Roundabout Underground to Stage Jeff Augustin's LITTLE CHILDREN DREAM OF GOD in 2015

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced the next Roundabout Underground production Little Children Dream of God, a new play by Jeff Augustin, directed by Giovanna Sardelli. The cast and creative team will be announced shortly. Jeff Augustin is Roundabout's Playwright-in-Residence, generously supported by The Tow Foundation.

The world premiere of Little Children Dream of God will begin preview performances on Thursday, January 22, 2015 and will open officially on Tuesday, February 17, 2015. This is a limited engagement through April 5, 2015. All tickets for Roundabout Underground productions are $20.

On a balmy night in Miami, a soon-to-be mother, Sula, floats ashore on a car tire. Having braved a perilous journey to escape her native Haiti, Sula is determined to forge a better life in America for her unborn son. She soon finds safety in an apartment building that shelters refugees in need, joining a diverse community of immigrants, each with their own unique dreams and dilemmas. But even though the life she has hoped for seems within reach, Sula knows she can't outrun her demons forever. Laced with wisdom, wit and grace, Little Children Dream of God is a timely new drama about learning to start a new life by facing the one you left behind.

Little Children Dream of God launches the eighth season of Roundabout Underground, an initiative to introduce and cultivate artists in Roundabout's 62-seat Black Box Theatre, at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 West 46th Street, NYC, NY, 10036). Prior productions include the acclaimed world premieres of Stephen Karam's Speech & Debate (2007), Steven Levenson's The Language of Trees (2008), Adam Gwon's Ordinary Days (2009), Kim Rosenstock's Tigers Be Still (2010), David West Read's The Dream of the Burning Boy (2011), Andrew Hinderaker's Suicide, Incorporated (2011), Joshua Harmon's Bad Jews (2012) and Meghan Kennedy's Too Much, Too Much, Too Many (2013).

Roundabout Underground is an initiative to showcase new plays that will either allow an experienced director to go back to his/her creative roots or give a debut production to an emerging writer or director. Robyn Goodman (Artistic Consultant to the Roundabout), who has significant artistic development experience, serves as Artistic Producer of this initiative that continues to be a creative breeding ground for nurturing new talent.

The 62-seat Black Box Theatre, below the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, allows Roundabout to take artistic risks that are better suited for a more intimate space.

All tickets for Little Children Dream of God are $20 General Admission tickets and will be available to purchase in Fall 2014. For first access to tickets and insider news, sign up for Roundabout's email club at www.roundabouttheatre.org or by calling Roundabout Audience Services at (212)719-1300.

JEFF AUGUSTIN (Playwright)'s play Cry Old Kingdom received its world premiere at the 2013 Humana Festival of New American Plays. His work has been developed at the Eugene O'Neill National Playwright's Conference (Little Children Dream of God); The Ground Floor at Berkeley Repertory Theatre (The Last Tiger in Haiti); American Conservatory Theater (in the crowding darkness); and Snapdragon in New York (The Imaginary Life of Millo St. Jean). He is a recipient of the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award. Jeff is currently a MFA Playwriting Candidate at University of California, San Diego and graduated from Boston College with a BA in Theatre Arts.

GIOVANNA SARDELLI (Director) is an award-winning director who has worked on the world premieres of plays by Rajiv Joseph, Matthew Lopez, Theresa Rebeck, Lynn Rosen, and Zoe Kazan among others. She has worked Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane Theatre, Second Stage, Vineyard, Playwrights Realm, The Women's Project and Ensemble Studio Theatre. She has directed numerous productions for Dorset Theatre Festival, where she is the Resident Director, Barrington Stage Company, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, TheatreWorks, The Old Globe, Cleveland Play House, Cincinnati Playhouse, CTG, and Hudson Stage Company. Her production of SOMEWHERE by Matthew Lopez is currently running at Hartford Stage Company. She has been part of The Lark Play Development Center since its beginnings and has developed plays there and at the Sundance Theatre Lab, The O'Neill, Playwright's Center, New York Stage & Film, EST, Berkshire Playwrights Lab, and many other places. She was the Resident Director of The Acting Company for their 2002/2003 Season. She spent two seasons as the Director of the Shakespeare Sedona Institute and two seasons as the Artist Director of Studio Tisch. Ms. Sardelli spent over a decade on the faculty of the Dance Department and five years on the faculty of the Graduate Acting Program of NYU. She received her MFA in acting from NYU, and is also a graduate of their Director's Lab.

The Tow Foundation, established in 1988 by Leonard and Claire Tow, funds projects and collaborative ventures in fields where there are opportunities for breakthroughs, reform and benefits for underserved populations. Investments focus on the support of innovative programs in the areas of juvenile justice reform, groundbreaking medical research, cultural institutions, and higher education.

In 2013 The Tow Foundation launched a Playwright Residency program, designed to provide an annual salary and benefits to an emerging playwright who is scheduled to have his/her New York City production debut with a major off-Broadway theater. Five different theaters were awarded $75,000 based on both their commitment to the designated playwright and the evidence that this one year grant would serve as a transformative experience for the playwright. The productions associated with this grant will be presented during 2014 and 2015. For more information, visit www.towfoundation.org.