Women's Project News

In this Bel Air tale of love and family, intimacy is a commodity and the surreal gets real.

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF), the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), today announced Director Arpita Mukherjee has been chosen as this season's SDCF Denham Fellow for her upcoming production of Raisins Not Virgins by Sharbari Zohra Ahmed.

Māyā, a new musical by Cheeyang Ng (book/music) and Eric Sorrels (book/lyrics), will hold industry readings on February 9th and 10th, 2020 at The Growing Studio.

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has announced 10 Finalists for its prestigious playwriting award, the oldest and largest prize awarded to women playwrights.

Kokandy Productions is pleased to announce casting for the Chicago premiere of the bold new musical Hundred Days, featuring music and lyrics by The Bengsons, and book by The Bengsons and Sarah Gancher.

The Episcopal Actors' Guild (EAG) is proud to announce that the Barbour Playwrights Award will be back for its thirteenth year in March. This festival celebrating new work for the theatre will feature readings of three new plays nominated by this year's partnering company, Leviathan Lab.

Working Theater (Mark Plesent, Producing Artistic Director) has named a new director for the Off Broadway premiere of acclaimed play 'Border People.' The award-winning production by playwright and actor Dan Hoyle will be directed by Nicole A. Watson (Round House Theatre a?" Maryland). 

Astoria Performing Arts Center (APAC) presents the New York premiere of Jump following the critically-acclaimed presentation of Marguerite. The award-winning theater company continues their 2019-20 season with this production taking place at APAC Pop Up theater located at 28-21 Steinway Street in Astoria, Queens.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and piece by piece productions, in association with Rising Phoenix Repertory, will present the world premiere of Ren Dara Santiago's The Siblings Play, which marks the professional debut of the Fila-Rican playwright. Directed by Jenna Worsham (Agnes), The Siblings Play gives voice to multicultural New Yorkers, rarely seen on the stage, with breathtaking theatricality, stinging poignancy, biting humor, and deep empathy. The Siblings Play runs March 4-April 5, 2020, at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (224 Waverly Place) with an opening night of March 18.

As we embark on our voyage through the 2020s, it will be exciting to see if Lopez's lofty ambitions become a reality. After all, Boston theatre has just come through a huge decade of change in which our city's pertinence to the theatre world has grown. Let's look at how our relevance as a city has changed in regards to theatre as an art form in the past decade: 

Red Bull Theater (Jesse Berger, Artistic Director | Jim Bredeson, Managing Director) today announced that submissions are now open for their 10th annual festival of 10-minute plays of heightened language and classic themes. Beginning today, six brand new plays, inspired by this year's theme: 'Private Lives,' will be selected through an open submission process to premiere alongside commissions from Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play, Daddy) and Theresa Rebeck (Bernhardt/Hamlet, Seminar). Submissions are open through March 30th, 2020.

New Ohio Theatre's annual New York Indie Theatre Film Festival (NYITFF) a?" a unique presentation of film works by New York theatre makers a?" returns in 2020 with a stellar lineup, including a special screening of a feature directed by downtown legend Charles Busch, with a talkback with the artist, and a reading of a new screenplay written and directed by playwright, filmmaker, and author Brooke Berman (Hunting and Gathering). The festival events, including screenings, panel discussions, and social gatherings, will be held at New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street) in NYC's West Village from February 6 to 9, 2020. Tickets (reading, $5; any single screening, $10; Friday pass, $15; Saturday pass, $20; all-event pass, $30) can be purchased online at https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/1004347 or by calling 866-811-4111.

Buffalo Theatre Ensemble presents 'The Cake' by Bekah Brunstetter, directed by Steve Scott, Jan.30-March 1 in the Playhouse Theatre at the McAninch Arts Center, 425 Fawell Blvd. The LA Times calls the play 'funny and smart' and observes, 'The Cake' explores human conflict from an insightful, slightly offbeat perch with understanding, respect and compassion for opposing points of view.' There will be a preview performance 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan 30; press opening is 8 p.m., Friday, Jan. 31. Performances run through March 1.

The Big Chill meets This is Us in Rachel Bonds' play Goodnight Nobody. In this deeply moving and funny world premiere, a group of old friends reconnect after years apart. They reminisce with wild abandon, until the things they aren't telling each other come hurtling to the surface. The production runs January 10 through February 9 in McCarter's Berlind Theatre. More about the production at mccarter.org.

Remote Theater Project announces that its production of Grey Rock, written and directed by Palestinian artist Amir Nizar Zuabi, will travel to four U.S. cities from January 8-February 9, 2020. Commissioned by Remote Theater Project, Grey Rock marks the first time a U.S. theater company has commissioned a Palestinian artist to create an original work for American audiences.

Freedom to ACT, developed by Ann Rodiger and Belinda Mello, is in its 9th year! This year's conference topic is on how the Alexander Technique supports On Camera Presence. The conference will take place on January 10th-12th at Balance Arts Center: 151 West 30th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY. Register for the full conference or sign-up for individual workshops. Freedom to ACT is a collaboration between AT Motion and Balance Arts Center.

Casting is set for Studio Theatre's production of Pipeline, playwright Dominique Morisseau's searing drama about the school-to-prison pipeline and a mother desperately trying to keep her son from becoming ensnared in it. The production runs January 15-February 16, 2020 and is directed by Awoye Timpo. Starring are DC theatre favorite Justin Weaks (Studio's Curve of Departure) as high school student Omari and Andrea Harris Smith making her Studio debut as his mother, public school teacher Nya. In its recent People Issue, Washington City Paper's called Weaks a 'standout,' going on to say: 'D.C. theater audiences love Justin Weaks. ...Weaks came to D.C. for a job about four years ago, not expecting to stay. But he kept getting cast in shows, and lucky for local theatergoers, he's still here.'

Kokandy Productions has announced the Chicago premiere of the bold new musical HUNDRED DAYS, featuring music and lyrics by The Bengsons, and book by The Bengsons and Sarah Gancher. Making its Chicago debut after successful runs at La Jolla Playhouse and New York Theatre Workshop, Hundred Days will be helmed by director/performer Lucky Stiff. Casting will be announced shortly. HUNDRED DAYS will play March 6 - April 12, 2020 at The Chopin Theatre, 1543 W Division St. in Chicago. Tickets will be available at www.kokandyproductions.com, or in person at The Chopin Theatre box office. The press opening is Friday, March 13 at 8 pm.

Today Keen Company Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein announced his plans for Keen's Playwrights Lab, including readings from this year's participants as well as the playwrights for the 2020 Lab.

Parent Artist Advocacy League for the Performing Arts (PAAL) is partnering with The Public Theater in New York City to present the first national summit on parent support in the performing arts. Lead facilitators from various theatre companies, organizations, and professions will engage in semi-open facilitation with summit participants on a range of topics including: cost-effective financial benefits to childcare stipends, budgeting for childcare, hiring laws, compliance, family leave, and more. The PAAL Summit will provide performing arts leaders with an intimate and safe space for active discussion, resource exchange, and concept generation. The PAAL National Handbook on Caregiver Support will guide the sessions, including the handbook's research into needs and solutions for both administrative and creative roles, original case studiesa?"including the Radical Parent-Inclusion (RPI) Project, which was co-led by PAAL and The Playwrights Realm, and data from the PAAL National Childcare Grant program on how affordable stipends for childcare can make a sustainable impact.