The Representatives to Bring PRIVATE MANNING GOES TO WASHINGTON to Edinburgh Fringe

The Representatives this August will bring one of their hyper-intimate, socially relevant theatrical experiences abroad, as they premiere their latest production, PRIVATE MANNING GOES TO WASHINGTON, at the 2016 International Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.

PRIVATE MANNING GOES TO WASHINGTON is a new play by Stan Richardson, imagining a secret meeting between US President Barack Obama and Pvt. Chelsea Manning, the transgender US soldier currently imprisoned under the Espionage Act for leaking documents to Julian Assange of Wikileaks. The Representatives have previously explored the life of Chelsea (née Bradley) Manning in their 2012 apartment play Incredible Things, Awful Things.

The production will star Marquis Rodriguez, E. James Ford, and Matt Steiner, with lighting design by Paul Hudson, and will run from August 15-27 at theSpace @ Niddry Street (V9). Located on The Royal Mile, theSpace Venues were host to award-winning productions in last year's festival, including the Total Theater Award for an Emerging Company as well as The Stage Award for Acting Excellence. The show will return to New York this fall for a limited run and possible U.S. tour.

Steiner and Richardson stated, "This project is important to us for several different reasons. First, we believe Chelsea Manning should be pardoned; second, we are proud to be presenting this underreported story of sacrifice by a transgender American; and third, we are absolutely thrilled to grow our community by bringing our version of "radical intimacy" to an international audience!"

The Representatives is the collaboration of playwright Stan Richardson and actor Matt Steiner. Since 2012, they have presented 14 new works, ranging from their signature apartment plays to larger pieces, such as two film-theater hybrids (Tell, Beddy Tear), a site-specific adaptation of a Russian epic (Bazarov), and a residency at IRT to work with artists in the Deaf community (Ramona Clay). TDF dubbed The Representatives "an underground theatre sensation" and they were also recognized as one of the "Top 10 Theater Experiences" by BroadwayWorld.com for their invitation-only productions performed in apartments, churches, restaurants and other alternative venues. Their most recent production was a racially and ability-­diverse telling of Stan Richardson's Veritas, the tragic true story of a secret gay witch-­hunt at Harvard in 1920, which Andy Webster of The New York Times called "agonizingly vivid".

Stan Richardson is a playwright and director from St. Louis, and a graduate of Tisch School of the Arts and Edward Albee's Playwrights Workshop in Houston, TX. Stan's plays have been developed at such venues as Second Stage, Ars Nova, Classic Stage Company, Dixon Place, PS122, The Brick Theatre and the New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Matt Steiner is an actor, director and teaching artist. He has appeared Off Broadway, in two national tours with The Acting Company, and in film & television. Matt trained as a clown in Switzerland & NYC and holds a BFA from CalArts. He is currently a full-time Teaching Artist for Lincoln Center Education.

Performances of PRIVATE MANNING GOES TO WASHINGTON run from August 15-27, Monday - Saturday, at 22:10pm at the Space @ Niddry Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. Tickets go on sale April 21st at edfringe.com. For more information, visit therepresentatives.org and thespaceuk.com.

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