Nicu's Spoon Theater Company
Encyclopedia
Nicu's Spoon is an inclusionInclusion (disability rights)
Inclusion is a term used by people with disabilities and other disability rights advocates for the idea that all people should freely, openly and without pity accommodate any person with a disability without restrictions or limitations of any kind...
-oriented Off-Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway theatrical productions in New York City are those in theatres that are smaller than Broadway and Off-Broadway theatres. Off-Off-Broadway theaters are often defined as theaters that have fewer than 100 seats, though the term can be used for any show in the New York City area that...
theater company in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Its artistic director is Stephanie Barton-Farcas, who won the OOBR (Off-Off Broadway Review) award for direction of Suburbia in 2004, the NYU Thom Fluellen Award in 2006 and the 2008 NY Innovative Theater Award for Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role for Elizabeth Rex.
The company is based on inclusion, so it chooses to work with actors that might otherwise be considered 'marginalized
Marginalization
In sociology, marginalisation , or marginalization , is the social process of becoming or being made marginal or relegated to the fringe of society e.g.; "the marginalization of the underclass", "marginalisation of intellect", etc.-Individual:Marginalization at the individual level results in an...
', whether by age, ability http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/voiceweb/v_fudenske.htm, gender, or ethnicity. The company became known from the outset for productions which challenged stereotypes and expectations http://www.jessmarmor.com/clip_ordinarypeople.html, and it was the recipient of the 2006 Thom Fluellen Award
Thom Fluellen Award
The Thom Fluellen Award is given by the New York University Community Fund for excellence in programming for the diverse city of New York.-External links:* at New York University...
given by the New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
Community Fund for "excellence in programming for the diverse city of New York". It has also won the 2004 OOBR award and a 2008 Snapple/Mayor of NY City Award, as well as a 2008 NY Innovative Theatre Award http://www.nyitawards.com.
The company's unusual name stems from a young boy the artistic director met in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
in the 1990s when working with abandoned children there. "...[T]he most amazing one was Nicu, who was 5...in diapers and did not walk, talk or feed himself. They told me he was deaf and retarded. Nicu had spent 5 years on his back in a crib. I got angry and said "I'll take him." Six months later he did all those things. He and I fought some big, bad battles together to get him there — to get him to choose life. And in the process he changed my life. Though he was mentally and physically challenged Nicu viewed the world with wonder; he spent hours bouncing sunlight off of a spoon. When he began to eat solid food ... his spoon was everything to him. Nicu’s spoon became the symbol for all the impossible things that were suddenly possible—things like walking, talking, thinking, and living. He was and we lost him 5 years later, in 1996. Nicu’s life was about quality, not quantity — about life’s impossibles becoming possible."
Nicu's Spoon productions have been the original work Displaced; To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature...
; Eric Overmyer's In Perpetuity Throughout the Universe; Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
; Mac Wellman's Murder of Crows; Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian
Eric Bogosian is an American actor, playwright, monologist, and novelist of Armenian descent.-Personal life:Bogosian, an Armenian-American, was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Edwina, a hairdresser and instructor, and Henry Bogosian, an accountant. After graduating from Oberlin College,...
's SubUrbia
SubUrbia
subUrbia is a play by Eric Bogosian chronicling the nighttime activities of a group of aimless 20-somethings still living in their suburban Boston hometown and their reunion with a former high school classmate who has become a successful musician...
; a play adaptation of Ordinary People by Nancy Gilsenan (from the book by Judith Guest); Elizabeth Egloff's The Swan; a play adaptation of Le Petit Prince by Ric Cummins and John Scoullar; Mark Medoff's Stumps; Gary Henderson's Skin Tight; Ken Duncum's Cherish; Buried Child
Buried Child
Buried Child is a play by Sam Shepard first presented in 1978. It won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and launched Shepard to national fame as a playwright...
; Constance Congdon's Tales of the Lost Formicans, Shakespeare's Richard III
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, and most recently their highly successful run of Elizabeth Rex
Elizabeth Rex
Elizabeth Rex is a play by Timothy Findley.The plot involves a meeting between Queen Elizabeth I and an actor from Shakespeare's troupe who specializes in playing women's parts...
, which after its run moved to New York's Center Stage in August 2008 for a one-month limited Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
engagement.