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Sponsored in part by 4Culture and Humanities Washington, Mirror Stage is thrilled to open its 10th Feed Your Mind season with Maple and Vine by Jordan Harrison on September 27 & 28, 2014 at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre in Seattle's University District. On the surface, Katha and Ryu seem to have all that a 21st century Manhattan couple could hope for, but after meeting a charismatic man, they turn back the clock to the 1950s. Forsaking cell phones and sushi for cigarettes and Tupperware parties, Katha and Ryu join a community reenacting life as it was lived in the good old Eisenhower days. In this compulsively authentic world, they are surprised by what their new neighbors-and they themselves-are willing to sacrifice for happiness.
Maple and Vine explores questions of Asian American identity, Feminism, LGBT issues, the definition of family, and the challenges of living in today's world. Actors Theatre of Louisville presented the World Premiere of Maple and Vine at the 2011 Humana Festival. Playwrights Horizons, Inc., New York City, produced the New York Premiere Off-Broadway in December 2011. Directed by Suzanne M. Cohen, Mirror Stage's Feed Your Mind presentation of Maple and Vine features Patrick Lennon (Roger/Omar), Jason Marr (Dean), Charity Parenzini (Katha), Tina Rowley (Ellen/Jenna), and Joseph Yang (Ryu).
Jordan Harrison's plays include The Grown-Up, Futura, Doris to Darlene, Act a Lady, Finn in the Underworld, Kid-Simple, The Museum Play, Standing on Ceremony, and Suprema, a musical written with Daniel Zaitchik. His work has been produced at American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Next Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, and Portland Center Stage, among others; five of Jordan's plays have premiered in the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville. His children's musical, The Flea and the Professor, won the 2011 Barrymore Award for Best Production. Maple and Vine and Act A Lady were nominated for GLAAD Media Awards for Best Production. Jordan is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Hodder Fellowship, the Kesselring Prize, a Theater Masters' Innovative Playwright Award, the Heideman Award, the Loewe Award for Musical Theater, Jerome and McKnight Fellowships from The Playwrights' Center and a NEA/TCG Playwright-in-Residence Grant. A graduate of Stanford University and the Brown MFA program, Jordan is an alumnus of New Dramatists. He currently writes for the Netflix original series Orange is the New Black, and his new play Marjorie Prime will premiere at the Mark Taper Forum in Fall 2014.
Mirror Stage's innovative Feed Your Mind series of staged readings examines topical issues from different perspectives. The plays are presented simply: no costumes or sets-just the actors and the text. Following every performance, a moderated discussion with the audience and artists further explores the issues raised in more depth.
The Ethnic Cultural Theatre is located at 3940 Brooklyn Ave NE in Seattle. Performances will be Saturday at 8:00pm and Sunday at 2:00pm. Admission is $10. Half-price tickets are available for Senior Citizens and students, and every performance has 10 Pay-What-You-Can rush tickets ($1 minimum) for purchase at the door. Free parking is available in University of Washington's lot W12, located at just south of the Ethnic Cultural Theater on Brooklyn Ave NE. For more information, please visit www.mirrorstage.org/mapleandvine.
