NYC Playwright Liz Duffy Adams Offers First Look at New Play

The Bridge Initiative and Southwest Shakespeare Company are teaming up to present a world premiere free reading of Asterionby Liz Duffy Adams on Monday, September 5th, 2016, at 7:00 p.m., at SSC's rehearsal space, 55 E. Main Street, Mesa, AZ, 85301. The play finds Asterion, the half-bull Minotaur of Greek legend, trapped in the labyrinth his sister Ariadne designed, alone except for the ghosts of the young sacrifices he has devoured. Now Ariadne and her borrowed hero, Theseus, are coming to kill him - unless he kills them instead.

Adams will be in Phoenix for the opening weekend of SSC's production of her play Or, and she will be working with the cast and director William Partlan on the Asterion reading. The opportunity to witness an established playwright in process is rare in Arizona and offers a unique artistic experience. Adams' resume includes an MFA from Yale and guest lecturer stint at Harvard in addition to productions of her work from Off-Broadway to Portland Center Stage and the Humana Festival.

Currently employed at ASU, Partlan's passion is new play development. He most recently directed the staged reading of Angelica Howland's Forward at Phoenix Theatre, and his background includes many years at the O'Neill Center's National Playwright's Conference as well as shepherding new work off-Broadway and across the country.

The Bridge Initiative: Women in Theatre aims to incubate and celebrate female theatre artists, bridging the divide between academia and the professional world, with an emphasis on developing new work by female writers and presenting Southwestern premieres. Their efforts have been celebrated by Arizona Commission on the Arts as well as local and national media outlets.