Naomi Iizuka News

Heart & Dagger Productions presents still, now by Katie Bender. Performances begin May 4th at Martin Hall in the Boston Center for the Arts. Performances continue through May 13th.

Winners have been announced for the 2018 Awards in the Arts, presented by Woodford Reserve and Joy Mangano. The awards ceremony, hosted by Fund for the Arts, Jennifer Lawrence Foundation and Churchill Downs, honors arts and arts organizations - some well-known, some rising stars - for their passion and dedication to the arts, and in doing so, celebrates and advances Greater Louisville's vibrant arts and culture.

La Jolla Playhouse announces the world premiere of What Happens Next, by Naomi Iizuka, head of the UC San Diego MFA Playwriting Program, as the latest production in the Playhouse's popular Without Walls (WOW) series.

Today, The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep's Center for the Creation and Development of New Work announced the 21 projects selected for its 2018 Summer Residency Lab. Chosen from a new record of 690 submissions, the eclectic and ambitious slate of projects are the most ever housed by the Lab in its seven-year history.  

Artists Repertory Theatre is proud to present the World Premiere of The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota) from April 1 through 29, on the Morrison Stage. The play is directed by Luan Schooler, Artists Rep's Director of New Play Development & Dramaturgy. The Thanksgiving Play is the second commission of the theatre's Table|Room|Stage new play development program to receive its World Premiere at Artists Rep.

The League of Professional Theatre Women (Kelli Lynn Harrison & Lisa Rothe, Co-Presidents) will present the 2018 Theatre Women Awards at The TimesCenter (242 West 41st Streetbetween 7th and 8th Avenues) on Friday, March 16 beginning at 6:30pm. Tickets ($85-$250) are available for advance purchase at www.theatrewomen.org.

The Play Company (PlayCo), led by Founding Producer Kate Loewald and Managing Director Robert G. Bradshaw, presents Toshiki Okada's Time's Journey Through a Room, marking PlayCo's third collaboration with Okada, translator Aya Ogawa, and director Dan Rothenberg, May 10 - June 10, 2018. This haunting play, set in post-Fukushima Japan, is an intimate examination of how we move forward from life-altering events, and a study of how we experience time, asking whether we can ever be alive to the present moment.

National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, announces five NNPN Rolling World Premieres (RWP): Ready Steady Yeti Go by David Jacobi, Ripe Frenzy by Jennifer Barclay, Apples in Winter by Jennifer Fawcett, The Mermaid Hour by David Valdes Greenwood, and Heartland by Gabriel Jason Dean. The five plays will receive a total of 17 NNPN RWP productions, with each play seeing at least three distinct productions in a 12-month period.

Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) presents Father Comes Home From the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3 by Suzan-Lori Parks, directed by Liz Diamond, March 16-April 7, at the University Theatre (222 York Street). Opening Night is Thursday, March 22. Father Comes Home From the Wars, Parts 1, 2 & 3 is a co-production with San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater, where it will play April 25-May 20.

Victory Gardens Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Chay Yew and Managing Director Erica Daniels, announces the lineup for its 2018-2019 Season. Victory Gardens' 44th Season will include the Tony Award-nominated play Indecent by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel; the Chicago premieres of Pipeline by Dominique Morisseau and Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee; and the world premieres of Rightlynd by Ike Holter and Miriam for President by Madhuri Shekar.

Victory Gardens Theater continues its 43rd season with BREACH: a manifesto on race in america through the eyes of a black girl recovering from self-hate, written by Antoinette Nwandu and directed by Lisa Portes. BREACH runs February 9 - March 11, 2018, with the press performance on Friday, February 16, 2018 at 7:30pm at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.

Arizona Theatre Company (David Ivers, Artistic Director; Billy Russo, Managing Director) is excited to announce the six shows selected for the 2018/2019 season, ATC's 52nd, and the first full season reverberating with the impact and influence of Artistic Director David Ivers.

Victory Gardens Theater introduces Public Programs to Envision Justice through the Lens of Theater, a new initiative made possible by a grant from The David Rockefeller Fund. Public Programs is an event series designed to enhance audience experience by exploring themes and issues within Victory Gardens' productions by provoking dialogue and deepening the relationship between audiences and the plays. Public Programs to Envision Justice takes Victory Gardens one step further by building a stream of citizen engagement programs that will contextualize the plays in relation to the issues surrounding criminal justice and lead audiences to understanding their role in affecting change.

Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) is pleased to announce the lineup for this spring'sTed Snowdon Reading Series.

Victory Gardens Theater continues its 43rd season with BREACH: a manifesto on race in america through the eyes of a black girl recovering from self-hate, written by Antoinette Nwandu and directed by Lisa Portes. BREACH runs February 9 March 11, 2018, with the press performance on Friday, February 16, 2018 at 7:30pm at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue.

Victory Gardens Theater announces Jess McLeod and Aaron Todd Douglas as the 2018 Next Generation Fellows. Beginning in February 2018, the Next Generation Fellowship will provide comprehensive mentorship, requisite training, and experience for these future leaders of color, preparing them to helm arts institutions or departments on the national and local level. The program is made possible by a generous grant from The Field Foundation of Illinois.

Niegel Smith, Artistic Director and Carol Ostrow, Producing Director of The Flea Theater proudly announce the slate for their spring season, which will feature three world premieres, the return of its late-night series Serials, as well as new programming Cereals, plays for younger audiences and Flea Fridays, an immersive weekend cabaret.

Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) will present Haruki Murakami's SLEEP, directed and devised by Rachel Dickstein and Ripe Time, adapted for the stage by Naomi Iizuka, as part of its annual NO BOUNDARIES performance series, March 1, 2, and 3 at 8PM at the Iseman Theater (1156 Chapel Street).

Victory Gardens Theater continues its 43rd season with BREACH: a manifesto on race in america through the eyes of a black girl recovering from self-hate, written by Antoinette Nwandu and directed by Lisa Portes.

BAM presents the New York premiere of Haruki Murakami's Sleep, from Brooklyn-based theater company Ripe Time in their Next Wave debut, running tonight, November 29, through December 2, 2017.