Sunday Scoop Week of 12/28/19 - What's Happening This Week or Coming Up Soon

In This Week's Scoop

1) Upcoming at Franklin Square
    Family Friendly New Year's
2) Upcoming at iPlay America
    New Year's
3) Upcoming at Lincoln Square
     Atrium 360 - Alicia Olatuja: Intution Songs from The Minds of Women
4) Upcoming at Symphony Space
    Beats, Rhymes, & Breaking January 4

PR Firm Roundup

5) News from BroadwayCon
    Joshua Safran and Netflix's Soundtrack Join BroadwayCon Lineup
6) News from from DKC/O&M
   New Year's Eve the McKittrick World's Eve
7) New from Karen Greco PR
   7A) Upcoming at The Wild Project: Royal, Dad in a Box
   7B) Maz & Bricks Begins Performances January 7
8) News from Polk and Co.
    Tony Goldwyn Joins Cast of The Inheritance for Limited Engagement
9) News from Richard Hillman PR
     Directorfest 2020 January 4 - February 10

1) Upcoming at Franklin Square

6th & Race St.

Philadelphia, PA

Family Friendly New Year's Eve

The final night of the Franklin Square Holiday Festival concludes with the most family-friendly New Year’s celebration in town. Enjoy free music and crafts beginning before the Square Drop from atop SquareBurger at 6 pm and view the River’s Casino New Year’s Eve Fireworks on the Waterfront from the Square. The Square Drop, which started in 2010, has become a delightful family tradition, which includes family fun and fireworks. An animated illuminated square sits high above SquareBurger and is magically lowered during the countdown. The Square Drop utilizes over 50,000 additional colored LED lights to create this Franklin Square tradition. The indoor Franklin Square Pavilion will host a Kids’ Dance Party until 8 pm for the final Electrical Spectacle of 2019.

Warm up in between shows with seasonal favorites. The Franklin Square Holiday Festival includes a winter beer garden with fire pits for warmth and charm and Ben’s Sweets & Treats where guests can create and taste a variety of treats including a S’MORESgasbord with choices for s’mores-making, gourmet hot chocolate, and cookies to decorate inside the heated tent with views of the Square.

Sparked by Benjamin Franklin’s electrifying genius, Franklin Square Electrical Spectacle Holiday Light Show presented by PECO is the key to holiday fun in Franklin Square. Electrical Spectacle is a free light show that illuminates the Square nightly through December 31. Marvel at more than 80,000 lights (more than ever before!), as they shimmer, dance, and illuminate the Square to a soundtrack of holiday classics, some of which are performed by The Philly POPS^TM in two alternating shows every 30 minutes beginning at 4:30 pm daily. December 31 at 8 pm is the final Electrical Spectacle for 2019.

For more information, visit www.historicphiladelphia.org/franklin-square/what-to-see.

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2) Upcoming at iPlay America

110 Schank Rd.

Freehold, NJ 

New Year's Eve

Ring in the New Year at iPlay America’s annual New Year’s Eve Celebration! Bring the

entire family and enjoy a night of rides, party favors, live DJ, and giveaways.

For more information, visit www.iplayamerica.com/new-years-eve.

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3) Upcoming at Lincoln Center

Atrium 360° 

Alicia Olatuja: Intuition: Songs From The Minds of Women

*FREE Thursday, January 2 at 7:30 pm 

Atrium 360° 

Alicia Olatuja: Intuition: Songs From The Minds of Women 

The “singer with a strong, lustrous tone and an amiably regal presence onstage” (New York Times) shares songs from her new album, Intuition. 

David Rubenstein Atrium, Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Streets. 

FREE Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For questions about accessibility or to request an accommodation, please contact access@lincolncenter.org or 212.875.5375. For more information, please visit LincolnCenter.org/Atrium.

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4) Upcoming at Symphony Space

2537 Broadway

New York, NY

Beats, Rhymes, & Breaking 

Saturday January 4, 11:00 AM & 2:00 PM

From head spins to windmills, and from 6-step to the trusty pop and lock, Manzana City Crew brings jaw-dropping break dance action to the Thalia stage once again.  Kids will join company members onstage to try out their own moves in an engaging and fast-moving atmosphere of fun. Manzana City Crew is a collective of artists based in New York City. 

