Performance Network Announces Fireside Festival of New Works

Performance Network Theatre presents staged readings of new plays from local playwrights at the Fireside Festival of New Works Sunday, September 27 Wednesday, September 30 at 8 pm. Plays include: NIGHT BLOOMING (by Joseph Zettelmaier) on September 27, VICTORIANA (by Jason
Sebacher) on September 28, THORSTEIN THE STAFF-STRUCK: A TALE FROM THE ICELANDIC SAGAS (by Russ Schwartz) on September 29, and THE WAR SINCE EVE (by Kim Carney) on September 30. Admission for all shows is pay-what-you-can with a suggested donation of $10. The festival is generously underwritten by Joseph Walters.

NIGHT BLOOMING
by Joseph Zettelmaier (LANGUAGE LESSONS)
Sunday, September 27 at 8pm
This drama follows the life of three generations of Arapaho women in the
American Southwest. Lily, who was abandoned as a child, spends her life
struggling to understand a mother she hardly knows, finding solace in the
flowers of the New Mexican desert. When Lily¹s daughter Selene is diagnosed
with a rare bone marrow disease, Lily must resume her search for her
long-absent mother Natane. What begins as a journey to save her daughter
unlocks emotion and surprising discoveries hidden deep in her troubled past.
Starring Aphrodite Nikolovski (LANGUAGE LESSONS, AMADEUS), Luna Alexander
and Courtney Myers. Directed by Terry Heck.

VICTORIANA
By Jason Sebacher
Monday, September 28 at 8pm
This comedy explores love, sexuality, and gender in the Victorian era, as
well as our own time. Act I, All Aboard the Hindenburg! is an absurd look at
an older couple experiencing unusual marital problems aboard the famed
Hindenburg. Act II, entitled Can't You See? shows us life inside the
crippled home of a twenty-first century, Victorian-obsessed sadist, his wife
and their devastating secret. Contains mature themes and explicit language.
Starring Hugh Maguire, Phil Powers (DIRTY BLONDE, A DOLL¹S HOUSE) and
Chelsea Sadler (THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED). Directed by Keith Paul Medelis.

THORSTEIN THE STAFF-STRUCK: A TALE FROM THE ICELANDIC SAGAS
By Russ Schwartz
Tuesday, September 29 at 8pm
Iceland, circa 1050 AD. Thorstein is a poor farmer, struggling to survive
even as he cares for his overbearing, bloody-minded father. Life only gets
harder when he is branded a coward and pulled into conflict with a powerful
family. All his efforts only seem to further seal his fate, until he's left
with only one way out: a tricky negotiation at swordpoint. Adapted from an
ancient short story, this play is rich with historical detail and refreshing
comedy. Starring Kevin Young (ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERNŠ), John Manfredi (A
PICASSO), Isaac Ellis (THREEPENNY OPERA) and Emily Sutton-Smith (THE BAKER¹S
WIFE).

THE WAR SINCE EVE
by Kim Carney (GEOFFREY & JEFFREY, MOONGLOW)
Wednesday, September 30 at 8pm
On the evening she is to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, brash
and bawdy Roxie Firestone, a women¹s rights pioneer and feminist icon, has a
dilemma. As the mother of two grown daughters frumpy Milty, her put upon
assistant, and rebellious Tara, from whom she has been estranged for twenty
years she definitely wouldn¹t win any Mother of the Year award. But when
her prodigal daughter returns and the other threatens to jump ship, Roxie
must get her priorities straight. Which is more important, sisterhood or
motherhood? Starring Henrietta Hermelin (TONGUE OF A BIRD, THE CLEAN HOUSE), Mary Jo
Cuppone and Leah Smith. Directed by Artistic Director David Wolber.

Tickets are ³Pay What You Can² and can be ordered at the Performance Network
Box Office at 734.663.0681, online at www.performancenetwork.org
www.performancenetwork.org or by coming to the theatre (120 East Huron St., Ann Arbor) Monday-Saturday 11-6 or one hour before a performance.

Founded in 1981, Performance Network Theatre has grown from a fledgling
company to Ann Arbor¹s only resident, professional theatre. The Network
reaches 40,000 theatre patrons and children each year through the year-round
Professional Series and the Children¹s Theatre Network. Performance Network
also presents the Fireside Festival of New Works and a series of classes on
theatre-related topics. The Network provides uncompromising artistic
leadership in the region and produces works that engage, challenge and
inspire audiences and artists.
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