All for One Theater, known for full-length solo shows seen at stages across America since 2011, is presenting two Off-Broadway productions for their Spring Season. All Over The Map, written and performed by Bill Bowers (directed by Martha Banta) will begin performances Thursday, April 21st and open Wednesday, April 27th for a limited run through Sunday, May 8th. Thao’s Library, written and performed by Elizabeth Van Meter (directed by Joe Ricci), will begin performances on Wednesday, April 20th and open Thursday, April 28th for a limited run through Saturday, May 7th. Both shows will be performed at The Lion Theatre (410 West 42nd Street) on Theatre Row. Tickets are $36.25 and are available by visiting www.afo.nyc , www.telecharge.com or by calling (212) 239-6200.
In All Over The Map, Bill Bowers takes audiences on a 30-year globe spanning adventure ride through 50 states and 25 countries. Assisted by two hookers, one bunny, and his mastery of mime, Bowers vividly depicts cultural differences and explores queer identity through his travels and personal connections, sharing fantastical characters and indelible memories. The New York Times hailed Bowers’ previous work as “Zestful and endearing [and] full of life.”
Thao’s Library is a multi-media solo performance written and performed by Elizabeth Van Meter, with footage drawn from her own award-winning documentary of the same name. Cast adrift by the tragic loss of her sister, Van Meter’s discovery of a haunting photograph propels her to rural Vietnam to meet a woman whose indomitable spirit inspires her to build a library.
All Over The Map and Thao’s Library: sets are designed by Ryan Howell, with lighting designed by Ed McCarthy. All Over the Map costumes are designed by Michael Growler, with sound designed by Matt Stine and projections designed by Bryce Cutler. Additional credits for Thai’s Library include projections designed by Joe Ricci and Elizabeth Van Meter, sound designed by Joe Ricci, featuring footage from the award-winning documentary by filmmaker Elizabeth Van Meter.
Now in its fifth year, All For One Theater (AFO) has presented over 50 acclaimed full-length solo plays. AFO believes that extraordinary solo theater is unique in its ability to deliver life-changing stories, speaking with passion and intimacy that compels us to lean in, learn, relate and revel, while offering a range of topics and experiences as diverse as humankind itself. In 2016, AFO launched its touring initiative to bring solo shows to stages across America and around the world. It also created the AFO Solo Collective to nurture and develop some of the brightest writing, performing, and directing talent in the solo world.
The performance schedule for All Over The Map is 4/21at 8PM, 4/23 at 2PM, 4/23 at 8PM, 4/26 at 9PM, 4/27 at 8PM (Opening), 4/29 at 8PM, 5/1at 3PM, 5/3 at 7PM, 5/5 at 8PM, 5/7 at 8PM. The production runs through Sunday, May 8th at 3PM.
The performance schedule for Thao’s Library is 4/20 at 8PM, 4/22 at 8PM, 4/24 at 3PM, 4/26 at 7PM, 4/27 at 2PM, 4/28 8PM (Opening), 4/30 at 2PM and 8PM, 5/4 at 8PM, 5/6 at 8PM. The production runs through Saturday, May 7th @ 2PM.
BILL BOWERS has traveled throughout all 50 of the United States, Europe and Asia. Broadway credits include Zazu in The Lion King, and Leggett in The Scarlet Pimpernel, and he has appeared at Madison Square Garden, the Kennedy Center, The White House, and many major regional theatres. Bill has written and performed his own plays Off-Broadway, including ‘Night Sweet-heart ‘Night Buttercup at HERE; Under a Montana Moon and Beyond Words at Urban Stages; and It Goes Without Saying at Rattlestick Theatre. A student of the legendary Marcel Marceau, Bill has been hailed by critics as “the great American mime of his generation”, winning top honors in the International United Solo Festival, International Fresh Fruit Festival, and the International Thespian Festival. He is featured in the film Two Weeks Notice, and on television on The Meredith Vieira Show, Disney’s Out Of The Box, Remember W.E.N.N.,One Life To Live, and All My Children.
ELIZABETH VAN METER is a performer and an award winning documentary filmmaker. Her documentary work has taken her from remote areas of the Andes Mountains of Peru, to the Tohoku region of Japan bearing witness to the aftermath of devastation following the tsunami/earthquake of 2011. Ms. Van Meter also founded The Purpose Project, an organization dedicated to searching out effective, dynamic individuals here and abroad that are bringing forth positive change in their communities, helping these individuals achieve a dream and sharing their stories with a wider audience. Her first feature documentary, Thao’s Library won the Audience Choice Award at Geena Davis’ Inaugural Bentonville Film Festival. The film has also received national theatrical distribution is now available on DVD and streaming.
For more info visit: afo.nyc.