Tom Oppenheim News

American Theater Company (ATC) kicks off its 30th Anniversary season with two Chicago premieres exploring healthcare in America: Anna Deavere Smith's documentary Let Me Down Easy featuring ATC Ensemble Member Usman Ally, and Mercy Strain by Michael Milligan, top prize winner at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival. ATC's production is the first time Let Me Down Easy will be performed by an artist other than Deavere Smith.

Georganne Aldrich Heller will present Laoisa Sexton's raw, visceral and provocative new play, THE LAST DAYS OF CLEOPATRA, a pitch black comedy set in Dublin, tonight, August 20th through September 7th at Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street in Manhattan. The official opening is on Saturday, August 23rd at 8PM. Tim Ruddy Directs.

Georganne Aldrich Heller will present Laoisa Sexton's raw, visceral and provocative new play, THE LAST DAYS OF CLEOPATRA, a pitch black comedy set in Dublin, August 20th through September 7th at Urban Stages, 259 West 30th Street in Manhattan. The official opening is on Saturday, August 23rd at 8PM. Tim Ruddy Directs. www.thelastdaysofcleopatra.com

The Stella Adler Studio of Acting is auctioning off a rare opportunity to visit the production set of the groundbreaking Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black

American Theater Company announces the final production of its 30th Anniversary season: the world premiere of The Project(s), a documentary play on Chicago's public housing, conceived, co-written, and directed by ATC Artistic Director PJ Paparelli and co-written by Joshua Jaeger.

Barefoot Theatre Company and the SVA Film Department presented the 15th Anniversary star-studded Barefoot Gala & Awards Ceremony produced by Artistic Director Francisco Solorzano, Producing Director Christopher Whalen, Associate Producing Director Danelle Eliav and company members Raye Levine and Daniella Rabbani.

Barefoot Theatre Company and the SVA Film Department (Reeves Lehmann, Chair) presents the 15th Anniversary star-studded Barefoot Gala & Awards Ceremony produced by Artistic Director Francisco Solorzano (Floating Sunflowers, Love Simple, Sins of the Mother), Producing Director Christopher Whalen (Sins of the Mother, PS. I Love You), Associate Producing Director Danelle Eliav (Emoticon; Carnival Kids) and company members Raye Levine (Pirate, Other Histories) and Daniella Rabbani (Nina at Primary Stages).

The Harold Clurman Playwrights Division, a program of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, has opened its search for the Playwright-in-Residence for 2015 and announced three additional categories for playwrights. The residency program seeks an emerging writer who will collaborate with the studio for one year, develop a new play and receive a $1,000 stipend. The current resident is Dennis Staroselsky and previous residents include Halley Feiffer, Mia Chung, Anton Dudley, Christina Gorman, Zayd Dohrn, and Peter Nickowitz.

The Harold Clurman Playwrights Division, a program of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, has chosen actor/writer Dennis Staroselsky as it's Playwright-in-Residence for 2014. Previous residents include Halley Feiffer, Mia Chung, Anton Dudley, Christina Gorman, Zayd Dohrn, and Peter Nickowitz. Over seventy writers submitted applications and full-length plays for consideration in the merit-based annual search.

On Thursday, January 30, 2014, after Michael Milligan's powerful off-Broadway production MERCY KILLERS, Teresa Eyring will conduct a talkback with three actors - all who have written and performed powerful, socially relevant plays produced by important regional theaters. This is the continuation of a conversation between MERCY KILLERS Director Tom Oppenheim and Teresa Eyring about actors who empower themselves by creating their own work and will begin at approximately 8:40PM, after the 7:30PM performance of MERCY KILLERS.

Working Theater, in its 29th season off?Broadway, will in a co?production with the Harold Clurman Lab Theater, offer a piercing perspective on healthcare reform in the United States, with MERCY KILLERS, written and performed by Michael Milligan. The play, directed by Tom Oppenheim will make its off?Broadway premiere on January 7th at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, 31 West 27th Street. The production will have its official opening on January 15th and will be performed in various communities throughout New York City in order to directly realize Working Theater's mission to bring theater to communities where working people live. Check out a behind the scenes look below!

The Stella Adler Studio of Acting and Staying Out and Getting Out (GOSO) have announced that students who participate in the GEDPlus program at GOSO's one-room schoolhouse in Harlem have written seven original short plays based on the films and life of Marlon Brando, an alumnus of the studio.

Taking Mercy Killers to the Edinburgh Fringe was a last minute idea. I wanted to keep the show going and had been to the Fringe as a kid with the Columbus Children's Theater. It was a truly formative experience, and I always wanted to go back.

The Stella Adler Studio of Acting and Staying Out and Getting Out (GOSO) have announced that students who participate in the GEDPlus program at GOSO's one-room schoolhouse in Harlem have written seven original short plays based on the films and life of Marlon Brando, an alumnus of the studio.

Working Theater, in its 29th season off-Broadway, will in collaboration with the Harold Clurman Lab Theater, offer a piercing perspective on healthcare reform in the United States, with MERCY KILLERS, written and performed by Michael Milligan. The play, directed by Tom Oppenheim will make its off-Broadway premiere on January 7th at the Stella Adler Studio's Theater 2B, 31 West 27th Street. The production will have its official opening on January 15th and will be performed in various communities throughout New York City in order to directly realize Working Theater's mission to bring theater to communities where working people live.

Working Theater, in its 29th season off?Broadway, will in a co?production with the Harold Clurman Lab Theater, offer a piercing perspective on healthcare reform in the United States, with MERCY KILLERS, written and performed by Michael Milligan. The play, directed by Tom Oppenheim will make its off?Broadway premiere on January 7th at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, 31 West 27th Street. The production will have its official opening on January 15th and will be performed in various communities throughout New York City in order to directly realize Working Theater's mission to bring theater to communities where working people live. Check out a behind the scenes look below!

American Theater Company announces Town Hall, a series of interdisciplinary artistic events that spark debate on a national issue. In collaboration with Stella Adler Studio of Acting's Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater Company and the Illinois Single Payer Coalition ATC proudly presents Mercy Killers, written and performed by Michael Milligan, directed by Tom Oppenheim. Mercy Killers is the winner of a prestigious First Fringe Award from The Scotsman for best new writing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, receiving rave reviews calling the play, '…shattering' (The Stage) and '…theatre distilled to its most basic essentials' (The Scotsman). This will be the play's only Chicago stop before going to a six-week Off-Broadway run this January and February at the Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater in New York City.

American Theater Company announces Town Hall, a series of interdisciplinary artistic events that spark debate on a national issue. In collaboration with Stella Adler Studio of Acting's Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater Company and the Illinois Single Payer Coalition ATC proudly presents Mercy Killers, written and performed by Michael Milligan, directed by Tom Oppenheim. Mercy Killers is the winner of a prestigious First Fringe Award from The Scotsman for best new writing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, receiving rave reviews calling the play, "…shattering" (The Stage) and "…theatre distilled to its most basic essentials" (The Scotsman). This will be the play's only Chicago stop before going to a six-week Off-Broadway run this January and February at the Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater in New York City.