Primary Stages Announces Cast for ESPA*DRILLS Reading Series at 59E59, 8/21-22

Primary Stages ESPA has announced casting for the ESPA*Drills Reading Series this August. ESPA*Drills is an annual new play development program providing professionally staged readings to four ESPA playwrights. The plays are workshopped at Primary Stages under the guidance of the ESPA staff and presented before an audience of industry peers at Off-Broadway's 59E59 Theaters. ESPA*Drills provides an exclusive opportunity for students to receive professional attention through the resources and support of Primary Stages.

Announcing the writers, directors and casts for the 2013 ESPA*Drills Reading Series at Primary Stages at 59E59 Theaters:

Wednesday, August 21 at 5pm
Keep Calm and Carry On
by Melisa Annis, directed by Dominic D'Andrea
with Sarah Nina Hayon, Ted McGuinness, Jennifer Mendenhall, and Anna Nugent
Reporting for battle requires bravery, a sense of duty... and the ability to open your door.

Wednesday, August 21 at 8pm
Drown
by David Hilder, directed by Suzanne Agins
with Nick Abeel, Christian Conn, Talaura Harms, Jacob Horstmeier, Jessica Luck, and Jeanine Serralles
A woman threw herself off a pier and never came up for air. Now she and her survivors must accept the help of others - even a talking clam.

Thursday, August 22 at 12pm
Unknowing Grace
by Alyssa Biber Colman, directed by Wendy C. Goldberg
with Kelly AuCoin, Emily Dorsch, Katie Paxton, Breene Rimberg, Constance Schulman, Amanda Stephen, and Ramon Olmos Tores
Explaining to an eight-year-old that grandma is losing her memory is just as tough as explaining it to grandma herself.

Thursday, August 22 at 3pm
Do Not Leave Unattended
by Jan Rosenberg, directed by Daniella Topol
with Nicholas Cocchetto, Darcy Fowler, Russell G. Jones, Sheila Joon, Nick Lawson, Brad Makarowski, and Eric T. Miller

Eddie's made a dangerous new friend. One that's expecting some feral company.

All readings will be held at 59E59 Theaters and free to the public. Reservations can be made by visiting www.primarystages.org/espadrills.

Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA) is a multidisciplinary school with departments in writing, acting, and directing. Now in its seventh year, ESPA has refined actors who have been seen on and off-Broadway, developed writers whose work has won awards and received workshops and productions, and served as a professional and artistic home for emerging talent. ESPA is defined by its strong commitment to collaboration through programs such as Detention, a monthly performance series that partners ESPA writers, actors, directors, and a faculty advisor in the creation of a unique evening of theater. Having provided a home to over 2,000 students, ESPA has become a leader in performing arts education through its excellence in training, unique collaboration and networking opportunities, and strong professional community. ESPA is open to all artists, in all stages of their careers.

Primary Stages is an Off-Broadway theater company dedicated to inspiring, supporting, and sharing the art of playwriting. We operate on the strongly held belief that the future of American theater relies on nurturing playwrights and giving them the artistic support needed to create new work. Since our founding in 1984, we have produced more than 100 new plays, including David Ives' All in the Timing (both the original 1993 production and 2013 revival); Kate Fodor'sRx; Charles Busch's Olive and the Bitter Herbs; A.R. Gurney's Black Tie; Horton Foote's Harrison, TX and Dividing the Estate (Two 2009 Tony Awardnominations); Brooke Berman's Hunting and Gathering (one of New York Magazine's Top Ten Plays of 2008); Terrence McNally's Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams (starring Nathan Lane and Marian Seldes) and The Stendhal Syndrome (featuring Isabella Rossellini and Richard Thomas); Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter's In the Continuum (which went on to tour the U.S., Africa, and Scotland); and Conor McPherson's St. Nicholas (which marked the playwright's U.S. debut). Primary Stages was honored with the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, which encompasses much more than the plays we produce for the stage. Primary Stages supports playwrights and develops new works through commissions, workshops, readings, and our education and training programs: The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA), and the Fordham/Primary Stages MFA in Playwriting. Through these programs, Primary Stages advocates for our artists, helping them make important-and often transformative-connections within the theater community.

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