Feral Assembly Presents THE NEVER SUMMER By Ellen K. Graham
By: Julie Musbach Jul. 12, 2019
Feral Assembly presents THE NEVER SUMMER. Performances will be at Theater 29, located at 5138 West 29th Avenue, Denver, 80212. There will be a show every evening from August 22nd through August 31st (no show on Monday the 26th). Curtain is at 8PM except for the Sunday performance, which begins at 6PM. Tickets for all performances are $20 and are available at www.theater29denver.com
Denver, circa 2040. On an underground train platform flooded with a continuous rush of noise--advertisements, passersby, mechanical sounds--city girl Lee works hard, saving up money to get her own apartment. But her plans are derailed when she meets the velvet-voiced Corva, who wants to lure her away into the unmapped wilderness.
THE NEVER SUMMER began as a finalist for the Biennial Commission at NYC's celebrated Clubbed Thumb theater. It has since been given staged readings by And Toto Too (Denver) and MadLab Theatre (Columbus, Ohio).
"This play began as a thought experiment: what would the world feel like if darkness and silence didn't exist anymore?" says Graham. "But it ended up being about the power of friendship--the complex, rock-solid, sustaining friendship between two girls. I am delighted to have this cast and creative team to bring the play to life."
THE NEVER SUMMER World Premiere is directed by Hart DeRose and stars Calista Masters, Meredith Young, Artie Thompson, MaryAnn Amari, Bevin Antea, Mariel Goffredi, and Gina Wencel.
The production team includes Morgan Lesh (stage management), Brian Miller (set and lights), John Aden (visuals) and Lindsay Astin (sound).
Ellen K. Graham writes plays, screenplays, and narrative nonfiction. A Denver native and a graduate of the University of Chicago, she has been a finalist for the Shakespeare's Sister Fellowship, Clubbed Thumb's Biennial Commission, the O'Neill National Playwrights Conference, and the Global Age Project. Her plays have been produced in Columbus, Ohio, New York City, and in Denver, where she has worked with many companies including And Toto Too, Benchmark,Buntport Theater, Pandemic Collective, the Edge Theatre, Paragon, and the Denver Center. She is the founder of Feral Assembly, a resident playwright at Theater 29 Denver, a co-founder of Shocking Beyond Belief! Films ("The Sword of Truth Behind the Shield of Entertainment"), and a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. Learn more about Ellen and Feral Assembly at www.feralassembly.com.
Theater 29 is a new venue in Northwest Denver dedicated to local playwright-driven theatrical art. It is home to five award-winning Colorado playwrights who have the freedom to create, collaborate, develop, and produce the plays they want to see on stage.
"After graduating with an MFA in playwriting from Lesley University in the Boston area, I saw classmates go on to form theatre companies and produce their own work with great success. Impressed and inspired, I began seeking out and meeting self-producing playwrights in the Denver area," says Theater 29 founder Lisa Wagner Erickson.
"In 2016, I began looking for a venue that could feature work by local playwrights and came across a property in Northwest Denver. Shortly after purchasing the space, Ellen K. Graham introduced me to some other accomplished and enterprising playwrights who, in addition to herself, were looking for space to produce original work. It quickly became clear that Theater 29 would be a venue dedicated to five or six resident companies, all founded and run by Colorado playwrights. After some extensive remodeling, the venue opened in May of 2018 with Burnt Offering by Dakota C Hill. The plays at Theater 29 have been engaging diverse audiences at sold out shows ever since."
Several companies and playwrights are in residence at Theater 29:
- Lisa Wagner Erickson: The Lulubird Project
- Ellen K. Graham: Feral Assembly
- Dakota C. Hill: Chase & Be Still Productions
- Tami Canaday: Mr. Vulfran's Carriage Productions
- Rhea Amos: Pandemic Collective
The resident playwrights are beholden to no one but themselves. Theater 29 is a one of a kind venue where Colorado playwrights run the show . . . and it's working!
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