NextStop Theatre Announces DARK NIGHT SERIES Schedule

NextStop Theatre Company's summer season of one night only events will begin on June 25. It will include a series of cabarets, produced by NextStop Theatre and curated by recording artist Jim Van Slyke, as well as the Dark Nights Series of 18 performances by local artists chosen through a competitive application process earlier this spring.

"I am so excited to working with Jim Van Slyke on our third annual summer cabaret series," said NextStop's Producing Artistic Director, Evan Hoffmann. "Over the past few years we have seen that there is a strong desire in our community for opportunities to enjoy great music in a intimate and casual setting. This summer we will once again bring a wonderful and eclectic mixture of phenomenal artists to our community's backyard."

The Summer Cabaret Series highlights established artists performing salutes in song to a variety of genres and beloved artists. Jim Van Slyke, award-winning songwriter and recording artist, kicks off the series with the 10th Anniversary concert of his debut album, Open Road, on June 25. Returning from last summer's Cabaret Series is America's Composers (this year featuring Jen Lambert, Ariana Kruszewski, and Ryan Burke), Broadway Babies featuring local musical theatre students, and Keri Staley (of last year's Beautiful Music). Sheri Owen and Shaina Murphy (NextStop's Kiss Me Kate and City of Angels) round out the Cabaret Series' individual performers. A listing of all events in the cabaret series can be found at www.nextstoptheatre.org/summer-events/summer-cabaret-series

This summer marks the inauguration of a new series of one night only events featuring various genres of performance, produced by local artists and arts groups. The finalists have been chosen for the Summer Dark Nights Series at NextStop following a competitive application process. Over three dozen applications were submitted, with a total of 18 events chosen. From mentalists to modern dance, new play readings to Latin culture, the Dark Nights Series offers events of various performing arts genres by local artists and arts groups in our community. Some groups involved include Pinky Swear Productions, Live Action Theatre, The Quest Singers, Naked Theatre Company, Convergence Theatre, StageCoach Theatre Company, Teatro de la Séptima Generación & Grupo Maya Cultural de Centreville, and CrossRoads Dance Project. A listing of all events in the Dark Nights Series can be found at http://www.nextstoptheatre.org/summer-events/dark-nights-performances/.

"When we first came up with the idea for the Dark Nights series, we thought we would be lucky to find a small handful of groups that might be interested in working with us," Hoffmann said. "We were stunned when more than three dozen groups reach out to us and then totally blown away by the exciting, vibrant, and remarkably eclectic mixture of performance ideas that they brought us."

Calendar of Confirmed Events:

Date	Event	Genre
Saturday, June 25 8pm	Open Road 10th Anniversary Concert Featuring Jim Van Slyke	Cabaret
Saturday, July 2 8pm	America's Composers Featuring Jen Lambert, Ariana Kruszewski, and Ryan Burke	Cabaret
Friday, July 8 8pm	Guerilla Theatre Works: At What Cost? Produced by Convergence Theatre	Devised Theatre
Saturday, July 9 8pm	Derek Jasper, Mentalist	Magic
Saturday, July 16 8pm	Keri Staley	Cabaret
Sunday, July 17 7pm	Over Her Dead Body Produced by Pinky Swear Productions	Bluegrass
Friday, July 22 8pm	Accidental Red Band	Jazz Concert
Saturday, July 23 8pm	No One Knows Who I Am Featuring Sheri Owen	Cabaret
Monday, July 25 8pm	A Shot in the Dark by Sean J Phillips Judgement Call by Vivian Allvin	New Play Readings
Thursday, July 28 8pm	An Evening With The Quest Singers	A Cappella Music
Friday, July 29 8pm	A Tapestry of Dance Produced by CrossRoads Dance Project	Dance
Saturday, July 30 8pm	The Many Faces of Love Featuring Shaina Murphy	Cabaret
Sunday, July 31 7pm	Teatro Indigena en el Asilo (Native Theatre in Asylum) Produced by Teatro de la Séptima Generación & Grupo Maya Cultural de Centreville	Bilingual Theatre
Saturday, August 6 8pm	Broadway Babies	Cabaret
Sunday, August 7 7pm	The Beggar or the Dead Dog by Bertolt Brecht Produced by Nathan Alston and Jamar Jones ClickB@it Produced by Naked Theatre Company	Theatre Experiments
Monday, August 8 8pm	Fish in a Barrel by Matthew Scarborough	New Musical Reading
Friday, August 12 8pm	Scared to Death Produced by StageCoach Theatre Company	Interactive Murder Mystery
Monday, August 15 8pm	Still Alive Music & Lyrics by Jonathan Coulton and Libretto/Additional Lyrics by Ricky Drummond	New Musical Reading
Friday, August 19 8pm	Fightsterpiece Theatre Produced by Live Action Theatre	Staged Combat