Chautauqua Theater to Present Staged Reading of Kait Kerrigan's TRANSIT, 8/1-3

Continuing to build on the enormous success of new play development at Chautauqua Theater Company (CTC), Artistic Director Vivienne Benesch and Managing Director Sarah Clare Corporandy, announce casting for the Signature Staged Readings of Transit by Kait Kerrigan to be presenTed August 1-3 on the Bratton Theater Mainstage.

Directed by Sarah Rasmussen, Transit features Brian Smolin, Carly Zien, Rahsa Zamamiri, Kate Skinner, Landon Woodson, Matt Raich andTangela Large.

A small-town newscaster seizes her opportunity for a big break when an unidentified Muslim woman jumps in front of a commuter train on the one-year anniversary of a major terrorist attack. Delving into the haunted life of the train's conductor, his ailing mother and his hapless colleague, Transit explores the power of faith in the face of fear - and of fear in the face of faith.

Transit features the design work of CTC's 2013 Design Fellows: Lauren Mills (Scenic Design), Janet O'Neill (Costume Design), Sarah Tunderman (Lighting Design), Justin Schultz (Sound Design). Bonnie Brady is Stage Manager and Jessica Kidwell Assistant Stage Manager.

Performances of Transit are August 1 at 8pm, August 2 at 4pm and August 3 at 2:15pm. Tickets to the New Play Workshop are $15. Order by phone at (716) 357-6250, M-F 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or order online at www.ciweb.org. Be a vital part of the process: participate in post-show discussions and other related events with playwrights, actors and the creative teams.

The New Play Workshop Signature Staged Readings introduce Chautauqua audiences to important new voices in the theater and to the staged reading as a thrilling theatrical event in its own right. Each year, CTC staff members read up to two hundred new plays in consideration for two one-week workshops. Over the last nine years, the NPW series has gained incredible momentum and developed into something truly unique: a genuine opportunity to see a play come to life with top actors, designers, and directors for an audience that truly welcomes and encourages new voices for the theatre.

Past seasons have hosted new work by playwrights Nikole Beckwith, Zayd Dohrn, Kate Fodor, Rinne Groff, Molly Smith Metzler, Alex Lewin, Michael Mitnick, David Schulner, David Zellnik, and Anna Ziegler, among others. Plays developed as part of CTC's New Play Workshop have gone on to receive productions both off-Broadway (Manhattan Theater Club, Primary Stages, Playwrights Horizons) and at regional theaters across the country.

Subsequent productions of CTC NPW Readings include: Muckrakers by Zayd Dorhn (CTC 2012): produced at Barrington Stage, MA in 2013;Build by Michael Golamco (CTC 2011): produced at Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles in 2012; Close Up Space by Molly Smith Metzler (CTC 2010): produced at Manhattan Theater Club in 2012; An Incident by Anna Zeigler (2010): produced under a new title (A Long Way Home) at the Magic Theater, San Francisco in 2012; Rx by Kate Fodor (CTC 2009): produced at Primary Stages, NYC in 2012; Sick by Zayd Dohrn (2008): produced at Berkshire Theater Festival, MA in 2009; 100 Saints You Should Know by Kate Fodor (CTC 2006): produced at Playwrights Horizons, NYC in 2007.

Celebrating its 30th Anniversary Season in 2013, the Chautauqua Theater Company is the resident professional theater and Conservatory of the Chautauqua Institution. Internationally known actors, directors, designers and writers join 20 emerging artists drawn from the nation's top training programs to form a unique company that produces a vibrant summer of work in the historic Bratton Theater. Dedicated to the next generation of theater artists, the development of new work, first rate productions of modern and contemporary classics, and fresh insight into Shakespeare's cannon, this "full service" company provides the best a year-round regional theater has to offer in the period of an eight week summer season.

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