Boston Playwrights' Theatre and Boston Children's Theatre Present A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES 11/27-12/23

Boston Playwrights' Theatre and Boston Children's Theatre present a new adaptation of the Dylan Thomas poem A Child's Christmas in Wales. Playwright and director Burgess Clark has transformed this classic poem into what will hopefully become an annual Boston holiday tradition-complete with presents, odd relatives and freshly fallen snow.
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It is Christmas 1923 in Swansea, Wales. Will the fire in Mrs. Prothero's kitchen finally burn the house down? Will a hole have to be cut into the roof for the Christmas pine? And who sent young Dylan that mysterious package? Originally commissioned and performed by the National Theatre of the Deaf, Clark's new adaptation stays true to the best of Thomas's vision, all the while leading us to new wonderments.

Featuring - Margaret Ann Brady*, Mary Callanan*, Adam Freeman, Steven Gagliastro*, Anne Gardiner*, Meagan Hawkes*, Coleman Hirschberg, Stephen Libby*, Allan Mayo*, Robert D. Murphy* and Linnea Schulz.
*Actors appear courtesy of Actors' Equity Association.

Burgess Clark (Playwright) assumed leadership of Boston's oldest theatre company, Boston Children's Theatre as Executive Artistic Director, in 2008. In his first season, BCT has enjoyed immense popularity and profile among teachers, students and the community, having renewed it's standing as Boston's premier theatre for young people.

A 30-year theatre professional, Burgess was nominated in 1991 and again in 2007 as a "Distinguished Teacher in the Arts" by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts for encouraging and supporting students with exceptional artistic achievement. Burgess has taught for the University of Hawaii and acted as Director of Theatre for The Mid-Pacific Institute. He also served as Director of Education for the Honolulu Theatre for Youth and was the Director of Theatre at the Perry-Mansfield School of the Arts in Steamboat Springs, Colorado-the oldest arts school in the nation. Prior to assuming leadership of the Boston Children's Theatre, Burgess was the Director of Education of the acclaimed Academy of Music Theatre at North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, MA. From 1988-94, Clark was the National Instructor for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts/Office of Very Special Arts, working with special populations and those who educate them. Five of his students have won the National Young Playwrights' Award.

An award-winning writer, Burgess wrote the Emmy-nominated documentary series Pets: Part of the Family for PBS, hosted by Gary Burghoff. He was the recipient of the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild's 2000 Julie Harris Award for his play, The Ivory Alphabet. Burgess was also honored at the 15th Annual William Inge Theatre Festival as the "New Voice in American Theatre." In 1999, he was awarded the Vermont Playwright's Award for his drama, The Touch. Purple Hearts was produced in San Francisco and toured to the Edinburgh Theatre Festival in Scotland where it placed among the "Best of Fest." A member of the Dramatists' Guild, Burgess has won several other playwriting awards, including "Best Play" from the National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts, the Mary Roberts Rinehart Award for playwriting and a Special Services Achievement Award from the U.S. Army for Purple Hearts. Burgess' other works include Down Came the Rain, Relative Strangers, The Velveteen Rabbit, Island of the Blue Dolphins and an adaptation of Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales originally produced for the National Theatre of the Deaf. Burgess will be scripting several new pieces in seasons to come at BCT, including the new stage adaptation of Aaron Fricke's Reflections of a Rock Lobster. He divides his home between Boston and historic Walden Farm in Walden, Vermont.

Boston Playwrights' Theatre & Boston Children's Theatre present
Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales
a new adaptation by Burgess Clark
November 27 - December 23, 2009

For tickets call 617.933.8600 or visit www.bostontheatrescene.com

$35/General Admission - $28 Student Admission

Additional school matinees are available by calling Boston Children's Theatre at 617-424-6634.

VENUE INFORMATION
Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre
539 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02215

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