ART/WNY Presents Two Night Staged Reading

As summer decides on whether to stick around or not, American Repertory Theater of WNY will come out of the company's season hiatus with one of the first events of the 2017-18 season. August will feature a two-evening stage reading of Mark Humphrey's AN INQUIRY INTO THE FATE OF THE U.S.S. PEQUOD at the company's 330 Amherst location. The reading will feature Buffalo actor Stan Klimecko and the return on Jack Hunter as he will share his directorial eye with the project. .

In describing THE FATE OF THE U.S.S. PEQOUD, Humphrey offered a brief insight into the piece, (the work) "is a one person show with the actor playing Capt Ahab. Simply put, Capt Ahab is explaining to the investors what happened to the ship. He talks about his time at sea, including his brushes with Moby Dick, the giant white whale."

The event will also feature an after-show Q & A with playwright Mark Humphrey, Mr. Klimecko and Mr. Hunter. Showtime is 8 pm with dates to be announced in the upcoming week.

In the 2017-18 season, American Repertory Theater of WNY will continue to highlight this local playwrights work with a full production of Humphrey's ROOMMATES for the September Curtain Up! slot. "Great stuff, immediately felt like a Seijun Suzuki film on stage to me", said director Drew McCabe on Humphrey's original piece. Suzuki, best known for his 1966 film Tokyo Drifter, pioneered a genre of B-movie gangster movies and inspired contemporary film-makers like Quentin Tarantino. McCabe (who has received an Artie nomination for his direction on the ART/WNY March 2016 production, THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES) returns back to ART/WNY for another directorial gig and has assembled a great ensemble including Victor Morales, Michael J Starzynski and Brett Klaczyk for this time around.

Mark Humphrey without giving away too much on his work, "ROOMMATES is about two men who have to stay overnight in the same apartment. One man is a former stock broker who owes money to a gangster, the other has been sent by the gangster to keep him safe." Humphrey's overview of what the piece means to him and audiences gives ROOMMATES substances instead of some sort of criminal and victim predictability "The maIn Focus of the piece though, is what we dreamed of becoming, as opposed to what we became" concluded Humphrey.

American Repertory Theater of WNY's Artistic Director Matthew LaChiusa views the relationship between the company and Humphrey's works as a continuing creative feature in ART/WNY theatrical season. "I've always enjoyed Mark's skills as a storyteller and his ability to write for theater." Said LaChiusa. "His works fit right into the artistic vision of the company and throughout the past few seasons reflect exactly the type of works we love to present at ART/WNY." Humphrey's list of works at the company include two one acts submitted into the Local Playwright's showcase and the most recent Artie Award winning production of his work LITTLE ROBERT based on the final evening spent by legendary blues player, Robert Johnson. "I still regard that work (LITTLE ROBERT) as one of the top-ten productions at ART/WNY," LaChiusa on the successful history of Humphrey's works. "The acting of Robert Insana and Hugh Davis, set and lighting design were outstanding. Overlooked as par for the course when it comes to smaller theaters, but outstanding nonetheless."

Mark Humphrey's ROOMMATES is schedule to open on September 7th and run to the 23rd as part of the Curtain Up! celebrations. All showtimes are at 8 pm at ART/WNY's 330 Amherst Street performance space.

Humphrey's two works will also kickstart a season filled with original works including 2013 Young Playwright Showcase finalist, David Moran, will see his full-length work, AN INCH SHORT & A DAY LATE. Drew McCabe picks up his second directorial job with ART/WNY as this work reflecting Millennial rockers falling in and out of love features the 2017-18 season return of Rick Lattimer, Brett Klaczyk, Diane DiBernardo but also see alumni Nick Lama (A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE), Ben Caldwell (THE UNDERPANTS) and Lisa Miller (THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES) as well as finally making her ART/WNY debut, Becky Globus. The current production days are scheduled for January 4th-20th. Then opening in May 2018 is the local playwright showcase THE RAIN DOG PROJECT which will feature original works based on the music of Tom Waits. Directorial overseeing of this presentation will be handled by Nick Lama and Catherine Burkhart. Works and actors selected for this showcase will be announced in August.

For more information on American Repertory Theater of WNY's 2017-18 season, please visit www.artofwny.org