The COOP's world premiere of Terra Firma by Barbara Hammond opens at the Baruch Performing Arts Center October 10, after beginning performances September 27. A commission from London's Royal Court, the play is set in a not-so-distant Beckettian future, where a tiny kingdom wrestles with the problems of running a nation—asking what makes a citizen, a country, and a civilization?
Shana Cooper directs a company made up of COOP founder Andrus Nichols as The Queen, John Keating as Jones, Daniel José Molina as Teddy, Tom O’Keefe as The Hostage, Gerardo Rodriguez as Roy, and T. Ryder Smith as The Diplomat. Mark Bedard is the understudy.
The world premiere is a co-production with Baruch. The design team includes set designer Andrew Boyce, costume designer Ntokozo Fuzunina Kunene, lighting designer Eric Southern, and sound designer Jane Shaw.
Flip through photos of the production below:
Hammond's other plays include We Are Pussy Riot Or Everything Is P.R.; Visible From Four States; and The Eva Trilogy: Eden, Enter the Roar.
The COOP was conceived with a mission to foster a community of NYC-based artists interested in making great theatre ethically and with a spirit of collaboration, experimentation, and trust. Nichols is artistic director; Jacob Janssen is artistic producer, Drew Ledbetter is head of the literary department, and Samantha Steinmetz is the digital media manager. The company’s Artistic Advisory Board is made up of Patricia Black, Midori Francis, Robyn Kerr, Carman Lacivita, Drew Ledbetter, Jason O’connell, James Dean Palmer, and John Russell.
