Ensemble Studio Theatre News

STAGE RAW is pleased to announce the FIRST ANNUAL STAGE RAW LOS ANGELES THEATER AWARDS, championing the best work of 2014 in L.A.'s now embattled theaters of up to 99-seats. (STAGE RAW is using the same jury that was assembled through 2014 for the now dearly departed LA WEEKLY Theater Awards.) Check out the full list of nominees below!

Three female astronauts take off to explore a super-Earth when a programming error threatens their mission. Maybe it's the reality TV or the White Castle cheeseburgers - but when the hallucinations start - we have to ask who, or what, is out there?

In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre in Paris, the political controversy surrounding the release of The Interview, and continued suppression of plays, books, and art in American schools, libraries and museums, the battle for freedom of speech and expression is more essential than ever. Planet Connections Theatre Festivity will present an evening of world premiere plays by Erik Ehn, Halley Feiffer, Israel Horovitz and Neil LaBute addressing censorship in the arts in Playwrights for a Cause, to be held at 7:30pm on June 14, 2015 at the Sheen Center, located at 18 Bleecker Street.

Off-Broadway's award-winning Irish Repertory Theatre (Charlotte Moore, Artistic Director and Ciaran O'Reilly, Producing Director) proudly announces the fourth production of its 27th theatre season, the New York premiere of Nate Rufus Edelman's THE BELLE OF BELFAST, directed by Claudia Weill. THE BELLE OF BELFAST was developed as part of the Irish Rep's Reading Series in 2013. THE BELLE OF BELFAST will begin previews on Wednesday, April 15, 2015. The production is scheduled to run through Sunday, June 7, 2015. The Opening Night is scheduled for Thursday, April 23, 2015.

Labyrinth Theater Company has announced the line-up for the second half of their 16th Annual Barn Series, the award-winning company's free play reading series. Running March 23-30, the Barn Series lets audiences encounter new plays written by or starring Labyrinth Company Members.

San Francisco Playhouse (Bill English, Artistic Director; Susi Damilano, Producing Director) continues its sixth season of the Sandbox Series of new plays with the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Lauren Yee's in a word. Giovanna Sardelli will direct.

Academy Award winner Helen Mirren will return to Broadway this spring as Elizabeth II in Peter Morgan's The Audience, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Daldry. Opening Night is tonight, March 8, 2015; the limited engagement runs through June 28, 2015 at Broadway's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Scroll down to learn more about the company!

Ensemble Studio Theatre/Youngblood world premiere Five Times In One Night by Chiara Atik, directed by R.J. Tolan, has been extended for another week at Ensemble Studio Theatre, 549 West 52nd Street, with a must close date of Saturday, March 21.

One-hundred-and-fifty-years ago, on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, President and Mrs. Lincoln attended 'Our American Cousin' at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. During the third act, John Wilkes Booth entered the President's box to fire the fatal shot.

Gulfshore Playhouse will produce their second World Premiere in as many years with The Butcher by Gwydion Suilebhan, playing February 28th through March 22nd with $30 preview performances on February 25th, 26th and 27th. Playwright talkbacks will take place following each preview performance and following the 3pm matinee performance on Sunday, March 1st. The Butcherwas featured as a finalist in Gulfshore Playhouse's 1st Annual New Works Festival in August 2013.

Five-time Obie Award-winning theater company Clubbed Thumb has announced the line-up for SUMMERWORKS, its annual series of new plays. Now in its 20th season, SUMMERWORKS will run May 20th through June 29th at The Wild Project (195 E 3rd Street) in Manhattan, and will feature productions of three new plays: D DEB DEBBIE DEBORAH by Jerry Lieblich, directed by Lee Sunday Evans; CARD AND GIFT by Kate E. Ryan, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll; and MEN ON BOATS by Jaclyn Backhaus, directed by Will Davis. Festival passes are now on sale at https://www.artful.ly/clubbedthumb/store/passes.

The award-winning, nationally-renowned Ma-Yi Theater Company - one of the country's leading producers of new works for the stage by Asian-American writers - will continue its 2014-15 season this spring with the world premiere of SOLDIER X by Rehana Lew Mirza, with preview performances set to begin March 24 prior to an official opening night on March 31 at the HERE (145 Sixth Avenue, enter on Dominick Street, one block south of Spring) in NYC. SOLDIER X is directed by Lucie Tiberghien.

Gulfshore Playhouse will produce their second World Premiere in as many years with The Butcher by Gwydion Suilebhan, playing February 28th through March 22nd with $30 preview performances on February 25th, 26th and 27th. Playwright talkbacks will take place following each preview performance and following the 3pm matinee performance on Sunday, March 1st. The Butcherwas featured as a finalist in Gulfshore Playhouse's 1st Annual New Works Festival in August 2013.

How can composers Arnold Schoenberg, Piotr Tchaikovsky and Carlo Gesualdo balance the chaos of their creativity with their need for love? Playwright Tommy Smith and director Chris Fields (the team behind last season's Firemen, named one of the "Best Stage Plays of 2014" by Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty) trace three real-life love triangles in a passionate tale of intrigue, jealousy and music. The Echo Theater Company presents the world premiere of Fugue, opening on Feb. 14 (Valentines Day) at the Echo's Atwater Village Theatre home. Below, BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at the new show!

How can composers Arnold Schoenberg, Piotr Tchaikovsky and Carlo Gesualdo balance the chaos of their creativity with their need for love? Playwright Tommy Smith and director Chris Fields (the team behind last season's Firemen, named one of the 'Best Stage Plays of 2014' by Los Angeles Times theater critic Charles McNulty) trace three real-life love triangles in a passionate tale of intrigue, jealousy and music. The Echo Theater Company presents the world premiere of Fugue, opening tonight, Feb. 14 (Valentines Day) at the Echo's Atwater Village Theatre home.

Perseverance Theatre (PT) starts 2015 off with the award winning play The Mountaintop by Katori Hall. The Mountaintop runs in the Sydney Laurence Theatre at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts tonight, February 13 - 22, 2015. Tickets are available through the Centertix box office, online at Centertix.net and by calling 263-ARTS. There is one pay-as-you-can preview on Thursday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m.

The Wagner College Theatre has announced that the winner of this year's Stanley Drama Award is Bob Clyman of North Caldwell, N.J., for his play, 'The Good Bet.'

Three female astronauts take off to explore a super-Earth when a programming error threatens their mission. Maybe it's the reality TV or the White Castle cheeseburgers - but when the hallucinations start - we have to ask who, or what, is out there?

Centenary Stage Company to present World Premiere production of Joni Fritz's Susan Glaspell Award Winning In the Car with Blossom and Len on February 20 and running until March 8 in the Sitnik Theatre of the David and Carol Lackland Center. Work-shopped during last season's annual Women Playwrights Series, In the Car with Blossom and Len proved that family dynamics can be the source of endless comedic material and received an overwhelming response.