Forward Flux Productions Announces 2018 & 19 Programming

Forward Flux Productions announces their 2018 programming which will feature three plays never before seen in Seattle, as well as their 2019 project: THREE NEW AMERICAN PLAYS. This ambitious lineup will be the company's fourth and fifth year of programming in Seattle. Forward Flux is your home for daring new plays. The company commissions, develops, workshops and premieres new plays by underrepresented voices on the American stage.

"In light of recent political events, we felt it was more important now than ever before to lean into our mission of presenting new works that are relevant to today," said Founder + Producing Artistic Director Wesley Frugé. "Live art can bring us together, and the plays we are presenting in 2018 explore how we overcome our history and past traumas to love again. Running concurrently behind the scenes, we are proud to develop the THREE NEW AMERICAN PLAYS project, which will culminate in fall of 2019 with three brand new plays that examine this dark moment in our country through a forward-looking lens."

The 2018 programming begins with a production of PILGRIMS by Claire Kiechel, playing at West of Lenin from May 1st - 19th. This play was workshopped in our Studio for four weeks last year working closely with the playwright, and we are excited to remount it as a full production for its' West Coast premiere. In this sci-fi thriller, a soldier, a girl, and a robot are quarantined in a spaceship while traveling to colonize a newly discovered planet. Emily Penick, Forward Flux's Creative Director, will return to direct. The cast features Chris Shea and Meghan Dolbey as the Soldier and the Girl, and Alaji Marie returns as Jasmine the Robot. Tickets are available now at forwardflux.com.

Later this year, our popular DOUBLE FEATURE will return for a fourth year at West of Lenin. Both main stage theatrical productions will run September 18th - October 6th, with show times at 7:30pm and 9:15pm, allowing audiences to catch two new plays in one evening. The DOUBLE FEATURE will include:

A SMALL HISTORY OF AMAL, AGE 7 by Lindsay Joelle

After presenting AMAL in our Flux Salon series last year, Forward Flux is thrilled to partner with Pratidhwani to present this magical new play. The company will be hosting playwright Lindsay Joelle in Seattle this summer to workshop the play with the cast, and will then present a full production with the revised script this fall. The play is about a 7 year old boy who uses his explorer's heart and a little Bollywood magic to fight the god of death in the midst of the 2006 Mumbai train bombings. It will be directed by Samip Raval, movement directed by Emily Penick, and the cast features Nabilah Ahmed as Amal (returning to the Forward Flux stage after her star turn in NO MORE SAD THINGS last fall), Gurvinder Pal Singh, Abhijeet Rane, Meenakshi Rishi, Varsha Raghavan, and Jay Athalye.

And

IN A WORD by Lauren Yee

Forward Flux will present the Seattle premiere of Lauren Yee's intricate word play this fall. The company previously worked with Yee to present HOOKMAN at The Flux Salon in spring of 2016. IN A WORD was recently seen Off-Broadway where it was a New York Times CRITICS PICK, saying it is a "sad and breathless and often pretty funny play about the ways in which loss mangles our world and garbles our speech." It is a dark comedy about a young couple dealing with the two year anniversary of their son's disappearance. It will be directed by Forward Flux's Artistic Director Wesley Frugé. The cast will be announced at a later date.

In addition to the three plays Forward Flux is presenting in 2018, the company is proud to announce their 2019 project: THREE NEW AMERICAN PLAYS. This project follows a two year timeline which kicked off on January 2nd, 2018 with an open call for playwrights across North America. Over 250 playwrights submitted pitches inspired by one of three prompts: "Madame President," "One Nation, Under Water," and "This Land is My Land," and 32 Semi-Finalists were announced on March 1st. Finalists will be announced on April 2nd, and the three winning playwrights will be named on April 23rd. The open call is being adjudicated by the commissioning panel of Benjamin Benne, Joshua Castille, Wesley Frugé, Chisa Hutchinson, Pilar O'Connell, Sharath Patel, Patrick Pearson and Emily Penick.

Throughout 2018 and 2019, Forward Flux will be working closely with these soon to be named playwrights to workshop and develop this trilogy of new plays about America right now. The plays will premiere in September, 2019, at three different theaters around Seattle. Each play will investigate a different aspect of America during this unique and tumultuous time, and audiences will be able to see all three in one weekend.

More information and tickets can be found online at www.forwardflux.com.

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