Luna Stage Announces World Premiere of MY FIRST TIME Starring Alysia Reiner, Karen Eilbacher, Isabel Keating & More

Luna Stage Company has announced the zoom world premiere of Jenny Lyn Bader's one-act play "My First Time" with a star-studded cast that includes Drama Desk Award winner Isabel Keating and SAG Award winner Alysia Reiner.

"My First Time" tells tales of political initiation that reverberate over years, interweaving scenes from three chronological eras as it spans half a century in twelve minutes. The one-act will launch on Monday, October 12th at 8pm. It will be directed by Luna's Artistic Director Ari Laura Kreith, with a live discussion to follow.

The cast will be: Giuliana Carr (Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library, Luna Stage); Pauline Chalamet (The King of Staten Island, dir. Judd Apatow); Karen Eilbacher (Fun Home, Bway National tour); Jevonnah Mayo (Mourning Sun, Kampala Int'l Theatre Festival), Isabel Keating (Wicked, Broadway); and Alysia Reiner (Orange is the New Black).

This new play is part of Luna Stage's Voting Writes Project, which includes world premiere plays, films, a concept album, and virtual events designed to inspire civic engagement. All events are free and open to the public via interactive livestream on Luna Stage's Facebook and YouTube pages. Previous performances can be viewed on Luna's website and IGTV.

"These stories are revelatory and emboldening," said Maxim Thorne, Managing Director of The Andrew Goodman Foundation, who collaborated with Luna Stage on the project's development.

"We all know that history repeats only when we're not paying attention," said Bader, "Our conversations at the Voting Writes Project have made me think about that idea through an interpersonal lens. I wrote this play to explore how our individual experiences echo over time and impact the life stories of others - and to look at the influences that can break the cycle or make us engage with the world in a new way."

Bader's work was last seen at Luna Stage in fall 2019, with the world premiere of her historical drama Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library, about the arrest of Hannah Arendt in 1933 Berlin, also directed by Kreith.

Voting Writes is created in collaboration with the Andrew Goodman Foundation with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. All Voting Writes events are open and free to the public.

A complete calendar can be found at https://www.lunastage.org/voting-writes.

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