Theatre Pro Rata Announces 2012-13 Season

Theatre Pro Rata today announced its 12th season in the Twin Cities.

The opening production of the season, Lovers and Executioners by John Strand, is a modern interpretation of a Restoration comedy (The Wife, Judge and Accuser by Antoine Jacob de Montfleury) that "crackles with wit and energy." Director Carin Bratlie says, "It's a delightful script, with a surprisingly modern female lead, really funny characters, and two witty banter sword-fight scenes. It will be a real treat for both actors and audience."

The second show, Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, earned Jennifer Haley a 2009 Primus Prize citation for emerging women playwrights from the American Theatre Critics Association. Guest director Wade Vaughn (company member of Sandbox Theatre) stated that, "This play has wormed itself into my brain from the first moment I read it. The possibilities, the mystery, the challenge; I can't wait to experience it with an audience. They are going to be engaged, surprised, amused... and probably horrified. I can't wait!"

Pro Rata's final production of the season, Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight by Lauren Gunderson, will feature Twin Cities acting powerhouse couple Amanda Rafuse Whisner and Adam Whisner in their Pro Rata debut starring as Emilie and her lover Voltaire.

Throughout the season Pro Rata will also continue to run its Playreading Series, allowing the general public to attend free readings of scripts under consideration by the company. Audiences are even encouraged to provide feedback afterward, giving them a voice in helping to choose upcoming seasons! These fun, informal gatherings are a great way to see the very beginning of Pro Rata's process as they first delve into a script. Dates are TBD.

Show dates and descriptions appear on the following page:

Lovers and Executioners
By John Strand, directed by Carin Bratlie
September 29-October 14, 2012
Betrayed by the man she loved most and then left on a desert island, condemned to die, Julie returns not as a ghost but in guise of a man to exact humiliation and vengeance on her husband. In the vein of the most elegant Restoration comedies, her return to society is hailed by a web of would-be lovers, long-kept secrets, swordplay, foolish courting, and humble submission. With a new adaptation by John Strand, this otherwise traditional farce holds a retinue of modern emotion and a starkly surprising finale. Hell hath no fury like a woman in drag… with a sword.

Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom
By Jennifer Haley, directed by Wade Vaughn
February 2-17, 2013
In the newest installment of the Neighborhood Video Game Series, the programmers use satellite technology to make your own neighborhood the setting for the latest round of zombies vs. you. It’s addictive, the kids talk of nothing else, and then the parents begin to disappear. Those who have reached the last House know better than to go in, although, those that do will tap into the game's greatest achievement...

Emilie: La Marquise Du Châtelet Defends Her Life Tonight
by Lauren Gunderson, directed by Carin Bratlie
June 7-22, 2013
She is a noblewoman, Voltaire's lover, and a scientist whose research bridges the gap between Newton and Einstein. Emilie, Marquise of Châtelet, lives before and beyond her time, skirting the rules of polite society and allowing her only confines to be that of her own brilliant mind. But it is the fragile human heart which adheres to no approved rules. The Marquise examines her position on love, finds it worthy of experimentation, and accepts it as a theory her lifespan may not allow her to prove.

For more information, visit http://theatreprorata.org/.