Performance Network announces a National New Play Network co-world premiere of "Ice Glen" by Joan Ackermann to Preview September 15-22, Opening Night is September 23, running through October 30. Ice Glen is directed by Artistic Director Carla Milarch.
(PRWEB) September 4, 2005 -- Performance Network Theatre announces the opening of "Ice Glen", the first show in its 2005-06 Season. Previews are September 15-22, 2005, with the opening night on September 23 running through October 30. Performance times are 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. There are no 7:00pm performances on Sept. 18 or Oct. 30. Ticket prices range from $20 to $36.50 with half-price tickets for students, discounts for seniors and a "Pay-What-You-Can" suggested donation of $10 for the first preview.
If a poem is written in the woods but no one reads it – does it make a sound? In this touching period comedy, a beautiful poetess dwells in idyllic obscurity on a Berkshire estate with a band of unlikely cohorts, including an Irish cook, an aging butler and an unlikely playmate. When neighbor Edith Wharton passes Sarahs poems on to a Boston publishing firm, editor Peter Woodburn comes calling. But Sarah is a poet who refuses to publish, challenging Woodburns notions of possession and success, art and passion. Sparks fly when this unlikely pair faces off and all get caught in the crossfire.
Written by the author of the critically praised movie "Off the Map", this remarkable story of romance and poetry explores the relationship of the artist to their art, to their inspiration and to those whose lives they touch. Set in the Berkshires in the early 20th century, it also explores the unique Berkshire Cottage" culture so popular among the East Coast elite epitomized by Edith Whartons The Mount".
Directed by Artistic Director Carla Milarch ("Special Relativity", "The Sins of Sor Juana", "She Loves Me"), "Ice Glen" features Loren Bass ("The Sins of Sor Juana"), Kathy Kauffmann ("Tongue of a Bird", "Man of La Mancha", "Special Relativity"), Robin Lewis-Bedz ("Tongue of a Bird"), Will Young ("The Threepenny Opera", "Wit"), Sue Berg ("Copenhagen") and Chris Korte ("Kimberly Akimbo").
"Ice Glen" was workshopped at the Guthrie Theatre in 2003, presented by Performance Network at the National Showcase of New Plays in Chicago in 2004, and selected for an NNPN rolling world premiere by Florida Stage, Shakespeare and Company and Performance Network.
About the NNPN: The continued life of important new plays of quality is vital to the health of the American Theatre. All over the country, hundreds of new plays by emerging and established writers are developed each year, yet only a handful receive full productions on the regional professional theatre circuit. Among the plays that do receive world premiers, only a fraction receive second, third and fourth productions at theatres outside their immediate region. Without subsequent productions, plays have little opportunity to evolve artistically or to generate significant critical attention and momentum. And while there are numerous funding opportunities for play development and world premieres, none are devoted to the continued life of new plays. After a new play has had a successful premier in a region, it remains a risky venture for a theatre elsewhere. Without the hype" generated by an Off-Broadway run or a major festival, new plays struggle to attract audiences equal to that of classic plays, musicals and star-studded pre-Broadway tryouts. Nationwide statistics consistently reveal that traditional theater-going audiences respond more positively to familiar titles and authors; and people who are not regular theater-goers are generally even less adventurous in attending new plays.
NNPN seeks to (1) facilitate the exchange of new works among member theatres and other theatres across America and around the world; (2) strengthen member theatres ability to develop and produce new work in their own communities; (3) cultivate an informed, passionate and supportive audience for new works of theatre in the future; (4) use the development of new theatre works to create a deeper relationship between member theatres and their communities; (5) develop regional and national funding sources to support the creation, production and continued life of new works. Performance Network is Michigans sole constituent member of the NNPN and was chosen for inclusion based on its commitment to New Plays and Playwrights.
About the Playwright: Joan Ackermann is co-founder and Artistic Director of Mixed Company theatre in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, now in its twenty-third year. Her plays include "Zara Spook and Other Lures", "Stanton's Garage", "The Batting Cage", "Don't Ride the Clutch", "Bed and Breakfast", "Rescuing Greenland", "A Knight at the Theatre", "My New York Hit", "Back Story", "Off the Map", "Marcus is Walking", and "Isabella: a Young Physician's Primer on the Perils of Love", a musical for which she wrote the music and lyrics. She adapted "Off the Map" into a screenplay directed by Campbell Scott and starring Joan Allen and Sam Elliot. Her plays have been produced at the Vineyard Theatre, the Guthrie Theater, Circle Rep, the George Street Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Shakespeare & Company, the Berkshire Theatre Festival, Mark Taper Forum, the Purple Rose and the Atlantic Theatre Company. A Special Contributor to Sports Illustrated for seven years, she freelanced for Time, The Atlantic, GQ, New York, Audubon and other magazines. She lives in the Berkshires where she is a part-time hiking guide and was recently visited, on two separate occasions, by a mountain lion and a black bear.
# # #
|
