NCTC Opens The Sexually Intimate Contemporary Play ORANGE FLOWER WATER 6/24

By: Jun. 02, 2009
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Seattle's newest professional theatre, New Century Theatre Company (NCTC) is serious in their commitment to produce fearless, honest, relevant plays that stir the imagination. Their second production, Orange Flower Water, presented at ACT in association with the Central Heating Lab, runs June 24- July 20, 2009 -and it's not for the meek.

Presenting a follow-up to their wildly successful debut production of The Adding Machine is no small feat. And the 11 members of NCTC debated long and hard before choosing the Seattle premiere of Craig Wright's brutally honest drama about marriage and infidelity. NCTC Co-Artistic Director Paul Stetler explains the moment when everything came together: "We were determined to do something completely different for our second production. Something contemporary, intimate, character-driven and without ‘spectacle'. We read dozens of plays before reading Orange Flower Water and it quickly became our first choice. It's a fiercely adult piece of theater that will speak to a Seattle audience that's hungry for more mature, thought-provoking work." Hans Altwies, NCTC's other Co-Artistic Director (who will be playing the role of David in Orange Flower Water) continued: "This is a very intimate play and we needed a warm, informal playing space to perform it. We want our audience to feel complicit in the action, not removed from it. When ACT Theatre offered us their Bullitt Cabaret Space, we knew then that all the pieces had fallen into place. And, of course, we're thrilled to be working at ACT again."

Much like accidental eavesdroppers in a small suburban community who just can't help themselves, audiences will discover they're unable to look away. An emotionally entrancing, sexy and gut-wrenching contemporary play, Orange Flower Water contains sexually intimate scenes and addresses mature themes head on. (It is suggested that no one under 18 attend without a parent or guardian.)

A complex and intimate story about marriage and family, Orange Flower Water explores the painfully intense and, at times, darkly humorous, unraveling of two marriages through a series of scenes set in or around a single bed. As relationships become fractured and painful endings are a near certainty, a fragile - yet hopeful - new beginning takes root.
Craig Wright is a major contemporary playwright and NCTC is thrilled to introduce him to Seattle audiences for the first time. Best known as the Emmy Award-nominated writer for the acclaimed series Six Feet Under, Mr. Wright's drama The Pavilion was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and his other plays - including Recent Tragic Events, Main Street, Grace, Molly's Delicious and Melissa Arctic - have been produced all over the country. Mr. Wright has also written for TV's Lost, Brothers & Sisters, and Dirty Sexy Money.

Orange Flower Water will be directed by Allison Narver (former Artistic Director of Empty Space Theatre and recent Director of Euryidice at ACT Theatre and Seven Brides For Seven Brothers at 5th Avenue Theatre). The cast features the acting talents of NCTC company members Hans Altwies (The Seafarer and The Three Musketeers at Seattle Rep) and Jennifer Lee Taylor (Daisy in NCTC's The Adding Machine) as David and Cathy Calhoun; and Ray Gonzalez (Waxwings at Book-It Repertory Theatre and Twelfth Night at Seattle Shakespeare Company) and Betsy Schwartz (All The King's Men at Intiman) as Brad and Beth Youngquist.
The all-Seattle based creative team includes: Lighting designer Geoff Korf and sound designer Rob Witmer (both returning from The Adding Machine), set and props designer Matthew Smucker, and costume designer Melanie Burgess. The Stage Manager is Michael Paul. Company members Michael Patten and Peter Dylan O'Connor are on board once again as the production manager and technical director, respectively. Katie Hansen returns, as well, as Charge Painter.
It is expected that Orange Flower Water's $48,000 budget will be fully funded by a combination of profits from The Adding Machine, and individual donations from friends, family and the Seattle theater community. As of June 1, 2009 NCTC is almost halfway to their budget goal.
Orange Flower Water will be produced under a Letter of Agreement with the Actor's Equity Association. It is presented in association with ACT's Central Heating Lab and their generous rental agreement that includes ticketing and marketing services in addition to rehearsal and performance space. Tickets are $25 ($20 for patrons under 25, with a valid ID) and are available at the ACT Ticket Office, 700 Union Street, downtown Seattle, (206) 292-7676 or online at www.acttheatre.org.

About New Century Theatre Company

NCTC was founded in 2008 by 11 well-respected Seattle theater artists - Hans Altwies, Paul Morgan Stetler, Amy Thone, Michael Patten, Stephanie Timm, Ray Gonzalez, Jennifer Lee Taylor, MJ Sieber, Darragh Kennan, Betsy Schwartz, and Peter Dylan O'Connor - who share a deep desire to help reinvigorate Seattle's national reputation as a vibrant force of cutting-edge, ambitious, relevant theater. Together they vow to provide Seattle a fearless ensemble of local artists whose vast experience and developed sense of chemistry provides a cohesive, dynamic, consistent theater-going experience that they believe audiences long for.
NCTC is devoted to producing timely, vital stories that will help re-connect Seattle audiences to the transcendent power of live performance. NCTC believes that "story is king" and is committed to plays that are fearless, heightened, sincere, dangerous, crass, erotic, ugly, and full of hope. NCTC shows are produced with a visceral simplicity that will stir imagination to new heights and will NOT do your thinking for you. Their focus is on pertinent works of the 20th Century; under-produced contemporary masterpieces; and annual world premieres from some of our country's most talented up and coming writers.

For more information about the New Century Theatre Company, please visit: www.newcenturytheatrecompany.org

 



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