BRACE FOR IMPACT!
@ The TANK

Hello everyone! Thank you for watching our video! We had so much fun making it! We're very excited to have a four-week workshop run at The TANK in NYC, where so many artists before us began their artistic journey! 

Any money you can donate will make a huge difference for our production as we continue to develop this fantastical play with so much heart in it. Take a look at ALL the amazing perks we're offering and remember that every donation is FULLY TAX-EXEMPT!

Brace for Impact! a fantastical dark comedy

written/performed by: Maia Nikiphoroff

directed by: Devon M. Schwartz

May 19th thru June 10th

runtime: 60 min

The TANK, 312 W. 36th St., NY, NY 10018

Dates & Times

May 19 & 20 (Fri & Sat) at 9:30 pm ET
May 26 & 27 (Fri & Sat) at 9:30 pm ET
May 30th (Tues) at 7:00 pm ET
June 1 (Thurs) at 9:30 pm ET
June 2 & 3 (Fri & Sat) at 9:30 pm ET
June 6 (Tues) at 7:00 pm ET
June 9 & 10 (Fri & Sat) at 9:30 pm ET

ABOUT THE PLAY

‘Brace for Impact!’ is a fantastical show about a flight attendant named Shiva who’s fighting to stay focused on the job while her father’s body is being cremated. On the flight, with the help of a disheveled clown only she can see, she navigates moments in her life in which she destroys that which she loves. Only after there’s nothing left to wreck will she find the power of forgiveness and regeneration.

Grief is at the center of this dark comedy. Between questionable safety demonstrations and vodka-only drink service, Shiva purges all her relationships that define her as a ‘liberated woman’. From her no-holds-barred relationship with her mother, to the many men in her life– doctors, pilots, cousins, her ‘wonderful’ husband, and most importantly her dad. After every experience, every self-inflicted trauma, new armors come up, but like a Maori ready to dance the Haka, Shiva braces herself to go to work, war, love, and also to celebrate fucking life.

photo credit: Luigi Morris Instagram: @luigiwmorris

WHY A WORKSHOP?

We're looking to team up with a larger production or theater company that wants to take our vision to the next level. A workshop allows us to show industry folks what we're cooking-- which is a first-class hit! It's also an opportunity for us to engage with YOU, the audience, and get first-hand feedback of how this play is landing before we invest in a bigger production. Basically, we want to show theater folks that we have a great play to produce and with your support we can make that happen!

photo credit: Luigi Morris Instagram: @luigiwmorris

WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES

To paying our wonderful team of collaborators-- from actors, to producers, stage manager, to lights and sound design, costume, props, posters, marketing, industry night events, and so much more! Your money will be well spent on creating theatre magic!

photo credit: Luigi Morris Instagram: @luigiwmorris

ABOUT ALWAYS WILD CONTENT

Always Wild Content is a multimedia production company with roots in the US and Paraguay. Exploring works in theatre, film and television, we aim to approach storytelling in a way that digs for the raw and wild within us. We seek audacious, liberating narratives that awaken our audience to something forgotten inside themselves, because they are our true protagonists. AWC is also partnered with Women in Film Paraguay, a non-profit film education mentorship program for young women in Asuncion, PY. Past works to date include: The Grey In Between (premiered at NYShorts Fest, 2022). Brace for Impact! marks our company’s stage debut, so thank you so, so much for joining us. 

FOLLOW US @always.wild.content

photo credit: Luigi Morris Instagram: @luigiwmorris

ABOUT OUR CREATIVE TEAM

Maia Nikiphoroff

(writer/performer)

(the one who only carries a carry-on whether it’s a week or a month of travel)

Maia is a Paraguayan writer & actor based in Brooklyn. She started out as a flight attendant for Emirates Airline. Then she went on to graduate from the Stella Adler Acting School. Her debut as a writer/producer/lead is with the feature film Original Sin, a first time co-production between the US & Paraguay that premiered at Austin Film Festival. In 2022, The Rise of Elisa Lynch,  her TV show in development, was selected at SANFIC, The Gotham TV Lab Series, Guadalajara Film Festival & NALIP. She launched with partner Austin Iredale, the production company Always Wild Content & the campaign Stories Unite Us, recycled tote bags that seek to empower people through their love for storytelling and support Women in Film Paraguay, a free mentorship for women passionate to learn how to tell stories through film.