For more infoormation or to purchase tickets, visit 

www.symphonyspace.org/events/just-kidding-beats-rhymes-and-breakin

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PR Firm Roundup

5) News from BroadwayCon

JOSHUA SAFRAN AND THE CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

OF NETFLIX’S SOUNDTRACK

JOIN BROADWAYCON 2020 LINEUP FOR EXCLUSIVE PANEL

Saturday, January 25, 2020, 3 PM

Joshua Safran (Creator) and cast and creative team members from Netflix's series Soundtrack will give BroadwayCon 2020 attendees an exclusive behind the scenes look at the new musical series on Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 3 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at BroadwayCon.com/register.

Soundtrack, from creator Joshua Safran (Gossip Girl, Smash, Quantico), is a groundbreaking musical drama that explores the love stories connecting a diverse group of Angelenos, told through the music that lives inside their hearts and minds. Soundtrack, which began streaming on Netflix on December 18, stars Callie Hernandez, Paul James, Madeleine Stowe, Campbell Scott, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Jenna Dewan, Megan Ferguson, Jahmil French and Christina Milian.

A link to the official Soundtrack trailer can be viewed here.

For more information, please visit www.BroadwayCon.com

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6) News from DKC/O&M

THE McKITTRICK HOTEL ANNOUNCES ITS YEAR-END 

SPECTACULAR

NEW YEAR’S EVE:

THE MCKITTRICK WORLD’S FAIR

AN EPIC EVENING OF COSMOPOLITAN GLAMOUR 

DECEMBER 31

The McKittrick Hotel (530 West 27^th Street, NYC) announces New Year’s Eve: The McKittrick World’s Fair, an evening of cosmopolitan glamour taking over the hotel to ring in 2020 on Tuesday 12/31.

New Year’s Eve: The McKittrick World’s Fair will be a one-night-only spectacular filled with dazzling artistry for the celebration of the year! Every floor of the legendary home of Sleep No More will be transformed to evoke global metropolises and exotic curiosities of the World’s Fair.

This glittering display of transcendent live performances, ethereal scenic installations, special surprise guests, and costumed revelry all night long, must be experienced to be believed. An opulent dance party complete with open bar will abound from 10:15 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Guests should come dressed to the nines in their New Year’s finery, in chic shades of midnight blue, gold, silver, and black. Or with a thematic flair inspired by cosmic wonders and explorers of the world.

To enhance the experience, packages are available to attend Sleep No More or a sumptuous dinner feast in The Club Car before the party. Guests can attend all three for the ultimate New Year celebration, as well as upgrade any tickets to Maximilian’s List, or an ultra-premium Champagne Table reservation, for expedited entry and access to the exclusive Max's Boudoir for the evening.

he McKittrick Hotel is open seven days a week. Located in West Chelsea near The High Line, Hudson Yards, Hell's Kitchen and the Meatpacking District, the venue offers a plethora of entertainment options for tourists and locals alike. From the award-winning immersive spectacle Sleep No More, late night jazz speakeasy Manderley Bar, and year-round rooftop hideaway Gallow Green, to The Club Car – home of Bartschland Follies and Speakeasy Magick - there are many reasons to visit.

All guests must be at least 21 to enter. For schedule, tickets and additional information, please visit www.mckittrickhotel.com

Tickets (subject to change)

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

●                     6:00 & 6:15 p.m. - Dinner, Sleep No More + Party (from $450)

●                     7:00 p.m. - Sleep No More + Party (from $350)

●                     8:30 & 8:45 p.m. - Dinner + Party (from $400)

●                     10:15 p.m. - Party Only (from $225)

●                     12:30 a.m. - Late Night Entry (from $150)

Links

●                     New Year’s Eve - https://mckittrickhotel.com/events/nye

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7) News from Karen Greco PR

7A) What's on at the wild project

January 1 – January 3
ROYAL written and performed by Annalisa Plumb, directed by Joanna Simmons
Schedule: Wednesday – Friday at 8 pm
Tickets: $18

Is a job ever really "just a job"? Amelia gets hired as a hostess and learns the ropes of a private club frequented by the country's wealthiest men and most notorious political figures. Set in the politically polarizing climate of 2017, such mundane tasks as running a coat check suddenly take on the weight of a full-fledged ethical crisis. Inspired by real events.

