LOOKING GLASS THEATRE PRESENTS HELIX 999

A "rip-roaringly entertaining play... Nowell's crackling script seamlessly injects the witty patter of crime noir into sci-fi, and keeps the plot zipping along"
-- nytheatre.com


Written by Kenneth Nowell
Directed by Candace O’Neil Cihocki
Running Friday, October 13 – Saturday, November 18


HELIX 999, a new science-fiction play written by Kenneth Nowell,
opens late-night at Looking Glass Theatre this October - on Friday the 13th -
and runs through November 18. The production, which also offers a special
Halloween night  performance, features director Candace O’Neil Cihocki.
Additional evening performances are offered Friday, October 20 and
Friday, October 27 at 8 p.m.

About the Show…
In the future, genetically-produced people walk among us.  It is Rick’s job to erase this dirty little secret…then, he gets to know one.  In HELIX 999, Raymond Chandler’s hardboiled world unfolds in a Philip K. Dick future.  Rick is a self-loathing agent for a genetics conglomerate that has clandestinely embedded genetic creations in the public sector while awaiting government approval for their products.  Rick’s job is to retire malfunctioning models without raising suspicions.  Amanda, his latest case, has somehow discovered that she is a Genome Inc. product.  Faced with the prospect of a huge scandal, the CEO puts the squeeze on Rick to find out who tipped-off Amanda.  Or else.  How far will Rick have to go?

About the Playwright Kenneth Nowell…
Kenneth Nowell, a playwright from Mississippi living in Brooklyn, earns his living as Creative Services specialist for Deutsche Bank’s Legal and Compliance Departments. Most recently, his adaptation of Wedekind’s SPRING’S AWAKENING was produced at Looking Glass. The New York Times said about his original work, THE FALL: "Mr Nowell's technique is poetic, clipped, precise ... a kind of Cubist sculpturing of consciousness and event that replicates the pain and absurdity of family trauma. Think of Donald Margulies's world skewed by a noir Thorton Wilder collaborating with a Gertrude Stein."

About the Director Candace O’Neil Cihocki…
Candace O’Neil Cihocki graduated from Adelphi University in 2001 with a BFA in Performing Arts and is currently starting her graduate applications for September 2007 admission. HELIX 999 marks her fourth production as a director with The Looking Glass Theatre. Recent credits include directing an adaptation of MEDEA in The Looking Glass Spring Forum and set design for InterCATaction/Children’s Adaptive Theater FOX KNOCKS PLAY. Some of her favorite directing credits include The Manhattan Project's ALICE IN WONDERLAND, and Eric Bogosian’s SEX, DRUGS, ROCK & ROLL.  She also dabbles in choreography, poetry and free-lance photography. Candace is very excited to be returning to NYC to direct HELIX 999 and to bring to life Kenneth Nowell’s story of love, secrets and regret.

The Cast and Crew…
Cast:  Jenn Boehm, Mark Comer, Nic Heppe, Julia E. C. Jones and Elizabeth Yocam
Crew:  Director: Candace O’Neil CihockiLight Design: Ryan Metzler
  Fight Choreography: Dain Geist Set Design: Jane Parrott
  Assistant Director/Stage Manager: Robby Grossman

Click here for company bios.

About Looking Glass Theatre…
Looking Glass Theatre’s mission is to explore and expand the feminine aesthetic, producing works by historic female playwrights, new works by women, and productions of the classics re-imagined by contemporary women directors. This June, Looking Glass Theatre and Artistic Director Justine Lambert received The Lucille Lortel Award from The League of Professional Theatre Women. Additionally, New York Resident named Ms. Lambert one of the Top 100 New Yorkers of 2003 for her work with the company.
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HELIX 999 -- October 13–November 18, 2006
SCHEDULE: Fridays & Saturdays @ 11PM
  Additional performances October 20 & October 27 @ 8pm
  Special Halloween Performance on Tuesday, October 31 at 7pm
ADDRESS: 422 West 57th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues
PHONE: (212) 307-9467

This show is closed.
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CAST & CREW...


THE CAST










































PRODUCTION / CREW








Dain Geist (Fight Choreography) is originally from Alaska and has an MFA from the Actors Studio Drama School. Past Looking Glass credits include Looking Glass Forum productions of Anthony & Cleopatra and Medea. Other credits include Seascape with Sharks and Dancer (ASDS), Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead (Adelphi University), and Hamlet (Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre).







Robert Grossman (Assistant Director/Stage Manager) is to happy return for the third time to the Looking Glass Theatre. He was last seen here in a production of Euripides' Medea. He would like to thank Candace for giving him the chance to work on a great Sci Fi project, of his friend he can say only this "of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, hers was the most... human".

Elliot Lanes (Sound Research) is totally ecstatic to be researching for Helix 999 and to be working with Candace and company. Previous design credits include productions for Fringe NYC, Midtown Theatre Festival, Manhattan Theatre Source, Fresh Look Theatre and American Theatre of Actors just to name a few. He would like to thank Candace for the opportunity.

