Robert Schenkkan, Kathy Najimy, Molly Pope, Finn Wittrock and More Slated for 2016 ORCHARD PROJECT

The Exchange today announced the artists and companies selected to participate in the 2016 Orchard Project summer residency program in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Twenty-six artists and ensembles were selected from nearly 800 theatre artists to develop their big, new ideas at the Orchard Project this coming summer. This will be the tenth summer for the Orchard Project, a laboratory program where theatre artists and companies come to innovate, develop, and refine new shows. Past productions developed at the Orchard Project have gone on to be performed around the globe for more than 600,000 people and to win awards from Tonys to Obies to Oliviers.

The Exchange also celebrates its second Orchard Project Presents season, a series of public performances that will take place at venues throughout Saratoga Springs during the month of June. "In our second year in Saratoga Springs, we are particularly excited to invite the community behind the curtain to see what some of the most exciting artists in the country are making," said Ari Edelson, Artistic Director. "With a roster that spans Grammy and TONY winners to top talent of tomorrow, we are packing every week in June with exclusive events. We cannot wait to create this next generation of work with our community of artists and supporters."

Orchard Project Presents will invite the public to experience this world-class new work as it is being developed. The series will feature events every week in June, including Sneak Peek Productions (early stage, cutting-edge workshops and productions), Cabarets, Innovative full-scale productions from Orchard Project alums and special events with top musical talent.

PUBLIC EVENTS AND PRODUCTIONS:

Throughout June, Orchard Project Presents will take over Saratoga's downtown music venue Putnam Den for a series of Cabaret and Musical artists in residence. Featuring artists that are defining and redefining the cabaret genre alongside artists breaking boundaries as they fuse music and storytelling, Orchard Project Present's Cabaret-in-residence series will be an open forum for the community to see sneak peeks of exceptional artists and new work in progress. Artists currently scheduled to appear include: Kathy Najimy and Mo Gaffney, Molly Pope, Martha Graham Cracker, Grace McLean, Amy Leon and more.

June 10, 17 & 30

Join Orchard Project Presents for a special evening that is part performance, part dance party. Featuring work from acclaimed company The Dance Cartel, the evening will feature pop-up performance from their hit event ONTHEFLOOR as well as a sneak peek of new work developed in residence at the Orchard Project, based on stories of cinematic heroines. Driven equally by pumping bass, glitter, dance heroism and feats of endurance, this energy-busting experience is unlike any other event. The Dance Cartel will be joined by local DJs and artists for additional offerings throughout the night. Come join the party.

June 11

Orchard Project Presents will also feature 4-time Orchard Project resident artists, Pig Iron Theatre Company. They will remount a full-scale production of one of its most acclaimed productions, GENTLEMAN VOLUNTEERS. The production commemorates the 100th anniversary of the First World War. This sweeping drama of American idealism and unlikely love affairs is set against the chaos of World War I. GENTLEMEN VOLUNTEERS follows two American ambulance drivers from the idyllic campus of Yale University to the battlefields of France. An epic romance in the style of classic films such as Casablanca, GENTLEMEN VOLUNTEERS features live music and James Sugg's award-winning sound design. A Pig Iron favorite, Gentlemen Volunteers was remounted in the 15/16 season to celebrate Pig Iron's 20th anniversary.

June 27 - July 1

SPECIAL EVENTS:

The Orchard Project an intimate evening with celebrated artist and Grammy winner Esperanza Spalding. Spalding is a world-renowned genre-bending composer, bassist and vocalist. Her work, grounded in jazz traditions, has won her four Grammy awards and brought her onstage at the Oscars, the Nobel Prize Ceremony, the White House, and with Prince and Herbie Hancock. Esperanza takes a moment to share her work for an exclusive event in Saratoga Springs. Currently this event is only available for purchase with supporting memberships.

June 16

EXCLUSIVE EVENTS:

Other events for the 2016 Orchard Project will be invitation only, including:

On Saturday June 18th, a special screening of the HBO film of ALL THE WAY, starring Bryan Cranston. Playwright and screenwriter Robert Schenkkan hosts a screening and talkback of the new movie adapted from his TONY award-winning play, written at the Orchard Project in 2010 and 2011.

Artists and Members BBQ: On Friday June 24th, the Orchard Project will kick off its final residency session of the month with a special BBQ for members and artists. Casual entertainment will accompany.

Writers in Action: On Saturday, June 25th, hear selections of new plays by 2016 resident playwrights, curated by Artistic Director Ari Edelson.

Select open rehearsals of new work will also be open to members and industry throughout the month. Many of these open rehearsals will be on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and members will be emailed about them in advance.

