FITS & STARTS: THE SACRED HEART
January 10 - 28 at Access Theater

Overlap Productions presents the World Premiere of FITS & STARTS: THE SACRED HEART by Vicki Caroline Cheatwood. This surreal new drama is the recipient of the Robert L. Bone Memorial Playwriting Award, and named Best New Play by the Southwest Theater Association. The play has also been published in the literary journal The Black Ridge Review. Directed by Tania Inessa Kirkman, performances begin previews January 10th at Access Theater with opening night set for Friday, January 13th.

At the beginning of FITS & STARTS: THE SACRED HEART, it's a normal day like any other: Pappaw Rogers sits in his rocker on the porch, Mother and Nadine are at the beauty parlor, and the sheets are drying on the line. Without warning, a storm of cosmic proportions kicks up and day turns to night. Suddenly, there's an old Jewish man sitting in Pappaw's rocker, Nadine is pregnant and three truck drivers from Jersey have been lured into town by an exceptionally bright star overhead. Mother is struck blind and convinced that The Rapture has come. Only time will tell...

The production stars Jenni Tooley, Patrick Dall'Occhio, Lenni Benicaso, Ken Matthews, Thomas Hoyt Godfrey and Vince Phillip with costumes by Jessica Gaffney and lighting by Dan Hansell.

Vicki Caroline Cheatwood's plays include The Risen Chris, An Hour South, Manicures & Monuments, 10:10, and The Cowgirl Chronicles. She has been a finalist for three national playwriting honors: the Heideman Award, the Julie Harris Playwright Award, and the Eileen Heckart Drama for Seniors Award. As a screenwriter, her honors include Special Jury Gold Award for Short Film Dramatic Adaptation for Air in the Houston WorldFest Film Festival, and finalist in the 2005 Austin Film Festival screenwriting competition for 10:10. In April, Journeyman Theater Company in Washington, D.C. will stage Manicures & Monuments (Best New Play Award from the Dallas Theater Critics Forum). Vicki is an artistic associate at Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas and co-founder of the DFW Playwrights Alliance. She is a member of The Dramatists Guild, The International Centre for Women Playwrights, and Austin Script Works. Vicki and her husband live in Dallas County with their twin sons.

Overlap Productions was founded in 2000 by Tania Inessa Kirkman and Susanna L. Harris. Past productions include Trista Baldwin's Patty Red Pants (winner of a FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award and "Best Off-Off-Broadway 2003" by Show Business Weekly), Leon Chase's The Last Carburetor (later published in Plays and Playwrights 2003), and Elizabeth Horsburgh’s Eureka!.

FITS & STARTS: THE SACRED HEART runs January 10 - 28, Tuesday - Saturday at 8pm, with an additional performance Monday, Jan 23 at 8pm. Access Theater is located at 380 Broadway (accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,Q,W,6,J,M,Z to Canal or 1,9 to Franklin Street). Tickets are $15 available at SmartTix.com or 212-868-4444.