Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles Presents The World Premiere Of CHARLOTTE STAY CLOSE

Ensemble Studio Theatre Los Angeles (EST/LA) presents the world premiere of CHARLOTTE STAY CLOSE, a new play by Christine Hamilton-Schmidt, directed by Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx. Developed at EST/LA through New West and Launchpa with Alana Dietze, Andy Shepard, Jenny Soo - CAST A With Tarah Pollock, Christopher Reiling, Jacqueline Emerson - CAST B Previews September 20, 21, 22, Opens Friday September 27 Through October 27, 2019 Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm
Atwater Village Theater Complex
3269 Casitas Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90039

Tickets @ dime.io/events/charlotte-stay-close, for more information call 818-839-1197

Charlotte Stay Close is a brutally funny and moving play about three young people, who must navigate love, loss and and the complicated bond between sisters. Charlotte is just days away from dying of cancer and wants her older sister Kathryn to go on to live the happiest life possible. Unfortunately, there's a giant obstacle standing in the way of that possibility: Kathryn. Charlotte's hospice room morphs into a breeding ground for triangulation including marital conflict between Kathryn and Dustin. Issues of sibling rivalry and marital love are put to the test as death brings disruption and confusion.

Written by Christine Hamilton-Schmidt
Directed by Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx
Produced by Kay Foster
Set Design Amanda Knehans
Light Design Ken Booth
Sound Design Stevo George
Costume Design Melanie Fairchild
Production Stage Manager Priscilla Miranda
Art Photography Peter Carrier
Graphic Design Liz Ross
William Duffy Executive Director
Kevin Comartin, Liz Ross & Keith Szarabajka Co-Artistic Directors
Christopher Reiling Producing Director

Christine Hamilton-Schmidt's plays include Possible Deranged Lunatic, Our First Honest Conversation, Trust Me, and Line. She is the founder and co-program director of New West Playwrights, a program created in 2016 to give voice to and foster the work of young playwrights in Los Angeles. Her work has recently been developed with Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA, The Blank, Team Awesome Robot, Meet Cute, and The Parsnip Ship. She received her BFA in Dramatic Writing from SUNY Purchase.

Jonathan Muñoz-Proulx is an Ovation Award-nominated director and serves as Director of Cultural Programming at A Noise Within. Director of ELAN Ensemble's How We're Different From Animals, winner of Stage Raw Award for Adaptation. He is on the Latinx Theatre Commons National Advisory Committee, is a National Directors Fellowship Finalist, and is a script nominator for The Kilroy List. Muñoz-Proulx has previously served as Associate Producer at Skylight Theatre, Artistic Assistant at East West Players and Vice Chair at Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights. He has adjudicated on grant panels for the California Arts Council and the LA County Arts Commission. Muñoz-Proulx has worked with Center Theatre Group, Boston Court, 24th Street Theatre, Playwrights' Arena, Pacific Resident Theatre, Chalk Rep, Bootleg Theater, After Hours Theatre, Watts Village Theatre Company, and the LA Philharmonic. Recent credits include One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (Ovation Award) and How We're Different From Animals (Stage Raw nomination). Muñoz-Proulx is a graduate of USC, where he serves as adjunct faculty to the MFA in Acting program.

EST/LA is the West Coast offshoot of The Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York, the renowned membership company founded by Curt Dempster in 1968. Founded in 1979, EST/LA has grown from salons in people's homes to full productions of critically acclaimed plays that have been recognized with Backstage Garland awards, Stage Raw awards, LA Weekly Awards, Ovation Recommendations, a GLAAD Media Award and other accolades. Formalized as a non-profit company in 2000, EST/LA has been headed by several artistic directors including Risa Bramon Garcia and Debra Stricklin, Garrett M. Brown, James Eckhouse, Laura Jane Salvato and Michael C. Mahon, Tom Jacobson, Gates McFadden, Sheena Metal, Rod Menzies, Carole Real and Keith Szarabajka. EST/LA's membership includes over 150 accomplished theater professionals. Currently in residence at Atwater Village Theater, the company has a strong portfolio of developmental programs, produces multiple plays every season, and presents lively off-night and late night programming. EST/LA creates an environment that encourages the initiation, exercise, and practice of artistic imagination and expression. Dedicated to developing and producing new work by established and emerging American Playwrights, EST/LA provides a lifelong artistic home to our membership of theatre professionals and sustains live theatre - the vital and unique interaction of artist and audience.

To post a comment, you must register and login.