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'Pro99' Actors' Equity Members Send Open Letter to AEA President

Members of the 'Pro99' movement of Actors' Equity Association have issued an open letter to AEA's newly elected president, Kate Shindle, in response to her victory and to her inaugural address as president of the national union for actors and stage managers. The open letter is signed by over 400 Equity members (listed below), including such notable names as Ed Asner, Francis Fisher, Sally Kirkland and Alfred Molina. The 'Pro99' movement formed in late 2014 in opposition to AEA's rollout of a new plan that will effectively force 'intimate theaters' in Los Angeles to pay Equity actors minimum wage, go 'non-union' or even close - despite an overwhelming vote against the plan by 66% of the Los Angeles membership on an advisory referendum. 'Pro99' members around the nation, who take their name from the current AEA '99 Seat Plan' that allows members to volunteer in smaller venues, oppose AEA's new promulgated plan. They are requesting that Equity leadership put a moratorium on the plan until local members' voices can be heard, and that the union work with its members to develop an alternative plan that will more realistically address the needs of the Los Angeles theater community.

FARGO's Rachel Keller Leads FIREFACE, Beginning Tonight at The Brick

Los Angeles-based actress Rachel Keller is making her New York premiere as 'Olga' in the production of Marius von Mayenburg's FIREFACE this month at The Brick. The production runs tonight, August 26, through September 5, 2015, directed by Benjamin Viertel. 

Primrose Productions' KISS ME OR CUT OFF MY HEAD Opens Tonight

Primrose Productions presents a new adaptation of the Medusa myth by Brooke M. Haney, from the poetry of Sheryl St. Germain, and directed by Tracy Bersley (choreographer for On the Levee at Lincoln Center, LCT3). Theatre intersects with visual art and poetry in this haunting and galvanizing perspective of the Medusa myth. Kiss Me or Cut Off My Head will play a three week limited engagement at the Soho Photo Gallery (15 White Street, New York, NY 10013).

The 2015 First Night Honorees: Actress and Educator Kaul Bluestone

2015 First Night Honoree Kaul Bluestone claimed her place in the First Night record books in the 20th Century: She was the 1996 Outstanding Leading Actress in a Play for her role in Circle Players' production of Dancing at Lughnasa...and she has starred in two critically acclaimed plays directed by First Night founder and executive producer Jeffrey Ellis in the 21st Century: The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Picnic, both for Circle Players.

Photo Flash: In Rehearsal for KISS ME OR CUT OFF MY HEAD at Soho Photo Gallery

 Primrose Productions presents photos of Brooke M. Haney in rehearsals for Kiss Me or Cut Off Me Head, a new adaptation of the Medusa myth from the poetry of Sheryl St. Germain, and directed by Tracy Bersley (choreographer for On the Levee at Lincoln Center, LCT3). Theatre intersects with visual art and poetry in this haunting and galvanizing perspective of the Medusa myth. Kiss Me or Cut Off My Head will play a three week limited engagement at the Soho Photo Gallery (15 White Street, New York, NY 10013). Performances begin Thursday, August 20th and continue through Saturday, September 5th, 2015 . Opening Night is Thursday, August 20th at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $30.00 with 35% of ticket sales going to Margaret's Safe Place. Tickets are available at  www.kissmetheplay.com

First Night MPAs Featured in Sunday Showcase

Hosted by 2014 MPA Emily Eytchison (a graduate of Nashville's David Lipscomb University) and 2013 MPA Cade Smith (an alumnus of Trevecca Nazarene University), the 90-minute show will feature members of this year's class of promising young actors performing a wide variety of musical numbers and dramatic/comedic monologues for their audience.

Brooklyn Music Venue National Sawdust Releases Complete Lineup for Inaugural Season

Composer Paola Prestini, the Creative and Executive Director of National Sawdust (NS), today announced programming for the non-profit's inaugural fall season in its new home-a $16 million, 13,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art chamber hall in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The performance and recording venue, designed by Brooklyn-based architecture firm Bureau V in the shell of century-old former sawdust factory, will provide composers and musicians a setting in which they can flourish, and a place where they are given commissioning support, mentoring and other critical resources essential to create, and then share, their work. For audiences-serious fans and casual listeners alike-the venue will be a place to discover genre-spanning music at accessible ticket prices.

