Anna Ziegler News

It has been called the most important photograph ever taken-an image that led to a breakthrough in genetics research. The X-ray crystallographer who took it, Rosalind Franklin, is at the heart of Anna Ziegler's Photograph 51, next up on South Coast Repertory's Julianne Argyros Stage, directed by Kimberly Senior, March 3-24. Tickets are available at www.scr.org.

Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) (William Carden, Artistic Director, Sarah McLellan, Executive Director) and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (Doron Weber, Vice-President, Programs) announced today a second extension for the World Premiere of Behind the Sheet, written by Charly Evon Simpson (Jump) and directed by Colette Robert (Mary's Wedding). Part of the EST/Sloan Science & Technology Project (Graeme Gillis, Program Director; Linsay Firman, Associate Director), Behind the Sheet began previews at EST's Curt Dempster Theatre (549 W. 52nd Street, New York, NY 10019) on January 9, 2019, and opened January 17. Originally set to close on February 3, the play will now run through February 17, 2019.

The new season includes a world premiere, two hot-button dramas, a classic children's fantasy, a rock concert/music-theatre mash-up, and a party you won't want to miss. Alberta Theatre Projects announced their 48th season line-up that will run from September 2019 to May 2020. With a return to a six-play season and longer show runs, the season is the first programmed by ATP's Executive and Artistic Director Darcy Evans.

Court Theatre, under the leadership of Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, and Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre, announces additional performances of Photograph 51 by Anna Ziegler and directed by Vanessa Stalling. Photograph 51 now runs through February 23, 2019, at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.

The Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellows program will begin accepting applications for the 2019-2020 Fellows class on Friday, February 1st. They will close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 12.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) will present the Zelda Fichandler Award to Loretta Greco, Artistic Director of the Magic Theatre, at a special ceremony hosted by Larry Goldfarb at Villa Taverna in San Francisco on January 31. The award was originally presented at an event in New York City on November 11, 2018 and accepted by Taylor Mac on Greco's behalf.

When Dr. Rosalind Franklin, portrayed by the formidable Chaon Cross, makes her first entrance in Court Theatre's PHOTOGRAPH 51, it's immediately clear that she inhabits a world dominated by men. Director Vanessa Stalling arranges the rest of the cast-who are all male-on the upper level of Arnel Sancianco's two-story set so that they literally look down on Franklin as she appears, last, on the ground floor. This striking image sets the tone for playwright Anna Ziegler's imaginative rendering of an often-overlooked piece of history: the essential contributions of chemist Rosalind Franklin to the discovery of DNA's configuration in the 1950s.

Court Theatre, under the leadership of Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, and Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre, continues its 2018/19 season with Photograph 51 by Anna Ziegler and directed by Vanessa Stalling. Photograph 51 runs January 17 - February 17, 2019 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. The press opening is Saturday, January 26, 2019 at 7:30pm.

The Playwrights Realm (Founding Artistic Director Katherine Kovner and Producing Director Roberta Pereira) announces Beyond the Realm (February 2019), a month-long festival showcasing bold new works-in-progress by four boundary-pushing playwrights, with four workshops of new plays by MJ Kaufman, Nia Witherspoon, Michael Yates Crowley, and Asiimwe Deborah Kawe. Responsiveness and a commitment to playwrights' needs are at the heart of the Realm's practice; with the launch of this new program-in lieu of a second full-length production this season-the Realm seizes the opportunity to devote the beginning of the year to these four playwrights testing and honing their exhilarating new works. Throughout a month of programming, the definitions of theater will be challenged as the festival creates new ways of presenting live storytelling and blurs the lines that divide creators from spectators. Tickets for the Festival are free and reservations open to the general public on Tuesday, January 22nd. Donors receive early access starting January 17th. For more information, visit http://www.playwrightsrealm.org/beyond/.

Next up in Town Hall Theatre's staged reading series IN THE WINGS is a one-night only reading of BOY, a moving new play about gender identity by Anna Ziegler.  BOY will have one performance only on Monday, February 4, 2019, at Town Hall Theatre Company, 3535 School Street, in Lafayette, CA.  Tickets are $10 general admission and free to subscribers, and are available through the Box Office at (925) 283-1557 or online at www.TownHallTheatre.com. 

Award-winning artists and activists are joining forces to bring the #MeToo movement to the stage. Inspired by the women who have come forward with personal accounts of President Donald Trump's sexual harassment and assaults, "The Pussy Grabber Plays" will premiere Monday, January 14 at 9:30 p.m. at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater. An acclaimed, all-female production team will make the play available royalty-free to theaters, community groups and colleges across the country, creating a new platform for survivors of sexual abuse.

Aurora Theatre Company continues its dynamic 27th season with the Bay Area premiere of Anna Ziegler's ACTUALLY. Tracy Ward directs this powerful "he said/she said" that explores the intersection of race, gender, and sex on college campuses. Michael Curry and Ella Dershowitz each make their Aurora debut.

The San Diego Theatre Critics Circle has announced the nominations for its 2018 Craig Noel Awards. Now in its 17th year, the Craig Noel Awards honor the achievements of professional theaters in San Diego County. The nominees are chosen by a nine-member body of professional critics who write for San Diego newspapers, magazines, online publications and blogs.

The Old Globe today announced it will present the sixth annual Powers New Voices Festival, a weekend of readings of new American plays by some of the most exciting voices writing for the American theatre today, playing January 18-20, 2019.

Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company (MJTC) continues its 24th season with Actually by Anna Ziegler. To be directed by Harry Waters, Jr. in his professional directorial premiere in the Twin Cities.

The League of Professional Theatre Women (Kelli Lynn Harrison & Catherine Porter, Co-Presidents) has published the fourth in a series of reports authored by Martha Wade Steketee with Judy Binus, on the status of women employed in New York City theaters. The fourth report, Women Count: Women Hired Off Broadway, available at theatrewomen.org/women-count/, analyzes employment in 13 professional roles - playwrights, directors, designers, stage managers, and others - in 515 Off- and Off-Off-Broadway productions by 22 theater companies for 5 complete seasons, 2013-14 through 2017-18 to show where women are and are not being hired. 

Ensemble Studio Theatre, along with The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation (Doron Weber, Vice-President, Programs), announced today the 2018 Fall Artist Cultivation Event, marking the 20th anniversary of the EST/Sloan Project, to take place on Monday, November 19 at 8pm with a reception beginning at 7:30pm.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not for profit foundation affiliated with Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, presented this year's Zelda Fichandler Award, Joe A. Callaway Awards, and Breakout Award on Sunday, November 11, 2018 in Manhattan. BroadwayWorld attended the evening and you can check out the photos from the ceremony below!

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not for profit foundation affiliated with Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, presented this year's Zelda Fichandler Award, Joe A. Callaway Awards, and Breakout Award on Sunday, November 11, 2018 in Manhattan. BroadwayWorld attended the evening and you can check out the photos from the cocktail party below!

Court Theatre, under the leadership of Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director, and Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre, continues its 2018/19 season with Photograph 51 by Anna Ziegler and directed by Vanessa Stalling. Photograph 51 runs January 17 - February 17, 2019 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave. The press opening is Saturday, January 26, 2019 at 7:30pm.