New Location For Shanley's 'Veronica' At Powerhouse Announced

 

The location for the reading of Veronica written and directed by John Patrick Shanley will now be in the Martel Theater, in the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film, at 5:00 pm on Sunday, August 3. The reading is free to the public, however reservations are strongly recommended.

Nationally-recognized for developing and producing new works for the theater, Vassar and New York Stage and Film announce casting for Fault Lines, the final workshop presentation of their 24th annual Powerhouse Theater season.

Stephen Belber's newest play, Fault Lines (August 2 – 3), directed by David Schwimmer, will be presented as a developmental workshop. The cast will include Noah Emmerich (Pride and Glory, The Truman Show), Dominic Fumusa (Tape, Wait Until Dark), Josh Lucas (The Glass Menagerie, A Beautiful Mind), and Jennifer Mudge (Dutchman, The Pavilion).

The final weekend of the 2008 Powerhouse Theater season will also include five new plays by internationally recognized playwrights – Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros, Ronan Noone, Deborah Rennard, John Patrick Shanley, and Andrea Stolowitz –during the second Reading Series  (August 1 – 3).

FAULT LINES (August 2-3)

Playwright Belber describes Fault Lines this way: "Whole Foods.  Enlarged prostates. The proactive delineation of loyalty and conviction. A play that approaches what it means to approach 40." Belber's Geometry of Fire premiered on the Powerhouse Mainstage last season and will receive its Off-Broadway debut in the fall. Directed by David Schwimmer, the Fault Lines cast will include Noah Emmerich, Dominic Fumusa, Josh Lucas, and Jennifer Mudge (August 2 – 3).

Fault Lines is presented as part of the Inside Look workshop series, which is intended to bridge the gap between a reading and a full production; works are presented with script-in-hand, with minimal production values.

Noah Emmerich (Joe) began his acting career in the black box theaters of Off-Off Broadway. His last stage appearance was in the Kennedy Center's production of A Streetcar Named Desire. His film credits include Beautiful Girls, Cop Land, The Truman Show, Love & Sex, Frequency, Windtalkers, Miracle, and Little Children, and in Gavin O'Connor's Pride & Glory, opposite Edward Norton and Colin Farrell, this fall.

Dominic Fumusa (Jim) made his Broadway debut in Wait Until Dark; portrayed Mitch Albom in a national tour of Tuesdays with Morrie; originated roles in Rich Greenberg's Take Me Out and Stephen Belber's Tape; and appeared in Melissa James Gibson's Obie Award-winning [sic]. With Josh Lucas, he will be seen this fall in the film Management, written and directed by Stephen Belber. Fumusa last appeared at Powerhouse in Zach Helm's Last Chance for a Slow Dance, directed by Michael Morris.  

Josh Lucas's (Bill) theater credits include The Glass Menagerie on Broadway and Corpus Christi and Spalding Gray: Stories Left Untold Off Broadway. Lucas has appeared in over 30 films, including A Beautiful Mind, Glory Road, Sweet Home Alabama, Wonderland, and American Psycho. With Dominic Fumusa, he will next be seen in Stephen Belber's film Management this fall.

Jennifer Mudge (Jess) was nominated for a 2007 Drama Desk Award for her performance opposite Dulé Hill in Amiri Baraka's Dutchman, at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Her other New York credits include Craig Wright's Drama Desk-nominated The Pavilion; world premiere of Terrence McNally's The Stendhal Syndrome; Reckless; Rose's Dilemma; and Only the End of the World. Her films include independent features: Drifting Elegant by Stephen Belber and Play It by Ear. Mudge is the 2007 recipient of the Marian Seldes-Garson Kanin Fellowship.

Stephen Belber's (playwright) upcoming credits include the film Management, which he wrote and directed, starring Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn and Woody Harrelson, and the play Geometry of Fire (first produced at Powerhouse) at Rattlestick Theater (New York) this fall. Some of his plays include Match on Broadway, McReele at Roundabout, and Tape produced at Naked Angels in New York City, Los Angeles, and London, for which he also wrote the screenplay for the film directed by Richard Linklater (Sundance; Berlin), as well as for McReele, which is curRently being developed by Will Smith's Overbrook Productions.

