11th Alliance/Kendeda Competition Winner to Premiere in February

The Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition continues to spotlight the best emerging playwrights with a full production for the competition winner and staged readings for four competition finalists. THE C.A. Lyons Project, the 11th competition winner, will premiere on the Hertz Stage February 13 - March 8, 2015. Opening night is February 18, 2015.

The C.A. Lyons Project is written by Tsehaye Geralyn Hébert, a recent graduate of the MFA program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and will be directed by former Associate Artistic Director of the Alliance Theatre, Kent Gash (Alliance: God of Carnage, Sophisticated Ladies, Jelly's Last Jam).

The C.A. Lyons Project tells the story of dancer and choreographer C.A. Lyons. He is the founder of one of the city's most important African-American dance companies, and he is dying of AIDS. When Lyons can no longer hide his sexuality or illness, his three lead dancers must find the strength and individual creative push to keep his company going without their charismatic leader and decide the best way to carry on his legacy. Set in Chicago in the 1980s at the beginning of the AIDs crisis, The C.A. Lyons Project is a unique theatrical event where exciting dance and theatre mingle throughout.

"The C.A. Lyons Project is the most multidisciplinary show to come through the competition and is so ambitious in its scope," says Celise Kalke, the Alliance's Director of New Projects. "It's a great piece to kick off the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition's next decade."

C.A. Lyons will be played by Broadway actor James Brown III (Broadway: Rocky, Ghost, The Color Purple). The three lead dancers of his company are Chaos Unit, a tattooed hip hop phenom played by Danielle Deadwyler (Alliance: Charlotte's Web); Bethlehem Dunning, a ballerina raised by a deaf mother, played by Tiffany Denise Hobbs (Regional: The Miser) and Michelle A. Banks (Regional: Profile of a Deaf Peddler), respectively; and the rebellious Amandla Sister Afrika, an orphan raised by rich, suburban parents, played by Francesca Harper (Broadway: The Color Purple, All Shook Up), Donna Biscoe (Alliance: Doubt), and Keith Randolph Smith (Alliance: The Whipping Man, God of Carnage), respectively.

The Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition solicits plays from the leading MFA graduate programs in the United States and then conducts a rigorous selection process to find four finalists and one winning play. The winner receives a full production as part of the Alliance Theatre regular season. The winner and four finalists also receive development opportunities for their works including staged readings with industry professionals in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. A one-of-a-kind opportunity for emerging playwrights, the Competition transitions student playwrights to the world of professional theatre.

Aside from Alliance Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Director of New Projects Celise Kalke, this year's selecting judges included Jason Loewith, Artistic Director, Olney Theatre Center; Susan Feder, Program Officer, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; and Kwame Kwei-Armah, Artistic Director, Center Stage.

The four 2014 finalists will be heard in staged readings February 16 - 19, 2015, during the New Play Festival celebrating new work. All readings and events are free and open to the public. Reservations for the readings are preferred and can be made by calling the Woodruff Arts Center Box Office - 404.733.5000. The schedule for the festival:

DISCUSSION: ETHICS ON STAGE
February 16, 7:00 pm

Emory Center for Ethics, 1531 Dickey Drive, on the Emory campus

An ethical discussion presenting material from the 11th winner The C.A. Lyons Project, with a chance to meet the winning playwright, Tsehaye Geralyn Hébert. No reservation required.

FINALIST READING: POCKETFUL OF SAND - by Emily Dendinger, University of Iowa, Director TBD
February 17, 2:00 pm

8 minutes. That's how long it takes for a soul to dry up before it can be preserved by the sea. This play introduces us to an old man named Coco who harvests souls from bodies he pulls from the sea, and how he comes to teach his trade to a young orphan girl named Sunny. As the more sinister aspects of Coco's work begin to emerge, however, Sunny must decide for herself whether or not the work they are doing outweighs the costs. A beautifully written piece of poetic theatre.

FINALIST READING: AN ALIEN IN INWOOD - by Kimberly Barrante, Dramatic Writing: Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, Directed by 2014 Atlanta Artist Fellow Suehyla El-Attar
February 17, 7:30 pm

Fantastical and heartwarming, An Alien in Inwood considers complicated questions of contemporary American identity. Walter, the Professor, has been around a New York City University for a long time, and has many people that support his efforts and dreams. Believing the world to be increasingly unsafe, Walter thinks he will save the planet when he is blinded by a light in Inwood Park and ORION, an alien, appears. Graceful social commentary with a nod to the best of Science Fiction/Fantasy, this play asks what we allow to become our truths when we are protecting the people we love.

