Photo Flash: Pre-Production Shots for Aurora Theatre Company's GIDION'S KNOT, Begin. 1/31

Aurora Theatre Company continues its 22nd season with the Bay Area Premiere of Johnna Adams'' incendiary new play GIDION''S KNOT. Jon Tracy (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity) returns to Aurora Theatre Company to helm GIDION''S KNOT, featuring Jamie Jones (Edward Albee''s A Delicate Balance) and Stacy Ross (Wilder Times). GIDION''S KNOT plays January 31 through March 2 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($32-60) and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org. For mature audiences. Check out pre-production photos below!

In GIDION''S KNOT, a parent/teacher conference begins with a concerned mother wanting answers as to why her son was suspended from his 5th grade class. Was he a bully? A victim? A protector? Their discussion develops into a dramatically charged, volatile exploration of personal responsibility, freedom of expression, the failure of our school system, bullying, and blame. Called "heart-stopping" by Washingtonian Magazine, and "a well-crafted and powerful experience...confrontational and thought-provoking" by the LA Weekly, this provocative exploration of culpability received its World Premiere in 2012 at The Contemporary American Theater Festival. Published in its entirety in American Theatre Magazine, and a finalist for the 2012 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, GIDION''S KNOT raises profound questions about parenting, maternal loyalty, and who is ultimately responsible for the actions of our children.

GIDION''S KNOT will be the fully-staged anchor production in this season''s Global Age Project (GAP), an Aurora Theatre Company initiative that encourages playwrights and directors to explore life in the 21st century and beyond. This year''s GAP prize winners include: #therevolution by Kristoffer Diaz; Technicolor Life by Jami Brandli; Sagittarius Ponderosa by MJ Kaufman; and Welcome Home by Stephen Brown. The selected GAP plays will be presented as staged readings in a four-week festival at the Aurora Theatre, Mondays, February 10-March 3, 7:30pm. All GAP readings are free and open to the public.

Photos: David Allen