Stephen Brown News

From September 12, 2014 through February 1, 2015, the Jewish Museum will present From the Margins: Lee Krasner I Norman Lewis, 1945-1952.

Lee Krasner (1908-1984) and Norman Lewis (1909-1979) were major contributors to Abstract Expressionism but as a woman and as an African American, respectively, they were often overlooked by the leading critics of their time. From September 12, 2014 through February 1, 2015, the Jewish Museum will present From the Margins: Lee Krasner l Norman Lewis, 1945-1952, a survey of key 1940s and 1950s works by these two powerful painters.This was a transformative period in American painting when both artists were experimenting with approaches that joined abstraction and cultural specificity.

Lee Krasner (1908-1984) and Norman Lewis (1909-1979) were major contributors to Abstract Expressionism but as a woman and as an African American, respectively, they were often overlooked by the leading critics of their time. From September 12, 2014 through February 1, 2015, the Jewish Museum will present From the Margins: Lee Krasner l Norman Lewis, 1945-1952, a survey of key 1940s and 1950s works by these two powerful painters.This was a transformative period in American painting when both artists were experimenting with approaches that joined abstraction and cultural specificity.

From May 2 through September 21, 2014, The Jewish Museum will present Mel Bochner: Strong Language, a survey of Bochner's career-long fascination with the cerebral and visual associations of words. The exhibition will include over 70 text-based works. Among the highlights are his mid-1960s Portrait Drawings, never before exhibited in New York, and paintings from the last decade using synonyms derived from the latest edition of Roget's Thesaurus. Bochner was inspired by the Thesaurus' new permissiveness to broaden his linguistic references, juxtaposing proper with vernacular, formal against vulgar, high against low.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey has announced the appointment of stage director and longtime company guest artist Stephen Brown-Fried as the Theatre's Artistic Associate & Casting Director. 'I am thrilled to be back at this company. I do not know of another theatre that combines excellence in classic theatre and such a deep commitment to teaching. The combination of professional practice and educational training here is unparalleled,' says Brown-Fried.

The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, one of the nation's leading classic theatres, is proud to announce this year's exciting lineup of play titles for their Lend Us Your Ears Reading Series which offers audiences the opportunity to join Shakespeare Theatre directors, actors, and artistic staff as they explore diverse and compelling plays.

Aurora Theatre Company announces that it will add an additional 7 performances of its current hit production of Johnna Adams' incendiary GIDION'S KNOT. GIDION'S KNOT, directed by Jon Tracy (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity) and featuring Jamie Jones (Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance) and Stacy Ross (Wilder Times), plays at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley now through March 9 (added performances: Tuesday, March 4, 7pm; Wednesday, March 5, 8pm; Thursday, March 6, 8pm; Friday, March 7, 8pm; Saturday, March 8, 8pm; Sunday, March 9, 2pm and 7pm). For tickets ($32-50) and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org. For mature audiences.

Cone Man Running Productions and Obsidian Art Space's popular 24 hour play festival, A SPONTANEOUS SMATTERING, was given a seasonal spin for last night's holiday edition. Drawing a crowd of theatre diehards, family, and friends, everyone in attendance was curious to see what these skilled and talented artists would create. Waiting for the show to begin, everyone was buzzing about the #smattering posts they had seen on Facebook, the writers' previous works, and their excitement about what they were about to witness. It doesn't hurt any that everyone was treated to a free shot as they picked up their tickets either.

Aurora Theatre Company continues its 22nd season with the Bay Area Premiere of Johnna Adams' incendiary new play GIDION'S KNOT. Jon Tracy (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity) returns to Aurora Theatre Company to helm GIDION'S KNOT, featuring Jamie Jones (Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance) and Stacy Ross (Wilder Times). GIDION'S KNOT plays January 31 through March 2 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($32-60) and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org. For mature audiences. Check out pre-production photos below!

The University of the Arts has appointed Joanna Settle as the new director of the Ira Brind School of Theater Arts. Settle, a freelance theater director and educator, will begin her tenure at the university on January 13, 2014.

Berkeley's Aurora Theatre Company announces the four plays chosen as prize winners by a committee of local directors for the ninth annual Global Age Project (GAP), the company's new works initiative that promotes the creation of forward-looking theater: #therevolution by Kristoffer Diaz; Technicolor Life by Jami Brandli; Sagittarius Ponderosa by MJ Kaufman; and Welcome Home by Stephen Brown. The selected GAP plays will be presented as staged readings in a four-week festival at the Aurora Theatre, Mondays, February 10-March 3, 7:30pm, coinciding with the company's fully-staged Bay Area Premiere of Johnna Adams' provocative new play, Gidion's Knot (January 31-March 2), directed by Jon Tracy.

Just as shopping season is about to enter full swing, GSN announced today that it has acquired episodes of the classic game show SHOP 'TIL YOU DROP.

Beginning November 8, The Jewish Museum will launch a new series of exhibitions focused on individual works in its world-renowned collection. Over the course of seven exhibitions, from 2013 to 2017, The Jewish Museum's curators will explore objects that highlight the breadth and diversity of the collection, ranging from an iconic Alfred Stieglitz photograph to a Moroccan wedding costume and a painting of a Passover seder by Carnegie Prize-winner Nicole Eisenman. These intimate Masterpieces & Curiosities exhibitions will provide new insights into works from the Museum's collection-contextualizing, examining, and rethinking the piece on view by surrounding it with other artworks, documents, and source materials.

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced its Contemporary World Cinema lineup today, featuring films produced by countries from around the world.

The first weeklong residency was held at The Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in Tarrytown, New York from June 21-29. It featured playwrights Stephen Brown and Max Posner, along with director Portia Krieger and a company of actors. The Pocantico Center residency, established in 2008 by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, supports artists in their creative process. This was Page 73's fifth summer sending playwrights to the residency.

The Midwest Premiere of A THOUSAND CIRCLETS by Theroun D'Arcy Patterson will be at 8:30 PM tonight, March 28, 2013 at the Detroit Repertory Theatre. This moving family drama is about a renowned African American architect who is on the cusp of realizing his life's ambition: to build a skyscraper. But foreboding ripples threaten the seemingly smooth waters.

The Midwest Premiere of A THOUSAND CIRCLETS by Theroun D'Arcy Patterson will be at 8:30 PM on Thursday, March 28, 2013 at the Detroit Repertory Theatre. This moving family drama is about a renowned African American architect who is on the cusp of realizing his life's ambition: to build a skyscraper.

Page 73 Productions, which is currently accepting applications on its website (www.page73.org/apply) for three of its signature development programs: the P73 Playwriting Fellowship, the Interstate 73 writers group, and the Page 73 Summer Residency at Yale, will host an information session with its Executive Director Liz Jones and its Associate Director Michael Walkup for interested applicants on Thursday, March 21st at 7pm at the Manhattan Theatre Club Rehearsal Studios (311 West 43rd Street, 8th Floor). Reservations are required; please email info@page73.org to inquire about a reservation.

Twentieth Television has officially pulled the plug on The Ricki Lake Show after one season, the studio announced today.

Interstate 73, Page 73 Productions' writers group supporting early-career playwrights, where selected playwrights meet biweekly to share new pages with their peers and Page 73's Executive and Associate Directors, will welcome Stephen Brown, Meghan Deans, Peter Gil-Sheridan, David Jenkins, Kait Kerrigan, EM Lewis and Caroline V. McGraw (who was also selected as the 2013 P73 Playwriting Fellow) into the group this year.