Rob Ackerman News

The Fire Dept Artistic Directors Erica Gould and Audrey Rosenberg have announced that the return of the company's Salon Series-staged readings of new plays, presented in non-proscenium environments that encourage an intimacy between audience and performer, followed by a discussion with the artists and noted guest speakers whose life experiences speak to the issues raised by the material-will begin with The Minotaur by Anna Ziegler (BFF), directed by Erica Gould (Neil LaBute's autobahn and Stand Up), and starring Mario Cantone (Sex and the City), Jill Clayburgh (Dirty Sexy Money, An Unmarried Woman), Campbell Scott (Dying Young, Singles, Longtime Companion), and Jeremy Webb (The Glorious Ones, Kander & Ebb's The Visit) on Friday, March 27 at 7 pm at the historic Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South at 20th Street. The event will be produced by Audrey Rosenberg (Infamous with Sandra Bullock, upcoming documentary about Barack Obama).

The Fire Dept Artistic Directors Erica Gould and Audrey Rosenberg have announced that the cast for The Minotaur, the first installment of the company's 2009 Salon Series, will be Mario Cantone, Jill Clayburgh, Phoebe Neidhardt, Ethan Peck, Campbell Scott, and Jeremy Webb.

At Hand Theatre Company is proud to present the New York premiere of TRICKSTER AT THE GATE. The Yoruba God Esu Elegba has been sentenced to live the life of a mortal African-American woman throughout the 20th Century as penance for causing human deformities and suffering. Inspired by the life and works of Zora Neale Hurston, the play takes us from the Harlem Renaissance, to the mystical realms of African gods, to present day Louisiana to impart a tale of faith, acceptance and love.

The intricate and colorful culture of nannies in New York and the people who employ them is the subject of the new play EXIT CUCKOO, written and performed by Lisa Ramirez, receiving its Off-Broadway debut, starting previews April 17 prior to opening April 23 in a production by the Working Theater at Theater Row's Clurman Theatre (410 West 42nd Street) in Manhattan.

At Hand Theatre Company is proud to present the New York premiere of TRICKSTER AT THE GATE. The Yoruba God Esu Elegba has been sentenced to live the life of a mortal African-American woman throughout the 20th Century as penance for causing human deformities and suffering. Inspired by the life and works of Zora Neale Hurston, the play takes us from the Harlem Renaissance, to the mystical realms of African gods, to present day Louisiana to impart a tale of faith, acceptance and love.

At Hand Theatre Company is proud to present the New York premiere of TRICKSTER AT THE GATE. The Yoruba God Esu Elegba has been sentenced to live the life of a mortal African-American woman throughout the 20th Century as penance for causing human deformities and suffering. Inspired by the life and works of Zora Neale Hurston, the play takes us from the Harlem Renaissance, to the mystical realms of African gods, to present day Louisiana to impart a tale of faith, acceptance and love.

The A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program and Young Conservatory present the world premiere production of Volleygirls, Rob Ackerman's funny and moving look at the spirit and passion of team sports, directed by W. D. Keith. Featuring actors from the graduating class of the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program and young actors from the Young Conservatory, Volleygirls spikes a spirited, heartfelt look at a down-and-out high school volleyball team. Following a string of losses and facing their biggest rival, the girls of Saint Agnes hatch a wild plan to turn their flailing team around-while their self-defeating coach must confront his 'loseritis.'

The Fire Dept Artistic Directors Erica Gould and Audrey Rosenberg have announced that the return of the company's Salon Series-staged readings of new plays, presented in non-proscenium environments that encourage an intimacy between audience and performer, followed by a discussion with the artists and noted guest speakers whose life experiences speak to the issues raised by the material-will begin with The Minotaur by Anna Ziegler (BFF), directed by Erica Gould (Neil LaBute's autobahn and Stand Up), and starring Mario Cantone (Sex and the City), Jill Clayburgh (Dirty Sexy Money, An Unmarried Woman), Campbell Scott (Dying Young, Singles, Longtime Companion), and Jeremy Webb (The Glorious Ones, Kander & Ebb's The Visit) on Friday, March 27 at 7 pm at the historic Players Club, 16 Gramercy Park South at 20th Street. The event will be produced by Audrey Rosenberg (Infamous with Sandra Bullock, upcoming documentary about Barack Obama).

