Philadelphia Theatre Workshop Announces its Fifth Season

Philadelphia Theatre Workshop announces its fifth season of bringing new voices into the regional theatre landscape.  The 2008-2009
season will include a world premiere from local playwright, a Philadelphia premiere from a rising new talent, and the second annual Playshops Festival.

PTW will kick off its season with the Philadelphia premiere of Roberto Aguiree-Sacasa's The Mystery Plays.  Aguiree-Sacasa's is one of the writers for HBO's critically acclaimed series Big Love. He has also written for several marvel comic series. The Mystery Plays marks his Philadelphia debut and is a set of two-interrelated one acts. Next, Philadelphia Theatre Workshop will produce its second annual Playshops Festival, showcasing works in progress. This festival atmosphere will give audiences a chance to give feedback to new works by local playwrights. The playwrights will have the chance to rewrite their works during the festival.

The season will close with the world premiere of Kathy Anderson's The Meatpackers Book Club. Anderson is the Associate Artistic Director of Philadelphia Theatre Workshop and has had plays workshopped through the PTW's Playshops program.

"This is our fifth season and we recognize the need to give the work of developing playwrights a place to be seen," said Philadelphia Theatre Workshop Artistic Director, Bill Felty. "We are really excited to begin our season by introducing Philadelphia to a prolific and exciting New York playwright. We really want to see our audience expand and grow. For the first time, we are offering subscriptions. We really want to make sure that audiences get the chance to experience and see something new." The two plays will appear at Walnut Street Theatre's Studio 5. The Playshops Festival will be at the Shubin Theatre. Subscriptions cost $50 and are available at www.philadelphiatheatreworkshop.org.

The Season
The Mystery Plays
by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Philadelphia Premiere
November 15-30, 2008
Joe, a director of horror films, is watching his real life become one.  He survives a terrible train wreck only to be haunted by the ghost of one of the passengers who didn't survive. Joe begins to investigate the man who's haunting him, desperate to understand what the specter could possibly want. Meanwhile, Joe's attorney and friend, Abby, travels to a small town in rural Oregon to make peace with the man who--sixteen years earlier as an abused and disturbed teenager--brutally murdered her parents and younger sister. The man--the murderer--is her older brother and we see their first interaction in years and, via flashback, the circumstances that actually led to this grisly event.

2ND Annual Playshop Festival
 Four Plays In Process
March 7-22, 2009
Four new high quality scripts that reflect diverse, contemporary human stories will run in repertory as part of this new play festival. They present characters, situations, and perspectives not seen on other area stages.  During this unique and intensive program, playwrights, directors, designers, dramaturges, and actors work collaboratively to develop these plays utilizing feedback from the artists in rehearsals and performances before live audiences.  The playwrights will be writing and re-writing the scripts during the entire process so the plays will reshape themselves over the course of the festival.

The Meatpackers Book Club
by Kathy Anderson
World Premiere
May 30-June 14, 2009
Imagine a book club where the members wield bloody hacksaws for a living and discussions about literature break out in fistfights. It's the Meatpackers Book Club.  To rise above the raw gore of their daily lives, clever Harry, tough guy Red, one-armed Augustus, and lone female meatpacker Tiny discuss Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, The Life of  Pi, and the proper way to hack animal carcasses.  Meanwhile, a love triangle is evolving and something very strange and troubling is going on in Sector 8 of the meatpacking plant. With all of this action and with all these worlds are colliding, it's really difficult to get a meaningful literary discussion going.

Philadelphia Theatre Workshop strives to nurture bright and emerging artists at various stages of their careers. They will ignite Philadelphia by spotlighting communities of varying orientations, ethnicities, and age often underrepresented in the broader theatrical world. The company is dedicated to reflecting diverse audiences through original, evocative programming. Philadelphia Theatre Workshop educates, invigorates, and entertains!

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