 Instagram: @maia_nikiphoroff

Devon M. Schwartz

(director)

(the one who shows up at the gate a minute late but wants you to make an exception ‘cause you think he’s cute') 

Devon has written, performed and directed various forms of drama for over three decades, making his Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated musical “Rags” and appearing Off-Broadway in venues such as the Lamb's Theatre, the Goodspeed Opera House and The Public (including two shows at the Delacorte). He attended Yale University and has directed nearly 30 plays and various short film projects since. Favorite NYC credits are "Woman of Paris" for Chain Lightning Theatre and the world premieres of Steven Fechter's “Intimacies” for EST’s OctoberFest, “Night Travel” at the Trilogy and “Enter Attendant Disguised or What You Willy” at Expanded Arts and Theatre-Studio Inc.
Devon relocated to Los Angeles with Lester Shane’s “Mortal Coil,” soon after directing works by Jason Katims and Tim McNeil. He also directed Julianne Grossman’s critically acclaimed “From Bonkers to Botox,” chosen for HBO’s U.S. Comedy Festival in Aspen, and later multiple one-acts for the Young Storytellers Foundation and A Light in Dark Places, a festival raising awareness and funds for suicide prevention. Most recently, he helmed the Northeast tour of “Right Before I Go,” bringing attention to this cause in five cities, from The Rex in Manchester, NH to The Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C.  

Paige Esterly

(producer)

(the one who'll read an entire book on a long flight, often one that will leave her weeping!)

Paige Esterly is an NYC-based playwright, producer, and director. She holds a BFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch. Selected plays include The Torso (Theater for the New City, 2018) and The Great Lesbian Love of Eve Adams (The Space at Irondale, 2022). She is the creator and producer of Fucked-Up Play Fest, a night of 6 short plays performed as a drinking game for the audience (2020-present). Directing credits include Missionary Person (written by Meg Rosensweet, SERIALS @ The Fled, 2022) and demolition extreme (workshop reading, written by Jen Jarnagin, 2022). She is a proud member of The Fled Collective. Instagram: @poutywriter @fckedupplayfest

Austin Iredale

(producer)

(the one who sits by the window, never gets up, and pretends to be asleep when the food cart rolls by)

Austin Iredale is a NYC-based actor, producer, and cofounder of Always Wild Content.  His formative years were spent working in the LA theatre scene. There he acted frequently with The Vagrancy, an award-winning not-for-profit theatre company, as well as volunteered as performer, director and producer for A Light in Dark Places, a short-play series associated with The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Select producing credits include Been So Long by Che Walker (Theatre of Note, 2017), and Brace for Impact! (Culture Lab, 2022). Recent acting credits include Let The Right One In (Showtime), The Blacklist (NBC), and The Dust of Egypt by Karin Abarbanel (Teatro Latea, 2022). Instagram @austin.iredale

Sebastian Lysen

(stage manager)

(the one who’d rather spend two hours at the gate than risk being late) 

Sebastian is an event producer from Sweden based in NYC. He has worked for over a decade in the experiential event industry, working on some of the top internationally recognized productions in the fashion industry such as the Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, Virgil Ablloh Louis Vuitton's biggest fashion show if Miami and LV200 for Louis Vuitton in Los Angeles and New York City. He is now debuting on the theater scene as the stage manager for Brace for Impact!