January 5
DAD IN A BOX written and performed by Kim Katzberg, directed by Raquel Cion
Schedule: Sunday at 7:00 pm
Tickets: $15 (advance); $20 (door)

A prestigious improv comedy workshop seems like an ideal career boost for writer/performer Kim Katzberg, until she finds her fervid imagination hamstrung by generic critiques. But the real improvisation starts when Katzberg’s emotionally distant father dies, paralyzing her psyche and forcing her to confront her California-cool brother and erratic prodigal sister. Inhabiting a plethora of characters, Katzberg struggles to become more real on stage, and both be truthful to her father and express her inexplicable love for him. 

**

7B) Olivier Award-winning Fishamble 

returns to 59E59 Theaters 

with the US premiere of 

MAZ AND BRICKS

 part of Origin’s 1^st Irish
 

59E59 Theaters (Val Day, Artistic Director; Brian Beirne, Managing Director) is thrilled to welcome the return of Ireland’s leading new play company Fishamble: The New Play Company with the US premiere of MAZ AND BRICKS, written by Eva O'Connor and directed by Jim Culleton. Part of Origin’s 1^st Irish, MAZ AND BRICKS begins performances on Tuesday, January 7 for a limited engagement through Sunday, February 2. Press opening is Sunday, January 12 at 2:15 pm. The performance schedule is Tuesday – Friday at 7:15 pm; Saturday at 2:15 pm & 7:15 pm; Sunday at 2:15 pm. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59^th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). 

Maz is planning to attend a pro-choice demonstration, Bricks is planning to take his daughter to the zoo, but nothing goes according to plan. As the day unfolds, the two become unlikely friends, changing each other in ways they never thought possible.
 

Single tickets are $25 - $35 ($26 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call the 59E59 Box Office at 646-892-7999 or visit www.59e59.org.  The running time is 80 minutes, with no intermission.

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8) New from Polk and Co.

TONY GOLDWYN 

JOINS THE COMPANY OF

THE INHERITANCE

FOR A LIMITED ENGAGEMENT

GOLDWYN WILL PLAY THE ROLE OF

“HENRY WILCOX” DURING

JOHN BENJAMIN HICKEY’S LEAVE OF ABSENCE

BEGINNING PERFORMANCES SUNDAY, JANUARY 5

Producers Tom Kirdahy, Sonia Friedman Productions, and Hunter Arnold have announced that Tony Goldwyn (ABC’s “Scandal,” Broadway’s Network) will join the company of Matthew Lopez’ THE INHERITANCE, for a four month limited engagement beginning performances Sunday, January 5, 2020.  Goldwyn will take over the role of “Henry Wilcox” from John Benjamin Hickey during Hickey’s scheduled leave of absence to direct the Broadway-bound production of Plaza Suite.

ABOUT THE INHERITANCE

In contemporary Manhattan, Eric and Toby are 30-somethings who seem to be very much in love and thriving. But on the cusp of their engagement, they meet an older man haunted by the past, and a younger man hungry for a future. Chance meetings lead to surprising choices as the lives of three generations interlink and collide—with explosive results.

TICKETING AND SCHEDULE INFORMATION

Tickets for THE INHERITANCE are available by calling 212-239-6200 or by visiting Telecharge.com.

THE INHERITANCE is performed at the Ethel Barrymore Theater (243 West 47^th street) on Wednesday at 1:00pm and 7:00pm; Thursday and Friday at 7:00pm; Saturday and Sunday at 1:00pm and 7:00pm.

For complete performance schedule please visit TheInheritancePlay.com

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 9) News from Richard Hillman PR

DRAMA LEAGUE’S DIRECTORFEST
AMERICA’S ONLY FESTIVAL CELEBRATING
THE ART AND FUTURE OF AMERICAN STAGE DIRECTING
JANUARY 10 – FEBRUARY 4, 2020

FEATURED DIRECTORS INCLUDE
NJ AGWUNA, CHRISTIAN BAKALOV, CHIKA IKE, REBECCA MARZALEK-KELLY,
LINDSEY HOPE PEARLMAN, BEN RANDLE, AND HANNAH RYAN

 The Drama League (Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Executive Director Bevin Ross) announced today the acting company for the 36th annual DirectorFest, the only festival in the United States dedicated to the art of contemporary stage directing. Directorfest will take place January 10 - February 4, 2020 at various locations around NYC: The New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street), The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas), LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (31-10 Thomson Avenue), and Joe’s Pub (425 Lafayette Street). For festival details and tickets, visit directorfest.org or call (212) 244-9494 x102. Industry/Theatre Professionals may request tickets by emailing DirectorFest@dramaleague.org.