David Schwimmer (director) recently directed Little Britain USA for HBO and acted in the film Nothing But The Truth for Rod Lurie. He is the cofounder of Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company, where he has acted in and directed many productions. Schwimmer starred in the premieres of Roger Kumble's D Girl and Turnaround, Warren Leight's Glimmer Brothers in Williamstown, and Neil LaBute's Some Girl(s) in London as well as The Caine Mutiny Court Martial on Broadway. Notable television and film credits include Madagascar I & II, Duane Hopwood, Big Nothing, Band of Brothers, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Six Days Seven Nights, Apt Pupil, The Pallbearer, and the hit comedy series Friends, for which he received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor. Schwimmer made his film debut as a director with the UK hit comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run, starring Simon Pegg.

Readings Festival 2 (August 1 – 3)

The second series of five readings will be held August 1 – 3, and are free to the public, however reservations are strongly recommended.

The performances will include Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros's Mean Time, directed by Daniel Aukin, with Francois Battiste, Aadya Bedi, Alicia Goranson, Jesse Hooker, Jill Larson, Ramiz Monsef, Diana Ruppe, Elliot Villar, Delaney Williams; Deborah Rennard's Enough, directed by Max Mayer, with Alice Evans, Ioan Gruffudd, Grant Shaud, Maria Thayer; Ronan Noone's Little Black Dress, directed by Ari Edelson, with Christopher Abbott, Robery Clohessy, Wendy Makkena, Nick Westrate; Andrea Stolowitz's Knowing Cairo, directed by Rebecca Taichman, with Lise Bruneau, Marcia Jean Kurtz, Adriane Lenox; and Veronica, written and directed by John Patrick Shanley, with Livia DePaolis and Michael Puzzo.

Fault Lines
By Stephen Belber
Directed by David Schwimmer
With
Noah Emmerich as Joe
Dominic Fumusa as Jim
Josh Lucas as Bill
Jennifer Mudge as Jess
August 2 at 8:00 pm
August 3 at 7:00 pm
Martel Theater, in the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film
$20

Readings Festival, Part II (August 1 – 3). Reservations required, admittance free, call 845-437-5599

Mean Time
By Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros
Directed by Daniel Aukin
August 1 at 8:00 pm
Susan Stein Shiva Theater

Enough
By Deborah Rennard
Directed by Max Mayer
August 2 at 2:00 pm
Susan Stein Shiva Theater

Little Black Dress
By Ronan Noone
Directed by Ari Edelson
August 2 at 5:00 pm
Susan Stein Shiva Theater

Knowing Cairo
By Andrea Stolowitz
Directed by Rebecca Taichman
August 3 at 2:00 pm
Susan Stein Shiva Theater

Veronica
Written and directed by John Patrick Shanley
August 3 at 5:00 pm
 Martel Theater, in the Vogelstein Center for Drama and Film

Single tickets may be purchased either online at http://powerhouse.vassar.edu, by calling the Powerhouse box office on campus at (845) 437-7235 or (845) 437-5599, or in person at the box office.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations at Vassar should contact the Office of Campus Activities at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

 The Powerhouse program is the result of a unique partnership between New York Stage and Film and Vassar College. The program consists of an eight-week residency on the Vassar campus during which more than 200 professional artists and some 40 appRentices live and work together to create new theater works. Powerhouse steadfastly supports both emerging and established artists.

Since its inception in 1985, Powerhouse has played a significant role in the development of hundreds of new plays, provided a home for a diverse group of artists free from critical and commercial pressures, and established itself as a vital cultural institution for the Hudson Valley, the New York metropolitan area, and the surrounding region.

Founded in 1985 by Producing Directors Mark Linn-Baker, Max Mayer, and Leslie Urdang, and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Johanna Pfaelzer, New York Stage and Film is a not-for-profit company dedicated to the development and production of new works for theater and film. SAF has developed and produced premiere works by such writers as John Patrick Shanley, Jon Robin Baitz, Steve Martin, Theresa Rebeck, and Eve Ensler.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential, liberal arts college founded in 1861. Consistently ranked as one of the country's best liberal arts colleges, Vassar is renowned for its long history of curricular innovation, and for the natural and architectural beauty of its campus. More than 50 academic departments and degree programs -- from Anthropology to Cognitive Sciences to Urban Studies -- encompass the arts, foreign languages, natural sciences, and social services, and combine to offer a curriculum of more than 1,000 courses.