CONSTELLATIONS, NOTES OF A NATIVE SONG & More Set for Wilma Theater's 2016-17 Season

The Wilma Theater has announced a combination of produced and presented works that comprise the five productions of the upcoming 2016/17 Season. The Wilma will begin its produced season with Andrew Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling, directed by Artistic Director Blanka Zizka. When the Rain Stops Falling will be followed by Nick Payne's Constellations, directed by Tea Alagic and featuring Wilma HotHouse resident company members and married couple Sarah Gliko and Jered McLenigan. Next will be a world premiere production, to be announced in June 2016, which will feature the Wilma HotHouse company in addition to several international artists. In addition to these three plays, the Wilma will present two limited engagement productions: a co-presentation with FringeArts, Notes of a Native Song, by Stew and Heidi Rodewald (creators of the Tony Award-winning musical Passing Strange); and Seuls, written, directed and performed by Wajdi Mouawad.

NOTES OF A NATIVE SONG
By Stew and Heidi Rodewald
Co-Presented with FringeArts
September 5 - September 11, 2016

Inspired by the art of writer and activist James Baldwin, Stew and Heidi Rodewald (creators of the Tony Award-winning musical Passing Strange) explore Baldwin's legacy for today's artists with their song cycle Notes of a Native Song. This rollicking, off-the-cuff production uses music, video, and spoken word to capture the energy behind Baldwin as an artist who spoke out about uncomfortable truths. As Stew and his musically inventive band draw the audience in, the project confronts the more complicated aspects of Baldwin's legacy, even as it celebrates his lasting impact.

WHEN THE RAIN STOPS FALLING
By Andrew Bovell, Directed by Blanka Zizka
October 12 - November 6, 2016

A man stands beneath a black umbrella in the rain. People pass him by, carrying umbrellas like the man, their heads bent against the relentless weather and against their relentless lives. Until, in unison, they stop: the man opens his mouth and screams, and a woman falls to her knees in the street. A fish falls from the sky. With its web of intricately overlapping connections, When the Rain Stops Falling follows four generations of a family from 1959 to 2039, and from London to Australia, until the falling woman and screaming man connect across geography and time. A lyrical, theatrical meditation on the possibility for humanity in the face of a changing climate.

SEULS
Written, directed, and performed by Wajdi Mouawad
November 29 - December 11, 2016

This semi-autobiographical, tour de force performance comes from Lebanese-Canadian artist Wajdi Mouawad, whose play Scorched was a hit of the Wilma's 2008-2009 season. Seuls uses stunning imagery and physicality to tell the powerful story of a man who, as a child, moved to a new country from his home to escape civil war. As he loses himself in a new context and language, he soon realizes that his childhood emigration has begun to compromise his own sense of self-along with his capacity for happiness. Over the course of his performance, the character overcomes his self-doubt and finds release through color, sensation, and dream.

CONSTELLATIONS
By Nick Payne, Directed by Tea Alagic
Featuring HotHouse Artists Sarah Gliko and Jered McLenigan
January 11 - February 5, 2017

Marianne, a theoretical physicist, and Roland, a beekeeper, meet at a party. In that moment lies a lifetime of possibilities, with seemingly mundane choices that will catapult them into wholly different lives. Marianne and Roland are pushed together and split apart: maybe they get engaged to each other, or maybe they marry other people; maybe their love lasts forever, or maybe it's cut tragically short. As time and space bend around them, their story spans friendship and free will, love and multiverse theory-and honey.

A WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION
To be announced June 2016
Featuring the Wilma HotHouse resident acting company, with international artists
March 22 - April 16, 2017

Launching off of Wilma Artistic Director Blanka Zizka's recent receipt of the Vilcek Prize in Theatre-which recognizes immigrants who have made lasting artistic contributions to American society-this world premiere project examines the process of assimilation and adaptation. As it explores the feeling of being torn between two cultures, the play pairs humorous and absurd encounters with deeply felt, poignant moments. It also showcases artists from the recently launched Wilma HotHouse resident acting company, who have been developing the piece with its playwright during their weekly training sessions, alongside an exciting collection of international artists.

Special Events

Throughout the season, the Wilma will offer opportunities to attend special chats with members of the artistic team and onstage conversations on themes related to the season's plays. Audience members will be able to take advantage of networking and social events like Beer Tasting Night and Young Friends Night, among others.

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