Becca Blackwell News

FLUSHING MEADOWS CORONA PARK ? In a nondescript bar on Christopher Street a revolution was sparked 50 years ago when the LGBTQ patrons decided gathering as a community was not a crime.

Nestled in the Catskill Mountains, Mount Tremper Arts (MTA) is an artist-founded laboratory space dedicated to supporting artists in the creation and presentation of new works of contemporary art. Beginning on June 15, they will present eight new experimental performances-deeply rooted in collaboration and activism-through their Watershed Lab. Guided by the metaphor of the Catskills as the watershed for New York City, MTA serves as the artistic headwaters for works that are incubated through residencies and performances before traveling to presenting partners in NYC.

Play On Shakespeare today announces an expansive list of compelling actors and dynamic directors confirmed to participate in the Play on! Festival, presented in association with Classic Stage Company (CSC) and Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). Play on! features 39 readings of new, work-in-progress translations of Shakespeare's plays into contemporary modern English by some of today's most exciting playwrights-May 29-June 30 at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater at CSC (136 E. 13th Street). In 2015, Oregon Shakespeare Festival launched an ambitious 39-play, three-year commissioning project, Play on!, tasking 36 playwrights-more than half of whom were women and playwrights of color, each paired with a dramaturg-to translate Shakespeare's canon in celebration of the enduring impact of the Bard's work. Supported by a generous grant from the Hitz Foundation and inspired by long-time patron Dave Hitz's passion for Shakespeare, the project was and continues to be led by Lue Morgan Douthit. For more information, visit playonfestival.org.

The 2019 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were handed out last night to recipients in 19 categories, with one special award and three honorary awards also bestowed. The Lortel Awards were distributed in a ceremony at NYU Skirball Center hosted by Drama Desk Award-nominated writer and performer of The New One, Mike Birbiglia. The Lucille Lortel Awards are produced by the Off-Broadway League by special arrangement with the Lucille Lortel Theatre Foundation. Additional support is provided by TDF.

NYC's Tastiest Variety Show: hosted by Philip Sparkle (@philipsparkle) and Golden Delicious (@msgoldendelicious).Come hungry. We're serving you courses of comedy, drag, and music - and the audience is full of snacks.

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat is producing a reading of the new musical THE TATTOOED LADY, book by Obie-winner Erin Courtney, music and lyrics by Lucille Lortel-winner Max Vernon, and direction by Ellie Heyman. THE TATTOOED LADY was selected for Rhinebeck Writers Retreat's Triple R program, giving the writers 2 readings and a residency to do extensive development of their musical in a compressed time frame.

Educational Alliance will host the #NastyWomen Production on Monday, April 15th at 7:30pm at the 14th Street Y, featuring the first line-up comprised entirely of trans and non-binary comedians. In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, #NastyWomen was conceived as a night dedicated to female resistance comedians that utilize comedy as both a uniting tool and a resistance tool. January 18th, 2018 - days ahead of the Women's March - marked the inaugural event and the series continues to generate a forum that empowers all through laughter, camaraderie, and activism. In light of the explosive #MeToo and Time's Up movements and in recognition that feminism must be intersectional, on April 15, 2019 at 7:30pm, #NastyWomen+ will feature underrepresented genders and empower those marginalized within the spectrum of she and they identity.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) has announced that they will present a special one-night-only reading of A Number, by NYTW Usual Suspect and five-time Obie Award winner Caryl Churchill (Love and Information; A Number), directed by NYTW Usual Suspect and Tony Award winner Sam Gold (Fun Home, Othello) and featuring Daniel Craig (Othello, Spectre). The reading will benefit NYTW's Artist Workshop and Education programming and will take place at New York Theatre Workshop (79 East 4th Street) Sunday, March 10, 2019 at 7pm.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) and WP Theater are announce that Hurricane Diane, the first co-production of a two-play collaboration, will run for an additional two weeks.

Pulitzer finalist Madeleine George describes the title character of her decidedly weird little comedy about the threat of global warming, Hurricane Diane, as 'a butch charm factory.' Becca Blackwell sure fits that bill perfectly, delivering the 90-minute play's exposition monologue with the engaging flair of an ace stand-up comic nailing the punch lines in a tight three minute set.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) and WP Theater (Producing Artistic Director Lisa McNulty and Managing Director Michael Sag) just celebrated opening night of Hurricane Diane, by Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George (The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence). Directed by Tony Award nominee, two-time Obie Award winner and NYTW Usual Suspect Leigh Silverman (Violet), Hurricane Diane will play for a limited run through Sunday, March 10, 2019.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) will present 17 Border Crossings, created and performed by NYTW Usual Suspect Thaddeus Phillips (A Billion Nights on Earth), and directed by Tatiana Mallarino (Red Eye to Havre de Grace). This will be Thaddeus Phillips's third collaboration with NYTW, following ¡El Conquistador! in 2006 and Red Eye to Havre de Grace in 2014.

Amanda Duarte: Staying Alive, the raw, intensely personal new show written by and starring Duarte, loosely inspired by the film Staying Alive and featuring music from the best-selling soundtrack including songs by The Bee Gees, will play three performances only at Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street): Sunday, February 3 at 7 PM, Sunday, March 3 at 7 PM, and Tuesday, April 2 at 7 PM.

Joe's Pub, a program and venue of The Public Theater, announces the new class of Joe's Pub Working Group (JPWG), the venue's artist development program dedicated to enhancing the career sustainability and growth of performing artists. Entering its fifth year, JPWG welcomes five artists performer and songwriter Migguel Anggelo, composter and vocalist Trevor Bachman, comedian and performance artist Becca Blackwell, jazz musician and composer Yacine Boulares, and singer-songwriter Treya Lam as the core group that represents the diversity and scope of the nightly programming at Joe's Pub.

New York based producers Jason Jude Hill and Daniel Sears of GrumpyFilms & Productions are announcing winter/spring 2019 RSVP at Arlo dates with brand new line-ups.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) and WP Theater (Producing Artistic Director Lisa McNulty and Managing Director Michael Sag) are proud to announce the full cast and creative team for the first co-production of a two-play collaboration, Hurricane Diane, by Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George (The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence).

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) is thrilled to announce the eighth annual Roundabout Underground Reading Series, a five-night event that includes nightly readings of new works written and directed by emerging artists, as well as post-show receptions. The Reading Series will feature new works by Aaron Carter, Emily Feldman, Dave Harris, Jonathan Spector and Sanaz Toossi.

Celebrated performer and writer Justin Sayre will bring his "Camp-Horror-Soap Opera," Ravenswood Manor: The Box Set to Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street) on Saturday, November 17 and Sunday, November 18 at 9:30 PM.

New York based producers Jason Jude Hill and Daniel Sears of GrumpyFilms & Productions are announcing the fall 2018 RSVP at Arlo performance dates with four brand new shows in October.

Coeurage Theatre Company, LA's Pay What You Want theatre company, has announced the final production of its ninth season, Vendetta Chrome by Sylvan Oswald, directed by Sara Lyons. There will be one preview performance on Friday, November 23, at 8pm and opening is set for Saturday, November 24, at 8pm. Vendetta Chrome will play through December 15 at the Lex Theatre in Hollywood.