NPC At The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Ends 45th Year With Readings of CARTHAGE 7/23, 7/24 & BOGWOG 7/25, 7/26

The National Playwrights Conference (NPC) at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center concludes its 45th year with staged readings of Carthage by Emily Schwend on July 23 at 8:15 pm and July 24 at 7:15 pm and Bogwog by Abbie Spallen on July 25 at 8:15 pm and July 26 at 3:15 pm. The conference, founded in 1964 and led by Lloyd Richards from 1968-1999, is now helmed by Artistic Director Wendy C. Goldberg.

Goldberg, now in her fifth year as Artistic Director and the only woman to ever hold the position, has seen numerous National Playwrights Conference shows go on to world premieres including Magnolia by Regina Taylor (NPC 2008), Antebellum by Robert O'Hara (NPC 2005), End Days by Deborah Zoe Laufer (NPC 2007), Durango by Julia Cho (NPC 2005), The Receptionist by Adam Bock (NPC 2006), and The Crowd You're In With by Rebecca Gilman (NPC 2007). Having re-established the conference as a national leader in the field, in the past four years, projects under Goldberg's tenure were seen in New York at Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage, Cherry Lane Theater, and regionally at The Goodman, The Magic, Steppenwolf, Woolly Mammoth Theater and Actors Theater of Louisville's Humana Festival among others.

Carthage by Emily Schwend
Director: Davis McCallum
Performances: Thurs., July 23 at 8:15 pm; Fri., July 24 at 7:15 pm
CAST: Craig Bockhorn*, Christian Conn*, Emily Donahoe*, Jessica Love, and Matt Rauch*.

*member of Actors' Equity Association

"Complications arise and family secrets emerge when Hal returns to Carthage, Missouri, for the first time in six years to help his brother transition from state institution to regular life. Bryan, however, isn't about to make the process quick and painless, forcing his brother to confront the deep-rooted issues that have kept them apart and brought them together throughout their lives."

Bogwog by Abbie Spallen
Director: David Esbjornson
Performances: Sat., July 25 at 8:15 pm; Sun., July 26 at 3:15pm
CAST: Patrick Boll*, Molly Camp*, Michelle Clunie*, Matt Doyle*, George Heslin*, Birgit Huppuch*, Ryan King*, Rachel Leslie*, and Ryan Spahn*.

*member of Actors' Equity Association

"Bogwog is a play dealing with the very beginning of the conflict in Northern Ireland. A parallel with the conflicts in Iraq and Gaza and of particular resonance to events over the past weeks, Bogwog deals with the military intervention in Ulster and its fallout through a half-Irish, half-British family living in the North of England. It's about waking up one morning and finding yourself the enemy. It's about having to answer questions about the life you live and the person you are because of the actions of others, done in your name."

All schedules and artists subject to change. Please call the O'Neill Box Office at 860-443-1238 or visit http://www.theoneill.org for times, prices and reservations. Outdoor performances will be moved indoors in the event of rain.

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964, is the pre-eminent center for the development of new works and new voices for the American theater. It has been home to more than 1,000 new works for the stage and 2,500 emerging artists Scores of projects developed at the O'Neill have gone on to full productions at other theaters around the world, including Broadway, off-Broadway and major regional theaters. The O'Neill has received a special Tony Award, the National Opera Award, the Jujamcyn Award for Theater Excellence and the Arts and Business Council Encore Award. The O'Neill's programs include the National Playwrights Conference, National Music Theater Conference, Puppetry Conference, Cabaret & Performance Conference, National Critics Institute, and the National Theater Institute, which includes semester-long, fully accredited intensive theater-training programs and a six-week accredited summer program, Theatermakers. In addition, the O'Neill owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage, a National Historic Landmark and the childhood home of Nobel Prize-winning and four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O'Neill. For more information regarding the Center, please visit the O'Neill website at www.theoneill.org or call 860-443-5378.

 

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