The Human Race, Dayton's own professional theatre company, and the Theatre Department of Wright State University will both open their 2010-2011 seasons with one of the most acclaimed dramatic works of the young millennium - and, in a first for the region, they'll be doing it together.
Tracy Letts' August: Osage County, won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, along with the Best Play Tony and about every other possible award since Chicago's
Steppenwolf Theatre first produced it three years ago, and Time called it the best drama of the decade. The Human Race/Wright State collaboration, to be presented at WSU September 23 - October 10, will be one of the first regional presentations of the dramatic comedy about three generations of a dysfunctional Oklahoma family brought together by the disappearance of the family patriarch.
The idea of producing August began simultaneously on both sides of the collaboration. "Scott (Stoney) and I saw it in its final New York preview, right before the Broadway strike, and we knew it was a rare, top-quality script," says Human Race Artistic Director Marsha Hanna, who will be directing the co-production. "I also knew that it would be difficult for us to produce, in part because of cast size, but mostly because the size of the set is far too big for The Loft." Wright State's 349-seat theatre fills the show's needs well.
W. Stuart McDowell, Chairman of WSU's Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures had also seen the New York production. "I thought it was the best piece of American dramatic theatre in a decade, an epic show," he says. "It jumped off the stage. My wife said it was like Long Days Journey Into Night, but with humor."
McDowell was thinking of August as a WSU production, despite the fact it has many older characters, pretty strong language, and covers every controversial field from drug abuse to incest. When the two theatres found they were both interested in August, the idea of a unique joint venture blossomed.
"We had talked about collaboration before," says Hanna, "especially about The Matchmaker a couple of years ago." This time the talks were fruitful.
"I've had a dream of a collaborative production since I came here 15 years ago," says McDowell. "It makes sense that the area's pre-professional training program should work with professionals, and The Human Race does some of the best professional theatre I've ever seen anywhere."
Dr.
David Hopkins, President of Wright State University applauded this joint venture with the Human Race Theatre Company, "This exciting new project is the kind of collaborative endeavor from which both Wright State and the greater Dayton community can benefit significantly. It will give local audiences a rare opportunity to see this highly acclaimed drama, August: Osage County. At the same time, this innovative co-production with the Human Race Theatre Company will give Wright State's exceptional training programs in theatre, dance and motion pictures a national visibility for a landmark collaborative endeavor which we anticipate will be a harbinger of more to come."
For The Human Race, the collaboration is the next step in what has long been a close relationship with WSU. The professional Equity theatre has occasionally used WSU students in productions at the Loft or Victoria theatres, and Wright State faculty members often appear on or behind the stage with The Race, including HRTC Resident Artists
Bruce Cromer and
Joe Deer. They have already jointly run a Conservatory program for teens. McDowell sees the possibility of eventual certification by the University/Resident Theatre Association. Both groups see more joint efforts possible down the line.
The performance will be a real mix of the two programs, with The Human Race hiring professionals for about half the cast and the rest picked from more than 100 WSU students McDowell expects to audition. Technical and support staff will also be a mix.
WSU's Center for Excellence in Collaborative Education, Leadership and Innovation in the Arts, which fosters synergistic projects in the greater Dayton region, is a sponsor.
The collaboration provides both entities an excellent opportunity to expand their audiences, to reach people who may not have seen their work before. Subscribers to both will have first choice of seats, with an opportunity to include August: Osage County in their season selections.
The regional premiere of August: Osage County will not only be a landmark collaborative production for The Human Race and Wright State Theatres, it will give regional audiences an opportunity to see an exciting new production of what The New York Times called "flat out, no asterisks and without qualifications, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years."
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