And more to be announced!

Full performance details for Orchard Project Presents, the public program of the Orchard Project, are available online at www.orchardproject.com. Currently, "memberships" to the Orchard Project - offering tickets to all presented events and exclusive members-only events - are available for purchase at www.exchangenyc.org/member. Single tickets for public performances will also be available after May 23rd.

The artists selected to participate in the Orchard Project laboratory program will come to Saratoga Springs from around the world to accelerate projects at various stages of development.

They include:

- Esperanza Spalding and Sherri Barber, working to develop a visual experience of Spalding's album Emily's D+Evolution;

- Robert Schenkkan, the TONY and Pulitzer winner will be working on a new commission for Denver Theater Center and a new play about urban legends.

- Kathy Najimy and Mo Gaffney, collaborating on Najimy's Solo show Lift Up Your Skirt and perhaps a bit of Kathy and Mo if the spirit strikes.

- Tectonic Theater Project, Barbara Pitts McAdams from Tectonic Theater Project and writer/performer Mina Samuels will work to create a new piece, Because I am Your Queen: A Feminist Fantasia (working title), supported by the Core Company.

- The Civilians will be developing The Undertaking, their new multidisciplinary work about death and dying.

- The Dance Cartel, building their new work inspired by cinematic heroines.

- Amy Leon and Kathy Najimy, Najimy directs a new piece by the incredible 23 year old Amy Leon, Poet, Singer, Songwriter, and Spoken Word Poet.

- KJ Sanchez, working on CincyKing, a new musical about the legendary 1940's/50's record producer Syd Nathan and his label, King Records.

- Howard Fishman, a new play by the singer, guitarist, composer and bandleader featuring the songs and letters of a mysterious and little-known American musical figure, Connie Converse.

- Trey Lyford, working with the band Quincy Vidal a new musical adaptation of a famed children's book.

- Molly Pope, working on her newest solo show, Polly the Mope, is a wry cabaret dissection of her mental and emotional maladies, real and invented.

- Composer, singer and actor, Julian Fleisher, working on his newest one man piece.

- Martha Graham Cracker, perhaps the world's tallest and hairiest drag queen, will be developing a new show with the music director Matt Aument.

- Rachel Mars and Greg Wohead, developing 'Story #2', an ongoing exploration of the radical possibilities of narrative.;

- Bart Fasbender, will examine the effect of sound on audiences through direct feedback from participants and creating a virtual museum of the findings for a wider audience.

- Tim Drucker and Ani Taj working with singer-songwriter Grace McLean on her new music theater piece, In the Green, about the 12th Century German mystic Hildegard Von Bingen.

- The Orchard Project will also be playing host to a number of other writers-in-residence, including the actor/writers Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story), Louis Cancelmi, and Heidi Armbruster.

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Hundreds of theatre companies and creative artists from around the United States and world have applied each year to develop their big ideas at the Orchard Project. In its original home in Hunter, NY, the Orchard Project supported more than 500 artists and 100 shows. In 2015, The Orchard Project expanded and moved to Saratoga Springs, NY, where it added a new series of public programs, Orchard Project Presents, allowing the public and theatre industry to get sneak peeks of ground-breaking new work.

The Orchard Project supports work that go to a wide variety of other theaters - from Broadway to the West End to independent theaters across the world. Recent productions include Amelie (Berkeley Rep), The Iphigenia Quartet (Gate Theater), Empathy School (Abrons Arts), All the Way (Broadway), The Object Lesson (BAM Next Wave Festival), and I Promised Myself to Live Faster (Humana Festival).

Writers, teams, and ensembles join the Orchard Project for overlapping residencies, during which they are provided with free rehearsal space, room and board, and the support of fellow artists.

The Orchard Project also runs an education program, the Core Company, which draws students from across the country. The young artists who are members of the Core Company train and create new work alongside resident artists and companies - and support the professional artists in residence.

Past Orchard Project supported companies include The Royal Court, the Public Theater, Tectonic Theatre Project, The Atlantic Theater Company, Pig Iron, The Rude Mechs, American Repertory Theater, Paines Plough, The TEAM, Mabou Mines, and many others. Work developed at the Orchard Project has gone on to win awards including Obies, Drama Desks, Olivier Awards and the 2014 TONY Award for Best Play for All The Way, which was written at the Orchard Project in 2010 and 2011. By even the most conservative estimate, these shows have been seen by more than 600,000 people in New York, London, and as far afield as Tokyo and Stockholm.

More information about the Orchard Project is available at www.orchardproject.com.