Bristol Riverside Theatre Presents VOICES OF TODAY Reading Series Starting 11/16

Bristol Riverside Theatre continues its America Rising: Voices of Today series and welcomes playwright Michael Elyanow for a staged reading of his play Lullaby. The reading will take place Sunday, November 16 at 5 p.m. at St. James Parish Hall, 225 Walnut Street in Bristol. Individual tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and include dinner.  Series subscriptions are also available.  For tickets, call the BRT Box Office at (215) 785-0100.

Elyanow will join BRT Artistic Associate Adam Goldstein and the cast in rehearsals and will discuss his play with the audience on November 16. Conceived, produced and directed by Goldstein, the America Rising: Voices of Today staged reading series highlights some of the country’s best up-and-coming playwrights and is a celebration of culture and language. Presented in partnership with Temple University’s MFA graduate acting program, the series opens the door to the hottest new voices of the American theatre.

Lullaby takes place during the 2000 presidential election's Florida recount.  It is a funny and dramatic look at a widowed mom whose two-year-old son won't go to sleep and the lesbian guitar tutor she hires to teach her lullabies.  Thrown into the mix are her depressed father and late husband's doctor (with whom she had an affair), helping to create this meditation on powerlessness and betrayal during a time in our country when both reigned supreme.

 The cast for this reading includes: Marla Burkholder (Temple University faculty member and alum), Miriam Hyman (who will appear as Olivia in BRT’s upcoming World Premiere of What You Will), Dan Kern (Head of Acting program at Temple University), and others to be announced.

The evening will feature music by Philadelphia folk-pop musician Jesse Schurr (www.myspace.com/ jesseschurrband) who will perform her original songs to open the event and will play guitar during the reading.

About the Playwright
Michael Elyanow was recently commissioned to write a play for Hartford Stage Company as part of their Hartford Heritage Project. His dark comedy The Idiot Box was produced in the summer of 2007 at LA's Open Fist Theatre, where it was named Best Comedy Production by LAStageScene.com and received 3 Garland Award honorable mentions. His short play, Third Of Three, was part of Fusion Theatre's 2007 One Night Stand Cabaret in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Lullaby was a finalist for the Lark's Playwrights' Week and a nominee for the Cherry Lane Theatre's Mentor Project. It has been workshopped at Hartford Stage Company and The Blank Theatre. 12 Volt Heart, co-written with Jeremy Cohen, was workshopped at Hartford Stage and was performed at Northwestern University's Struble Theatre thanks to a major CIRA grant. Elyanow's ten-minute play, Banging Ann Coulter, was a finalist for the Humana Festival of New American Plays and was performed at Chicago Dramatists.

Future America Rising readings are:

Sick?

By Zakiyyah Alexander

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Harmless

By Brett Neveu

Sunday, March 29, 2009

 
Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue (2006 Pulitzer Prize finalist)

By Quiara Alegría Hudes (2008 Tony Award winner)

Sunday, May 3, 2009

About Bristol Riverside Theatre
Since 1986, BRT has brought consistently acclaimed professional theatre to Bucks County and maintained a long-term commitment to finding and developing new plays. The theatre is the recipient of over 50 Barrymore Award nominations for Excellence in Theatre, given annually by the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. In addition to its mainstage productions, the theatre serves as a cultural hub for the community, with such programs as children's theatre, community concerts and exhibitions of local visual arts.  Currently under the direction of Artistic Director Keith Baker and Founding Producing Director Susan D. Atkinson, BRT enters its 22nd season

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