ALUMNUS READING: MAKING MYTH - by Virginia Grise, 2010 Competition Finalist for blu, Directed by Karen Robinson
February 18, 2:00 pm
Based on the success of the 13/14 Alumni reading series, the Alliance has committed to invite one of the competition's alumni back for a reading every year!

A conservative intellectual wound a little tight, a graduate student that likes a good fight, a beer drinking, polka dancing half-breed, and a cross dressing street-smart macha meet in a bar somewhere in South Texas. Between the liquor and the line dancing, what ensues is a raucous rapid-fire theoretical showdown. The play proves - Texas really is a whole 'nother country, ya'll.

FINALIST READING: EVANSTON: A RARE COMEDY by Michael Yates Crowley, The Juilliard School, Directed by Veronika Duerr, 2015 Atlanta Artist Fellow
February 19, 2:00 pm

Evanston: A Rare Comedy begins with the disappearance of a teenage girl in deepest suburbia and ends when a meeting of the local Women's Book Club goes horribly awry. In between, a housewife dreams of Mexico, an economics professor has an affair with a check-out clerk at Whole Foods, and the financial crisis rages on. Inspired by the words of Psalm 137 and the best-seller Eat, Pray, Love, Evanston: A Rare Comedy takes a look at Middle America and asks: how can we sing a song of joy in this strange land?

DISCUSSION: A conversation with Celise Kalke and THE C.A. LYONS PROJECT author and Alliance/Kendeda competition winner Tsehaye Geralyn Hébert
February 19, 5:00 pm

FINALIST READING: BALLAST by Georgette Kelly, Hunter College, Director TBD
February 19, 7:30 pm

What happens when you wake up, and find that the person sleeping next to you is not the person you thought they were at all? Zoe dreams of flying, of escaping to new heights. Grace, her transitioning spouse, dreams of standing on a pulpit, and finding a religious community that accepts her after her transition from man to woman. Savannah dreams only of Xavier, a 16 yr old that is coping with becoming a man, and Xavier is haunted by the nightmares he sees in starring back at him from the mirror. All four characters experience the act of ballast flying through dreams, lifted up just long enough to discover some kind of truth- a peace in transition.

The five plays selected each year during the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition represent one manifestation of the Alliance's mission of shared theatre for diverse people with their rigorous multigenerational, multicultural, and omni-political ambitions. Emerging writers are offered the ultimate developmental tools and networking opportunities with industry professionals. At the same time, Atlanta audiences are introduced to the country's brightest emerging playwrights. Past winners have become some of today's most exciting playwrights and include Tarell Alvin McCraney, Kenneth Lin, and Meg Miroshnik.

Over the past eleven years, the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition has been supported by a gift from the Kendeda Fund. Other supporters of the competition include The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Edgerton New American Plays Award, and the National Endowment for the Arts, among others.

Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 pm, Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:30 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm, February 13 - March 8, 2015, on the Hertz Stage. There will be no 2:30 pm performance on Saturday, February 14.

Tickets start at $25 and are available at The Woodruff Arts Center Box Office in person or by calling 404-733-5000. Tickets are also available online at www.alliancetheatre.org/calyons. Discounted rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling 404.733.4690. Discount rates are also available for members of the military, seniors and students. The Alliance Theatre is located at The Woodruff Arts Center, 1280 Peachtree Street, at the corner of Peachtree and 15th Street, in Midtown Atlanta.

CALENDAR LISTING SYNOPSIS:

THE C.A. LYONS PROJECT (world premiere)

Winner of the 2015 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition

By Tsehaye Geralyn Hébert

Performance Dates: February 13 - March 8, 2015

The 80's. Chicago. Black was in. They invented it. The founder of one of the city's most important African-American dance companies is dying of AIDS. When Lyons can no longer hide his sexuality or illness, his fledgling dance company is threatened, and the three lead dancers must come together to decide the best way to carry on his legacy. These are the Three Graces of the 20th Century: Chaos Unit, a tattooed hip hop phenom; Bethlehem Dunning a ballerina raised by a deaf mother; and Amandla Sister Afrika, who seems to be in a continuous state of rebellion. A unique theatrical event where dance and theatre mingle throughout by a writer of amazing talent, this is the 11th winner of the Alliance's prestigious Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwright Competition. For more information and tickets, visit www.alliancetheatre.org/calyons or call 404.733.5000.

