Women's Project News

San Francisco Playhouse (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announced casting for the fifth show of its 2017-18 Mainstage Season-the world premiere of An Entomologist's Love Story, written by Melissa Ross. Giovanna Sardelli will direct.

The selection committee for the inaugural session of The 5th Avenue Theatre's new musical initiative, First Draft: Raise Your Voice, has been announced. This cycle is currently soliciting submissions nation-wide from womxn, gender non-conforming and non-binary folx with a submission deadline of June 15. Comprised of a team of outstanding womxn, the selection committee includes performers, producers, directors, playwrights and thought leaders in the Seattle theater landscape: Desdamona Chiang, Lauren DuPree, Keiko Green, Allison Narver, and Sarah Porkalob, lead by The 5th's Kelsey Thorgalsen and Bill Berry.

National New Play Network, the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays, celebrates the opening of its 81st Rolling World Premiere (RWP): Nomad Motel by Carla Ching. The Roll kicks off at Member Theaters City Theatre Company (May 18-June 3 in Pittsburgh), followed by Horizon Theatre Company (September 28-October 21 in Atlanta), and Unicorn Theatre (January 23-February 27, 2019 in Kansas City, MO). Nomad Motel was presented at NNPN's 2016 National Showcase of New Plays, hosted by the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Texas at Austin.

The Geffen Playhouse today announced the full cast for its Los Angeles Premiere production of Skeleton Crew, the third and final installment in Dominique Morisseau's award-winning three-play cycle, The Detroit Project. The play features Amari Cheatom (Roman J. Israel, Esq.) as Dez, Caroline Stefanie Clay (Broadway's The Little Foxes) as Faye, Kelly McCreary (Grey's Anatomy) as Shanita and D.B. Woodside (Lucifer) as Reggie. Patricia McGregor will direct.

The Drama Book Shop was thrilled to host a discussion and signing with award winning playwright Dominique Morisseau on Monday, May 7th. Moderating the discussion was actor, director, and executive assistant to Ms. Morisseau, Stori Ayers. 

Rivendell Theatre Ensemble (RTE), Chicago's only Equity theatre dedicated to producing new work with women at the core will add four performances to the run The Cake by Bekah Brunstetter, directed by Lauren Shouse, and featuring RTE Founders Tara Mallen and Keith Kupferer, RTE Member Krystel McNeil, with Tuckie White.  Eight performances have been added to the run, which must close June 2, 2018 at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Avenue in Chicago. 

Soho Rep. (Sarah Benson, Artistic Director; Cynthia Flowers, Executive Director), in association with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, presents the world premiere of Jackie Sibblies Drury's Fairview, directed by Soho Rep. Artistic Director Sarah Benson, May 29 - July 1. Following her "inventive," "pulse-pounding" We Are Proud to Present…(The New York Times, Time Out New York, and New York Magazine Critics' Picks), Sibblies Drury returns to Soho Rep. with Fairview, a play that shows us that nothing's funnier than "family drama."

Second Stage Theater (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Casey Reitz, Executive Director) has announced complete casting for the New York Premiere of TRACY LETTS' acclaimed play, MARY PAGE MARLOWE.

The Geffen Playhouse today announced the full cast for its world premiere production of Amanda Peet's Our Very Own Carlin McCullough. The play will feature Mamie Gummer (The Good Wife, True Detective) as Cyn, Abigail Dylan Harrison (The Affair) as Carlin at 10, Caroline Heffernan as Carlin at 17, Tyee Tilghman as Saleef and Joe Tippett (Rise, Broadway's Waitress) as Jay. Tyne Rafaeli (Geffen's Ironbound, Actually) will direct.

