New Georges Partners with Barnard College for NEW PLAYS AT BARNARD, Now thru 3/8

Barnard College's Theatre Department, in collaboration with the award-winning nonprofit theatre company New Georges, has announced the second presentation of "New Plays at Barnard," an inventive approach to staging works by emerging women playwrights. This year's play, Blown Youth by Dipika Guha, a New York City-based playwright, will run today, March 6-8 in the Glicker-Milstein Theatre on Barnard's Morningside Heights campus.

"Barnard's partnership with New Georges embodies all that is possible for Barnard women in New York City-culturally, academically, and artistically," said W.B. Worthen, Chair of Barnard's Department of Theatre and the Alice Brady Pels Professor in the Arts. "We are thrilled to continue this collaboration for a second time and provide student actors and emerging playwrights with a space to display this innovative work."

Blown Youth presents an original, contemporary riff on William Shakespeare's Hamlet. While Hamlet's leading roles are traditionally played by men, this production will feature an all-female cast. The theme of the play is "youth in pain," and it explores the notion that even when women are together, they can feel alone.

"We are proud to present Dipika Guha's exceptional work in this second installment of the series with New Georges," said Barnard Assistant Professor of Professional Practice Alice Reagan, who will direct the play. "New Plays at Barnard offers a wonderful opportunity for our students to experience a premiere production of a new play." "It is a privilege to continue the New Plays partnership, " said New Georges Producing Artistic Director Susan Bernfield. "This arrangement has truly been a boon for Barnard's adventurous students and our company's artists." A reception will follow the opening night performance on Thursday, March 6 and a post-show discussion will take place after the performance on Friday, March 7. A related panel will explore the collaborative relationships in contemporary play development on Monday, February 3 at 7 PM. Visit www.barnard.edu for details about the performances and the panel event.

New Plays at Barnard launched in 2011 with the production of The Egg-Layers by Lauren Feldman. The Glicker-Milstein Black Box Theatre, which is named for Cheryl Glicker Milstein '82 and Philip Milstein, is a state-of-the-art performance space used by professionals in addition to students and faculty in Barnard's acclaimed theatre program.