World Premiere Of AMERICAN SPIES Comes to The Hub Theatre

The Hub Theatre, specializing in new plays that highlight our common humanity, is thrilled to present the world premiere of American Spies and Other Homegrown Fables by playwright Sam Hamashima, directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer.American Spies will run from July 12 - August 4, 2019 on the stage of NextStop Theatre in Herndon.

The Hub's second mainstage production of season 11 introduces a bright new voice in contemporary theatre - playwright Sam Hamashima. Sam is a young, exciting theatre artist who recently won the Emerald Prize for playwriting, and enjoyed his Off-Broadway acting debut in Comfort Women. His play, American Spies and Other Homegrown Fables, is about a Japanese-American family before the term even existed. The piece follows them (and their centuries-old guardians, wise Paper Crane and anime-style fighter Maneki Neko) as they learn of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and have to choose between family traditions and survival.Spies has The Hub's signature style of magic realism wrapped around achingly human stories, and we are proud to be the first professional company to offer a full production of a Sam Hamashima play.

As a playwright, Sam's work has been produced and/or developed by John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, National Queer Theater, Post Shift Theatre, Wall to Wall Theatre Festival, and University of Michigan. Besides playwriting, Hamashima also writes poetry. Hamashima's slams have been performed in venues throughout Washington, D.C., Ann Arbor, and New York City. Selected poemscan be found in the Solos Literary Magazine. Awards include Roy W. Cowden Fellowship, Dennis McIntyre Prize, Kennedy Center Undergraduate Playwrights' Workshop, and the coveted Hopwood Award in Drama at the University of Michigan. He is a member and founder of Asian College Theatre Ensemble (ACTE).

The Hub is proud to welcome back Helen Hayes Award-winning director, Kathryn Chase Bryer (Late Wedding), to direct this world premiere. Her most recent directing credits includeOldest Boy at Spooky Action Theater, and Escape From Peligro Island at her home theatre, Imagination Stage. She has assembled a remarkable cast of Hub favorites and newcomers inDylan Arredondo, KyoSin Kang, company member Carolyn Kashner, Kramer Kwalick, Philip Reid, Toni Rae Salmi, and Rae Venna. The design team features local talents JD Madsen, Kristin Thompson, Reid May, Grace Kang, Amy Kellett and Catherine Oh.

July 12 - August 4, 2019 at NextStop Theatre:
269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA 20170

July 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27, and August 2, 3 at 8:00pm
July 13, 14, 21, 27, 28 and August 3, 4 at 2:00pm

Tickets can be purchased online at https://www.thehubtheatre.org/americanspies or at the door on the day of the performance.