American Theater Magazine Publishes December Issue

Long considered the essential magazine for professional not-for-profit theatre, AMERICAN THEATRE (AT), published monthly by Theatre Communications Group (TCG) has been providing theatre professionals, students, advocates and audiences a comprehensive journal for nearly 25 years. Published 10 times annually, 5 of those issues contain the full text of important contemporary scripts with the selections juried by internal staff at TCG.

New in the December issue of AMERICAN THEATRE is the complete text of Lydia, a poetic and provocative new play by Octavio Solis, which deals with issues of immigration, assimilation, and family dysfunction as it tells the story of a severely disabled young woman and her Mexican immigrant family in El Paso, Texas. Colorado's Denver Center Theatre Company commissioned and hosted the premiere of Lydia.

Variety critic Bob Bows described the play as "magical realism with a psycho-physiological twist," and Denver Post reviewer John Moore praised it as "an astonishing, expertly crafted tragedy that seduces and repels you at once." Productions of the play are scheduled this season at Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, and Marin Theatre Company in Mill Valley, California.

Other highlights of the December issue of AMERICAN THEATRE, the nation's only general-circulation magazine devoted to theatre art, are:

* Carol Rocamora's interview with British director Simon McBurney, known as the creative force behind the acclaimed ensemble Complicite and currently represented on Broadway with a controversial production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons, in which he defends in detail his boldly anti-naturalistic approach to Miller's contemporary classic, contending that "Miller is not in the least bit interested in naturalism, but rather the heightened expression of deep, deep emotion";

 

* "Electronic Campfires," AT senior editor Randy Gener's profile of the New York City-based experimental theatre company the Builders Association, whose latest work, Continuous City, tours the U.S. and abroad this season;

 

* "A Critic Infiltrates Paula Vogel's Boot Camp," in which longtime theatre critic J. Wynn Roususk recounts her year as a writing student in Vogel's legendary class at Brown University;

 

* A review by Howard Kissell of two new history-rich photography books about the early years of Broadway and 42nd Street;

 

* "Let's Talk About God," a discussion between six playwrights about the role of religious faith in their work.

The issue also contains, as usual, news of theatre in the U.S. and abroad, as well as complete monthly production schedules, with dates and directors, for TCG member theatres nationwide.

AMERICAN THEATRE is available on selected newsstands nationwide on or about December 1st, or through an Individual Membership in TCG by contacting custserv@tcg.org.

Theatre Communications Group's (TCG) mission is to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional, not-for-profit American theatre. TCG initiatives include a variety of artistic, management, international and advocacy programs. Its many publications offer a national resource for reference, opinion and debate on theatre and the performing arts today.

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