PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
STAGEWORKS/HUDSON CELEBRATES
THE 13th ANNUAL PLAY BY PLAY FESTIVAL OF NEW ONE ACTS
Hudson, NY - Executive Artistic Director, Laura Margolis, announces the 13th annual PLAY BY PLAY FESTIVAL OF NEW ONE ACTS, produced at company’s home in Hudson, New York. Columbia County’s award winning theater company will produce the festival from September 30 through October 11. Preview performances are September 30 and October 1. Opening night is October 2 at Stageworks/Hudson’s Max and Lillian Katzman Theater.
PLAY BY PLAY CROSSROADS is produced in association with Proctors Theater in Schenectady. The production transfers to Proctors for a one week run from October 14 through 18.
PLAY BY PLAY CROSSROADS features actors Angela Rauscher, Richard Vernon, Ryan Katzer and Linda Roper and is directed by Abby Lee and Laura Margolis.
“In PLAY BY PLAY CROSSROADS, seven of theater’s most compelling playwrights take a look at risky, humorous, inspiring and surprising ways we tackle life’s crucial turning points,” says Margolis. “Funny, poignant and on the edge, this year’s festival vibrantly illuminates the triumphs and foibles of our times.”
In conjunction with the production of PLAY BY PLAY CROSSROADS, Stageworks will host the Berkshire - Hudson Valley Dramatists Guild of America Town Hall Meeting. The first Dramatists Guild symposium ever conducted in our region, Guild members and non-members are invited to attend one or all three seminars focused on playwriting. The Town Hall Meeting will be lead by the Guild’s Gary Garrison, Executive Director of Creative Affairs; David Faux, Director of Business Affairs; Roland Tec, Director of Membership; Abby Marcus, General Manager and Tari Stratton, Director of Education and Outreach. See www.stageworkshudson.org for further details.
PLAY BY PLAY CROSSROADS - THE PLAYS
William Bordon’s humorous and touching GUNNING FOR LIFE tells the story of a loving couple who, while wisecracking at each other with long married familiarity, confront the most serious decision of their lives.
Brian Dykstra’s WIRED features two young, inquisitive minds figuring out how to market an innovative – but slightly disturbing – high-tech product.
SWEETHEARTS, by Rebekah Lopata, reunites two high school lovers in a tender, tragic setting 40 years after their affair resulted in a child.
In THIS IS WHAT I WANTED, Deborah Margolin artfully and abstractly weaves two lives together in the lonely backdrop of wars both past and present.
In Rich Orloff’s comedy, SWING SET, two couples realize they cannot elude the subtle complexities of married life even in the throes of spicy sexual escapism.
ADAGIO LAMENTOSO by Jesse Waldinger is a compelling look at Tchaikovsky and a secret that has been unearthed in the days following the debut of the composer’s last great symphony.
In Michael Whistler’s funny and biting play, TUESDAY, a young woman’s personal life is non-existent and her job is tedious and impersonal. Already on the brink, the final straw occurs when the co-worker in the adjoining cubicle refuses to answer the phone.
PLAY BY PLAY CROSSROADS - THE PLAYWRIGHTS
WILLIAM BORDEN (GUNNING FOR LIFE) William Borden's plays have won over 100 national playwriting competitions and have had over 300 productions. The film adaptation of his play, THE LAST PROSTITUTE, starring Sonia Braga, was shown on Lifetime Television and in Europe. A film of his play REUNION, retitled I REMEMBER YOU NOW and starring Deborah Harry, has been shown in New York and Europe. His novel “Dancing with Bears” is just out from Livingston Press. His novel “Superstoe,” first published in the U.S. by Harper & Row and in England by Victor Gollancz, was reissued by Orloff Press. A Core Alumnus Playwright at The Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, he is a member of PEN, The Dramatists Guild, ASCAP, and the Authors Guild.
