Alliance Presents Kendeda GPC Finalists Reading Series 2/2 & 2/3

To coincide with the World Premiere of the 2008 Kendeda GPC winning play, Julia Brownell's Smart Cookie, Atlanta's finest actors and directors will present a first look at the 2008 Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition finalists.  This is an intimate chance to hear works by some of America's most interesting up-and-coming writers.

This free staged readings of the four finalists' plays will be hosted by the ALLIANCE THEATRE on Monday, February 2 and Tuesday, February 3 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm.

The readings are as follows:

The Near East by Alex Lewin
Directed by Rachel May (Feb. 2 at 2 p.m.)

An American archaeologist teams up with an Arab activist to unearth the "Mother of Books," the oldest scripture, from its resting place in the desert between Mecca and Medina.  But their controversial mission affects a number of other characters, including a secretly gay Arab radical, a British spy and the ghost of a precocious 13-year-old boy.

Fair Use by Sarah Gubbins
Directed by Freddie Ashley (Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m.)

Sy and her law partner Chris have worked on some tough cases but have always worked out their competition over drinks and commiserating about dating – since his perfect woman is nothing like her perfect woman.  All that changes when a client accused of plagiarism causes them to call on a hot-to-trot legal eagle.  They discover that claims of intellectual property and claims of the heart are difficult to defend.

Lamp and Moth by Randall Colburn
Directed by Richard Garner (Feb. 3 at 2 p.m.)

Sex, murder and revenge collide in a Detroit diner in the lives of a reputed night dweller, a born-again missionary and a peep show girl.  In this Noirish world, these denizens of the dark all become entangled in a new arrival's search for love and need for revenge.

Sick by Zayd Dohrn
Directed by Janice Akers (Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m.)
In Sick, a college professor brings his star student home to meet his dysfunctional family – a home so obsessed with cleanliness that the real dirt must lurk around every corner and behind every sentence.  Toying with our contemporary phobias, this quirky dark comedy plays upon our fears, both real and imagined.

Call 404.733.5000 or visit www.alliancetheatre.org to reserve your free seats.  Seating is limited.  Prior to the reading, go to the Black Box Theatre to confirm your reservation.

The ALLIANCE THEATRE is located at 1280 Peachtree St. NE, Atlantic, GA 30309.

All readings will be held inthe Memorial Arts Building in the 3rd Floor Black Box Theatre.

For more information on the Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition and/or the four finalist plays, visit www.alliancetheatre.org.

Made possible with generous grants from the Kendeda Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Now in its 40th season, Atlanta's nationally acclaimed ALLIANCE THEATRE, recipient of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award®, is the leading professional resident theatre of the Southeast, creating the powerful experience of shared theatre for diverse people on two stages for youth and adult audiences.  Under the leadership of Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Managing Director Thomas Pechar, the ALLIANCE THEATRE is a national theatre with a local address, reaching out annually to almost 200,000 patrons and members of the community.  Known for its high artistic standards and national role in creating significant theatrical works, the Alliance launched three Tony Award-winning hits to Broadway:  Alice Walker's The Color Purple, Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida and Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo.  And, in a rare event for a regional theatre, it originated the national tour of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.  The theatre has premiered 60 works including adaptations of Carson McCullers' The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and Pearl Cleage's Blues for an Alabama Sky.  Further evidence of the Alliance's commitment to new work is found in its nationally recognized Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition, a cutting-edge program introducing student playwrights to professional networks while producing the world premiere of the winning student's work.  The ALLIANCE THEATRE also offers extensive education and outreach programs such as the Institute for Educators and the Collision Project for high school students.  The Alliance continuously brings Atlanta the finest talent and finest art—proving once again that the Alliance is where great theatre lives.  404.733.4650 or www.alliancetheatre.org.

The ALLIANCE THEATRE is a division of the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which also includes the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, Young Audiences and the 14th Street Playhouse.

To post a comment, you must register and login.