The TANK Presents in association with Always Wild Content
Brace for Impact! a fantastical dark comedy
written/performed by: Maia Nikiphoroff
directed by: Devon M. Schwartz
May 19th thru June 10th
runtime: 60 min
The TANK, 312 W. 36th St., NY, NY 10018
This is an Equity approved showcase
SYNOPSIS
Shiva, a flight attendant, fights to stay focused on the job while her father’s body is being cremated. On the flight, with the help of a disheveled clown only she can see, she navigates moments in her life in which she destroys that which she loves. Only after there’s nothing left to wreck will she find the power of forgiveness and regeneration.
Grief is at the center of this dark comedy. Between questionable safety demonstrations and vodka-only drink service, Shiva purges all her relationships that define her as a ‘liberated woman’. From her no-holds-barred relationship with her mother, to the many men in her life– doctors, pilots, cousins, her ‘wonderful’ husband, and most importantly her dad. After every experience, every self-inflicted trauma, new armors come up, but like a Maori ready to dance the Haka, Shiva braces herself to go to work, war, love, and also to celebrate fucking life.
Content Warning:
This production contains brief mention of possibly distressing topics including but not limited to alcohol abuse, incest, sexual assault, death or dying. It includes adult and sexually sensitive language.
TEASER - https://youtu.be/faqHDl6pN2Y
Dates & Times
May 19, 20 (Fri & Sat) 9:30 pm
May 26, 27 (Fri & Sat) 9:30 pm
May 30 (Tues) 7:00 pm
June 1 (Thurs) 9:30 pm
June 2, 3 (Fri & Sat) 9:30 pm
June 6 (Tues) 7:00 pm
June 9, 10 (Fri & Sat) 9:30 pm
A WORD FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT
Two years ago, my dad died. His death compelled me to help him cross over to the other side and into the light, whatever that entails. I was determined. It took a while before I could actually process his death and start to mourn him. I struggled to accept
that this was his journey now and he had to make it on his own. I couldn’t come with him. I had to let him go.
Before trying to help my dad with his connecting flight to the afterlife, ironically I was a full-time flight attendant. I traveled extensively around the world and I really got to experience people, onboard and off, which led me to write ‘Brace for Impact!’. May this play take you on a journey, may our protagonist’s wits and her views on the world, amuse you, inspire you, enrage you, stir something in you or nothing but hopefully something.
Content Warning:
This production contains brief mention of possibly distressing topics including but not limited to alcohol abuse, incest, sexual assault, death or dying. It includes adult and sexually sensitive language.
Always Wild Content - Production Company
Always Wild Content is a multimedia production company with roots in the US and Paraguay. Exploring works in theatre, film and television, we aim to approach storytelling in a way that digs for the raw and wild within us. We seek audacious, liberating narratives that awaken our audience to something forgotten inside themselves, because they are our true protagonists. AWC is also partnered with Women in Film Paraguay, a non-profit film education mentorship program for young women in Asuncion, PY. Past works to date include: The Grey In Between (premiered at NYShorts Fest, 2022). Brace for Impact! marks our company’s stage debut, so thank you so, so much for joining us.
Instagram: @always.wild.content
www.alwayswildcontent.com
ABOUT OUR CREATIVE TEAM
Maia Nikiphoroff (writer/performer)
(the one who only carries a carry-on whether it’s a week or a month of travel)
Maia is a Paraguayan writer & actor based in Brooklyn. She started out as a flight attendant for Emirates Airline. Then she went on to graduate from the Stella Adler Acting School. Her debut as a writer/producer/lead is with the feature film Original Sin, a first time co-production between the US & Paraguay that premiered at Austin Film Festival. In 2022, The Rise of Elisa Lynch, her TV show in development, was selected at SANFIC, The Gotham TV Lab Series, Guadalajara Film Festival & NALIP. She launched with partner Austin Iredale, the production company Always Wild Content & the campaign Stories Unite Us, recycled tote bags that seek to empower people through their love for storytelling and support Women in Film Paraguay, a free mentorship for
women passionate to learn how to tell stories through film.
