Tennessee Rep Features In The Next Room In Rep Aloud Series

By: Gabrielle Sierra Oct. 12, 2011

Tennessee Repertory Theatre recently announced plans for REPaloud, the popular play reading series which highlights contemporary plays. The next staged reading of the 2011-12 season will be In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) by Sarah Ruhl. REPaloud will take place on October 27 - 29 at 7:00 pm at Tennessee Rep's Rehearsal Hall (NPT Studio A, 161 Rains Avenue).

At the dawn of the electrical age, a new medical device is developed to cure "hysterical" women, but it produces a shockingly different result. A finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a nominee for the 2010 Tony Award for Best Play, In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) is a richly textured play-both comedic and tragic--about marriage, motherhood, and the charged energy between our bodies... and promises to leave audiences "abuzz" with conversation.

Tennessee Rep Artistic Associate Lauren Shouse will direct the stage reading.

"Sarah Ruhl is one of my favorite contemporary playwrights because she creates these beautiful theatrical stories full of impressionistic language and symbolism," says Shouse. "I had high expectations when I first read In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play), and after I finished reading the play, I knew I wanted to direct this piece. Set in the 1880s at the dawn of electricity, Ruhl‘s comic play casts light on the misunderstandings that divided men and women at that time. And while the play comments on the fear of female sexuality and fertility, it is really about intimacy. I love the women in this play and the transformations they make as they let go of ‘hysteria' and embrace their own sexuality. I am so excited to work with this wonderful cast and to introduce this play to our Nashville audience."

The cast includes Holly Allen, Robyn Berg, Travis Brazil, Nate Eppler, Shannon Hoppe, Marin Miller, Joe Robinson, and Jennifer Whitcomb-Oliva.

Tennessee Repertory Theatre's REPaloud features contemporary, award-winning dramas. Red by John Logan (winner of the 2010 Tony Award for Best Play) will be featured in February. Other notable dramas that have been featured in the series include Cat on A Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, August: Osage County by Tracy Letts, Ruined by Lynn Nottage, and Take Me Out by Richard Greenberg. For more information on REPaloud, visit tennesseerep.org/repaloud.php.

Since 1985, Tennessee Repertory Theatre has been a critically acclaimed regional theatre, creating the highest quality professional productions and by serving as a prime cultural, educational, and economic resource within the Nashville and Middle Tennessee communities. Tennessee Rep produces work that is designed, built, and rehearsed in Nashville by highly skilled actors, designers, directors, and technicians. A non-profit organization, Tennessee Rep is committed to consistently delivering thought-provoking theatre each year. For more information on the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, please visit www.tennesseerep.org.

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