Ken-Matt Martin To Direct New Production Of TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS At Baltimore Center Stage

Acclaimed director, producer, and advocate Ken-Matt Martin will helm Baltimore Center Stage's Spring 2023 production of Tiny Beautiful Things. Martin replaces previously announced director Stori Ayers. Tiny Beautiful Things begins performances at BCS on March 9, 2023.

"It is truly an honor to welcome Ken-Matt to BCS - he and I fully support Stori as she pursues a new artistic opportunity that is very close to her heart," noted BCS Artistic Director Stephanie Ybarra. "As a leader who actively uses theater as a catalyst for social change, Ken-Matt is a values-driven collaborator who aligns with our company's mission. I am honored to call him a colleague and a friend, and I cannot wait to see his approach with Nia Vardalos' adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's heartwarming book."

"I am so excited to be directing this beautiful exploration of life, love, grief, and humanity," added Martin. "I am also thrilled to be making my BCS debut and to contribute to this season of great plays by bringing Tiny Beautiful Things to Baltimore audiences."

Tiny Beautiful Things is based on the best-selling book by Cheryl Strayed, adapted for the stage by Academy Award nominee Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), and co-conceived by Vardalos, Marshall Heyman and Thomas Kail. It explores Strayed's time as The Rumpus' anonymous advice columnist, Dear Sugar. The play personifies the questions and answers that "Sugar" was publishing online from 2010-2012. When the struggling writer was asked to take over the unpaid position of "Sugar," Strayed used empathy and her personal experiences to help readers navigate grief, love, and forgiveness. Tiny Beautiful Things, a NY Times Critics Pick, is a funny and cathartic show about reaching out when you're stuck, healing when you're broken, and finding comfort in shared humanity.

Cast and production team will be announced at a later date. Tickets for Tiny Beautiful Things can be purchased at centerstage.org/plays-and-events/tiny-beautiful-things/.

For general information, visit www.centerstage.org or call the Box Office at 410.332.0033

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Nia Vardalos wrote and starred in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and an Independent Spirit Award and People's Choice Award. Stage credits include originating the role of Sugar in The Public Theater's Tiny Beautiful Things, directed by Thomas Kail, Jennie in Theatre20's Company, directed by Gary Griffin, and writer and actor of twelve The Second City's revues (Chicago's Jeff Award winner, Best Actress). Writing and acting film and television credits include: Helicopter Mom; My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2; Larry Crowne; Connie and Carla; I Hate Valentine's Day; My Life in Ruins; Jane the Virgin; Law and Order: SVU; and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Vardalos is the New York Times-bestselling author of Instant Mom, the story of adopting her daughter via foster care, and all proceeds are donated to adoption groups.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS

Cheryl Strayed is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide and was made into an Oscar-nominated major motion picture. Her book Tiny Beautiful Things is currently being adapted for a Hulu television show that will be released in early 2023. In 2016, Tiny Beautiful Things was adapted as a play that has been staged in theaters around the world. Strayed is also the author of the critically acclaimed debut novel, Torch, and the collection Brave Enough, which brings together more than one hundred of her inspiring quotes. Her award-winning essays and short stories have been published in The Best American Essays, the New York Times, the Washington Post Magazine, Vogue, Salon, and elsewhere. She has hosted two hit podcasts, Sugar Calling and Dear Sugars. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Ken-Matt Martin is a director and producer. His work as a director has been seen in theatres across the country including Rites and Reason Theatre, Pyramid Theatre Company, Brown/Trinity Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Goodman Theatre and others. Selected directing credits include new plays, musicals, and classics such as Civil Sex, Mississippi Goddamn, Tripping Over Roots, Love's Labour's Lost, Prowess, Shakuntala, tick..tick..Boom, Fences, Queen of the Night and The Amen Corner. Ken-Matt co-founded Pyramid Theatre Company in Des Moines, IA where he served as Executive Director until 2018. Martin's producing and directing credits in Des Moines have received thirty-four Cloris Leachman Excellence in Theatre Award nominations, including two awards for Best Play and a Special Honor for Martin in 2016. In 2018, Martin was named Producing Director of Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF). Martin was previously the Bill Foeller Directing Fellow at WTF where he directed A Son, Come Home by Ed Bullins and Brotherhood by Louis Reyes McWilliams. Martin has also served as Associate Producer at The Goodman Theatre and is the former Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theatre. He received two degrees from Drake University and his MFA in Directing from Brown/Trinity Rep.

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