Threaded Order Chronological Order
| Primary Stages Announces Virtual Fall Season | |
| Last Edit: Official_Press_Release 12:33 pm EDT 09/02/20 | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 12:33 pm EDT 09/02/20 | |
|
|
|
| PRIMARY STAGES ANNOUNCES VIRTUAL FALL SEASON FOUNDATION SERIES VIRTUAL READINGS THE TRIBUTE ARTIST WRITTEN BY AND STARRING OUTER CRITICS CIRCLE AND DRAMA DESK AWARD WINNER CHARLES BUSCH DIRECTED BY CARL ANDRESS SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 4, 2020 THE NIGHT WATCHER WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY OBIE AWARD WINNER AND TONY AWARD NOMINEE CHARLAYNE WOODARD FALL 2020 LIVING ROOM COMMISSIONS FROM: INDA CRAIG-GALVÁN, KATE HAMILL, CHESNEY SNOW AND SUSAN SOON HE STANTON PLUS SPECIAL EVENTS 2020 VIRTUAL GALA WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 21, 2020 A BENEFIT READING OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL ADAPTED & DIRECTED BYTHERESA REBECK AND A CONTINUATION OF PRIMARY PLUS- FREE VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT PRIMARYSTAGES.ORG (New York - September 2, 2020) PRIMARY STAGES (Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Shane D. Hudson, Executive Director; Casey Childs, Founder) is excited to announce its Fall 2020 Virtual Season. The Foundation Series will revisit the work of some of Primary Stages' family of artists, including The Tribute Artist by Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award winner Charles Busch (The Confession of Lily Dare) and The Night Watcher by Obie Award winner and Tony Award nominee Charlayne Woodard (In Real Life). The Living Room Commissions will give resources to artists who are reimagining the art form to create new work in this time of evolution. They include Inda Craig-Galván (Black SuperHero Magic Mama), Kate Hamill (Pride & Prejudice), Chesney Snow (In Transit) and Susan Soon He Stanton (Today Is My Birthday). "This Virtual Season will break the fourth wall of how and why we create, renewing our commitment to developing new works and breaking down both financial and physical barriers to attending the theater for audiences worldwide," said Artistic Director Andrew Leynse. "Through building on our strong foundation of artists and fostering new growth by amplifying essential voices who will push the boundaries of what theater can be, we are building this virtual home-and the audience is the final brick in our wall." FOUNDATION SERIES The Foundation Series celebrates the artists that are the bedrock of the Primary Stages family, revisiting them through a series of Virtual Readings. These artists are foundational members of the organization, whose work is a reminder of why it's worth fighting for the theater. The Tribute Artist Written by & Starring Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award winnerCharles Busch Directed by Carl Andress September 30 - October 4, 2020 Primary Stages kicks off their renewed partnership with 59E59 Theaters by virtually reviving the last show presented on their stage - The Tribute Artist by Charles Busch. This show, originally presented in the 2013/2014 Season, features Busch as an out-of-work female impersonator who, when his elderly landlady dies in her sleep, takes on her identity in order to hang on to her valuable Greenwich Village townhouse. This 'perfect' scheme goes awry and leads to a wild path of twists and reversals plotted by an eccentric rogues gallery of outrageous schemers. Expect Busch's signature blend of quick-witted banter and gender-bending hijinks in this play by the master of farce. Readings will take place on Wednesday September 30 at 8pm; Thursday October 1 at 2pm and 8pm; Friday October 2 at 8pm; Saturday October 3 at 2pm and 8pm; and Sunday October 4 at 2pm. Tickets start at $35 and are available at 59E59.org. The Night Watcher Written and Performed by Obie Award winner and Tony Award nominee Charlayne Woodard Fall 2020 Originally presented in the 2009/2010 Season at 59E59, The Night Watcher is an auto-biographical, one-woman play by actress-playwright Charlayne Woodard. Simultaneously a best friend, advisor, confidant and sage to the many young people who call her "Auntie," Charlayne Woodard is childless only by biological standards. Told with penetrating grace and candor, Woodard beautifully weaves together stories of the ordinary and extraordinary ways she has mentored the children in her life. Declared "thoughtful, vivid, entertaining and poignant" in its original run, The Night Watcher is an intimate look at the various definitions of parenthood. Reading dates and a ticket on-sale date will be announced shortly. LIVING ROOM COMMISSIONS Primary Stages is bringing theater into your living room with new and innovative works written for the virtual world. These one-acts will amplify essential voices while reinventing the form, ensuring we can still share stories while socially distant. The commissioned artists include Inda Craig-Galván, Kate Hamill, Chesney Snow and Susan Soon He Stanton. Living Room Commissions are made possible, in part, thanks to the generous support of the Primary Stages Board