Exclusive: Get A First Look At REDWOOD at Ensemble Studio Theatre

Ensemble Studio Theatre will begin performances for REDWOOD by Brittany K. Allen and directed by EST member artist Mikhaela Mahony on Wednesday, October 18. See exclusive photos from the show below!

The new play will run through November 12, with opening night on October 26. REDWOOD was originally slated for April of 2020, after being developed while Brittany K. Allen was a member of Youngblood and was delayed because of Covid. 

The complete cast, who is returning from the originally planned production in 2020, features playwright Brittany K. Allen, Denny Dale Bess, Bryn Carter, Tyrone Mitchell Henderson, Drew Lewis, Portia, Kate Siahaan-Rigg and Eric R. Williams. 

REDWOOD will feature Sets by Ao Li; Lights by Betsy Chester and Stacey Derosier; Costumes by Mika Eubanks; Sound by Kathy Ruvuna; and Props by Caitlyn Murphy. Sasha Hutchings will be Choreographer and Assistant Director along with Fran Acuña-Almiron as Production Stage Manager and Ingrid Pierson as Assistant Stage Manager.

When Steve Durbin goes down the rabbit hole of charting his family's genealogy, he makes an unwelcome discovery that throws the entire Durbin clan into turmoil. Chiefly: his niece, Meg, who's forced to reconsider her relationship with Drew, a white physicist. With acid wit, love, and dance, REDWOOD ponders the project of interracial family-making in a haunted country.

Now in its 55th year, EST has developed thousands of new American plays and has grown into a company of over 600 actors, directors, playwrights, designers, and stage managers. The 2023-24 season will include an abundance of new play development through ongoing programs.  This season also marks the 30th Anniversary of Youngblood, EST’s award-winning emerging playwrights collective.  This fall, Youngblood will welcome new members and begin a new season of its popular Sunday Brunch Series, which offers a set of new short plays by the group’s writers served with brunch on select Sundays throughout the year. The EST/Sloan Project, a long-standing partnership with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, will continue to support the development of plays about science and technology with its annual First Light Festival, and will award a new round of Sloan Commissions, to be announced this fall.  In addition, EST supports its Member Artists through internal developmental programs, offering space for creative exploration. 

The Spring Mainstage Production will be the world premiere of LAS BORINQUEÑAS by Nelson Diaz-Marcano and directed by Rebecca Aparicio, running in April 2024. The world premiere is presented by the EST/Sloan Project in collaboration with the Latinx Playwrights Circle.