Second Generation of The Welders Launch Their First Production

The second generation of The Welders -- Washington's only playwrights' collective dedicated solely to developing and producing new work -- has launched its first production.The Welders were the winner of the 2016 Helen Hayes Award's John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company. Girl In The Red Corner, a new play by Stephen Spotswood (The Last Burlesque; In The Forest, She Grew Fangs), will premiere November 3 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Amber Paige McGinnis will direct.

A play about fighting, both literal and figural, Girl In The Red Corner is the story of Halo (Audrey Bertaux), whose struggles in life are brought into sharp relief when she begins training for mixed martial arts. The play asks how far you can go to take control of your life when your roles are forced onto you, you're living paycheck-to-paycheck, and your options are growing fewer by the day. As she learns to punch, kick, and grapple in the ring, Halo discovers that it's the fight outside the cage she's really training for.

"It started with a single image," Spotswood explained. "A woman in a pool of light, sweat-soaked in a pugilist's pose, straining against invisible chains." From this idea, the play grew into a raw, full-contact drama. The play takes place inside a mixed martial arts (MMA) octagon as reimagined by Set Designer Deb Sivigny, and features intense fight scenes created by Fight Choreographer Cliff Williams and undertaken in partnership with Capital MMA - Takoma.

Opening in early November, this story of a woman fighting against a world that traps women in assumptions and limitations is timely. In this election cycle, we see countless stories of women pushing against barriers and fighting for autonomy, justice and equality. Girl in the Red Corner brings the fight to muscular life.

For this production, Spotswood will take on the role of Lead Producing Playwright. The Lead Producing Playwright is responsible for shaping the overall artistic vision and activities of the company during the production of their play. Like an Artistic Director, their vision uniquely shapes the company's artistic expression, but in the spirit of the collective, that vision is informed by the talents and values of the group as a whole and by the spirit of the work being produced.

"One of the reasons I wanted to be a member of The Welders was that I wanted to partner with people who would push me," Spotswood notes. "I wanted to walk out of the experience a better artist. I wanted to take chances." Girl In The Red Corner takes that chance.

The play's director, Amber Paige McGinnis, also directed Spotswood's The Last Burlesque for Pinky Swear Productions. Says McGinnis: "Steve Spotswood has written some of the most badass roles for females that I've encountered in...well ever maybe. He writes the kind of stories you crave because they're designed to get a rise out of the audience. He attacks his work on a visceral level filled with movement, metaphor, and heart."

Dates: Previews November 3 and 4 at 8 p.m. Opening November 5 at 8 p.m.
Performances through November 20. For times and full performance schedule see www.atlasarts.org

Tickets: http://www.atlasarts.org/event/the-welders-girl-in-the-red-corner/2016-11-03/

Price and Discounts: $30 General Tickets, $15 for Students and Military Families with ID.

H Street Neighbors get Pay-What-You-Can tickets. PWYC tickets are not available online. Please call 202.399.7993 ext. 2 or visit the Atlas in person to purchase PWYC tickets. Neighbors must show proof of residence with a 20002 zip code.

Venue: The Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St NE, Washington, DC 20002, www.atlasarts.org

Featuring: Audrey Bertaux*, Jennifer J. Hopkins, Maggie Donnelly*, Lisa Hodsoll, and Nicklas Aliff*
*member of Actors Equity Association.

With designs by: Deb Sivigny (scenic design and props), Laura Eckelman (lights), Christopher Baine (sound), Erik Teague (costumes), Cliff Williams (fight direction) with consultation from Jay Ferrari (MMA consultant) and Capital MMA Takoma.

About The Welders: The Welders is a DC-based playwrights' collective whose mission is to establish an evolving, alternative platform for play development and production. The intent of that platform is to inspire and encourage members to take risks and make bold leaps in exploring the craft of playwriting; produce one performance of work created by each member playwrights over the course of three years; create significant, meaningful, direct engagement between artists and members of the community; and support future generations of DC-area playwrights. www.thewelders.org

About Stephen Spotswood:

Stephen Spotswood is a DC-based playwright, educator, and journalist. He received his MFA in Playwriting from Catholic University in 2009. He's the recipient of the Paula Vogel Award, the Mark Twain Award for Comic Playwriting, the Christopher Brian Wolk Award, and is a multiple National Playwright's Conference finalist. Produced works include: The Last Burlesque (Pinky Swear Productions) Walking The City Of Silence And Stone (Forum Theatre); In The Forest, She Grew Fangs (defunkt Theatre, Washington Rogues); We Tiresias(Best Drama, Capital Fringe Festival 2012); When the Stars Go Out (Bright Alchemy Theatre); Sisters of Ellery Hollow; The Resurrectionist King (Active Cultures Theatre); Off A Broken Road (Imagination Stage); and A Cre@tion Story for Naomi (Bright Alchemy). He is a member of Forum Theatre's artist ensemble and a company member with Pinky Swear Productions. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @playwrightsteve You can visit his website:www.playwrightsteve.com

About Amber Paige McGinnis:

Amber Paige McGinnis's other DC directing credits include The Last Burlesque(Pinky Swear Productions), Equus (Constellation Theatre Co.), World Builders(Forum Theater), Lobster Alice and The Oregon Trail (Flying V Productions),Orlando (WSC Avant Bard), and Uses of Enchantment (Source Festival).

Amber also has a second life in film, working both as a freelance writer, director and producer as well as a writer and director for WILL Interactive, a new media Production Company that specializes in interactive storytelling. In her work there she has developed over two-dozen interactive films, Live Theatre presentations, and graphic novels for organizations such as the US Army, the US Navy, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the US Department of Agriculture. She was also a producer for the Emmy Award-winning Kennedy Center Honors Film office. Amber holds an MFA in directing from Baylor University. To learn more about her work visit www.amberdirector.com, and check out her next show, Dryland, coming to Forum Theatre this spring.

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