2010-11 Season Brochure

T H E P L AY W R I G H TS ’ C E NT E R R E C E I V E S S U P P O R T F R O M :

Andrew W. MellonFoundation

DESIGN SERVICES PROVIDED BY

Boss Foundation

Dramatists Guild Fund

Faegre & Benson Foundation

General Mills Foundation

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust

HGA Architects and Engineers

The Playwrights’ Center is a recipient of an Institutional Support grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is funded, in part, by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund as appropriated by the

Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

Japan Foundation

KNOCK, Inc.

Pohlad Family Foundation

Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council

Schuler Shook

The Shubert Foundation

Western Bank

PRINT SERVICES PROVIDED BY

TAKE NOTE: THE 2010-2011 SEASON

LEAP into the unknown.Writing to you in my first week of heading this cornerstone of new play development, I feel a great affinity with a playwright on the verge of sharing his or her work for the first time—standing at the edge of the cliff, slightly terrified, and profoundly excited to leap … and to fly.

It’s the feeling we live for at the Center, and more people than ever come here to experience it. This year, with the visionary leadership of our supporters, we’re able to bring together a brand new mix of provocative writers, brilliant artistic collaborators—and you. Join us as we jump into a new season of the untested and unknown.

JEREMY B. COHENProducing Artistic Director

TAKE NOTE: ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS’ CENTER

THE MISSION:The Playwrights’ Center

champions playwrights

and plays to build

upon a living theater

that demands new and

innovative works.

One of the nation’s most generous and well-respected artistic organizations, the Playwrights’ Center focuses on supporting playwrights and promoting new plays to production at theaters across the country. Plays developed through Center-funded workshops, fellowships, grants, and commissions are seen each year on stages nationwide. Learn more at pwcenter.org.

TAKE NOTE: TABLE OF CONTENTS

table of contentsPLAYLABS

PAGE 05THE RUTH EASTON NEW PLAY SERIES

PAGE 15DECEMBER | ANDY BRAGEN

PAGE 16FEBRUARY | CARSON KREITZER

PAGE 18MARCH | DANIEL ALEXANDER JONES

PAGE 20APRIL | JOHN OLIVE

PAGE 22MAY | LAURAL MEADE

PAGE 24SPRING SHOWCASE

PAGE 26WORKHAUS COLLECTIVE

PAGE 27CORE WRITERS AND FELLOWS

PAGE 28

PAGE 29STAFF AND BOARD

TAKE NOTE:

04

Featuring eight readings of masterful

new plays and free events where you can

hear the work and ideas of accomplished

writers and artistic leaders, PlayLabs is a

national destination for those invested in

the future of the American theater. Visit

PlayLabs.org to buy tickets and learn

more about the festival.

TAKE NOTE: THE 27TH PLAYLABS FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS

05


06

In 1993, Paul Watson photographed the desecration of a dead American soldier in the streets of Mogadishu. As he took the picture, he heard the voice of the dead soldier speak to him: “If you do this, I will own you forever.” The Body of an American tells the true story of a haunted war reporter traversing the globe, and examines questions of guilt and responsibility, both personal and cultural.

LOCATION: THE PLAYWRIGHTS’ CENTER

ADMISSION: $10

TICKETS: PLAYLABS.ORG OR 612.332.7481 EXT 16

BY DAN O’BRIEN

THE BODY OF AN AMERICAN

octobertuesday 19 . 7 pmfriday 22 . 7 pm

S M T W T F S

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30


07

This evening of two connected one-act plays investigates the nature of artifice and the politics of perception. Set in 1950, The Invention of the Third Dimension tells the story of producer Archie Oboler, whose decision to embrace a new technology called Natural Vision to save his troubled film unleashes his own perceptual nightmare. In The Secret Lives of Doubles, George joins a state-run choir, bringing irrevocable consequences for himself, his wife and the mysterious couple they’ve befriended.


ADMISSION: $10


BY KIRA OBOLENSKY

THE INVENTION OF THE THIRD DIMENSION AND

THE SECRET LIVES OF DOuBLES

octoberwednesday 20 . 7 pmsaturday 23 . 1 pm

S M T W T F S

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30


08

Jennifer Samuels has just discovered that she’s not one, but two: inside her body are two distinct sets of DNA. This genre-bending solo performance starts at the intersection of groundbreaking medical science and ancient myth, exploring what happens when biology changes our ideas of who we think we are.

Presented in partnership with HERE Arts Center.


ADMISSION: $10


CONCEIVED AND CREATED BY SULI HOLUM AND DEBORAH STEINin collaboration with Jeremy Wilhelm, Paulina Jurzec, and Zach HumasPerformed by Suli Holum

CHIMERA

octoberthursday 21 . 6 pmsunday 24 . 1 pm

S M T W T F S

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30


09

It’s 30 degrees below zero. Inside a remote truck stop, the walls are blood-spattered and a man with his throat slit is frozen to a chair. Brady and Zeremiah are struggling to eke out another day of life when they discover an attractive teenage intruder named Ash who may be the answer to their prayers. But as the ice sheets beneath them start to thaw, so do their alliances …


ADMISSION: $10


BY CHRISTINA HAM

TAR’S CHILDREN

octoberthursday 21 . 8 pmsaturday 23 . 7 pm

S M T W T F S

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30


10

This free panel discussion will explore how playwrights represent the United States in their writing and why plays about national identity have been permeating the theatrical zeitgeist in recent years. Panelists will include Imed Labidi, Taylor Mac, Kristin Marting, and Rhiana Yazzie. Moderated by Festival Producer Hayley Finn.


