HB Studio To Partner With American Soundboard To Present Readings Of U.S. Congressional Hearings

This coming season, AMERICAN SCOREBOARD, a series of actor-performed, verbatim readings of actual U.S. Congressional hearing transcripts, will once again join forces with HB STUDIO to perform four readings featuring HB students and alumni. The series will kick-off on Monday, September 16 at 7pm at the HB Playwrights Theatre (124 Bank Street) with a performance of testimony given on March 6, 2019 before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on Protecting Dreamers and TPS (Temporary Protected Status) recipients. Admission to the reading is free and reservations can be made at hbstudio.eventbrite.com.

Conceived by two-time Tony Award-winning producer Fran Kirmser, and produced by Ms. Kirmser and Christopher Burney, Artistic Director of New York Stage and Film, AMERICAN SCOREBOARD is an ongoing series which, through timely verbatim readings of U.S. Congressional hearing transcripts performed by stage and screen actors, reflect the issues that face the current administration, President Trump and the American people today.

This new series marks the return of AMERICAN SCOREBOARD to HB STUDIO where it

premiered in January 2017 with a hearing concerning corporate fraud and the Wells Fargo Bank. AMERICAN SCOREBOARD's subsequent presentations of hearings on the Senate confirmations of Trump cabinet Secretaries Tom Price and Betsy DeVos; former FBI official Clint Watts' testimony regarding Russia's intervention in the 2016 elections; and on gun violence, have been brought to life at such venues as Pace University's Schimmel Center in New York, Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage, with Detroit Public Theater at Detroit's Museum of Contemporary Art, and via podcast. In addition to HB STUDIO series, future readings are planned nationally.

The list of stage and screen actors who have performed in previous AMERICAN SCOREBOARD readings include Lilla Crawford, Halley Feiffer, Sydney Lucas, Kevin Mambo, Constantine Maroulis, Sam Poon, Adeola Role, Saundra Santiago, Peter Scolari, Tracy Shayne, Asa Sommers, Tamara Tunie, Michael Benjamin Washington, and James Yaegashi.

The subjects of the remaining readings in the series at HB Playwrights Theatre, scheduled for later this fall on Wednesday, November 20 and Thursday, November 21, as well as a fourth reading planned for June 2020, will be announced at a later date.

"Theater provides the perfect platform for American Scoreboard to present, as conceived, verbatim readings of U.S. Senate hearings. The tech-free, respectful and intimate environment of the theater encourages audiences from both sides of the aisle to simply listen to the language of our government leaders," says producer Fran Kirmser.

Commenting on the involvement of HB students in the series, producer Christopher Burney said: "Being able to work with HB Studio students passionate about the political process shows the power of story to engage audience for social change and provides hope for the future."

"HB salutes the return of AMERICAN SCOREBOARD as we approach an important HB anniversary, 75 years as a space where theater artists practice on their own terms to give expression to their times. The theater is a forum uniquely suited to the conscientious exploration of conflict, the examination of cause and intent. Here we communicate with one another as a culture; here we perform our differences to arrive at some better place", Edith Meeks, Executive and Artistic Director, HB Studio.

About AMERICAN SCOREBOARD series producers:

Fran Kirmser (Conceiver/Producer) is a two-time Tony Award winning producer. Off the heels of the financial crash, Fran conceived and produced a sports series for stage to explore stories of leadership, competition, and teamwork. The Broadway sports trilogy includes Bronx Bombers, Magic/Bird, and Lombardi, based on the iconic leader and NFL coach Vince Lombardi, currently in development at Legendary Pictures. Fran consults for hundreds of emerging artists annually and teaches master classes at New York University, Fordham University, The New School and HB Studio. www.frankirmser.com

Chris Burney (Creator/Producer) is the Artistic Director of New York Stage and Film. Previously, he was the Tony Nominated Artistic Producer of New York's Second Stage Theatre where he worked from 1996 on over 100 productions including 3 Pulitzer winning works. He currently serves as a member of the Tony Awards Nominating Committee. An advocate for the importance of fostering future generations of theater artists and practitioners, he is on faculty at Columbia University where he teaches creative producing. He is a graduate of Brandeis University, B.A., and Columbia University, M.F.A. www.christopherburney.com

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