Strange Sun Theater Unveils New 2-Year Play Development Cycle THE GREENHOUSE PROJECT

Strange Sun Theater - which will premiere the new play HOT SEASON by Evan Mueller at The Black Box at The Sheen Center (18 Bleecker Street) beginning June 13th - is pleased to announce a new two year play development program THE GREENHOUSE PROJECT. Each two year GREENHOUSE PROJECT will be focus driven; the inaugural project - which will begin with plays being accepted to strangesuntheater@gmail.com from June 1st through September 15th, 2014 - is for female theatre artists. The selected scripts for this inaugural GREENHOUSE PROJECT will be announced around November 1st, 2014.

"The Greenhouse Project came out of discussions Evan [Mueller, Strange Sun Co-Founder and Artistic Director] and I had about the need to really support a play throughout its development," stated Jessica Bashline, Strange Sun Co-Founder and Producing Director. "Strange Sun is committed to producing new plays, and we were getting submissions of new work for production, but most weren't totally ready for the stage. So we decided to create a journey that playwrights could take with us, which allows us to invest in a project over the course of a few years. The decision to focus on women playwrights for our first cycle was an easy one. The work of women accounts for such a small percentage of the new plays being produced, to quote Marsha Norman, "we have a fairness problem." We at Strange Sun are hoping to help level the playing field, and create some amazing theater in the process."

Each GREENHOUES PROJECT is broken into three cycles: On Book; At the Table; and On the Stage.

The "On Book" portion of THE GREENHOUSE PROJECT is Strange Sun Theater's chance to sow the seeds of new work. Each Project will have a 3-month open submission process for scripts based upon the focus for that project. Once scripts have arrived they will be read and curated by the Strange Sun Artistic staff as well as Board Members and Founding Artists. >From the submissions four to five plays will be selected to continue on through the process. Each of the selected scripts/playwrights will be teamed with a director, actors and other necessary production staff; each will receive 6 hours of rehearsal (at least 2 full rehearsal readings) and a staged reading with an audience followed by a talkback session to help facilitate the growth of the script.

From the initial four to five scripts from the "On Book" portion of the cycle there will be selected one or two of those plays to move on to the "At the Table" portion of the GREENHOUSE PROJECT. "At the Table" will provide dramaturgical support for each playwright as well as 20 hours of rehearsal time for a playwright and director to work with a full cast. Following the "At the Table" portion of the cycle one of the two plays will be selected to be "On the Stage."

Just as it implies "On the Stage" means - the selected script/play will be presented as Strange Sun Theater's mainstage production "on the stage"!

Strange Sun Theater Company, under the direction of Jessica Bashline (co-founder & producing director) and Evan Mueller (co-founder & artistic director) is dedicated to telling stories that illuminate humanity through a shared experience of the magic of theater. Last season's inaugural production of THE DROWNING GIRLS, starring Kate Danson, received rave reviews: "Beautifully staged by Jessica Bashline," New York Post; "The Drowning Girls takes your breath away," Backstage; and nominated for Best Revival of a Play by the NY Innovative Theater Awards.

For more information about THE GREENHOUSE PROJECT or Strange Sun Theater, please visit www.StrangeSunTheater.com.