A Contemporary Theatre Announces Spetember Events And Classes

This September, ACT - A Contemporary Theatre brings power, passion, and politics to the Mainstage in Peter Oswald's astonishingly relevant and thrilling adaption of Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller, while The Central Heating Lab welcomes Collektor with Sam Shepard's haunting and timeless drama A Lie of the Mind and the return of Short Stories Live at Town Hall. New at ACT is the Afterschool Young Playwrights Program, expanding the acclaimed in-school Young Playwrights Program to serve students in an afterschool environment right here at ACT. ACT also introduces the new Adult Playwrights Program, a comprehensive playwriting class for adults. Concluding September is ACT's annual fundraising extravaganza, ACT in! The 2011 Gala & Benefit, featuring live music, gifted performers, must-have auction items and more, with proceeds supporting ACT's artistic and educational programming.

Collektor: A Lie of the Mind by Sam Shepard
A Central Heating Lab Event
September 8 - October 1
Tickets: $25 (adults) $10/$15 (students/people 25 & under) or included with the ACTPass Collektor presents Sam Shepard's haunting and timeless drama of two divided families in the American West. Underscored by live music and performed by a cast of acclaimed Seattle actors, A Lie of the Mind is a darkly humorous, increasingly frenetic examination of generations torn apart by a marriage and brought together by an unspeakable act of violence. Cast: Sally Brady, Aimée Bruneau, Tim Gouran, Macall Gordon, Joe Ivy, Eric Riedmann, Ray Tagavilla and Maggie Tatone with live music by Sean Patrick Taylor. Members of the press are invited to the opening weekend September 8, 9 and 10. Please contact Jennessa West for press tickets: Jennessawest@gmail.com.

Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller
In a new version by Peter Oswald
Directed by Victor Pappas
A Mainstage Play
September 9 - October 9
Tickets: start at $37.50 (adults) $15/$20 (students/people 25 & under) or included with the ACTPass
Astonishingly relevant today, Mary Stuart probes power, passion and politics as it dramatizes the struggle of Mary, Queen of Scots, for her freedom from Queen Elizabeth I. Amidst espionage, attempted assassinations, and prison breaks, a tragic crisis confronts both women with impossibly difficult decisions. Will Mary renounce her claim to the crown? Can Elizabeth Free Mary without jeopardizing her throne? It's a thrilling episode from the past that strikes at the core of our contemporary selves.

Short Stories Live at Town Hall: The Jewish Imagination, Part 2
September 11, October 30, December 18
Tickets: Advance tickets, $13/$10 Town Hall Members, seniors & students; $15/$13 at the door or included with the ACTPass; online at brownpapertickets.com.
Think of it as NPR's Selected Shorts, Seattle style: ACT Artistic Director Kurt Beattie selects compelling short stories based on a common theme; then local actors bring the stories to life during readings at Town Hall. Picking up from where last year left off, September will focus on more short stories capturing the Jewish imagination. Readings include the part-fable, part-fantasy "The Angel Levine," which explores Bernard Malamud's signature theme of brotherhood (cast: David Silverman and Anthony Fuller); "Getzel the Monkey," by the prolific Polish writer Isaac Bashevis Singer, whose recurring theme is the rocky and often unsuccessful transition from old to new (cast: Julie Briskman; and "For the Relief of Unbearable Urges" by Nathan Englander, selected as one of "20 Writers for the 21st Century" by The New Yorker (cast: Chris Ensweiler). Directed by Christine Sumption. Presented by Town Hall with ACT -A Contemporary Theatre. Series supported by the Thurston Charitable Foundation.
ACT's Adult Playwrights Program
Intermediate Playwriting
Taught by Stephanie Timm
Classes: September 18 - October 30, 10:00 a.m. to 12:30pm
Final showcase: Friday, November 4, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Introduction to Playwriting
Taught by Kristina Sutherland and Emily Conbere
Classes: September 18-November 6, 10:00 a.m. to 12:30pm
Final showcase: Friday, November 11, 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Early Registration: $350 - If $75 deposit is received by September 2nd*
Regular Registration: $400 - If $75 deposit is received after September 2nd*
ACTPass Monthly Members: $325*
ACT's Education Department is now offering playwriting classes for adults: Intermediate Playwriting and Introduction to Playwriting. All profit will help fund the fall 2011 Young Playwrights Program, providing much needed assistance to at least one low-income Puget Sound school that could not otherwise afford the program.

Afterschool Young Playwrights Program at ACT
September 20 - December 6
Tickets: FREE
Seattle students age 14-18: spend 10 weeks learning the art of playwriting in the Young Playwrights Program! Students will learn how to get their creative juices flowing and transform stories, experiences, and opinions to words on a page. The class will end with a showcase of student work on December 6, and their plays will have a chance to be produced as a staged reading in ACT's 2012 Young Playwrights Festival!

