Part recess, part ritual, part recruitment, SKINNAMARINK is Little Lord's absurd and vicious take on education and indoctrination in America.

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SKINNAMARINK is based on “McGuffey's Eclectic Readers,” a series of American schoolbooks used to teach children how to read from the 1830s to today (yes, to today). Pre-dating the pastel-colored/everybody-happy world of "Dick and Jane," these brutal little books helped shaped the minds and behaviors of Americans for generations.  

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The simple, rich language of these primers and their blatantly moralistic underpinnings launched us to question our current mess of American belief-systems:  How were you taught to read? To think? To behave? How were you punished? What is your relationship to authority? To discipline? To shame? 

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Transforming New York Theatre Workshop’s 4th Street Theatre into our own little one-room schoolhouse of horrors, SKINNAMARINK questions what kind of people are the most useful in society...and how we handle the rest. 

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SKINNAMARINK is part of the second season of Next Door at NYTW, a curated series that provides subsidized space and resources for self-producing artists.

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CREATED BY

Michael Levinton & Little Lord

directed by Michael Levinton

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PERFORMED BY

Kaaron Briscoe*, Joshua William Gelb, Fernando Gonzalez*,

Michael Levinton*, Meg MacCary*, Morgan Lindsey Tachco,

Laura von Holt, and Kate Weber*

 

DESIGNED BY

Sets...Marika Kent

Costumes...Karen Boyer

Lights...Cha See

Sound...Joseph Wolfslau

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Choreography...Whitney G-Bowley

Production Management...Daniel Allen Nelson

Stage Management...Kaitlin Nemeth and James Wyrwicz

Associate Costume Design/Wardrobe...Crystal Kovacs
Assistant Lighting Design...Val Insardi
Press Representation...John Wyszniewksi, Everyman Agency

 

*appears courtesy AEA

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PRESS

REVIEW: "A Dickensian dystopia filtered through the skewed aesthetics of Tim Burton...SKINNAMARINK proudly flies a purely theatrical freak flag." - New York Times Critic's Pick

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REVIEW: "SKINNAMARINK is a horror show that takes old nostalgic objects and turns them nasty in your mouth. This play will make you feel like a child again, whether you like the taste or not." - Time Out New York 4 Stars / Critic's Pick

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REVIEW: "An absurdist study in indoctrination, SKINNAMARINK is a smart and slyly disturbing work." - New York Stage Review 

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REVIEW: "A madcap variety show and tell." - Reviews from my Seat

 

"14 Plays to Go to in NYC This Weekend" in The New York Times

 

"15 Great Things to Do in New York" in NY Magazine's Vulture.com

 

INTERVIEW: "Little Lord's Recipe of Peanut Butter, Kool Aid, and Zoodles" on Culturebot.org

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INTERVIEW: "School is in Session in SKINNAMARINK" on Hollywood Soapbox

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"New York Theatre Workshop Announces 2018-2019 Season at NYTW Next Door" in American Theatre

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PERFORMANCE HISTORY

Little Lord has received developmental support for this project as part of the 2018 Impact Residency Program of the Drama League and LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, and through residencies with Drop, Forge & Tool.

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The Peanut Butter Show, a companion piece to SKINNAMARINK, was the inaugural production of Target Margin Theater’s Presenting Program at THE DOXSEE in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and was developed with support from Target Margin's Artist Residency Program.

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Work-in-progress showings were presented as part of WNYC’s variety show "44 Charlton" at The Greene Space, Laguardia Performing Arts Center’s Rough Draft Festival, and Target Margin Theater’s Grand Festive Opening.