Theatre Aspen Announces Solo Flights Project Advancement Fund Recipients

Theatre Aspen (Jed Bernstein, Producing Director) announced that Avaaz by Michael Shayan and Sally: A Solo Play by Sandra Seaton have received grants from the Solo Flights Project Advancement Fund. Each playwright, whose work was just presented at the 2022 Solo Flights Festival, will receive a $10,000 grant to support their piece's further development.

"We are very proud of all the plays in this year's Festival and hope the work done at Theater Aspen will help them have long and successful lives. We want to especially congratulate Avaaz and Sally: A Solo Play on being the first ever grantees from our Project Advancement Fund," said Jed Bernstein, Theatre Aspen's Producing Director.

The selection panel for this year's grants was composed of distinguished members from various corners of the entertainment industry, featuring The Washington Post's chief theater critic Peter Marks, Golden Globe & two-time NAACP Image Award winning actress and playwright Regina Taylor, and film producer Isaac Klausner, whose new film On the Come Up made its debut at this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

The chosen pieces were identified based on delineated criteria including the piece's ability to engage the audience, the timeliness of the topics discussed, and its effective use of the one-person form.

Solo Flights is an annual week-long developmental festival of one-person shows presented in the beginning stages of their making. Launched in 2019, the festival has brought a variety of diverse works and celebrated actors and directors to Theatre Aspen. Artists have included Beau Bridges, Kaye Winks, Sarah Stiles, Christine Quintana, Emma Ramos, Richard Greenberg, Lameece Issaq, Kate Baldwin, Taylor Trensch, James Naughton, Johanna Day, and more, with directors including Tyne Rafaeli, Tony Taccone, Lisa Peterson, Hunter Foster, and Melia Bensussen.

Theatre Aspen's 2022 Solo Flights Festival was presented in part by Rachel and Rick Klausner, Nancy Wall and Chuck Wall, Karen Brooks, The Susan and Jon Diamond Philanthropic Fund, and Maja and Nicholas DuBrul.


As Theatre Aspen approaches its 40th season in 2023, it continues to rekindle a sense of discovery in audiences who live in and visit the Roaring Fork Valley by producing big theatre in a small space with intimate storytelling. Each season, Theatre Aspen promises to bring world-class theatre dramatically closer with innovative and imaginative productions of both plays and musicals. These productions are complemented by an assortment of community events, including late-night cabarets, educational programs and performances, collaborations with other Aspen arts organizations, and new works presentations. Theatre Aspen also boasts an impressive Apprentice Program, one of the largest in the country, devoted to training the next generation of theatrical artists and administrators.



To learn more about Theatre Aspen, visit TheatreAspen.org or call (970) 300-4474.