For its 36th year, the festival will include 27 actors in six fully-staged productions and a concert of a new docu-play with music. Taking place over five weeks in venues across Manhattan, highlights of the festival include all-new stagings of works by Michael John LaChiusa (Hello Again) and Harold Pinter (The Lover), revivals of rarely-seen works by Tina Howe (Appearances) and Marcus Gardley (The Sporting Life of Icarus Jones), and Beth Graham, Charlie Tomlinson and Daniela Vlaskalic (The Drowning Girls), a concert of songs from the new docu-play with music by Matthew Dean Marsh and Oscar Lopez (Riot Song), and the North American premiere of a new theatrical immersive experience created by Belgian director Christian Bakalov (Pure).

Chosen last spring from over 400 applicants, the directors leading the festival’s new productions this year -- NJ Agwuna, Chika Ike, Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly, Lindsey Hope Pearlman, Ben Randle, Hannah Ryan, and Mr. Bakalov -- recently completed their development programs as part of The Drama League Directors Project.

The festival also includes conversations with 2017 Tony Award Winner Rebecca Taichman (Indecent), 2014 Tony Award Winner and 2010 Drama League Founders Award for Excellence in Directing Kenny Leon (A Soldier’s Play), and Intimacy Director Claire Warden (HBO’s "Mrs. Fletcher").

DIRECTORFEST 2020: THE 36th ANNUAL DIRECTORS FESTIVAL

Tickets Available at www.directorfest.org

FESTIVAL PRODUCTIONS

HELLO AGAIN
Book, Music and Lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa
Directed by 2019 Drama League Leo Shull Musical Directing Fellow Ben Randle
Music Direction by Jesse Kissel

Friday, January 10, 2020 at 7:00pm
Saturday, January 11, 2020 at 2:00pm* and 7:30pm
Sunday, January 12, 2020 at 2:00pm
The New Ohio Theatre
154 Christopher Street
$45 Premium Seating | $25 General Seating | $20 Drama League/SDC/AEA/DG Members
* a post-show talkback with the director will follow the Saturday matinee performance

The four-member cast features Broadway veterans Lana Gordon (Chicago, The Lion King), Angel Reda (The Cher Show), Matthew Christian and Pablo Torres, with musicians Jesse Kissel (conductor/piano), Michael Hess (cello), Mike Lunce (percussion), and Justin Vance (reeds). The Production Stage Manager is Karen Schleifer. Casting by Stephen DeAngelis.

Michael John LaChiusa’s acclaimed musical retelling of Schnitzler’s La Ronde -- in which a circle of intimate encounters weave together across time and space, spanning a century of human experience -- receives a groundbreaking new revival in the hands of director Ben Randle. Just four actors tackle twenty characters in ten decades, exploring new possibilities in the intersections of gender, class, race, sexuality, and history. As the connections multiply and fracture before our eyes, Hello Again maps the chasm between power and intimacy, set to one of the most captivating scores of the modern era.

Ben Randle recently relocated to NYC, after 15 years working in San Francisco, including four seasons as Artistic Associate at New Conservatory Theatre Center (NCTC). World Premieres include Plover (2018 Samuel French OOB Play Festival); Salome, Dance for Me, Sagittarius Ponderosa by MJ Kaufman; warplay and Into the Clear Blue Sky by JC Lee. Regional premieres include Stephen Karam’s Sons of the Prophet and The Submission by Jeff Talbott; other credits include Sweeney Todd (Ray of Light Theatre) and Hank Williams: Lost Highway (Douglas Morrison Theatre). Ben has worked at Cal Shakes, Aurora Theatre, ZSpace, and West Edge Opera, among others. B.A., San Francisco State University; Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellow 2017-2018; Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab.

