CK Allen News

Following up on the successful 2019 festival launch of her short film “The Brotherhood,” New York-based writer/producer/director Renee Flemings announced upcoming screenings of the 23-minute award-winning film at the Oregon Short Film Festival Summer 2020 (August 16-19, 2020) and the Third Phoenix International Short Film Festival in Toronto, Canada (Feb, 27-28, 2021).

BESPOKE PLAYS - a bicoastal production company - is excited to announce that Danny Johnson (Daredevil, Luke Cage) and C.K. Allen (Guiding Light, All My Children) will lead the first New York industry reading of Phinneas Kiyomura's Supper. These two juggernauts will star as two warring brothers definitely not based on the elder Koch brothers in a play that resembles a cage match crossed with classic farce. Additional cast and production team members will be announced shortly.

Following the 7th Annual Chain NYC Film Festival screening of her short film 'The Brotherhood,' writer/director Renee Flemings (right) participated in a talkback with Festival general manager Rick Hamilton (left) at the venue on West 36th Street in Manhattan on August 10, 2019. 

Writer/producer Renee Flemings' short film a?oeThe Brotherhooda?? will be screened on Saturday, August 10, 2019 during the 3:30pm programming block at the 7th Annual Chain NYC Film Festival at the Chain Theatre (312 W. 36th St. - 4th Flr)in Manhattan. Admission to the screening is $10 (plus fees) online/12.00 @ the door and to purchase tickets and for additional information, go to:www.chainfilmfestival.com/ or call (646) 580-6003.

'THE GOOD OLD DAYS' -a dark comedy by playwright Renee Flemings will be read as part of the K/Q Playwrights Group new works series on Thursday, March 28th @ the East Midtown Plaza Community Room (320 East 25th Street) in the Kips Bay section of Manhattan at 7:00pm. The play focuses on the Brantley family attempts to come together after years of living separate lives to celebrate the honor their dearly departed father is receiving from the city. The free,informal reading featuring Richarda Abrams*, CK Allen, Aja Downing* Ian Eaton*, Laura Johnston* (* Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.) will be followed by a talk back with light refreshments.

Directed by Manny Bejarano featuring choreography by Michael Mizerany and music direction by William Ah Sing, this quick-change, cross-dressing version of the Charles Dickens classic is set in a Victorian music hall. The Royal Music Hall Twenty-Member Variety Players are beset with a widespread case of food poisoning. This leaves only three surviving members to soldier on through a performance of A Christmas Carol. The undaunted trio gamely face missed cues, ill-fitting costumes, and solving the problem of having no one to play Tiny Tim. Done in the style of British Music Hall, SCROOGE IN ROUGE abounds in bad puns, bawdy malapropisms, naughty double-entendres, and witty songs. A raucous holiday treat!

On Monday, July 23, 2018, The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation, the organization who for the past 14 years has been dedicated to celebrating Off-Off-Broadway, announced the 2018 nominees at its annual event, The IT Party. Celebrating fourteen years and thousands of nominees at le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleeker Street.

ManyTracks presents the World Premiere of SHOOTER by Sam Graber. Directed by Katrin Hilbe, previews begin performances run though March 31 at TheaterLab. 

Elmhurst Ballet School, in collaboration with University of Wolverhampton and in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet, is at the forefront of research in dance science and is pioneering ways for dancers to avoid injury by introducing ground-breaking fitness and rehabilitation techniques.

Casting for the lead roles in Highbury Opera Theatre's Fever Pitch the Opera is announced today. The production marks 25 years since the iconic book was first published and its first musical staging. Author Nick Hornby has given his blessing to the north London company to create and perform an original musical production based on the novel, which explores the author's obsession with Arsenal Football Club.

'Composure' by Scott C. Sickles is a romantic drama set on a college campus about a star-crossed relationship whose past tragedies encroach upon their present.

NBCSN presents live IndyCar and Formula One race coverage this weekend, beginning under the lights in primetime on Saturday night with the IndyCar Phoenix Grand Prix at 9 p.m. ET.

Shea's Performing Arts Center and The Lipke Foundation announced the nominees for the 24th annual Kenny Awards in 13 award categories. The event was open to 200 participants and aired live on Facebook.

Coming off a record-setting season of IndyCar viewership, NBCSN opens its coverage of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series with a live presentation of the iconic Grand Prix of Long Beach this Sunday at 4:30 p.m. ET, highlighting a motorsports event tripleheader on the network this weekend.

What Shall We Do With The Cello?, a funny, and sharply relevant one-act play by Romania's most prolific and celebrated contemporary playwright, Matei Visniec, is to have its UK premiere at VAULT Festival 2017.

NEVERMORE: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe is a Canadian musical that was written and composed by Jonathan Christenson which follows the rather dismal life and internal struggles of Edgar Allan Poe that later on inspired his work as an author. The script contains references to both his poems and short stories. While most of the script dramatizes true events in his life, other aspects are entirely fictitious. The musical was originally produced at the Catalyst Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta and went on to be performed across Canada, and at the Barbican Theater in London, and the New Victory Theatre in NYC. The current production now playing at Austin Playhouse is a regional premiere.

Retro Productions celebrates its eleventh season with Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Glee/Big Love) drama, Good Boys and True which had its World Premiere at The Steppenwolf Theatre in 2007. The production is directed by DeLisa White who won a New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Director for Vincent Marano's Lights Narrow. Good Boys and True, is Retro Productions 18th full length play. Their last production, The Butter and Egg Man played to sold-out houses and received rave reviews. Heather E. Cunningham (NYIT Award Winner for Outstanding Actress/An Appeal To The Woman Of The House) is the Producing Artistic Director, Sara Slagle serves as an Associate Producer.

The Unsigned Only Music Competition, geared toward musical artists who are unsigned to a major record label or its affiliates, announced its 2015 winners today. The competition recognizes the best in up-and-coming artists worldwide and acts as a benchmark for excellence in contemporary music. Winners were selected from 7,000 entries from all over the world and represent musical genres in contemporary music. More than $100,000 in cash and prizes is awarded to a total of 26 winners. The winning songs can be heard at http://www.unsignedonly.com/winners. Judges include: Aimee Mann; Dustin Lynch; The Killers; David Crowder; Robert Smith (The Cure); Ray Wylie Hubbard; Aaron Shust; Lucero; Kelly Price; Colt Ford; Frank Foster; Rapsody; Kool And The Gang; Anthony DeCurtis (Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone); Kyle Anderson (Senior Writer, Entertainment weekly); Josh Jackson (Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Paste Magazine); Shirley Halperin (Music Editor, Billboard and Hollywood Reporter); Hardeep Phull (Music Critic, New York Post), and many more. The 2015 Grand Prize goes to Australian (California-born) Jared Porter and New Zealander Kaylee Bell for their acclaimed duet and co-written song, "Pieces." In addition to winning $10,000 in cash and $20,000 in merchandise and services, Porter and Bell also receive the opportunity to be mentored by the top echelon of record company professionals, including Presidents and top-level executives from Atlantic, Warner Bros., Sony Music Nashville, RCA, Capitol, Big Machine, Roc Nation, Vanguard, Sugar Hill, and American Recordings

The Unsigned Only Music Competition, geared toward musical artists who are unsigned to a major record label or its affiliates, announced its 2015 winners today.