Erik Ehn News

Members and constituents of United Scenic Artists Local USA 829 have been busy speaking out against The New York Times' recent decision to leave out the names of shows' designers when listing credits for theatre productions at the end of reviews. As of today, their hard work has paid off.

The Play Company's (PlayCo) 2015-16 Idea Lab features three curated events, November 18 & 28 and December 4, following performances of award-winning, German playwright Maria Milisavljevic's Abyss. The critically acclaimed U.S. premiere, directed by Maria Mileaf, runs through December 6 at Theaterlab, 357 West 36th Street. Writing about Abyss for The New York Times, Ben Brantley praised the 'poetic drama,' as 'genuinely artful...And it will take you places you didn't expect to go.' Speaking about the play's painfully current themes, he said it considers, 'some very topical questions of European national identities in a time of permeable and shifting borders.'

As previously reported, United Scenic Artists Local USA 829 recently started a campaign to nudge its members and constituents to speak out against The New York Times' recent decision to leave out the names of shows' designers when listing credits for theatre productions at the end of reviews.

En Garde Arts presents BOSSS, its new site-specific outdoor performance festival featuring new works by some of the New York City's most promising emerging theatre artists, this weekend, October 23-25 throughout Hudson River Park. The opening night party at The Frying Pan will now take place on October 23 at 7pm. (Tickets for the opening night party, on board the Frying Pan at Pier 66, are $250 or $75 for artists.)

The Play Company (PlayCo), led by Founding Producer Kate Loewald and Executive Producer Lauren Weigel, kicks off its 15th Anniversary season with the U.S. premiere of Abyss, which marks the U.S. debut of the award-winning German playwright Maria Milisavljevic. Abyss, directed by Maria Mileaf, is a poetic thriller centered on the mysterious disappearance of a young woman. The play exemplifies PlayCo's unique commitment to premiering work from around the world to advance a dynamic, international experience of contemporary theater in New York. Abyss is an exploration of what it means to be an outsider. Speaking about the play Milisavljevic says, "making a new home means finding a new kind of honesty. Otherwise the old lies will follow you."

Due to tropical storm Joachim, En Garde Arts has postponed BOSSS, its new site-specific outdoor performance festival featuring new works by some of the New York City's most promising emerging theatre artists, to October 23-25 throughout Hudson River Park. The opening night party at The Frying Pan will now take place on October 23 at 7pm.

Theatre goers need look no further than Thinking Cap Theatre's Southeastern premiere of Erin Courtney's award-winning play (Special Citation Obie Award, 2012),  A Map of Virtue, for a thrilling way to kick off the month of October.  The production will run from tonight, October 1 - October 18 at the Vanguard Sanctuary for the Arts in Ft. Lauderdale.

The Twin Cities area is well known as a great theater town, so it is a fitting home to one of the nation's most celebrated new play festivals. The 32nd annual PlayLabs festival runs October 12-18 at the Playwrights' Center, a 44-year-old organization that is one of just a handful of play development centers in the country.   

Neil LaBute, Erik Ehn, Arthur Kopit, Deborah Laufer, Ryan McCurdy of Broadway's ONCE, and Heather Woodbury join CLIMATE CHANGE THEATRE ACTION - a series of worldwide readings and performances intended to bring awareness to, and foster discussion around, climate change during the months of November and December 2015.

Theatre goers need look no further than Thinking Cap Theatre's Southeastern premiere of Erin Courtney's award-winning play (Special Citation Obie Award, 2012),  A Map of Virtue, for a thrilling way to kick off the month of October.  The production will run from October 1 - October 18 at the Vanguard Sanctuary for the Arts in Ft. Lauderdale.

The Play Company (PlayCo), led by Founding Producer Kate Loewald and Executive Producer Lauren Weigel celebrates its 15th Anniversary season with programming that exemplifies its unique commitment to premiering plays from around the world, including the U.S., to advance a dynamic, international experience of contemporary theater as part of the American repertoire.

En Garde Founder Anne Hamburger, a Pioneering Producer of Site-Specific Theater in New York, Returns with New Festival Challenging 26 Emerging Artists to Think Big

Samuel French has announced the winners of the 2015 Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival, the nation's leading short play competition. The six winning plays were presented in a Showcase on Sunday, August 9th at the conclusion of the week-long festival at the East 13th Street Theater (Classic Stage Company). These plays will be published, and available for licensing by Samuel French in the 40th Annual edition of its Off Off Broadway Plays collection:

Final casting has been set for the 2015 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity's Playwrights For A Cause, set to take place at 7:30pm on Sunday, June 14, 2015 at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street, on Sunday, June 14 at 7:30 pm. The evening, which will benefit the non-profit National Coalition Against Censorship, will showcase world premiere one-act plays by three acclaimed playwrights: Israel Horovitz's Breaking Phillip Glass and Erik Ehn's Her Speech, both directed by Planet Connections Theatre Festivity founder and PFAC Producing Artistic Curator Glory Kadigan, and Halley Feiffer's A Play About New Mexico, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch.

Playwrights for a Cause has announced that the show will go on as planned at the New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4th Street, on Sunday, June 14 at 7:30 pm. However, in light of The Sheen Center's cancellation of Playwrights for a Cause benefiting the National Coalition Against Censorship and the resulting recent media reports, playwright Neil LaBute has decided to pull his one-act play from the event.

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.

Playwrights For A Cause, an evening of plays by award-winning playwrights Erik Ehn, Halley Feiffer, Israel Horovitz and Neil LaBute, and a panel discussion concerning censorship in climate science and more inclusion of LGBT, women, and minorities in the arts, originally scheduled for June 14, 2015 at The Sheen Center at 18 Bleecker Street, has been canceled by the management of The Sheen Center.

Major casting has have been announced for the 2015 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity's Playwrights For A Cause, set to take place at 7:30pm on Sunday, June 14, 2015 at the Sheen Center, located at 18 Bleecker Street. The evening, which will benefit the non-profit National Coalition Against Censorship, will showcase world premiere one-act plays by four acclaimed playwrights: Israel Horovitz's Breaking Phillip Glass and Erik Ehn's Her Speech, both directed by Planet Connections Theatre Festivity founder and PFAC Producing Artistic Curator Glory Kadigan; Halley Feiffer's A Play About New Mexico, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch; and Neil LaBute's Mohammed Gets a Boner, directed by Marco Calvani.

INTAR continues its acclaimed 2014 - '15 season with the Off-Broadway premiere of Se Llama Cristina by Octavio Solis, beginning today, April 3rd, and continuing through May 3rd only. Opening Night is set for Monday, April 13th.

Creative teams have been announced for the 2015 Planet Connections Theatre Festivity's Playwrights For A Cause, set to take place at 7:30pm on Sunday, June 14, 2015 at the Sheen Center, located at 18 Bleecker Street.