The Art of the Storyteller Features Jodi Picoult at Northern Stage

Northern Stage presents internationally acclaimed best-selling author Jodi Picoult as you've never seen her before.

"The Art of the Storyteller," hosted by Northern Stage's Catherine Doherty, takes place Monday, February 7, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. at the Briggs Opera House, three weeks before her new novel, Sing You Home, is released and her nationwide book tour begins. This ONE NIGHT ONLY event will be unlike any of her customary tour stops. During this intimate interview, Jodi will reveal why she is so passionate about telling stories that connect with millions from all walks of life and how her story ideas develop. How does she approach writing a novel? How did her series of musicals for young people come about, and what is different about that type of writing? Why did she agree to write for "Wonder Woman" comics? What was it like having her novels turned into made-for-television movies and a major feature film? How does the nature of storytelling change from one medium to another? What is it like seeing your work directed on screen by someone like Nick Cassavetes?

Interviewing Jodi will be Catherine Doherty, an award-winning filmmaker, actor, director, producer and playwright who has worked at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and for the CBS, ABC and Fox television networks. Catherine's years of experience as a theatrical storyteller make her uniquely qualified to discuss this age-old art with Jodi.

This event is a must-see for fans of Jodi Picoult's novels, as well as for aspiring (and experienced) writers who want to know the inside story about how the writer, the publishing world, the stage and the Hollywood movie machine work together to enchant people throughout the world.

Tickets for "The Art of the Storyteller" with Jodi Picoult are on sale now and available by phone at 802-296-7000 or online at www.northernstage.org. The best seats for this unique and fascinating event are sure to sell quickly, so early reservations are recommended. Tickets are $35, $25 and $10, with proceeds benefiting Northern Stage, the award-winning professional regional theater company in White River Junction and New England's leading theatrical storyteller.

Jodi Picoult began writing stories at the age of 5. She had two short stories published in Seventeen while studying writing at Princeton University and earned a Master's degree in Education at Harvard. Her first novel, Songs of the Humpback Whale, was published in 1992. Since then, she has written over a dozen novels, including House Rules, Handle with Care, Nineteen Minutes, Change of Heart, My Sister's Keeper and the upcoming Sing You Home. She has also written the books for a series of musicals for young actors, and she became only the second woman ever to write a series of "Wonder Woman" comics. Three of her novels have been adapted for television by the Lifetime channel, including The Pact (written by Will Scheffer, co-creator of the HBO series Big Love), Plain Truth (starring Mariska Hargitay) and The Tenth Circle (starring Kelly Preston). Her 2004 novel My Sister's Keeper was adapted for a feature film starring Abigail Breslin, Cameron Diaz, Jason Patric and Alec Baldwin and directed by Nick Cassavetes. Her books have been translated into 34 languages in 35 countries.

In 2003 she was awarded the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction. She has also received an Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association, the Book Browse Diamond Award for novel of the year, a lifetime achievement award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America, Cosmopolitan magazine's "Fearless Fiction" Award 2007, Waterstone's Author of the Year in the UK, a Vermont Green Mountain Book Award, a Virginia Reader's Choice Award, the Abraham Lincoln Illinois High School Book Award, and a Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award.

Jodi lives in Hanover, New Hampshire with her husband Tim, her three children, two Springer spaniels, two donkeys, two geese, eight ducks, five chickens, and the occasional Holstein.

Catherine Doherty is an award-winning filmmaker, an actor, director and producer, and the Producing Director of Northern Stage. She holds an MFA in Performance from the University of Georgia and an MFA in Film Direction from the American Film Institute. She has worked at Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and she has co-produced Off-Broadway productions for Padua Playwrights and Random Acts Theatre Company. She has also worked in various capacities with the CBS, ABC and Fox television networks. Catherine's short film, Family Portrait, received the prestigious Ida Lupino Award for Outstanding Film Direction from the Director's Guild of America. Her directing credits at Northern Stage include The 39 Steps, The Elephant Man, Driving Miss Daisy, Lend Me A Tenor, A Chorus Line and Of Mice and Men. She is currently appearing at Northern Stage in the one-woman show The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe and most recently played the Wicked Witch in the company's critically acclaimed production of The Wizard of Oz.

About Northern Stage

Northern Stage now stands as one of the most prestigious and fastest-growing regional theaters in New England. Founding Artistic Director Brooke Ciardelli brought the company to the Briggs Opera House in 1997; since then, Northern Stage has offered over 90 productions, including World Premieres such as The Shrew Tamer, Ovid: Tales of Myth & Magic and A Christmas Carol: The Musical. Other highlights include a staged reading of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Patrick Stewart and Lisa Harrow and a reading of Resurrection Blues, with the playwright, Pulitzer Prize winner Arthur Miller, in attendance. The company has been honored with Moss Hart Awards for Excellence in Theater from the New England Theatre Conference four times, for productions of To Kill A Mockingbird (1999), All My Sons (2004), Les Misérables (2008) and Hamlet (2009), as well as an Addison Award for The Shrew Tamer (2004) and 2010 Owl Awards for Best Actress and Best Musical.

Community support has enabled the company to sell over 30,000 tickets in downtown White River Junction in the last year to enjoy entertaining and thought-provoking professional theater and theater education here at the crossroads of northern New England. They have also reached out to offer residencies and workshops at over a dozen area schools; initiated "Project Playwright," a literacy program for fifth and sixth graders; and launched NS Touring, which sends top productions to theaters throughout the world and brings international talents to the U.S.

For information or tickets, call 802-296-7000, e-mail boxoffice@northernstage.org, or log on to www.northernstage.org. The Box Office at the Briggs Opera House is open beginning two hours before all performances; tickets for all shows are available by phone or at the Northern Stage administrative office at 28 Gates Street, White River Junction, Monday-Friday from 12 noon-6 p.m.

 

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