Alliance Theatre Showcases Emerging American Playwrights with National Graduate Playwrighting Competition

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. Too Heavy for your Pocket, the 13th competition winner, will have its world premiere on the Hertz Stage February 4 - 26, 2017. Opening night is Thursday, February 9, 2017.

Too Heavy for your Pocket is written by Jiréh Breon Holder, a former ALLIANCE THEATRE Kenny Leon Fellow and Morehouse College Graduate who went on to earn his MFA in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama. Holder currently serves as 2016-2018 Fellow in Playwriting for Emory University's Department of Theater Studies and Creative Writing Program.

"Because the Alliance/Kendeda Competition is judged blindly, we were completely surprised and thrilled to learn that this year's winner was already part of the ALLIANCE THEATRE family," said ALLIANCE THEATRE Director of New Projects Celise Kalke. "This play is a poetic and warm look at a time that is still so relevant to the American culture of social protest. It's also amazing to have our first Morehouse alum as an Alliance/Kendeda winner and to have the winner currently in residence at Emory - a true celebration of our local institutions and talent."

"I am delighted that the Alliance has welcomed back the Morehouse student who once interned in their literary department! From Kenny Leon Fellow to Alliance/Kendeda Winner, the Alliance has been the best artistic home a playwright could ask for," said Playwright Jiréh Breon Holder. "I have long admired the Alliance's commitment to new work and representing the entire Atlanta community. I share that commitment in my own work. It's a dream come true to have a play written in the South about the rich history of the South receive its world premiere in a community like Atlanta. The Atlanta University Center is ecstatic that their commitment to educating well-rounded and socially conscious citizens is paying off. I am a part of a village of supporters, and I am grateful to the ALLIANCE THEATRE for serving as a point of convergence for so many meaningful people and institutions."

Too Heavy for Your Pocket is a beautifully written look at the personal costs behind the public events of the Civil Rights Movement. In rural Tennessee two young couples struggle to understand justice, love, and their own responsibilities. When Bowzie gets a scholarship to attend Fisk University, he has the opportunity to improve his family's life. But when he is asked to become a Freedom Rider to fight racism in the Deep South, he must decide whether to stay at school or risk his future and that of his family and friends. Too Heavy for Your Pocket speaks powerfully about the bonds of friendship and what defines true family.

"There is a group of former Freedom Riders that feel honored that their story is still being told," said Holder. "This story was inspired by my family. My grandmother can't believe her journey of personal triumph is being put on stage.

The cast of Too Heavy for Your Pocket includes Rob Demery as Tony; Eboni Flowers as Evelyn; Nicolette Robinson as Sally; and Stephen Ruffin as Bowzie.

Too Heavy for Your Pocket will be directed by Margot Bordelon. Bordelon is a New York based freelance director who specializes in new work. Recent projects include The Pen by Dan Collins (book) and Julianne Wick Davis (music), peerless by Jiehae Park at Yale Repertory Theatre, A Delicate Ship by Anna Ziegler for The Playwright's Realm, and Okay, Bye by Joshua Conkel at Steppenwolf Theater.

The design team includes Set Designer Reid Thompson; Costume Designer Sydney Roberts; Lighting Designer Liz Lee, and Sound Designer Elisheba Ittoop.

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. A one-of-a-kind opportunity for emerging playwrights, the Competition transitions student playwrights to the world of professional theatre.

The four finalists will be heard in staged readings February 8 - 10, 2017, during the New Play Festival celebrating new work. All readings and events are free and open to the public. They are

• My Lover Joan by Emily Feldman of the University of California, San Diego
• Moonlight on the Bayou by Lindsey Ferrentino of the Yale School of Drama
• Borealis by Ben Fisher of the University of California, San Diego
• Space Girl, by Mora Harris of the Carnegie Mellon.
  

The five plays selected each year during the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition represent one manifestation of the Alliance's goal to produce 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, whose play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue inspired the 2016 Golden Globe-winning film,Moonlight; Kenneth Lin, who is currently a writer for the Netflix hit original series "House of Cards," and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalistMeg Miroshnik (The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls).

Over the past thirteen 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 and the National Endowment for the Arts. Too Heavy for Your Pocket is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.

Too Heavy for Your Pocket is part of the Turner Series on the Hertz Stage. This season is also sponsored by Delta Airlines, Inc. and The Home Depot.

Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., February 4 - 26, 2017, on the Hertz Stage. There will be no 2:30 pm performance on Saturday, February 4 or Sunday, February 5. There will be no 7:30 p.m. performance on Sunday, February 19.

Two special matinee performances for students will take place on Thursday, February 16, and Thursday, February 23, at 11:00 a.m. This performance supports curriculum standards: SS8H11, SS8H12, SSUSH22, SSUSH23, and SSUSH24. For ticket information, contactallianceschoolday@woodruffcenter.org or call 404.733.4661.

Tickets start at $20 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/pocket. 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.

GROUP DISCOUNTS

Groups of 10+ receive discounts on the price of tickets and are not charged for box office fees. 404.733.4690

MILITARY DISCOUNTS

The Alliance thanks military families with 15% off regularly priced tickets to Alliance Stage and Hertz Stage productions. Military ID must be shown when picking up or ordering tickets at the Box Office. This offer is based on availability and cannot be combined with other offers.

$10 TEEN TICKETS

Any middle school or high school student can attend any performance for just $10. Look for the "teen" price when selecting your seats online. A valid/current student ID must be presented when picking up tickets at will call. Not all seating sections are available with this offer. A maximum of 4 tickets per order may be purchased with this discount.

FREE TICKETS FOR TEACHERS

Tickets for Teachers is a unique program that provides educators with valid teachers ID free tickets for select early performances of all ALLIANCE THEATRE productions. Restrictions apply. Visit www.alliancetheatre.org/ticketsforteachers for details.

See all discounts and special offers here - http://alliancetheatre.org/content/ticket-discounts

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