Blaire O'Leary

(casting director)

(the one who always sits in front of the toddler who is destined to be the next Messi) 

Blaire is a New York City based casting professional.  She began as an actor, receiving a BFA in Acting from Marymount Manhattan College, and went on to perform Off-Broadway, in national touring productions, and in numerous TV and independent film roles.  She is co-founder of Brooklyn based performance company Exquisite Corpse Company (ECC).  With ECC, she has acted as producer and casting director on over 40 productions, including developmental readings/workshops, touring productions, and large scale immersive performances.  She has also worked for over a decade as a teaching artist and administrator at Off-Broadway Theatre Company and Acting School, The Barrow Group.  
Recently, she graduated from the Casting Society's Training & Education Program, is currently completing a mentorship under Merri Sugarman of Tara Rubin Casting and is casting ECC's upcoming spring production.

Vittoria Orlando

(light designer)

 (always gets an airport sandwich, always regrets it.)

(she/her) is a lighting designer based in New York with an interest in creating art that challenges conventional methods of storytelling. Vittoria received a dual BA in Theatre Design and Production, and Visual Art, from Fordham University. Vittoria has designed projects at Ars Nova, NYU, Repertorio Español, ART/NY, JACK, The Tank, and Dixon Place. Her work has also been shown internationally at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Recent Associate credits include Wicked Bodies (LD: Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew, Liz Lerman Dance Collective) and Everything Rises (LD: Carolina Ortiz-Herrera, BAM).


CAST

Allan Ross

(disheveled clown)

(the one who does his best not to cause an international incident.)

Theatre: Polonius in Hamlet.a version at Theatre at St. Clements;  Mazzini Dunn in Heartbreak House at Resident Ensemble Players, directed by Maria Aitken; John Willard in The Crucible directed by Ben Barnes at Resident Ensemble Players;  Alex in Halcyon Days by Steven Deitz and Chorus in Oedipus Rex at the Wilma Theatre, Philadelphia.  Angel in The Angels of Swedenborg conceived and directed by Ping Chong at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Arthur in Nosferatu also conceived and directed by Ping Chong at Illusion Theatre. Also at Illusion: Hatch in The Sea by Edward Bond and title role in the world premiere of Anderson: Dream Lover by Kenneth Cavander.  Utah Shakespeare Festival. Mr. Ross also records audiobooks and has narrated 5 episodes of PBS/WNET’s Treasures of New York.  Training:  PTTP.

Jorge Díaz Sánchez

(cousin lalo)

(the one who takes an edible, watches a Pixar movie, and cries.) 

Jorge is an actor from Puerto Rico living in Brooklyn. He has worked with Theatre for a New Audience (The Skin of our Teeth, dir. Arin Arbus), The Public Theater (world premiere of Tongue Depressor by Jerry Lieblich, dir. Tara Elliot), Lincoln Center Education (Trusty Sidekick’s Shadow Play), Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey (Twelfth Night tour), Classical Theatre of Harlem (The Three Musketeers), INTAR (One Minute Play Festival, dir. Lou Moreno), Theatre Raleigh (Junk), and Exquisite Corpse Company (Water, Water Everywhere). TV: FBI. He also teaches acting and public speaking at CUNY-City College. MFA: Brooklyn College  jorgesanchezdiaz.com

PERKS SPOTLIGHT

WOODEN MASKS BY PARAGUAYAN ARTIST NESTOR PORTILLO

INSTAGRAM: @nestorportilloartesanias

BROWN COCK (height 13 x width 8.5 in)

BLUE COCK (height 9.5 x width 6 in)

RED COCK (height 9 x width 6 in)

BEIGE COCK (height 8.5 x width 5 in)

PINK COCK (height 9 x width 4.5 in)

BEIGE JAGUAR (height 10 x width 7 in)

RED JAGUAR (height 8 x width 5 in)

WHITE JAGUAR (height 8 x width 5 in)

TRADITIONAL TOBATI MASK (height 10 x  width 7 in)

TRADITIONAL TOBATI MASK (height 10 x width 7 in)

RECYCLED CANVAS TOTE BAG 

Graphic design by Paraguayan artist Rafaella Pecci 

Instagram @rafaellapecci

STORIES UNITE US (TAN)

STORIES UNITE US (GREY)

I'M A STORYTELLER (TAN)

I'M A STORYTELLE (GREY)

A little sing-a-long gift for the little ones: