Leaving IKEA: A New Play in Two Cantos is written by Monica Flory & Dano Madden, and will be directed by David A. Miller in a production in May 2012 at the Brooklyn Lyceum.

"A coming out gone wrong, an angry gnome, and two hundred pounds of Swedish meatballs: welcome to IKEA, friends. As two couples venture through their local Swedish superstore, they become trapped in a blue and yellow purgatory; unable to escape until they solve the problems in their ailing relationships. Will they be able to put all of the parts together without any instructions? Will they ever get home? Join two ordinary couples as they take an extraordinary journey to find the arrows that will lead them out of the relationship inferno that is IKEA."

The winner of 30 ideas, 3 of them good has evolved from a one sentence idea to a full evening of theatre to be staged at the fantastic Brooklyn Lyceum in May 2012.

How will your support help?

The Artful Conspirators are a small, Brooklyn-based theatre company. Leaving IKEA is our biggest endeavor to date. The Brooklyn Lyceum has given us their support in the form of a subsidized run in their amazing space (an in-kind gift equivalent to thousands of dollars). We must, however, still raise the funds to create the world of this play and to pay the creative team. Your contribution to our IndieGoGo campaign will go directly to the creation of the physical world of the play as the script describes it: "a strange, bizarre and frightening new IKEA world, filled with haunting lights and enormous shadows. Unfinished IKEA projects are everywhere. This is an IKEA purgatory.

Our goal of $5,000 will create the foundation for the physical world of the play.  The specific expenses this will cover a portion are a few of the very specific challenges of sets (example: purgatory IKEA) and props (example: a three foot pile of meatballs), costumes (example: a gnome) and lights (example: Code Blue and Yellow). We need your to help make our vision a reality.  Your support will go directly to the very spectacle you will step into when you come to see the show in May!

There are more expenses to cover, such as artist and crew fees, rehearsal space rental, and marketing, so if we exceed our goal, we can most certainly use the additional funds.  Give till your heart's content!

Your donation is tax deductible thanks to our being a fiscally-sponsored project of Fractured Atlas. Any amount can help us reach out goal so please support Leaving IKEA!

Who are The Artful Conspirators?

The Artful Conspirators are a Brooklyn-based collective of theater artists dedicated to creating new theatrical work while including the audience as a participant in the theatre-making process.

Production History

This Lurking Thing written by Jonathan Fielding and Esther Friesner, performed by Jonathan Fielding (Dixon Place, October 2011)

Brooklyn Underground: Theatrical Stories from the Green-Wood Cemetery (Old Stone House, August 2010 and at the Green-Wood Cemetery, September to October 2011)

The Open Rehearsal Series 2011: Installment #1: Foothills Park by Dano Madden (Old Stone House, June 2010); Installment #2: Peter and Alice by Monica Flory (Brooklyn Arts Exchange, July 2011); Installment #3: Journeyman of Breuckelen by David A. Miller (Old Stone House, August 2011)

New Plays Project with the Hadar Foundation: The Big Picture by Andrew Greer and Embrace by Anais Heyward (Simple Studios, August 2011)

Whitman's Brooklyn by Dano Madden (Old Stone House, August 2009)

The Second Pipe of Desire by David A. Miller (Old Stone House, 2009)

Theatre Workshop for ages 8-11 (Old Stone House, August 2009)

Survival by Dano Madden (Sam French OOBR Festival at the Peter Jay Sharp, July 2009)

30 ideas, 3 of them good by The Artful Conspirators (Workshop at and run at Dark Night Series, Prospect Theater Company, November 2008)

The Oral Tradition: A Sacred Rebirthing and Reclaiming of The Hero's Journey led by Tantalus McQueen, conceived by David A. Miller and Holly Adams, developed with The Artful Conspirators, written and directed by David A. Miller (Dark Night Series with Prospect Theater Company at the West End Theatre, February to March 2008)

A Lesson in Art by David A. Miller (First performed as part of Puppet Blok! at Dixon Place, New York, NY, January 2007 and again with The Oral Tradition as part of the Dark Night Series with Prospect Theater Company, at the West End Theatre, February to March 2008)

Conspirators

Monica Flory (Playwright, Leaving IKEA) was a writer/performer for 30 Ideas, 3 of them good and wrote Peter and Alice, Installment #2 of the Open Rehearsal Series.  Recent productions elsewhere include Afterlight (Threads Theater Company at the NYC Fringe), Last Summer (Poly Prep CDS), Once Upon a Pandora's Box (The New Acting Company), Third Wheel (Emerging Artists Theatre), and Jungle Book (Youth Theatre Northwest).  Her plays are published by Playscripts, Brooklyn Publishers and Smith & Kraus.  She is a member of the Dramatists Guild. www.monicaflory.com

Dano Madden (Playwright, Leaving IKEA) wrote and directed Whitman's Brooklyn, was a writer/ performer in 30 ideas, 3 of them good and is the curator of Open Rehearsal Series 2012.  His play Beautiful American Soldier was a finalist for the National New Play Networks 2010 Smith Prize. Productions: Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Source Festival, Burnt Studio Productions, Northwest Playwrights Alliance, Idaho Theatre for Youth, Kitchen Theatre Company and The Samuel French OOBR Festival, among others. Dano's plays have received readings and/or development at Seattle Repertory, The Lark, Seven Devils, Boise Contemporary Theater and Boston Theatre Works. He is a two time Heideman Award finalist. honors: 2007 National Student Playwriting Award for In the Sawtooths; 2008 Quest for Peace Playwriting Award for Beautiful American Soldier; and the 1997 National Short Play Award for Drop. Published works: In The Sawtooths and Drop (Samuel French, Inc.), Beautiful American Soldier and Ella (Best American Short Plays), The Save (Playscripts, Inc.), The Soft Sand and Survival (Northwest Playwrights Alliance) and monologues in The Best Men's Stage Monologues and Scenes 2010 (Smith & Kraus) and Exceptional Monologues 2 (Samuel French, Inc.). In 2007, Dano was named one of 50 Playwrights to Watch by The Dramatist magazine. He is an adjunct professor of playwriting at NYU and at . MFA in Playwriting from Rutgers University.

David A. Miller (Director, Artistic Director) has directed and helmed the creation of Brooklyn Underground: Theatrical stories from the Green-Wood Cemetery, A Lesson in Art and 30 ideas, 3 of them good, among others.  Other recent directing: Wittenberg by David Davalos with Amphibian Stage Productions in Fort Worth, TX (Outstanding Direction Award, Dallas Fort Worth Critics Forum) and Stinky Flowers and the Bad Banana with WTE Theatre.  NYC: Prospect Theater Company, Vital Theatre Company, Samuel French OOBR Festival, New Acting Company. David is the Director of Theater Program at and is a guest instructor and director at  College, Playwrights Horizons Theatre School and Kingsborough Community College.   Drama League Directing Program alumnus.  MFA in Directing from Rutgers University.   www.mrdavidamiller.com  

Jen Varbalow (Scenic Designer) has been designing scenery in NYC for 14 years. Past credits include designs for the Workshop Theatre, Drilling Company, Ensemble Studio Theatre, , Pulse Ensemble Theatre, DR2 Theatre, Queens Theatre in the Park, and many other Off and Off-off Broadway companies. She is a teaching artist with the Roundabout Theatre Company, Vital Theatre and other arts organizations. MFA, Design, Brandeis University.  BFA, Design, Rutgers University.  www.jenvarbalow.com

The Company: Aliza Greenberg, Andrew Zimmerman, Angela Cristantello, Barbara Dente, Brandon Murphy, Breanna Foister*, Britt Lower, Carrie Heitman, Chuck Blasius, Christopher Diercksen, Dana Jacks, Dano Madden, David A. Miller, Dorothy Abrahams, Evan Mueller, Fletcher McTaggart, Gabby Sherba, Jeffrey Kitrosser, Jen Varbalow, Jeremiah Maestas, Jhoanna Ramos, Jill Rafson, John Gardner, John Patrick, Jonathan Fielding, Jordan Boughrum, Kevin R. Free, Lauren Singerman*, Lauren Sowa, Lisa Lamothe, Max Arnaud, Miranda Shields*, Miriam Weiner, Molly Lloyd, Monica Flory, Nathaniel Taylor Leach, Nurit Monacelli, Oliver Burns, Ramon Hernandez, Robert  James Grimm III, Ryan Stinnett*, Sarah Koestner, Shaun B. Wilson, Siobhan Lockhart, Stephanie Pezolano, and Stephen Balantzian

*Featured in the IndieGoGo video above

How was Leaving IKEA born?

Leaving IKEA emerged from our production of 30 ideas, 3 of them good, during which we created and developed then pitched 30 theatrical ideas to the audience.  Each performance culminated in a vote for the 3 best ideas- the ideas that the audience most wanted to see developed into a full theatrical event.  The clear winner of the voting was "Idea #8: Leaving IKEA".

During one of the developmental sessions for 30 ideas, all company members placed characters, events, locations, theatrical conventions and more onto post-it notes.  Then they were asked to pull one piece from each pile to generate a brand new theatrical idea.

In a flurry of multi-colored stickiness company member Lauren Singerman pulled together: dumping your girlfriend/boyfriend, Gnome, time travel and IKEA.  She assembled those disparate pieces and composed the original idea for Leaving IKEA. Her vision was eventually simplified into the following pitch for audiences of 30 ideas:

Idea #8: Leaving IKEA: A couple's relationship falls apart over the course of an afternoon at IKEA. Before escaping IKEA's maze and committing to a break-up, the couple must relive key moments of their relationship, using the artificial rooms as a backdrop.

What is the Lyceum?

The Brooklyn Lyceum (pictured at right) is a multi-use space of historical architecture and raw beauty. Originally opened in 1910 as an indoor bathing facility, the Lyceum is a producing arts venue and cultural center on the edge of Gowanus playing host to a range of theatre, music, dance, markets and community activities.  The Lyceum houses two 4000 square foot raw event spaces with tall 25 foot ceilings of exposed beams. www.brooklynlyceum.com

Do you have questions or comments?

Contact David A. Miller, Artistic Director, artfulconspirators@gmail.com.

How can I learn more?

For more about The Artful Conspirators and to keep in touch:

www.artfulconspirators.org

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Twitter: @artfulcons