Mark Bly News

Halcyon Theatre announces a world premiere and two Chicago premieres as part of our Tenth Season in 2015/16.

The Guthrie Theater and The Acting Company (TAC) reunite for a seventh year to present A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - a satirical story adapted by acclaimed local playwright Jeffrey Hatcher from the novel by Mark Twain - in repertory with Macbeth, Shakespeare's dark and powerful tragedy.

The Guthrie Theater and The Acting Company (TAC) reunite for a seventh year to present A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - a satirical story adapted by acclaimed local playwright Jeffrey Hatcher from the novel by Mark Twain - in repertory with Macbeth, Shakespeare's dark and powerful tragedy.

Flux Theatre Ensemble will present the World Premiere of Kristen Palmer's (The Stray Dog with Rising Phoenix; Departures with Blue Coyote) ONCE UPON A BRIDE THERE WAS A FOREST, today, December 6-20 at the 4th Street Theatre (83 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery).

Flux Theatre Ensemble will present the World Premiere of Kristen Palmer's (The Stray Dog with Rising Phoenix; Departures with Blue Coyote) ONCE UPON A BRIDE THERE WAS A FOREST, December 6-20 at the 4th Street Theatre (83 East 4th Street between 2nd Avenue and Bowery).

The National New Play Network (NNPN), the country's alliance of non-profit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, in collaboration with the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and Stanford University's National Center for New Plays, will host nearly fifty playwrights, directors and dramaturgs today, July 26 - August 3, 2014 as part of a week-long workshop for new works by MFA students from New York University-Tisch School of the Arts, Hunter College, University of California-San Diego, and the Juilliard School.

The NATIONAL NEW PLAY NETWORK (NNPN), the country's alliance of non-profit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, proudly announces that the 2014 Smith Prize Commission, which carries an Award of $5,000, has been awarded to Chris Weikel for The Word from Kampala. Awarded annually to a proposal for a play that dramatizes the pressing issues of our times, The Smith Prize is funded by a gift from screenwriter, novelist and playwright Timothy Jay Smith and a number of other socially-conscious donors. The Word from Kampala was conceived in reaction to the recent act of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who signed into law a bill that makes acts of homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment.

The National New Play Network (NNPN), the country's alliance of non-profit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, in collaboration with the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival and Stanford University's National Center for New Plays, will host nearly fifty playwrights, directors and dramaturgs July 26 - August 3, 2014 as part of a week-long workshop for new works by MFA students from New York University-Tisch School of the Arts, Hunter College, University of California-San Diego, and the Juilliard School. A committee of NNPN Core Members has selected six scripts written by Hilary Bettis, Nathan Cann, Bennett Fisher, David Jacobi, Georgette Kelly, and Amy Witting. The Workshop will also feature projects by the National Theatre School of Canada's Geoffrey Simon Brown and Atlanta's Alliance Theatre's Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Prize-winner Tsehaye Geralyn Hebert.

Third Rail Repertory Theatre Presents Gidion's Knot by Johnna Adams, directed by Michael O'Connell* and featuring Amy Newman and Dana Green, tonight, February 21 through March 16, 2014.

Artistic Director Molly Smith tackles a unique, in-the-round staging of Bertolt Brecht's powerhouse anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Iconic stage and screen actress and Academy Award nominee Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage following her sold-out run of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins to make her professional singing debut as the tough-as-nails matriarch Mother Courage-a single mother determined to keep her family alive and her business afloat during war. Mother Courage and Her Children runs through March 9, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage. BroadwayWorld has a first look at opening night below!

FRIGID New York presents Shooting Abe, a new play by Charles Gershman that explores the clash in one family between Jewish tradition and liberated creative expression. Eli Taylor directs a cast of three. Performances will be staged at The Kraine Theater, located at 85 E. 4th St. between 2nd Ave and 3rd Ave in NYC for five performances from February 22 - March 9, 2014.

Third Rail Repertory Theatre Presents Gidion's Knot by Johnna Adams, directed by Michael O'Connell* and featuring Amy Newman and Dana Green, February 21 through March 16, 2014.

Artistic Director Molly Smith tackles a unique, in-the-round staging of Bertolt Brecht's powerhouse anti-war play Mother Courage and Her Children at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Iconic stage and screen actress and Academy Award nominee Kathleen Turner returns to Arena Stage following her sold-out run of Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins to make her professional singing debut as the tough-as-nails matriarch Mother Courage-a single mother determined to keep her family alive and her business afloat during war. Using the David Hare translation, the show fuses politics and satire to paint an unforgettable and provocative portrait of war, incorporating more than 10 pieces of original music composed in a rollicking, gypsy-punk style and performed by cast members doubling as musicians. Mother Courage and Her Children runs January 31-March 9, 2014 in the Fichandler Stage.

Lindsey Ferrentino's new play Moonlight on the Bayou will have a staged reading Thursday December 5th at 4:00pm at Classic Stage Company - 136 E. 13th St.

Open Stage of Harrisburg presents GIDION'S KNOT by Johnna Adams October 4 - 26, 2013. This opens Season 28 at the professional theatre located at 223 Walnut St, on the Street level of the Walnut Street Garage in Downtown Harrisburg. This production will be aRegional Premier of GIDION'S KNOT, which was a finalist for 2013 Steinberg-ATCA Award for Best New Play. Written by Johnna Adams and directed by Open Stage Executive Artisitc Director Donald Alsedek, the plot centers on the aftermath of a fifth grader's suicide after he is suspended for a violent, graphic piece he wrote and passed around class.

The NATIONAL NEW PLAY NETWORK (NNPN), the country's alliance of non-profit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, announces three new At Large Board Members: Mark Bly, Gary Heisserer, and Manny Strauss will join the thirty-two member Board of Directors effective immediately.

Lark Play Development Center is proud to announce that seven plays have been chosen for its 20th annual Playwrights' Week, which will take place September 23rd - 28th.

The 17th Annual New York International Fringe Festival Presents Milk for Mrs. Stone, A New Play by Charles Gershman, directed by Eli Taylor and featuring Broadway actors Justin Bohon and Colleen Wallnau. The show will run today, August 16-22, 2013 (5 Performances). BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The 17th Annual New York International Fringe Festival Presents Milk for Mrs. Stone, A New Play by Charles Gershman, directed by Eli Taylor and featuring Broadway actors Justin Bohon and Colleen Wallnau. The show will run August 16-22, 2013 (5 Performances). BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The 17th Annual New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC) presents Milk for Mrs. Stone, a new play by Charles Gershman about a family struggling to accept that life doesn't always go as planned. Eli Taylor directs a cast of four, including Sophia Bishop, Justin Bohon* (B'way: The Book of Mormon, Oklahoma, Producers, All Shook Up, 9 to 5), Katharine Heller* (FringeNYC: Naked in a Fishbowl, The Boy in the Basement), and Colleen Smith Wallnau* (B'way: Crazy for You). Performances will be staged at Venue #16: Robert Moss Theatre at 440 Studios,440 Lafayette Street in NYC for five performances from August 16-22, 2013. *Member AEA. Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.