Frances News

The Everyman have announced additions to their exciting and varied Spring/Summer 2021 programme, featuring live audio and on-demand streams.

Six playwrights depict their choices of statue-worthy women in StatueFest Two on Friday, April 16 at 7 pm EDT in a series of monologues. The readings, on Zoom, are part of a series to Put A Woman On A Pedestal.

A new Druid theatrical production, Boland: Journey of a Poet, will be live streamed from The Mick Lally Theatre, Druid’s home in Galway, Ireland, from Thursday 22 to Saturday 24 April. With words by Eavan Boland, edited by Colm Tóibín and directed by Garry Hynes, Boland: Journey of a Poet explores the mind of the late, great poet Eavan Boland.

For the first time since March 2020, 92nd Street Y is following the State's lead to welcome audiences back to Kaufmann Concert Hall for a 'tasting menu' of some of 92Y's world-class programming - from classical concerts and literary readings to theater for young audiences.

This year the Yale Drama Series Prize once again saw a robust and talented group of applicants dedicated to writing for the theater, receiving over 2050 submissions from 60 countries.

The 2021 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has been awarded to U.S. playwright Erika Dickerson-Despenza for her play about the Flint, Michigan water crisis, cullud wattah. Awarded annually since 1977, The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize is the largest and oldest international prize honoring Women+ playwrights.

Ghostlight Ensemble continues its series on historically overlooked female playwrights with Distinguished Villa, a play by the Irish playwright Kate O'Brien dealing with the suffocating consequences that can come from the trappings of middle-class life.

Beginning April 10th and occurring on the second Saturday of every month, trained staff and volunteers will be positioned throughout The Museum to engage visitors in sensory explorations, direct them to quiet spaces if needed, and answer questions about the displays. The Museum's sound and lighting features will be augmented to allow for a more enjoyable experience and to help reduce sensory stimulation.

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize will present a virtual presentation to announce the 2021 winner of one of the most prestigious playwriting awards, and the oldest and largest prize awarded to women+ playwrights, today, April 7, 2021 at 3pm EST/ 8pm BST. Tune in right here at BroadwayWorld to watch the presentation, hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning Playwright and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize winner (1983) Marsha Norman.

Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman were also honored with nominations for their roles in the film adaptation of August Wilson's 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'; the whole ensemble cast was also nominated in the aforementioned cast category.

For the first time in theater history, a curated cast of South Asian actors from around the world will take to the virtual stage to perform Dipti Bramhandkar's 'Islands of Contentment,' presented by New York City's The Tank and co-produced by Hypokrit Productions via Zoom every weekend from April 16th to May 2nd.

“From intimate, personal tales to political, metaphysical, and spiritual inquiries, the films in the 50th edition of New Directors/New Films embody an inexhaustible curiosity and a fearless desire for adventure,” said La Frances Hui.

Ahead of the announcement of the 2021 The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize winner, BroadwayWorld is excited to spotlight each of this year's finalists. Learn more about Frances Poet and read an excerpt form her play, Maggie May.

Moriondo adds, “I’m incredibly stoked for ‘I Eat Boys’ to be out and for people to finally get as officially excited as I am for Blood Bunny. I hope the rock chicks and lesbians will love them!!!!!”

Frances Ruffelle, Ngwatilo Mawiyoo, and Shalewa Sharpe join the reboot of 'Poetry/Cabaret: RENEWED,' originally slated for April '20 and now returning online. In this 'variety salon,' a multi-genre evening of emotional whiplash, the coffeehouse meets the cabaret as 'Poetry/Cabaret' once again brings together poets and performers in a fast-paced night of stimulating variations on a theme.

The Blind Cupid Shakespeare Company has announced a new partnership with Quarantine Kids Storytime to produce short form audio dramas of Shakespeare's plays.

KESMAR’s latest single “Nothing To Lose” - from the Forever Holiday EP (out May 18 via Nettwerk Records) - moves with springtime swagger, filled with lush lyrics and warm, buoyant hooks.

Theater of War Productions will create a new hybrid physical/digital model of performance and discussion, with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which has just awarded the acclaimed social impact company a $1 million grant.

The Tank announced today two upcoming co-productions for spring 2021. Hypokrit Productions and The Tank will present Islands of Contentment by Dipti Bramhandkar (American Rookie). The Tank, in partnership with RealTime Interventions' postal plays festival Post Theatrical, will present Capricorn 29 by Alex Hare and Julia Izumi.

San Francisco Ballet has announced two promotions and the appointment of four apprentices for the 2022 Season. Effective July 1, SF Ballet corps de ballet member Jasmine Jimison is promoted to Soloist and apprentice Olivia Brothers is promoted to the corps de ballet.