The Magic Theatre Presents 'The K of D- An Urban Legend'

Magic Theatre launches its 2008-09 Season of New Plays, artistic director Loretta Greco's first with the company, with The K of D, an urban legend, a new play by Laura Schellhardt and directed by local favorite Rebecca Novick.  One young girl embodies the entire population of her small town to spin the story of young Charlotte McGrew and the summer that inexplicably changed her life.  From one of the brightest emerging voices in American Theatre, this quirky and touching play offers the unexpected perspective of a child on the big questions of life and death.  The K of D performs September 20 - October 19, 2008 at Magic's Northside Theatre (Bldg D, Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA - parking lot entrance at Marina Blvd. and Buchanan St.). Tickets are $20-$45 and available at (415) 441-8822 or www.magictheatre.org.

"Shellhardt's The K of D is an astounding piece of writing: its highly muscular language, bold imagination, and emotional vitality captivated me completely," says Artistic Director Loretta Greco.  "The Magic's intimate environment is the perfect place to celebrate Laura's vital new voice and this quintessential piece of theatre-going back to our earliest traditions of great storytelling that shakes the hearts and souls of an audience and reminds them what it means to be human."

Maya Lawson takes on the role of the young storyteller bringing to life the dozen inhabitants and rich atmosphere of Schellhardt's small Midwestern world where the legend unfolds.  Director Rebecca Novick, who directed the critically acclaimed Anna Bella Eema at Crowded Fire last season, will be making her Magic Theatre debut.   The production team for The K of D features set designer Melpomene Katakalos (Territories), light designer Kate Boyd (Expedition 6), and costume designer Brandin Barón (Monkey Room).   The soundscape that evokes the atmosphere of the Midwestern town as a second character in the play will be created by Magic's resident sound designer Sara Huddleston (Octopus, Expedition 6).

Founded in 1967, Magic Theatre is one of the most prominent theatres in the nation solely dedicated to development and production of new plays. Under the leadership of artistic director Loretta Greco and managing director David Jobin, Magic Theatre operates with a budget of $1.9 million in San Francisco's historic Fort Mason Center.  Magic Theatre plays and playwrights have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer Prizes, Kennedy Center Award, NAACP Image Award, Obie Awards, Pen-West Awards, Bay Area Critics' Circle Awards, and Los Angeles Drama-Logue Awards. The list of playwrights whose works have premiered at the Magic reads like a "Who's Who of American Theatre": David Mamet, Sam Shepard, Paula Vogel, Nilo Cruz, Charles Mee, Anne Bogart, and Rebecca Gilman amongst many others.  In addition to its production calendar, Magic Theatre is instrumental in the development of works in the Bay Area and beyond, with its Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Initiative (now in its second three-year cycle, the program is developing and commissioning over 25 new works), Magic/Z Space New Works Initiative (also in its second three-year program, a consortium of fourteen Bay Area theatres commissioning, developing and producing 18 new plays), Martha Heasley Cox Raw Play Series, education program Young California Writers Project amongst others. For more information, visit the Magic Theatre website at www.magictheatre.org.

 

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