Woodshed Collective News

Actors Theatre of Louisville Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Jennifer Bielstein have announced the three ten-minute plays chosen to premiere during the 38th Humana Festival of New American Plays (February 26 - April 6, 2014). This year's ten-minute plays are Winter Games by Rachel Bonds, Some Prepared Remarks (A History in Speech) by Jason Gray Platt and Poor Shem by Gregory Hischak.

The Los Angeles Premiere of the critically acclaimed DERBY DAY written and directed by Samuel Brett Williams opens Saturday, February 22nd at 8 PM. There will be two previews on February 20th and February 21st. at 8 PM. The show runs Thursday's, Friday's and Saturday's through March 22nd at the Elephant Theatre (6322 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood, 90038). Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www.plays411.com/derbyday or by calling 323.960.7779.

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced the third annual Roundabout Underground Reading Series. The series will celebrate seven critically-acclaimed seasons of Roundabout Underground productions. Roundabout Underground Reading Series is a five night event that will include a nightly reading of a new play written and directed by an emerging artist.

Ars Nova kicks off 2014 with Game Play, this year's incarnation of Ars Nova's annual Play Group production. An evening of original short plays and live music inspired by classic board game titles, Game Play features Peter Benson, Marcia DeBonis, Dashiell Eaves, Brandon Gill, Ben Graney, Susan Heyward, Jessica Love and Carmen Zilles. This production plays 10 performances, today, January 29 - February 8.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater's Artistic Director David Van Asselt and Managing Director Brian Long have announced that Ken Urban's The Correspondent, directed by Stephen Brackett will begin previews tonight, January 29, 2014, at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place, west of Seventh Avenue South, between West 11th and Perry Streets. The official opening night is set for Thursday, February 13, 2014. The Correspondent is scheduled to run through Sunday, March 16.

PROPAGANDA: A Festival Celebrating Russian Voices. Staged readings will feature Orange is the New Black's Uzo Aduba and Catherine Curtin, Broadway's Dan Oreskes, Tobias Segal, Thomas Schall, Nadia Bowers, and Jason Tam, Blue Bloods' Robert Sella, Kings' Michael Crane, The Bridge Project's Michelle Beck, and The West Wing's Thomas Kopache in new plays by groundbreaking Russian playwrights.

Further Casting announced for PROPAGANDA: A Festival Celebrating Russian Voices. Staged readings will feature Orange is the New Black's Uzo Aduba and Catherine Curtin, Broadway's Dan Oreskes, Tobias Segal, Thomas Schall, Nadia Bowers, and Jason Tam, Blue Bloods' Robert Sella, Kings' Michael Crane, The Bridge Project's Michelle Beck, and The West Wing's Thomas Kopache in new plays by groundbreaking Russian playwrights.

Ars Nova kicks off 2014 with Game Play, this year's incarnation of Ars Nova's annual Play Group production. An evening of original short plays and live music inspired by classic board game titles, Game Play features Peter Benson, Marcia DeBonis, Dashiell Eaves, Brandon Gill, Ben Graney, Susan Heyward, Jessica Love and Carmen Zilles. This production plays 10 performances, January 29 - February 8.

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater's Artistic Director David Van Asselt and Managing Director Brian Long have announced that Ken Urban's The Correspondent, directed by Stephen Brackett will begin previews Wednesday, January 29, 2014, at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place, west of Seventh Avenue South, between West 11th and Perry Streets. The official opening night is set for Thursday, February 13, 2014. The Correspondent is scheduled to run through Sunday, March 16.

Ars Nova kicks off 2014 with Game Play, this year's incarnation of Ars Nova's annual Play Group production. Game Play, set to play 10 performances from January 29 - February 8, features original short plays and live music inspired by classic board game titles.

The Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Programs proudly presents Will Eno's deeply moving and poetic comedy, Middletown, directed by Heidi Handelsman (Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs '14). A meditation on birth and death, Middletown examines the mystery of existence through the everyday lives and relationships of ordinary people. Performances run today, December 6 through December 15 in the Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire Street, Providence.

