Two River Theater's Radio Play Series Now Live
The featured plays include THE MEMORY MOTEL, antarctica, and more.
By: Chloe Rabinowitz May. 25, 2021
Two River Theater is inviting audiences to sit back, relax, and listen to three exciting new dramas by some of the country's most renowned writers, including Obie-award-winning playwright and actor David Greenspan, who adapted Thornton Wilder's novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey, which Two River premiered in 2018.
These three new dramas, set to be released throughout 2021, are a part of a new series called "Radio Plays", giving audience members a new way to experience work from Two River's family of artists. Instead of seeing a play, audience members will listen to a play. "We're inviting you to listen to a radio play. Which, of course, is as old as radio. But, in fact "listening" to a play is even older than that. All the way back to griots and fireside storytelling when we learned to be active listeners and employ our vivid imaginations to create pictures for ourselves", says John Dias, Two River Theater's Artistic Director.
"The three plays you're going to hear are by three writers I'm crazy about: David Greenspan, Kimber Lee and Nilo Cruz. We commissioned each of them to write specifically for us and for this medium. They are joined by three excellent directors and exquisite actors who are meeting up in the digital realm from actual places all over the world."
Kicking off the series on May 24 is The Memory Motel by David Greenspan. "I'm totally psyched about doing this because I've long wanted to write for a sound only, word only format", says Greenspan. "My plays are very verbal in nature and my productions use only the most minimal scenery. I try to do everything with words, everything with language, even description in lieu of any scenery."
Later this Summer and Fall, two additional Radio Plays will be released by Playwrights Kimber Lee and Nilo Cruz. Kimber Lee, is known for plays such as to the yellow house, tokyo fish story, and brownsville song (b-side for tray) and has won a number of awards including The Bruntwood Prize International Award and The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Kimber's Radio Play is titled antarctica.
Nilo Cruz is best known for his play Anna in the Tropics, which premiered on Broadway in 2003 and later won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Nilo's Radio Play, Kisses through the Glass, will be available this Fall in both English and Spanish.
THE MEMORY MOTEL
By David Greenspan
Directed by Morgan Green
FREE streaming is available through June 6/2021
Michael S. Michaels returns to a beach resort in order to piece together and better understand the fragments of his past. While he's there, he encounters a series of eccentric characters with whom he discusses art, philosophy, and the peculiarities of memory. Obie-award-winning playwright and actor David Greenspan (The Bridge of San Luis Rey) returns to Two River with this brand-new radio play crafted with his unique blend of fancy, theatricality, and wit.
Total listening time: 50 minutesThe Memory Motel cast features Joshua Avery Begelman (Kyle), David Greenspan (Michael), Paul Juhn (Nam June Paik), Keilly McQuail (Avril), Steven Rattazzi (Herb), Mary Shultz (Sandy, Deborah), Pete Simpson (Paddy), Paco Tolson (Danny), and Kevin Veloz (Jesús).
The creative team includes dialect coach Bridgett Jackson and sound designer/engineer Fan Zhang. The Stage Manager is Violet Asmara Tafari.
UPCOMING RADIO PLAYS
antarctica
By Kimber Lee
Directed by Neel Keller
Matty wants to do the impossible: become the first woman to traverse Antarctica on foot unaided. On her journey she faces ice storms, frigid temperatures, and constant danger. Even the smallest mistake can mean failure or worse. Written by award-winning playwright Kimber Lee, antarctica delves into where the mind goes under the most extreme conditions.
KISSES THROUGH THE GLASS
By Nilo Cruz
Directed by Liz Diamond
On an American highway from the north to south of nowhere, Trevor Dos Santos and Anabella Landi fix eyes on each other and their attraction is immediate. They take to the road and begin a dance of words, of life, and death. From Pulitzer-prize winning playwright Nilo Cruz, Kisses Through the Glass is a tale of two souls on a journey to the end of the world, bursting with music, poetry, and romance.
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