BRIAN DYKSTRA (WIRED) Brian’s play HIDING BEHIND COMETS has been produced at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (Tony Award-winning season), 29th Street Rep and Zeitgeist Stage. FORSAKING ALL OTHERS played in London, New York, and Los Angeles. His play, CLEAN ALTERNATIVES had its world premiere at 59E59 in NYC and went on to win the Scotsman Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Other credits include: BRIAN DYKSTRA: CORNERED & ALONE (Off-Broadway), THAT DAMN DYKSTRA (the boxed set), FORSAKING ALL OTHERS (NY, LA, London), SILENCE (Holy Cross College, Stella Adler Conservatory). Awards/Fellowships: Lark Play Development Center Playwright Fellow, 2004 National Theatre Conference Award - HIDING BEHIND COMETS, The Vault's “It's the End of the World As We Know It” Award. Actor: Off Broadway: CLEAN ALTERNATIVES, HIDING BEHIND COMETS, BRIAN DYKSTRA: CORNERED & ALONE, BREAKING LEGS, INCOMMUNICADO, A MOST SECRET WAR and KING JOHN, LOVE'S LABORS LOST and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at NYSF. Other NY: AMERICANA ABSURDUM, THAT DAMN DYKSTRA, STRANGERHORSE and FORSAKING ALL OTHERS. London: AMERICANA ABSURDUM. Favorite regional credits: Don in ROUNDING THIRD, Heisenberg in COPENHAGEN, Eddie Carbone in A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE, Gabe in DINNER WITH FRIENDS, Sir Toby in TWELFTH NIGHT. Television & film: “Third Watch,” “Law & Order,” “Chappelle's Show,” “Corn,” “Spectropia,” “Another Bed” and “Freedomland.”
REBEKAH LOPATA (SWEETHEARTS), born and raised in Delaware, now lives in Vancouver. Her plays have appeared in festivals throughout the United States and Canada, including productions at the New Jersey Repertory Theater Company, the Bloody Unicorn Theater Company in Arizona, ReGroup Theatre in Los Angeles, Brown Couch Theatre in Chicago, New Studio Repertory in Rhode Island, Louisiana State University, and Up in the Air Theater of Vancouver. Currently she is working towards a Joint MFA in Creative Writing and Theater at the University of British Columbia.
DEB MARGOLIN (THIS IS WHAT I WANTED) is a playwright, performance artist and founding member of Split Britches Theater Company. She is the author of eight full-length solo performance pieces, which she has toured throughout the United States, and is the recipient of a 1999-2000 OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence of Performance. In May of 2007 she traveled on a Fulbright Senior Specialist grant to University of Tel Aviv to present her play CRITICAL MASS, in a Hebrew translation. A book of Deb’s performance pieces and plays, entitled “Of All The Nerve: Deb Margolin SOLO,” was published in 1999 by Cassell/Continuum Press. Deb was awarded the 2005 Richard H. Brodhead Prize for Teaching Excellence at Yale University, the 2005 Kesselring Playwriting Prize for her play THREE SECONDS IN THE KEY, and had the honor in 2008 of accepting the Helen Merrill Distinguished Playwright award. She teaches in Yale University’s undergraduate Theater Studies Program.
RICH ORLOFF (SWING SET) is a prolific author of short comedies, which have been produced on six continents and published in “The Art of the One-Act,” “The Bedford Introduction to Literature” and four editions of the annual “Best American Short Plays.” “Playscripts” has published sixty of his short plays in eight volumes, resulting in over 500 productions. Rich's ten full-length plays have been produced all over the world, winning numerous awards. His one-act comedy HOW TO SCORE was included in PLAY BY PLAY 2007. Both HOW TO SCORE and SWING SET are from COME AGAIN, his collection of five hotel comedies exploring five different sexual combinations.
