Signature Theatre Announces New Book Club, Discussion Series & More

Signature Theatre has just introduced new supplemental programs which will allow more intimate and direct access to a playwright's vision and process. Just as the layout of The Pershing Square Signature Center encourages a dialogue between different plays and audiences, these supplemental programs invite theatregoers to go deeper into the world of a play, and the world of the artists behind it. The following three events are free of charge, and do not require a reservation.

THE WORLD OF THE PLAY is a new discussion series that takes participants further into the world of one of the plays currently running at the theatre. Experts will join members of the creative team to discuss topics and themes tackled on stage in that particular play.

Hurt Village: Poverty in Concentrated Communities
Saturday, March 10 from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre Lobby

The first panel in "The World of the Play" series features award-winning journalist Esther Armah leading a discussion on urban poverty, focusing on the people and the variables that make up communities like the one depicted in Hurt Village. Guest panelists include sociologists Elijah Anderson (Yale University, author of Code of the Street, The Cosmopolitan Canopy), Phyllis Betts (University of Memphis), and Hurt Village playwright Katori Hall. A book signing with Professor Anderson will follow the event.

BACKSTAGE PASS is a pre-show "behind-the-scenes" discussion with one of the production's designers about the creative design process for the show.

Edward Albee's The Lady from Dubuque: Scenic Design
Thursday, March 15 at 6 p.m.
The End Stage Theatre

The next "Backstage Pass" will feature scenic designer John Arnone, talking about creating the set for the Signature production of Edward Albee's play.

SIGNATURE BOOK CLUB is a bi-monthly book group, exploring the plays, memoirs, short stories and novels by current and past Signature playwrights.

Heathen Valley by Romulus Linney
Wednesday, March 21 from 7:30 to 9 p.m.
The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre Lobby

The first selection in the "Signature Book Club" is Heathen Valley by 1991-1992 Playwright-in-Residence Romulus Linney. This searing 1962 novel was the basis for the play that inspired the founding of Signature Theatre. Heathen Valley is available for purchase at the Signature Bookstore.

Other supplemental programs include "Page to Stage," a moderated conversation between the playwright and director, "The Art of Collaboration," a talk between a Playwright-in-Residence and a frequent artistic collaborator, "Post-Performance Talkbacks" with cast members and Signature staff brought to you by American Express, and "Signature Cinema," a screening series that will begin next month in the End Stage Theatre. For more information, visit the supplemental programming page on the Signature Theatre website:
http://www.signaturetheatre.org/shows-and-events/Supplemental-Programming.aspx