After a sold out run of last season's The Roommate, Director Eileen Phelan brings We Can Eat Love to Portland Stage Studio Series. Written by Maine native, Margie Castleman We Can Eat Love, A New Play with Heart, Soul, and a Little Music will run March 22-31 for eight performances with music by Wilder Zoby and Little Shalimar, and performed by Portland actors Grace Bauer, Whip Hubley, Khalil LeSaldo, Erik Moody, and Casey Turner.
Pigeon keepers are an interesting and unique, albeit diminishing, subset of humans, and within that group is a subset, presumably small, of people who identify with the birds. Taking it one step further, Birdy, the protagonist in Naomi Wallace's adaptation of William Wharton's novel BIRDY, identifies, not with, but as a bird. Strange as it sounds, it may be the most sane response to an insane world in this drama that toggles back and forth between a pre-World War II Philadelphia suburb and an Army hospital in post-war Kentucky. It is a war story that plays out on the battlefield of an intense, intimate friendship, where the psychological wounds are more damaging and enduring than the physical ones. Steve Maler's skillful direction unleashes a dazzling palette of colorful performances, each actor contributing a broad brush stroke to the communal masterpiece.
The University of Washington School of Drama will present Naomi Wallace's poetic 1994 drama, In the Heart of America, March 6 - 17, 2019 at the Jones Playhouse at UW.
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (CSC) has added three performances to its highly anticipated upcoming production of Birdy, adapted by Naomi Wallace from the novel by William Wharton, and directed by Steven Maler. The production now runs February 27 through March 17 at the Carling-Sorenson Theater at Babson College in Wellesley.
The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has announced 10 Finalists for its prestigious playwriting Award, the oldest and largest prize awarded to women playwrights.
Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East, presents a season of new work highlighting rarely seen perspectives. The 2019 mainstage season begins with the U.S. premiere of Palestinian-Irish playwright Hannah's Khalil's critically acclaimed Scenes from 71* Years (April 5 May 5, 2019). An epic snapshot of Palestinian life since 1948, Scenes is directed by celebrated Arab-American scholar Michael Malek Najjar and features Bay Area Palestinian actors in the nine-member cast.
Whether it is a Shakespearean sword fight, a mock boxing duel, or a danced-out gang rumble, combat can be an essential and exciting aspect of live drama. A panel of experts in theatrical combat, led by University of Washington Drama School instructor Geoffrey Alm, will discuss and demonstrate the secrets of choreographing dynamic, suspenseful stage fights - while protecting the actors involved from harm.
This winter, the University of Washington School of Drama will present two works by eminent female dramatists, Rutherford and Son by Githa Sowerby, and In the Heart of America by Naomi Wallace. The productions are master's theses for our graduating MFA directors, Cody Holliday Haefner and Amanda Friou.
Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and Founding Artistic Director Steven Maler announced the cast of the second production of its 2018-19 Season: Birdy, adapted by Naomi Wallace from the novel by William Wharton, and directed by Steven Maler. The production runs February 27 through March 10 at the Carling-Sorenson Theater at Babson College in Wellesley.
Maine seems to be enjoying a theatrical renaissance with large and small companies vigorously engaged in producing a wide range of repertoire throughout the state. Several of the leading professional theatres have become destinations in and of themselves - (witness the inclusion of Maine State Music Theatre and Ogunquit Playhouse in Scott Andrews' upcoming book, Vacationland) - while venerable community groups continue to raise the bar for their work. I am privileged to get to sample these performances as Broadway World's Maine editor and to be able to compare many of them favorably with shows I see across the country, in New York and London. These are my personal choices of the best in Maine for 2018, grouped by theatre company and show. MAINE STATE MUSIC THEATRE delivered a 60th anniversary season that redefined the meaning and substance of 'gala.'
Meghan Lantzy will become the new General Manager at Signature Theatre (Paige Evans, Artistic Director; Harold Wolpert, Executive Director; James Houghton, Founder), the company announced today. Ms. Lantzy comes to Signature from Lincoln Center Theater, where she has worked for more than 12 years.
The League of Professional Theatre Women (Kelli Lynn Harrison & Catherine Porter, Co-Presidents) has published the fourth in a series of reports authored by Martha Wade Steketee with Judy Binus, on the status of women employed in New York City theaters. The fourth report, Women Count: Women Hired Off Broadway, available at theatrewomen.org/women-count/, analyzes employment in 13 professional roles - playwrights, directors, designers, stage managers, and others - in 515 Off- and Off-Off-Broadway productions by 22 theater companies for 5 complete seasons, 2013-14 through 2017-18 to show where women are and are not being hired.
Victory Gardens Theater, with Actors Theatre of Louisville, to present the Co-World Premiere of How to Defend Yourself, written by Lily Padilla and directed by Marti Lyons. How to Defend Yourself will be presented at the 2019 Humana Festival of New American Plays (March 21 - April 7, 2019) and as part of the Victory Gardens Theater 2019/2020 Season (January 24 - February 23, 2020).
Actors Theatre of Louisville announces the lineup for the 43rd Humana Festival of New American Plays. A cultural highlight for theatre lovers, artists and producers across the country, the Humana Festival runs March 1 through April 7, 2019 in Louisville.
Eclipse Theatre Company announces 2019 season will feature the comedic works of playwright Christopher Durang
The Public Theater announced complete casting today for the world premiere of EVE'S SONG, written by The Public's Emerging Writers Group alum and 2017-18 Tow Playwright-in-Residence, Patricia Ione Lloyd.
Signature Theatre will partner with American Theatre, the national magazine for the American professional not-for-profit theatre published by Theatre Communications Group, on a new series of panel discussions covering subject matters relevant to theatre audiences and practitioners. All panels, which are free and open to the public, will take place at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues).
Golden Thread Productions, the first American theatre company devoted to the Middle East, is proud to announce the seven plays for its prestigious ReOrient 2019 Festival of Short Plays celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Yesterday, October 15th at The Lotos Club (5 East 66th Street, New York City), the 2018 recipients of the biennial Horton Foote Prize, were celebrated for excellence in American theater. The 2018 Prize for Outstanding New American Play, presented to a work produced in the 2016-17 or 2017-18 seasons, was awarded to Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee. The 2018 Prize for Promising New American Play, presented to a previously unproduced work, was awarded to India Pale Ale by Jaclyn Backhaus.
The Public Theater announced complete casting today for the world premiere of EVE'S SONG, written by The Public's Emerging Writers Group alum and 2017-18 Tow Playwright-in-Residence, Patricia Ione Lloyd.
