The Theatre Lab and Theater J Co-produce Staged Readings Series

The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts is co-producing a series of staged readings with Theater J during the month of July. The readings are a part of The Theatre Lab's Acting in a Professional Production course, which introduces adult acting students to working in a professional setting. The National Theatre is partnering with The Theatre Lab and Theater J in providing a second venue for the readings.

The readings presented are from the Born Guilty Cycle, a trilogy by Theater J Artistic Director and playwright Ari Roth. Roth has revised three of his scripts for the readings: Giant Shadows, an early unpublished work; Born Guilty, based on the book by Peter Sichrovsky, which dramatizes the dialogues between a child of Holocaust survivors and the families of Austrian and German perpetrators; and Born Guilty's sequel, The Wolf in Peter. The three play series explores the drama of being second generation (the generation born after World War II and now carrying the moral legacy of the Third Reich) in the shadow of the Holocaust with insight and humor.

The readings are directed by Theater J's Associate Producer Delia Taylor and Director of Literary and Public Programming, Shirley Serotsky. The performances will feature Theater J guest artists Jeff Allin (July 31) and David Raphaely (July 10, 12 and 26) in addition to students from The Theatre Lab.

Performances will be at both Theater J and The National Theatre. Giant Shadows performs Sunday, July 10 at 7:30 PM at Theater J and Tuesday, July 26 at 7:00 PM at The National Theatre. Born Guilty and The Wolf in Peter perform Tuesday, July 12 at 7:00 PM at Theater J and Sunday, July 31 at 3:00 PM at The National Theatre. Theater J is located in the Washington DC Jewish Community Center (DCJCC) at 1529 16th Street NW (readings will take place in the Goldman Theater). The National Theatre is located at 1321 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (readings will be presented in the Helen Hayes Mezzanine). All performances are free. Reservations are requested, and can be made online at www.theatrelab.org or by calling 202-824-0449.

Excerpts of the plays will also be presented as part of a panel discussion entitled "Collective Memory - German-Jewish Relations Today" hosted by the DCJCC's Department of Dialogues & Public Affairs and Theater J with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the American Jewish Committee The panel will be held at the DCJCC, 1529 16th Street NW on July 19 from 6:00 to 8:00 PM in the Community Hall.

The Theatre Lab is the largest independent theatre school in Washington, with classes for students of all ages and experience levels. The Theatre Lab is also well known for its community outreach, offering hundreds of scholarships to children, teens, and adults who wouldn't otherwise be able to study acting, as well as Life Stories, a groundbreaking program that brings the tools and techniques of storytelling and filmmaking to marginalized or disadvantaged groups of people. The Theatre Lab has been listed in the Catalogue for Philanthropy as one of the best small charities in the Greater Washington region, is the winner of the 2010 Mayor's Arts Award, and has been recognized as one of the 50 top arts- and humanities-based programs in the country serving youth outside of school hours by the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

Theater J, a program of the Washington DCJCC, produces thought-provoking, publicly engaged, personal, passionate and entertaining plays and musicals that celebrate the distinctive urban voice and social vision that are part of the Jewish cultural legacy. Acclaimed as one of the nation's premiere playwrights theaters, Theater J presents cutting edge contemporary work alongside spirited revivals and is a nurturing home for the development and production of new work by major writers and emerging artists exploring many of the pressing moral and political issues of our time. Dedicated above all to a pursuit of artistic excellence, Theater J takes its dialogues beyond the stage, offering an array of innovative public discussion forums and outreach programs which explore the theatrical, psychological and social elements of our art.

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