At Hand Theatre Company is proud to present the New York premiere of TRICKSTER AT THE GATE. The Yoruba God Esu Elegba has been sentenced to live the life of a mortal African-American woman throughout the 20th Century as penance for causing human deformities and suffering. Inspired by the life and works of Zora Neale Hurston, the play takes us from the Harlem Renaissance, to the mystical realms of African gods, to present day Louisiana to impart a tale of faith, acceptance and love.

At Hand Theatre Company is proud to present the New York premiere of TRICKSTER AT THE GATE. The Yoruba God Esu Elegba has been sentenced to live the life of a mortal African-American woman throughout the 20th Century as penance for causing human deformities and suffering. Inspired by the life and works of Zora Neale Hurston, the play takes us from the Harlem Renaissance, to the mystical realms of African gods, to present day Louisiana to impart a tale of faith, acceptance and love.

The A.C.T. Master of Fine Arts Program and Young Conservatory present the world premiere production of Volleygirls, Rob Ackerman's funny and moving look at the spirit and passion of team sports, directed by W. D. Keith. Featuring actors from the graduating class of the A.C.T. M.F.A. Program and young actors from the Young Conservatory, Volleygirls spikes a spirited, heartfelt look at a down-and-out high school volleyball team. Following a string of losses and facing their biggest rival, the girls of Saint Agnes hatch a wild plan to turn their flailing team around-while their self-defeating coach must confront his 'loseritis.'

Working Theater presents the world premiere of KING OF SHADOWS, a new Off-Broadway play by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, author of GOOD BOYS AND TRUE, BASED ON A TOTALLY TRUE STORY and DARK MATTERS, set to begin previews September 2, prior to its official press opening September 7 at Theater for the New City (155 First Avenue) in Manhattan.

Working Theater presents the world premiere of KING OF SHADOWS, a new Off-Broadway play by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, author of GOOD BOYS AND TRUE, BASED ON A TOTALLY TRUE STORY and DARK MATTERS, set to begin previews September 2, prior to its official press opening September 7 at Theater for the New City (155 First Avenue) in Manhattan.

Working Theater, the New York-based theater company that has been devoted to producing new plays since the company began in 1985, including the popular plays Tabletop (Rob Ackerman), Hold Please (Annie Weisman) and I Am a Man (OyamO) -- presents the Off-Broadway premiere of Our Dad is in Atlantis by Mexican playwright Javier Malpica, with an English translation by Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas (Blind Mouth Singing).

Working Theater, the New York-based theater company that has been devoted to producing new plays since the company began in 1985, including the popular plays Tabletop (Rob Ackerman), Hold Please (Annie Weisman) and I Am a Man (OyamO) -- presents the Off-Broadway premiere of Our Dad is in Atlantis by Mexican playwright Javier Malpica, with an English translation by Jorge Ignacio Cortiñas (Blind Mouth Singing), set to begin previews April 4, prior to its official press opening April 8 at Theatres at 45 Bleecker (45 Bleecker Street) in Manhattan.

The Fire Dept will present an expanded and updated version of its acclaimed At War: American Playwrights Respond to Iraq, an evening of alternately moving, haunting, and funny material by noted and emerging American playwrights, woven together to present a kaleidoscope of views on the war.

Josh Lucas (Poseidon, The Glass Menagerie), Jake Robards (You and I, V.O, Our Town), Dorian Missick (Six Degrees), and Alice Playten (Caroline, or Change, Seussical) have joined the cast of The Fire Dept Theater Company's Speakeasy.

New Theatre Company Opening in NYC In October

Janeane Garafalo, Chuck Cooper, Kathleen Chalfant and more have been cast in the Drama Dept's collaborative play SpeakEasy

The new theatre company, The Fire Dept, founded by Neil LaBute, Kathleen Chalfant, Janeane Garafalo and more, will launch with the new collaborative play SpeakEasy