Commissioning Fund for BIPOC Artists. Soil Beneath: An Empirical Decay By Chesney Snow November 11 -15, 2020 Chesney Snow joins Pulitzer Prize finalist and Obie Award-winning composer Diedre Murray for his new choreopoem commissioned by Primary Stages. Soil Beneath: An Empirical Decay is a visceral, timely and nuanced exploration of race, class and American political culture told through the mediums of poetry, storytelling, dance and music. Performances will take place on Wednesday November 11 at 8pm; Thursday November 12 at 2pm and 8pm; Friday November 13 at 8pm; Saturday November 14 at 2pm and 8pm; and Sunday November 15 at 2pm. Tickets start at $35 and are available at 59E59.org. More information, dates and ticket on-sale dates for the other three commissions will be announced shortly. SPECIAL EVENTS Primary Stages will also host two special events this fall - their annual gala, now virtual, and a benefit reading of A Christmas Carol. Primary Stages Virtual Gala Honoring NYC Public School Teachers & Einhorn Mentorship Award Recipient Adam Gwon Hosted by Judy Gold October 21, 2020 On Wednesday October 21, Primary Stages will bring the party into your home with their Virtual Gala honoring the dedicated NYC public school teachers who are keeping theater alive at their schools. Primary Stages will also present the Einhorn Mentorship Award to long-time ESPA faculty member and Drama Desk-nominated composer/lyricist Adam Gwon (Scotland, PA; Ordinary Days). The event will be hosted by Emmy Award-winning comedian Judy Gold (The Judy Show, 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother). Performers, presenters and ticket information will be announced at a later date. A Benefit Reading of A CHRISTMAS CAROL By Charles Dickens Adapted and Directed by Theresa Rebeck Primary Stages presents a benefit reading of the Charles Dickens classic novel A Christmas Carol, adapted and directed by Theresa Rebeck. Everyone knows and loves the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, the mean-spirited miser who is visited by three ghosts and transformed to help a family in need. See this time-tested classic anew featuring Primary Stages family members from past, present and future in this virtual holiday celebration. Casting, dates and ticket information will be announced at a later date. PRIMARY PLUS Primary Stages' free programming series Primary Plus: Virtual Community, will continue to create opportunities for connection while we remain socially distant this Fall with Master Classes and Lunch-and-Learn playwriting prompts with our Virtual Season artists, Read-Alongs of some of our favorite plays, events featuring our artists at ESPA and more! The Latinx Playwrights Circle, the Primary Stages Company-in-Residence, will present a Digital Reading Series as part of the Primary Plus programming. Primary Stages free Primary Plus programs are made possible thanks to the generous support of the Axe-Houghton Foundation and The Howard Gilman Foundation. More information will be announced in the coming weeks. LATINX PLAYWRIGHTS CIRCLE The Intensive Mentorship '19-'20 is a program created by Latinx Playwrights Circle's residency with Primary Stages, providing key support, collaboration and visibility for Latinx playwrights. The program focuses on four playwrights partnering with four mentors culminating in four new plays. Playwrights were selected by multidisciplinary artists and mentored by Migdalia Cruz, Carmen Rivera, J. Julian Christopher and Cándido Tirado. Each Digital Reading will be led by a panel underscoring unique themes of our Latinx playwrights' new work. We're proud to present Digital Readings of Noelle Viñas's Derecho, Nilsa Reyna's Legends of Texas, Andrew Rincón's The Lonely and Andres Osorio's Hostel Play. Legends of Texas By Nilsa Reyna Monday September 21, 2020 at 7pm ET Click here to RSVP for free. Derecho By Noelle Viñas Thursday September 24, 2020 at 7pm ET Click here to RSVP for free. Reservations for the other two readings will open at a later date. Primary Stages' previously announced their first season back at 59E59, which was set to include peerless by Jiehae Park (Hannah and the Dread Gazebo)and directed by Margot Bordelon (Do You Feel Anger?); Roz and Ray by Karen Hartman (The Book of Joseph); and On That Day in Amsterdam by Clarence Coo (Beautiful Province (Belle Province)). Primary Stages remains committed to these artists and looks forward to returning home to 59E59 and to live theatre as soon as it is deemed safe to do so. Future production details will be announced at a later date. ABOUT PRIMARY STAGES Primary Stages is an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company dedicated to inspiring, supporting, and sharing the art of playwriting. We operate on the strongly held belief that the future of American theater relies on nurturing playwrights and giving them the artistic support needed to create new work. Since our founding in 1984, we have produced more than 135 new plays, including Theresa Rebeck's Poor Behavior and Downstairs, Kate Hamill's Pride and Prejudice and Little Women, Billy Porter's While I