Alley All New Expands Reading Series with Martín Zimmerman's On The Exhale

Alley All New continues its offerings with an additional reading - Martín Zimmerman's On The Exhale. The special reading event marks the official launch of the Alley All New Reading Series, an ongoing series featuring new work in various stages of the development process. The reading, directed by Alley's Associate Director James Black, is on Monday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Texas Room at the Alley Theatre. Advance reservations are recommended and can be made at alleytheatre.org or by calling the Box Office at 713-220-5700. The presentation is free and open to the public.

In On The Exhale, a woman, a single mother by choice, and her son live peacefully under an unspoken, benevolent scrutiny in the small college town where they make their home. But when their lives are forever changed by a terrible act of gun violence, the woman seeks solace in the most unlikely place: a shooting range. On The Exhale offers a complex examination of our relationship to guns as we follow one woman down a rabbit hole of grief.

James Black will direct Alice M. Gatling in the reading. James previously directed Alice in the Alley's Doubt and Our Lady of 121st Street. James and Alice were also both cast members in the 2005 Alley production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible.

Playwright Martín Zimmerman, who earned his MFA at the University of Texas, is a multi-ethnic, bilingual playwright whose plays include Seven Spots On The Sun, White Tie Ball, The Making Of A Modern Folk Hero, The Solid Sand Below, and Let Me Count The Ways. Zimmerman is an accomplished writer who has worked on Netflix's Narcos and has had his work produced or developed at more than 30 theatres across the country. Zimmerman has upcoming projects at Roundabout Theater Company, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, and Borderlands Theater. Martín has been the Alliance for Latino Theater Artists (ALTA) Artist of the Month, was a member of the 2011-2012 Playwrights' Unit at Goodman Theatre, is a Playwright in Residence at Teatro Vista, a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists, and has been a finalist for the Kendeda Competition, Heideman Award, and a runner-up for the National Latino Playwriting Award.

On The Exhale marks the expansion of the Alley All New Reading Series, which is a component of Alley All New, a major new works initiative comprised of a variety of public and in-house programs designed to support playwrights and cater to the needs of new projects. The reading series provides a key developmental step for playwrights while allowing Houston audiences to discover exciting new plays before they receive world premiere productions. Additional readings will be announced at a later date.

Readings play a major role in the development of new work, enabling artists to hear their writing out loud in front of an audience. Following a limited rehearsal period, actors perform at music stands allowing the audience to hear the dialogue while imagining the production through spoken stage directions.

The On The Exhale reading is free and open to the public. Advance reservations are recommended as seating capacity is limited. Reservations are available now online at alleytheatre.org, by phone at 713-220-5700 or in person at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue. The reading will be in the Texas Room. The reading of On The Exhale is recommended for mature audiences.

The Alley Theatre will present a post-show discussion with the artists following the reading of On The Exhale on Monday, September 19.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. 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 this past winter and will be back again with more workshop performances and play readings, as well as the world premiere of Syncing Ink. The dates for the 2017 Alley All New Festival are February 3 - 12, with special events and final festival presentations February 10-12. 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.

MEDIA
The reading of On The Exhale is a work in progress and not available for review.

ABOUT THE Alley Theatre

The Alley Theatre, one of America's leading not-for-profit theatres, is a nationally recognized performing arts company lead by Artistic Director Gregory Boyd 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 310-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.

The Alley Theatre is supported by the 2016-2017 season sponsor United Airlines, the official airline of the Alley Theatre!

To post a comment, you must register and login.