Sarah Leach News

MR. BURNS, A POST-ELECTRIC PLAY by Anne Washburn, directed by Brien Lang, is currently playing at The Wilbury Theatre Group. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

2016 was a year for imagination and innovation on Rhode Island stages. Here's a look back on some of the productions that stole the spotlight in the Ocean State this season.

Since 2012, OUT LOUD Theatre has grown into an experimental and movement oriented ensemble, rooted in creating visceral and immersive experiences with creative and innovative artists. Located in the heart of Providence, Rhode Island and currently acting as one of The Mathewson Street Collaborative's 2017 Artists in Residence, OUT LOUD announces it's upcoming Season 5: 'THAT WAY MADNESS LIES'.

There is a current trend in Hollywood to combine movies in a way that creates a 'cinematic universe.' This allows studios to create a number of movies that are all connected and can be tied together, usually because of a shared world of characters, think Marvel superheroes or the famous Universal Studios movie monsters. In an ingenious sort of experiment, Wilbury Group is kicking off its season with a production that creates a kind of 'theatrical universe,' by linking together three plays that would otherwise be thought of us very different and entirely separate. With masterful execution, Wilbury manages to create a fascinating and frightening world in which we can really believe these three disparate works might coexists.

Storytelling is something that, fundamentally, defies definition. Who is to say how a story should best be told? How many different ways have stories been passed down over the centuries? Whatever our own preferences are for storytelling forms and devices, there are countless others, often used in successful ways. In its three years of existence, OUT LOUD Theatre has at times defied conventional definitions of storytelling and developed their own unique style. With its spectacular use of that style, their current production of Dracula is a gorgeous example of the company's storytelling prowess, wrapped in a unique and surprising piece of theatrical art.

BroadwayWorld Rhode Island readers nominated four area companies as "Rising Stars/Theaters to Watch" during the 2015 Regional BroadwayWorld Awards. Now, in a four-part series, the artistic directors from each theater will join BWW RI as guest bloggers, sharing their creative vision and inspiration in their own words. First up is Kira Hawkridge, the founding artistic director of OUT LOUD Theatre.

Voting has opened for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Rhode Island Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 27th. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31.

Voting has opened for the 2015 BroadwayWorld Rhode Island Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 27th. Nominations were reader-submitted and after the nomination period ended, BroadwayWorld's local editors proofed the list for eligibility and errors. Voting runs through December 31.

DRY LAND is a play that is both shocking and probably resonant with more people that you would necessarily think.  Themes of life, death, friendship and ambition are woven together to create a snapshot of life that feels incredibly real and intimate.  It's a play intended to challenge the audience and make them feel uncomfortable, especially considering the young ages of the main characters and the writer Ruby Rae Speigel.

The Wilbury Theatre Group proudly opens it's 2015/16 season with the  New England premiere of Ruby Rae Speigel's Dry Land, September 17-October 3, 2015. A finalist for the 2015 Susan Smith Blackburn Award, Dry Land . Centered on young girls' experiences in the scary throes of adulthood, Spiegel's critically acclaimed play is about abortion, love, friendship, and the life of the modern American teenager. This New England premiere production is directed by Wilbury Artistic Director Josh Short and features original music by local singer-songwriter Emeline Easton.

Adapting a work of literary fiction into a stage play is always tricky. Especially so if it's something extremely well-known and beloved, something that has stood the test of time, something considered a classic. The novels of the Bronte sisters have been the subject of adaptations many times over, in a variety of mediums and each one with its own strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures. Polly Teale's recent stage version of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre proves that an adaptation can breathe new, unique life into a well-known tale while honoring and maintaining the classic and beloved story.

Boston-based Alley Cat Theater and OUT LOUD Theatre of Providence will present John Greiner-Ferris's Plank, at the Providence Fringe Festival on Wednesday, July 22 at 7:00 p.m. and Friday, July 24 at 8:00 p.m. at the URI Providence campus at 80 Washington Street, Providence, Rhode Island.

Theater is often at its best when it is unconventional. Surprising. Innovative. While there is certainly merit in sticking to the old-fashioned and traditional ways of doing things, there's also great value in doing something new and outside-the-box. The success of doing so depends on many things, from the technical aspects of a production to the ability of the actors to create and tell the story in ways the audience can relate to, even in unfamiliar trappings. So far in the short lifespan of OUT LOUD Theatre, the company has excelled in doing just that, masterful storytelling that is delivered in creative and exciting ways.

There are an endless number of ways for a new theater company to make its mark. In a crowded artistic and theatrical landscape, a fledgling company must find a way to stand out and be noticed. A way to make its voice heard. Some will succeed spectacularly while others will fail just as spectacularly. Now entering its third season, OUT LOUD Theatre has begun to carve out quite a successful path for itself. Last season's Metamorphoses proved just how talented and skillful the company could be at pure storytelling. This season's opening show, Fefu and Her Friends, allows the company to demonstrate equal talent in bringing a distinctive voice and vision to a theatrical event that is entertaining and exhilarating.

The only thing that is permanent is change. Change is inevitable. It's going to happen, and stories of how things and people change have been told for centuries. Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, presented by Out Loud Theatre at Artists' Exchange in Cranston, is a collection of ancient myths, all of which somehow involve a change or altering. What hasn't changed is how powerful and important these stories of change are. It's a true testament to the power of myth that these stories still hold up in our modern age. They are just as relevant and relatable today as when they were written by Ovid, a Latin poet who is believed to have completed his collection of poems around 8 A.D.

The Burbage Theatre Company (BTC) presents Julius Caesar, today, August 23-September 7.

Burbage Theatre Company's production of William Shakespeare's JULIUS CAESAR, directed by Jeff Church, began previews on Thursday, August 21 and opens tomorrow, Saturday, August 23, 2014, running through Sunday, September 7 2014. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

The Burbage Theatre Company (BTC) presents Julius Caesar, August 23-September 7. Julius Caesar is a play about men who make mistakes; great men whose choice to act was met with grave consequences.

OUT LOUD Theatre aims its sights towards creating a Socially Engaged Project based on women and body image. Through a series of new collaborations, the theatre's tour promises to be an exciting opportunity to connect and to join the conversation. The Most Massive Woman Wins by Madeleine George will be directed by Kira Hawkridge at the Mathewson Street Theater on May 4th at 7:30 p.m. in collaboration with Heads Up, Inc. and The Mathewson Street United Methodist Church. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!