Alter Ego Blog

PRESS RELEASE
September 14, 2007

For Immediate Release

ALTER EGO PRODUCTIONS BRINGS TO THE STAGE THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THE LEOPARD AND THE FOX — A NEW PLAY BY RAJIV JOSEPH INSPIRED BY TARIQ ALI'S BBC TELEPLAY OF THE SAME NAME THAT TELLS THE GRIPPING STORY OF THE LAST DAYS OF ZULFIQAR ALI BHUTTO, THE FIRST POPULARLY ELECTED PRIME MINISTER OF PAKISTAN AND BENAZIR BHUTTO’S FATHER

Alter Ego Productions brings together people from many different professional backgrounds sharing a common passion for theater. The company was founded in April 2002 by a group of individuals whose professional focus is not theater but who have a strong interest in theater and significant past experience in directing, acting, or set design.

Alter Ego’s current production — The Leopard and the Fox a play written by Rajiv Joseph is a Machiavellian political drama inspired by the events in a 1985 BBC teleplay written by Tariq Ali on the last days of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan’s first popularly elected Prime Minister, deposed in a coup, and then executed by his closest confidante, his army chief General Zia ul Haq, in 1979, who installed himself as the President. The merry go round that is Pakistani politics is being played out today with the reported comeback of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s daughter Benazir Bhutto as Prime Minister at the behest of the US, the 800 lb gorilla in that region.

Alter Ego Productions is thrilled to present the world premiere of The Leopard and the Fox, their first collaboration with New York-based playwright Rajiv Joseph. Joseph’s previous works include the much-lauded South Asian American coming of age story Huck and Holden at the Cherry Lane, and the romantic comedy All That Intimacy at Second Stage. He has upcoming commissions for both Second Stage and South Coast Repertory, and his Iraq war dramatic comedy Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo will be produced by Center Theatre Group at the Los Angeles’ Kirk Douglass Theatre in the 2008-09 season. Director Giovanna Sardelli is a longtime collaborator of Joseph’s, directing both Huck and Holden and All That Intimacy, as well Bengal Tiger at the Lark theater earlier this year. The deeply talented cast of actors is led by the wondrously talented Ramiz Monsef who was last seen as Big Stone in Sarah Rule’s Eurydice (Second Stage).

Previously, Alter Ego produced A First Class Man, Who’s Afraid of Vijay Tendulkar?, Fatwa, Indian Ink, Chaos Theory, and Hayavadana. Our most successful productions to date — the world premiere of David Freeman’s A First Class Man and the NY premiere of Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink — ran to full houses. Our 2006 production A First Class Man was a critical and popular success and garnered rave reviews as the NYT called it “a play that entertains quite efficiently” and Indian Ink was listed by TheaterMania as “Shows You Should Have Seen But Probably Didn’t” in 2003.

The Leopard and the Fox opens Wednesday, October 17th at TBG Theater, 312 W. 36th St between 8th and 9th Avenue with performances until Saturday, November 3rd.

Producer: Alter Ego Productions
Director: Giovanna Sardelli
Stage Adaptation: Rajiv Joseph
Casting: Gita Reddy
Stage Manager: Matthew Enhoffer
Set Design: David Newell, Lighting Design: Nick Francone, Costume Design: Leon Dobkowski, Music/ Sound Design: Mitun Sinha

Cast: Ramiz Monsef*, Andrew Guilarte, Gita Reddy, Sanjiv Jhaveri*, Rock Kohli*, Michael Crane*, David Sajadi*
(* appearing courtesy the Actors Equity Association. Equity approved Showcase)

Performances: October 17 to Novermber 3: Wednesday through Saturday at 8 pm (Saturday and Sunday matinees) at 2 pm.
Tickets: www.smarttix.com ; or call 212-868-4444

For additional information or to schedule an interview, please contact Alter Ego’s press representative: Shourin Roy at shourin@alteregoproductions.org or at 646-662-6057 or Amrita Rajagopal (amrita.rajagopal@gs.com) Photos available upon request. To download our press kit, please visit our website www.alteregoproductions.org or contact Amrita Rajagopal at 520-548-0402.

