2011 Brings New Play Festival & First-time Chautauqua Play Commission

Artistic Directors Vivienne Benesch and Ethan McSweeny are pleased to announce the exciting line up for Chautauqua Theater Company's 2011 season, our 28th summer as the vibrant resident theater of the Chautauqua Institution.

NPW Festival

Six years after making new play development central to the company's programming, we're proud to announce two exciting initiatives. In 2011 CTC will present a New Play Workshop Festival featuring three new plays presented in repertory over the course of two weeks. And, for the first time, CTC will award a $15,000 Chautauqua Play Commission in conjunction with the Writer's Center.

"The Festival will kick off during the Institution's week on "A Case for the Arts", says Benesch, "and what better case is there than the celebration of important voices in American Theater."

For the last six years, CTC's New Play Workshop series has introduced Chautauquan's to important new voices in the theater and to the staged reading as a thrilling theatrical event in its own right. "In the past we had selected plays to specifically correspond with a particular weekly lecture theme," adds Benesch, "but the festival format will allow us to relax that requirement and open up submissions to any one of the nine weekly themes of the summer."

Chautauqua Play Commission

Chautauqua Writers' Center, in conjunction with the Chautauqua Theater Company, will commission a new play to be written by a prominent or emerging American playwright selected by CTC's Artistic Directors. The Writer's Center will award a $15,000 grant by which this new, previously unwritten play is commissioned and aided in the development process by Chautauqua Theater Company.

"Vivienne and I have always been passionate about new play development," says McSweeny, "and we're very proud of the forum we've been able to provide for some tremendous voices in the American theater. Now, thanks to the generosity of the John C. Court Family Foundation, we're able to elevate that commitment to a whole new level." The Foundation is underwriting the commission as part of their ongoing commitment to enhancing interest in the literary arts at Chautauqua.

The Chautauqua Play Commission will take place over a sixteen-month period encompassing two Chautauqua seasons beginning the summer of 2011. In the first season the playwright will be present on the Institution grounds for a two week residency at the Chautauqua Writers' Center to familiarize themselves with Chautauqua, its environment, culture and aesthetic. Then the playwright, in consultation with the Artistic Directors of CTC, will select the theme or subject that will serve as the focus or inspiration for a new play. In the second season the playwright will return to Chautauqua, at which time a premiere workshop or full production of the play will be produced by CTC.

Three Sisters
July 6-17

To lead off CTC's season of full productions, it's Three Sisters, Chekhov's masterpiece, like you've never seen it before. An army General's three educated daughters yearn to escape their provincial garrison town, their days relieved only by a procession of officers, suitors, husbands, lovers and the ever-present dream of returning to Moscow. Known for his provocative and piercingly human stagings, celebrated director Brian Mertes (Chekhov on Lake Lucille, Law & Order, Guiding Light) takes on Chekhov's enduring classic, leading an ensemble featuring artistic director Vivienne Benesch.

Love's Labour's Lost
August 10-19

Since Ms. Benesch and Mr. McSweeny assumed the leadership of CTC in 2005, each season has concluded with a Shakespeare production featuring the entire exceptional Conservatory company. This season, for the first time, Mr. McSweeny will direct that final production: Shakespeare's gEm Love's Labour's Lost.

"It's a notable season," says Benesch. "One that will once again challenge and entertain our audiences in unexpected ways. We will welcome extraordinary artists, both new and returning, and see CTC broaden its role as a champion of new work in the American Theater. Can't wait to see you all there."

Tickets may be purchased by calling the Chautauqua Institution box office at (716) 357-6250, or by visiting the Chautauqua Theater Company website at www.CTCompany.org

Chautauqua Theater Company 2011 Season

Three Sisters
by Anton Chekhov
Directed by Brian Mertes
July 6-17

Chekhov's masterpiece like you've never seen it before. An army General's three educated daughters yearn to escape their provincial garrison town, their days relieved only by a procession of officers, suitors, husbands, lovers and the ever-present dream of returning to Moscow. Known for his provocative and piercingly human stagings, celebrated director Brian Mertes takes on Chekhov's enduring classic, leading an ensemble featuring artistic director Vivienne Benesch.

New Play Workshop Festival
July 21-31

Three New Play Workshops. Two weeks. One NPW FESTIVAL

Six years after introducing new play development to Chautauqua, CTC presents our first ever NPW Festival: three new plays in repertory over the course of two weeks. As always, each workshop is followed by a conversation with the artists. Be a vital part of developing new work for the American stage.

Love's Labour's Lost
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Ethan McSweeny
August 10-19

No sooner have the young King of Navarre and his companions sworn to spend the next three years in solitary study than the beautiful Princess of France and her lovely ladies in waiting arrive to demolish their ivory tower. Egged on by the lovelorn Don Armado, vows are made to be broken in Shakespeare's whimsical tale of the pangs of youthful love. For the first time, artistic director Ethan McSweeny leads CTC's incomparable Conservatory actors in the annual Shakespeare classic.

DAY BY DAY CALENDAR
Your Daily Guide to CTC Season 28

All performances in Bratton Theater on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution

July 6 8:00 Three Sisters Preview $30
July 7 6:00** Three Sisters Opening $30 **note early curtain
July 8 2:15 Three Sisters $30
July 8 8:00 Three Sisters $30
July 9 2:15 Three Sisters $30
July 10 2:15 Three Sisters $30
July 10 8:00 Three Sisters $30
July 12 8:00 Three Sisters $30
July 13 8:00 Three Sisters $30
July 14 4:00 Three Sisters $30
July 15 8:00 Three Sisters $30
July 16 2:15 Three Sisters $30
July 17 2:15 Three Sisters $30
July 17 8:00 Three Sisters Closing $30

July 21 8:00 New Play Workshop A $15
July 22 4:00 New Play Workshop A $15
July 23 8:00 New Play Workshop B $15
July 24 2:15 New Play Workshop B $15
July 24 8:00 New Play Workshop A $15
July 26 2:15 New Play Workshop B $15
July 27 8:00 New Play Workshop C $15
July 28 2:15 New Play Workshop C $15
July 28 8:00 New Play Workshop A $15
July 29 4:00 New Play Workshop B $15
July 30 2:15 New Play Workshop C $15
July 31 12:00 New Play Workshop A $15
July 31 4:00 New Play Workshop B $15
July 31 8:00 New Play Workshop C $15

Aug 10 8:00 Love's Labour's Lost Preview $30
Aug 11 6:00** Love's Labour's Lost Opening $30 **note early curtain
Aug 12 2:15 Love's Labour's Lost $30
Aug 12 8:00 Love's Labour's Lost $30
Aug 13 2:15 Love's Labour's Lost $30
Aug 14 2:15 Love's Labour's Lost $30
Aug 14 8:00 Love's Labour's Lost $30
Aug 16 8:00 Love's Labour's Lost $30
Aug 17 2:15 Love's Labour's Lost $30
Aug 17 8:00 Love's Labour's Lost $30
Aug 18 4:00 Love's Labour's Lost $30
Aug 19 2:15 Love's Labour's Lost Closing $30

 

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