Humana Festival Presents PHOENIX, 3/5

The 34th annual Humana Festival of New American Plays, made possible by a generous grant from the Humana Foundation, will continue with the two full?length plays Ground, beginning performances March 2 and Phoenix beginning performances March 5. Both plays run through March 28. 

This year's festival is comprised of eleven full productions including seven full?length plays presented in rotating repertory in Actors Theatre's 637-seat Pamela Brown Auditorium, 318-seat Bingham Theatre and 159-seat Victor Jory Theatre, a site-specific play at 21c Hotel Museum Hotel showcasing The Actors Theatre Acting Apprentice Company and four ten-minute plays. For more than three decades, Actors Theatre celebrates its underwriter, The Humana Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Humana Inc. Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

Full-length plays include Ground by Lisa Dillman; The Cherry Sisters Revisited by Dan O'Brien with music by Michael Friedman; Fissures (lost and found) by Steve Epp, Cory Hinkle, Dominic Orlando, Dominique Serrand, Deborah Stein and Victoria Stewart; Phoenix by Scott Organ; Sirens by Deborah Zoe Laufer and The Method Gun created by Rude Mechs and written by Kirk Lynn. The site-specific work commissioned for the Acting Apprentice Company, titled Heist! was conceived and created by Sean Daniels and Deborah Stein. The four ten-minute plays include Let Bygones Be by Gamal Abdel Chasten, Lobster Boy by Dan Dietz (winner of the Heideman Award), Post Wave Spectacular by Diana Grisanti and An Examination of the Whole Playwright/Actor Relationship Presented As Some Kind of Cop Show Parody by Greg Kotis.

Ground
by Lisa Dillman
directed by Marc Masterson
March 2 through 28, 2010
Pamela Brown Auditorium
Production underwritten by Todd Lowe and Fran Ratterman Originally commissioned by Northlight Theatre, Skokie, Ill.; BJ Jones, Artistic Director; Timothy J. Evans, Executive Director.

When Zelda inherits her father's pecan farm, she discovers that the world at the border between the United States and Mexico has changed. As she faces hard choices about keeping or letting go of The Farm, Zelda's beliefs about family, home, community and civil rights are tested in the face of a shifting political and social landscape. Lisa Dillman makes her Humana Festival debut. Selected Chicago credits include Detail of a Larger Work at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; Flung and Half of Plenty at American Theater Company; and The Walls at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble. Ms. Dillman's plays have been produced in New York by Hypothetical Theatre and Summer Play Festival (SPF), and in Los Angeles by Rogue Machine Theatre. Her play Rock Shore was developed and presented in the O'Neill Playwrights Conference. Ms. Dillman has received new play commissions from Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Northlight Theatre and the Chicago Humanities Festival, and has twice been honored with playwriting grants from the Illinois Arts Council. Her work is published by Smith and Kraus, Heinemann and Dramatic Publishing.

The cast for Ground features Dale Rivera, Jen Engstrom, Liza Fernandez, Sandra Delgado, Rob Riley and Ricardo Gutierrez. The production team includes Scott Bradley (Scenic Design), Lorraine Venberg (Costume Design), Heather Fleming (Hair and Make?up Design), Brian J. Lilienthal (Lighting Design), Matt Callahan (Sound Design) and Doc Manning (Properties Design).

Phoenix
by Scott Organ
directed by Aaron Posner
March 5 through 27, 2010
Bingham Theatre

An out-of-character one?night stand spills into 7 weeks, 4,000 miles and 6 cups of coffee as two strangers question the calculated lives they lead and contemplate the uncertain world that might be. A sly comedy about how getting off course can put you on the right track. Scott Organ joins Actors Theatre for the first time. Mr. Organ is the author of the full?length plays The Faithful, Fixed and The Remainder. His short plays China and The Mulligan were published in New American Short Plays 2005, edited by Craig Lucas, and his play and everybody else was published in Best American Short Plays. Mr. Organ has written other short plays, many of which were performed at Atlantic Theater Company's 453/New Works Series. He is the author of the screenplays Ghostkeepers and The Better Man; and the television pilots The Powerball 7 and The Pines.

The production starsTrey Leyford and Suli Holum, while the production team includes: Michael B. Raiford (Scenic Design), Lorraine Venberg (Costume Design), Heather Fleming (Hair and Make?up Design), Jeff Nellis (Lighting Design), Benjamin Marcum(Sound Design) and Mark Walston (Properties Design).

Ticket pricing for Ground is as follows: Wednesday Matinee: $25-$40, Sunday-Thursday & Weekend Matinees: $31 & $47, Friday-Saturday Evenings: $35 & $56.  Ticket pricing for Phoenix is Sunday-Thursday & Weekend Matinees: $30 & $35, Friday-Saturday Evenings: $35 & $40.

Tickets are on sale now to the public by calling (502) 584-1205 or online at ActorsTheatre.org.

The Humana Festival is an internationally acclaimed event that has introduced more than 400 plays into the American and interNational Theatre's general repertoire, including three Pulitzer Prize winners-The Gin Game by D. L. Coburn, Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley and Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies-as well as Rinne Groff's The Ruby Sunrise, Jane Martin's Anton in Show Business, Charles L. Mee's Big Love, Theresa Rebeck's The Scene, Gina Gionfriddo's After Ashley and Becky Shaw, Stephen Belber's Tape and The Civilians' This Beautiful City. Over 380 Humana Festival plays have been published in anthologies and individual acting editions, making Actors Theatre a visible and vital force in the development of new plays.

The Humana Festival is the premier event of its kind in the nation, drawing audiences of nearly 40,000 last year. For the past 33 years, hundreds of the industry's most distinguished leaders, producers, critics and admirers have descended upon Louisville for a month?long celebration of the newest creations in American theatre. The Festival culminates in two industry weekends, Theatre Professionals Weekend and Special Visitors Weekend, which bring together a collection of amazing new works with one?of?a?kind panels, cocktail parties, discussions and networking events. It is the perfect opportunity to see new works, make new connections and support the creation of new American theatre.

Now in its 46th season, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the State Theatre of Kentucky, has emerged as one of America's most consistently innovative professional theatre companies. For over 30 years, it has been a major force in revitalizing American playwriting. Its annual Humana Festival of New American Plays is recognized as the premier event of its kind and draws producers, journalists, critics, playwrights and theatre lovers from around the world for a marathon of new works. Over 350 plays from Actors Theatre have been published, making them available to producers and readers, and creating a significant addition to the nation's dramatic literature. Actors Theatre's programming includes a broad range of classical and contemporary work, presenting over 500 performances each season. The company performs annually to nearly 200,000 people and is the recipient of the most prestigious awards bestowed on a regional theatre: a special Tony Award for Distinguished Achievement, the James N. Vaughan Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement and Contribution to the Development of Professional Theatre, and the Margo Jones Award for the Encouragement of New Plays. Actors Theatre's international appearances include performances in over 29 cities in 15 foreign countries. Currently, there are 40 books of plays and criticism from Actors Theatre in publication and circulation.

For more information, visit www.actorstheatre.org.

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