Off-off Broadway Revival of A Lie of the Mind

Co-organized

A Lie of the Mind Production and Luke Wisniewski are organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Ryan Rosenthal.

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A Lie of the Mind runs October 4th - 6th at The American Theater of Actors.

A Classic, Told Today.

Sam Shepard is hailed as one of the most brilliant American playwrights of the 20th century. This Fall, we are staging a classic from his repertoire, giving it new voice in a changed world.

The story follows two families linked by marriage after a severe incident of domestic assault uncovers years of generational trauma and cycles of abuse. Driven by desire and regret, characters are set upon a trans-American journey from the suburbs of Southern California to the northern reaches of Montana as everyone else is left to pick up the pieces.

As a team of young, budding creatives in the NYC theater world, we believe that many of the themes which Shepard touches on in Lie can be examined under new light. With a 21st century perspective on gender roles and family dynamics, alongside a vastly different relationship with the American West, Shepard's piece can be interpreted in many new ways.

The Minds Behind Lie

Director - Luke Wisniewski

Luke Wisniewski is a senior at NYU and has completed training at LSTFI, ETW, and will study at ITW Summer of '24. DIRECTING-- A Lie of the Mind (debut), Five Units of Time and Action (upcoming) THEATER-- NYU: Everybody, Assassins, You on the Moors Now, Enemy of the People, I’m Sorry for Your Trouble, Body of Faith, White Orca, White Trash REGIONAL: Two Gents, King Lear (Kingsmen Shakespeare) AYLI, Much Ado (Commonwealth Shakespeare) Carrie (MN CTC). lukewisniewski.com

Assistant Director - Sabrina Carlier

Sabrina Carlier, actor and director, is an alum of Atlantic Acting School and ITW Amsterdam. Assistant directorial credits: FEFU AND HER FRIENDS (dir. Naomi Livingstone) and GREENHOUSE (dir. Shayan Hooshmand). Sabrina also serves as Associate Artistic Director of The Elif Collective.

Producer - Blaise Ylianna Hewlett

Blaise Ylianna Hewlett is a multifaceted artist from New York who has a knack for organization and a love for collaborative spaces. She is a producer on this project and a rising senior at NYU.

Producer - Luke Wyngarden

Luke Wyngarden is a passionate and driven artist who has chased his dreams from the Pacific Northwest to New York City. Starting his career on the stage and transitioning to the screen, Luke is an actor who you may have seen on Netflix’s “American Vandal” or TNT’s “The Librarians”. His dramatic work includes “To Kill A Mockingbird”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, and most recently “Concord Floral” with the Atlantic Theater Company. Behind the curtain (or screen), Luke works as a producer, director, and writer.

From Script to Stage

A Lie of the Mind will be staged October 4th-6th at the American Theater of Actors. The project has already been cast, and our team has spent the Spring immersed in table work, design concepts, composing an original score for the production, and much more. All of this preparation is to ensure that our production runs as smoothly as possible, but these elements can only come together concretely with your help!

In order to make our vision a reality, we're seeking all the help we can get from donors such as yourself. Your donation will help cover the cost of the space itself, which includes a lighting and sound package. Additionally, this is how we will fund all of our costuming and set designs.

The hard work will continue through the Summer and then September, when the majority of the cast and crew returns to NYC to continue the in-person rehearsal process.

One goal of our production is to encourage all the cast and crew to engage with the text and the subject matter of the show, from all angles.

Director's Statement

"Lie is, in many ways, a dated show. Some of the portrayals of domestic violence and conversations on gender roles, while perhaps contemporary in 1985, show their age in 2024. Looking for a challenge, I selected this piece for the balancing act required to subvert, recontextualize, and lift up this text with compassion. In doing so, I hope to follow the tradition of Shepard’s plays by bridging a gap between one damaged generation and another. How can we see a time before us as facing the same problems we are now and learn from it?"

-Luke Wisniewski