Hello Again and the Leo Shull Musical Directing Fellowship are supported, in part, with funds from The Leo Shull Foundation for the Arts.

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A Double-Bill:
THE SPORTING LIFE OF ICARUS JONES
by Marcus Gardley
Directed by 2019 Drama League Directing Fellow Chika Ike
and
THE DROWNING GIRLS
By Beth Graham, Charlie Tomlinson, and Daniela Vlaskalic
Directed by 2019 Drama League Directing Fellow Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly

Friday, January 24, 2020 at 7:30pm
Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 2:00pm* & 7:30pm
The New Ohio
154 Christopher Street
$45 Premium Seating | $25 Regular Admission | $20 Drama League/SDC/AEA/DG Members
* a post-show talkback with the director will follow the Saturday matinee performance.

This evening of short plays probing the complexity of relationships begins with director Chika Ike’s staging of The Sporting Life of Icarus Jones by Marcus Gardley, whose work -- including The House That Will Not Stand (NYTW) and On The Levee (LCT) has made him “the heir to Garcia Lorca, Pirandello, and Tennessee Williams” (New Yorker).

The three-member cast of The Sporting Life of Icarus Jones includes Cherrye J. Davis as Songstress/Nurse, Martin Fisher as Deadlust Jones and Eric Lockley as Icarus Jones. The Music Director is Justin Ellington. Casting by Erica A. Hart.

Chika Ike is originally from Chicago, transitioning to New York. Recent productions include Kentucky, A Swell in the Ground, Franklinland, In the Blood, No Child, and Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea, as well as assisting Rachel Chavkin on the world premiere of Dave Malloy’s Moby Dick at A.R.T. She has worked with Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Playmakers Rep, Goodman Theatre, Victory Gardens, About Face, Chicago Inclusion Initiative, and Chicago Dramatists. Drama League New York Fellow, former SDCF Gielgud Directing Fellow, Bret C. Harte Directing Fellow, and member of Victory Garden’s Directors Initiative. She is an ensemble member of the Gift Theatre, where she serves as the director of the 4802 New Play Residency. chikavike.com

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The Drowning Girls, directed by Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly, weaves fact and fantasy through London’s infamous “Brides in the Bath” murder case, where the killer’s victims -- his three newlywed wives -- finally get a chance to tell their side of the story.

The three-member cast of The Drowning Girls features Rachel Claire as Bessie, Jessie Datino as Margaret and Lisa Helmi Johanson as Alice. Casting by Gama Valle, Harriet Bass Casting.

Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly is originally from Vermont and Brooklyn-based. In her Drama League Fellowship, she assisted Laura Kepley at the Cleveland Play House, and will be assisting Mike Donahue at Baltimore Center Stage. Her work has been seen at BAM (Fisher), The Public Theater, PS122, BRIC House, and The Bushwick Starr. Upcoming: Radium Girls at Skidmore College, where she’s also directed Who Will Carry the Word and Let the Right One In. She was a directing observer on Hadestown with Rachel Chavkin. Three-time Leadership U(niversity) Serving the Field grant recipient with TCG and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Training: Williamstown Theatre Festival, SITI Company, SDCF Observership Class, and Skidmore College. Member, Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab.

The Sporting Life of Icarus Jones and The Drowning Girls play on a double-bill for each performance.

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A Double-Bill:
THE LOVER
by Harold Pinter
Directed by 2019 Drama League Directing Fellow NJ Agwuna
and
APPEARANCES
By Tina Howe
Directed by 2019 Drama League Directing Fellow Lindsey Hope Pearlman

Friday, January 31, 2020 at 7:30pm
Saturday, February 1 at 2:00pm* & 7:30pm
The New Ohio
154 Christopher Street
$45 Premium Seating | $25 Regular Admission | $20 Drama League/SDC/AEA/DG Members
* a post-show talkback with the director will follow the Saturday matinee performance

Nothing is as it seems in this double-bill evening! The Lover, Harold Pinter’s playful and provocative exploration of modern marriage, is directed by NJ Agwuna, twisting the boundaries of temptation, fidelity, and judgement.

The three-member cast of The Lover features Greg Brostrom as Richard, Maribel Martinez as Sarah, and Charlie Spillers as John, The Milkman. The Stage Manager is Melanie Aponte. Casting by Erica A. Hart.

