ONE NIGHT
April 19th – May 28th, 2022
A nine-hour theatrical event
Created by the company
from various translations & versions of
The One Thousand and One Nights and other material
The cast for One Night included Ali Andre Ali, Rawya El Chab, Lianne Elsouki, James Tigger! Ferguson, Anthony Vaughn Merchant, Sarah Suzuki, and Lori Vega.
Director/Sound Designer: David Herskovits
Scenic Designer: Carolyn Mraz
Costume Designer: Dina El-Aziz
Lighting Designer: Jack Scaletta
Sound Demon: Leonie Bell
Stage Manager: Adira Rosen
Assistant Stage Managers: Grace Orr, Christina Dewar
Assistant Scenic Designer: Jacqueline Brockel
Assistant Costume Designers: Sera Bourgeau, Xurui Wang
In One Night, Target Margin Theater leads audiences through the frame of Scheherazade’s tale of survival into a celebration of oral storytelling in all its forms. We touch on classics, like Ali Baba and Aladdin, and we introduce you to jewels you may not know, like Julnar of the Sea, or Baucis and Philemon, or other stories from myth, history, and tradition.
This nine-hour theatrical event concludes the company’s five-year exploration of oral storytelling and The One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of classic Silk Road stories. Marking Target Margin’s 30th anniversary, this extravagant performance surrounds storytelling with food, drink, and musical diversions.
Performance schedule: One Night is conceived as a single performance event. It was offered as a continuous experience from 2pm until approximately 11pm. We also wanted this work to be available to those who may not have the capacity for such a lengthy event, so it was also available to see in two halves on separate nights. A limited number of performances were offered as an overnight experience, starting at 8pm and ending at dawn. Just like Scheherazade.
Performances ran from Tuesday, April 19th through Saturday, May 28th, 2022:
Tuesdays & Thursdays at 7pm*: split into two parts over two nights
Wednesdays at 2pm: Full Show
Saturdays at 2pm**: Full Show
*Purchase of a ticket for a Tuesday performance of Part 1 includes the Thursday performance of Part 2 in the same week.
**Special Overnight Performances on Saturday, April 30th and Saturday, May 14th began at 8pm and concluded at dawn the next day, Sunday.
Tickets: Target Margin hoped to make this show accessible to a broad range of audiences, and ticket prices ranged from $49 – $149. The ticket price included food and drinks provided throughout the event (estimated at a value of $25-30 per person). The food and drinks were vegetarian. All seating was general admission and there were no assigned seating sections/locations. We offered a sliding scale of ticket prices, and encouraged patrons to purchase at the highest level that is affordable to them.
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More about the experience:
Read The New York Times‘ feature about the show
A durational event, One Night involves stories told, stories acted out, stories sung and danced, even stories improvised on the spot. Audiences are welcomed in to be at their ease, sitting on cushions, beanbags, sofas, and chairs. We will take care of you! The focus of the action floats, and we use the full range of our Doxsee Theater space. There is no “right” way to receive this work; we hope to offer a golden flow of stories rich enough to feed us all in different ways. At the end, like Scheherazade, we emerge from our night of storytelling renewed to engage with the world with fresh eyes.
We want One Night to be a comfortable and caring experience. It is not a “marathon”; it should be a chance to enjoy a flowing river of stories at your leisure. The performance runs without set intermissions. Throughout One Night the audience will be free and encouraged to get up, stretch, use the rest room, and do whatever their needs and comfort require. Light food and drink will be offered throughout the performance.
One Night grows out of Target Margin’s critically acclaimed 2018 production of Pay No Attention to the Girl, which Ben Brantley, in his New York Times Critic’s Pick review, wrote, “Stories are shape shifters, as mutable and capricious as genies, in Pay No Attention to the Girl, Target Margin Theater’s timely gloss on the rich and strange ancient tales known as The One Thousand and One Nights.” Exploration continued in 2019 with Marjana and the Forty Thieves, which centered on the tale of Ali Baba, and in 2020 with P*ssyc*ck Know Nothing, which wrestled with The Porter and the Three Ladies of Baghdad stories.
A note about the process from Artistic Director David Herskovits:
“The company created this play. For the past five years we have held meetings, readings, discussions and workshops to explore oral storytelling. We started with the collection of stories known as The One Thousand and One Nights, exploring many translations, secondary material, stories about the history and creation of 1001 Nights and its transmission. That work branched out to include all kinds of other material, related stories, personal stories, stories from other traditions that resonate with the Nights. We explored various translations, secondary material, personal responses. We generated language, stagings, design ideas. All of that work has resulted in the event itself, and the text that is its trace.
We try to work in a way that is radically inclusive. Overlapping groups of performers, designers, production people, managers, interns, technicians—many, many people with a stake in our company’s work—shared in this process. You will hear words and see imagery suggested by all of them. It is true that I have been responsible for prompting the process and selecting and shaping from the vast field of work we created; the play reflects my own artistry and values, and I acknowledge that. But every moment of this event involves the voices and hands of many people. It could not have come to be without them all.”
Our work exploring storytelling through The One Thousand and One Nights and other material was developed with the following artists:
Mira Al Jallaf, Ali Andre Ali, Sophie Aung, Mariam Bazeed, Purva Bedi, Leonie Bell, Jacqueline Brockel, Kate Budney, Maria Camia, Caitlin Nasema Cassidy, Ugo Chukwu, Gus Cuddy, Dina El-Aziz, Rawya El Chab, Lianne Elsouki, Liz English, James Tigger! Ferguson, Michael Fernandez-Fortna, Amy Fisk, Jesse Freedman, Joshua William Gelb, Stephanie Ghajar, Eamon Goodman, Deepali Gupta, Fahim Hamid, David Herskovits, Sarah Hughes, Keenan Hurley, David Huynh, Adam M. Kassim, Anna Rose King, John Kurzynowski, Kelly Lamanna, Sophie Zmorrod Laruelle, Haruna Lee, Sarah McEneaney, Kate McGee, Nana Mensah, Anthony Vaughn Merchant, Carolyn Mraz, Mai Lan Nguyen, Grace Orr, Kyoung H. Park, Frank Nicholas Poon, Jackie Rivera, Anish Roy, Jack Scaletta, Yvette Segan, Payton Smith, Gil Sperling, Sarah Suzuki, Lori Vega, Mari Vial-Golden, Amanda Tafeen, Michelle Tuite, Xurui Wang, Stephanie Weeks, Merlin Whitehawk, Isuri Wijesundara, Sydney Wolfe, Layla Wolfgang, Samy Nour Younes, and Moe Yousuf.
COVID Safety Protocols:
(1) All attendees are required to be fully vaccinated with an FDA or WHO authorized vaccine. Proof of a complete COVID-19 vaccination and proof of a booster dose, along with a valid ID, are required for entry into the theater.
(2) Masks (preferably an N95 or KN95) must be worn at all times, except when actively eating or drinking.
(3) Due to the nature and length of the production, Target Margin is also requiring that attendees provide proof of a negative result from a rapid antigen COVID test taken within 24 hrs of the performance start time, to be checked at entry into the theater. The rapid antigen test must be administered by a testing site that sends official results. Those attending Tuesday/Thursday performances need to take a test for each day.
(4) The cast and crew of One Night are fully vaccinated and following a regular testing regimen.
(5) These policies are subject to change depending on local conditions and federal, state, and local guidelines.
GUESTS WHO DO NOT COMPLY WITH THESE PROTOCOLS WILL BE DENIED ENTRY OR ASKED TO LEAVE. Thank you for understanding! Everyone’s health and safety are #1.
This project was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Header photos by Andrew Young, featuring the cast of One Night