PhysFestNYC Presents: Why I Live at the P.O. // Dearly Departed (Split Bill)

Why I Live at the P.O.

"Why I Live at the P.O." is a multidisciplinary physical theater work, encompassing movement, dance, mime, music and spoken word, based on the Eudora Welty's short story of the same title about a disgruntled young woman, living in Mississippi in 1941. She decides to leave her dysfunctional family and move to her workplace (the local Post Office), where she can finally build her own world of independence and freedom, away from her manipulative sister, weak willed mother, alcoholic uncle and grumpy grandfather. I, together with my creative team, am interpreting the original text of the story through all of the above elements of physical theater. The two performers, (myself as a dancer/physical actor and Beck Farris as a narrator/physical actor) interact throughout the piece as we both portray each of the story's five main characters, with all their comical and at times absurd relationships. An integral component of the project is the original music by Donna Cribari. Miss Cribari's compositions support the dance and movement. In addition the music defines the characterizations, sets the time, place and the moods and cohesively advances the narrative. All the props are handmade by me. They are of cardboard in a graphic cartoon style, which lends a whimsical and down-home, vintage atmosphere.

Albena Kervanbashieva is a Bulgarian native who received her early ballet training in her hometown of Russe at Pavel Stoitzev Youth Ballet and later performed and toured with the company When she moved to NYC she completed the full trainee program at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. She went on to perform with numerous ballet and contemporary dance companies, including Doris Humphrey Dance Company, Contemporary Ballet Theater, Ballets with a Twist, Les Ballets du Monde, to name a few. She also collaborated with many independent choreographers. Since 2018 Albena has been choreographing and dancing in her own pieces, combining other performing mediums such as mime, original music, videography and spoken word. Her works "Rhino, White Rhino", "The Coat", "Subway at Night", "Midwinter's Day", "The Five Stages of Grief" and "Why I Live at the P.O." have been shown at Ballet Arts and Theater for the New City.

Haila Strauss, She/Her (Director/Choreographer, Theatrical Intimacy Educator, Professor Emerita, Marymount Manhattan College)
Staged over 250 dances in NYC, Regional Theaters, film, television and concert stage. Highlights: Paul Green's Pulitzer Prize Winner "The Lost Colony", Roundabout Theatre's revival of Harold Rome's "Pins and Needles", Princeton Triangle Show "Kuni Leml", winner four Outer Circle Drama Critics' Awards, first regional production of "The Robber Bridegroom", Alliance Theatre.

Donna M. Cribari, She/Her (Composer/Music Director)
Recipient of numerous ASCAP Awards, Two Meet the Composer Grants, and Westchester Broadway Theater's Cab Calloway Lifetime Achievement Award. Range of work includes musicals, dance, opera, choral music and songs of variety of genres.
Musical Director, conductor and accompanist for countless productions Off-Broadway, Regional, community theaters, film and college groups. Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music/Theater Arts at Marymount Manhattan College for 35 years. Ms.Cribari built the Musical Theater program, composed incidental music for Mainstage productions.
Currently music director for On the Isle, a theater company in Nantucket

Beck Farris, All/Any (Narrator/Actor)
Beck Farris is a recent graduate of Marymount Manhattan College (MMC) with a double major in BFA Acting and Writing for the Stage, where they received the Golden Key in Playwrighting. Recent acting credits include Clowntown, produced at the Chain Theater in Spring of 2023, and MMC's production of Mr. Burns, a Postelectric Play. They are very grateful for this opportunity, and hope everyone enjoys the show.

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Dearly Departed

Death. Grieving. Comedy. Physical comedian Karim Muasher explores grief (in a funny way) as a discombobulated widower trying to deliver a eulogy in "Dearly Departed." A funeral has never gone so wrong. Inspired by the TIbetan Book the of the Dead, other ancient texts about death, and Karim’s personal experience with loss, combined to create surprising, poignant, and hilarious results. "There is a method to the madness ... a thoughtful and heartfelt expression of loss." - League of Cincinnati Theatres Program made possible, in part, by support from Bindlestiff Family Variety Arts, Inc. and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Karim Muasher is an Arab American theatre maker, intimacy director, and educator. Recent projects include writing and performing Henrietta Solway (regional tour), a new play commissioned by the National Willa Cather Center, co-directing Specially Processed American Me (Dixon Place), Jaime Sunwoo's surreal exploration of SPAM and the Korean War, and intimacy directing Spring Awakening (Pace University). He is the Co-Artistic Director of Animal Engine Theatre Company, and teaches with Roundabout Theatre Company and Pace University. Karim studied acting at Ithaca College, the Lecoq pedagogy at the London International School of Performing Arts, and studies Alexander Technique at Balance Arts Center.

Carrie Brown is a deviser, clown, teacher, and the Co-Artistic Director of Animal Engine, where she reimagines works of literature for the stage. Carrie has studied with master clown teacher Giovanni Fusetti, collaborated with clown Mark Gindick, and clowned at Cirque Off, tinydangerousfun, and the New York Clown Theater Festival. She has also performed as a therapeutic clown with Lev Leytzan, working with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. Carrie has a BA in Acting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a MFA in Lecoq Based Actor Created Theater from Naropa University at the London International School of Performing Arts.

Jay Dunn is a Brooklyn-based actor, movement director & choreographer, and Lecoq-trained devising artist who creates unforgettably dynamic, story-driven, comedic & dramatic movement and choreography for musicals, plays and opera.

Mark Gindick is a professional actor, clown, physical comedian, director, teacher and writer/creator of his own theatrical shows. Wing-Man, his original theatrical piece without one spoken word, won BEST ONE-MAN SHOW at the United Solo Festival. Mark has appeared in feature films and TV shows including Julie & Julia, The Late Show with David Letterman, and the PBS mini series CIRCUS, He starred Off-Broadway in the New York Times acclaimed hit The Comedy Trio Happy Hour, and has clowned with Cirque Du Soleil, Ringling Brothers, and the Big Apple Circus. Mark teaches clowning at SUNY Purchase and other NYC venues.

Animal Engine is the collaboration between Karim Muasher and Carrie Brown. We are two movement-based theatre artists who met while training at the London International School of Performing Arts. Our mission is to make old stories new by creating and performing plays that reimagine works of literature for the stage, using minimal performers and technical elements. Many of our plays reframe a well-known work to shed new light on its meaning and value. Our plays have been called “hard to beat” by the Washington Post and “remarkably clever” by CityBeat Cincinnati.

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PhysFestNYC is a community-focused festival that celebrates, enriches, and envisions our field of physical theaters. As an annual gathering, provides space for practitioners, audiences, and the physical-theater-curious to share in presented works, diverse workshop offerings, and community-building events.

Broken Box Mime Theater's mission is to activate the imagination of our audiences, contemporize the art of mime, and remind us all of the power of simple storytelling.