Works by Rachel Chavkin, Taylor Mac & More Set for Sundance Institute's 2015 Theatre Lab

Sundance Institute today announced the nine projects selected from 827 submissions for its 2015 Theatre Lab at Sundance Resort in Utah, July 6-26. Under the supervision of Artistic Director Philip Himberg and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, the Lab is the centerpiece of the Institute's year-round work with the theatre community and is one of 24 residency Labs the Institute hosts each year for independent artists in theatre, film, new media and episodic content.

The Theatre Lab supports both emerging and established theatre-makers developing new work for the stage, with a focus on assuring that the playwright's deepest impulses and visions can be realized. For the three-week Lab, the Institute provides rehearsal space, dramaturgical support, and an Acting Company, creating an immersive environment where artists can experiment, see their work take shape and collaborate with creative advisors, dramaturgs and actors. The Lab culminates in a closed presentation of each project for Lab participants, followed by a collaborative feedback session.

More than 85% of Sundance-supported plays and musicals find production, including last year's Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Robert L. Freedman & Steven Lutvak's A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, as well as Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori's Fun Home, Lemon Andersen's ToasT, Jenny Schwartz and Todd Almond's Iow@, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Appropriate, Annie Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation, Denis O'Hare & Lisa Peterson's An Iliad, Taylor Mac's The Lily's Revenge, Tracey Scott Wilson's The Good Negro, Adam Guettel & Craig Lucas' The Light in the Piazza, Stew's Passing Strange, Byron Au Yong & Aaron Jafferis' Stuck Elevator, Steven Sater & Duncan Sheik's Spring Awakening, Moisés Kaufman's The Laramie Project and Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife.

Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, "In just the last two years, more than 30 projects supported by our Theatre Program have taken to stages nationwide. As Fun Home, Iow@ and ToasT open in New York this spring, we are proud to have played a role in supporting some of the most adventurous and interesting theatre work to hit the stage in recent years."

Himberg said, "The joy of curating our 2015 Theatre Lab uncovered nine eclectic and dynamic new plays representing both emerging voices and those of established Sundance Institute alumni. Interestingly, many of this year's artists write with a bold fantastical vision inhabited by ghosts, Martians, time travel and wild physicality. What is as vital as the work itself is the artistic community that will gather this July in Utah to discover what connects and distinguishes theatrical storytelling. I am especially excited by the inclusion of artists from Morocco, Egypt as well as Palestinian theatre makers."

Layering in the Theatre Program's international work, which for 14 years was focused in East Africa, two artists are joining the Lab from the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) as Observers as part of the Theatre Program's new initiative in the region: Sondos Shabayek (based in Cairo, Egypt) & Jaouad Essounani (based in Rabat, Morocco).

The Advisory Committee for the Lab, which met on March 27, included: Janice Paran, Labs Senior Program Associate, Mame Hunt, Program Associate, Liesl Tommy, Program Associate, Ralph Pena, Clint Ramos and Stephen Wadsworth. Literary Manager, Ignacia Delgado, oversaw the submission and evaluation process this year with support from Kailee Ayyar.

The projects selected for the 2015 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab are:

abominable
By Phillip Howze
Director TBA

Memory and myth collide in this tragicomic story of a family who embark on an affordable vacation days before the Husband must depart to war. Their good-natured adventure soon descends and as the countdown to deployment tests their principles and allegiances, who and what will get tossed into the void?

Annie Salem: An American Tale
Adapted from the novel by Mac Wellman
Written & directed by Rachel Chavkin
Composer and co-lyricist Heather Christian
Performer/Designer/Co-creator Andrew Schneider

Set in both the ruined rustbelt and ancient Martian plains, Annie Salem is part social commentary, part love story, part sci-fi yarn. A howling, surreal new musical adapted from experimental grandaddy Mac Wellman's novel, it tells the story of teenage misfit Jack who loves a girl named Annie. Annie Salem is also being developed at the Royal Court.

awe/struck
by christopher oscar peña
Director TBA

Denia arrives in Chicago, looking to create a place for herself in this unfamiliar land. Monique's never left Chicago but feels more and more like a stranger in her own home. A chance encounter between them transforms their lives forever in this new play about identity and perception. awe/struck is a commission of the Goodman Theatre.

Catch The Wall
By Gabrielle Reisman
Directed by Colette Robert
Choreography by Ro Tyler

After a New Orleans bounce MC dies, middle-schoolers Cleo and Justice plot a music video so their mentor's memory can live on. As the MC's ghost tangles with the girls' young teachers, students and educators push back against a button-down charter school climate, working to get their own stories heard.

Jonah
By Len Jenkin
Directed by Katherine Owens

Jonah is a contemporary re-telling of the story of the unfaithful servant. A bar band, a lounge singer, a biblical scholar, blind Mr. Bones, a storm at sea, three or four love stories, the evil city of Nineveh, a Dairy Queen, the reluctant prophet, and of course, the whale.

Sell/Buy/Date
By Sarah Jones
Director TBA

Sell/Buy/Date is a multi-character, one-person play inspired by stories of people, especially women and girls, directly impacted by sex-trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. Through monologues the piece explores the perspectives of diverse characters and illuminates the universal challenges of life in an increasingly complex global world. Sell/Buy/Date is a commission of the NoVo Foundation.

TAHA
By Amer Hlehel
English translation by Amir Nizar Zuabi
Director TBA

TAHA is based on the story of the celebrated Palestinian poet Taha Muhammad Ali. His poetry tells of the experience of Palestinian refugees. His story parallels the story of a million and a half Palestinians who remained in their home land after 1948.

Taylor Mac's A 24-Decade History of Popular Music: Featuring TAYLOR MAC
Music Director/Arranger Matt Ray
Costume Design by Machine Dazzle
Co-Directed by Niegel Smith

Taylor Mac's A 24-Decade History of Popular Music is a unique durational music theatre project and a subjective history of the past 240 years in America. This highly anticipated project incorporates over 30 different performance art concerts and will culminate in a one-time only 24-hour event.

Today Is My Birthday
By Susan Soon He Stanton
Directed by Kip Fagan

After Emily's bubble life in NYC pops, she retreats home to Hawai'i, where she creates an alter ego on live radio. Told through a playful mixture of radio and phone calls, Today is My Birthday is a comedy about life with a thousand friends on Facebook and no one to have dinner with on Saturday night.

The Sundance Institute Theatre Program is supported by an endowment from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, with generous additional support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Time Warner Foundation; Perry and Martin Granoff; LUMA Foundation; the John and Marcia Price Family Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; Karen Lauder; and Joan and George Hornig.