American Theatre of Actors to Stage Two Plays by John Bale

The American Theatre of Actors presents two plays by John Bale: "John Baptist's Preaching in the Wilderness" and "The Temptation of Our Lord."

John Bale was an important pre-Shakespearean playwright. Although best known for his play King Johan, he wrote over 20 plays on biblical topics, of which several survive. Directed in a historically-informed style by theatre historian Jeff S. Dailey, these plays are a rare opportunity to see and hear verse drama from the half-century BEFORE Shakespeare came on the scene.

The theatre will also present readings of Bale's other play on biblical topics, "God's Promises," on Saturday, October 21st at 8 and Sunday, October 22nd at 2.

John Bale (1495-1563), a clergyman who eventually became a bishop in Ireland, wrote these plays as a means of educating an illiterate audience about religion. They are based on Matthew 3 and 4, and were published in 1538. Bale was also a literary historian, and was famous in his lifetime for is history of English authors, as well as his many writings on theology and church history.

Performances are Wednesday, October 11 to Saturday, October 14 at 8pm. There will be a matinee performance on Sunday, October 15 at 2pm. Tickets are $15 and may be reserved by calling (212) 581-3044. Tickets are also available at tdf.org or purchased at the box office prior to performance. Performances run at the Sargent Theater at the American Theatre of Actors, 314 West 54th Street (between 9th Ave. & 8th Ave.) New York, NY 10019. Visit www.americantheatreofactors.com for more information.

The cast for The Bale Plays features David Beckett, Andres Bustillo, Shelly Christian, Caitlyn Meagher, Oganes Armen, Yancy Perez, Max Pescherine, Nikola Sekulo, and Daniel Wuerdeman.

Jeff S. Dailey (Director) earned his PhD in theatre from NYU, with additional study at Wagner College, The College of Staten Island, The Folger Institute, New York Theological Seminary, General Theological Seminary, and Union Theological Seminary.

At the American Theatre of Actors, he has directed the medieval play The Coming of Antichrist, Pushkin's Mozart and Salieri and The Stone Guest; Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great, parts 1 and 2; Dido, Queen of Carthage; Euripides' Iphigenia in Tauris; Seafaring (his adaptation/translation of Anglo-Saxon poetry), Sophocles' Ajax, and, an award-winning production of Plautus' The Captives, among other plays. He is the founder of the Long Island Student Shakespeare Festival and the early music ensemble Collectio Musicorum. Outside of the theatre, he recently worked on The Big Bang Theory TV series and the movie The Conjuring 2.

Founded in 1976 by James Jennings, the American Theatre of Actors is one of New York City's oldest Off-Off Broadway theatres, presenting dozens of performances of both classical and contemporary plays each year.