Cutting Ball Theater Hosts Readings Of MISS JULIE And A DREAM PLAY 1/29

Cutting Ball Theater begins the 2012 celebration of August Strindberg's centennial with a Hidden Classics presentation of "Two Radical Visions of Theater," staged readings of two plays that encapsulate Strindberg's two major contributions to drama: realism and expressionism.

In MISS JULIE, Strindberg examines class tensions through a sexual encounter between an unmarried young lady and her father's valet. In A DREAM PLAY, Indra's daughter comes down to earth to better understand the plight of man. Through this surreal journey, she meets an officer, a lawyer, and a poet. Strindberg structured this play using a dream logic that was later adopted by Expressionist playwrights. Cutting Ball Artistic Director Rob Melrose helms MISS JULIE, featuring Aldo Billingslea, Danielle O'Hare, and Cathleen Ridley; Robert Estes directs A DREAM PLAY features Ponder Goddard, along with Kirsten Broadbear, Leticia Duarte, Bennett Fisher, Sam Gibbs, Wylie Herman, Maria Leigh, and Garth Petal.

There will be a traditional Swedish dinner served between the two readings, as well as a discussion of these two vastly different visions of theater. Proceeds from the Swedish dinner will benefit Cutting Ball's season celebrating the Strindberg Centennial; those who purchase tickets for the dinner will have priority seating for the staged readings of MISS JULIE and A DREAM PLAY.

This season, Cutting Ball's Hidden Classics Reading Series explores and celebrates the works of, and inspired by, August Strindberg. The series offers a profound look at one of the greatest authors ever to write for the stage in a program that continues to be one of San Francisco's best-kept secrets.

The company will produce all five of Strindberg's Chamber Plays, in new translations by Paul Walsh, in a festival entitled Strindberg Cycle: The Chamber Plays in Rep in fall of 2012, the first time all five of Strindberg's Chamber Plays will be performed together in repertory in any language.

Co-founded in 1999 by theater artists Rob Melrose and Paige Rogers, Cutting Ball Theater presents avant-garde works of the past, present, and future by re-envisioning classics, exploring seminal avant-garde texts, and developing new experimental plays. Cutting Ball Theater has partnered with Playwrights Foundation, and the Magic Theatre/Z Space New Plays Initiative to commission new experimental works. The company has produced a number of World Premieres, West Coast Premieres, and re-imagined various classics. 

WHEN: Sunday, January 29, 3pm

WHERE: The Cutting Ball Theater in Residence at EXIT on Taylor, 277 Taylor St., San Francisco

TICKETS: Readings free and open to the public; $75 for readings with priority seating plus traditional Swedish dinner. For more information, visit cuttingball.com or call (415) 419-3584