Instagram: @maia_nikiphoroff
www.maianikiphoroff.com
Devon M. Schwartz (director)
(the one who shows up at the gate a minute late but wants you to make an exception ‘cause you think he’s cute')
Devon has written, performed and directed various forms of drama for over three decades, making his Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated musical “Rags” and appearing Off-Broadway in venues such as the Lamb's Theatre, the Goodspeed Opera House and The Public (including two shows at the Delacorte). He attended Yale University and has directed nearly 30 plays and various short film projects since. Favorite NYC credits are "Woman of Paris" for Chain Lightning Theatre and the world premieres of Steven Fechter's “Intimacies” for EST’s OctoberFest, “Night Travel” at the Trilogy and “Enter Attendant Disguised or What You Willy” at Expanded Arts and Theatre-Studio Inc.
Devon relocated to Los Angeles with Lester Shane’s “Mortal Coil,” soon after directing works by Jason Katims and Tim McNeil. He also directed Julianne Grossman’s critically acclaimed “From Bonkers to Botox,” chosen for HBO’s U.S. Comedy Festival in Aspen, and later multiple one-acts for the Young Storytellers Foundation and A Light in Dark Places, a festival raising awareness and funds for suicide prevention. Most recently, he helmed the Northeast tour of “Right Before I Go,” bringing attention to this cause in five cities, from The Rex in Manchester, NH to The Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C.
Christina Blum (assisting director)
(the one who falls asleep before takeoff and wakes up after landing)
Christina is an actor, singer, and producer based in New York City. She began her theatre career in her hometown of Minneapolis before going on to study and graduate from the Stella Adler Academy of Acting & Theatre. Since 2016 she has frequently worked with A Light in Dark Places, a play festival that brings awareness and hope to those affected by suicide. Most recently she served as Production Coordinator for The Lion and the Firebird (Dark Tower Films) and as the acting lead in the short film Just One of Those Days.
Instagram: @christina.blum
Paige Esterly (producer)
(the one who'll read an entire book on a long flight, often one that will leave her weeping!)
Paige Esterly is an NYC-based playwright, producer, and director. She holds a BFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch. Selected plays include The Torso (Theater for the New City, 2018) and The Great Lesbian Love of Eve Adams (The Space at Irondale, 2022). She is the creator and producer of Fucked-Up Play Fest, a night of 6 short plays performed as a drinking game for the audience (2020-present). Directing credits include Missionary Person (written by Meg Rosensweet, SERIALS @ The Fled, 2022) and demolition extreme (workshop reading, written by Jen Jarnagin, 2022). She is a proud member of The Fled Collective.
Instagram: @poutywriter @fckedupplayfest
Austin Iredale (producer)
(the one who sits by the window, never gets up, and pretends to be asleep when the food cart rolls by)
Austin Iredale is a NYC-based actor, producer, and cofounder of Always Wild Content. His formative years were spent working in the LA theatre scene. There he acted frequently with The Vagrancy, an award-winning not-for-profit theatre company, as well as volunteered as performer, director and producer for A Light in Dark Places, a short-play series associated with The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Select producing credits include Been So Long by Che Walker (Theatre of Note, 2017), and Brace for Impact! (Culture Lab, 2022). Recent acting credits include Let The Right One In (Showtime), The Blacklist (NBC), and The Dust of Egypt by Karin Abarbanel (Teatro Latea, 2022).
Instagram @austin.iredale
Sebastian Lysen (stage manager)
(the one who’d rather spend two hours at the gate than risk being late)
Sebastian is an event producer from Sweden based in NYC. He has worked for over a decade in the experiential event industry, working on some of the top internationally recognized productions in the fashion industry such as the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, Virgil Ablloh Louis Vuitton's biggest fashion show if Miami and LV200 for Louis Vuitton in Los Angeles and New York City. He is now
debuting on the theater scene as the stage manager for Brace for Impact! Instagram: @sebastianlysen
Blaire O’Leary (casting director)
(The one who always sits in front of the toddler who is destined to be the next Messi)
Blaire is a New York City based casting professional. She began as an actor, receiving a BFA in Acting from Marymount Manhattan College, and went on to perform Off-Broadway, in national touring productions, and in numerous TV and independent film roles. She is co-founder of Brooklyn based performance company Exquisite Corpse Company (ECC). With ECC, she has acted as producer and casting director on over 40 productions, including developmental readings/workshops, touring productions, and large scale immersive performances. She has also worked for over a decade as a teaching artist and administrator at Off-Broadway Theatre Company and Acting School, The Barrow Group.