NJ Agwuna is a theatre and film director. She has worked on a national and international scale exploring classic text, developing new plays, devising, and investigating new ways to explore trauma and mental illness through theatre. Some of NJ's credits include immersive work with Third Rail Projects and Punchdrunk, Harold Pinter's One for the Road as part of the Segal Center's Re-Reading Oppression, Till: A Musical (2019 NYMF Award, Outstanding Direction), Julius Caesar, Theatreworks USA's Freedom Train National Tour, Endangered: the ECO Musical (AD), and What She Found (won Best Drama at FRIGID). She is currently a teaching artist with Tectonic. Directing MFA: Columbia University, SDC Associate. njagwuna.com

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Lindsey Hope Pearlman stages Tina Howe’s Appearances, a comic meditation on women and self-image in which the search for the perfect dress is eternal… and sometimes, a job for two! As a customer and a sales clerk form an uneasy alliance, they share their hopes, dreams, and a secret plan for a very important occasion.

The two-member cast features LaVon Fisher-Wilson*(Newsies, Lysistrata Jones) as Grace, and Kerry Ipema as Ivy. The Stage Manager is Arielle Goldstein. Casting by Stephen DeAngelis.

Lindsey Hope Pearlman is a Brooklyn-based director and writer. As part of her Drama League Fellowship, she served as Assistant Director for On That Day In Amsterdam at Primary Stages. Her directing work has been seen at The O’Neill Theatre Center, The Flea, Connelly Theatre, Goodspeed Opera House, Delaware Theatre Company, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Santa Fe University of Art & Design, The Adobe Rose Theatre, Dixon Place, and Barn Arts Collective. Original plays include Lucy (EST/Sloan Commission) and Viv is for Vengeance (Honorable Mention, American Playwriting Foundation’s Relentless Award). Assistant Director: Bandstand on Broadway. SDC Associate Member and 2-time SDC Observer. Co-Artistic Director, Up & Down Theatre Company. Member, BREAD Arts Collective. Graduate, London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA) B.A Hamilton College. Up next: MacGyver the Musical. lindseyhopepearlman.com

The Lover and _Appearances_ play on a double-bill for each performance.

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PURE
North American Premiere
Conceived and Directed by Christian Bakalov

Performances are for four individuals at a time, every 10 minutes:
Wednesday, January 15, 2020 from 12:00pm - 6:00pm
Thursday, January 16, 2020 from 12:00pm - 6:00pm
LaGuardia Performing Arts Center
31-10 Thomson Street
$25 Regular Admission | $20 Drama League/SDC/AEA/DG Members

How does physical sensation transform the way we experience our lives? Enter the jaw-dropping world of PURE, an immersive performance that considers the influence of imagination on our perception of reality. Guided through a walking experience across the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, oscillating between visual art, sound, touch, and performance, audience members will experience a surprising feast for the senses. After rapturous success during its recent European tour, PURE makes its North American debut at Directorfest, welcoming American collaborators for the first time.

Christian Bakalov and his long time collaborators Maria Alvarez, Demir Berisha, Valentina Panova, Tatyana Petrova, and Mario Tomchev will all perform in the immersive promenade. Catherine Porter (Obie Award Winner, co-Artistic Director of Peculiar Theater Project) joins the production as a performer. Bakalov and team will also be presenting a devising workshop from January 12 - 14, 2020 at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. All participants of the workshop will be joining Bakalov and his team in performance. If you are interested in the workshop please contact Nilan (Associate Artistic Director) at njohnson@dramaleague.org.

After studying at the Sofia Opera, Christian Bakalov began his career in France, as part of the Young Ballet of France and CCNN of Nantes. Since 2009, he has lived and worked in Brussels, as part of the performance collective Volksroom. As a performer, he has collaborated with Robert Wilson, Jérôme Bel, Ivo Dimchev, Jan Fabre, Miet Warlop, and Florentina Holzinger & Vincent Riebeek. In 2014, he began developing and directing BRIGHT, in which the audience plays the main role. Blurring the boundaries between performative action and installation, Bakalov employs a series of immersive methods in his work to introduce the audience to a parallel universe of his own design. The trilogy ETERNIA, inspired by Spinoza's concept of eternity, has been produced and supported by ArtEast Foundation and Workspacebrussels. The second part of ETERNIA is PURE, which makes its debut in North America at Directorfest. It has previously been seen in Bucharest, Brussels, Paris, Sofia, and Santiago, Chile.

