Sound Theatre Company to Present A SMALL FIRE, Begin. 5/30

Sound Theatre Company launches its eighth year of production with the Seattle premiere of A Small Fire by Adam Bock, directed by Julie Beckman. John and Emily Bridges have stumbled through a long marriage. But when dynamo Emily is overcome by a mysterious illness that slowly strips her of each of her senses - smell, taste, hearing, sight - they must rebalance their relationship and confront some long-buried truths. A Small Fire is a story of love, loyalty and the complexity of enduring bonds. Charles Isherwood of the New York Times called Bock's play, "Quietly moving, raucous, funny and unexpectedly touching... a frank demonstration of how much of life, of love and of happiness remain within reach even when so much appears to be lost." A Small Fire is the first production in Sound Theatre Company's 2014 season, a collection of three Seattle premieres that examine The Language of Love and Hate. Each play explores how we express, fail to express, or inhibit expression of these most fundamental human emotions, and the consequences of each. The production features performers who are newcomers to Sound Theatre Company, but familiar to Seattle theatergoers: 2013 Gregory Award nominee Teri Lazzara (August, Osage County, Balagan Theatre) plays the tough businesswoman Emily Bridges, while Seattle favorite Gordon Carpenter (King Lear, Seattle Shakespeare Company) plays husband John. Sara Coates (soon to be seen in Lynn Shelton's film, Laggies) plays their daughter Jenny and Seattle Magazine Spotlight Award-winner Ray Tagavilla as Emily's right-hand-man Billy.

A Small Fire opens on May 30 for a limited run at New City Theatre, located at 1404 18th Avenue in Seattle, with a preview performance on May 29. Tickets are $25, $15 for students, and pay-what-you-can performances on May 29, June 9, and June 16. Due to the small, intimate performance venue, seating for A Small Fire is extremely limited.

A Small Fire was first performed at Playwrights Horizons in New York City, where it was nominated for a 2011 Drama Desk award, and was recently produced at Portland Center Stage.

Adam Bock is the resident playwright at Encore Theatre, and a Shotgun Players Artistic Associate. His other plays include The Receptionist (Portland Center Stage, 2008 Outer Critics nomination), The Drunken City (Playwrights Horizons, 2008 Outer Critics nomination), and The Thugs (Portland Center Stage, 2007 OBIE Award for Playwriting). He is a NEA grantee, a three-time resident at Yaddo, a former member of the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, a NYTW Usual Suspect, and a TDF Open Doors mentor.

Julie Beckman is a Seattle director, most recently with Theatre 22 in their inaugural production of 5th of July. Her Strawberry Theatre Workshop production of The Bells received three 2012 Seattle Times Footlight Awards, and The Elephant Man received four Gregory nominations in 2009. In addition to her work for Book-It Repertory, Seattle Public Theater,Theater Schmeater,Stone Soup Theatre, UW and Cornish, her work has also been seen in Chicago, Washington, D.C, Cincinnati, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Winnipeg, Canada.

Sound Theatre Company presents highly theatrical work inspired by language and music while showcasing professional and emerging talent in the Seattle area. Now in its eight year of production, it has been named an "up-and-coming" theatre company by the Seattle Times, and was granted two of that paper's Footlight Awards in 2013 in recognition of its "breakout year." Its 2013 production of The Wild Party received six Gypsy Rose Lee awards from Seattle Theatre Writers.

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