Playwrights Horizons News

Town Stages presents A Birthday Party for The Mother Line Story Project on Wednesday, September 12, 2018 at 7pm, with a world premiere Mother Line performance starting at 8pm.

'Buried Child,' written by Sam Shepard and directed by Paul Mullins will be performed at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey from September 19 through October 7. Broadwayworld.com New Jersey had the pleasure of interviewing Andrea Morales who plays Shelly in Buried Child.

Updated this week! Check out upcoming Equity Auditions from Sunday, September 9, 2018 for both productions in your area and around the country including what/when/where and how to audition!

Long Wharf Theatre, under the leadership of Managing Director Joshua Borenstein, begins its 2018-19 season with The Roommate, by Jen Silverman, directed by Mike Donahue.

Artistic Directors Douglas Aibel and Sarah Stern announce that Jeremy O. Harris is the recipient of the 2018-19 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award. Mr. Harris will be presented with the award at The Vineyard's annual Emerging Artists Luncheon on Friday, October 12 from noon-2:30pm at the National Arts Club (15 Gramercy Park South) in Manhattan. Paula Vogel will speak at the event.

The Dramatists Legal Defense Fund ("DLDF") is pleased to present the third annual Banned Together: A Censorship Cabaret in fifteen cities as a part of Banned Books Week (September 24-29) the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The show will be performed over one week, some simultaneously, in the following cities:

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) presents its annual free introductory panel Thursday, September 20, 2018: WHO IS TRU? A Free Introduction to Our Community and Programs at 7:30pm (doors open for networking at7pm) at The Playroom Theatre, 151 W. 46th Street, 8th fl., NYC. This panel is free but please reserve using the bright red reservation box athttps://truonline.org/events/who-is-tru/, or call at least a day in advance (or much sooner) for reservations: 212-714-7628; or e-mail TRUStaff1@gmail.com.

Performances have begun for the hit MCC Theater production of Jocelyn Bioh's "School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play" directed by Rebecca Taichman. Currently in previews, the production will open September 8 at 8 p.m. and continues through September 30, 2018, at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre.

Hartford Stage today announced the cast and creative team for Make Believe, written by Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle award-winning playwright Bess Wohl. The world premiere play will perform Today, September 6, through Sunday, September 30, to open the Tony Award-winning regional theatre's 55thseason. Jackson Gay will direct.

Written by Nobel Prize Award-winner Luigi Pirandello, in a new version by Nicholas Wright, Naked begins performances Thursday, September 27 at 7pm at The Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, MA. Opening night is set for Saturday, September 29 at 7pm. Directed by Eric Hill (BTG: At Home at the Zoo, The Homecoming, Poe), the production features: David Adkins (Homeland BTG: The Petrified Forest, At Home at the Zoo) as Alfredo Cantavalle; Haley Aguero (BTG: Tarzan, The Music Man) as Emma; James Barry (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson BTG: The Caretaker, The Who's Tommy) as Franco Laspiga; Jeffrey Doornbos (A Thousand Miles Behind) as Consul Grotti; Tara Franklin (Sleep No More BTG: At Home at the Zoo, The Homecoming) as Ersilia Drei; Barbara Sims (A Streetcar Named Desire BTG: Benefactors) as Signora Onoria; and Obie and Drama Desk Award-winner, Rocco Sisto (The King and I BTG: The Homecoming) as Ludovico Nota. This production is sponsored by Lead Sponsor, Bobbie Hallig; Furlano and Arace, PC; The Westifeld News Group; Massachusetts Cultural Council and The Shubert Foundation.

'After much anticipation, it is with great joy that I introduce you to new Producing Artistic Director, Mei Ann Teo,' said Shakina Nayfack. 'She is a visionary interdisciplinary theatre maker and community organizer who brings with her to the job a wealth of experience in new works development, education, and fundraising. We are in great hands, and I have full confidence that MTF will achieve new levels of artistic excellence and organizational sustainability with her expertise and leadership. Please, join me in welcoming MTF's new Producing Artistic Director, Mei Ann Teo!'

Raven Theatre is pleased to launch its 2018-19 season with CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage, directed by Tyrone Phillips. This sharp and boisterous drama about family, faith and revolution will play October 4 - November 18, 2018 on Raven's 99-seat East Stage, 6157 N. Clark St. (at Granville) in Chicago.