The Stage Manager is Evangeline Whitlock.

PURE is supported in part through the generous support of the Trust for Mutual Understanding, and in partnership with the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (LPAC) and Art Office Sofia.

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RIOT SONG: THE CONCERT
Songs from the work-in-progress
Directed by 2019 Drama League Director In Residence HANNAH RYAN

Tuesday, February 4, 2020 at 7:00pm
Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette Street
$25 Regular Admission, plus a 2-drink or $12 food minimum, per person.

Directed by Hannah Ryan (Resident Director, Hamilton), Riot Song is a thrilling new docu-play with music, recounting the tragedies and triumphs of New York’s LGBTQ community through the voices of those who witnessed them first-hand. Riot Song blends hours of interviews with real-life figures from Greenwich Village’s queer movement, interwomen with thrilling new gospel and R&B-infused songs by Matthew Dean Marsh (We’re Only Alive for a Short Period of Time at the Public Theater) and award-winning journalist/playwright Oscar Lopez.

The six-member cast will feature Deon’te Goodman, Robert Hager, L. Morgan Lee, William Mulligan, Niya Norwood, and Scott Robertson. The Choreographer is Charlie Sutton. The Producer is William Mulligan of Bear Back Brooke. The Stage Manager is Megan Smith.

Hannah Ryan is a founding collaborator of Nettelworks: a creative collective. Director: Confidence and The Speech (Charlotte’s Off-Broadway), All Dressed Up (Redhouse Arts Center), Every Path (La Jolla Playhouse, Moxie Theatre), Still Life (Keller Gallery), The Guys (Davenport Theatre), Ascended (Zoetic Stage), New York Theatre Workshop Gala (Plaza Hotel), The Big Announcement (Drama League), Let’s Misbehave (Mr. Finn’s Cabaret), Cendrillon and Gianni Schicchi (Point Loma Opera), Twelfth Night, Midsummer, The Forced Marriage (Point Loma Playhouse). Broadway Resident Director: Hamilton, An American in Paris. Associate Director: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Broadway), Circus in Winter (Goodspeed), The Golem of Havana (Barrington Stage Company, Miami New Drama). Assistant Director: Doctor Zhivago, “700 Sundays” (HBO), Christopher Plummer’s A Word or Two (CTG), Fetch Clay, Make Man (NYTW), Sideways and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (La Jolla Playhouse). Member of SDC, Drama League Fellow, SDC Foundation Denham Fellow. Hannahmryan.com

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THE DIRECTORS: IN CONVERSATION

IN CONVERSATION:
KENNY LEON
WITH THOMAS SCHUMACHER
Monday, January 27, 2020 at 7:00pm
The Drama League Theater Center
32 Avenue of the Americas, Ground Floor
$45 Premium Seating | $25 General Seating | $20 Drama League/SDC/AEA/DG Members

With his Broadway productions of A Raisin in the Sun, Fences, Children of a Lesser God, The Mountaintop, Stick Fly, Gem of the Ocean, Radio Gold, Holler If You Hear Me, and this season’s revival of A Soldier’s Play, Kenny Leon has earned his reputation as one of the most influential directors of our age; his successful collaborations with Denzel Washington, Toni Morrison, Alicia Keys, Angela Bassett, and more prove he is an expert in the fine art of collaboration. In this intimate conversation with the President of Disney Theatrical Group, Thomas Schumacher, Mr. Leon will discuss his body of work and his thoughts on theater today.

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IN CONVERSATION:
REBECCA TAICHMAN
Tuesday, January 28, 2020 at 7:00pm
The Drama League Theater Center
32 Avenue of the Americas, Ground Floor
$45 Premium Seating | $25 General Seating | $20 Drama League/SDC/AEA/DG Members

Winner of the 2017 Tony Award for Direction of a Play, Rebecca Taichman has redefined directing and the intricate relationship between playwright and director. Her collaborations with Paula Vogel (Indecent), Jocelyn Bioh (School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play), Sarah Ruhl (The Oldest Boy, The Clean House), and Danai Gurira (Familiar) speak to her intimate connection to writers through her work. In this conversation, Ms. Taichman will share her thoughts about her career and the future of the field, as well as anecdotes from her rehearsals and productions.

