Studio Theatre Announces In-Person 2020-2021 Season

Studio Theatre will return to producing in-person theatre in the 2021-2022 season by turning a page in its history-when it welcomes audiences back to its four-theatre complex in Logan Circle, the building will be in the finishing stages of a nearly $20 million renovation, including the complete reengineering of its flagship theatre. The eclectic five-play season includes fresh stories from ascendant talent, poignant productions from titans of the field, and shows that challenge Studio to use its spaces-whether familiar or newly renovated-in brand new ways.

"After weathering an incredibly precarious year for theatre, it feels good to welcome audiences back in a triumphant way, with a new building and a dynamic season of powerhouse plays," said Studio Artistic Director David Muse. "From the intimate viewing experience of Flight to Katori Hall's Hot Wing King and the world premiere of John Proctor is the Villain, this season is all about theatre in exciting scale, whether it's telling momentous stories in innovative ways or staging big, elaborate productions."

"After being dark for so long and away from the audiences that bring life to our building, we're so pleased to invite our community back with a very different Studio experience following our extensive Open Studio renovations," said Managing Director Rebecca Ende Lichtenberg.

The season begins in December 2021 with Flight, directed by Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison, who created the magic effects and illusions for Broadway's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. This epic story about two brothers on a cross-continental odyssey from Syria to safety in the UK unfolds like a three-dimensional graphic novel, through richly detailed miniatures and a rotating, hand-made diorama. No live actors are present, and audiences watch from their own personal viewing booths with headphones. The hybrid theatre/installation piece offers an in-person experience with enough distance for patrons to be comfortable. Flight comes to Studio for a twelve-week engagement and is being shipped from the UK following a run at Bridge Theatre co-presented by the Barbican.

By January 2022, renovations will be complete and audiences will enjoy seated, live performances again beginning with White Noise, the provocative comedy about race, identity, and friendships pushed to their limits, by Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog). The new, state-of-the-art Victor Shargai Theatre will be inaugurated with Duncan MacMillan's sprawling addiction and recovery drama People, Places & Things. Equally ambitious in scale is the world premiere of John Proctor is the Villain by Kimberly Belflower, an exuberant, empowering post-#MeToo play that centers on small town scandal and teenagers studying The Crucible who end up questioning all the ways they've been told that power has to operate.

The season culminates with the jubilant, stirring winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall, with Steve H. Broadnax III of the lauded New York premiere directing this play about dreams, achieving deep-fry perfection, and the crew that makes the risks worthwhile.

TICKET AFFORDABILITY

To make its work more widely accessible to members of the community, Studio is expanding its affordability initiatives and discount programs. Studio has partnered with community organizations like the DC Public Library to assist with targeted distribution of free and low-cost tickets to the audiences they serve throughout the city. Additionally, Studio has increased the number of affinity groups eligible for ticket discounts, to include members of the military, students, first responders, educators, arts practitioners, and patrons 30 years old and younger. Additionally, beginning in the 2021-2022 season, Studio will host an Industry Night on the first preview performance of each production with $20 tickets available to patrons who identify themselves as part of the greater theatre industry.

OPEN STUDIO

Announced in 2020 and delayed nearly a year by the coronavirus pandemic, Open Studio is a $20 million investment in Studio's future, including significant renovations to its complex in Logan Circle. Studio broke ground on the project in March 2021; renovations will be complete by early 2022.

A focal point of the renovations is the complete reengineering of Studio's flagship theatre, renamed the Victor Shargai Theatre. A blank canvas for artists and directors, the space will be capable of myriad configurations, from thrust to end-stage, in the round, cabaret, and traverse, allowing artists to create a completely customizable experience tailored to individual productions. Like Studio's other fixed seat venues, the Victor Shargai Theatre will seat over 200 people. A suite of state-of-the-art technology will enhance the work on stage, such as a new full tension wire grid, and new lighting, sound, and projection equipment. Other building updates include renovated lobbies, a new street-facing box office, and upgraded HVAC systems.