Posted by Shourin Roy at 04:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Image Postcard


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Shweta Malhotra
information@nayikas.org, 917-304-6370

The Nayikas Dance Theater Company in association with Alter Ego Productions proudly presents “TATVA – THE ELEMENTS”, a gala event celebrating the hybrid tendencies of design & aesthetics proliferating the contemporary arts & fashion of South Asia.

What: An evening comprising of two parts: a curated visual arts exhibition and a fashion show (featuring selections from fall collections of Rina Dhaka, Malini Ramani, Raghuvendra Rathore, Namrata Joshipura & Payal Singhal) animated by the kinetics of dance theater & multimedia.

Tickets $25 for Exhibition & Reception only
$125 for entire evening
When: Sept 27, 6pm – 11pm
6.30 pm-8 pm – Visual Arts Exhibition & Reception
8 pm-8.45 pm – Fashion Show (Open Seating Promptly at 8pm)
8.45 pm onwards – Buffet Dinner & Auction (Catered by The Leela Lounge, NYC)
Where: Tehresharan Gallery, 143 W 29 St (Btwn 6 & 7 Ave), New York City
Subways 1,N (28th St), B, D (34th St)
How: For tickets Call 917-304-6270, or
Email reservations@nayikas.org, or
Mail checks to Nayikas Dance Theater Co.,
910 Riverside Drive, 6H1, New York, NY – 10027

The Overall Event
‘Tatva’ (Sanskrit for the ‘elements’), is conceptualized as an event site that initiates veins of inquiry into contemporary South Asian culture to excavate perhaps a hidden common ‘element’ that pollinates its diverse artistic mediums. The idea is to explore and contemplate the interconnectedness and interdependence between performance, movement, visual arts & fashion crafts; to ‘mix up’ their roles as isolated disciplines and in the process find and exploit the possibilities it opens to expression & creative production. Continuing the dance theater company’s reputation of being ‘provocative’ & ‘non authentic’ (NY Times), Tatva lends itself to Nayikas’ deep engagement with redefining, provoking and challenging stereotypes of cultural authenticity; empowering its artists and audiences to extend and blur perceptions between art’s high mindedness & fashion’s populist nature, art’s connoisseurs & its consumers, art’s creation & its consumption.

The Fashion Show
Featuring select designs from the fall collections of leading Indian contemporary designers Rina Dhaka, Malini Ramani, Raghuvendra Rathore, Namrata Joshipura & Payal Singhal; the fashion show is choreographed by Myna Mukherjee, artistic director of Nayikas & produced by Shourin Roy of Alter Ego Productions. Sparkling on the cocktail circuit from Bombay to Monte Carlo to Beirut to Moscow (Malini Ramani); tempered under couture houses like DKNY & Oscar De la Renta (Raghuvendra Rathore); retailing at Henri Bendel, Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, Takashiyama (Namrata Joshipura); featured in Marie Claire Paris, Vogue London, Madame Figaro Paris & Vanity Fair (Rina Dhaka); having styled for MTV (Payal Singhal); this cross-section of designers from modern India & its diaspora have truly recalibrated the global presence of South Asian fashion in recent years. High-flying, celebrated & notorious, they have been responsible for the exciting & radical makeover of the South Asian fashion silhouette, proliferating venues ranging from international fashion ramps to trendy boutiques in NYC Noho like Indo-mix (partner for sourcing clothes). Nonconformist in line, fabric & form; assimilating styles & motifs from the past & present, east & west; the clothing selections for Tatva are effortlessly cross-cultural & beyond a monolithic or predictable aesthetic; all the while possessing a distinct indigenous ‘Indian-ness’.

