Second Stage Theater Announces 2 Plays For Uptown Series

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Ellen Richard, Executive Director) has announced the two plays which will be presented as part of the company's seventh annual Second Stage Theatre Uptown Series this summer: Zakiyyah Alexander's 10 Things To Do Before I Die, directed by Jackson Gay, and Lila Rose Kaplan's Wildflower, directed by 2008 Callaway Award winner Giovanna Sardelli.

Zakiyyah Alexander's 10 Things To Do Before I Die was commissioned by the Time Warner Commissioning Program at Second Stage Theatre and is the second commissioned play to be produced as part of the Uptown Series (last summer's Animals Out of Paper, by Rajiv Joseph, was the first). A 2003 graduate of the Yale School of Drama, Ms. Alexander's plays have been seen at the Summer Play Festival and the Hip Hop Theatre Festival. Lila Rose Kaplan recently received her MFA in Playwriting from University of California, San Diego, and has had her plays developed by several prominent regional theatres, including The Kennedy Center and Arena Stage.

Both plays will be presented at Second Stage Theatre's uptown home, the McGinn/Cazale Theatre on Broadway at 76th Street. 10 Things To Do Before I Die will run May 12 - June 14. Wildflower will run July 13 - August 8. Tickets for both shows can be purchased by calling the Second Stage Theatre Box Office at 212-246-4422.

"The creation of new American plays is a cornerstone of Second Stage Theatre," states Artistic Director Carole Rothman. "We're grateful to Time Warner for their continued support of our Commissioning Program which has brought us Zakiyyah Alexander's 10 Things To Do Before I Die. With Zakiyyah's play, as well as Lila Rose Kaplan's Wildflower, this summer's Uptown Series continues our mission of providing emerging playwrights the opportunity to develop their craft with fully realized productions."

"We are proud of our partnership with Second Stage and the work being done to nurture new and diverse voices in theater," said Lisa M. Quiroz, Senior Vice President of Corporate Responsibility at Time Warner. "Like the other writers commissioned through this unique program, Zakiyyah is a gifted storyteller and we look forward to seeing her new work on the Uptown Stage."

Created as a program to help develop and provide exposure for the voices of a new generation of theatre artists, the Second Stage Theatre Uptown Series seeks to develop the skills of emerging playwrights, to provide early-career artists with the support of a major artistic institution, and to create new plays for the American Theatre. Each show has a limited rehearsal period, as well as a streamlined budget. The series has helped launch and advance the careers of several up-and-coming playwrights, including Rajiv Joseph (Animals Out of Paper), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (whose play, Good Boys and True, was part of Second Stage's season last year); Adam Bock (The Receptionist, The Drunken City), and Brooke Berman (Hunting and Gathering).

The series premiered in 2002 with three new American plays: ...in the absence of spring..., written and directed by Joe Calarco; The Notebook, written by Wendy Kesselman and directed by Evan Yionoulis; and Hunt Holman's Spanish Girl, directed by Erica Schmidt. Second Stage Theatre Uptown was on hiatus in 2003 due to theatre repairs. The 2004 season saw the New York premiere of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's The Mystery Plays, as well as Brooke Berman's The Triple Happiness, starring Ally Sheedy. In 2005, the series presented the New York premiere of the critically acclaimed comedy Swimming in the Shallows, written by Adam Bock and starring Logan Marshall-Green, as well as the world premiere of Dan O'Brien's The Dear Boy. The 2006 series featured two world premiere comedies: Getting Home, written by Anton Dudley and directed by David Schweizer, and Rajiv Joseph's All This Intimacy, directed by Giovanna Sardelli. The 2007 series featured Marisa Wegrzyn's The Butcher of Baraboo, directed by Judith Ivey, and Joshua Tobiessen's Election Day, directed by Jeremy Dobrish.

Last season's Uptown Series featured two world premiere plays: Carly Mensch's Len, Asleep in Vinyl, directed by Jackson Gay, and Rajiv Joseph's Animals Out of Paper, directed by Giovanna Sardelli.

Play #1:
10 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE
World premiere
***** Commissioned by the Time Warner Commissioning Program at Second Stage Theatre*****
Written by Zakiyyah Alexander
Directed by Jackson Gay
May 12 - June 14
Opening Night is Thursday, May 28

Vida, a NYC high school teacher and Lena, a once-successful writer, are two sisters who couldn't be more different. When a delivery of boxes from their recently deceased father arrives they must reconnect and re-examine their complicated history. 10 Things To Do Before I Die is a drama infused with comedy that explores how we let go of yesterday so we can find a tomorrow.

Zakiyyah Alexander is a writer and performer whose plays include Sick? (Summer Play Festival), The Etymology of a Bird (Hip Hop Theater Festival), and Blurring Shine (Market Theater, Johannesburg). Her work is included in New Monologues for Women by Women and Girls who like Boys who like Girls. She is a resident member of New Dramatists and the Dramatists Guild, and a 2003 graduate of the Yale School of Drama.

