2018 Alley ALL NEW FESTIVAL Begins This Saturday

The Alley Theatre's Alley All New Festival, January 20-28, 2018, features six playwrights and more than 30 actors from the Alley and around the country who will be presenting new work through a series of readings and workshop performances. In addition to Alley Resident Company members, many artists have existing connections to the Alley and some are making their Alley debut. The start of the festival will celebrate the reopening of the Neuhaus Theatre. Tickets to the festival are available now online at alleytheatre.org/allnew or by calling the Box Office at 713.220.5700.

Alley Resident Company members participating in the festival include Josie de Guzman, Paul Hope, and Melissa Pritchett. Many will be acting in multiple presentations in the festival.

Actors returning to the Alley and Alley All New festival are Devon Abner (Dividing the Estate), Doran (Rock 'n' Roll), Justin Duran, Patricia Duran (Our Lady of 121st Street), Michelle Elaine (All the Way), Alice M. Gatling (Doubt), Adam Gibbs (Ether Dome), Leo Gossett (A Christmas Carol), Julia Krohn (The Carpenter), Melissa Molano (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), Joseph "Joe P" Palmore (One Man, Two Guvnors), Gabriel Regojo (Oskar and the Big Bully Battle), Nicole Rodenburg (Venus in Fur), Jarred Tettey (As You Like It), and Brooke Wilson (The Carpenter). Additionally, Annalee Jefferies returns to the Alley where she spent 20 years as a Resident Company member from 1986 to 2007, last appearing in the 2015 production of The Foreigner.

Visiting actors include Josef Anderson (The Wizard of Oz: Stageworks), Jaspal Binning (Netflix's "Brown Nation"), Candice D'Meza (Sender: Rec Room), Michele Harrell (Sassy Mamas: Ensemble Theater), Orlanders Tao Jones (The Dead Rockstar Show: Rec Room), Virginia Kull (HBO's "Big Little Lies"), Joe C. Palmore (Fire on the Black Hand Side: Ensemble Theatre), Jon Norman Schneider (Awake and Sing: National Asian American Theatre Company/The Public), and Thomas Valdez (Smokefall: Warren Theatre).

On January 20, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega takes a break from her rehearsal process to discuss her upcoming Alley world premiere Lover, Beloved: An Evening With Carson McCullers.

And Houston-native Robert Askins, author of last season's Hand to God and The Carpenter from the 2017 Alley All New Festival, discusses his career writing for the stage and screen including having a Tony-nominated play on Broadway to developing television shows set in Texas. The special event will take place January 21 at 2:30 p.m.

A full list of festival casting is below:

READINGS

Cinched and Strapped by Selina Fillinger
Directed by Leslie Swackhamer
Josie de Guzman
Justin Doran
Michelle Elaine
Paul Hope
Julia Krohn
Melissa Pritchett
Staged Readings: January 20 (8:00 p.m.), January 21 (7:30 p.m.), January 26 (4:30 p.m.), January 28 (1:30 p.m.)

Queen of Basel by Hilary Bettis
Directed by Jose Zayas
Patricia Duran
Melissa Molano
Readings: January 20, 21 & 27 (10:00 a.m.)

(end of message) by Laura Jacqmin
Directed by Monty Cole
Jaspal Binning
Alice M. Gatling
Adam Gibbs
Dylan Godwin
Nicole Rodenburg
Jon Norman Schneider
Readings: January 28 (10:00 a.m.)

Put Your House In Order by Ike Holter
Directed by Matt Hune
Candice D'Meza
Josie de Guzman
Orlanders Tao Jones
Readings: January 27 (8:00 p.m.)

Quack by Eliza Clark
Directed by Brandon Weinbrenner
James Black
Justin Doran
Michelle Elaine
Julia Krohn
Nicole Rodenburg
Readings: January 27 (2:30 p.m.)

Tender Mercies adapted for the stage by Daisy Foote
Based on Tender Mercies written by Horton Foote
And by Special Arrangement with STUDIOCANAL
In association with Hallie Foote
Directed by Michael Wilson
Devon Abner
Josef Anderson
Leo Gossett
Michele Harrell
Annalee Jefferies
Virginia Kull
Joseph Palmore
Gabriel Regojo
Jarred Tettey
Thomas Valdez
Brooke Wilson
Readings: January 26 (8:00 p.m.), January 28 (7:30 p.m.)

Early Draft Preview & Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalists
Two excerpts from two new plays by Glen Berger and Claire Kechel plus Executive Director will announce finalists for the 2018 award.
Event Date: January 27 (12:00 p.m.)

*Running during the festival

The Great Society by Robert Schenkkan
Directed by Kevin Moriarty
Previews begin January 26, opens January 31, and runs through February 18, 2018.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL FESTIVAL CALENDAR

RESERVATIONS: Alley All New Festival presentations and readings are free and open to the public. Advance reservations are recommended and are available at alleytheatre.org/allnew, by phone at 713.220.5700, or in person at The Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue.

WEEKEND PACKAGES
A Weekend Package for January 26-28 including prime seating at all presentations, exclusive artist access, and meals between performances are on sale now at alleytheatre.org/allnew and costs $120.

Alley All New is comprised of a variety of public and in-house programs designed to support playwrights and cater to the needs of each new project. Through this initiative, the Alley plans to produce more world premieres, commission new plays, and engage and support playwrights year round. The Alley All New Festival made its debut in 2016. Join the Alley Insider Group by emailing alleyinsider@alleytheatre.org and learn more about new work in development and be the first to hear about Alley All New events. More information and updates can be found on alleytheatre.org/allnew, on Facebook and #AlleyAllNew.

SPONSORS
The Alley All New festival is generously sponsored by National Endowment for the Arts, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Sally J. Langston, and Rutger Beelaerts. The Alley Theatre is supported by the 2017-2018 season sponsor United Airlines, the official airline of The Alley Theatre; Four Seasons Hotel Houston, the official hotel of The Alley Theatre; and Lynn Wyatt.

ABOUT The Alley Theatre
The Alley Theatre, one of America's leading not-for-profit theatres, is a nationally recognized performing arts company led by Interim Artistic Director James Black and Managing Director Dean R. Gladden. The Alley produces up to 16 plays each year in its newly renovated theatre, ranging from the best current work, to re-invigorated classic plays, to new plays by contemporary writers. The Alley is home to a Resident Company of actors. In addition, the Alley engages theatre artists of every discipline - actors, designers, composers, playwrights - who work on individual productions throughout each season as Visiting Artists.

The renovation of the Hubbard Theatre at the Alley was completed in October 2015 - and created a new 774 seat state-of-the-art performance venue. Matched with the 296-seat Neuhaus Theatre, the Alley offers nearly 500 performances each season. The Company reaches over 200,000 people each year through its performance and education programs. Its audience enrichment programs include pre-show and post-performance talks, events, and workshops for audience members of all ages.

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