Palm Beach Dramaworks to Present Developmental Production of BURIED CITIES, Begin. 4/8

Palm Beach Dramaworks is pleased to announce The Dramaworkshop's inaugural developmental production, Buried Cities by Jennifer Fawcett, which opens on April 8 in the newly renovated Studio Theatre at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre, and runs through April 17. There will be two previews, on April 6 and 7.

The Dramaworkshop, which launched in 2014, is PBD's developmental lab for new work, and Buried Cities was one of four plays selected for staged readings and workshops during the premier season. Fawcett participated in a two-week workshop last May with a company of resident artists; the developmental production enables her to see the play fully staged in front of an audience, with professional actors, sets, costumes, and lights, providing an opportunity to learn what additional work needs to be done before the play's official world premiere. The audience becomes part of the process, offering feedback during talkbacks following each performance.

Buried Cities is about an expectant couple, Louis and Maya, who are traumatized when they are robbed in their home at gunpoint. Their reactions in the aftermath of the break-in test the bond of their marriage. There is also a mythological element to the play. "I've always been interested in mythology and fairy tales," says Fawcett. "There's something about the mythology that gets to what is essentially human. I'm also very interested in finding parallels between a present-day issue and something that's larger, that's outside our everyday experience, which is the mythic."

Featured in the cast are Ethan Henry, Margery Lowe,Joe Ferrarelli, and Katherine Amadeo. Direction is byMark Perlberg, scenic design by Michael Amico, costume design by Brian O'Keefe, and sound design byBrad Pawlack.

Fawcett says that the initial impetus for the play was the idea that "for one person the only way to feel safe was with a gun, and for the other the only way to feel safe was without a gun. It puts them in an impossible situation." When she came to PBD for the workshop, she had largely completed the first act, but wasn't sure where the play was going to go from there. "They took a real leap of faith by allowing me to come with half a play," she says. "I promised that there would be a complete play by the end of the workshop, and there was. But they had no way of knowing whether I could deliver. Having two weeks to work with a dedicated group of creative people was really valuable. Often in development, you don't get that much time because time is expensive. If I'd had only three or four days, I would have left with a lot of ideas but I probably wouldn't have been able to actually do the writing. But with two weeks, I could work intensively, bring in new pages, read and discuss them with the actors and director, and make more changes and bring in more new pages the next day. Having that time was so beneficial."

Jennifer Fawcett is a founder and co-artistic director of Working Group Theatre. She is the winner of the 2015 NNPN Smith Prize for Political Theatre, the 2014 NEFA National Theatre Project Award (with Working Group Theatre), and the National Science Playwriting Award (KC/ACTF). Her work has been developed and produced by Berkeley Repertory Theatre, the Lark (New York), Hancher Auditorium (APAP/University of Iowa), Riverside Theatre (Iowa City), Available Light Theatre (Columbus), Tennessee Women's Theatre Project (Nashville), MusicIC (Iowa City), The Drilling Company (New York), the Adirondack Theatre Festival (Glens Falls, NY), Theatre Masters (Aspen/NYC), the Alcyone Festival (Chicago), the Hatchery Festival (Washington, DC), and in festivals across Canada. A graduate of the University of Iowa MFA Playwrights Workshop, Fawcett was the NNPN Playwright-In-Residence at Curious Theatre (Denver). Up next, Buried Cities will have a workshop production at the Source Festival (Washington, DC), and Jennifer will develop a new solo show at the Banff Playwrights Colony in Canada.

Palm Beach Dramaworks is a non-profit, professional theatre and is a member of the Theatre Communications Group, the South Florida Theatre League, Florida Professional Theatres Association, and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County.

Buried Cities will play a limited run of 12 performances; opening night, April 8, is already sold out. The schedule is as follows: Week one - Evening performances April 6-9 at 8pm, matinee performances April 9 & 10 at 2pm. Week two - Evening performances April 14-16 at 8pm and April 17 at 7pm; matinee performances April 16 & 17 at 2pm. There will be a talkback and Q&A following each performance. Tickets for all performances are $25; there will also be $10 student rush tickets available at the door.

The Don & Ann Brown Theatre is located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street. For ticket information contact the box office at (561) 514-4042, or visit www.palmbeachdramaworks.org.

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