Paula Vogel News

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel's play Baltimore Waltz opens at the Theatre UCF Black Box on September 18 and runs through September 28.

The Trebuchet Players' production of DESDEMONA: A PLAY ABOUT A HANDKERCHIEF features top-notch acting and an emotional depth so luxurious you could get lost in it. Homegrown talent Bryan Maynard's silly, self-aware, but not self-serious, play WAITING FOR OTHELLO features equally talented performers and loads of humor. Both plays poke fun at ridiculous gender stereotypes while evoking laughter and tears in equal measure.

Firehouse Theatre welcomes Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates as its new Education and Community Outreach Director. Dr. Pettiford-Wates currently teaches in the Graduate MFA Pedagogy Program at Virginia Commonwealth University. She also serves as the Artistic Director and Conceptualist for The Conciliation Project, Richmond's social justice theatre company which aims to promote, through active and challenging dramatic work, open and honest dialogue about racism and oppression in America.

After a successful inaugural season, The Rainbow Theatre Project has announced their second season of three evenings of staged readings, two fully-staged productions, a co-production and a cabaret that highlight, reflect and embrace the LGBTQ experience. The company's first season was comprised of five staged readings of early and contemporary works from the LGBTQ theatrical canon, including a concert version of recent Off-Broadway musical sensation YANK!.

'Mad Men' star Vincent Kartheiser and Broadway's Larry Pine (CASA VALENTINA) will play Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler, respectively, in BILLY & RAY, Mike Bencivenga's new play -- directed by the legendary director/writer/producer Garry Marshall -- being given its NY premiere this fall at the Vineyard Theatre (108 E. 15 St.), with previews scheduled to begin October 1 prior to an official opening on October 20, it has been announced by Vineyard's Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern.

Stage Left Theatre announces the recipients of the Downstage Left Playwright Residencies for Season 33. Residencies are designed to help playwrights take a project from the conceptual stage all the way to a production-ready script. Playwrights work closely with ensemble directors and members of the literary team to design a process tailored for the particular needs of their project.

Screen and stage star Elizabeth Reaser, best known for her performances in the blockbuster Twilight film franchise and her season-long arc on 'Grey's Anatomy,' will step into its upcoming production of The Money Shot for the departing Heather Graham, who exits the production due to a late-breaking opportunity to begin production on a passion project.

The director/designer and master puppeteer Basil Twist, whose numerous works for the stage - including SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE, PETRUSHKA, DOGUGAESHI and ARIAS WITH A TWIST -- have consistently re-defined our understanding of traditional puppetry, will celebrate the New York debut of his biggest, most ambitious creation to date when Lincoln Center presents THE RITE OF SPRING during its fifth season of WHITE LIGHT FESTIVAL for five performances only Wednesday, October 15-18 at the Rose Theatre in Frederick Rose Hall, located in the Time-Warner Center (10 Columbus Circle) at Broadway and 60th Street.

Today, American Theater Company (ATC) launches its 30th Anniversary season with the inaugural year of AracaWorks: Chicago, in partnership with New York's The Araca Group, Broadway producers of Urinetown, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, The Wedding Singer, Lend Me a Tenor, A View from the Bridge, and this season's Disgraced.

Combined Artform and Matthew Quinn present the return of "WOMEN" - with an official opening of September 5th. After a sold-out run in New York City and the Hollywood Fringe Festival, WOMEN, written by Chiara Atik and directed by Stephanie Ward, is returning to Los Angeles for a full run at the Asylum Theater, August 28th through October 25th.

Trebuchet Players will perform Waiting for Othello and Desdemona September 5-20, 2014, at Company OnStage, 536 Westbury Square, in Houston, TX.

This week, American Theater Company (ATC) launches its 30th Anniversary season with the inaugural year of AracaWorks: Chicago, in partnership with New York's The Araca Group, Broadway producers of Urinetown, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, The Wedding Singer, Lend Me a Tenor, A View from the Bridge, and this season's Disgraced.

Libra Theater Company, in association with The TR?F, presents the World Premiere of ROYAL FABLES a new musical that explores the lives of classic and not-so-classic fairy tale princesses. Featuring book, music and lyrics by Nick Luckenbaugh, the production is directed by Megan Mekjian starring a cast of 18. Previews begin October 30 at Access Theater.

The Irish Repertory Theatre, which 'encourages the development of works focusing on the Irish and Irish American experience, as well as a range of other cultures,' continues the eighth season of its Reading Series with Jen Silverman's play The Moors, directed by Jackson Gay. The reading will take place on Monday, July 28 at 3pm on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage of the Irish Repertory Theatre (132 W. 22nd Street). The reading is FREE and open to the public. An RSVP to the Irish Repertory Theatre Box Office at (212) 727-2737 is strongly suggested.

Sundance Institute and the LUMA Foundation today announced that the two organizations will again collaborate to host the second Sundance Institute | LUMA Foundation Theatre Directors Retreat in Arles, France, July 29 through August 11. The Retreat is one of 10 residential programs hosted by Sundance Institute this summer, collectively representing 15 weeks of support and mentorship for promising independent artists in theatre and film from the United States and around the world.

Legendary director/writer/producer Garry Marshall will direct the Vineyard Theatre's New York debut of Mike Bencivenga's comedy BILLY & RAY this fall, with performances set to begin October 2 and an opening night scheduled for October 20 at The Vineyard, it has been announced by Douglas Aibel, Artistic Director, and Sarah Stern, Co-Artistic Director.

The Weird Sisters Theatre Project continue their 2014 summer season with Late: A Cowboy Song by Sarah Ruhl at Actor's Express theatre, July 21-August 5. The play is an early work of the award-winning playwright about perpetually late Mary, a woman who is desperately searching to find herself.

The award-winning comedy, Dead Man's Cell Phone returns to Chicago under the direction of one of Chicago's newest theatre companies, The Enthusiasts Theatre Company. Sarah Ruhl's smash hit comedy opens with an incessantly ringing cell phone in a quiet cafe. Jean, a stranger at the next table who has had enough. And Gordon, a dead man-with a lot of loose ends. So begins Dead Man's Cell Phone, a wildly imaginative comedy. The show is about the struggle to connect in a technologically obsessed world. Dead Man's Cell Phone is a wildly imaginative comedy by MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient and Pulitzer Prize finalist, Sarah Ruhl, author of the The Clean House and Eurydice. The last local production was done by Steppenwolf Theatre Company in March 2008.

The Kilroys, an independent LA-based band of female playwrights and producers, have released THE LIST, the results of the first annual industry survey of excellent new plays by female-identified playwrights.

Shakespeare & Company Board Chair Sarah Hancock announced today that Rick Dildine, previously of Shakespeare Festival St. Louis, will become the organization's Executive Director and President, starting early September 2014. In this role, Mr. Dildine will be directly responsible for all of the Company's programming and administrative activities.