Previews Begin Tonight for HOW TO DEFEND YOURSELF at New York Theatre Workshop

New York Theatre Workshop will present How to Defend Yourself by Liliana Padilla (TWITCH), co-directed by Tony Award-winning NYTW Usual Suspect Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown), Susan Smith Blackburn finalist Liliana Padilla and Princess Grace Award winner Steph Paul (The Last Match). How to Defend Yourself begins performances tonight, Wednesday February 22, 2023, with an opening night set for Monday March 13, for a limited run through Sunday April 2, 2023.

I wish girls fought more. Like beat the shit out of each other for fun. I wish that was like a socially acceptable thing to do. Fight club, you know? If it was me and you, I think I'd win.

In a DIY self-defense class, college students learn to use their bodies as weapons. They learn to fend off attackers. They learn "not to be a victim." Self-defense becomes a channel for their rage, anxiety, confusion, trauma and desire-lots of desire.

-You asked how I like it, that's how I like it.

-Maybe you can interrogate why you like that.

-Maybe you can interrogate why it scares you.

With sharp humor and brutal honesty, Liliana Padilla's How to Defend Yourself explores what we want, how to ask for it, and the violator and violated inside us all. Tony Award-winning NYTW Usual Suspect Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown), Susan Smith Blackburn finalist Liliana Padilla (TWITCH) and Princess Grace Award winner Steph Paul (The Last Match) will co-direct the production.

How to Defend Yourself discusses but does not depict sex and sexual violence.

The cast of How to Defend Yourself will include Amaya Braganza (The King and I), Sebastian Delascasas ("Promise"), Jayson Lee (Hooded: or being black for dummies), Ariana Mahallati (The Sky's Forest), Teagan Meredith ("The Calling"), Gabriela Ortega ("Safe Haven"), Sarah Marie Rodriguez ("Manifest") and Talia Ryder (Do Revenge).

How to Defend Yourself will feature scenic design by You-Shin Chen (Walden), costume design by Izumi Inaba (Kill Move Paradise), lighting design by Stacey Derosier (Fat Ham), and sound design by Tony Award winner Mikhail Fiksel (Dana H.). Steph Paul serves as Movement Director. Casting is by Erica Hart, Nicholas Petrovich and Cindy Tolan. Rocío Mendez (On Sugarland) will serve as Fight Director, with Dawn-Elin Fraser (Slave Play) as Voice Director and Ann James (Pass Over) as Intimacy Coordinator. Production Supervision is by Tinc Productions. Katie Young (A Case for the Existence of God) serves as Stage Manager.

NYTW and CAE will also offer a number of Empowerment Self-Defense workshops to the public. This 90-minute class is open to all experience levels and will offer an introduction to physical self-defense by building a foundation of de-escalation tactics and situational awareness. Participants will walk away with verbal, emotional and social techniques and physical skills to apply to a range of interpersonal situations plus self-care practices for healing. The workshop will review simple physical elements to increase muscle memory in the instance of a physical confrontation, which include blocks, strikes and footwork. Sessions are accessible for any age and ability and facilitated through a trauma-informed lens that centers the experiences of those most at risk for violence. NYTW has engaged the Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE) for Upstander/Bystander intervention training as well as Empowerment Self-Defense workshops for its staff, board, and box office, with plans to expand in the future.

Public workshops are available on the following dates:

• Wednesday February 22 - 6:00-7:30pm
• Tuesday February 28 6:00 - 7:30pm
• Saturday March 11 - 4:30 - 6:00pm
• Sunday March 12 - 4:30 - 6:00pm
• Saturday March 25 - 4:30 - 6:00pm
• Sunday March 26 - 4:30 -6:00pm

Workshops are free and open to the public. Advance registration is required at nytw.org/empowerment-self-defense-workshop. Workshops will take place in NYTW's Administrative building (83 East 4th Street) which is not wheelchair accessible.

The Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE) works to prevent hate violence in our communities through educational programs that center the experiences of the people most marginalized. Programs combine awareness raising, physical empowerment, leadership development and activism. CAE centers the needs of women, girls, people who are Trans, Gender-Non Conforming and LGBQ, especially those at increased risk from racism and xenophobia. Through Empowerment Self-Defense programs, people targeted with violence learn evidence-based methods to stay safer. Upstander workshops move anyone from being a bystander to violence, to becoming someone with tools to actively intervene, disrupting violence against others and helping communities heal. Youth Power programs empower young people to become leaders against violence in their own lives and in their communities.

The performance schedule for How to Defend Yourself is as follows: Tuesday-Thursday at 7pm; Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm; Sunday at 2pm & 7pm. Exceptions: there will be no performances Saturday February 25 at 2pm; Tuesday March 14; and Sunday March 26 at 7pm.

Single tickets for How to Defend Yourself start at $35 and vary by performance date and time. $25 tickets are available for the first two CHEAPTIX performances on February 22nd and 23rd. Single tickets for How to Defend Yourself are on sale now at NYTW.org or by calling 212-460-5475.

To enable more young people to see How to Defend Yourself, a block of tickets will be available at every performance to audience members age 30 and under for $30 per ticket. This offer is exclusively available to audience members age 30 and under and valid identification with date-of-birth will be required for each attendee. Tickets are non-transferable and anyone without proper identification will be required to pay the difference in the cost of a regular ticket to gain admission. All sales are final-no refunds or exchanges.

In order to provide access to those in their surrounding community and those with income limitations, NYTW launched CHEAPTIX, an affordable ticket program. At the first two performances of every NYTW production, tickets are sold to the general public for just $25. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, online at NYTW.org or by phone from the NYTW Box Office at 212-460-5475. Standard ticketing fees apply.

Additionally, a $25 day-of CHEAPTIX RUSH will be available for young people, seniors, artists and Lower East Side residents. Rush tickets are subject to availability and are sold cash-only, limit two per person. Proper identification is required for all rush tickets. Youth (ages 25 and under) and seniors (ages 65+) may present an ID indicating date-of-birth; Artists may present an ID and a program or union card; Lower East Side residents may present an ID that includes your address.

NYTW's 2022/23 season began with american (televisions) by NYTW Tow Playwright-in-Residence Victor I. Cazares, directed by NYTW Usual Suspect Rubén Polendo; followed by Merrily We Roll Along, featuring music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a book by George Furth, and based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart. Merrily We Roll Along is directed by Olivier Award winner Maria Friedman and choreographed by Tim Jackson. The 2022/23 season will continue in 2023 with Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, in a new adaptation by Pulitzer Prize finalist Clare Barron (Dance Nation, You Got Older), directed by Tony Award winner and NYTW Usual Suspect Sam Gold (Othello, Fun Home); and The Half-God of Rainfall by Inua Ellams (Barber Shop Chronicles), directed by Taibi Magar (Help).