SMALL ENGINE REPAIR Opens At Stonestreet Studios Tonight

The team behind Tape is back this summer with their recently announced production of Small Engine Repair at Stonestreet Studios, which opens tonight to a sold out crowd. The production runs August 20th to August 26th, for 9 initial performances. The complete cast includes George Carpenter, Ryan Perez, Julio Saenz, and Andy Ottenweller. It is written by critically acclaimed playwright John Pollono (Stronger) and directed by Bailey Nassetta.

Small Engine Repair tells the story of former high school buddies Frank (Carpenter), Swaino (Perez), and Packie (Saenz) who are now past their prime. They meet off-hours one night in Frank's out-of-the-way repair shop under cloudy circumstances that only Frank seems to have a handle on. Enter Chad (Ottenweller), a plugged-in, preppy college jock, whose arrival ignites a long-simmering resentment that sets this taut, twisty, comic thriller on its breathless course.

The show is a dark comedy that examines the repercussions of invasions of privacy, trust within varying types of relationships, and and how social media can be abused. It's a unique addition to the conversation happening around the Me Too movement and therefore both topical and timely.

"When I first read Small Engine Repair, I hated it. But, I realized I needed to put the anger, fear and frustration I felt aside in order to take on this opportunity to give voice to an invisible female character in a male dominated play. My goal as a female director was to objectively question, dissect and assemble this tragic story so that I could better understand myself and my own tragedies as well as the realities of the world around us," says director Bailey Nassetta. "My continual challenge as a director, has been to figure out how to approach this text, these characters and this story with love and not hate. As a woman, I believe it is important for a woman to tell this story and I feel very grateful to be the director for this re-staging. Directing this piece has become a very therapeutic process for me and I hope it inspires more open dialogue about some tough subjects so that more people can begin the process of learning and healing."

The production will run this August at Stonestreet Studios in Chelsea. Stonestreet Studios is a working independent film studio that has partnered with NYU Tisch School of The Arts as the exclusive screen acting and production conservatory. The two floor studio has an 80 seat theatre in-house. This unique partnership provides its students with a unique and immersive training experience. Since opening its doors 25 years ago, Stonestreet has trained various actors such as Miles Teller (Whiplash, Thank You For Your Service), Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, House of Cards), Camila Mendes (Riverdale), Beanie Feldstein (Lady Bird), Danny Ramirez (Assassination Nation, On My Block), Jack Falahee (How To Get Away With Murder), and many others.

Three of the actors in this production, Ryan Perez, Andy Ottenweller, and Julio Saenz attended Stonestreet during their training at NYU and have continued a creative collaboration since moving beyond the program. In addition to that friendship, they have the support of fellow alums such as Giullian Gioiello (Scream, Marvel's Iron Fist) and other creatives in the industry such as Denzel Whitaker (Black Panther) who have tweeted out about the show.

The team also has the support of the playwright, John Pollono, who is the voice behind the critically acclaimed film Stronger starring Jake Gyllenhaal.

"It thrills me that Small Engine Repair continues to resonate with artists and audiences all over the world, I never dreamt that something so raw and tough and personal would connect so deeply. I love, especially how often I hear from actors who do the piece, how they got so close to their fellow players. Going through the journey playing friends actually inspires friendship," says Pollono of this production.

"Comedy is often the overwhelming presence of tragedy. I discovered this show at a very dark time in my life, when a lot of drinking and drugs were involved to cope - not unlike what you will see in this show. Much like these characters, I felt stuck," reflects actor Ryan Perez. "After seeing a performance, it was the first time I laughed in a long time and found hope in the darkness. Packie, Swaino, Frank, and even Chad helped me deal with fraught realities in a cathartic manner. I don't drink or do drugs anymore, but now having the chance to tackle this production myself, is nothing short of an honor to bring awareness to Pollono's complex narrative."

Tickets are on sale now at: https://www.artful.ly/small-engine-repair/store/events