THEATRE + COMEDY

Nova Arts Project Presents the Houston Premiere of the NYC Off-Broadway Hit! Nova Arts Project, the Houston theatre company dedicated to re-creating classics and inspiring new works in a fearlessly theatrical way, continues its fourth season with the Houston Premiere of Will Eno’s one-man play Thom Pain (based on nothing).

Running June 18-July 4 at DiverseWorks, Thom Pain (based on nothing) features Houston actor Seán Patrick Judge as the title character. Last seen as Jim Lehrer in Catastrophic Theatre’s The Strangerer, Judge again embodies his role, this time as Eno’s conflicted, cynical and almost too self-aware creation.

For Judge, this role “has been a wonderful challenge...as the character is at once supposed to convey charm, charisma and wit, while at the same time be restrained, subdued and seem to be holding back an entire sea of emotions that could destroy both himself, and potentially the audience members!"

Directed by Atlanta-transplant Matt Huff, Huff first brought this play to the attention of Judge, and Artistic Director Clinton Hopper in 2008. Huff’s interest in the play stems from “my passion for sharing original and provocative new voices in American theater. Will Eno's plays are unlike anything else in the theater today. With Thom Pain, Eno has reinvented the one-man show and, in doing so, has created a stunning new vision for expressing the inevitable heartbreak, confounding beauty and utter hilarity of being human.”

Artistic Director Hopper sees the play as an easy choice for Nova Arts Project, saying, “as soon as I heard Seán read the play aloud, I knew that fit our mission of presenting new works that are fearlessly theatrical because it isn’t just a monologue but an exploration of what it means to live life clearly.”

Thom Pain (based on nothing), by Will Eno, runs June 18-July 4, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00pm at DiverseWorks, 1117 E. Freeway, Houston, TX 77002. Tickets are $10 for students and $15 general admission, with the July 4 closing performance as a pay-what-you-wish (cash only please) 2:00pm matinee. To buy tickets, for more information about the production, or for more information about Nova Arts Project, please go to novaartsproject.com.