Recently, she graduated from the Casting Society's Training & Education Program, is currently completing a mentorship under Merri Sugarman of Tara Rubin Casting and is casting ECC's upcoming spring production.
Vittoria Orlando (light designer)
(Always gets an airport sandwich. Always regrets it.)
Vittoria Orlando (Lighting Design) (she/her) is a lighting designer based in New York with an interest in creating art that challenges conventional methods of storytelling. Vittoria received a dual BA in Theatre Design and Production, and Visual Art, from Fordham University. Vittoria has designed projects at Ars Nova, NYU, Repertorio Español, ART/NY, JACK, The Tank, and Dixon Place. Her work has also been shown internationally at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Recent Associate credits include Wicked Bodies (LD: Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Liz Lerman Dance Collective) and Everything Rises (LD: Carolina Ortiz-Herrera, BAM).
Claudia Zajic (board op)
(the one who packs two books, a notebook, a laptop, a Switch, and a Rubix Cube in a backpack— even if the flight is only an hour long)
Claudia is a New York City-based theatre technician, designer, and performer. She makes her living (mostly) as a freelance theatrical electrician, but does just about
everything in theatre. Some of her favorite credits include being the deck technician for The Butcher Boy (Irish Repertory Theater), assistant stage manager for What Kind of Woman (the cell theatre), video designer for The Interrobangers (TRANSTheatreFest), and King Claudius in Hamlet (The Frederick Loewe Theater). She gives her sincerest thanks to all friends and family who have supported her. Much love!
CAST
Alan Ross * (disheveled clown)
(The one who does his best not to cause an international incident.)
Theatre: Polonius in Hamlet.a version at Theatre at St. Clements; Mazzini Dunn in Heartbreak House at Resident Ensemble Players, directed by Maria Aitken; John Willard in The Crucible directed by Ben Barnes at Resident Ensemble Players; Alex in Halcyon Days by Steven Deitz and Chorus in Oedipus Rex at the Wilma Theatre, Philadelphia. Angel in The Angels of Swedenborg conceived and directed by Ping Chong at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Arthur in Nosferatu also conceived and directed by Ping Chong at Illusion Theatre. Also at Illusion: Hatch in The Sea by Edward Bond and title role in the world premiere of Anderson: Dream Lover by Kenneth Cavander. Utah Shakespeare Festival. Mr. Ross also records audiobooks and has narrated 5 episodes of PBS/WNET’s Treasures of New York. Training: PTTP.
Jorge Sánchez Díaz* (cousin lalo and proctologist)
(The one who takes an edible, watches a Pixar movie, and cries.)
Jorge is an actor from Puerto Rico living in Brooklyn. He has worked with Theatre for a New Audience (The Skin of our Teeth, dir. Arin Arbus), The Public Theater (world premiere of Tongue Depressor by Jerry Lieblich, dir. Tara Elliot), Lincoln Center Education (Trusty Sidekick’s Shadow Play), Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Twelfth Night tour), Classical Theatre of Harlem (The Three Musketeers), INTAR (One Minute Play Festival, dir. Lou Moreno), Theatre Raleigh (Junk), and Exquisite Corpse Company (Water, Water Everywhere). TV: FBI. He also teaches acting and public speaking at CUNY-City College. MFA: Brooklyn College
Instagram: @jorgesanchezdiaz_
www.jorgesanchezdiaz.com
Monique Vukovic * (mom)
(The one who prays she can get a glass of wine whether her flight leaves at 6 am or 6 pm.)
NYC based actor. Theatre companies: The Debate Society, New Georges, Clubbed Thumb, Living Room Theatre, Other Side Productions. Theatres include: Roundabout Theatre, Vineyard Theatre, Atlantic Theatre, Cherry Lane Theatre, Tom Noonan’s Paradise Factory Theatre, La Mama, etc., The tank, Hartford stage. Film/TV: The Sinner, FBI: Most Wanted, Way Down, We Wanted Children, Barry, Losing Ground, Room 314.
Instagram: @movuke Facebook: Monique Vukovic
Recorded Voices:
Rick Peters as Troy, the Captain
Austin Iredale as P.A.
Kiri Basher Churches as Receptionist
*These Actors are appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association