Theatre Pro Rata Announces 2018-19 Season

Theatre Pro Rata will produce a play reading series and two shows in 2018-2019: three public play readings in October; Isaac's Eye by Lucas Hnath in February at Gremlin Theatre at Vandalia Tower (550 Vandalia Street, St. Paul); and My Sister in this House by Wendy Kesselman in late spring at the Crane Theatre (2303 Kennedy St NE, Minneapolis).

Fall 2018 Play Readings (and beer!)

Join Theatre Pro Rata to hear three plays under consideration for future seasons. Listen to the reading by local actors, then give us your input. The readings will be held at Cooper Pub and Restaurant in St. Louis Park on Wednesdays, October 3, 10, and 17. Doors open in the pub's Screening Room at 6:30 pm; readings begin at 7 pm.

The readings are free (donations are welcome), but you have to pay for your beer!

Isaac's Eye by Lucas Hnath (2013)

Isaac Newton is one of the towering geniuses of western science: apples falling from trees, the laws of motion, the calculus. He was also a bit on the eccentric side: he stuck a needle into his tear duct to try to determine how the eye sees light, for example. Playwright Lucas Hnath takes this fact and runs with it, creating a play in which the ambitious young Newton seeks a mentor in Robert Hooke of the Royal Society. Hnath plays somewhat fast and loose with history (and lets us know he's doing so from the outset), but still raises important questions about the search for knowledge. The story is historical, the language is contemporary, and the play should both delight audiences and give them a lot to think about.

Playwright Lucas Hnath holds an MFA from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. His other plays include The Christians (2015) and A Doll's House, Part 2 (2017). He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Whiting Award, and the Steinberg Playwright Award.

My Sister in this House by Wendy Kesselman

Wendy Kesselman's award-winning drama explores the true story of two sisters who murdered their employer and her daughter in 1930s France. What drove these two young women, who served as maids in the household, to such a desperate act? Class conflict, family dysfunction, loneliness, and love all play a role in this complex and devastating tale.

Playwright Wendy Kesselman has been creating theatre and film work since 1977. My Sister in this House won the 1981 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Her adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank was nominated for a Tony Award. She is the recipient of Guggenheim, McKnight, and two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships.

THEATRE PRO RATA

Since 2001 Pro Rata, Latin for "in proportion," has produced smart, vivid, varied, and gutsy theater in the Twin Cities. Focusing on the text of the play, the company offers performers and audiences the chance to engage the characters, themes, and language more completely. Ranging from classic dramas to modern black comedies, Theatre Pro Rata produces scripts that bring visceral theatrical experiences to the stage.

Theatre Pro Rata utilizes a unique sliding scale for ticketing, allowing patrons to name their own price from $14 to $41.

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