JESSE WALDINGER (ADAGIO LAMENTOSO), a playwright and an attorney, is the author of the courtroom drama, THE KNIGHTS OF MARY PHAGAN, which has been produced both in New York and LA. Two of his short plays have been staged and published by the “Association for Theatre in Higher Education.” A third, OLD PRICES, received its world premiere to critical acclaim in last year’s PLAY BY PLAY.MICHAEL WHISTLER (TUESDAY) is the author of I’M BARBARA EDEN which was produced in last season’s PLAY BY PLAY festival, PHIDIAS8, THE MAN WHO PAINTED BOSIE, HIDDEN RIVERS, CASSE NOISETTE, A FAIRY BALLET and THE F*GGOT MUSEUM (*...an evening of gay men who talk too much). His play LITTLE LAMB, for which he received a 20/20 Development Commission, was recently produced at InterActTheatre in Philadelphia. An actor and teacher as well, he holds an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
PLAY BY PLAY CROSSROADS - THE ACTORS
RICHARD VERNON appeared on Broadway in POOR MURDERER, directed by Herbert Berghof and Off-Broadway in FLAMINGO COURT. Regional credits include ELIZABETH THE QUEEN, starring Kim Hunter, at the Studio Arena in Buffalo; ROMEO AND JULIET, THE TEMPEST and THE COMEDY OF ERRORS at The Folger Theater in Washington, D.C.; and WARP! at The Washington Theatre Club. Productions in New York City include PROOF, SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION, RAGTIME, TWELFTH NIGHT, THE TEMPEST and THE SCHOOL FOR SCANDAL. He was nominated for most outstanding actor in a play, THE LINCOLN CONTINENTAL, in the 2009 Midtown International Theatre Festival in NYC. Richard received his MFA from Catholic University.
RYAN R. KATZER has appeared in the New York production of TONY N’ TINA'S WEDDING and in several tours with the production. His regional credits include PROOF, I HATE HAMLET, VARIATIONS IN THE DEATH OF TROTSKY, HAMLET, ROMANTIC COMEDY, THE SHADOW BOX among others.
ANGELA RAUSCHER is a recent graduate of the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England, where she began her acting career. Her most recent work was playing ‘Beatrice’ in Arthur Miller’s A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE with the Italian American Repertory Company. A few other projects that she is particularly proud of include: LYCANTHROPY, a UK feature film co-starring alongside David Bradley (Harry Potter films); CONJURING MARLOWE AT THE ROSE, a Marlowe tribute for the Rose Theatre Trust UK (on the excavated site of the Rose Theatre, the oldest in London!); and THE MAN WHO, which she co-produced as a beneficiary event for SANE, a UK Mental Health charity. After nearly a decade abroad she is now proud to be back home, continuing her career on this side of the Atlantic.
LINDA ROPER is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, Scotland. Her numerous credits include appearances in Scotland at the Brunton Theatre, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe Festival as well as several tours throughout Europe. Her Scottish credits include HAMLET (Gertrude), NOISES Off (Dotty), THE MASSACRE OF TRANENT (Satan), LYON RAMPANT (Mary, Queen of Scots), CHAMBER MUSIC (Constance), SCUM (Madame Masson). Regionally in the US she has appeared in MAJOR BARBARA (Barbara), I REMEMBER MAMA (Mama), MADWOMAN OF CHAILLOT (Aurelia), CABARET (Fraulein Schneider), THREE SISTERS (Anfisa), NIGHT OF THE IGUANA (Hannah), STEEL MAGNOLIAS (Clairee).
PLAY BY PLAY CROSSROADS - THE DIRECTORS
ABBY LEE (Director) is both an actor and director. Stageworks audiences may remember Abby's recent performance as Zoe in CAR TALK. Her recent directing credits include GODSPELL, SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR, and EVERYMAN. Abby's NYC acting credits include Maria in WEST SIDE STORY at the Gerald Lynch Theatre, Fan in A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the McCarter Theatre and “Monday Night’s New Voices” at The Duplex. Regional theatre credits include: Sally in TALLY’S FOLLY, Mona in DAMES AT SEA, Charity in BARNUM, Cinderella in INTO THE WOODS, Corrie Bratter in BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, Hermia in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, Young Stella in FOLLIES! Pitti Sing in THE MIKADO, Nancy in OLIVER!, ALMOST MAINE and MOONLIGHT IN MAGNOLIAS. Abby’s film credits include: “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” “Tryptich” and “21 and a Wake-up” (starring Faye Dunaway).
