FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training to Open Dog Days Theatre Next Summer

FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training is pleased to present the inaugural season of Dog Days Theatre for summer 2017, a new theater project offering smart, contemporary works just light enough for the dog days of summer.

Each July and August two plays will be mounted in the Cook Theatre using professional actors, directors and designers from the community and around the country along with the talents of the Conservatory's graduate students.

The season opens July 12, 2017 at 7:30pm with Tony Award and Laurence Olivier Award-winning playwright Alan Ayckbourn's British comedy RELATIVELY SPEAKING, which runs through July 30. It is followed by David Pichette and R. Hamilton Wright's stage adaptation of James M. Cain's DOUBLE INDEMNITY, the crime novel which inspired the groundbreaking film noir of the same name. DOUBLE INDEMNITY opens August 9 at 7:30pm and runs through August 27.

"Dog Days Theatre promises an inaugural season of unmissable theatre," said Greg Leaming, Director of the FSU/Asolo Conservatory. "It was founded to engage artists and audiences in an edgy and exciting alternative to the reduced theatre offerings in this culturally rich community during the summer months. It is also a perfect way to expand the footprint of the Conservatory in Sarasota and provide even more opportunities for our students to demonstrate their talents. All in all, the season will offer high quality, professionally-produced theatre that is artistically and emotionally compelling, yet light enough to make it the perfect summer outing."

Ayckbourn's first big London hit in 1967, RELATIVELY SPEAKING tells the comical tale of Greg and Ginny, a young couple who have only known each other for a month but are already talking marriage. When Ginny heads off to visit her parents, Greg decides to drop in by surprise to ask her father for his daughter's hand. He discovers a scribbled address and arrives at the home of Philip and Sheila Enjoying a peaceful Sunday morning breakfast in the garden. Turns out that Ginny has gone to visit her ex and Philp and Sheila are not Ginny's parents. Hilarious imbroglio ensues. The result is a beautifully crafted milestone of British theatre and an evening of pure enjoyment.

A guy. A dame. A scam. A corpse. They're the standard ingredients of the classic noir films of the 30s and 40s, and DOUBLE INDEMNITY's steamy tale of love and murder is the undisputed masterpiece. Insurance agent Walter Huff has nosed around the business long enough to smell a scam, so when he meets Phyllis Nirdlinger to talk about her husband's insurance coverage, he gets a perfumed whiff of trouble he can't resist.

Single tickets for Dog Days Theatre's summer season are $28 and two-play packages can be purchased for just $45. Two-play packages are on sale now; single tickets will be available for donors and subscribers starting September 8 and will go on sale to the public online on October 1 and at the box office and by phone on October 3. Tickets are available by calling 941.351.8000, visiting www.asolorep.org, or visiting the Asolo Repertory Theatre Box Office, located at 5555 North Tamiami Trail in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts. Summer box office hours are Monday-Friday 10am-5pm.

The FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training is a celebrated three-year graduate program culminating in a master of fine arts degree. For more than 40 years, tens of thousands of actors from across the continent have auditioned for admission. A maximum of 12 students are admitted each year. In their second year, the students perform in the Cook Theatre, a 161-seat space designed to create an intimate experience for the audience and actors. Third-year students are seen on the Mertz Stage working with the Asolo Rep's professional actors in exciting and significant roles.

For more information, visit www.asolorep.org/conservatory/welcome.

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