The Exhibition
This part of the event, a group visual arts exhibition, provides a space of convergence for artists to raise and audiences to reflect upon tipping point issues pervasive in South Asian arts – tensions between its colonial past & global present, the sacred and the profane, traditionalism and modernism. The exhibition followed by an auction, is a collaborative presentation by Nayikas & Zamaana, a recently established effort contributing to the recognition of contemporary Indian art. Spanning perspectives of five contemporary artists Amit Jain, Rachana Nagarkar, Ajay Lakhera, Balaji Ponna & Kavita Nayar, the exhibition examines India’s evolving identity, as it commemorates 60 years of Independence, through photographs and paintings shown for the first time in the US. The works selected span a range of distinctive styles reflecting on the nature of a country where modern insight and aged habits are in constant flux—exploring notions of transformation and reinterpretation within the context of Indian culture. From mythological symbols to kitsch and calendar images, the artists define boundaries and interconnectedness, and explore the dynamic relationship between the traditional and modern. The included artworks can be previewed at www.zamaanaarts.com/tatva.html onwards from September 5th.

The Presenters
Acclaimed as “a glowing addition to the city’s mix’ by the Village Voice, Nayikas is New York's first resident Indian Odissi dance theater company; one of the only classical, contemporary and progressive dance ensembles in the South Asian Diaspora. Nayikas modernizes comprehension of the aesthetics of Odissi, India’s oldest classical dance form, dating back to 2nd Century B.C. Creating potent and theatrical dance pieces, the Nayikas tell stories that both privilege and resurrects often neglected, alternate voices of women, drawing from feminist iconography in Indian mythology, history and Diaspora. Thus preserving the essential spiritual core of the dance form while envisioning gender equality & promoting diversity of imagination in the often-patriarchal religiosity of these traditions. (www.nayikas.org)

Alter Ego Productions has been described as ‘a company to look out for’ by Theatermania. It is a South Asian Theater Company that brings together people from many different professional backgrounds sharing a common passion for theater. The company was founded in April 2002 by a group of individuals whose professional focus is not theater but who have a strong interest in theater and significant past experience in directing, acting, or production aspects. Alter Ego has brought to life Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana, Anuvab Pal’s Chaos Theory and Fatwa, Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink, David Freeman’s A First Class Man, and for our forthcoming production Tariq Ali’s The Leopard and The Fox. (www.alteregoproductions.org)

Supported By

Posted by Shourin Roy at 03:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Thanks to all those who came out and supported Alter Ego at their fundraiser on a rainy Friday evening on 17th August. We really appreciate it. China1 is a beautful little lounge with lots of nooks and crannies where people can unwind.

The food and drink kept the festivites going as DJ Kapil kept the crowd on their feet with his sufi and Bollywood mix. In between there was an AV clip that gave the crowd an preview of what the play was all about. There was also Swamiji, our resident palm reader who entertained his patrons with stories of how they would rule the world or grow their hair back on their balding heads. Saad also came looking very much like the Qaid e Azaam, dapper in his topi.

Thanks to the Alter Ego crew who really made this evening work. Pushkala, Sharad, Amrita, Arshiya, Kapil, Shubho, Ankur, Mitun, Saad. And a special thank you to Kaitlin and Ming manning the bar keeping the liquor and good cheer flowing. Brian for setting up the AV clip. Steve and Andrew for helping arrange this event.

Next time you are in the East Village, please check out China1.

Posted by Shourin Roy at 05:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Thanks to all the folks who came out for the Movida event. A big shout out to all of you. Your support means everything to Alterego and to the cause of theater and we hope to keep entertaining folks in the Big Apple.

Thanks mucho to Seema, Saad, Mithun, Beatrice, Shetal, Anjali, Tarika, Akshay, Ashwin, Reshma, Prashant, DJ Kapil, and Puja who helped out with the event.

The AV stuff showed clips and stills from our past Alterego productions and it was loads of fun to see Vikram Somaya, Bhavna Thakur, Anuvab Pal, Debargo Sanyal, Lethia Nall, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Deep Katdare, Rebecca Challis, Helen Jean Arthur, GR Johnson, Brian Coffee, Kevin Chap, Ranjit Gupte, Prashant Vijay, Joe Jamrog, up on the screen.