Yet Live; Charles Busch's The Tribute Artist and Olive and the Bitter Herbs; Sharon Washington's Feeding the Dragon, Leah Nanako Winkler's God Said This, In Transit by James-Allen-Ford, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Russ Kaplan, and Sara Wordsworth (on Broadway in 2017); Horton Foote's The Roads to Home, The Day Emily Married, Harrison, TX, and Dividing the Estate (two Tony nominations); Donald Margulies' The Model Apartment (1995 premiere and 2013 revival); David Ives' Lives of the Saints and All in the Timing (original 1993 production and 2013 revival); Deborah Zoe Laufer's Informed Consent; Ike Holter's Exit Strategy; Tanya Saracho's Fade; Michael McKeever's Daniel's Husband, A.R. Gurney's Black Tie; Terrence McNally's Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams and The Stendhal Syndrome; Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter's In the Continuum (which went on to tour the U.S., Africa, and Scotland); and Conor McPherson's St. Nicholas (which marked the playwright's U.S. debut). Our productions and artists have received critical acclaim, including Tony, Obie, Lortel, AUDELCO, Outer Critics' Circle, Drama League, and Drama Desk awards and nominations. Primary Stages supports playwrights and develops new works through commissions, workshops, readings, and our education and training programs: The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), the Fordham/Primary Stages MFA in Playwriting, and the Primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral History Project. Through these programs, Primary Stages advocates for our artists, helping them make important-and often transformative- connections within the theater community. ABOUT 59E59 THEATERS 59E59 Theaters is committed to curating innovative and invigorating work never-before-seen by New York audiences. Providing a space for emerging and established not-for-profit theater companies to reach new audiences, 59E59's partnering with these producing theater companies by giving them highly-subsidized rental rates, as well as production, marketing, and press support. Companies also receive 100% of their net box office sales. The Elysabeth Kleinhans Theatrical Foundation was established by Founding Artistic Director, Elysabeth Kleinhans to create a new, state-of-the-art theater complex to host original and innovative theatrical productions in East Midtown Manhattan. In 2002, the building at 59 East 59th Street was donated to the Foundation. The building was then gut renovated, creating three brand new theaters, Theater A, Theater B, and Theater C, designed by architect, Leo Modrcin, who collaborated with the Foundation to create an inviting ambiance. Under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Elysabeth Kleinhans and Executive Producer Peter Tear, 59E59 Theaters opened its inaugural season in February 2004 with a production of The Stendhal Syndrome produced by then resident company, Primary Stages, in the largest of its three spaces, Theater A. Shortly following, in April 2004, the other two spaces, Theater B and Theater C opened their doors with productions of Sun Is Shining, by the groundbreaking British-Chinese Mu Lan Theatre Company, and My Arm, Tim Crouch's critically-acclaimed hour-long solo show from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, during the Theaters' first annual Brits Off Broadway. Since 2004, the theaters have been continuously occupied with shows running from three to seven weeks. In 2017, Elysabeth Kleinhans and Peter Tear stepped down from their roles, and Val Day, a longtime agent with William Morris and ICM, was appointed as Artistic Director. With the addition of a new Artistic Director, 59E59 Theaters moved to the final phase of transitioning from the founding team to a traditional theater management structure, begun in 2012 with the appointment of Brian Beirne as Managing Director. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.PRIMARYSTAGES.ORG # # # THE TRIBUTE ARTIST BIOS CHARLES BUSCH is the author and star of such plays as The Divine Sister; Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, one of the longest running plays in the history of Off-Broadway; and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, which ran for nearly two years on Broadway and received a Tony nomination for Best Play. He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die!, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. CARL ANDRESS (Director & Narrator)is delighted to reunite with Primary Stages and is proud to have staged over 15 productions, with 9 world premieres, of critically-acclaimed plays written by and starring Charles Busch, including The Confession of Lily Dare, The Tribute Artist, The Divine Sister, Shanghai Moon, The Third Story and the New York premiere of Die, Mommie, Die!. Primarily focused on new works, he has recently staged such plays as Fake and Rum & Coke by Carmen Pelaez, Still at Risk by Tim Pinckney, Romance Language by Joe Godfrey, Who's Holiday! by Matthew Lombardo and Douglas Carter Beane's The Cartells. Some regional productions include My Fair