SPECIAL EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS:

After Words

The Alliance Theatre is committed to extending dialogue from the stage to the community. After Words (post show) events offer audience members the chance to engage with cast members in a conversation about the issues and ideas presented in the play and the behind-the-scenes production elements of the play. After Words are free to ticket holders.

After Words Opportunities

Saturday, February 21, following the matinee performance
Thursday, February 26, following the evening performance
Saturday, February 28, following the matinee performance
Thursday, March 5, following the evening performance
Saturday, March 7, following the matinee performance

Page to Stage

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Find out where a show really begins- as words on the page and ideas in the imagination of the playwright. Taking a cue from the book club, join us as we host a series of pre-show discussions to examine the playwriting process and the work on stage. Reserve at least two weeks in advance to receive an electronic copy of the script before the discussion. Call 404.733.5000 to reserve. RSVP deadline Feb 10.

The C.A. Lyons Project Dinner and Show Package

Enjoy dinner at any Fifth Group restaurant and a performance of The C.A. Lyons Project on the Hertz Stage at the Alliance Theatre for $50.00. This $50.00 package includes two tickets to a performance of your choice and a $20.00 gift card redeemable at any Fifth Group Restaurant. Use promo code DSCARD to purchase at alliancetheatre.org/calyons or call 404.733.5000 to reserve today.

About the Alliance Theatre

Founded in 1968, the Alliance Theatre has become the leading producing theatre in the Southeast, creating the powerful experience of shared theatre for diverse people. The Alliance values excellence, pursued with integrity and creativity, and achieved through collaboration. Reaching more than 200,000 patrons annually, the Alliance delivers powerful programming that challenges adult and youth audiences to think critically and care deeply. Under the leadership of Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director, the Alliance Theatre received the Regional Theatre Tony Award ® in recognition of sustained excellence in programming, education and community engagement.

Known for its high artistic standards and national role in creating significant theatrical works, the Alliance has premiered more than 80 original productions including Tony Award® winners The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, Aida, by Elton John and Tim Rice, and Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo. The Alliance has a reputation for developing important American musicals with a strong track record of Broadway, touring, and subsequent productions, including the world premieres of Sister Act: The Musical, Come Fly Away, Bring It On: The Musical, Stephen King and John Mellencamp's Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, the American premiere of Zorro, with music by the Gipsy Kings, and most recently, Harmony - A New Musical by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman. The Alliance also creates and nurtures the careers of playwrights through the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, producing a premiere for the competition winner as part of the regular season, and the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, providing developmental support and production resources for three performing arts projects each year. The work produced by the Alliance allows locally based artists the chance to create on a nationally watched stage, building and sustaining Atlanta's artistic community.

Each year the Alliance Theatre Acting Program and Education Department reaches close to 50,000 students through performances, acting classes, drama camps, and in-school initiatives. The Alliance creates and produces plays for young audiences at every age level: from the Collision Project, where high school artists create and perform new work based on a classic text, to the ground breaking Theatre for the Very Young, creating interactive shows for infants and toddlers. The Alliance also offers community education classes for all ages and abilities of theatre interest; and adult student productions of unproduced plays in development, working with local and national playwrights.

An active participant in Georgia classrooms, the Alliance has developed programs using theatrical techniques to aid in student learning through storytelling and problem solving. The Alliance's Institute for Educators and Teaching Artists equips teachers with theatrical techniques that link directly to school curriculum, align with the Common Core Georgia Performance Standards, and increase student learning. These programs include Georgia Wolf Trap Early Learning Through the Arts, which focuses on literacy skills for children in Pre-K - 2nd Grade, and Dramaturgy K-12, in which students create research material that informs Alliance productions and prepares peer audiences. Twice recognized by the U.S. Education Department as leaders in arts education, these programs reflect the Alliance's commitment to city wide arts access.

The Alliance delivers the finest talent, art and educational opportunities for Atlanta audiences-proving once again that the Alliance is where great theatre lives.

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