ADMISSION: FREE

RESERVATIONS: PLAYLABS.ORG OR 612.332.7481 EXT 16

PANEL DISCUSSION

STAGING AMERICAN IDENTITY

octobersaturday 23 . 4 pm

S M T W T F S

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30


11

Join us for a party with the PlayLabs playwrights, their artistic teams, and national industry guests.


ADMISSION: FREE

RESERVATIONS: PLAYLABS.ORG OR 612.332.7481 EXT 16

FESTIVAL CELEBRATION

octobersaturday 23 . 9pm

S M T W T F S

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

12


Meet the Playwrights’ Center’s 2010-11 Jerome and McKnight playwriting fellows. This showcase will feature selections of the fellows’ work read by actors, as well as discussions with the writers.


ADMISSION: FREE

RESERVATIONS: PLAYLABS.ORG OR 612.332.7481 x16

SHOWCASE:THE JEROME AND MCKNIGHT PLAYWRITING FELLOWS

Top row: Dan Dietz, Reginald Edmund, Kathryn Haddad, Taylor MacBottom row: Gregory Moss, Mat Smart, Eric “Pogi” Sumangil, Rhiana Yazzie

octobersunday 24 . 2:30pm

S M T W T F S

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

TAKE NOTE:

13

TAKE NOTE:

14

TAKE NOTE: THE RUTH EASTON NEW PLAY SERIES

The Ruth Easton New Play Series brings you free readings of new plays by

some of the most talented playwrights

working today. Featuring top Twin Cities

actors and audience discussions with the

playwrights and their collaborators, the

Ruth Easton New Play Series is your chance

to be part of the creative process.

theRUTH EASTON NEW PLAY SERIES

15


december S M T W T F S

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

16


monday 6 . 7pm

When their son leaves for camp, Victor and Nancy are alone with each other for the first time since they can remember. As they struggle to communicate after years of disconnection, time telescopes forward, and what seemed a simple play about a marriage becomes an unsettling and gripping dark comedy about two people who love each other to distraction.

tHE rutH EASton nEW PLAy SEriES


ADMISSION: FREE

RESERVATIONS: [email protected] OR 612.332.7481 EXT 10

BY ANDY BRAGEN

VISITING DAY

17

18


february S M T W T F S

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28


monday 7 . 7pm

Vogue model. Surrealist muse. Combat photographer. Lee Miller lived several distinct and extraordinary lives, each of them to the fullest. Man Ray’s lover and muse, her body—or parts of it—would become iconic of surrealism, but Paris was only one stop on a journey that would include Egypt, London, and the front lines of World War II. Behind the Eye traces the path of this extraordinary woman as she discovers the only thing she cannot be: still.



ADMISSION: FREE


BY CARSON KREITZER

BEHIND THE EYE

19


march S M T W T F S

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

20


monday 7 . 7pm

Since the loss of her young son in 1862, Mary has enlisted every spiritualist of repute to make contact with him. Following a new lead, she travels with her friend and seamstress Lizzy to Manhattan, where a brusque and mysterious clairvoyant awaits them … and it soon becomes clear he has a talent the others do not. He knows Mary’s true identity, he has seen her future, and he is ready to lift the thin veil between this world and the next.



ADMISSION: FREE


BY DANIEL ALEXANDER JONES

PHANTASMATRON

21

22


april S M T W T F S

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30


monday 4 . 7pm

Marooned devils Michael and Catherine discover a peasant girl who may be their ticket back to hell. But the more Catherine manipulates her, the more entranced she becomes by the girl’s passion. Combining epic scope and subtly drawn characters, God Fire explores the tie between spirituality and sexuality in the woman who would come to be known as Joan of Arc.



ADMISSION: FREE


BY JOHN OLIVE

GOD FIRE

23


may

24

S M T W T F S

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31


monday 2 . 7pm

In the fall of 1915, an unlikely band of women set out on a cross-country road trip to rally support for national suffrage. As the wheels turn, they discover that freedom means different things to different people, and not all suffragists’ priorities are the same. Complex and comical, The Suffragist Roadshow is a wild ride that traverses the intersection of gender, race and politics.

t H E r u t H E A S t o n n E W P L Ay S E r i E S


ADMISSION: FREE


BY LAURAL MEADE

THE SuFFRAGIST ROADSHOW

25

26

TAKE NOTE: MCKNIGHT THEATER ARTIST FELLOW SHOWCASE

spring showcase

Don’t miss this showcase of new work by 2010-11 McKnight Theater Artist Fellows Annie Enneking, Masanari Kawahara, and Robert Rosen.


ADMISSION: FREE

DATE AND TIME T.B.A.

