Barrington Stage to Present Tom Coash's VEILS, Beginning 10/1

Barrington Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Managing Director Tristan Wilson, will present the new play VEILS by Tom Coash, from October 1-18, with a press opening Sunday, October 4 at 3pm..

Directed by Leah C. Gardiner (BSC debut), the production stars in their BSC debuts Hend Ayoub (Samar) and Donnetta Lavinia Grays (Intisar).

"Veils is an important play for our audiences to see. It deals with acceptance and discrimination - two subjects that are consistently on the front page nowadays. The fact that the subjects of this play are two young Muslim women will hopefully expand our understanding of these issues to an even greater degree," said Artistic Director Julianne Boyd.

Veils is set in 2010, when Intisar, an African American Muslim student, arrives in Cairo for a year abroad, she hopes finally to be understood. She's quickly enlisted by her exuberant Egyptian roommate, Samar, to help create a blog debating the practice of wearing veils, but when the Arab Spring intervenes, revolution threatens to overtake their friendship.

The production is designed by Arnulfo Maldonado (set/costumes), Michael Chybowski (lighting), C. Andrew Bauer (projections), and Matt Sherwin (sound/original music). Renee Lutz is production stage manager.

Conversations With...Tackling Difficult Issues on Saturday, October 3 at 4pm at the St. Germain Stage at the Sydelle and Lee Blatt Performing Arts Center, 36 Linden Street, Pittsfield. Join us for an in-depth discussion with Veils playwright Tom Coash who spent four years in Egypt teaching at the American University in Cairo. He'll talk about his experiences there, pre-Arab Spring, and how they led him to write Veils. This event is free, but reservations are suggested by calling the BSC Box Office at (413) 236-8888.

There will also be be two post-show talkbacks following the Wednesday, October 7 and Sunday, October 11 performances.

Veils is sponsored by Francis Investment Consulting Group and Laurie and Martin V. Schwartz, Veils is sponsored in part by The Berkshire Eagle.

Tom Coash (Playwright) is a New Haven, Ct. playwright and director. Prior to New Haven, he spent three years in Bermuda and four years teaching playwriting at The American University in Cairo, Egypt. Coash was a Co-founder of the Offstage Theatre in Charlottesville, VA, and has worked for such theatres as the Manhattan Theatre Club, Stageworks/Hudson, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. Coash has won numerous awards for his new play Veils, including the American Theatre Critics Association's 2015 "M. Elizabeth Osborn Award", the Clauder Competition for New England Playwrights, an Edgerton Foundation National New Play Award, and was a finalist for the very prestigious 2015 American Theatre Critics Association's ATCA/Steinberg New Play Award. His plays have been produced worldwide including the recent production of his play Cry Havoc in the South African National Arts Festival where he was an artist-in-residence. Coash is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild and has an MFA in Playwriting from the University of California at Davis.

Leah C. Gardiner (Director) New York theatre credits include generations (Soho Rep, U.S. premiere), Fidelis (Public Theater), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Atlantic Theater Company, U.S. premiere), Born Bad (Soho Rep, U.S. premiere, Obie Award), Pitbulls (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater), Bulrusher (Urban Stages, world premiere and Pulitzer finalist), The Ghost of Enoch Charlton (Keen Company), and Kent, CT(Zipper Theater). Select national credits include Anna Deavere Smith's Notes from the Field (Berkeley Rep, world premiere); Antony and Cleopatra and Othello (Houston Shakespeare Festival); By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (Alliance Theatre); Fences (Oregon Shakespeare); Broadway's The Normal Heart (Arena Stage, American Conservatory Theater, re-staging director); and the national tour of Wit (Kennedy Center, Ordway, among others). As a writer and director she worked on Cultures Collide (Sony Entertainment); as a short film director, The Belle of New Orleans (Alliance Theatre); and as a film producer, Mother of George, best cinematography, Sundance. She will make her screen acting debut in Ira Sachs's forthcoming film Thank You for Being Honest opposite Greg Kinnear. Leah holds an MFA in directing from the Yale School of Drama.

Hend Ayoub (Samar) BSC debut. Hend's theater credits include Broadway's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo starring Robin Williams as well as its previous run at Los Angeles Mark Taper Forum and Veils world premiere production at Portland Stage. She was nominated for best actress in the 2013 Planet Connections theatre awards in NYC. TV credits include Showtime's Homeland, Damages, USA's Royal Pains, Comedy Central's The Watch List, and back home was a series regular on Sesame Street. In film, she co-starred in the Emmy Award-winning film Death of a President and the award-winning film Private.

Donnetta Lavinia Grays (Intisar) Brooklyn based actor and playwright. Acting credits - Broadway: In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play, Well. New York: Clubbed Thumb, Ars Nova, Primary Stages, New York Stage and Film and The Civilians Regional: A.C.T, Portland Stage, Westport Country Playhouse, Arena Stage, Hartford Theaterworks, Centerstage, The Huntington Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and The Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company. 2 Time Connecticut Critics Circle Award winner and a Helen Hayes Award nominee. Plays include Sam, The Review and The New Normal, among others. Inaugural Doric Wilson Independent Playwright Award recipient, O'Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference Finalist and Todd McNerny National New Play Award recipient. www.donnettagrays.com

Veils will be presented at the Boyd-Quinson Mainstage, 30 Union Street, Pittsfield. Performances are Wednesday/Thursday at 7pm, Friday/Saturday at 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm. Press Opening: Sunday, October 4 at 3:00pm. Tickets start at $20. Low priced previews October 1 - 3 are $15 and $20. Youth ages 6-18, tickets $15 all performances (subject to availability). For ticket and performance information, call the BSC Box Office at (413) 236-8888 or visit www.barringtonstageco.org.