PRIME Productions to Stage Regional Premiere of LITTLE WARS

PRIME Productions, a new professional theater company in the Twin Cities, seeks to explore, illuminate and support women over 50 and their stories through the creative voice of performance. Their first production launches with the regional premiere of Little Wars at Mixed Blood Theatre, May 5 - 21, 2017.

It's France, 1940. War is coming. Tensions are high. Little Wars features Lillian Hellman, Dorothy Parker, Gertrude Stein, Agatha Christie, Alice B. Toklas and Muriel Gardiner having the best what-if dinner party you can imagine. Together they'll drink, scoff and face their demons. Everyone has a confession. Someone has a secret.

Little Wars is written by Steven Carl McCasland and directed by Shelli Place. The cast features Candace Barrett-Birk* (Guthrie, Old Log), Sue Scott* (Prairie Home Companion, Mixed Blood), Elizabeth Desotelle* (Chanhassen, Old Log), Laura Adams (Park Square, Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company), Vanessa Gamble (History Theater, Illusion), Alison Edwards* (Roundabout-NY, Alabama Shakespeare), and Miriam Schwartz (Guthrie, Workhouse Collective). * Member, Actors' Equity Association

Little Wars is sponsored by Laurie Fitz and Connections Radio (www.fitz-radio.com) and Patric Richardson of Mona Williams located at MOA (www.monawilliams.com).

PRIME Productions, founded in 2016, is the newest professional theater to launch in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region. With a focus on celebrating women in their second act, the mission is to highlight and give voice to women of a certain age who are too often marginalized or altogether eliminated from the collective narrative.

PRIME Productions grew out of the realization that there was a scarcity of opportunities within theater for women in their prime. "The Twin Cities is rich in experienced female talent, " says co-founder Shelli Place, "but there's a gap in the plays and roles to fully utilize that resource." PRIME Productions' mission is to fill this gap with plays and staged readings, along with workshops, that will employ more female theater artists and address the issues relevant to an aging population. The co-founders are Alison Edwards, Elena Giannetti and Shelli Place.

Alison Edwards, although new to the Twin Cities, has spent the last 40 years in New York acting in theatre, film, TV and, more recently, audio books. In New York City she performed at the Roundabout Theatre, the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Riverside Shakespeare Festival. She spent four years at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and understudied Judith Light on the national tour of WIT. She holds a BFA from Boston University and attend The American Conservatory Theatre Training Program. She is a member of Actors' Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.

Elena Giannetti has been a part of the Twin Cities acting community for over 30 years, performing in front of the camera and on many local stages. Her stage credits include work at the Guthrie Theater, Park Square Theatre, Children's Theatre Company, Mixed Blood and more. Elena is also a director and producer, most recently directing A Midsummer Night's Dream at Park Square Theatre. She is a graduate of Macalester College with a BA in Dramatic Arts and is a member of SAG-AFTRA.

Shelli Place is a director of plays, musical revues & fashion shows and a producer of corporate presentations, product launches and awards ceremonies for Fortune 500 companies. Shelli created a variety of shows for The Walt Disney Company and is an Executive Speech Coach. Minnesota credits include: direction/choreography for Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company, Old Log Theater, Theater NOW, Theatre Unbound and Hennepin Theatre Trust. An experienced actress, she is a member of Actors' Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA & ATAS. Shelli has a BFA in Acting from Southern Methodist University.

IF YOU GO:

Little Wars
Written by: Steven Carl McCasland
Directed by: Shelli Place

Dates: May 5 - 21, 2017
Venue: Mixed Blood Theatre, 1501 South 4th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55454

Tickets: General Admission - $25
Discounts available for seniors, veterans and active military, students, AEA & SAG-AFTRA members, and groups (10 or more people).
Reservations: Brown Paper Tickets - www.brownpapertickets.com

Performance Schedule: Friday May 5 at 7:30 PM, Preview; Saturday May 6 at 7:30 PM, Opening Night with Reception; Sunday May 7 at 2:00 PM, Matinee - Post show discussion with Patric Richardson (owner, Mona Williams) about the fashion era of the play's characters; Sunday May 7 at 7:00 PM - Pay What You Can + Audio Description + ASL; Thursday May 11 at 7:30 PM; Friday May 12 at 7:30 PM - Post show discussion with playwright Steven Carl McCasland, moderated by Laurie Fitz of Connections Radio; Saturday May 13 at 7:30 PM; Sunday May 14 at 2:00 PM, Matinee; Thursday May 18 at 7:30 PM, Post show discussion; Friday May 19 at 7:30 PM; Saturday May 20 at 7:30 PM; Sunday May 21 at 2:00 PM, Closing Matinee.

Info at www.primeprods.org.

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