Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC) Artistic Directors Vivienne Benesch and Ethan McSweeny are pleased to introduce the final New Play Workshop (NPW) of the 2010 season, An Incident by Anna Ziegler, directed by Ms. Benesch and artistic associate and literary manager Katherine McGerr. Four performances will run July 29-August 1 at Chautauqua's Bratton Theater.
Now in its sixth season, CTC's New Play Workshop series introduces audiences to important new voices in the theater and to the staged reading as a theatrical event in its own right. Each performance is followed by an on stage discussion with playwright, director and cast. In a unique twist, CTC/NPW selects plays that correspond with the Chautauqua Institution's weekly lecture theme. An Incident was chosen to compliment and reflect the Week Five theme: "Picture This: On Photography," a celebration and exploration of the art of photography.
"This week is all about the art of photography, and we are exploring that theme through the development of a live play," says Ms. Benesch. "We selected An Incident because we were intrigued by its investigation of the story behind a photograph. You see smiling faces in a family photo, but why are they smiling? And when did they stop?"
"This week is all about photography, but ultimately it is a play about a fractured family coming together," adds Ms. McGerr, who managed the play selection process.
An Incident follows the Nadelman family as parents Philip and Lillian visit Joey, their puzzling, hard- to-handle son at summer camp in Maine. After greeting his parents with even more hostility than usual, Joey disappears, but not before his parents discover that he has committed acts of vandalism and other surprising details that give them a new perspective on their son. In the search for Joey, Philip and Lillian expose the truth of their relationship to each other and the full Nadelman family portrait becomes developed.
"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to direct a new
Anna Ziegler play after she brought Variations on a Theme to Chautauqua two years ago," says Ms. Benesch. "Anna is one of the brightest voices of theatre today. It is a privilege for Chautauqua Theater Company to participate in the development of her promising career."
Playwright
Anna Ziegler returns to Chautauqua Theater Company after a 2008 NPW production of Variations on a Theme. Ms. Ziegler's plays have been developed in theaters in both the United States and the United Kingdom: Dov and Ali, BFF, Photograph 51 and Life Science, developed by such theaters as Theatre 503 in London, Chester Theater, The Cherry Lane, The
Sundance Theatre Lab, The Old Vic New Voices program,
Primary Stages, The
Geva Theatre Center, The McCarter and The Lark Play Development Center. Also a novelist and poet, Ms. Ziegler's work has appeared in The Best American Poetry 2003, The Threepenny Review, The St. Ann's Review and many other journals. Ms. Ziegler is a graduate of Yale University and holds an M.F.A. from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
Reuniting on stage as Lillian and Philip Nadelman are guest artists
Amy Van Nostrand and
Stephen Pelinski. They previously starred as husband and wife in Six Degrees of Separation at the
Guthrie Theatre in 2003.
Amy Van Nostrand, who plays Lillian Nadelman, returns to Chautauqua after her performances in Death of a Salesman (2008) and Ah, Wilderness! (2007). She has appeared on Broadway in The Hothouse and Off-Broadway in Dance With Me and The God Committee. Van Nostrand has numerous regional credits including roles at the Guthrie, Huntington, Williamstown, Shakespeare Theatre, and eight seasons at the Trinity Rep.
Stephen Pelinski, seen earlier this summer in You Can't Take It With You as Mr. Kirby, plays Philip Nadelman, the workaholic father. Mr. Pelinski is entering his third season as a member of the Resident Ensemble Players at the University of Delaware and has performed regionally and internationally, including over forty roles at the
Guthrie Theatre.
Three CTC conservatory members complete the cast. Second-year conservatory member
Blake Segal plays Joey Nadelman following his performance as Mozart in Amadeus. Mr. Segal is entering his third year at Yale School of Drama.
Younger sister Nora Nadelman is played by Julia Ogilvie, who recently appeared in You Can't Take It With You as Essie Carmichael. Ms. Ogilvie is entering her third year at The Juilliard School. She is a John F. Kennedy Center Presidential Scholar in the Arts.
Camp counselor Mike T. is played by Waymon Arnette, the Conservatory's youngest member at 20. Mr. Arnette is entering his third year at SUNY Purchase's Conservatory of Theatre Arts.
Costume Design Fellow Mark Nagle, recipient of the Donald M. Oenslager Award for Stage Design, is entering his second year at the Yale School of Drama. Lighting Design Fellow Ellie Rabinowitz is entering her third year at the California Institute of the Arts' graduate lighting design program. Scenic Design Fellow John Zuiker is currently working towards his MFA at
Carnegie Mellon University.
Now in its 27th season, the Chautauqua Theater Company is the resident professional theater and Conservatory for the Chautauqua Institution. Internationally known actors, directors, designers and writers join eighteen emerging artists from the nation's top training programs to form a unique company that produces a vibrant summer of work in the historic Bratton Theater.
Patrons seeking further information about An Incident or other CTC programming , as well as other Institution events, are encouraged to visit our website: www.CTCompany.org. Off-grounds ticket buyers may, at no additional cost, enjoy the Institution grounds from noon until 8 p.m. with a matinee ticket or from 4 p.m. to midnight with an evening ticket.
SCHEDULE AND TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets: $12
(716) 357-6250
www.CTCompany.org