ACT in! ACT's 2011 Gala & Benefit
September 26
Tickets: $200 (full gala); $25 (Central Heating Lab event only)
ACT's annual Gala & Benefit returns for a building-wide party at ACT, featuring live music, must-have auction items, dancing on the stage, and performances on every level of ACT with some of Seattle's most talented performers! For the BIG Gala event, audience will enjoy a Far East themed evening by entering the world of the Ramayana - the epic story of Rama, Sita and the Demon King - as ACT celebrates the upcoming 2012 season (to be announced Aug. 24) with an event designed to transport guests into another dimension. Span thousands of years in a single evening as three floors of entertainment showcase some of Seattle's hottest actors and performance groups such as Pratidhwani and Chaama Chaama dance companies, along with henna artists, scenes from Ramayana and the exotic sounds of the tabla and sarodh. Then soar forward in time with a variety of sneak preview performances from the coming 2012 season with emcee and auctioneer David Silverman. Finish the night in a swirl of music and color as DJ Anshul helps you free your inner Bollywood dancer with an after party in the fully transformed Bullitt Cabaret. Enjoy a delectable dinner, specialty cocktails and an open bar provided by Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes. All proceeds raised support ACT's artistic and educational programming. To benefit the Central Heating Lab at ACT, another party will take place simultaneously, starting with DJ Anshul in a pre-funk Bollywood-themed dance party with free wine and beer, followed by a titillating Best of Seattle Confidential with host Ian Bell. Later, attendees will be whisked away to join ACT in! Gala attendees for the main event: a lively live auction, raucous raise-the-paddle, and pleasing performances by Pratidhwani dance company, Pinter Fortnightly, and much more!

Launched in 2008, The Central Heating Lab at ACT serves as an incubator and catalyst for new works. ACT cultivates, produces, and presents artists working in all performance genres and provides an artistic home for a variety of local performance groups and artists. Relationships develop daily with individual actors, performers and playwrights while established partnerships with groups such as the Contemporary Classics, 14/48, RAWSTOCK, Seattle Dance Project, and Icicle Creek Theatre Festival deepen. New programs are added throughout the year.
With year-round programming produced by The Central Heating Lab at ACT alongside ACT's Mainstage plays, ACT offers its patrons a unique opportunity to maximize their theatre experience - the ACTPass: all you can see for only $25 per month ($20 for age 30 and under)! ACTPass Members can attend any ACT produced performance throughout any given month, provided tickets are available. It is the new, more flexible, more affordable way to see more performances for one low price, and is the first of its kind in the region. ACTPass members may cancel at any time, and there is no limit to the number of times a card holder can attend. For the month of September, that means an ACTPass member can see all our shows, if they so choose, for only $25 vs. paying the single ticket price of at least $77.50 (if buyer would choose to see all offerings).
For more information about September programming, the ACTPass, or to arrange interviews, please contact Jennifer Rice at (206) 285-5175 or rice1234@yahoo.com.
September 2011 Summary:
Collektor: A Lie of the Mind by Sam Shepard
A Central Heating Lab Event
September 8 - October 1
Tickets: $25 (adults) $10/$15 (students/people 25 & under) or included with the ACTPass

Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller
Adapted by Peter Oswald
Directed by Victor Pappas
A Mainstage Play
September 9 - October 9
Tickets: start at $37.50 (adults) $15/$20 (students/people 25 & under) or included with the ACTPass

Short Stories Live at Town Hall: The Jewish Imagination, Part 2
September 11, October 30, December 18
Tickets: Advance tickets, $13/$10 Town Hall Members, seniors & students; $15/$13 at the door or included with the ACTPass; online at brownpapertickets.com.

ACT's Adult Playwrights Program
Classes: September 18 - November 6, 10am to 12:30pm
Early Registration: $350 - If $75 deposit is received by September 2nd*
Regular Registration: $400 - If $75 deposit is received after September 2nd*
ACTPass Monthly Members: $325*

Afterschool Young Playwrights Program at ACT
September 20 - December 6
Tickets: FREE

ACT in! ACT's 2011 Gala & Benefit
September 26
Tickets: $200 (full gala); $25 (Central Heating Lab event only)

ACT Theatre
Ticket Office: (206) 292-7676
Group Sales (12 or more): (253) 839-4204
700 Union Street, Seattle WA 98101
www.acttheatre.org

About ACT: A Theatre of New Ideas - Raising Consciousness Through Theatre
Located in the heart of downtown Seattle and serving a population of curious, open-minded, and brave audiences, ACT - A Contemporary Theatre is the only theatre in Seattle dedicated to producing contemporary work with promising playwrights and local performing artists since 1965. A theatre of new ideas, ACT serves as a cultural engine that makes plays, dance, music, and film that touch us through its annual Mainstage play series and new works generated from the Young Playwrights Program, The Hansberry Project, the Central Heating Lab, and New Works for the American Stage commissioning program. Because contemporary life demands examination, ACT is driven to inspire and strengthen our diverse community through works that advance our understanding of human life. With more than 100,000 people who attend shows annually, ACT is an interactive community where artists and the public witness, contemplate, and engage in dialogue on today's thought-provoking issues, ideas and art, presented with intelligence, insight, and humor.