Clubbed Thumb Announces First Round of Casting For Summerworks 2019

Clubbed Thumb announces initial casting for SUMMERWORKS, its annual series of new plays. Now in its 24th season, SUMMERWORKS will run May 17 through June 29 at The Wild Project (195 E 3rd Street) in Manhattan, and will feature productions of three new plays: LUNCH BUNCH by Sarah Einspanier and directed by Tara Ahmadinejad; YOU NEVER TOUCHED THE DIRT by Zhu Yi and directed by Ken Rus Schmoll; and KING PHILIP'S HEAD IS STILL ON THAT PIKE JUST DOWN THE ROAD by Daniel Glenn and directed by Caitlin Ryan O'Connell. Tickets and festival passes are now on sale at: https://www.artful.ly/clubbedthumb/store/events.

LUNCH BUNCH will star Eliza Bent (Bonnie's Last Flight, Aloha, Aloha), Ugo Chukwu (What to Send Up When It Goes Down, Do You Feel Anger?), Irene Sofia Lucio (Slave Play, Love and Information), Keilly McQuail (Clubbed Thumb's Of Government, You Got Older) Nana Mensah (Man from Nebraska, I'll Never Love Again), Jon Norman Schneider (NAATCO's Awake and Sing!, Map of Virtue) and Julia Sirna-Frest ([Porto], The Offending Gesture). Performances run from May 17 through May 28.

Seven public defenders on a frenzied quest for the perfect lunch--whilst battling ACS, inequality, burn out, and a big ole serving of existential dread. A play about our struggle for meaning, belonging, some semblance of order and the unexpected places we seek them.

LUNCH BUNCH will feature set design by Jean Kim, costume design by Alice Tavener, lighting design by Oona Curley, and sound design by Ben Vigus. Alex Williamson will serve as production stage manager.

YOU NEVER TOUCHED THE DIRT will star John D. Haggerty ("Gotham," NAATCO's Henry VI), Daniel K. Isaac ("Billions," The Chinese Lady), Kenneth Lee ("Search Party", The Machine), Jennifer Lim (Chinglish, Clubbed Thumb's Tumacho) and Julyana Soelistyo (Tony Award Nominee, Golden Child), with additional cast members to be announced at a later date. Performances run from June 3 through June 13.

The Li family would be enjoying their new lake-view luxury villa outside of the city, were they not surrounded by the gardeners, maids, and security guards who had once owned the land--not to mention the Gods, ghosts and unnamed spirits there for thousands of years before them. A play about economic transformation, the dreams it enables and those it crushes.

YOU NEVER TOUCHED THE DIRT will feature set design by Andrew Moerdyk, costume design by Heather McDevitt Barton, lighting design by Jiyoun Chang and sound design by Brendan Aanes. Melanie Aponte will serve as production stage manager.

KING PHILIP'S HEAD IS STILL ON THAT PIKE JUST DOWN THE ROAD will star Crystal Finn (Clubbed Thumb's Plano; Bobby Clearly), Jennifer Ikeda (Today is My Birthday; Clubbed Thumb's Takarazuka!!!), Elizabeth Kenny (Clubbed Thumb's Men on Boats; Cute Activist), Mary Lou Rosato (The Government Inspector; The Skin of Our Teeth), and Zuzanna Szadkowski ("Gossip Girl," Love, Loss and What I Wore) with additional cast members to be announced at a later date. Performances run June 19 through June 29.

The councilmen of Plymouth Plantation fight about what the Good life is- all the while displaying the head of Wampanoag leader Metacom on a spike. A play about government, mercy, vengeance and America's original sin.

KING PHILIP'S HEAD IS STILL ON THAT PIKE JUST DOWN THE ROAD will feature set design by Caroyln Mraz, costume design by Melissa Ng, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker and sound design by Emily Auciello. Kristy Bodall will serve as production stage manager.

SUMMERWORKS 2019 is running May 19 through June 29 at The Wild Project, located at 195 E. 3rd Street, New York 10009 - between Avenues A and B in Manhattan's East Village. Festival passes are on sale now for $65, with discounted preview passes on sale for $55, at https://www.artful.ly/clubbedthumb/store/passes. Single tickets are on sale for $25 ($20 for students) at https://www.artful.ly/clubbedthumb/store/events.

With its track record for discovering and supporting new playwriting talent - in many cases providing writers with their very first production in New York or anywhere - SUMMERWORKS is one of the most eagerly anticipated theatrical offerings of the year. Clubbed Thumb made its Broadway debut this spring with Heidi Schreck's What the Constitution Means to Me, which began at SUMMERWORKS in 2017 and is currently running at the Helen Hayes Theater. The hit Summerworks 2018 production of Plano by Will Arbery, directed by Taylor Reynolds, is currently running at the Connelly Theater through May 11th.

Highlights from the previous 23 festivals include the NYC premieres of Gina Gionfriddo, Jordan Harrison, Lisa D'Amour, Jason Grote and Sarah Ruhl; professional debuts of Rinne Groff, Sylvan Oswald, Clare Barron, Susan Stanton and Ariel Stess; and new works by Anne Washburn, Adam Bock, Gregory Moss, Jenny Schwartz, Ethan Lipton, Erin Courtney, Sheila Callaghan, Tanya Saracho, Jaclyn Backhaus, and Heidi Schreck. All of these artists continue to make Clubbed Thumb an artistic home.

Past SUMMERWORKS directors include Pam MacKinnon, Lee Sunday Evans, Lear deBessonet, Anne Kauffman, Davis McCallum, Leigh Silverman, and Ken Rus Schmoll.

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