Happy (unofficial) Summer! We’re into the busy season now, with several projects having just wrapped and some exciting travel and producing on the horizon. Read on for all the updates!
May Festivals in Review
Earlier in the month I spent a lovely weekend in coastal Connecticut at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center dramaturging for their annual Young Playwrights Festival. It was a great chance to meet and reconnect with other National Theater Institute alumni and support middle- and high-school age writers with some hilarious and thoughtful scripts.
This weekend, I returned to The Growing Stage for Round 2 of their New Play-Reading Festival. During the evening my cast got to present highlights and new material from our finalist play Bug & Junior in a scene showcase format, while also hearing presentations from the other finalist plays. It was wonderful to bring all the artists and plays together in the same room, and congratulations to all this year’s finalists!
Next Up: Directors Lab North
I’ll once again be on the road for the second half of June, this time to Ontario! In Toronto I’ll be participating in Directors Lab North, an offshoot of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab, which brings together a diverse group of international directors for a week of masterclasses and workshops. I’m also looking forward to the chance to meet up in-person with a few colleagues from my Expand The Canon research committee, who are based in Toronto. Following the Lab I’m thrilled to be in range of the Stratford and Shaw Festivals (both located in southern Ontario) to take in a varied week of repertory classical and classically-inspired theatre.
Save the Date: Summer Shakespeare (with some twists!)
I’ll have more details in the next update, but I’ve been cooking up a few projects for a couple of the Shakespeare-inspired fringe-type festivals happening in NYC in July and August. (Who knew there was more than one??) Some other things may still be in the works, but one is official and in fact tickets are already available.
I’m creating and will be directing All the Daughters of Viola’s House for the So Many Shakespeares Festival in Brooklyn. Through monologue, scene, and tableau, this show will explore the variety and evolution of “breeches roles” in classical theatre – featuring plenty of Shakespearean examples but also the work of some classical female playwrights from my Expand the Canon work. I’ll dive deeper into this project next month, but full information is already available on the festival website for our performances on July 23, July 30, and August 6!
May Highlights & Recommendations
Favorite adventures and performances from the past month!
Reading The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager
Listening to Gingold Theatre Group’s wonderfully performed one-night reading of Shaw’s Heartbreak House and (soon) to Pod and Prejudice’s upcoming season covering Jane Austen’s Persuasion
Visiting New Jersey for some regional theatre highlights: Tick, Tick… Boom! at George Street Playhouse and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder at The Shakespeare Theatre of NJ
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