Azuka Theatre Closes Season With THE TERRIBLE GIRLS 3/17-4/3

Azuka Theatre will conclude its 11th season with the World Premiere of Jacqueline Goldfinger's the terrible girls, running March 17-April 3 at The Latvian Society, 531 N. 7th Street. The show opens on Wednesday, March 23rd at 7 p.m. This new work began its journey as a one-act in the company's Spotlight Series: New Play Readings in 2009. Now a full-length play, this will be Azuka's ninth world premiere. Tickets cost $10-$25 and are available by calling (215) 733-0255 or online at www.azukatheatre.org.

A wicked dark comedy of friendship, obsession and Southern sensibilities, in the terrible girls accidents keep happening in the little diner off the interstate where three friends work together and keep a sinister secret. When one of them hides her own terrible secret from the others, everything begins to unravel. the terrible girls premiered as a one act at the New York International Fringe Festival in August 2007. Azuka further developed the work and is bringing it to life as a full-length piece.

Goldfinger was the Dramaturg and Literary Manager at Philadelphia Theatre Company and is about to shift into a new position at PTC as Director of the PTC@Play Festival. She is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter. Her work has been featured across the country at theatres including: Theatre Exile, InterAct Theater Company, New York International Fringe Festival, North Coast Repertory Theatre, New Village Arts, 13th Street Rep, Cardboard Box Collective, Experimental Theatre at San Diego State University, Playwrights Collective, Florida Studio Theatre, and others.

When the play premiered as a one-act at the NY Fringe Festival, Backstage said it had, "All the smokiness of a Southern Gothic drama." NY Theatre.Com said, "Suspenseful and provocative...a refreshing new story admirably written...What makes this play different than a mundane portrait of the modern South is its mythic quality. the terrible girls forces us to reflect on the duality of human nature and witness how deceit, desire, and obsession can lead to transgression."

This new work will be directed by Azuka Theatre's Literary Manager, Allison Heishman, who also organizes Azuka's Spotlight Series. Zura Johnson is playing BirdiE. Johnson recently recorded the haunting narrator's voice for Azuka's Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom and was the narrator in Kid Simple. Amanda Schoonover is playing Minnie. Schoonover last appeared in Azuka's production of Kid Simple. She recently appeared in Three Penny Opera at the Arden Theatre Company. She was an F. Otto Haas Award finalist at this year's Barrymore Awards. Kristyn Chouiniere is playing Gretch. Chouiniere last appeared in Act II Playhouse's hit comedy Boeing, Boeing and is a cast member of Freedom Rising at the National Constitution Center. Nathan Holt, who appeared in BRAT Productions' 24 Hour Bald Soprano, is playing The Deaf Man.

"It is always incredible as a theatre artist to get to work on something from its Early Stages all the way through to production. the terrible girls has become so important to not only Azuka, but to the entire artistic team. Jackie is quickly proving herself as an asset to the Philadelphia Theatre community. Her work has already been produced on both coasts. Azuka plans on continuing to foster her work here in Philadelphia and will be reading her new play Skin & Bone in our April Spotlight Series," said Heishman.

The design team is comprised of Azuka veterans. Dirk Durossett is creating the Southern Diner and world the play lives in. Joshua L. Schulman returns Azuka to create the lighting. Alisa Sickora Kleckner is designing the costumes. Daniel Perelstein, who created the soundscape for Azuka's Philadelphia Premiere of Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, is creating the soundscape.

Company History
Azuka Theatre was founded in 1999 by group of artists participating in the Arden Theatre Company's nationally recognized Professional Apprentice Program. Azuka Theatre quickly built a reputation for accessible, thought-provoking and socially minded theatre. Over the past ten seasons, Azuka Theatre has produced twenty plays, including eight world premieres, received a Lambda Award from The Philadelphia Gay News and been nominated for multiple Barrymore Awards, with Chris Collucci winning this past year for Sound Design for The Long Christmas Ride Home. The company also won for Best Actress in a Musical: Kim Carson in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Azuka Theatre has been hailed as "a company to watch" and a "major player on the Philadelphia alterNative Theatre scene," by the Philadelphia Weekly. Azuka Theatre is a member of Off-Broad Street. More information can be found at www.offbroadstreet.com.

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