The Wilma Theater Presents SCHOOL PICTURES, On Stage November 2-20

The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia will present the world premiere of SCHOOL PICTURES, a warmhearted and humorous portrait of modern high school life, told in musical snapshots of individual teenagers, on stage Nov. 2-20.

Writer/performer Milo Cramer was inspired by their real-life experiences as a private tutor to create what they describe as "loving musical portraits of struggling students."

This world premiere one-person musical is directed by Wilma Lead Artistic Director Morgan Green, who previously directed the Wilma's world premiere digital production of James Ijames' Pulitzer Prize-winning play FAT HAM. This is the first production Green is directing in the 2022-23 Season, where she is serving as Lead Artistic Director under the Wilma's unique rotating leadership model. Green specifically chose to work with Cramer, a longtime collaborator, for her first onstage production for the company.

"Milo sings sincerely and vulnerably about his tutoring students, who are subject to the unfair pitfalls of our school systems, and the outsized pressure placed on students these days," says Green.

Tickets to SCHOOL PICTURES are $25-$59, and can be purchased at wilmatheater.org, by calling our box office at 215-546-7824, or when visiting our box office at 265 S. Broad Street in Center City. Discounts are available to students, and those working in the theater industry.

As part of the Wilma's commitment to making sure that theater is accessible to every member of the community, for the first week of SCHOOL PICTURES, the Wilma is offering 20 tickets for each performance between Nov. 2-6 as Pay What You Will. These tickets - where patrons can pay whatever they wish for up to two tickets - are only available in-person or over the phone.

Green and Cramer have been artistic collaborators since meeting at Bard College. They co-founded the New York theater company New Saloon, where they co-created MINOR CHARACTER: 6 TRANSLATIONS OF UNCLE VANYA AT THE SAME TIME, which was revived by the Wilma last season. Green also directed the pandemic audio play BOY FACTORY, which was produced by Playwrights Horizon and is still available online.

"Morgan has directed several workshops of SCHOOL PICTURES. I remember the first time I played the first songs awkwardly for her alone in her apartment," Cramer said. "Morgan has directed basically every single one of my plays and I'm very grateful to her. I would not be a playwright without her."

MILO CRAMER (writer/performer, they/them) is a playwright and performer. Their audio play BOY FACTORY - a whispered confessional about early erotic experiences - can be heard on Playwrights Horizons: Soundstage. Other works include CUTE ACTIVIST at The Bushwick Starr, ("a brilliant match of material and theater... a fable for our times" - NYT), and MINOR CHARACTER: SIX TRANSLATIONS OF UNCLE VANYA AT THE SAME TIME ("delightful... a spring-green forum on youth's discontents" - Village Voice), created with New Saloon and staged at The Wilma and The Public Theater. Milo is a MacDowell Fellow, a 2nd year MFA candidate at UC San Diego, and under commission from Clubbed Thumb and Playwrights Horizons.

Morgan Green (director, she/her) is a director of theater, film, radio, and dinner time. She is currently one of three Co-Artistic Directors at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia and a co-founder of New Saloon Theater Co. Morgan received the 2016 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Director for her work on New Saloon's MINOR CHARACTER: SIX TRANSLATIONS OF UNCLE VANYA AT THE SAME TIME, which was most recently seen at The Public Theater's 2019 Under the Radar festival. A selection of recent work includes: THE DANUBE by María Irene Fornés (Harvard University), THE WOLVES by Sarah DeLappe (Marin Theatre Company), CUTE ACTIVIST by Milo Cramer (The Bushwick Starr), and THE MUSIC MAN by Meredith Wilson (The Sharon Playhouse). Morgan is a New Georges Affiliated Artist, former artist in residence at Bric, Mabou Mines, and Baryshnikov Arts Center, an alumna of the Lincoln Center Director's Lab, a former Robert Moss Directing Fellow at Playwrights Horizons, and a proud member of SDC.

ABOUT THE WILMA

The Wilma Theater creates living, adventurous theater. We engage artists and audiences in imaginative reflection on the complexities of contemporary life. We present bold, original, rigorously crafted productions that represent a range of voices, viewpoints, and styles.

Established in 1973 as The Wilma Project, the Wilma challenged the Philadelphia cultural community to create theatrical productions of original material and to develop local artists. From 1973 through 1979, the Wilma dazzled the Philadelphia public by presenting work with renowned avant-garde theater artists, including the Bread & Puppet Theatre, Mabou Mines, Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatrical Company, The Wooster Group, Ping Chong & the Fiji Company and Spalding Gray.

In 1979, Blanka and Jiri Zizka, natives of Czechoslovakia, forged a creative relationship with the Wilma as artists-in-residence, and gained acclaim for their bold, innovative productions. The Zizkas assumed artistic leadership of the organization in 1981, and during their tenure the Wilma Theater established a national reputation for provocative work ranging from the international drama of Bertolt Brecht, Athol Fugard, Eugene Ionesco, Joe Orton and Tom Stoppard to new American plays by Tina Howe, Romulus Linney, Quincy Long, Doug Wright, Amy Freed and many others, as well as premiering Jiri Zizka's original adaptations of classic novels. CBS News called the Wilma "one playhouse that has emerged from the shadow of the Great White Way to make history on its own."

In February 2020, the Wilma radically changed its leadership structure. Founding Artistic Director Blanka Zizka invited three additional artists from a variety of histories and experiences to share leadership in a cohort structure, which will last until spring of 2023. Each year, one cohort member acts as lead Artistic Director, with input and support from other cohort members. It is an experiment in shared leadership. In Summer 2021, Blanka stepped back from the Cohort for a consulting role as Artistic Director Emeritus; the Cohort now includes Yury Urnov, James Ijames, and Morgan Green. They work alongside Managing Director Leigh Goldenberg as the leadership of the organization.

During the pandemic, the Wilma has become a leader in digital theater. The digital production of HEROES OF THE FOURTH TURNING was named the best of the year in 2020 by The Wall Street Journal and nominated for a Drama League Award. The Wilma's 2021 digital production of FAT HAM by James Ijames was named one of the best virtual productions in 2021 by The New York Times, which stated that "The Wilma Theater in Philadelphia perfected beautiful film-stage hybrids." FAT HAM was honored with the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE WILMA:

http://www.wilmatheater.org/

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