Burning Coal Theatre Announces Four Corners Project Recipients

Burning Coal Theatre Company would like to announce recipients of the inaugural the Four Corners Project, beginning in its 2020-2021 season. This project grants the Murphey School space for one week, four times a year to creative individuals coming forth with innovative and exciting projects, whether it be a show, a workshop, a class, or so on.

The first project in the series will be The Lord Chamberlain's Men Present: Pericles Prince of Tyre (Rebecca Ashley Jones), which will occupy the space from November 1-6, as well as the 8, 2020. Following will be Other Desert Cities: A Reading and Discussion (David McEwen with OdysseyStage Productions), which will be in the space November 16 - 22, 2020. Afterwards, Qué gringa, que gringa (Megan Yankee) will have the space from December 21 - December 27, 2020. Tangos Quentos (Nancy Rich) will wrap of the series, utilizing the space December 28, 2020 - January 3, 2021.

Performance Dates/Times:

The Lord Chamberlain's Men Present: Pericles Prince of Tyre - November 5, 6, and 8, 2020. For information, visit https://www.facebook.com/EmptyChairTheatreProject

Other Desert Cities: A Reading and Discussion - Performance dates TBA. For more information, visit http://www.odysseystage.org/

Qué gringa, que gringa - Performance dates TBA. For more information, visit https://www.meganyankee.dance

Tangos Quentos - Performances January 2 and 3, 2021.For more information, visit https://www.actorscomedylab.com/next.html

About the Projects

The Lord Chamberlain's Men Present: Pericles Prince of Tyre is an adaptation of Shakespeate's Pericles by Rebecca Ashley Jones. This production explores how the creative team, actors, and designs respond to in rehearsal, as well as how they interact with one another - all based around the theoretically process and premiere of Pericles during Shakespeare's time. They will perform on November 5, 6, and 8, 2020. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/EmptyChairTheatreProject.

Other Desert Cities: A Reading and Discussion presented by OdysseyStage Productions explores the dynamics of how we handle times of crisis, and how political and personal conflicts overlap with each other. This will include a reading of the play by Jon Robin Baitz, as well as a post-reading discussion about the piece and the relevant themes to our present-day circumstances in the wake of COVID-19. Performance dates TBA. For more information, visit http://www.odysseystage.org/.

Qué gringa, que gringa - created and performed by Megan Yankee - is an autobiographical solo work exploring her unknown ancestry, adoption, and mixed heritage with America's current political climate as a backdrop. The piece jumps from the springboard of Yankee's life while engaging the audience in the dialogue by encouraging them to partake in simple choreographic tasks throughout, creating a bridge between Spanish- and English-speaking audience members. Performance dates TBA. For more information, visit https://www.meganyankee.dance.

Tangos Quentos, choreographed by Nancy Rich, is a presentation of stories told physically, with tango music serving as the prompt for the non-spoken dialogue. The piece would challenge audience members to view story through the framework of tango - its beats and musicality. They will perform January 2 and 3, 2021. For information, visit https://www.actorscomedylab.com/next.html

About the Participating Artists

Rebecca Ashley Jones is a local theatre actress, sometime director, and high school history teacher. Rebecca focuses mostly on Shakespeare performance and has been seen in the area performing Shakespeare with Sweet Tea Shakespeare (Macbeth), Raleigh Little Theatre (Measure for Measure), and Bare Theatre (Two Gentlemen of Verona, Timon of Athens). Her greatest achievement, however, was getting the opportunity to produce, adapt, direct, design, and act in her dream play, Much Ado, with the Women's Theatre Festival last summer, presented on Burning Coal's stage. Rebecca is a co-founder of a new classical theatre organization in the area, The Empty Chair Theatre Project. Along with Bobby Callaway and Nicholas Tycho Reed, they are committed to creating experimental, unique, and memorable classical and classical-inspired theatre.

OdysseyStage is a non-profit community theatre dedicated to entertaining audiences of all ages, educating adults and children through theatrical participation, and empowering local talent. Each year, they produce several shows that feature Triangle-based playwrights and take on powerful themes.

Megan Yankee, M.F.A. is a biracial citizen-artist based in Durham, North Carolina. Megan is happiest when working at the unlikely intersection of anti-racist experimental dancemaking and trauma survivor advocacy. Her choreography has been generously funded by institutions in Texas (2013), Ohio (2014-2016), and North Carolina (2019) and presented across the U.S. and abroad in Belfast, Northern Ireland (2010) and Kampala, Uganda (2014). She is also an award winning trauma-informed movement educator for children and adults of all experience levels.

Nancy Rich is a local director and choreographer with over 20 years of experience in directing and choreographing musical theatre projects for: Raleigh Little Theatre, Cary Players, Justice Theatre Project, Actors Comedy Lab, and Theatre In The Park.

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