Christmas Carol (2015,2017)

“A beautiful, well-felt performance! The air is fragrant with mulled wine and mince pies.” 
NY Post (2017)

Directed by Matt Torney & Erwin Maas
Featuring Greg Mulavey & Elmore James

The past, present and future intermingle in an enchanting new site-specific parlor performance of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Set in an historic 19th century Chelsea townhouse, complementary mince pies and mulled wine served at every performance.

The 2017 classic holiday favorite featured a diverse cast headed by acclaimed Broadway veteran and opera singer Elmore James. The piece was directed by Erwin Maas and included a chorus of period carolers.

First published in 1843, A Christmas Carol was adapted for the stage within weeks of its publication. Dickens’ own command performances drew huge crowds in large theatres across England and in a famous tour of America in 1867-68.

Origin evokes this original staging by transforming the Chelsea townhouse that was once home to Geraldine Page & Rip Torn, with the sights, sounds and smells of Victorian domestic life.

Venue: Torn Page Townhouse, 435 West 22nd Street, New York 10011

Poison (2016)

By Lot Vekemans
Translated by Rina Vergano
Directed by Erwin Maas
Starring OBIE Award-winner Birgit Huppuch and Drama Desk nominee Michael Laurence
With live vocalist Jordan Rutter

A New York Times Critics Pick!

In ‘Poison’ words are used to conceal the truth and maintain boundaries as a couple meet again after a painful separation. Try as they might to avoid speaking about what happened and what has happened since, their fragility and doubt seep in through the cracks and wounds are opened anew.

‘Poison’ is widely considered one of the most successful international theatrical hits from the Netherlands. It won the Taalunie Toneelschrijfprijs Award in 2010 for best new Dutch play and has been produced in Russia, South America, China, and across Europe.

The play has been translated into French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Chinese, Russian, Danish, and Swedish. Produced multiple times in Germany, it earned a 2014 Faust Award for the actress Dagmar Manzel.

The Dutch screen version of the play is scheduled to premiere in 2018. An English film adaptation is in development.

Design team includes Jian Jung (set and costume design), Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew(lighting), and Sam LaFrage (sound design). Carol A. Sullivan PSM

Origin Theatre Company’s production of “Poison” was made possible, in part, with support by The Netherland-America Foundation, The Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation, Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Dutch Culture USA, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and with the generosity of our individual supporters.

Venue: The Beckett Theatre at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street

The Hundred We Are (2016)

By Jonas Hassen Khemiri
Directed by Erwin Maas

In The Hundred We Are, the stories of three women — a young radical, a middle-aged housewife, and a clear-eyed world-traveler — unexpectedly merge. Will they share the same fate of missing their true potential, or will they somehow reach beyond their individual limitations?

The Post Script Journal called the play:
“surreal, playful and quietly devastating. It is about the multiplicity of the individual, the unreliable nature of memories and the lies we tell ourselves.”

Venue: The Cell, 338 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011

Northern Lights (2016)

A 4-day celebration of Nordic Culture, including Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark & Iceland.
Curated by Irwin Maas at Scandanavia House

  • Launch Reception & Networking event of Northern Lights Symposium
    Venue: Scandinavia House NY, 58 Park Avenue, NYC
  • Readings/Videos: Theater for Young Audiences in the Nordic Countries: A sampler of contemporary plays for Young Audiences with country-specific readings and video excerpts from all 5 Nordic countries.
    Followed by a moderated Q&A and a talk-back session on Theater for Young Audiences from the Nordic region with select professionals in the field of TYA from both sides of the Atlantic.
  • Program: Readings of excerpts from The Super-Switcher by Salla Viikka (Finland), Winner Takes All? by Methe Bendix (Denmark), GONE by Sofia Fredén (Sweden), and video excerpts from Kandisia by Jarl Flaaten Bjork & Jury by Hege Haagenrud (Norway), and highlights of works by Det Olske Orkester (Denmark), and 10Fingers, BíBí og Blaka and Iceland Dance Company (Iceland).
  • Moderator: Erwin Maas (Director of Programming Origin Theatre Company)
  • Panel: Methe Bendix (Artistic Director Teater Hund), Lotte Faarup (Artistic Director Det Olske Orkester), Mary-Rose Lloyd (Director of Artistic Programming New Victory Theater on 42nd Street), Peg Schuler Armstrong (Director Lincoln Center Education & former Board President International Performing Arts for Youth), Darren Critz (Director Performing Arts Programs Symphony Space NYC).
  • Round Table Conversation: “Cultural Diplomacy 2.0 – International Relations in the Arts” How do the Nordic Countries do it? How can we inspire each other and how can we enhance the value of the arts in society and in international relations? A round table discussion following the “Long Table Etiquette” format, allowing for audiences to join the conversation with specialists/panelists and moderator.
  • Moderator: Erwin Maas (Director of Programming Origin Theatre Company)
  • Panel: Linda Zachrisson (Cultural Attache Embassy of Sweden in DC), Maiken Tandgaard Derno (Cultural Attache Consulate Denmark), Kristian Jul Rosjo (Cultural Officer Consulate Norway), Niklas Arnegren (Cultural Officer Consulate Sweden), Bergthora Laxdal (Cultural Officer Consulate Iceland), Alan Lucien Oyen (Artistic Director Winter Guests Norway), Methe Bendix (Artistic Director Teater Hund Denmark), Wayne Ashley (Future Perfect Productions – Performing Arts Hub Norway), and Albert Bendix (Artistic Director Scandinavian American Theater Company NYC). Venue: American Academy of Dramatic Arts NYC, 120 Madison Avenue,
  • NYC Master Class/Workshop for students Internationally acclaimed Norwegian theater maker Alan Lucien Øyen teaches a Master Class in NYC for students of the Academy before the start of his residency at Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center.
    Venue: Scandinavia House NY, 58 Park Avenue, NYC
  • Staged Reading in Cultural Partnership with, and produced by, Scandinavian American Theater Company (SATC) presents the Icelandic play REFUGEES, by Hlín Agnarsdóttirfollowed by a Q&A with the playwright, director and translator.
    Venue: Scandanavia House, 58 Park Avenue, NYC

The International (2015)

By Tim Ruddy
Directed by Christopher Randolph

Award-winning drama ‘The International’ returms for Off-Broadway Encore Starring Timothy Carter as a well-meaning international peacekeeper from Holland; Ted Schneider as an aspiring artist and truck driver from Los Angeles, and Carey Van Driest as a bright, passionate farmwoman who witnesses her idyllic village life shattered by the encroaching conflict.

The Urbanite Theatre presents Origin Theatre Company’s critically acclaimed production of Tim Ruddy’s ‘The International’,which was called:

“a small, disturbing masterpiece” (TheaterMania.com) in its brief run last year.

The production returns with its original cast for a three-week encore engagement Off-Broadway, again directed by Christopher Randolph.

In this probing three-character play, familiar events taking place during an unnamed war in Eastern Europe are seen through the eyes of three different people in three different parts of the world. Linked in surprising ways through the media, technology and global politics these three people couldn’t be more disconnected.

Starring Timothy Carter as a well-meaning international peacekeeper from Holland; Ted Schneider as an aspiring artist and truck driver from Los Angeles, and Carey Van Driest as a bright, passionate farmwoman who witnesses her idyllic village life shattered by the encroaching conflict.

The Irish Voice’s arts critic Cahir O’Doherty calls ‘The International’,
“the most philosophically engaging and accomplished drama I have seen in years.”

Venue: Theatre Row, NYC