Stage Left Theatre to Present THE FIRESTORM, 10/30-11/29

Stage Left Theatre announces the upcoming Rolling World Premiere of The Firestorm, written by Meridith Friedman and directed by Ensemble Member Drew Martin. The Firestorm is the first production of Stage Left' s 34th season. Press opening is Friday, October 30th at 8 PM at Theater Wit, 1229 W Belmont. The show runs through November 29th.

Gaby and Patrick, an interracial political power couple hot on the campaign trail, are thrust into the center of a media frenzy when a racially charged incident from Patrick's past surfaces. As the pressure intensifies, the political becomes explosively personal and the foundation of their seemingly picture-perfect marriage begins to fracture.

The Firestorm was developed in part at Stage Left through a Downstage Left Playwright Residency in 2014 and in it's annual new-play festival, LeapFest. As part of a NNPN Rolling World Premiere, The Firestorm will see three productions. The first was at Kitchen Dog Theater in Dallas, Texas in May of 2015. Stage Left's production is the second, and finally LOCAL Theater in Boulder, Colorado will mount a production in the fall of 2016.

The National New Play Network (NNPN) is the country's alliance of non-profit professional theaters dedicated to the development, production, and continued life of new plays. Since its founding in 1998, NNPN has supported more than 250 productions nationwide through its innovative National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere program, which provides playwright and production support for new works. Additional programs - its annual National Conference, National Showcase of New Plays, and MFA Playwrights Workshop; the NNPN Annual and Smith Prize commissions; its residencies for playwrights, producers and directors; and the organization's member accessed Collaboration, Festival, and Travel banks, and online information sessions - have helped cement the Network's position as a vital force in the regional theater landscape. NNPN's programming allows its members and their affiliated artists to create, grow, and share new work across the country and around the world, and it strives to pioneer, implement, and disseminate ideas and programs that revolutionize the way theaters collaborate to support new plays and playwrights. Its most recent project, The New Play Exchange (www.newplayexchange.org), launched in January of 2015, is already changing the way playwrights share their work and others discover it. NNPN's 29 Core and more than 65 Associate and University Members - along with the more than 250 affiliated artists who are its alumni, the thousands of artists and artisans employed annually by its member theaters, and the hundreds of thousands of audience members who see its supported works each year - are creating the new American theater. For more information please visit www.nnpn.org.

In line with our mission to raise social and political debate, Stage Left offers patrons a Symposium Series for every production. Immediately following each Sunday matinee, we invite the audience to stay for a discussion centered on a particular question raised by the performance. Admission to the Symposium Series is free, but it is recommended that attendees have seen the production in order to fully appreciate and participate in the discussion. The Firestorm explores the ways we hide in conversations around race, and examines the gulf between professed ideology and personal action.

The Firestorm runs Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM, and Sundays at 3:00 PM from 10/24/15 through 11/29/15. Tickets are $20-30 and will be available through the Theater Wit box office either online at www.theaterwit.org or by calling 773-975-8150. Press Opening is Friday, October 30 at 8:00 PM. Previews are Saturday, October 24 at 8:00pm; Sunday, October 25 at 7:00 PM; Wednesday, October 28 at 8 PM; and Thursday, October 29 at 8:00 PM. Preview tickets are $20. The Firestorm will be performed at Theater Wit at 1229 W. Belmont in Chicago. The theater is handicapped and CTA accessible via the Belmont El (Red & Brown).