Capital Stage to Present Thomas Gibbons' UNCANNY VALLEY

As part of the National New Play Network's Rolling World Premiere, Capital Stage will bring its 10th anniversary season to a close with UNCANNY VALLEY by Thomas Gibbons. Called "Deeply absorbing," and "Cerebrally challenging" by The Washington Post, the production features Capital Stage veteran Michael Wiles (THE REAL THING, HEDDA GABLER, SOMEONE WHO'LL WATCH OVER ME, MASTER CLASS, FAT PIG) and CapStage newcomer Jessica Powell. UNCANNY VALLEY will be directed by Producing Artistic Director Jonathan Williams (TRIBES, THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY, DYING CITY). UNCANNY VALLEY will run from June 17 through July 19, with a Press Opening on Saturday June 20, 2015.

THE PLAY Drawing on current research in artificial intelligence, robotics, and the possibility of "downloading" human consciousness as a means of extending the human lifespan, UNCANNY VALLEY charts the relationship between Claire, a neuroscientist, and Julian, a non-biological human. Thomas Gibbons' new play explores the painful divide between creator and creation, the inherent unpredictability of consciousness, and how we are redefining what it means to be human in the 21st century.

Thomas Gibbons is playwright-in-residence at InterAct Theatre in Philadelphia, which has produced eight of his plays: PRETENDING TO AMERICA, 6221, AXIS SALLY, BLACK RUSSIAN, BEE-LUTHER-HATCHEE, PERMANENT COLLECTION, A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS, and SILVERHILL. His plays have been seen at the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center, off-off-Broadway at Blue Heron Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Actors Express, Florida Stage, Unicorn Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Arizona Theatre Company, Center Stage, New Repertory Theatre, Aurora Theatre, Roundhouse Theatre and many others. He is the recipient of seven playwriting fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a Roger L. Stevens Award from the Fund for New American Plays, a Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwriting Award, an NAACP Theatre Award, two Barrymore Awards for outstanding new play, and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. PERMANENT COLLECTION was the pilot selection of the National New Play Network's Continued Life of New Plays Fund, and A HOUSE WITH NO WALLS was a subsequent selection. THE NATIONAL NEW PLAY NETWORK

The National New Play Network (NNPN) is the country's alliance of nonprofit theaters that champions the development, production, and continued life of new plays. We strive to pioneer, implement, and disseminate ideas and programs that revolutionize the way theaters collaborate to support new plays and playwrights. Since its founding in 1998, the National New Play Network has supported nearly 150 productions nationwide through its innovative Continued Life of New Plays Fund, which creates NNPN Rolling World Premieres of new plays; granted more than a million dollars to its Member theaters, their staffs and affiliated artists; and provided hundreds of playwrights and other theater-makers with developmental workshops, commissions, and paid residencies. Now, after seventeen seasons, hundreds of thousands of audience members around the world have seen plays that were created and honed with support from NNPN.

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