The Playwrights’ Theatre of East Hampton will return to LTV Studios this weekend with four performances of “Break,” a new twist-filled psychological thriller by Lindsay Carpenter and directed by SB Tennent.
The plot would appeal “to people who enjoy modern drama with a slightly absurdist bent,” John Kroft, who plays the Storyteller, told LTV. “It follows in the tradition of writers like Edward Albee, Martin McDonagh, and Samuel Beckett.”
The play opens with two men trapped in a room. The Storyteller is being forced to stack an ever-taller tower of dishes on the back of another man, known as Dishes (Josh Davis). A voice threatens to kill them if a wall-mounted ticker hits 50. Above them, in a glass-walled booth, the Deputy (Grace Porter) and her assistant, the Witness (Paloma Garcia), oversee the punishment. But as the dishes pile higher and the ticker climbs, the rules begin to unravel, as does the question of what the men have done to deserve being there.
“It’s been exciting to watch the actors push themselves within the constraints,” the playwright told LTV. “They get to navigate broken dishes, darkly funny moments, and just a crazy emotional journey in a semi-absurd world.”
Carpenter’s writing spans theater, film, and immersive experiences. Holder of an M.F.A. in creative writing from New York University, she was a finalist or semifinalist for a Eugene O’Neill Award, a Dramatist Guild Foundation fellowship, and a Princess Grace Award. Her plays have been produced by the Stella Adler Academy of Acting in New York City, Unicorn Theatre in Kansas City, Mo., and Taffety Punk Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.
An Iranian-American director, Tennent has developed work with the New York Theatre Workshop, Onassis ONX Studios, Mercury Store, Mabou Mines, the Drama League, and the Prague Film and Theater Center. She has received directing fellowships from the Drama League and the Clubbed Thumb theater company.
Davis’s Broadway credits include “Paradise Square,” “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” and “Les Miserables.” He has appeared on television in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “Blue Bloods,” and “FBI: Most Wanted,” among others.
An actor, musician, and artist, Garcia’s recent credits include “Twelfth Night” at N.Y.U. Tisch, “Bitch Zoo” at ALab Theater Festival, and “Is My Microphone On?” at the Center at West Park.
Kroft has appeared in “Dan Cody’s Yacht” at the Manhattan Theater Club and “The Weak and the Strong” at La MaMa Experimental Theater Club. His television credits include “Blue Bloods,” “Red Oaks,” and “The Andy Warhol Diaries” on Netflix.
Porter’s credits include the Williamstown Theatre Festival production of “Lempicka” and the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of “Richard III.” She can be seen as Gwynn in Apple TV’s series “Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed.”
Performances will take place at the Wainscott venue Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 7:30, and Sunday at 2. Tickets are $25 general admission, $15 for students with ID, and $45 for a cafe table seat with a drink ticket.
