Pear Avenue Theatre Sets 2015-16 Season: THE MOUNTAINTOP , AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY & More

Last night the home of Artistic Director and founder Diane Tasca buzzed with excited supporters and theatre enthusiasts as Pear Avenue Theatre announced the details of its new home, new name, and 2015-16 season. The Pear's highly anticipated new state-of-the-art theatre, designed by San Jose architect John Duquette, more than doubles the company's square footage from its current 1500 to more than 4,000 sf, and will be located at 1110 La Avenida, Mountain View. With its new home, the company will take on a new name, Pear Theatre, as a continuing nod to its original location on Pear Avenue in Mountain View. The Pear will move into the space at La Avenida this fall in time for its upcoming season.

The interior of the new theatre is not completed, and patrons were invited to become a permanent part of The Pear as Tasca unveiled limited naming opportunities ranging from colored lobby tiles ($300 - $1000) to theatre seats ($250). Other named endowment opportunities include the dressing room, studio, lobby, and main stage, which will bear an honoree's name (donation levels $3,000 - $10,000).

The new theatre opens September 18 with the world premiere of a new work, WALLS OF JERICHO by Diane Tasca, based on the short story ("Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams) from which the film It Happened One Night was created. The autumn lineup continues with TRIBES by Nina Raine, a lively drama about growing up deaf in a hearing world and winner of the 2012 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play.

The New Year kicks off with the Olivier Award-winning play THE MOUNTAINTOP by Katori Hall, an imaginative drama about a visitation to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by a mysterious stranger. Chekhov's classic play UNCLE VANYA will be presented in a new translation by local playwright and director Dave Sikula, followed by Amy Freed's BEARD OF AVON, a farcical take on the long-contested issue of Shakespearean authorship, and the Pear's annual short play festival, PEAR SLICES 2016. The 2015-16 season concludes with Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, a searing and hilarious family drama. Subscriptions and more information will be available at www.thepear.org.

After more than a decade of performing at its current 40-seat theatre in Mountain View, Pear Theatre is more than ready to expand. The new venue will double the audience capacity, seating between 80 and 99 depending on the flexible configuration of the performance space. Says Diane Tasca, "The Pear has blossomed over the past thirteen years with our shows consistently playing to sold-out audiences and gathering critical acclaim. We are pleased to have garnered support from such a vibrant artistic community and sophisticated, discerning audiences. We look forward to a larger, and yet still intimate space that will allow us to share our work with an even larger audience, and to introduce new programs to serve our community."

Since opening in 2002, the Pear has produced more than eighty innovative productions of classics, world premieres, and experimental works. Pear Theatre's contributions to the lively arts community have been recognized with accolades including many Bay Area Critics Circle Awards and Silicon Valley Small Theater Awards. In 2014, the company was singled out by the Bay Area Theatre Critic's Circle to receive The Paine Knickerbocker Award, presented annually to only one company in the greater Bay Area in recognition of its contribution to the local arts community.