PRIME Productions' Regional Premiere of LITTLE WARS Begins 5/5
By: BWW News Desk Apr. 27, 2017
Little Wars is set in 1940. France is about to be invaded by Germany. There is tension, uncertainty, rumors, suspicions. Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas are hosting drinks and dinner for a few iconic ladies: Agatha Christie, Lillian Hellman and Dorothy Parker. Friendships and feuds are revealed. Conversation is sparkling, witty, sometimes confrontational. All have confessions; one has a secret.
Little Wars is written by Steven Carl McCasland and directed by Shelli Place. The cast features Candace Barrett Birk* (Guthrie, Old Log), Sue Scott* (Prairie Home Companion, Mixed Blood), Elizabeth Desotelle* (Chanhassen, Old Log), Laura Adams (Park Square, Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company), Vanessa Gamble (History Theater, Illusion), Alison Edwards* (Roundabout-NY, Alabama Shakespeare), and Miriam Schwartz (Guthrie, Workhouse Collective).
* Member, Actors' Equity Association
Little Wars and PRIME Productions are sponsored by Laurie Fitz and Connections Radio (www.fitz-radio.com), plus Patric Richardson of Mona Williams located at MOA (www.monawilliams.com), and Michelle Winchester and Twin Spirits Distillery (www.twinspirits.us).
About PRIME Productions:
PRIME Productions, founded in 2016, is the newest professional Equity theater to launch in the Minneapolis/St Paul region. With a focus on celebrating women in their second act, their mission is to explore, illuminate and support women over fifty and their stories through the creative voice of performance.
PRIME Productions grew out of the realization that there was a scarcity of opportunities within theater for women in their prime: older female characters are often marginalized or altogether eliminated from the collective narrative. "The Twin Cities is rich in experienced female talent, " says co-founder Shelli Place, "but there's a gap in the plays and roles to fully utilize that resource." PRIME Productions' goal is to fill this gap by producing plays and staged readings that have more significant roles for female actors of a certain age. Upcoming plans include launching a play festival promoting the creation of new works that will employ more female theater artists and address issues relevant to a vibrant aging population. The company co-founders are Alison Edwards, Elena Giannetti and Shelli Place.
Alison Edwards, although new to the Twin Cities, has spent the last 40 years in New York acting in theatre, film, TV and, more recently, audio books. In New York City she performed at the Roundabout Theatre, the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Riverside Shakespeare Festival. She spent four years at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and understudied Judith Light on the national tour of WIT. She holds a BFA from Boston University and attended The American Conservatory Theatre Training Program. She is a member of Actors' Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
Elena Giannetti has been a part of the Twin Cities acting community for over 30 years, performing in front of the camera and on many local stages. Her stage credits include work at the Guthrie Theater, Park Square Theatre, Children's Theatre Company, Mixed Blood and more. Elena is also a director and producer, most recently directing A Midsummer Night's Dream at Park Square Theatre. She is a graduate of Macalester College with a BA in Dramatic Arts and is a member of SAG-AFTRA.
Shelli Place is a director of plays, musical revues & fashion shows and a producer of corporate presentations, product launches and awards ceremonies for Fortune 500 companies. Shelli created a variety of shows for The Walt Disney Company and is an Executive Speech Coach. Minnesota credits include: direction/choreography for Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company, Old Log Theater, Theater NOW, Theatre Unbound and Hennepin Theatre Trust. An experienced actress, she is a member of Actors' Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA & ATAS. Shelli has a BFA in Acting from Southern Methodist University.
For more information, visit www.primeprods.org.
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