LAURA MARGOLIS (Director) is the founder and Artistic Director of Stageworks/Hudson. Her directing credits for Stageworks include: NOWHERE ON THE BORDER (World Premiere), CAR TALK (World Premiere), FALLING: A WAKE (American premiere), A WEDDING STORY (American premiere), DOG STORIES (World premiere) and many regional premieres such as OMNIUM GATHERUM, LEBENSRAUM, GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL!, BRUTAL IMAGINATION and WIT. Highlighting her career are the plays she has directed for Stageworks' annual PLAY BY PLAY FESTIVAL of original one-acts. Regionally, she has directed at Capital Rep, Proctors, SUNY/Albany, among others. Laura has received the Certificate of Recognition from the Columbia County Board of Supervisors for providing original and creative opportunities to the community and the Columbia County Arts Award for Artist “for excellence in developing and fostering the arts in Columbia County.” She attended Brooklyn College's MFA in Arts Administration program and has taught as an adjunct professor of theater at SUNY/Albany.
PLAY BY PLAY CROSSROADS - THE DESIGN TEAM
The design team includes: Nicholas Chiaro and Phil Elman (Set Design), Nicholas Chiaro (Sound Design), Luke Krauss (Lighting Design), Adrienne Westmore (Costume Design) and Phil Elman (Technical Director). The Stage Manager is Jennifer Schilansky, the Assistant Stage Manager/Understudy is Nicole Marconi.
About Stageworks/Hudson
Stageworks has established a reputation for its ambitious programming and adventurous productions. The company is especially known for producing the bold, risk-taking work of new dramatic voices. Central to its vision is Futures, an integrative program designed to move Stageworks to the forefront of new play development. Stageworks is both the experiment and the resource to infuse the whole life of the theater with a creative process that produces new ways of expressing, interpreting and sharing the human experience.
Stageworks is a member of Theatre Communications Group, the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce and Perform Columbia. It is the recipient of a Proctors Regional Arts Award inaugurated by Proctors Theatre in 2008 to honor the outstanding work of performing arts organizations. For four consecutive years, Stageworks was distinguished in Metroland Magazine as “Best Theater Company.” Stageworks is recipient of the Crystal Apple Award from the Chamber of Commerce for providing a positive effect both culturally and economically on the quality of life in our community.
Plays are for everyone, whether written by students, established authors or emerging dramatists. Theater illuminates, expresses and interprets the human experience and profoundly serves as a global stage for social exchange and enrichment. Stageworks complements its main season with a series of programs to encourage and engage young people, traditional theatergoers and new audiences. Stageworks continues to actively take a leadership role in establishing the Hudson Valley as a cultural destination by exploring and expanding its reputation for developing new theatrical works, forms and programs.
PLAY BY PLAY CROSSROADS - FACT SHEET
Calendar of Events
Previews: September 30 and October 1
Opening: Friday, October 2
Closing: Sunday, October 11
Performance Calendar PLAY BY PLAY CROSSROADS at Stageworks/Hudson
Wednesday at 7:30 pm: September 30, October 7
Thursday at 7:30 pm: October 1, October 8
Friday at 8:00 pm: October 2, October 9
Saturday at 8:00 pm: October 3, October 10
Saturday Matinee at 2:00 pm: October 10
Sunday Matinee at 2:00 pm: October 4, October 11
Talk Back with the cast and directors post-performance: October 8.
The Dramatists Guild Berkshire/Hudson Valley Town Hall Meeting is from 1:00 PM before the performance on October 3.
Cast (Ensemble)
Richard Vernon
Ryan R. Katzer
Angela Rauscher
Linda Roper
PLAY BY PLAY CROSSROADS at Proctors
The production transfers to Proctors Theater in Schenectady for a one week run from October 14 through 18. For tickets to PLAY BY PLAY at Proctors visit www.proctors.org
Production Team
Abby Lee, Director
Laura Margolis, Director
Luke Krauss, Lighting Design
Nicholas Chiaro and Phil Elman, Set Design
Nicholas Chiaro, Sound Design
Adrienne Westmore, Costume Design
Phil Elman, Technical Director
Jennifer Schilansky, Stage Manager
Nicole Marconi, Assistant Stage Manager/Understudy
Tickets
For tickets or information, contact Stageworks by mail at 41-A Cross Street, Hudson, NY 12534 or call the box office at (518) 822-9667. For further information, visit the website at www.stageworkshudson.org.
Single ticket prices are:
$18 for preview performances
$24 for Weekdays, Matinees and Sundays
$29 for Friday and Saturday evening performances.
Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more and there are special rates for students and seniors.
Visit Stageworks’ home page for more details at
www.stageworkshudson.org.
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