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IN CONVERSATION:
CLAIRE WARDEN
Monday, February 3, 2020 at 7:00pm
The Drama League Theater Center
32 Avenue of the Americas, Ground Floor
$45 Premium Seating | $25 General Seating | $20 Drama League/SDC/AEA/DG Members

Claire Warden, the first intimacy director in history to be a part of Broadway production teams, will discuss the essential work of staging intimacy in a consent-based creative environment. Taking questions from the audience, Ms. Warden will discuss a range of topics, including the pillars of Intimacy Direction practice; the implementation of intimacy directors in theater, film, and television; and common misconceptions about their work. A must for any artist working in today’s entertainment industry!

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FESTIVAL CONVERSATIONS

IN CONVERSATION:
BEN RANDLE AND KEMAR JEWEL
WITH GABRIEL STELIAN-SHANKS
January 11, 2020 immediately following the 2pm performance of HELLO AGAIN
The New Ohio Theatre
154 Christopher Street
FREE

Ben Randle, the 2019 Drama League Musical Directing Fellow, will discuss his production of Hello Again with his predecessor in the program, Kemar Jewel, who memorably created the first-ever African-American queer revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Marry Me A Little in Directorfest last year. Sharing a passion for the reimagining of musicals as opportunities for underserved communities, Ben and Kemar will share their thoughts on the future of the form and take questions from the audience, alongside Drama League Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks.

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IN CONVERSATION:
CHIKA IKE and REBECCA MARZALEK-KELLY
WITH NILAN
January 25, 2020 immediately following the 2pm performance of THE SPORTING LIFE OF ICARUS JONES/THE DROWNING GIRLS
The New Ohio Theatre
154 Christopher Street
FREE

Reconstructing history and mythology in their double-bill of Directorfest productions, directors Chika Ike and Rebecca Marzalek-Kelly will come together to discuss their plays, their paths through the American theater to date, and their experiences assisting Rachel Chavkin, Mike Donahue, and other notable directors this season. Drama League Associate Artistic Director Nilan will take questions from the audience and facilitate the discussion.

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IN CONVERSATION:
NJ AGWUNA and LINDSEY HOPE PEARLMAN
WITH NICOLE A. WATSON
February 1, 2020 immediately following
the 2pm performance of THE LOVER/APPEARANCES
The New Ohio Theatre
154 Christopher Street
FREE

On the surface, the plays directed in Directorfest by NJ Agwuna and Lindsey Hope Pearlman couldn’t be more different. In practice, however, these works are led by women with strong perspectives on the world these plays inhabit. Both will discuss in depth their approach to the work of these master playwrights, and how they reflect their ideas for 2020 and beyond. Joining them will be Drama League Board Member Nicole A. Watson, who appeared in Directorfest 2013 and is now the Associate Artistic Director of Round House Theatre in Washington, D.C.

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ASCENDING THE PIPELINE: A DIRECTORS’ TOWN HALL
Presented in collaboration with Directors Gathering,
Stage Directors and Choreographers, and the SDC Foundation
Facilitators:
Jill Harrison, Executive Director, Directors Gathering
Gabriel Stelian-Shanks, Artistic Director, The Drama League
Saturday, February 1, 2020 at 12pm
The Drama League Theater Center
32 Avenue of the Americas, Ground Floor
Open to all stage directors, artistic directors, and affiliated professionals
FREE, RSVP Required at directorfest@dramaleague.org

As the American Theatre experiences rapid change in the leadership of its institutions and theatrical productions, questions regarding the “pipeline” -- the way that directors move up the ladder of creative equity and leadership opportunity -- are demanding new answers and practices. Who is ascending the pipeline in 2020? How does the changing landscape affect directors and their work? What are the opportunities that exist now? This town hall meeting, open to stage directors to communally share their experiences, ideas, and hopes for the field, aims to demystify the process of growth and collectively plot a course into the future.

For additional information, please visit the website at www.dramaleague.org.

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And that's the scoop. Tune in tomorrow for the Monthly Mashup.