The Premiere Playhouse Opens 3rd Annual Premiere Premieres Production

On February 13th, The Premiere Playhouse (TPP) will open their third annual production of The Premiere Premieres, a culminating performance run of their year-long Premiere Playwriting Program in the historic Orpheum Theater of downtown Sioux Falls. This year's finalist plays, Aftermath by Mikennah Oleson and Battle Cry by Sigue Sueños, were selected by a panel of professional adjudicators after a September 2024 Festival of New Plays held in the Belbas Theater of the Washington Pavilion. The locally written pieces have been further developed within TPP's Playwriting Program through the rehearsal process and are being produced in full as part of their annual season of performances.

Returning home to South Dakota with a victorious theatrical re-debut is local theatre professional Jen Luke, who directs the two half-length plays as one full-length experience. Oleson's Aftermath opens the show as Act 1 and Sueños' Battle Cry finishes the evening of entertainment as Act 2. Described as "two plays in less than two hours", the theatrical pieces deliver some correlating themes but are otherwise quite different from each other. Aftermath centers on five normal people on a normal day, with a catch: the world is ending... in an hour. It is a story about the lengths and extremes of who we love and what we'll do to get there. Battle Cry is a play centered on the complexities and navigation of the intersectionality of being Indigenous and queer, conveyed through one visitation conversation between a recovering patient battling addiction and their loved one inside of a rehabilitation center.

Aftermath features the onstage talents of local performing artists India Johnson, Jackson Heiberger, Jake Cox, Casey Schultz, Thomas Andrew Simmons, and Christian Heiberger. Local actors Joseph Karnof and Jimmy McLain star in two-hander Battle Cry. All of the actors are frequent TPP players with nearly the entire company participating in their second, or third, production of The Premiere Premieres specifically. Carlie Terrall makes a triumphant return to TPP as Stage Manager for this production, revisiting The Premiere Premieres as well. Jamie Bowden, yet another Premieres veteran, serves as Directing Assistant for Aftermath and Assistant Stage Manager for both plays with Frances DeArmond serving as Directing Assistant for Battle Cry as well as Sound Designer & Audio Engineer for the production. Chelsea Chapman provides dynamic lighting design for the plays' performances.

TPP staff members lead the design and management of the annual production with Brittney Lewis in the role of Costume, Hair & Makeup Designer, Jill Clark serving as Scenic Designer & Technical Director, Abby Kustak as Properties & Paint Coordinator, Pierce Humke in the roles of Head Carpenter & Technical Coordinator, Alex Newcomb Weiland as Production Manager, and TPP's Managing Artistic Director, Oliver Mayes, serving as Producer & Casting Director.

Performances are on February 13th, 14th and 15th at 7:00pm as well as February 16th at 2:00pm in the historic Orpheum Theater. The opening night performance will include ASL interpretation and a sensory-friendly performance model. On February 15th patrons can meet the playwrights prior to the show and participate in a public talkback session with the creative team of the production after the performance. Tickets for the production are available online here, by calling 605-731-2420, or by visiting the 3e Encore box office inside the Washington Pavilion (301 S. Main Avenue) or at the Orpheum Theater Center (315 N. Phillips Avenue) within one hour until curtain. Prices are $25 per two adults (online & in person or over the phone) and $15 per two students (in person or over the phone only) by using the promotional code "TPPBOGOFREE".

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