Planet Ant Theatre to Present World Premiere of DANCING

Can you really love someone if you never know their name? Does love last longer if you don't know each other's history? Planet Ant Theatre is proud to present the third World Premiere of its 2019/2020 Theatrical Season: Dancing, by local playwright and Wilde Award winner, Maxim Vinogradov (Night of Stars, Lost in Three Pines, My Dad Was Fifteen Feet Tall) will play in the Planet Ant Black Box Theater, December 6-22. Directed by Kaitlyn Valor Bourque, Dancing tells the story of two lost young people, who accidentally find each other while searching for themselves.

"I think it's too easy and maybe even too flattering to look at this play and recognize what you usually don't see: two active girls in sole conversation," said Vinogradov. "Instead, I wanted to focus on what you usually do see; I wanted to bring the honesty of love and youth that we've all felt and then paint maybe half of it up for the sake of pretty words. Leave the rest for recollection."

"While the prettiness of this script is certainly undeniable, Max's story is grounded in the universal truth of human nature's desire and drive to seek connection - to be seen and loved fully, without fear, judgement, or consequence," said Bourque. "I am honored to have the opportunity to work with such talented and vibrant young actors to bring these lovely words to life."

"I knew as soon as Kaitlyn was directing it that it was going to find all the honesty I wanted it to have and all the honesty I could never even picture," said Vinogradov. "She intuitively reads lines the playwright hesitantly deleted; in her case, with laser focus and personal ammo."

"This is a play about two naturally competing ideologies: my life must be the grounded story because I'm embarrassingly abnormal, and my life must be the abnormal story because I'm embarrassingly grounded. How much of ourselves do we sacrifice for the stories we want to inhabit? There are so many big plays that reach for the moon and succeed and we love them accordingly; I wanted to make a little play about two people: how they interact, how they grow, how they hide. It is, for lack of a more fantastic and 'aha' word, about dancing through life."

Dancing stars Cookie Isenberg and Rashi Sarwar of West Bloomfield. It is stage managed by Planet Ant Technical Director, Mikey Brown of Hamtramck, with scenic design by Jared Scott Morin. The play will run December 6-22 in the Planet Ant Black Box. Performances are on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 6pm. There is a pay-what-you-can preview on Thursday, December 5 at 8pm.

Tickets to opening weekend are half-price online only, and can be purchased at planetant.com/livetheatre. Discounted tickets to all performances are also available online only. Ticket prices are $17.50 online and $20 at the door. Group student discount rates are available by request (to inquire, email kvb@planetant.com).