Carlyle Brown News

Politics can be the graveyard of the poet. And only Poetry can be his resurrection. Langston Hughes, 1964 These words by the great Langston Hughes adorn the backdrop of Metrostage's moving production of Carlyle Brown's Are you now, or have you ever been Waiting for the play to begin the audience is left to ponder these words and how they frame the action on stage. Politics and the arts have had a difficult time coexisting during certain eras, particularly during the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1953-54, which colloquially known as McCarthyism. The 90 minute intermission-less play takes place on the eve of Mr. Hughes testimony to the committee and the committee hearing itself. The evening before the hearing, Mr. Hughes is struggling to comprehend his subpoena to the hearings while attempting to write the poem, Georgia Dusk .

Producing Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin is pleased to announce that the play Are You Now or Have You Ever Been , a play written and conceived by Carlyle Brown and directed by MetroStage Artistic Associate Thomas W. Jones II with original music by William Knowles, will be in performance Oct. 5-Nov. 5 at MetroStage.

Producing Artistic Director Carolyn Griffin has just announced the 2017 fall/winter season at MetroStage, which actually begins with a limited engagement weekend reprisal of Anne & Emmett in July.

Under the leadership of Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director and Stephen J. Albert. Executive Director, Court Theatre continues the Spotlight Reading Series, with a free, public reading of Buffalo Hair by Carlyle Brown and directed by Ron OJ Parson, at NEUI's Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies, 700 E Oakwood Boulevard, on Monday, July 10 at 6:30 p.m.

The Playwrights' Center is excited to announce the 2017-18 McKnight National Residency and Commission recipient, 2017-18 McKnight Fellows in Playwriting, 2017-18 McKnight Theater Artist Fellows, 2017-2020 Core Writers and 2017-18 Core Apprentices.

Since I left the theater last Sunday, I have been singing 'Camptown Races' (sometimes referred to as 'Camptown Ladies'), a comic song written by Stephen Foster, known as the father of American music who was considered the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century. Appropriately, the song was published in 1850 in Foster's Plantation Melodies, making it the perfect theme song for PURE CONFIDENCE, a play set in the high-stakes world of Civil War-era horse racing. This surprisingly funny and daring story takes a look at the complexity of race relations, love and dignity in the second half of the nineteenth century. Against a vivid backdrop of fast horses, gritty racetracks and high-stakes betting, it's an extraordinary tale of human triumphs and failings.

Under the leadership of Charles Newell, Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director and Stephen J. Albert. Executive Director, Court Theatre continues its Spotlight Reading Series, with a free, public reading of Roosters by Milcha Sanchez-Scott and directed by Ricardo Cutierrez, at the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W 19th Street, on Monday, May 1 at 6:30 p.m.

Step-sisters in a magical trailer park, a clash between past and present (that's a realtor's nightmare), an exploration of race and family in segregated Cleveland, a murderous family in the American West -- sounds like this year's finalists for The Landing Theatre Company's New American Voices Play Reading Series.

The 2016-17 Ruth Easton New Play Series at the Playwrights' Center concludes April 3 and 4 at 7 p.m. with public readings of 'Minneapolis/St. Paul' by Core Writer Lee Blessing.

The 2016-17 Ruth Easton New Play Series at the Playwrights' Center continues March 6 and 7 at 7 p.m. with public readings of 'The Sea & The Stars' by Harrison David Rivers.

Court Theatre, under the leadership of Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director Charles Newell and Executive Director Stephen J. Albert, announces the 2017 lineup for the Spotlight Reading Series, a multi-year community outreach initiative that aims to expose communities beyond Hyde Park to theatre arts, focusing specifically on works from outside of the canon of classic theater.

Core Writer Mat Smart lives in New York now, but spent a handful of years in Minnesota as a Jerome Fellow and a McKnight Fellow in Playwriting at the Playwrights' Center.

Playwright Martyna Majok's work is making a great impact, most recently 'Ironbound' at Round House Theatre (where it won the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Original Play) and Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, and 'Cost of Living' at Williamstown Theatre Festival and set for its New York debut at Manhattan Theatre Club this season.

The popular Ruth Easton New Play Series features free public readings of new plays by Playwrights' Center Core Writers.

Since its founding in 1971, the Playwrights' Center has been imagining theater forward. For decades it has been one of the nation's most important organizations for developing new plays and launching the careers of playwrights.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey is proud to announce this year's exciting lineup of play titles for their Lend Us Your Ears Reading Series which offers audiences the opportunity to join Shakespeare Theatre directors, actors, and artistic staff as they explore diverse and compelling plays. The script-in-hand readings by members of The Shakespeare Theatre's esteemed company of actors are followed by a talk-back discussion with the director and cast, a chance for the audience to provide feedback and discuss the play's potential for future production. Readings will take place on July 18th and September 19th at 7:30 PM.

Outside the Touchstone Theatre in Spring Green, American Players Theatre (APT) stages an exuberant African Dance accompanied by the thunder of drums and keyboard. The impromptu performance celebrates the legacy of color about to be admired on stage in a production of Carlyle Brown's The African Company Presents Richard III. Set in 1821 New York, the play focuses on actual historical events where a small African-American theater company produced their production of Shakespeare's Richard III on the exact same night  the famous Park Theatre owned by Daniel Price opened their production featuring English actor Julius Booth as the deformed king.

2015-16 McKnight Theater Artist Fellows Aimee K. Bryant and James A. Williams will present selections from theatrical works in progress on June 28 at 7 p.m. at the Southern Theater. Advance reservations for this free event are strongly recommended and can be made at pwcenter.org, info@pwcenter.org or 612-332-7481. The Southern Theater is located at 1420 South Washington Avenue in Minneapolis.

Atlanta Hawks fans attending the game on February 28, 2016 at 3:30pm will get a special treat at half-time when the award-winning cast of last fall's hit musical MEMPHIS takes the court to perform the show's finale, 'Steal Your Rock 'n' Roll.' Expect high octane vocals, dancing and soul!

The world premiere of MOXIE, winner of Alliance Theatre Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab and Inverness Prize for Playwriting, has been extended due to popular demand. The production will run from now through February 28th at The Balzer Theater at Herren's (downtown Atlanta).