Support TENDERLY at Edinburgh Fringe Festival!

Help bring tenderly to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August!

tenderly

a new play by Ida Esmaeili

directed by R. Lee Kratzer

produced by Joanna Pisano

dramaturgy by Anisa Rose Threlkeld

featuring Ida Esmaeili & Nate Janis

How far would you go for the person you love? This heartfelt romantic comedy follows the relationship between an Iranian visual artist on an expiring student visa and an American writer grappling with the imminent loss of his father.

The Basics:

We're raising money to fund tenderly at The Tank in NYC this July, as well as its international premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August. This money will be essential in helping us fund everything from our artists, to our registration fees for the festival, to the scenic design.

Learn more about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival here and view our show listing here!

Learn more about The Tank here!

When & Where:

July 27 - 30, 2022 at 7:00pm

The Tank

312 W. 36th St., 1st Floor

New York, NY 10018

Reserve Your Ticket Here!

August 5 - 20, 2022 at 5:30pm

Willow Studio, Greenside at Riddle's Court

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Reserve Your Ticket Here!

About the Play:

When Will seeks out Alina’s insight for his paper on Iran, he has no idea that he will meet the love of his life. But when Alina’s visa renewal gets denied early in their relationship, the couple is suddenly faced with life-altering decisions. tenderly is the love story of an Iranian visual artist on an expiring student visa and an American writer grappling with the imminent loss of his father. An examination of how immigration complications can alter the course of families and relationships, tenderly asks the question: How far would you go for the person you love?

About the Process:

After a two-year postponement due to COVID-19, tenderly had its first run as a Columbia University School of the Arts MFA Playwriting student production in May 2022. Originally scheduled to be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the summer of 2020, our cast and creative team is thrilled to finally be able to share the piece with an international audience this summer!

What We Need:

Your help! While we will receive funds from grants and ticket sales, this campaign will cover the majority of our production budget for both our Tank and Edinburgh Fringe Festival performances.

For both productions, our budget will be used to pay the incredible artists on the team, purchase physical production materials (like our costumes and props), and cover additional miscellaneous expenses (such as photographing the show).

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is where we will especially need these funds. Donations will help us cover the cost of the festival registration fees, venue rental, insurance, marketing expenses, and so much more!

To view a detailed breakdown of our project expenses, click here.

Other Ways You Can Help:

If you don't have the means of supporting our project financially, please still consider showing your support by spreading the word and sharing our fundraiser with friends or on social media. Every bit counts!

Meet the Team:

Ida Esmaeili (Playwright + Alina | she/her) is a Swedish-Iranian writer and actor. She recently graduated with an MFA in Playwriting from Columbia University, and holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from the Boston Conservatory. She has collaborated with Ars Nova, Guild Hall of East Hampton, Pale Blue Dot Theatre Company, and her music can be found on Spotify. She’s thrilled to finally be putting up tenderly, and to be bringing it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer. https://www.idaesmaeili.com // @idaesmiley on instagram.

R. Lee Kratzer (Director | she/her) is a New York-based director of theatre and opera. She works across and through mediums to develop new work, dismantle notions of genre, and interrogate the canon. Rebecca is the Resident Stage Director at Helios Opera and formerly served as the Artistic Director of the NEMPAC Opera Project. She’s directed at Opera Saratoga, Emerson Stage, NEMPAC Opera Project, Opera del West, Fordham University, The Footlight Club, and Columbia University. Upcoming engagements include Bright Star at Montclair State, and projects with City Lyric Opera and Longy School of Music. Rebecca has also worked with Katie Mitchell, Whitney White, Annie-B Parson, The New York Times, Big Dance Theatre, BAM, The Bushwick Starr, and The Tank. MFA: Columbia '22. https://www.rebeccamillerkratzer.com

Joanna Pisano (Producer | she/her) is an NYC-based creative producer originally

from Southern California and an MFA Theatre Management & Producing candidate

at Columbia University. She freelances as a producer and general manager and has worked with companies including Playwrights Horizons, Thompson Turner Productions, Atlantic Theater Company, and La Jolla Playhouse. Select producing credits include: passage thru (Clubbed Thumb); GIRLHOOD (Columbia University); A Midsummer Night’s Song Concert Series; Founding Executive Director, PrismHouse Theatre Company (’16-’19). www.JoannaPisano.com

Anisa Rose Threlkeld (Dramaturg | she/her) is an NYC based dramaturg, actor, and musician. She received her MFA in Dramaturgy at Columbia, and a B.A. in Drama and Psychology from Vassar College. As a dramaturg, she has developed work for Syracuse Stage, Edinburgh Fringe, HERE Arts Center, The Tank, #HealMeToo Festival, NYU, Vassar, and Columbia. She believes that the ultimate purpose of theater is to disrupt habit.

Nate Janis (Will | he/him) is an actor and singer based in New York City. Recent credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Classical Theatre of Harlem), Dance Nation (Columbia), The Heidi Chronicles (Guild Hall of East Hampton), and The Fantasticks (Infinity Theatre Company). Training: Yale BA, William Esper Studio, Columbia MFA.

Additional Team Members Include:

Tala Munsterman (Production Stage Manager)

Betsy Chester (Lighting Designer)

Liv Rigdon (Costume Designer)

Richard Ouellette (Scienc & Prop Designer)

Tyler Herald (Associate Scenic & Prop Designer)

Stella Emmett Kortchmar (Sound Designer)

Bahar Royaee (Composer)

Christine Susan Chung (Graphic Designer)

Krystal Conye (Production Photographer)

Thank you in advance for your support!

the tenderly team