There was even a raffle to win a date and then everybody made a beeline to ask our resident astrologer if they had the prize winning ticket. I went too and he correctly predicted that I had never won anything in life and I was not going to start today. Well, it was good that I got back down to the bar after that.

Thanks to Movida for their support -great drinks and great location!

We will post the pictures out as soon as we get them. .

Posted by Shourin Roy at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One of the exciting events that we are planning ahead in the near future, in September, is a panel of experts discussing Srinivasa Ramanujan's life and work. Together they will try and deconstruct the enigmatic genius that is Ramanujan. We want to invite all mathematicians, number theorists, students, journos, historians, theater and lay people, to participate in this discussion. Right now we are in the midst of assembling a panel. a moderator, and a suitable venue for this event. The event will also include a reading of excerpted portions of our play on Ramanujan, "A First Class Man," a Q & A session, as well as a mixer with wine and cheese. It promises to be a very fulfilling evening.

All suggestions, comments, questions, and ways you can be part of this event are welcome. Feel free to contact us at www.alteregoproductions.org/blog and send in your comments and/ or contact Puja Ogale at puja@alteregoproductions.org or call her at 917-488-4189.

Posted by Shourin Roy at 05:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Alter Ego Productions
Location: Movida
28 7th Ave S, New York, NY View Map
When: Saturday, July 29, 7:00pm to 10:00pm
Phone: 917-929-8361, 917-488-4189
Aaiyai yo...Aren't you tired of all those Desi Bhangra Parties....for a change come enjoay da magic of the South. Join us and discover why South India produces geniuses, software engineers, break dancers, and mama's boys??

Enter a raffle and win a date with our mystery South Indian guest at a restaurant near you. You're comin naaaa?

Cover $12 on guestlist (RSVP on this evite by July 25th)
$15 at the door

All proceeds will go towards our latest venture ' A First Class Man' For more information log on to www.alteregoproductions.org.
For questions and suggestions e-mail seema@alteregoproductions.org.

Posted by Shourin Roy at 05:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Caption contest winners:

Thrupthi Reddy: "Exer-cycling Thambi...Banenge Hero hum bhi!"

Rittik Chakrabarti : Got Brains - "Lungi"ng For A Body!

(They each get free entry to Movida)

Special mention:

Omar: "Zen and the art of stationary bike maintenence"

(He gets to meet with our guest astrologer for free!!)

Posted by Shourin Roy at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The star: Srinivasa Ayengar Ramanujan

Genius. Savant. Spiritual. Orthodox. Brahmin. Religious. Agnostic. Controversial. Iconoclast. Kumbakonam. Tamil Nadu. Euler. Travel. GH Hardy. Littlewood. Trinity College. Cambridge. Vision. Proof. Ramanujan-Hardy. Ramanujan -Petersson. Number Theory. Gamma functions. Stress. Illness. Mock Theta functions. Return. Death. Fame. First Class Man. David Freeman. Alter Ego Productions.

Alter Ego Productions
Location: Movida
28 7th Ave S, New York, NY View Map
When: Saturday, July 29, 7:00pm to 10:00pm
Phone: 917-929-8361, 917-488-4189
Aaiyai yo...Aren't you tired of all those Desi Bhangra Parties....for a change come enjoay da magic of the South. Join us and discover why South India produces geniuses, software engineers, break dancers, and mama's boys??

Enter a raffle and win a date with our mystery South Indian guest at a restaurant near you. You're comin naaaa?

Cover $12 on guestlist (RSVP on this evite by July 25th)
$15 at the door

All proceeds will go towards our latest venture ' A First Class Man' For more information log on to www.alteregoproductions.org.
For questions and suggestions e-mail seema@alteregoproductions.org.

http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=QCYNUKBLGAYNYPIWBAWO

Posted by Shourin Roy at 12:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For more information on Alter Ego productions, please contact Shourin Roy at sr240@columbia.edu or call 646-662-6057 or Amrita Rajagopal at amrita.rajagopal@gs.com or call 520-548-0402.

Posted by Shourin Roy at 12:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)