McCarter and The Public Announce 2018 LAB Presentation THE BEAUTIFUL PLACE

From award-winning playwright and Princeton University Lecturer in Theatre Nathan Alan Davis (The Princeton and Slavery Plays, Nat Turner in Jerusalem) comes the first in a trilogy of new plays about a multi-generational African-American family. After the recent death of her husband, Gail works hard to keep her rural Illinois household running and to ensure her daughter, mother-in-law, and grandson are happy and
healthy while coming to terms with her own mortality. Protect the Beautiful Place is a poignant exploration of how we define the idea of home and the choices we make to protect the ones we love.

This Spotlight presentation, under the umbrella of McCarter's LAB and in a partnership with New York's Public Theater, takes place in the intimate rehearsal-room-turned-performance-Studio within the Roger S. Berlind Theatre, 91 University Place, Princeton, NJ.

Workshop presentations are Feb. 2-3 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 and available online at mccarter.org, by phone 609-258-2787, or in person at the Ticket Office. Limited availability.

About the McCarter/Public Theater Partnership
McCarter Theatre Center and The Public Theater in New York City are thrilled to pilot a new collaboration in support of Nathan Alan Davis' play. This unique partnership offers artistic guidance and resources from both major artistic institutions at the earliest stage in the playwright's process. The collaboration provides both infrastructure and creative input. The work is hosted at the McCarter with the dramaturgically aligned input
coming from both theaters.

McCarter and the Public are excited to engage in this new framework for authentically collaborative original play development - one that is dedicated first and foremost to the artist and the work, and poised to deepen his/her artistic relationships.

About Spotlight
The annual Spotlight presentation is a signature feature of McCarter's LAB, a creative incubator for artistic development. In a laboratory environment, supported by the theatre's artistic and production staff, artists rehearse and explore the dramaturgical and aesthetic world of a project over 2 to 4 weeks. The Spotlight is a mid-phase workshop affording playwrights and directors the opportunity to deepen their experience of working collaboratively to explore an original play or musical, over an extended rehearsal period. Often incorporating basic design elements, artists are able to see the work "on its feet" in front of a live audience, solicit feedback, and incorporate changes and adjustments.

About the Playwright
Nathan Alan Davis' plays include Nat Turner in Jerusalem (New York Theatre Workshop, 2016), Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea (NNPN Rolling World Premiere; Steinberg/ATCA New Play Citation, 2015) and The Wind and the Breeze (New Harmony Project residency; premiering at Cygnet Theatre, 2018). He is currently under commission from The Public
Theater, Arena Stage and Williamstown Theatre Festival. Nathan is a Lecturer in Theatre at Princeton University, a Usual Suspect at NYTW and a 2016 graduate of Juilliard's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program. He received his MFA from Indiana University and his BFA from the University of Illinois.

About the Director
Patricia McGregor is a director and writer from St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. She has twice been profiled by The New York Times for her direction of world premieres. Recent credits include the world premiere of Lights Out: Nat "King" Cole (People's Light), Skeleton Crew (Studio Theater), the world premiere of Good Grief (Center Theater Group), Measure for Measure (The Old Globe), The Parchman Hour (Guthrie Theater), Hamlet (The Public Theater), Ugly Lies the Bone (Roundabout Theatre Company), brownsville song (b-side for tray) (Lincoln Center Theater), the world premiere of
Stagger Lee (Dallas Theater Center), and the world premiere of Hurt Village (Signature Theatre Company). Her other credits include A Raisin in the Sun, The Winter's Tale, Spunk, Becky Shaw, Adoration of the Old Woman, Blood Dazzler, Holding It Down,
Four Electric Ghosts, Nothing Personal, and The House That Will Not Stand. For several years she has directed the 24 Hour Plays on Broadway. She is a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop, a co-founder of Angela's Pulse, and a Paul & Daisy Soros
Fellow at Yale School of Drama, where she also served as Artistic Director of the Yale Cabaret.

Photo: Nathan Alan Davis

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