Alston, DaCosta Lead Cast For Reading Of DAY OF ABSENCE

Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) is proud to announce casting for a staged reading of DAY OF ABSENCE, written and directed by Douglas Turner Ward. The staged reading, which is by invitation only, is part of Signature's 2008-2009 Season, celebrating the historic works of the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC). DAY OF ABSENCE is the landmark 1965 play that launched the founding of the NEC.

The cast of DAY OF ABSENCE will include Peggy Alston, Norman Bush, Yaya DaCosta, Keith David, Brandon Dirden, Jason Dirden, Arthur French, January LaVoy, William Jay Marshall, Kathryn Meisle, Erica Peeples, Terrence Riggins, Heather Simms, Joyce Sylvester, Raphael Nash Thompson and Allie Woods.

DAY OF ABSENCE will be presented on Sunday, February 1 at 2:00 PM and Monday, February 2 at 7:00 PM at The Peter Norton Space located at 555 West 42nd Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues).

DAY OF ABSENCE was first presented on November, 15, 1965 at St. Marks Playhouse on a double bill with Ward's one-act satire, Happy Ending. The plays were produced by Robert Hooks, whom Ward had met when the two performed in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. In 1964, Hooks' Group Theatre Workshop, a tuition-free acting school for local New York youth, presented Happy Ending. The critical success of the project prompted Ward and Hooks to unite with general manager Gerald S. Krone to produce a commercial Off Broadway run of Happy Ending with Ward's other satire, DAY OF ABSENCE. The cast included Hooks, Ward, and many future members of the original NEC acting company, some of whom have joined Signature for this special presentation. Arthur French and William Jay Marshall appeared in the 1965 production. French, Marshall, Norman Bush and Allie Woods later performed in a television version of the play on PBS in 1967, which included Ward and the thirteen original NEC company members. In 1970 French, Marshall, Bush and Woods appeared in a revival of the play at the NEC.

Signature welcomes Peggy Alston, Keith David and Joyce Sylvester, who have worked extensively with Ward at the NEC, and welcomes back Yaya DaCosta, Brandon Dirden, Jason Dirden and January LaVoy, who appeared in Signature's NEC Season. Kathryn Meisle, Erica Peeples, Terrence Riggins, Heather Simms and Raphael Nash Thompson make their Signature debuts.

Ward received an Obie Award for his performance in DAY OF ABSENCE and a Drama Desk Award for writing. In 1966 The New York Times asked him to write an opinion piece on African-American theatre, which he titled, "American Theatre: For Whites Only?" Ward called for "A theatre concentrating primarily on themes of Negro life," citing the success of DAY OF ABSENCE as an indicator of the need for such a company. The article attracted the attention of the Ford Foundation, who, after inviting Ward, Hooks, and Krone to apply for funding, awarded them with $434,000 in 1967 to establish the Negro Ensemble Company.

Signature Theatre Company is proud to be presenting the works of the historic NEC. The company has an extensive theatre training program and in its 40 year history has produced more than two hundred new plays. The NEC's distinguished alumni include writers such as Steve Carter, Lonne Elder, Charles Fuller, Leslie Lee and Samm-Art Williams, and actors Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, Phylicia Rashad, Esther Rolle and Denzel Washington.

Signature's 2008-2009 season is an examination of a body of work from the historic Negro Ensemble Company's collective of writers, whose contributions have helped shape America's theatrical heritage. Ruben Santiago-Hudson serves as Associate Artist for the season, which has included Leslie Lee's THE FIRST BREEZE OF SUMMER and Samm-Art Williams' HOME and will conclude with Charles Fuller's ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN, which begins previews on March 3, 2009.

Lead sponsorship of Signature Theatre Company is provided by Time Warner Inc. Support for the Negro Ensemble Company Season is provided by American Express.

For more information on Signature's 2008-09 season, please visit www.signaturetheatre.org.

www.signaturetheatre.org

 

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