The 15th Annual Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival Announces Casting

Casting has been announced for the 15th annual Perry-Mansfield New Works Festival (http://perry-mansfield.org/events/3/new-works-festival/) which brings performing arts professionals together in the Rocky Mountains to continue Perry-Mansfield's founding principle of nurturing new talent through new work.

This year’s festival, running from June 15-17 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, will feature new works from some of America’s most prestigious theater and dance companies: A.C.T., Denver Center Theatre Company, Primary Stages, South Coast Repertory, and Thang Dao Dance.

The companies will showcase five different new works in partnership with Perry-Mansfield.

“The casting for this year’s festival is as diverse as the works themselves,” said Artistic Director Andrew Leynse. “The five pieces that we are presenting really encapsulate what the festival is about and we are pleased to have found amazing talent to bring these stories to life. This year looks to be another unique achievement as artists from all over the country come to Perry-Mansfield.”

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

FRIDAY, JUNE 15th
Kinship by Carey Perloff – A.C.T.
Directed by Jonathan Moscone
8:00pm – Main Studio

The cast includes: Betsy Aidem, Judith Roberts and Luke Robertson

Loosely inspired by Racine’s PHEDRE, Kinship traces the passionate entanglement between a high-powered female newspaper editor and a junior reporter with whom she becomes totally obsessed. Crossing the lines inexorably from the professional to the personal, the two get caught up in a complex relationship that is both delicious and totally destructive, as a third woman, His Mother and Her best friend, watches it all unravel. A triangle story of heat and transgression, Kinship explores that rare moment when female power is unleashed and can’t be contained.

SATURDAY, JUNE 16th
The Vast In-Between by Laura Eason - DENVER CENTER THEATRE COMPANY
Directed by Heidi Stillman with Dramaturgy by Douglas Langworthy
1:00pm –Julie Harris Theater

The cast includes: Chris Henry Coffey, Jennifer Mudge, Andrea Popova*, Michael E. Salinas, and Nicole Shalhoub

The revelation that her neighbor is living a secret, double life shakes married, settled Cate out of a long emotional slumber and sets her on a journey through her own temptation and deception. The Vast In Between considers marriage's long and sometimes difficult stretch between "I do" and "Goodbye" exploring how fragile our loves really are and how easy it is to lie oneself right out of a family it took a lifetime to build.

The Few by Samuel D. Hunter - South Coast Repertory
Directed by Casey Stangl with Dramaturgy by Kelly L. Miller
4:00pm –Julie Harris Theater

The cast includes: Wyatt Fenner, Shannon Holt, and William Francis McGuire

Four years ago Bryan abandoned his labor of love, a newspaper for truckers. Now he’s returned—with no word of where he’s been—and things have changed. His former lover is filled with rage, his new coworker is filled with incessant adoration, and his paper is filled with personal ads. As he considers giving up for good, Bryan searches for what he couldn’t find on the road: a way to keep faith in humanity.

Dance Presentation Choreographed by Thang Dao, Artistic Director of Thang Dao Dance Company
8:00pm – Main Studio

The cast includes: Riccardo Battaglia, Christopher Bloom, Taeler Cyrus, Virginia Horne, and Elyse Mlot

Thang Dao Dance Company is a contemporary dance company based in New York City. The company supports the choreographic work of Artistic Director Thang Dao and provides a creative outlet for many of New York’s finest dancers. TDDC provides a nurturing environment in which Mr. Dao and his dancers investigate new movement and produce choreography through a collaborative effort. Using classical vocabulary as a launching point, TDDC works to develop a movement language that is vivid and compelling, and in doing so hopes to resonate with an ever-increasing audience. The Perry-Mansfield workshop will showcase existing pieces alongside a brand new piece choreographed for the festival.

SUNDAY, JUNE 17th
Perry-Mansfield – A Love Story by Randal Myler & Dan Wheetman
Primary Stages presents a commission by Jim Steinberg & Karolynn Lestrud in honor of Perry-Mansfield's 100th year
Directed by Randal Myler, Composer: Dan Wheetman with Projection design by Jeffrey Cady
2:00pm – Main Studio

The cast includes: Mary Bacon, Kathleen Brady, Jack Casperson, Mary Chieffo*, Catherine Curtin, Morgan Hallett, Debra Laws, Eyeshia McSwain*, James Murtaugh, and Dan Wheetman

1910. Two young students from very different backgrounds meet at Smith College and share the same improbable dream. Perry Mansfield – A Love Story is a multi-media theatre piece based on the founding and early years of Colorado's legendary Perry-Mansfield School.

* Students from the Perry-Mansfield Professional Track

* * *

The New Works Festival is presented under the artistic direction of Andrew Leynse, (Artistic Director of Primary Stages, NYC), dance director Linda Kent, co-chaired by James Steinberg and Karolynn Lestrud, and is sponsored by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and The Messing Family Charitable Foundation, Emily Tarquin produces the festival.

Students from the Perry-Mansfield Professional Track participate in the Festival under the guidance of the director of theatre, Victor Maog, and director of dance, Linda Kent. Maog and Kent select top students from the Pre-Professional program and provide them with a professional experience where they work along with top playwrights, directors, and actors in the field.

Single tickets for each staged reading are $15; individual tickets for the dance performance are $20. A special Festival Weekend Ticket Package is available for $60 and includes all staged readings, dance presentation, and festival receptions.

For tickets and information, please visit www.perry-mansfield.org or call 800-430-2787 or 970-879-7125.

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