AUGUST 25, 26, 29, 30, 31 AT THE THEATER OF THE NEW CITY

Sailor is officially part of the 10th edition of the Dream Up Festival in New York City held at the Theater for the New City, in Downtown Manhattan!

Save the dates!

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

 Sun 8/25 5:00pm

Mond 8/26 6:30pm

Thu 8/29 6:30pm

Fri 8/30 6:30pm

Sat 8/31 2:00pm

You can buy tickets here:

Sailor tickets

The story and production of Sailor 

Sailor, at its core, is a love story between Sofi, an Italian writer in her late 30s trying to find a publisher for her novel, and Juan, a young Mexican ex-gangster-turned-dishwasher. They meet in the kitchen of a New York City restaurant, and as they each chase their own particular American dream, their worlds collide.

However, “Sailor” exceeds the boundaries of a conventional love story, delving into issues of immigration and the abuse of power on the one hand and the artists’ struggle to prevail over the socio-economic pressures of modern day society. Set in present-day New York, the play additionally captures intersections between the several of city’s diverse cultures and languages.       

The play “Sailor” was initially conceived as a forty-page screenplay for a graduate class at the City College of New York City run by professor and writer Marc Palmieri in 2015. In the same year, Elle Sunman and Mariagrazia De Luca found the theatre collective Basic Incubator and were later joined by Josafat Concepcion, a writer and director from the Canary Islands, and Marc Scott, a Bronx-based filmmaker joined. The diverse backgrounds and interests of the four artists laid the foundation for both “Sailor” as a play and the theater collective as a whole.

The writing process of “Sailor” began by collecting immigrants’ stories from the bustling restaurant kitchens in Harlem. Seeing as the themes of immigration, the abuse of power, and the artist’s struggle against the pressure to conform are central to Basica Incubator, these sparse kitchen-collected notes served as fuel and inspiration for the fictional tale of “Sailor.”

“Sailor” debuted in two-night performances at the Gene Frankel Theatre in Soho, NY, on July 2018 and received excellent responses, praise, and enthusiasm from the audience.

In the summer of 2019, “Sailor” was selected for the 10th edition of the Dream Up Festival in New York City, held between the end of August and the first week of September at the Theater for the New City in Downtown Manhattan. 

While most of the cast has remained as last year’s performance, the play has been going through some rewriting and cutting, resulting in a new thrilling version lasting about 2 hours. 

We really hope to have you all there!