Ryan Metzler (Light Design) is the Lighting Designer in Residence at the Looking Glass Theatre, where he designs the semi-annual Writer/Director Forum. New York: Copito (MITF 2004), Spring’s Awakening (Looking Glass Theatre), Sex and Sealing Wax (MITF 2006), The Quiet Model (MITF 2006), and Chess (NYC Fringe 2006). Collegiate: Red Demon (U.S. premiere, Connecticut College).

Jane Parrott (Set Design) received her B.A. in Fine Art from Bard College in Annandale, NY in 1999. In the subsequent years, she trained as a set designer and prop stylist in print production in NYC.  An avid traveler, she found Berlin, Germany her home for some years where she trained in theater and built sets for a large variety of projects for internationally known artists and performance groups.  She went on to receive her M.A. in Scenography at Central St. Martin's School of Art and Design in London in 2005 and now works internationally on opera, theater, film, and print production.

Emily Plumb (Hair Assistant)

Skyler Schrempp (Costume Design) is originally from Chicago but has been transplanted to Brooklyn for the time being. She is an actress, a costume designer and a potential cheap romance fiction writer. Most recently she designed costumes for a feature length film The Unidentified. She is currently working on a World War II radio-play.

Jenn Boehm (Smith) is delighted to be a part of Helix 999 in her first show at Looking Glass. Originally from North Dakota, she was most recently seen as Susan in Props (Small Pond Entertainment, MITF). Prior to that, she portrayed Evelyn in The Shape of Things with the Radburn Players and starred in the NYC premiere of the one-woman show Red Rose. Jennifer is the Managing Director of The Looking Glass Theatre and works as a freelance sportswriter. Special thanks to Candace, Beth and the entire cast and crew and a wild abundance of thanks to my family and dear friends for their unconditional love and support.
Julia E.C. Jones (Amanda) is a recent graduate of NYU's Tisch School Of the Arts, where she studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the Experimental Theatre Wing, and acted in fourteen productions. She is delighted to be in her first show at the Looking Glass Theatre. Other Off-Off Broadway credits include Macbeth with Queens Shakespeare and Without with the Rising Sun Performance Company. Many thanks to Candace and the wonderful cast and crew of Helix 999.
Elizabeth Yocam (Walker) is thrilled to be performing with The Looking Glass Theatre again after making her debut in the Winter 2005 Writer/Director’s Forum in Hell Hath Three Furies (Beth).  Most recently, Elizabeth toured with the New England Shakespeare Festival in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck).  Recent NYC shows include Uncle Vanya (Sonya) and The Winter’s Tale (Emilia) with Sonnet Rep and King Lear (Regan) at the Waterloo Bridge Playhouse.  Elizabeth is a graduate of the Michael Howard Studios’ One-Year Conservatory Program and holds a B.A. in Theatre from Connecticut College.  Thanks to Evan for all of his love and support. 

Candace O’Neil Cihocki (Director) graduated from Adelphi University in 2001 with a BFA in Performing Arts and is currently starting her graduate applications for September 2007 admission. Helix 999 marks her fourth production as a director with The Looking Glass Theatre. Recent credits include directing an adaptation of Medea in The Looking Glass Spring Forum and set design for InterCATaction/Children’s Adaptive Theater Fox Knocks Play. She also dabbles in choreography, poetry and free-lance photography. She would like to thank her cast and crew for all their hard work and dedication to this project. She would also like to give thanks to her friends and family for constantly believing that art can be done, you only have to try.
Nic Heppe (Man/Farmer/Strategist/Bartender) received his B.F.A at Adelphi University. This is his second time performing at The Looking Glass, and he is thrilled to be back. He woulld like to thank Candace, as well as the cast and crew, for such a great experience.
Mark Comer (Rick) is originally from Great Falls, Montana.  Off-Off-Broadway: Troika, Circuit Breakers, and The Waiting Room.  Television/Film: “Book of Daniel”, Friendly Fire, Silencing a Nightmare, Raindrops for Anna, Bookshop, The Gift.  Upcoming: The Brooklyn Buddha (pre-production).  Training: BFA, Rutgers University; Shakespeare’s Globe, London, England; The Barrow Group.  Mark would like to dedicate this to his parents.
Christine Grenier (Production Assistant/Props Mistress) lives in Manhattan where she splits her time between acting and teaching mathematics.  Christine started her acting career in Boston, where she graduated from Boston University.  She moved to Manhattan as the logical next step in her acting career.  She currently teaches at St. Ignatius Loyola and is an actor intern at the Looking Glass Theatre.  Christine is passionate about music.  She is a classically trained French horn player and an amateur bugler.  She wishes to thank her dad for being such an inspiration in her life. 
Mia Ulibarri (Production Assistant) Mia Ulibarri holds a BA in theatre from the University of New Mexico and has also studied with the Moscow Art Theatre School USA. She has performed with a plethora of theatres in New Mexico and most recently worked with the Virginia Stage company as one of their Emerging Artist Ensemble Members. She is proud to currently be an acting intern for the Looking Glass Theatre and will be seen in Doing Shakespeare in The Looking Glass Winter Forum.
Julia EC Jones and
Mark Comer in Helix 999
Mark Comer and Elizabeth Yocam in
Helix 999
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