NECK DOWN
Angela Chew, Alton Alburo, Cristina Pitter, Essence Lotus, Jack Dahill, and Riley Wood. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk.
SYNOPSIS
It’s the morning before an ancient coin auction in NYC and early-career artist Ciel is stuck working yet another menial temp assignment. An old money collector arrives early to inspect the legal tender upon which he plans to bid. So begins a daydream about lottery winnings, caskets, sex fantasies, delulus of grandeur, and Big Oil Banks. The physical characters onstage duet with the voices in their heads, mounting a tragicomic class stand-off and a toast to the relentless spirit of artists living on the brink of precarity.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Written by Nic Adams
Directed by Marissa Joyce Stamps
Produced by Melissa Mickens
Lights by André Segar
Sound by Eden Segbefia
Set by Ettie Pin
Costumes by Karen Boyer
Stage Managed by Sarah Samonte
Assistant Stage Managed by Deniz Demirkurt
Featuring: Alton Alburo, Angela Chew, Cristina Pitter, Essence Lotus, Jack Dahill, and Riley Wood
Production photos by Lee Rayment and Walter Wlodarczyk
DEVELOPMENT HISTORY
This play received a private, classroom reading at Brooklyn College in winter 2022 and was honored with the MFA English department's Creative Writing award. In a revised draft a year later, the play received a public staged reading at Brooklyn College. The piece received a third public developmental reading at Brick Aux in summer 2024.
PRODUCTION HISTORY
NECK DOWN was presented as part of the 2025 Exponential Festival. It ran January 9th - 12th at We Are Here Brooklyn Studios. The production was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Anna Sosenko Assist Trust and IndieSpace's Emergency Grant, and thanks to the 71 donors to the crowdfunding campaign.
DEVELOPMENT AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following artists contributed to the development of this play: Dan Hasse, Rachel Lin, Pun Bandhu, Matthew Zimmerman, Brian Linden, Rebecca Robertson, Paul Lazar, Wai Ching Ho, and Brian Lee Huynh.
Riley Wood. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk.
Script and video work samples available upon request.