Theatricum Botanicum Hosts A WALTONS WEEKEND This Weekend

Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum will host a gathering of cast members from the long-running TV series The Waltons - in which Theatricum founder Will Geer starred as Grandpa Walton from 1972 until his death in 1978 - for a three-day weekend of tribute and reminiscence this weekend, August 7-9.

A ROCK-N-ROLL GOLDEN OLDIES MYSTERY Returning to Way Off Broadway

The Way Off Broadway Dinner Theatre, the Frederick area's only year-round producing theatre, will present a 10th Anniversary special presentation of A Rock-n-Roll Golden Oldies Mystery, which was the show that helped launch Way Off Broadway's interactive murder mystery series, Marquee Mysteries. So popular was the show, that eleven more interactive mysteries have appeared at Way Off Broadway since, while even more are now produced outside of the theatre, including regularly on the Walkersville Southern Railroad.

Class of 2015 First Night Honoree MARTHA WILKINSON

2015 First Night Honoree Martha Wilkinson holds the record for the most First Night Awards with nine. A frequent performer on the First Night stage -- including particularly show-stopping numbers such as her rendition of 'You'll Never Walk Alone,' while clad in a white ballgown and backed up by a chorus of Nashville theater's leading men -- she's one of Tennessee's favorites for certain. She was first recognized by the First Night Awards in 1989, when she won the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical for her role in Circle Players' production of Pippin.

The Vagrancy Hosts Blossoming Staged Readings This Weekend

This weekend, August 1st & 2nd, The Vagrancy invites you to staged readings of five brand spanking new plays written by The Vagrancy's diverse and talented Writer's Group. Come be inspired, drink wine, and jump into the process by participating in the invaluable audience talk-balks.

Primrose Productions to Present KISS ME OR CUT OFF MY HEAD, 8/20-9/5

Primrose Productions presents a new adaptation of the Medusa myth by Brooke M. Haney, from the poetry of Sheryl St. Germain, and directed by Tracy Bersley (choreographer for On the Levee at Lincoln Center, LCT3). Theatre intersects with visual art and poetry in this haunting and galvanizing perspective of the Medusa myth. Kiss Me or Cut Off My Head will play a three week limited engagement at the Soho Photo Gallery (15 White Street, New York, NY 10013). Performances begin Thursday, August 20th and continue through Saturday, September 5th, 2015 . Opening Night is Thursday, August 20th at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $30.00 with 35% of ticket sales going to Margaret's Safe Place. Tickets are available at  www.kissmetheplay.com

Photo Coverage: Nashville's Big Reveal: The First Night Preview Party

More than 150 people gathered at Nashville's venerable Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre Monday night for the announcement of honorees and award winners for the 2015 First Night Honors. Preview Party celebrants were treated to a bountiful buffet of entertainment as cast members from several musicals currently on the boards or upcoming on Middle Tennessee stages performed numbers from their shows

Photo Coverage: THE 2015 FIRST NIGHT PREVIEW PARTY

More than 150 people gathered at Nashville's venerable Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre Monday night for the announcement of honorees and award winners for the 2015 First Night Honors. Preview Party celebrants were treated to a bountiful buffet of entertainment as cast members from several musicals currently on the boards or upcoming on Middle Tennessee stages performed numbers from their shows.

Photo Coverage: The Class of 2015 First Night Honorees

Nine individuals who have taken leading roles in making live theater in Tennessee better and more magical have been named as members of the Class of 2015 Honorees for The First Night Honors, the annual celebration of all things theatrical held in Nashville every September.

2015 First Night Honorees, Award Winners Revealed

Nine individuals who have taken leading roles in making live theater in Tennessee better and more magical have been named as members of the Class of 2015 Honorees for The First Night Honors, the annual celebration of all things theatrical held in Nashville every September.

The Vagrancy to Host Blossoming Staged Readings, 8/1-2

On August 1st & 2nd, The Vagrancy invites you to staged readings of five brand spanking new plays written by The Vagrancy's diverse and talented Writer's Group. Come be inspired, drink wine, and jump into the process by participating in the invaluable audience talk-balks.

Theatricum Botanicum to Host A WALTONS WEEKEND, 8/7-9

Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum will host a gathering of cast members from the long-running TV series The Waltons - in which Theatricum founder Will Geer starred as Grandpa Walton from 1972 until his death in 1978 - for a three-day weekend of tribute and reminiscence August 7-9. All proceeds from A Waltons Weekend will benefit Theatricum, a critically acclaimed Topanga-based non-profit organization that is renowned for its summer seasons of outdoor theater and music as well as for its educational programming.

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