THE MCKNIGHT THEATER ARTIST FELLOWS

Annie Enneking, Masanari Kawahara, and Robert Rosen

TAKE NOTE: WORKHAUS COLLECTIVE

27

WORKHAUSCOLLECTIVEPlaywrights’ Centercompany in residence

Visit WorkhausCollective.org for details.

LITTLE EYESBY CORY HINKLE

FEBruAry 4-20 At the Guthrie Theater Dowling Studio

GLYPHBY CHRISTINA HAM

APriL 9-24At the Playwrights’ Center

CHIMERACONCEIVED AND CREATED BY SULI HOLUM AND DEBORAH STEINin collaboration with Jeremy Wilhelm, Paulina Jurzec, and Zach HumasPerformed by Suli HolumnoVEMBEr 11-21At the Playwrights’ Center

TAKE NOTE: CORE WRITERS AND FELLOWS

28

2010-11 CorE WritErSLee Blessing

Andy Bragen

Barbara Field

Keli Garrett

Ain Gordon

Christina Ham

Karen Hartman

Jeffrey Hatcher

Cory Hinkle

Daniel Alexander Jones

Aditi Brennan Kapil

Adam Kraar

Carson Kreitzer

Mona Mansour

Melanie Marnich

Laural Meade

Susan Miller

Dan O’Brien

Kira Obolensky

John Olive

Dominic Orlando

Mat Smart

Victoria Stewart

David Wiener

Rhiana Yazzie

Karen Zacarías

2010-11 FELLoWSJEROME MANY VOICES FELLOWS

Lisa Brimmer

Reginald Edmund

Kathryn Haddad

Shira Naharit

Eric “Pogi” Sumangil

JEROME FELLOWS

Dan Dietz

Gregory Moss

Rhiana Yazzie

MCKNIGHT ADVANCEMENT GRANTS

Mat Smart

Deborah Stein

MCKNIGHT NATIONAL RESIDENCY AND COMMISSION

Taylor Mac

MCKNIGHT THEATER ARTISTFELLOWS

Annie Enneking

Masanari Kawahara

Robert Rosen

TAKE NOTE: STAFF AND BOARD

29

T H E P L AY W R I G H T S ’ C E N T E R B OA R D O F D I R E C TO R S :

dik Bolger, PRESIDENT

Lisa Pugh, VICE PRESIDENT

Charlie Quimby, TREASURER

Dominic Orlando, SECRETARY

Paula Hopping AdoradioKimberly BergerToni Bjorklund

Jeremy B. CohenGreg Bonine-Giles

Barbara FieldElizabeth GrantTessa GuntherAditi Brennan KapilSarah McNerneyPeter QualeLibby Forbes UtterRuth WeinerLeah Wilkes

T H E P L AY W R I G H T S ’ C E N T E R S TA F F :

TO M B O R G E R Communications & Development AssociateJ E R E M Y B . C O H E N Producing Artistic Director

E R I K A E K LUN D Director of External AffairsH AY L EY F I N N Resident Director & Lab Producer

S A R A H G I O I A Casting AssociateC H R I S T I NA H A M Many Voices Program Coordinator

C R A I G H A R R I S Interim DirectorM I K E K I L G OU R Technology Manager & Web DeveloperL AU R A L E F F L E R - M CC A B E Administrative Assistant

K EV I N M CL AUG H L I N Fellowships ManagerA N NA PE T E R S O N Membership Manager & Literary Associate

RYA N R I P L EY Company & Production ManagerJ I M S AY B O LT Finance Associate

S A R A H T E I C H Office Manager & Executive Assistant

TAKE NOTE: PHOTO CREDITS

Front CoVEr

Annie Enneking* and Charity Jones* in Amazons and Their MenPHoto By KEVin MCLAugHLin

inSiDE CoVEr

toP LEFt: Tyler Marsh and Katie Pearl in Terrible Things toP rigHt: Steven Epp*, Kimberly Richardson, and Christiana Clark* in HawkingBottoM LEFt: Sonja Parks* and Brian Goranson* in Notari, Notari (Slowly, Rolling)BottoM MiDDLE: Jim Lichtscheidl* in Like a Butterfly, My NostalgiaBottoM rigHt: Carolyn Goelzer* in God Save GertrudePHotoS By KEVin MCLAugHLin

grEgory MoSS & DAn o’BriEn PHotoS By PEtEr BELLAMy

*member, Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers

T H E P L AY W R I G H TS ’ C E NT E R R E C E I V E S S U P P O R T F R O M :

Andrew W. MellonFoundation

DESIGN SERVICES PROVIDED BY

Boss Foundation

Dramatists Guild Fund

Faegre & Benson Foundation

General Mills Foundation

The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust

HGA Architects and Engineers

The Playwrights’ Center is a recipient of an Institutional Support grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is funded, in part, by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund as appropriated by the

Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

Japan Foundation

KNOCK, Inc.

Pohlad Family Foundation

Rimon: The Minnesota Jewish Arts Council

Schuler Shook

The Shubert Foundation

Western Bank

PRINT SERVICES PROVIDED BY

2010-11 Season Brochure

Documents

Transcript of 2010-11 Season Brochure