Mari Marchbanks announced today the 2018 recipients of the biennial Horton Foote Prize, named in honor of the late playwright, which recognizes 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, is awarded to Cambodian Rock Band by Lauren Yee. The 2018 Prize for Promising New American Play, presented to a previously unproduced work, is awarded to India Pale Ale by Jaclyn Backhaus.

New Light Theater Project is thrilled to present the New York premiere of HITLER'S TASTERS written by Michelle Kholos Brooks and directed by Sarah Norris. HITLER'S TASTERS begins performances on Friday, October 5 for a limited engagement through Saturday, October 27. Press opening is Wednesday, October 10 at 7:30 PM. The performance schedule is Wednesday - Friday at 7:30 PM, Saturday at 3 PM & 7:30 PM, and Sunday at 3 PM. Please note the following schedule adjustments: the Sunday, October 7 performance is at 7 PM and there are added performances on Monday, October 8 and Monday, October 22 at 7:30 PM. Performances are at IRT Theater (154 Christopher Street, between Greenwich & Washington Streets). Tickets are $25. To purchase tickets, visit www.newlighttheaterproject.com.

Winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and The Relentless Award, Clare Barron's explosive new play Dance Nation makes its UK debut in summer 2018, directed by Bijan Sheibani. Get a first look in the photos below!

'Sleep F$@cking: Revision' by Margot Mejia is an exploration of the physical experience of writing and revising a work that delves into a troubled writer's mind. Wine-addled and in a mire of insomnia, a character named John begins to lose sight of what is real and what is the novel. The world of the play and the novel overlap and become one, as John physically enters his book and the stage is overtaken by both realities, making both him and the audience question their interpretation of events. Theater for the New City's Dream Up Festival will present the play's world premiere August 26 to September 4.

Final casting for Berkeley Repertory Theatre's upcoming production of Fairview was announced today. Written by Jackie Sibblies Drury, directed bySarah Benson, with choreography by Raja Feather Kelly, the world premiere production comes straight to Berkeley Rep from a critically acclaimed New York run. Previews begin on Thursday, October 4 with regular run of the show opening on Thursday, October 11 and continuing through Sunday, November 4. Individual tickets begin at $30 ($15 if you're under 35) and can be purchased online at berkeleyrep.org or by phone at 510 647-2949.

In The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence, playwright Madeline George weaves together the tale of three historical Watsons in this time-jumping tribute to genius. There's Watson, the trusty sidekick to Sherlock Holmes, Watson, the loyal engineer who helped Alexander Graham Bell build the telephone, and Watson, the IBM supercomputer created to beat the Jeopardy! All-Stars in 2011. Woven into a tale with Watson, a present day geek looking for love, the result is a story that examines the technological advancements that both bring people together and tear them apart. A 2014 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

The Department of Theater at Brooklyn College is one of New York City's outstanding institutions in the training of theater artists. With the assistance of a generous grant from the Tow Foundation, the Department of Theater, in conjunction with the MFA Playwriting Program, headed by co-coordinators Mac Wellman and Erin Courtney, will present the annual Weasel Festival, hosted by The Public Theater (August 17-24). This festival of new works, previously produced by the playwrights, will feature performances of full length plays written by Kate Dakota Kremer, Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, Jerry Lieblich, and April Ranger all of whom are recent graduates of the MFA Playwrighting Program at Brooklyn College.

Playwrights Horizons (Artistic Director Tim Sanford, Managing Director Leslie Marcus)kicks off its 2018-2019 season of "topicality and risk" (The New York Times) with the New York premiere of three-time Tony Award nominee Craig Lucas' I Was Most Alive with You, August 31 - October 14in the Mainstage Theater at Playwrights Horizons (416 West 42nd Street). Inspired by the Book of Job,Lucas' play begins at an often-humorously fraught Thanksgiving dinner and explodes onto emotionally and philosophically expansive terrain, as one character attempts to grasp the narratives of his and his loved ones' lives while they slip far beyond anyone's control. Director Tyne Rafaeli (The Rape of the Sabine Women by Grace B. Matthias, Actually) and Director of Artistic Sign Language Sabrina Dennison (Santa Sangre, the world premiere of I Was Most Alive with You) stage this production that features two casts simultaneously speaking and signing. Subtitles and intermittent spoken interpretation are included, making I Was Most Alive with You a rare example of a work that is equally accessible to Deaf and hearing audiences.