Charles Mee's LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON Gets Reading at Abingdon This Fall

Abingdon Theatre Company launches its Ghostlight Reading Series with LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON by Charles Mee on November 28 at 7pm. The reading is free and open to the public at Abingdon Theatre Company's June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street). Leon Ingulsrud is set to direct.

With an eye towards production-ready scripts, The Ghostlight Reading Series provides an opportunity for writers, directors and collaborators to share the work with an audience before transitioning into production. By focusing on scripts that that reflect our social, political, historical and cultural diversity, Abingdon aims to become a destination for artists grappling with big questions.

A ghost light is defined as "an electric light that is left energized on the stage of a theater when the theater is unoccupied and would otherwise be completely dark." This new series aims to maximize usage of the two theaters onsite at Abingdon, the 98-seat June Havoc and the 56-seat Dorothy Strelsin.

About Charles Mee's LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON, directed by Leon Ingulsrud: A backyard barbecue with George Washington, Walt Whitman, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Aunt Eller, Curly, Bambi, and some guys dancing with rifles and some bloggers-because: how it is, always, when you check into the old folks' home, or you go to your deathbed, you think you're finished, but you're not. And George Washington: he lives on in all of us.

The ensemble includes Gisela Chípe (The Good Wife), Lanxing Fu (Superhero Clubhouse), G.M. Gianino (bobrauschenbergamerica, Siti Company), Nike Kadri (The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World, Signature), Lucy Martin (Hedda Gabbler, Broadway), Anson Mount (Hell on Wheels, Mr. Right), Larry Powell (The Christians, Playwrights Horizons), and Preeti Vasudevan (Thresh).

Playwright Charles Mee has written Big Love and True Love and First Love, bobrauschenbergamerica and Hotel Cassiopeia, Orestes 2.0 and Trojan Women A Love Story, and Summertime and Wintertime among other plays--all of them available at www.charlesmee.org. His plays have been performed at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music, American Repertory Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theatre, Lincoln Center, the Humana Festival, Steppenwolf, and other places in the United States as well as in Berlin, Paris, Amsterdam, London, Brussels, Vienna, Istanbul and elsewhere. He was honored with a full season of his plays at the Signature Theatre. Among other awards, he is the recipient of the Award of Merit in drama from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, two Obies, of a Laura Pels Award, the Booth Award, and of the Richard B. Fisher Award. He is also the author of a number of books of history (Meeting at Potsdam, The Marshall Plan, The End of Order) that have been selections of the Book of the Month Club and the History Book Club. He is the former editor-in-chief of Horizon magazine, a magazine of history, art, literature, and the fine arts and he is a lifetime trustee of the Washington think tank, The Urban Institute. His work is made possible by the support of Jeanne Donovan Fisher and Richard B. Fisher.

Director Leon Ingulsrud is a multidisciplinary theatre actor, director and teacher. He was a member of the Suzuki Company Of Toga (SCOT) before helping found the Siti Company of which he is now a co-Artistic Director. He has served as a resident director at the Mito Art Tower in Mito Japan as well as one of the artistic directors of Swine Palace in Baton Rouge Louisiana. Directorial credits include Endgame, The Hairy Ape, Macbeth, Short Stories, Martini Ceremony, Medea, Angel/Babel, The Sea, The Grapes of Wrath, three different original adaptations of Moby Dick, The Tempest, Death of a Salesman, Saint Joan, Our Town, Laramie Project, Eurydice, Psyche, Callie's Tally, Big Love, A Show Of Force, Jamestown, Dr. Faustus, 23 Seconds About John Cage, Mad Forest, The Blue Bear, and All Under The World. Mr. Ingulsrud has taught in workshops and universities around the world, and holds an MFA in directing from Columbia University. In addition to directing, acting and teaching, Mr. Ingulsrud has translated for English publication or production, nine Japanese contemporary plays. He also appears in AMC's western series "Hell On Wheels."

Abingdon Theatre Company launches its 2017 mainstage season in January with the world premiere of The Mother of Invention, written by James Lecesne (The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey) and directed by Tony Speciale. In March, Abingdon's 24th Season continues with the world premiere of Chess Match, conceived and directed by Anne Bogart, text arranged by Jocelyn Clarke from the words of John Cage, created by Siti Company. In April, Abingdon will break new ground by presenting its first mainstage musical, The Boy Who Danced on Air, music by Tim Rosser and book and lyrics by Charlie Sohne, recipients of a 2015 Jonathan Larson Grant.

Abingdon Theatre Company is dedicated to developing and producing new work by emerging and established American artists. Under the artistic direction of Tony Speciale, the company provides a safe home where playwrights, directors and actors can collaborate within a supportive and nurturing environment. Abingdon Theatre Company searches for stories about the human experience that reflect our social, political, historical and cultural diversity. To date, the company has collaborated with more than 200 playwrights, produced 87 New York and world-premiere plays, presented more than 700 readings, staged over 175 ten-minute plays, and commissioned 6 one-act plays. Notable artists who have worked with Abingdon Theatre Company include Carl Andress, Bryan Batt, Reed Birney, Robert Brustein, Mario Cantone, Maxwell Caulfield, Dick Cavett, John Epperson, Jane Greenwood, Arthur Kopit, Ralph Macchio, Roberta Maxwell, Iddo Netanyahu, Nancy Opel, Austin Pendleton, Sam Pinkleton, Marcia Rodd and Mark Waldrop. Abingdon's 2014 production of Brian Richard Mori's Hellman v. McCarthy, directed by founding artistic director Jan Buttram, was filmed and presented by WNET as part of its inaugural Theatre Close-Up series. abingdontheatre.org

The Ghostlight Reading Series reading of Charles Mee's LIFE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON is set for Monday, November 28 at 7pm at Abingdon's June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues). The reading is free and open to the public. Reservations are required, and seating is subject to availability. To reserve, email RSVP@abingdontheatre.org.

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