Nelson, Raffo, Etc. Offer Work in Middle East Play Reading

Back House Productions and Cherry Lane Theatre will present The Middle East, In Pieces, directed by Thomas Caruso.  The one-night-only reading is scheduled for Thursday, August 17th at 8:00 pm at Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce Street.  The event will be free and open to the public, to be followed by a post-reading dialogue with the audience.

Beau Willimon—a New York playwright—came up with the idea for the reading shortly after he learned that bombing had commenced in Lebanon.  His girlfriend's father was living in Beirut when the current conflict began.  "Rather than just wait and worry," says Willimon, "I thought it might be helpful to do something constructive.  I suggested the idea of a reading to the folks at Back House and they agreed to produce the event."  Within a few more days, five more writers had signed on to participate and Cherry Lane Theatre generously offered its Main Stage as a venue.  Participating writers include Kia Corthron (Light Raise the Roof), Israel Horovitz (Park Your Car in Harvard Yard), Anne Nelson (Savages, The Guys), Heather Raffo (9 Parts of Desire), Betty Shamieh (Roar) and Willimon.

The six short plays are billed as a response to the current developments in the Middle East.  Three of the plays are being written specifically for the event.  The other three consist of previous works, which directly or indirectly address the conflicts in Lebanon, Israel and Iraq.  Several of the playwrights and the director will join the audience in a post-reading discussion.  "Our goal is to offer a diverse spectrum of responses," says Willimon.  "By engaging in a dialogue with the audience, we hope, in our own small way, to raise awareness and encourage a forum for multiple perspectives."

Willimon is the playwright of Baby Blue, Nobody's Child, Farragut North, Breathing Time and Lower Ninth, as well as numerous one-acts. His plays have been developed and performed at MCC Theater, HERE Arts Center, New Dramatists, Daryl Roth 2 Theatre, Arthur Seelen Theatre, Kraine Theatre (all in New York), the Dayton Playhouse in Ohio, The Phoenix Theatre in Arizona and the Battersea Arts Center in London.

The reading is free and open to the public, although a $10 donation to the Theatre is suggested.

Reservations can be made by calling Megan Messmer at Cherry Lane Theatre: 212.989.2020 ext. 32, or online by e-mailing reservation requests to MiddleEastReading@gmail.com.