Arena's Downstairs Series Continues With New Works By Local Favorites & More

The Downstairs New Play Reading Series is a demonstration of Arena's longstanding commitment to the development of new works and to the support of American artists. Arena Stage is proud to announce the 10th year of the Downstairs Series, which includes new works by Arena favorites Tazewell Thompson (director of Arena's M. Butterfly, Yellowman), Psalmayene 24 (Imagination Stage's Zomo the Rabbit) and fresh new voice Seamus Sullivan.

The Downstairs Series began in 2000 and is currently under the direction of Arena Stage Literary Manager Janine Sobeck. Regarding the series, Sobeck shares, "The Restaged festival has given us the great opportunity to open up and expand the possibilities of the Downstairs Series. We're excited that this group of talented playwrights, all of them intimately connected to the Arena Stage family, has joined us on this journey of discovery."

The 2009 Downstairs New Play Reading Series at Arena Stage in Crystal City

May 18, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
Harlan at the Rockpile by Seamus Sullivan
Directed by Derek Goldman
This engaging new work is based on the true story of forgotten adventurer Josiah Harlan, the first American to travel to Afghanistan. Harlan at the Rockpile alternates between the 19th and 21st centuries for a thrilling epic about the power of the individual pitted against the weight of history and the might of empires. A May 2008 graduate of Georgetown University and member of Arena Stage group sales team, playwright Seamus Sullivan will be premiering his new play, Skywriter, as part of the 2009 Capital Fringe Festival. Sullivan is also a regular contributor to Rorschach's Myth-Appropriation Series.

June 22, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
Slavery/The Remix by Psalmayene 24
Directed by Kamilah Forbes
Choreographed by Paige Hernandez
This "Hip-Hop Odyssey" by Arena Stage Master Teaching Artist Psalmayene 24 tells the story of the restless and idealistic Baraka, who meets an eccentric novelist at a D.C. bus stop and is called to go on a mystical journey to The Door of No Return. His quest takes him to Wu-Tang Mountain in China, a psychotherapist's office and a famed slave castle off the coast of West Africa. Psalmayene 24's work Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip-Hop Creation Myth recently premiered at Imagination Stage.

June 29, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.
Mary T. & Lizzy K. by Tazewell Thompson
Directed by Ronee Penoi
Arena Stage Writers Council member Tazewell Thompson introduces Mary T. & Lizzy K. The play explores the relationship between First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln and her personal dressmaker and confidante-the freed black Elizabeth "Lizzy" Keckly-and revolves around the dress Lizzy creates for Mrs. Lincoln to wear to Ford's Theatre the night of Lincoln's assassination. Thompson has directed numerous shows at Arena, including M. Butterfly, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Yellowman.

The 2008/09 Downstairs New Play Reading Series is made possible, in part, due to support from The Barbara R. Walton Endowment Fund for New Playwrights. Barbara R. Walton (1920-2003) was very active in the Washington theater community, serving as president of the Little Theatre of Alexandria and secretary of the Board of Trustees at Arena Stage (board member 1957-65). In addition to directing community theater productions for the Montgomery Players and The Children's Theatre of Richmond, she wrote six full-length plays and numerous one-acts that were produced throughout the Capitol region. Her most notable works include: Hallowe'en Time, The Wonderful Idababa, Lost, The Gin-Gin Trade and The Red Hat. Her musical The Sing Ling Circus (book and lyrics) was presented on the Fichandler Stage by the Arena Stage repertory company in 1962 to wide audience and critical acclaim.

The 2008/09 Downstairs Series is also funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Tickets to the Downstairs New Play Reading Series are free but must be reserved by calling the Arena Stage Sales Office at (202) 488-3300 or in person at Arena Stage in Crystal City (1800 S. Bell St. Arlington, VA 22202).

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Managing Director Edgar Dobie, Washington, D.C.-based Arena Stage is the largest theater in the country dedicated to American plays and playwrights. Founded in 1950 by Zelda Fichandler, Thomas Fichandler and Edward Mangum, Arena Stage was one of the nation's original resident theaters and has a distinguished record of leadership and innovation in the field. With the opening of the new Mead Center for American Theater in 2010, Arena Stage will be a leading center for the production, development and study of American theater. Now in its sixth decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 200,000. For more information please visit www.arenastage.org.

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