Another major component of Open Studio is the addition of a day-to-night café and bar. Studio has partnered with woman-owned, Virginia-based RĀKO Coffee Roasters to operate a 1,100 square foot café in what is currently the first floor Mead Bar and lobby area, with direct access to P Street NW and a 66-seat patio. The company will also operate concessions for Studio. The café will serve rotating single origin pour overs and unique handcrafted espresso-based drinks by day, and natural wines, craft beer, and cocktails by night, as well as a seasonally rotating food program sourced from local women, BIPOC, and zero-waste focused specialty food makers.

Full details on the scope of the renovation are available at openstudiocampaign.org.

ABOUT THE 2020-2021 SEASON (listed chronologically)

Flight

by Vox Motus
based on the novel Hinterland by Caroline Brothers
adapted by Oliver Emanuel
directed by Jamie Harrison and Candice Edmunds
December 2021
Stage 4
Tickets starting at $65; low-cost ticket options and discounts available

With their small inheritance stitched into their clothes, two children set off on an epic journey across Europe-orphaned brothers on a desperate odyssey to freedom and safety. Wearing headphones and viewing a handcrafted diorama from a personal booth, audience members are plunged into the brothers' story of hope and survival, playing out in breathtaking, intimate miniature. Flight is an immersive installation created by Scottish innovators Vox Motus and designed by Jamie Harrison (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child magic effects and illusions designer). An invitation to bear witness to the personal stories of two of the 300,000 displaced children who make unaccompanied journeys every year.

There are no live actors in this production. Audience members will arrive at staggered times and view the play from individual booths with headphones.

White Noise

by Suzan-Lori Parks
directed by Reginald L. Douglas
January 2022
Milton Theatre
Tickets starting at $65; low-cost ticket options and discounts available
2019 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Play

Leo, Dawn, Ralph, and Misha are four longtime friends and sometimes lovers who are coming into their own in the city, until a violent police encounter prompts Leo to suggest an audacious experiment that unmasks long-simmering secrets among the group. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks brings her bold sense of humor and history to a story about four thirtysomethings in a not-at-all post-racial world.

People, Places & Things

by Duncan MacMillan
directed by David Muse
Spring 2022
Victor Shargai Theatre
Tickets starting at $65; low-cost ticket options and discounts available

Emma is an actress. She also has an addiction, and it's trying to kill her. In rehab, but not ready for recovery, Emma just wants to escape-through drugs, through performing, through anything that lets her make her own reality. David Muse inaugurates the Victor Shargai Theatre with a production that evokes the vivid and disorienting world of intoxication and lies as Emma decides whether to fight for her recovery and the people, places, and things she'll face there.

John Proctor is the Villain
by Kimberly Belflower
directed by Marti Lyons
World Premiere
Spring 2022
Mead Theatre
Tickets starting at $65; low-cost ticket options and discounts available
Supported by Studio R&D, Studio Theatre's new works initiative

Things are unsettled at Helen County High in rural Georgia-rumors are swirling around a student's dad, another student blew up her life and left for Atlanta, and Mr. Smith's junior English class has to make it through sex ed before they can finally start The Crucible. But what one man calls a witch hunt, a young woman calls the truth, and when the teens start questioning what really happened in Salem, everything threatens to change. A new play from a major new voice, John Proctor is the Villain captures a generation in mid-transformation, running on pop music, optimism, and fury-writing their own coming of age story.

The Hot Wing King

by Katori Hall
directed by Steve H. Broadnax III
Summer 2022
Victor Shargai Theatre
Tickets starting at $65; low-cost ticket options and discounts available
2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

It's August in Memphis, time to crown the new Hot Wang King. Backed by his best friends and boyfriend Dwayne, who serve as his fry crew The New Wing Order, Cordell has a feeling that this is his year. But then a family emergency throws Dwayne's nephew into the house on prep night, one of his crew starts messing with the seasoning, and suddenly Cordell's facing a future in danger of going up in flames. Winner of the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Katori Hall (The Mountaintop) has written a fresh and fierce comedy about the risk and rewards of celebrating who you are.

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