The Rep Sets 2011-2012 Studio Theatre Season, Begins With CIRCLE MIRROR

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (The Rep) is proud to announce its 2011-2012 season of performances in the Studio Theatre, as well as the inauguration of a new American plays festival.

The Studio Theatre series opens in the Emerson Studio Theatre at the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, 130 Edgar Road (on the campus of Webster University), Webster Groves, on October 26, 2011 with Circle Mirror Transformation, a sharply funny new play by emerging playwright Annie Baker and directed by Rep veteran director Stuart Carden (In The Next Room or the vibrator play). Circle Mirror Transformation (October 26-November 13) follows five people through a summer of "creative drama" in their small town's adult acting class. At turns surprisingly funny and subtly insightful, this revealing play reminds us why theatre is the most human of all arts.

The Studio Theatre series continues with A Steady Rain (January 18-February 5) by Keith Huff and directed by The Rep's artistic director Steven Woolf (You Can't Take It With You). When they responded to a routine call, two Chicago cops never imagined that their lives would soon be changed forever. In this harrowing story of guilt, fear and corruption their friendship is put to the ultimate test in the face of unthinkable adversity.

Closing the Studio Theatre series is the world premiere of The Invisible Hand (March 7-25) by Ayad Akhtar and directed by The Rep's associate artistic director Seth Gordon (The Fall of Heaven). When a highly successful player at a major investment bank is kidnapped by an Islamic militant group and finds that no one is negotiating for his release, he is forced to take matters into his own hands. This new play by first generation American Ayad Akhtar is a cautionary tale and a chilling examination of how far we will go to survive.

The world premiere of The Invisible Hand will kick off The Rep's first new play festival in March. The festival will also consist of two commissions of nationally recognized playwrights and readings of plays being seriously considered for production during the 2012-13 season.

The purpose of the festival is to produce new plays to premiere at The Rep, thereby increasing both the audience's appreciation of new American plays, as well as the visibility and stature for The Rep in the national community. Locally, it gives St. Louis audiences exposure to new works, as well as the opportunity to experience the creative process.

The Rep is engaging the public to help name the new play festival through an online contest. Submissions can be made at http://www.repstl.org/contest. All entries are due by midnight on Friday, July 15.

Funding for The Rep's new play festival has been provided by an anonymous donor, the Whitaker Foundation, Ann and Hugh Scott, the Gertrude and William A. Bernoudy Foundation and the Alice Judge and Marshall G. Cochran Fund, a component fund of the Greater St. Louis Community Foundation.

The festival productions will take place in the Sally S. Levy Opera Center, located across from the Loretto-Hilton Center, and tickets will be $10. More information on the festival will be available online soon at http://www.repstl.org.

The Rep's 2011-2012 season subscription packages are available for the Mainstage and Studio Theatre series. Subscribers can save substantially over the cost of purchasing individual tickets to shows and enjoy exclusive benefits by purchasing season tickets at The Rep Box Office (located inside the Loretto-Hilton Center) or by calling (314) 968-4925.

Subscription packages range in price from $84-$411 for six Mainstage shows and $90-$139 for three Studio Theatre shows. Additional discounts are also available for Mainstage packages for senior citizens (65 and older) and full-time students. Subscription benefits include free parking at the Loretto-Hilton Center, special discounts and advance ordering opportunities, informative subscriber newsletters from Artistic Director Steven Woolf, free ticket "insurance" and free, unlimited ticket exchanges within the same production run, providing the ultimate in schedule flexibility.

A single ticket online pre-sale for the Mainstage production of Red will begin August 13. All single tickets for Mainstage (starting at $16) and Talk Theatre ($12 per lecture) will go on sale August 19. Studio Theatre single tickets (starting at $37.50) and Imaginary Theatre Company (ITC) tickets (just $6) go on sale September 30.

For more information about The Rep's 2011-2012 season, including complete play descriptions and a list of audience enrichment and accessibility options, please visit The Rep's website at http://www.repstl.org. To request a free season brochure or to charge subscriptions with MasterCard, Visa or American Express, call the Box Office at (314) 968-4925.