76th NNPN Rolling World Premiere THE LUCKIEST PEOPLE Rolls Through Actor's Theatre Of Charlotte

National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, celebrates the second leg of The Luckiest People by Meridith Friedman, its 69th Rolling World Premiere. The play, which received the 2013-14 Annual Commission in collaboration with Curious Theatre Company, will receive a total of three distinct NNPN RWP productions, rolling through Curious Theatre Company (May 6-June 17, 2017 in Denver, CO), Actor's Theatre of Charlotte (now playing January 31-February 17, 2018 in NC), and Stage Left Theatre (March 26-April 29, 2018 in Chicago, IL).

In an NNPN Rolling World Premiere, the Network provides production support to the playwright and the partnering theaters, including assistance with the creation and the contracting of the premiere agreement, collaborative interactions between the theaters, and travel and housing funds for the playwright to further develop the play in each city.

ABOUT THE LUCKIEST PEOPLE
When his elderly father, Oscar, proposes moving in with him, Richard, happily settled with his partner David, is less than enthusiastic about the idea. Unbeknownst to Oscar, an adopted son will soon be occupying the spare bedroom in Richard and David's beachside condo. Years of unspoken hostilities and resentments are unleashed, spiraling the men into a vicious game of finger pointing. Tensions reach a breaking point when Oscar's growing suspicions over the circumstances of his wife's death lead him to make a startling accusation against his son.

ABOUT Meridith Friedman
Meridith was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She received her BA from Connecticut College, and her MFA in Writing for the Stage & Screen from Northwestern University. She currently resides in Los Angeles and writes for television. Her work has been produced, developed, and workshopped at theaters and festivals across the country, including Curious Theatre Company, Kitchen Dog Theater, Stage Left Theatre, LOCAL Theatre Company, Chicago's Theatre on the Lake, Actor's Theater of Charlotte, The Kennedy Center, Chicago Dramatists, The Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals, Florida Repertory Theatre, The Ashland New Play Festival, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Florida Studio Theatre, the NNPN National Showcase of New Plays, New Repertory Theatre, The Lark, Actor's Express, The Greenhouse Theatre Center, The Samuel French OOB Short Play Festival, The American Southwest Theatre Company at NMSU, Abbey Theatre in Orlando, and Capital Rep. Meridith has been a Playwright-in-Residence at Curious, a Dramatist Guild Fellow, and the recipient of a Downstage Left Playwriting Residency at Stage Left Theatre. She was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Drama at Kenyon College during the 2011-2012 academic year, and taught screenwriting to undergraduates while completing her graduate work at Northwestern University. She has also taught playwriting to talented high school and middle school dramatists at Interlochen Center for the Arts and Curious Theatre Company. meridithfriedman.com

ABOUT CURIOUS THEATRE COMPANY
The mission of Curious Theatre Company is to engage the community in important contemporary issues through provocative modern theatre. Now celebrating 20 years of bringing thought-provoking theatre to Denver, Curious Theatre Company's rich history showcases our commitment to playwrights with gutsy things to say. Over the last ten years, 66% of Curious plays have been written by playwrights of color, LGBTQ playwrights, or female playwrights - an unparalleled distinction in our region. We are proud to produce plays that challenge and enrich our lives through different viewpoints and storytelling styles. Curious has been named Best Theatre Season by Westword seven times and was honored four times with Best Year by a Theatre Company by the former Denver Post Ovation Awards. Our incredible Company and the artists who work with us have earned hundreds of awards through their tireless effort to bring relevant, contemporary theatre to the Front Range. "No guts, no story" embodies the ethos of Curious Theatre Company. Established in 1997 by a vanguard Artistic Company that has since grown to 25 professional actors, designers, and directors at its core, Curious brings the best new theatre to Denver, producing thought-provoking plays designed to challenge ideas, stir emotions, and leave audiences thinking and talking for days. curioustheatre.org

ABOUT ACTOR'S THEATRE OF CHARLOTTE
The mission of Actor's Theatre of Charlotte is to present, in an intimate environment, bold and innovative new works by contemporary playwrights who share our respect for language and humanity. Our philosophy and goal continue to be the presentation of regional premieres of thought-provoking, challenging and entertaining contemporary plays. Actor's Theatre is the only professional theatre in the region that dedicates its entire programming to new works that are daring, offbeat and, yes, sometimes controversial. Through the years we have remained steadfast to this original mission and philosophy and will strive to continue to be your entertainment source for these exciting new plays for years to come. atcharlotte.org

ABOUT STAGE LEFT THEATRE
Stage Left Theatre inspires debate by cultivating new work and producing plays that explore political and social landscapes. Our art challenges perspectives by presenting multiple facets of an issue with candor and empathy. Over the past thirty-five years, Stage Left has produced over 120 mainstage, late-night, off-night, children's and touring productions that have garnered critical accolades, as well as 46 nominations and 17 awards for excellence from the Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee. stagelefttheatre.com

ABOUT NNPN
National New Play Network (NNPN) is the country's alliance of non-profit professional theaters dedicated to the development, production, and continued life of new plays. Since its founding in 1998, NNPN has supported more than 250 productions nationwide through its innovative National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere program, which provides playwright and production support for new works at its Member theaters. Additional programs - its annual National Conference, National Showcase of New Plays, and MFA Playwrights Workshop; the NNPN Annual and Smith Prize commissions; its residencies for playwrights, producers and directors; and the organization's member accessed Collaboration, Festival, and Travel banks and online information sessions - have helped cement the Network's position as a vital force in the new play landscape. NNPN also strives to pioneer, implement, and disseminate ideas and programs that revolutionize the way theaters collaborate to support new plays and playwrights. Its most recent project, the New Play Exchange, is changing the way playwrights share their work and others discover it by providing immediate access to information on nearly 17,000 new plays by living writers. NNPN's 30 Core and 80 Associate Members - along with the more than 250 affiliated artists who are its alumni, the thousands of artists and artisans employed annually by its member theaters, and the hundreds of thousands of audience members who see its supported works each year - are creating the new American theater. nnpn.org | newplayexchange.org