Sheila Callaghan News

Five-time Obie Award-winning theater company Clubbed Thumb (Maria Striar, Producing Artistic Director; Michael Bulger, Associate Artistic Director; Quinn Metal Corbin, Advancement Director) is proud to announce the return of Will Arbery's PLANO, directed by Taylor Reynolds. First seen last year in the 23rd SUMMERWORKS season, PLANO returns beginning April 8 for a limited engagement through May 11. Opening night is set for April 13 at the Connelly Theatre (220 East 4th Street). Tickets are now on sale at: https://www.artful.ly/clubbedthumb/store/events.

Cherry Lane Theatre (Angelina Fiordellisi, Founder; Seri Lawrence, Artistic Director) is proud to kick-off its Obie Award-winning Mentor Project with this year's first production, The Maturation of an Inconvenient Negro (or iNegro) written by and starring Kareem M. Lucas, mentored by Craig 'muMs' Grant. The Maturation of an Inconvenient Negro is directed by David Mendizabal and will begin performances on Wednesday, February 20 and run through March 2 at the Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street, NYC).  Tickets are $25 ($60 for a three-show membership) and can be purchased by visiting cherrylanetheatre.org or by calling 866-811-4111.

The League of Professional Theatre Women (Kelli Lynn Harrison and Catherine Porter, Co-Presidents), an organization which has been leading the gender parity conversation and championing women in the professional theatre for over 35 years, will present the 2019 Theatre Women Awards at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (18 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10012) on Monday, March 25 at 7pm (doors open at 6:30pm). For more information on the 2019 Theatre Women Awards, and to purchase tickets, please visit www.theatrewomen.org. 

New York Stage and Film announces the programming line-up for their 2019 Winter Season at The Lark/Barebones Studio (311 West 43rd Street, 5th Floor): Halley Feiffer's Saying Goodbye to the People I Love From My Bathtub, 2015 Founders' Award Recipient Harrison David Rivers' the bandaged place, and Sharr White's Pictures From Home.

Previews begin tonight for the world premiere production of The Convent, a new play by critically acclaimed playwright Jessica Dickey (The Amish Project, Charles Ives Take Me Home), directed by Daniel Talbott.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) is thrilled to announce the eighth annual Roundabout Underground Reading Series, a five-night event that includes nightly readings of new works written and directed by emerging artists, as well as post-show receptions. The Reading Series will feature new works by Aaron Carter, Emily Feldman, Dave Harris, Jonathan Spector and Sanaz Toossi.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the full company for the world premiere of Kenneth Lin's timely cautionary tale of capitalism run amok, Kleptocracy. Inspired by the power struggle between the richest of the Oligarchs and an ambitious Vladimir Putin after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Lin (House of Cards) explores U.S. - Russia relations then and now. Directed by Jackson Gay, and by special arrangement with Robert Ahrens, Mickey Liddell and Michael Mills, Kleptocracy runs January 18 - February 24, 2019 in the Kreeger Theater.

New year, new Kilroys! For the past five years The Kilroys, an LA-based collective of playwrights/producers continuing the fight to achieve gender balance in the American theater, have been advocating for equal representation on our American stages, and have released an annual list of under-produced plays by women, trans, and non-binary writers. Despite some measurable progress, we still have a long way to go before we strike that balance. So, as we approach 2019, we are beyond thrilled to introduce a fresh new gang of fearless badass leaders. These women will seize our reins and continue the fight for equality, creating random acts of disruption along the way, while the OG Kilroys will serve as an advisory board supporting the current class. 

Shattered Globe Theatre and Theater Wit are pleased to present the Chicago premiere of Will Eno's heartbreaking new comedy THE REALISTIC JONESES, directed by Theater Wit Artistic Director Jeremy Wechsler, who has directed the Chicago premieres of four of Eno's plays.

The Drama League (Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Artistic Director) has announced the theater directors chosen to develop new plays and musicals as part of the 2019 Drama League Artist Residency Program. Public work-in-progress presentations of each residency will be held periodically throughout the year at The Drama League Theater Center, 32 Avenue of the Americas, in Tribeca. Schedules for the presentations, which are open to the public, will be available throughout 2019 at www.dramaleague.org or by calling (212) 244-9494.

