Bainbridge Island Playwright Jordan Harrison's MAPLE & VINE pens at UW School of Drama Today

The University of Washington School of Drama will present Jordan Harrison's Maple and Vine, directed by 3rd year MFA director Sean Ryan, January 20th - 29th at the Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse Theatre on University Way NE.

Maple and Vine is the third show in the School of Drama's 2016-2017 mainstage season, which focuses on plays where past and present converge. Maple and Vine is the story of a married couple-Katha and Ryu-who have reached a point of exhaustion with their digitized, hyper-convenient lives that will feel familiar to anyone who's ever contemplated throwing their iPhone into the ocean.

When the two meet a charming emissary from a community of 1950s reenactors, they willingly follow him back to a world where everything from the clothes to the social structure is more rigid but also maybe (and maybe perversely) more freeing. This darkly funny and provocative investigation of the modern condition asks us to consider how much mobility we'd sacrifice for the chance to just stand still next to someone we love.

Director Ryan says, "I have lived and worked in the Seattle arts community for almost 20 years. So, I wanted to celebrate my thesis project with a local playwright. Jordan Harrison grew up on Bainbridge Island, and Maple and Vine also fit my criterion of having an original queer theme. I love that this play speaks of sacrifice and simplicity. Moreover, what struck me was the premise of an alternate reality: a place that's pretend, yet real-because the characters make it real. Here was a place where people could depart their modern life, and live out a fantasy with truth and authenticity. It's an allegory on the importance of connection and love when we are threatened by apathy and addiction."

MAPLE & VINE
By Jordan Harrison
Directed by Sean Ryan
January 20th - 29th
Floyd & Delores Jones Playhouse Theatre
4045 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105

PREVIEWS: January 17 & 19 @ 7:30 PM
OPENING NIGHT: Friday, January 20th, 7:30 PM
PERFORMANCE DATES:
Saturday, January 21st, 7:30 PM
Sunday, January 22nd, 2:00 PM
Wednesday, January 25th, 7:30 PM
Thursday, January 26th, 7:30 PM
Friday, January 27th, 7:30 PM
Saturday, January 28th, 7:30 PM
Sunday, January 29th, 2:00 PM

TICKET PRICES:
Previews: $10
Student/Senior/UW Employee/UWAA: $12
General: $18
TeenTix: $5 at the door, day-of-show

More information: http://www.drama.uw.edu
NOTE: As an educational institution, the UW School of Drama does not invite reviews from press outside the university.

ARTISTS

Playwright: Jordan Harrison
Director: Sean Ryan (MFA, Professional Director Training Program)

Scenic Designer: Alex Winterle (MFA, Scenic Design)
Costume Designer: Pamela Dirnberger (MFA, Costume Design)
Light Designer: Amber Parker (MFA, Lighting Design)

CAST

Katha/Kathy: Tatiana Pavela (MFA, Professional Actor Training Program)
Ryu: Josh Kenji (BA)
Dean: Skye Edwards (MFA, Professional Actor Training Program)
Ellen/Jenna: Jessica Moss (MFA, Professional Actor Training Program)
Omar/Roger: Andrew Brown (MFA, Professional Actor Training Program)

MORE ABOUT SEAN RYAN
Sean Ryan has produced, directed, and devised theater and interdisciplinary performance in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest since 1998. In recent years, Ryan was instrumental in re-establishing the Seattle Fringe Festival and launching Gay City Arts, Gay City's commitment to presenting challenging, dynamic and excellent queer art in Seattle. His directing work has been presented by Under the Radar at The Public Theater (NYC), Helena Theater Company (MT), Teatro Frida Kahlo (CA) and in Seattle at On the Boards, Gay City Arts, the Seattle Fringe Festival and the Central District Forum for Arts & Ideas. Plays include: The Birds Flew In by Yussef El Guindi; Are You There Frida It's Me Xioci by Nilki Benitez; August: Osage County by Tracy Letts; (IN)STABILITY by Paul Budraitis; Lucy's Lamb by Okanomodé Soulchilde; Another You by Allen Johnson (check out at ontheboards.tv), the West Coast Premiere of Crave by Sarah Kane, among others. At the University of Washington, Sean's recent work includes Warning: I Only Look Neurotypical, Loot, and Bus Stop. Prior to pursuing his MFA, he was the Regional Programs Director at On the Boards, managing 12 Minutes Max and producing the NW New Works Festival for ten years.

MORE ABOUT Jordan Harrison
Jordan Harrison was a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Marjorie Prime. The play had its New York premiere at Playwrights Horizons and its Chicago premiere at Writers Theatre after premiering at the Mark Taper Forum/CTG in Los Angeles. His play Maple and Vine premiered in the 2011 Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville and went on to productions at American Conservatory Theatre and Playwrights Horizons, among others. Harrison's other plays include The Grown-Up (2014 Humana Festival), Doris to Darlene (Playwrights Horizons), Amazons and their Men (Clubbed Thumb), Act A Lady (2006 Humana Festival), Finn in the Underworld (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), Futura (Portland Center Stage, NAATCO), Kid-Simple (2004 Humana Festival), Standing on Ceremony (Minetta Lane), The Museum Play (Washington Ensemble Theatre), and a musical, Suprema (O'Neill Music Theatre Conference). Harrison is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Hodder Fellowship, the Kesselring Prize, the Roe Green Award from Cleveland Play House, the Heideman Award, a Theater Masters Innovative Playwright Award, the Loewe Award for Musical Theater, Jerome and McKnight Fellowships, a NYSCA grant, and a NEA/TCG Residency with The Empty Space Theater. His children's musical, The Flea and the Professor, won the Barrymore Award for Best Production after premiering at the Arden Theatre. A graduate of Stanford University and the Brown MFA program, Harrison is an alumnus of New Dramatists. He is an Affiliated Artist with Clubbed Thumb, The Civilians, and The Playwrights' Center. Harrison writes for the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black.

MORE ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF DRAMA
The UW School of Drama develops innovative and courageous artists and scholars poised to be the creative leaders of tomorrow.
For 75 years it has served as one of this country's leading training institutions for theatre artists and scholars. The School of Drama offers MFA degrees in acting, design, and directing, a four-year undergraduate liberal arts education in Drama, and a PhD in theatre history and criticism. Faculty and alumni have founded theatres such as ACT Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Empty Space Theatre, Jet City Improv, and more recently, the Washington Ensemble Theatre, Azeotrope, and The Horse in Motion. The School of Drama is a laboratory for leading-edge performance research, attracting internationally renowned guest artists like Anne Washburn, Chay Yew, Whit MacLaughlin, and PearlDamour, offering students the opportunity to collaborate with and learn from masters in their field and forge critical connections to the world of professional theatre.