RUSH Begins Next Month at the Players' Ring

SOUL IN THE SEA PRODUCTIONS presents the world premiere of Rush by Callie Kimball at The Players' Ring, directed by Jasmin Hunter. Rush runs January 2 to January 18, 2014 at The Players' Ring in Portsmouth, NH. Showtimes are 8 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and 7 pm on Sundays except the 18th when showtime is at 3 pm. The Players' Ring is located at 105 Marcy Street, near Prescott Park. Tickets are $15, or $12 for students, seniors, and Players' Ring Members. To reserve, visit www.playersring.org or call (603) 436-8123. Tickets may also be purchased at the door if available.

It's 1899. Frank and Belinda stand at the threshold of a new life in the Yukon Gold Rush. But are they really brother and sister? And what horror did they leave behind? Even if the law catches up with them, will it matter in this wild frontier? Told in a dark, poetic, and fractured way, Rush asks whether escaping your past only makes it haunt you all the more.

Local playwright Callie Kimball's roots go deep in the seacoast. She spent her childhood in Kittery Point, and her great-grandmother grew up in Portsmouth. Kimball's plays have been produced or developed at Washington Shakespeare Company, The Kennedy Center, Lark Play Development Center, Mad Horse Theatre, Halcyon Theatre, Project Y Theatre, The Brick Theater, and elsewhere. She has received a MacDowell Fellowship, a Ludwig Vogelstein grant, and the Rita & Burton Goldberg Playwriting Award. Her play MAY 39th is enjoying a brief run in New York City in December, and her play Alligator Road will have its world premiere this March in Portland at Mad Horse Theatre. She teaches playwriting at Maine College of Art.

Kimball says, "I'm thrilled to premiere this play at The Players' Ring. The play's in great hands-Jasmin's assembled a terrific cast and has a deep understanding of the themes I'm exploring. I also love that we learn about the lives of women in the Yukon-so many of them were savvy entrepreneurs. It was a great place for some to start a new life."

This will be the inaugural production of SOUL IN THE SEA PRODUCTIONS, which Jasmin Hunter founded to produce, promote, and foster writers, directors, and actors in productions that tell a story from a female perspective. Hunter says, "While searching for a script, I realized very few tell a story from a point of view I can connect with. I want to promote the use of female protagonists to tell stories. Let them grow, let them be human, let them tell their unique story."

About the Players Ring: Since 1992, the mission of The Players' Ring has been to promote the efforts of local artists through the production of original works, while providing an affordable theatre space to local production companies. "The Ring" provides an environment where artists can thrive, grow, take risks and make daring choices.