Aaron Posner's STUPID F***ING BIRD to Play Arden Theatre Company This Fall

Arden Theatre Company opens its 29th season with Aaron Posner's STUPID f-ing BIRD, "sort of" adapted from Anton Checkov's The Seagull. Posner, an Arden co-founder and former Artistic Director who has directed nearly 40 productions for the company, also directs his show for the first time. STUPID f-ing BIRD runs September 15 through October 16, 2016, on the F. Otto Haas Stage at 40 N. 2nd Street in Philadelphia.

STUPID f-ing BIRD is an irreverent, contemporary, and very funny remix of Anton Checkov's The Seagull, whose missed opportunities, feelings of unrequited love and misplaced dreams are now set squarely in the bustle of 21st century life.

STUPID f-ing BIRD was a finalist for The Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Critics Association New Play Award and the winner of the 2014 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding New Play. Critically acclaimed from coast to coast, it was named by American Theatre Magazine as one of the Top 10 Most-Produced Plays of the 2015/16 Theatre Season. Plans to produce it internationally in Australia, Argentina and Sweden are underway.

Arden Producing Artistic Director Terrence J. Nolen says, "We're thrilled to be producing the Philadelphia premiere of STUPID f-ing BIRD, and are especially delighted to have Aaron back to direct it. One of the reasons this play has been celebrated is that it captures so much of what is extraordinary about Checkov, but through Aaron's very unique perspective."

Posner has adapted more than 13 works for the stage, many of which he premiered at the Arden. He self-describes this play to be a "sort of" adaptation.

He says, "After writing the adaptations that I started doing at the Arden like The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev, STUPID f-ing BIRD was my first time writing something much more original. There are no lines from Checkov. My goal is not to serve Checkov, but to use his work as my playground. In this case, the playground Checkov stakes out is the tricky, human, day-to-day shit of life. Not being loved by the right person, hard family dynamics, everything he writes about are issues that go deep and wide for everyone, and are ones that I have strong connections to and feelings about."

He adds, "I'm excited to direct this show for the first time at the Arden, my artistic home. I wrote the role of Emma with actress Grace Gonglewski in mind, so the opportunity to direct it with Grace is very gratifying."

STUPID f-ing BIRD is the first of three Checkov re-imaginings Posner has written. His LIFE SUCKS (Uncle Vanya) premiered at Theater J in Washington, D.C. in January, 2015, and will also be running at Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago this Fall, and his NO SISTERS (Three Sisters) will premiere at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., in March, 2017. Another of his loose adaptations, DISTRICT MERCHANTS (William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice), will run at South Coast Repertory in Orange County this Fall.

Other Posner adaptations include Who Am I This Time? & Other Conundrums of Love (adapted from Kurt Vonnegut short stories), The Chosen and My Name Is Asher Lev (adapted from the Chaim Potok novels, both of which premiered at the Arden and have gone on to more than 100 combined professional productions in the US, Canada, Australia and elsewhere...), Sometimes a Great Notion (adapted from Ken Kesey), a nine-actor Cyrano (with Arden favorite Michael Hollinger), a musical adaptation of Mark Twain's A Murder, A Mystery and A Marriage (with Arden favorite James Sugg), and The Tempest and Macbeth (both with Teller of Penn & Teller).

Posner has won numerous awards as both director and playwright including two Barrymore Awards, five Helen Hayes Awards, an Outer Circle Critics Award, The John Gassner Prize, An Eliot Norton Award, A Bay Area Theatre Critics Award and more. He has directed at major regional theaters from coast to coast. Posner is currently an Artistic Associate at Folger Theatre in Washington, D.C.

The cast includes Cindy De La Cruz, Grace Gonglewski, Dan Hodge, Alex Keiper, Karl Miller, Reynaldo Piniella and Greg Wood.

STUPID f-ing BIRD begins previews on Thursday, September 15, 2016, opens to the press on Wednesday, September 21, 2016, and runs through Sunday, October 16, 2016. A Pay What You Can performance takes place on Wednesday, September 14th.

Single tickets go on sale August 15, 2016. Ticket prices are $36-$52, with discounts available for groups of 15 or more, seniors, students, military, and educators. Visit www.ardentheatre.org, call the Arden Box Office at 215.922.1122, or visit the box office at 40 N. 2nd Street in Old City, Philadelphia.

Post-show discussions will be held following performances on Thursday, September 29 at 8pm, Sunday, October 2 at 2pm, Wednesday, October 5 at 6:30pm, Sunday, October 29 at 2pm and Wednesday, October 12 at 6:30pm.

The Arden is wheelchair accessible and provides assisted listening devices and large-print programs at every performance. Open Captioned and Audio Described performances will take place on Friday, October 7 at 8pm and Saturday, October 8 at 2pm. Reservations are required for accessible seating and may be made by calling the Arden's Box Office at 215.922.1122.

Founded in 1988, Arden Theatre Company is dedicated to bringing to life great stories by great storytellers-on the stage, in the classroom, and in the community. Five productions are staged each season as part of the Mainstage series and two productions through Arden Children's Theatre, the city's first resident professional children's theatre program. New work is produced through the Independence Foundation New Play Showcase. The Arden's Education Department includes: Arden for All (AFA), a theatre access and education program for underserved young people; Arden Drama School, the after-school, Saturday, and summer camp classes for students in grades pre K-12; Teen Arden, an immersive after-school access program for Philadelphia-area based teenagers; and the Arden Professional Apprentice Program, a nationally renowned comprehensive theatre management training program. The Hamilton Family Arts Center is the new facility dedicated to education programs and new play development.

The Arden has received numerous honors including 63 awards and 307 nominations from the Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre. The Arden is a winner of four "Theatre Company of the Year" designations (Philadelphia Inquirer), six Philadelphia Magazine "Best of Philly" awards and three "Best of Philly Kids" awards, the City Paper's Reader's Choice Award and the prestigious "Great Friend to Kids Award" from the Please Touch Museum for Arden Children's Theatre work. For accessibility efforts, the Arden was named a "Keystone of Accessibility" by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Arden Theatre Company is a professional, nonprofit 501(c)(3) theatre company and a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the League of Resident Theatres, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Old City Arts Association. The Arden also participates in The Barrymore Awards, a program of Theatre Philadelphia.