Center Theatre Group has selected participants for the 2018-2019 L.A. Writers' Workshop, where local playwrights are invited to spend eight months in residence at the company researching and writing new works with the feedback from artistic staff and their fellow writers. The workshop, administrated by Center Theatre Group's Artistic Department, is designed to foster new voices, inspire playwrights to create their best work, encourage bold writing and build relationships among local playwrights, Center Theatre Group and the Los Angeles theatre community.

The Old Globe announces its inaugural New Voices in the Community series: free public performances at libraries across San Diego County, followed by conversations with the playwrights and experts in the community. The first New Voices in the Community features three solo shows by women: Hold These Truths by Jeanne Sakata, "A" Train by Anne Torsiglieri, and Unveiled: A One-Woman Play by Rohina Malik.

Over the past twelve years, The Playwrights Realm, led by Founding Artistic Director Katherine Kovner and Producing Director Roberta Pereira, has continually produced work by brave new voices and expanded its commitment to providing holistic support to playwrights striving to make a life in the arts. With its 2018-2019 Writing Fellowship, The Playwrights Realm is proud to grant a career-propelling honor to four tremendously talented playwrights exhibiting drive and commitment to the form: Bleu Beckford-Burrell (Lyons Pride), Sarah Einspanier (I LOVE SEAN), Keelay Gipson (#NewSlaves), andElse C. Went (Saving Throw).

Over the years I've been to several plays that have cautionary signs in the lobby. Usually they mention cigarette use or strobe lights but more than a few I've seen talk about trigger warnings in the piece. I'd never really understood the trigger warning until last night at Washington Ensemble Theatre's production of "Everything You Touch", a show all about body image. As a big guy myself, I've dealt with this stuff all my life but there was a quite powerful moment in the show where suddenly I had all these memories of my own childhood come rushing back including things like tauntings in school or my Grandmother mailing me weight loss articles she cut out from the newspaper. I'd never had that much of a personal and visceral reaction to a play before which leads me to think that either I'm not as well-adjusted as I think I am or, the production from WET is just that good. I'm going to assume it's the latter. Yeah, that's it.

Cape Rep Theatre continues its 2018 season with the 5-time Tonywinning Broadway musical Fun Home, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, music by Jeanine Tesori, based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, September 19 through October 14: Tuesdays, Todays and Thursdays at 7 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm. There is no performance Sunday, September 23. Tickets are $35 and $40. Pay-What-You-Can-Night is the first Friday, September 21. Student Rush tickets also available. Call the box office for details. Cape Rep Indoor Theater. North Side Route 6A E. Brewster. 508.896.1888 or www.caperep.org.

Comics Uniting Nations, Greenpoint Innovations, Hypokrit Theatre Company, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and UNICEF are collaborating to present THE POINT: a Climate Week NYC (CWNYC) 2018 affiliate event - a series of artistic activations that will use a unique blend of the arts to inspire and inform about climate change and the value of forests, both locally and globally.

Cape Rep Theatre continues its 2018 season with the 5-time Tonywinning Broadway musical Fun Home, book and lyrics by Lisa Kron, music by Jeanine Tesori, based on the graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, September 19 through October 14: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7 pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm. There is no performance Sunday, September 23. Tickets are $35 and $40. Pay-What-You-Can-Night is the first Friday, September 21. Student Rush tickets also available. Call the box office for details. Cape Rep Indoor Theater. North Side Route 6A E. Brewster. 508.896.1888 or www.caperep.org.

Samuel French has announced the winners of the 2018 Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival, the nation's premier short play competition.

Five-time Obie Award-winning theater company Clubbed Thumb (Maria Striar, Producing Artistic Director; Michael Bulger, Associate Artistic Director) is proud to announce upcoming developmental projects and opportunities for Fall 2018.

Washington Ensemble Theatre has announced that Kiki Abba (No More Sad Things, Forward Flux), Kevin Kelly (The Nether, WET; The Merchant of Venice, Seattle Shakespeare Company), and Cheyenne Barton (The Wolves, ACT) will lead the cast of Everything You Touch, the brash dark comedy by Sheila Callaghan that kicks off the company's 15th Anniversary Season this fall.