BASTARDS OF STRINDBERG Set for SATC Contemporary Reading Series, 11/12

On Monday, November 12 at 7pm Scandinavian American Theater Company presents a reading of BASTARDS OF STRINDBERG, an evening of four new commissioned short plays inspired by August Strindberg's "Miss Julie" written by a group of the most exciting contemporary American and Swedish playwrights:

Dominique Morisseau (USA)
David Bar Katz (USA)
Andreas Boonstra (Sweden)
Lina Ekdahl (Sweden)

How do today’s playwrights relate to their important predecessor August Strindberg?

2012 marks the 100-year anniversary of Strindberg’s death. To commemorate the jubilee, Scandinavian American Theater Company has commissioned a diverse group of the most exciting American and Scandinavian dramatists to write short 15-20 minute plays in response to Strindberg’s iconic “Miss Julie”. The plays will receive their world premieres as staged readings in Victor Borge Hall at Scandinavia House in New York on November 12, 2012.

The event takes place at Victor Borge Hall, Scandinavia House, 58 Park Avenue (btw 37th and 38th). The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion and reception. Admission is FREE with a suggested donation of $10. Reservations recommended; email: contact@satcnyc.org to reserve your seat.

Dominique Morriseau (USA): A writer and actress and the 2012 PoNY (Playwright of New York) award-recipient, Dominique Morriseau is a recent alumni of the 2011 Public Theater Emerging Writers Group, the Women’s Project Playwrights Lab, and the Lark Playwrights Workshop. Her play, Detroit ’67, will receive it’s world premiere in the 2012-2013 season of The Public Theater. Her play Sunset Baby had its world premiere at the Gate Theater in London in September 2012. Dominique’s inaugural play, Follow Me To Nellie’s, was developed at the 2010 O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and produced at Premiere Stages. Her produced one-acts include: Third Grade (FTT Festival), Black at Michigan (Cherry Lane Studio/DUTF), Socks, Roses Are Played Out and Love and Nappiness (Center Stage, ATH). Dominique’s work has also been published in NY Times bestseller- “Chicken Soup for the African American Soul”. Dominique is a Jane Chambers Playwriting Award Honoree, a two-time NAACP Image Award recipient, a runner-up for the 2011 Princess Grace Award, a recipient of the Elizabeth George commission from South Coast Rep, a commendation from the Primus Prize by the American Theatre Critics Association, and the winner of the 2012 Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwright Award by National Theatre Conference.

David Bar Katz (USA): Katz co-wrote and directed the Broadway show, FREAK, which was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play and Katz was nominated for an Emmy Award for the HBO special. He co-created and was a head writer for FOX TV’s, House of Buggin’, the first all-Latino network television show. Katz is a member of The LAByrinth Theater Company which produced his plays Philip Roth in Khartoum (at The Public Theater) and The Atmosphere of Memory (starring Ellen Burstyn) and has presented six of his plays in their annual Barn Series Festival. His play The History of Invulnerability, about Jerry Siegel, the creator of Superman and the Man of Steel’s Jewish roots, premiered at The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park where it received the Acclaim award for Outstanding Play of the Year, the Cincinnati Entertainment Award for Outstanding Premiere and won the American Theater Critics Association Citation as one of the top three American plays of 2010 to open outside of New York. Katz is currently writing a television show for Showtime (produced by Denis Leary). Katz’s ‘tween’ sci-fi novel 8th Grade Gods will be published this year.

Andreas Boonstra (Sweden): Andreas Boonstra: director, playwright, actor, artistic director from Stockholm, Sweden. Born in 1973. Andreas is since 2000 one of two artistic directors at one of Sweden’s most acknowledged independent theatres, moment:teater. Known for A Contemporary Theatre aesthetic, where loud music, humor and children’s toys feels as much at home as classical plays, philosophy and current politics. For he´s work with moment Andreas was in 2007 awarded with Thaliapriset, the most prestigious theatre award in Sweden. As a playwright Andreas has made several plays that has attracted attention, in most cases with a political angle. For instance Ön (about he´s childhood and youth in a Sweden that was rapidly changing) at Stockholms Citytheatre 2009 and Ännu mer om alla vi mvg och adhd barn I bullerbyn (about the Swedish school-system) at Östgötateatern 2010. He has also made a lot of adaptions of classical texts, for instance New ghost-sonata, based on Strindberg but made to a play about Swedens current rightwing governments way to power, dressing up as labor-party, moment.teater 2012.

Lina Ekdahl (Sweden): Lina Ekdahl is a poet and playwright from Gothenburg, Sweden, who writes poetry and plays for adults, young adults and children. She has been comissioned to write plays for Folkteatern (The People’s Theatre) and Stadsteatern (The City Theatre) in Gothenburg, as well as for regional theaters across Sweden and many independent theater companies, including for Teater Kolibri and Masthuggsteatern. Lina has also written texts for dance performances and her work includes several collaborations with the Dance Group Agnes in Stockholm. She is a sought-after performer of her own poetry and appears often, in Sweden and abroad, on stage as well as on the radio She has also been part of devising theater pieces where she appears on stage, most recently ”Who cries for Jemma Blomhoff” at Folkteatern in Gothenburg. Currently, Lina is working on a new text to accompany existing opera choir music, which will receive it’s world premiere in the summer of 2013. She has published six poetry collections, the latest arrived in the spring of 2012 and is called ”Collected Poems”. Her writing consistently receives excellent reviews and her poetry has been translated to several languages, including German, Ukrainian, Macedonian and Khmer. Lina has been awarded both the Werner Aspenström award and the Gustav Fröding Society’s poetry award.

Bastards of Strindberg is made possible because of the generous support of the Barbro Osher Pro-Suecia Foundation, the Swedish Institute, the Consulate General of Sweden in New York and Scandinavia House.