New Voices At New Rep Series Presents DEPORTED/ A Dream Play 5/4

New Voices at New Rep, New Rep's staged readings series, is pleased to present Deported / a dream play as its final reading for 2009 on Monday, May 4, 2009 at 7:30p.m. New Voices @ New Rep is open to the public, and admission is free.

"New Voices @ New Rep is extremely important to New Rep," says Harriet Sheets, Managing Director. It fosters the new works of playwrights and introduces New Rep's patrons to new plays, which is a central part of our mission."

Ms. Sheets adds, "I am thrilled to be ending our 2009 reading series with Deported / a dream play and to be working with local playwright Joyce Van Dyke and director Judy Braha and assisting them with the development of this play."

Playwright Joyce Van Dyke, author of A Girl's War (New Rep 2003), said, "I've been working on this play with director Judy Braha and a company of local actors for the past two years. It began with the desire to create a play based on Armenian genocide survivor stories. Using survivor oral history interviews from the Armenian Library and Museum of America, as well as memoirs, photographs, official documents, letters, and personal reminiscences of survivors and their descendants, we began holding improvisational workshops, and the script has grown out of this process."

Ms. Van Dyke elaborates, "As the demand for recognition and understanding of these historical events continues to swell, I felt a personal need to deal with these haunting stories -- and also to create something constructive, life-giving, and even beautiful, out of their opposites. Judy and I are excited for Deported / a dream play to have its first professional staged reading at New Rep."

Monday, May 4, 2009 @ 7:30p.m.
Deported / a dream play
by Joyce Van Dyke
directed by Judy Braha

Featuring: June Baboian, Ken Baltin, Michael Kaye, Paula Langton, Doug Lockwood, Marya Lowry, Elise Manning, Rob Najarian, Jessica Rothenberg, and Bobbie Steinbach

Description: A true story of two women who saved each other's lives, and a friendship shaped by the legacy of the Armenian genocide. Inspired by the author's grandmother and her close friend, the play's dream-layered action spans more than a century and projects into the future. Nine actors play 30 American, Armenian, Turkish, Jewish, Kurdish, and European characters in an intimate story that reverberates universally.

To complement Deported / a dream play, there will be a thematic panel discussion, Telling Stories about the Genocide in the Theatre, immediately following the reading. The panel will consist of:

· Dr. Martin Deranian: the real-life son of one of the play's main characters, Varter Nazarian Deranian, and the author of three books: Hussenig,
Worcester is America, and Miracle Man of the Western Front: Dr. Varaztad H. Kazanjian, Pioneer Plastic Surgeon.
· Tina Sajonian: President, BU Armenian Students Association.
· Mariam Stepanyan: Executive Director, Armenian Library and Museum of America.
· Ruth Thomasian: Executive Director and Founder, ProjectSAVE Armenian Photograph Archives, Inc.

New Repertory Theatre produces plays that speak powerfully to the essential ideas of our time. Through the passion and electricity of live theater performed to the highest standards of excellence, New Rep expands and challenges the human spirit of both artists and audience. New Rep presents world premieres, contemporary, and classic works in several intimate settings. We are committed to education and outreach, including special dedication to the creation of innovative in-school programming and providing access to underserved audiences. New Rep is an active advocate for the arts and a major voice in the national dialogue defining the role of theater in our culture.

New Rep has received Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards for outstanding acting, scenic design, direction, and production. Programming at New Repertory Theatre is supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

FREE, suggested donation of $10.
Call 617-923-8487, or online at www.newrep.org.