Many artists and productions found themselves homeless and are now scrambling for new venues following last week's announcement by Zipper owner and proprietor Lee Z. Davis that the funky venue and its adjoining tavern shuttered Jan. 13.

INTAR artistic director and playwright Eduardo Machado said in a statement, "We are deeply saddened by these sudden developments. We had no idea this was even a possibility. Tickets were about to go on sale, the cast is in rehearsal, and we are suddenly out on the street. For a non-profit company like us, this is a devastating blow."

Rehearsals for In Paradise and She Plundered Him continue while INTAR searches for a new venue for the plays that were to begin performances Feb. 11 and run through March 7. Representatives for INTAR hope to announce a new venue later this week.

Billy Hopkins directs both productions. In Paradise features Leslie Lyles and Ed Vasallo, while She Plundered Him features Lyles, James Chen and Mark Elliot Wilson.

Machado's In Paradise, according to press notes, begins as "an estranged husband shows up on his wife's doorstep. Carlos left Marilyn seven years ago for another man, but both the conflicts and chemistry between them feels as fresh as if they were never apart. Deserted by his lover, Carlos has returned to Marilyn for answers and salvation. As they delve into the remains of their shared history, the power struggle between them plays out through recrimination, eroticism, anger, and love. Can you help someone who betrayed you move forward, or will you always blame one single person for ruining your entire life?" In Norman's She Plundered Him, press notes state, "the boundaries of familial relationships are tested in new and dangerous ways. Calder, already on a mental precipice, is convinced that he saw something unseemly pass between his wife, Keep, and son, Anthony…but did he? As Calder's obsessive jealousy spirals out of control and Keep and Anthony lie to him and one another, the family unit threatens to break irreparably. Throughout, the playwright employs heightened classical language infused with harsh vernacular, and the results are harrowing and brutal."

The productions have designs by Maruti Evans (set and lighting) Michael Bevins (costumes) and Betsy Rhodes (sound).

For further information visit intartheatre.org.