Lady, I Hate Hamlet and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, in addition to numerous galas and benefits including the NY concert premieres of The Visit by Kander & Ebb and McNally; A Wonderful Life by Harnick & Raposo; Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol by Styne & Merrill and Valley of the Dolls, all to benefit The Actors Fund on Broadway. carlandress.com THE NIGHT WATCHER BIO CHARLAYNE WOODARD (Actor/Playwright) is a two-time Obie Award winner and Tony Award nominee. Acting: Originated roles for playwrights including Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Jeremy O. Harris, Suzan-Lori Parks, Lynn Nottage and Theresa Rebeck. TV: "Pose" (series regular), "Law & Order: SVU," "ER" and "Chicago Hope" (recurring). Films: Glass, Unbreakable, The Crucible and Eye for an Eye. Playwright: The Garden, The Night Watcher, In Real Life, Near, Pretty Fire and Flight. LIVING ROOM COMMISSIONS BIOS INDA CRAIG-GALVÁN (Jeffry Melnick Award-Winning Playwright) is a playwright and TV writer based in Los Angeles. Plays include Black Super Hero Magic Mama (Geffen Playhouse) and I Go Somewhere Else (Playwrights' Arena). Inda was recipient of the Kesselring Prize and Jeffry Melnick New Playwright Award for her play Welcome to Matteson! KATE HAMILL (Pride & Prejudice and Little Women at Primary Stages) is an actor/playwright. Wall Street Journal Playwright of the Year, 2017. Previous work includes Pride & Prejudice at Primary Stages/HVSF (in which she originated the role of Lizzy; Nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award); Sense & Sensibility at Bedlam (originated the role of Marianne; Winner, Off-Broadway Alliance Award; Nominee, Drama League Award); Vanity Fair at the Pearl (originated the role of Becky Sharp; Nominee, Off-Broadway Alliance Award); Mansfield Park at Northlight; Little Women at Primary Stages and the Jungle; Dracula at Classic Stage Company (originated the role of Renfield); upcoming Emma and Scarlet Letter. She is currently developing a new adaptation of The Odyssey; a Christmas play called Scrooge for Senate; several original plays (Prostitute Play, The Party, The Piper- O'Neill NPC Finalist); and In the Mines (with music by The Bengsons). Kate was one of the most-produced playwrights nationwide for 3 seasons running (2017-2020). kate-hamill.com SUSAN SOON HE STANTON (Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group member at Primary Stages) is a playwright, screenwriter and TV writer from Aiea, Hawaii. Plays include we, the invisibles (Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival), Today Is My Birthday (Page 73), Takarazuka!!! (Clubbed Thumb and East West Players), Solstice Party! (Live Source), Cygnus (Women's Project Pipeline), Moana Jr. (book) for Disney Theatrical Group, Navigator (Honolulu Theatre for Youth) and more. She is a Sundance Theater Lab Resident Playwright and was awarded the Leah Ryan FEWW, the Venturous Playwrights Fellowship at the Lark, and is a member of New Dramatists and Ma-Yi's Writers Lab, and an alumni of the Primary Stages Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the Public's Emerging Writer's Group, and SoHo Rep's Writer/Director Lab. Commissions include Yale Repertory, American Conservatory Theater/Crowded Fire, South Coast Repertory, and Ensemble Studio Theatre, among others. She has received a Feature Film Development Grant from the Sloan Foundation. Her film Dress won the audience award at the Hawaii International Film Festival. She writes for HBO's "Succession." BFA: NYU Tisch's Dramatic Writing, MFA: Yale School of Drama. susansoonhestanton.com CHESNEY SNOW ( In Transit at Primary Stages and on Broadway) is a Drama Desk winner and 3x Artist in Residence at Harvard University. Most recently, he appeared in Two River Theater's production of Oo Bla Dee written by Regina Taylor and directed by Ruben Santiago Hudson. Composer/lyricist for the McCarter Theatre and Long Wharf Theater's 2018 Crowns. He also appeared in McCarter Theatre's Princeton and Slavery Plays directed by Carl Cofield. His critically acclaimed choreopoem The Unwritten Law premiered at Dixon Place in 2017. A pioneering figure in American beatbox culture, he originated the role of Boxman at Primary Stages and on Broadway in In Transit at Circle in the Square. The Primary Stages production of In Transit received more nominations than any other Off-Broadway musical of the 2010/11 season. Snow headlined Carnegie Hall twice. He produced and starred in the music documentary American Beatboxer, which was placed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and numerous other archives throughout the United States. DIEDRE MURRAY (Composer) is a Pulitzer Prize finalist for the chamber opera Running Man and a two-time Obie Award winner for creating the original story and music for Running Man and arrangements for Eli's Comin'. In addition, she wrote the arrangements for the Tony Award-winning Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, among other works. |
|
| Link | http://PRIMARYSTAGES.ORG |
| reply to this message | |
Time to render: 0.006090 seconds.