Jackson Gay's credits include Len, Asleep in Vinyl by Carly Mensch (Second Stage), Jason Grote's Box Americana (O'Neill Playwrights Conference), Made In Poland by Wojcieszek (Play Company), Lucy Thurber's Scarcity, Rolin Jones' The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow (Atlantic Theater Company), David Adjmi's Marie Antoinette (Sundance Institute Theatre Lab/Public Theater). She received the Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Production for Jenny Chow (Yale Rep) and earned her MFA in Directing at Yale School of Drama.

* * * * * * * *
Play #2:
WILDFLOWER
World premiere
Written by Lila Rose Kaplan
Directed by Giovanna Sardelli
July 13 - August 8
Opening Night is Thursday, July 30

A woman and her troubled son look to escape their past in Crested Butte, a small town with its own share of secrets. They encounter a curious girl, a forest ranger, and an ex-drag queen. The five collide in a summer of botany and sexual awakening. Wildflower explores the discovery of desire and its unexpected consequences.

Lila Rose Kaplan's plays include Aquarium, Catching Flight, Chicken with Stars, and Wildflower. Her works have been seen and developed at Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Mixed Blood, Manhattan Rep, La Jolla Playhouse and The Culture Project among others. Having recently received her MFA in Playwriting from University of California, San Diego, she is currently Shank Playwriting Fellow at Cornerstone Theatre Company in Los Angeles.

Giovanna Sardelli recently won the 2008 Joseph A. Callaway Award for excellence in stage direction for Second Stage Theatre Uptown's production of Rajiv Joseph's Animals Out of Paper. Other credits include: Taking Flight (Goodman Theatre & Stages Repertory Co., CTG, San Diego Rep., and Sundance), All This Intimacy (Second Stage), Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (The Lark), Huck & Holden (Cherry Lane), Lynn Rosen's Apple Cove (The Lark/TMTP), Education: NYU MFA Graduate Acting, graduate of their Director's Lab.

SCHEDULE AND TICKET INFORMATION

10 Things To Do Before I Die will be performed at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre (Broadway & 76th Street, above The Promenade) from Tuesday, May 12 - Sunday, June 14 on the following schedule: Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30pm, Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00pm, and Sunday at 3:00pm. There will be no matinee performances on May 13 and May 20.

Wildflower will be performed at the McGinn/Cazale Theater (Broadway & 76th Street, above The Promenade) from Monday, July 13 - Saturday, August 8 on the following schedule: Monday-Saturday at 7:30pm, and Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00pm. There will be no matinee performances on July 15 and July 22.

Tickets for performances of both plays can be purchased at the Second Stage Theatre Box Office (307 West 43rd Street) or by calling (212) 246-4422. Advance tickets are not available at the McGinn/Cazale Theater. Single tickets are $50; advance youth tickets (age 30 and under) are $20; and student RUSH tickets are $10 (available 30 minutes prior to curtain). A 2-play subscription is available for $60.

ABOUT SECOND STAGE THEATRE

Founded in 1979 under the leadership of Artistic Director Carole Rothman, Second Stage Theatre produces a diverse range of premieres and new interpretations of America's best contemporary theatre, including Tiny Alice by Edward Albee; The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry; Little Murders by Jules Feiffer; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin; A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller; Painting Churches and Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants and On the Stem by Ricky Jay; Living Out by Lisa Loomer; This Is Our Youth and The Waverly Gallery by Kenneth Lonergan; Afterbirth: Kathy & Mo's Greatest Hits by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy; Saturday Night by Stephen Sondheim; Crowns by ReGina Taylor; Uncommon Women and Others by Wendy Wasserstein; Spoils of War by Michael Weller; Before It Hits Home, Jar the Floor and Birdie Blue by Cheryl L. West; Jitney by August Wilson; Lemon Sky, Serenading Louie and Sympathetic Magic by Lanford Wilson; Metamorphoses and The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci by Mary Zimmerman; The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane; Some Men by Terrence McNally; and eurydice by Sarah Ruhl. The company's more than 125 citations include the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed), 2005 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin, ...Spelling Bee) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler, ...Spelling Bee), 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Mary Zimmerman for Metamorphoses), the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, 23 Obie Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Clarence Derwent Awards, nine Drama Desk Awards, five Theatre World Awards, 11 Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award and 15 AUDELCO Awards.

In 1999, Second Stage Theatre opened its state-of-the art 296-seat theatre at 43rd Street, designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.

The Second Stage Theatre Uptown Series was inaugurated in 2002 to showcase the work of emerging artists at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre at 76th Street, including The Mystery Plays by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Spanish Girl by Hunt Holman, The Triple Happiness by Brooke Berman and Swimming in the Shallows by Adam Bock. The Theatre supports artists through several programs that include residencies, fellowships and commissions, and engages students and community members through education and outreach programs.

SECOND STAGE THEATRE AT THE Helen Hayes

Second Stage Theatre recently announced that it has acquired the right to purchase the historic Helen Hayes Theatre, located at 240 W. 44th Street. With this new home, Second Stage will be the only theater company on Broadway dedicated exclusively to the development and presentation of contemporary American theatrical productions. Second Stage will also become one of only four non-profit theater companies that own and operate theaters on Broadway. The company will continue to lease and operate their original theaters on the city's Upper West Side and in Midtown Manhattan. Programming in the Helen Hayes will begin in 2010.

For more information, please visit www.2ST.com

 

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