Alice Ripley, David Lindsay-Abaire & Pam MacKinnon to Host Master Classes at ESPA, 8/3-4

Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), the company's professional training school, is pleased to announce a rare collection of Master Classes featuring Tony Award-winning director Pam MacKinnon (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole), and Tony Award-winning actress Alice Ripley (Next to Normal).

Learn from some of the leading voices in American theater and get a taste of ESPA on August 3 and 4. More information at: www.primarystages.org/masterclass.

Master classes are free and open to the public. All classes take place at Primary Stages Studios, 307 W. 38th St., Suite 1510. ESPA is open to all artists, in all stages of their careers. For more information or to register for classes, call 212-840-9705 ext. 211 or espa@primarystages.org.

David Lindsay-Abaire is a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, screenwriter, lyricist and librettist. His play Good People premiered on Broadway, and was awarded the 2011 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, The Horton Foote Prize, The Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award, and two Tony nominations. TCG recently named David as the most produced playwright in America for the 2012-13 season, and Good People as the most produced play. His previous play,Rabbit Hole received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, five Tony nominations, and the Spirit of America Award. David was nominated for a Grammy Award and two Tonys for his work on Shrek The Musical, and was awarded the Kleban Award as America's most promising musical theatre lyricist. David's other plays includeFuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, Wonder of the World and A Devil Inside, among others. In addition to his work in theatre, David's screen credits include his film adaptation of Rabbit Hole (starring Nicole Kidman - Oscar Nomination), Dreamworks' Rise of the Guardians, and MGM's upcoming Poltergeist reboot, among others.

Pam MacKinnon's recent credits include Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Broadway, Arena, Steppenwolf; Tony Award and Drama Desk Awards for Best Director of a Play, Outer Critics Circle nomination); Bruce Norris' Clybourne Park (Broadway, Mark Taper, Playwrights Horizons; Tony and Lortel nominations and Obie Award for Direction); Horton Foote's Harrison, TX (Primary Stages); Beau Willimon's The Parisian Woman (SCR); Craig Lucas' The Lying Lesson (Atlantic); Itamar Moses' Completeness (Playwrights Horizons, SCR). She is a frequent interpreter of the plays of Edward Albee, having directed six of his plays, including the world premieres of Occupant (Signature) and Peter and Jerry, now titled At Home at the Zoo (Second Stage and Hartford). She is an alumna of the Drama League Fall Program and the Lincoln Center Directors Lab and chairman of the board of the downtown theater CLUBBED THUMB, dedicated to new American plays.

Alice Ripley won the 2009 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Diana Goodman in the Pulitzer Prize winning Next To Normal. In the same year, Alice received a Helen Hayes Award for N2N at Arena Stage in Washington, DC, and earned Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for her work inNext to Normal Off-Broadway (Second Stage). Ms. Ripley received Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for her work as conjoined twin Violet Hilton in the cult hit Side Show. On Broadway, Alice also created the roles of Janet in The Rocky Horror Show, Molly Ivors in James Joyce's the Dead, Betty Schaefer in Sunset Boulevard, the Specialist's Assistant in The Who's Tommy, Bathsheba in King David, and she played Fantine in Les Miserables at the Imperial Theatre. In 2002 she played to shoulder-to-shoulder audiences in the John F. Kennedy Center's production of Company, as part of the Center's landmark Sondheim Festival. Ms. Ripley's performance stopped the show with applause, and she received a Helen Hayes nomination for her turn as Amy. She then starred in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one woman tour-de-force Tell Me on a Sunday, also at the Kennedy Center, and in Ken Ludwig's Shakespeare in Hollywood at the Arena Stage. Alice received Helen Hayes acting nominations for her work in both productions. Most recently, Ms. Ripley was seen as Bev/Kathy in Clybourne Park at the Long Wharf Theatre. Ripley's recent film Isn't It Delicious (2013) earned Best Feature at Rainier and Best Comedy at the Manhattan Film Festival. Currently Ripley is in the studio with Jess Means (piano), working on a new release of standards and original material, targeted for November 2013. Recordings include original Broadway cast albums, Daily Practice vol 1, Everything's Fine, Outtasite, RIPLEY EP, and a 2012 digital single "Beautiful Eyes." Alice hosts her own YouTube channel (ripleytheband) and has produced over 300 ridiculous videos for an insatiable audience.

Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA) is a multidisciplinary school with departments in acting, writing, and directing. Now in its seventh year, ESPA has refined actors who have been seen on and off-Broadway, developed writers whose work has won awards and received workshops and productions, and served as a professional and artistic home for emerging talent. ESPA is defined by its strong commitment to collaboration through programs such as Detention, a monthly performance series that partners ESPA writers, actors, directors, and a faculty advisor in the creation of a unique evening of theater. Having provided a home to over 2,000 students, ESPA has become a leader in performing arts education through its excellence in training, unique collaboration and networking opportunities, and strong professional community. ESPA is open to all artists, in all stages of their careers.

Primary Stages is an Off-Broadway theater company dedicated to inspiring, supporting, and sharing the art of playwriting. Under the leadership of Founder and Executive Producer Casey Childs, Artistic Director Andrew Leynse, and Managing Director Elliot Fox, we operate on the strongly held belief that the future of American theater relies on nurturing individual playwrights and giving them the artistic support needed to create new work. Since our founding in 1984, we have produced more than 100 new plays, including Kate Fodor's Rx, Charles Busch's Olive and the Bitter Herbs; A.R. Gurney's Black Tie; Horton Foote's Dividing the Estate (Two 2009 Tony Award nominations); Brooke Berman's Hunting and Gathering (one of New York Magazine's Top Ten Plays of 2008); Terrence McNally'sDedication or the Stuff of Dreams (starring Nathan Lane and Marian Seldes) and The Stendhal Syndrome (featuring Isabella Rossellini and Richard Thomas); Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter's In the Continuum (which went on to tour the U.S., Africa, and Scotland); David Ives' All in the Timing; and Conor McPherson's St. Nicholas (which marked the playwright's U.S. debut). In 2008, Primary Stages was honored with the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, which encompasses much more than the plays we produce for the stage. Primary Stages supports playwrights and develops new works through commissions, workshops, readings, and our two flagship programs: The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group and the Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA). Through these programs, Primary Stages advocates for our artists, helping them make important-and often transformative-connections within the theater community.

Master classes are free and open to the public. All classes take place at Primary Stages Studios, 307 W. 38th St., Suite 1510. ESPA is open to all artists, in all stages of their careers. For more information or to register for classes, call 212-840-9705 ext. 211 or espa@primarystages.org.