, technicians, and administrators. We invite patrons to experience some of the region’s best contemporary and reinterpreted works for the stage in our intimate North-East Baltimore theater.
Since launching in 2007, the Strand has presented over 50 full-length plays, including 15 World Premieres; offered 75% of the artistic positions on its productions—as playwrights, directors, designers, stage managers, and actors—to women; provided affordable theater space to many organizations and independent artists; and played an integral role in the revitalization of the Station North Arts & Entertainment District.
In August 2011, the Strand was honored as one of Baltimore magazine’s “Top 5 Baltimore Theaters,” along with CENTERSTAGE, Everyman, the Hippodrome, and Single Carrot. To learn more about the Strand Theater Company, visit www.strand-theater.org.
In the summer of 2016, the Strand has completed a purchase of its permanent performance facility in Baltimore’s Historic Hamilton-Lauraville neighborhood, just in time for the opening of the theater’s ninth season.
