THE ASSEMBLY'S
CLEMENTINE AND THE CYBER DUCKS

May 7—9, 2009

photo: Jess Chayes

"Ambitious... the energy and passion make for an exciting bit of theater...A trio of actors working together to unfreeze the still images of the past, riding the waves of time with vibrant rhapsody."
--New Theater Corps, on the 2007 production, Daguerreotype

In the wake of an economic crisis that has sent the world reeling, The Assembly presents a play about capitalism, the American Dream, and the costs of desire. Clementine and the Cyber Ducks, created by playwright Krista Knight with The Assembly, is a dark comedic riff on the classic folk song set in California simultaneously during the 1849 Gold Rush and the 1990s dot.com bubble. Clementine moves west with her father to strike it rich. As she gets sucked into a series of schemes and scams, the world transforms into an irrationally exuberant American Dream-scape full of shotgun-wielding sisters, angry miners, and a steampunk chorus of deviant ducks. Welcome to California.

Featuring an ensemble cast, Clementine uses movement, video, and the amazing sounds of the 90s to explore the transformation of American frontiers, merging The Assembly's trademark research-based ensemble theater with a fantastically intricate theatrical world dreamed up by new collaborator, playwright Krista Knight.

The Assembly Theater Company (formerly The American Story Project) is a New York based ensemble of multi-disciplinary artists formed by five Wesleyan University graduates. Assembly members seek to unite our varied interests in service of creating wide-reaching, unabashedly theatrical and rigorously researched ensemble performances that address the complexities of our ever-changing world. They embrace collaboration as the core of the creative process, developing all the elements of text, action, and design side-by-side within the rehearsal environment. The Assembly’s plays have been performed in Edinburgh and Connecticut as well as in multiple venues throughout New York City: The Ontological Theater, The Brick Theater, The Bowery Poetry Club, The Abingdon Theater Complex and The Flea.

Clementine and the Cyber Ducks is written by Krista Knight; Directed by Jess Chayes; Scenic design by Nick Benacerraf; Lighting design by Greg Malen; Costume design by Andrea Lipsky-Karasz and Justine Lacy; Sound design by Asa Wember; Choreography by Kelly Klein; Dramaturgy by Stephen Aubrey; Stage managed by Emily Rea; Assistant Scenery by Ethan Gould

Performed by: Emily Perkins, Cara Francis, Ben Beckley, Edward Bauer, Siobhan Doherty, Patrick Long and Jeff Seal

For more information on The Assembly, visit www.theassemblytheater.com

Performances May 7--9 at 8p.m.
Additional late night performance on May 9 at 10:30p.m.
Tickets: $17 adult/$12 student; buy here or by calling TheaterMania at 212-352-3101
At the Ontological Theater at St. Mark’s Church • 131 East 10th Street (at 2nd Ave.), NYC