PICT Theatre's final production of the season is the Pittsburgh premiere of Paul Giovanni's The Crucifer of Blood, a Sherlock Holmes adventure featuring characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Matt Torney directs. David Whalen returns to reprise the role of Sherlock Holmes since his 2011 turn as the master detective. Also returning from the 2011 production is Daryll Heysham as Inspector Lestrade. Justin R. G. Holcomb makes his PICT debut as Dr. Watson.

Manhattan Theatre Club presents the American premiere of Taking Care of Baby by Dennis Kelly and directed by Erica Schmidt. Joining previously announced cast members Reed Birney (Blasted, Our Leading Lady), Kristen Bush (Kin, The Common Pursuit), Tony nominee Amelia Campbell (A Streetcar Named Desire, Our Country's Good) and Margaret Colin (The Columnist, 'Gossip Girl'), are Francois Battiste (Magic/ Bird), Michael Crane (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson off-Broadway), Ethan Phillips (Golden Age) and Zach Shaffer ('Smash').

The Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA Programs proudly presents Will Eno's deeply moving and poetic comedy, Middletown, directed by Heidi Handelsman (Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs '14). A meditation on birth and death, Middletown examines the mystery of existence through the everyday lives and relationships of ordinary people. Performances run December 6 through December 15 in the Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire Street, Providence. General admission $12, and $6 for students and seniors. Tickets are on-sale now at the Trinity Rep box office, by phone (401) 351-4242, and online at www.trinityrep.com.

Ars Nova presents, as part of the Out Loud series, a FREE reading of LIQUIDATION PLAY by Sarah Burgess, directed by Mike Donahue. The cast includes Dylan Baker, Mike DiSalvo, Jessica Love and Ben Rappaport.

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at the CUNY Graduate Center has announced its Fall 2013 season of public programs. Following the 10th anniversary of the Center's wildly successful PRELUDE Festival (attended by over 2,500 audience members), the season continues with 14 free public programs throughout the Fall, featuring contemporary theatre and performing artists from around the world.

The Civilians, the award-winning New York-based theatre company, announces the members of its 2013-14 R & D Group. The group's emerging and established artists were selected from over one hundred applicants. The R & D Group is comprised of artists from multiple theatrical disciplines. Each artist or creative team will develop an original work over the season. The artists and projects were selected to represent a range of different strategies for making new work from creative inquiry and research. This diversity of approach helps feed a culture of innovation in the group, making the R & D Group an effective lab of experimentation for the field of investigative theater.

Manhattan Theatre Club has announced full casting for the American premiere of Taking Care of Baby by Dennis Kelly and directed by Erica Schmidt. Joining previously announced cast members Reed Birney (Blasted, Our Leading Lady), Kristen Bush (Kin, The Common Pursuit), Tony nominee Amelia Campbell (A Streetcar Named Desire, Our Country's Good) and Margaret Colin (The Columnist, 'Gossip Girl'), are Francois Battiste (Magic/ Bird), Michael Crane (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson off-Broadway), Ethan Phillips (Golden Age) and Zach Shaffer ('Smash').

This year, today, October 2 - 4, PRELUDE, the festival dedicated to artists at the forefront of contemporary New York City theater and performance, celebrates its 10th anniversary. As always, PRELUDE.13 is sure to draw overflow crowds to the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at the Graduate Center, CUNY, where an array of artists working in theatrical, interdisciplinary and mediatized performance will offer in-process presentations, open rehearsals, and discussions-all for free.

PRELUDE allows the public to experience work-in-progress presentations, open rehearsals and discussions by dozens of NYC's most exciting theater and performance artists -- for FREE -- including Taylor Mac, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Big Dance Theater, Big Art Group, Cesar Alvarez & Sarah Benson, Annie Baker, David Levine, Cynthia Hopkins, 600 HIGHWAYMEN, Jay Scheib & Co., Elastic City, PearlDamour, ANIMALS, Katherine Brook / Tele-Violet, Woodshed Collective, Daniel Fish, Andrew Ondrejcak, James Monaco & Jerome Ellis and more.