Natalie Berk News

Broadway Producer Ken Davenport and Davenport Theatrical presented the first annual Davenport Songwriting Contest! 10 songs competed for the title of 'Best Song' and a $500 Grand Prize. All finalists received a cash prize of $50. The evening was hosted by Rock Audition Guru, Sheri Sanders (Rock The Audition). Scroll down for photos!

Broadway Producer Ken Davenport (author of the popular blog, The Producer's Perspective) & Davenport Theatrical present the first annual Davenport Songwriting Contest! 10 songs will compete for the title of 'Best Song' and a $500 Grand Prize. All finalists will receive a cash prize of $50. The evening will be hosted by Rock Audition Guru, Sheri Sanders (Rock The Audition). Singers include Hannah Elless (Somewhere In Time, Godspell, The Other Josh Cohen), Ben Fankhauser (Newsies), Craig Waletzko (Guys & Dolls, Young Frankenstein), and Mary Kate Morrissey (Hair).

The WhiteListed Theatre Company presents a new production of Serbian playwright Biljana Srbljanovic's award-winning play Belgrade Trilogy at the 4th Street Theatre (83 East 4th Street in New York City) Set in Prague, Sydney and Los Angeles, Belgrade Trilogy is a dark comedy, following the lives of young Serbians, spread across the globe in search of a better future. Edgy, sexy and heartbreaking, Belgrade Trilogy is a tale of love, rebellion and social misplacement.

The WhiteListed Theatre Company presents a new production of Serbian playwright Biljana Srbljanovic's award-winning play Belgrade Trilogy at the 4th Street Theatre (83 East 4th Street in New York City) Set in Prague, Sydney and Los Angeles, Belgrade Trilogy is a dark comedy, following the lives of young Serbians, spread across the globe in search of a better future. Edgy, sexy and heartbreaking, Belgrade Trilogy is a tale of love, rebellion and social misplacement.

November has over 60 more openings in the professional, community, universities, and children's theaters in the DC/MD/VA area. A week has already passed in November and over 20 new productions have opened. To read reviews of these shows, go to Maryland Theatre Guide, where I am the Editor and a columnist. A recent back surgery kept me from posting this earlier, so we have some catching up to do.

The humidity is starting to climb and it's what we call around here -- 'corn weather'. But in the air-conditioned theatres in the Nation's Capital there is a harvest of new shows opening. So if you're here visiting the monuments and the Smithsonian museums, get out of the heat and come see a play or a musical.

As we welcome in a new year of great theatre in the nation's capital, I thought it would be fun to do one of those “Best of 2010' lists as well as preview what's opening in January on DC area stages. So let's raise our glasses and offer a toast to all those theatre companies who gave us great productions in 2010, and to the upcoming 2011 theatre season!

As we celebrate Christmas and await the New Year, here's a new audio interpretation of 'The Gift of the Magi' by O. Henry, written and recorded by local DC actors and designers who make up The Audible Group. It is Christmas Eve, 1935. In a small apartment in the H Street NE neighborhood of Washington, DC where James and Della Young, a young couple who, though rich in love, but down to their last pennies, still manage to give each other the perfect gift. It will fill you - from head to mistletoe - with the holiday spirit. Listen here