The 8th Annual Shakespeare's Birthday Sonnet Slam is being held tomorrow, Friday, April 27th from 1-4pm at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park. Notable Sonnet readers this year include Michael Urie, Dana Ivey, Brian Soliwoda as C.P. Shakes and Perdita, the pigeon, Peter Francis James, American painter Gerri Davis and Award-winning Orchestrator Michael Starobin. The Sonnet Slam features 154 readers of all ages performing all 154 of Shakespeare's Sonnets in numerical order. The event is free to the public. This year, the kickoff Reader for Sonnet #1 will be Tony Award-nominee and Drama Desk-winner Kathleen Chalfant (Angels in America, Wit, Showtime's The Affair).

City Theatre is thrilled to announce the details of the final production of the 2017-18 season: Nomad Motel by Carla Ching. Originally commissioned as part of South Coast Repertory Theatre's CrossRoads initiative (Marc Masterson, Artistic Director) the play explores a family consumed by California's crippling housing crisis and the life of a "parachute kid," sent to live alone in America while his father remains in Hong Kong. It is directed by LA-based artist Bart DeLorenzo, and will run on the City Theatre Main Stage, May 12-June 3, 2018. Tickets are on sale now. 

BroadwayWorld has just learned that previously announced host of the Lortel Awards Jason Jones has withdrawn due to scheduling conflicts. Now slated to co-host alongside Laura Benanti is her fellow METEOR SHOWER star Jeremy Shamos.

Bekah Brunstetter has been in the news a lot lately as her play THE CAKE (Geffen Playhouse, Manhattan Theatre Club) sweeps the nation and for her work on NBC's hit THIS IS US. Previously acclaimed plays like BE A GOOD LITTLE WIDOW, THE OREGON TRAIL and YOU MAY GO NOW have created a growing fan base for the playwright.

Colt Coeur is thrilled to announce that Zurich, a new play by Amelia Roper and directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (The Women's Project's What We're Up Against, Colt Coeur's Dry Land), will make its world premiere as part of the company's 2017-2018 season. Presented as part of New York Theatre Workshop's inaugural NEXT DOOR series, Zurich will begin performances on Saturday, April 14, 2018 at The Fourth Street Theatre (located at 79 East 4th Street, between Cooper Square and 2nd Avenue), with a final performance set for May 5, 2018. Opening night has been set for Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Kansas City Repertory Theatre wraps up its 2017/18 season with its OriginKC: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL. Entering its third season, the OriginKC: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL, running April 27 through May 27, 2018, positions Kansas City as a major player and national center for the cultivation and production of new works, while offering theatre artists from across the country the financial, creative and artistic resources required to develop vital, diverse works of theatre.

The 8th Annual Shakespeare's Birthday Sonnet Slam being held Friday, April 27th from 1-4pm at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park has added Michael Urie, Dana Ivey and many others to the festivities. The Sonnet Slam features 154 readers of all ages performing all 154 of Shakespeare's Sonnets in numerical order.  The event is free to the public. This year, the kickoff Reader for Sonnet #1 will be Tony Award-nominee and Drama Desk-winner Kathleen Chalfant (Angels in America, Wit, Showtime's The Affair).

In celebration of Immigrant Heritage Week, the Immigrant Arts Coalition and Dramatists Guild of America, in collaboration with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) will present Staging Our Stories, an interactive panel discussion with playwrights, composers, and lyricists on heritage and diversity in theatre. An official partner with the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, this free event will take place on Friday, April 20th, 1pm in the Dramatists Guild of America's Mary Rodgers Room.

Second Stage Theater (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Casey Reitz, Executive Director) has announced additional casting for the New York Premiere of TRACY LETTS' acclaimed play, MARY PAGE MARLOWE.

San Francisco Playhouse (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announced casting for the fifth show of its 2017-18 Mainstage Season-the world premiere of An Entomologist's Love Story, written by Melissa Ross. Giovanna Sardelli will direct.

Portland Stage will celebrate 29 years of nurturing playwrights and new work from May 8-12, 2018 during the Little Festival of the Unexpected. Little Festival is a week-long event dedicated to public readings of new American plays. Each May three playwrights are in residence at Portland Stage throughout the week developing their scripts with input from actors, dramaturgs, and directors.