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08.03.06

For immediate release: Aug. 3, 2006
Contacts: Nancy Condon, 404-767-1687, nancy.condon@emory.edu
Hunter Hanger, 404-712-9118, hhanger@emory.edu

Theater Emory's 2006-2007 Season: A Focus on Youth
Release written by Gina Atwater

Theater Emory shifts its focus this season to the joys and trials of youth. In addition to two major productions, “Spring Awakening” in fall 2006 and “The Time of Your Life” in spring 2007, the season offers two programs of one-act plays titled “Young Acts,” performed in repertory. “Brave New Works,” Emory’s biennial playwriting festival, will also push the envelope in the development of new plays by both students and professionals.

This season is an exciting time of renewal for Theater Emory and the Theater Studies Department. Vincent Murphy has retired as artistic director of Theater Emory and is putting energy into writing a book as he continues his roles as associate professor and resident artist. Assuming the artistic director position is Tim McDonough, whose interest in greater student involvement has led to this season’s focus on “young characters, youthful issues and aspirations and many roles for young actors." Rosalind Staib, former general manager of Theater Emory, will work alongside McDonough as the department’s new managing director. Theater Emory has named Lisa Paulsen as the director of Emory’s Playwriting Center in order to broaden the center’s long-standing commitment to developing new work.

Emory’s Theater Studies Department welcomes three new additions. Alexandre Harrington, last year’s Emory Coca-Cola Artist-in-Residence, will serve as a full-time lecturer in voice and diction. He will also serve as the vocal coach for Theater Emory shows. Amy Cook, recipient of the Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies, will serve in her role as Mellon Fellow at Emory for the next two years. Donald McManus joins the faculty as assistant professor in dramatic literature and dramaturgy. He also specializes in clowning. To christen his new position, McManus will perform in the fall. “I wanted to get to work as soon as possible with Theater Emory so I'll be acting in ‘Spring Awakening’ in November,” he says. “Tim McDonough [the director] is an inspiring artistic force and I'm excited to be working with him.”

The exploration of youth begins with “Young Acts,” Programs A and B (Sept. 28-Oct. 6, 2006). Performed in repertory, both programs juxtapose works by well-known and prize-winning authors such as Tennessee Williams with those from such contemporary and cutting-edge authors as José Rivera. The plays will be directed by faculty members Jan Akers, John Ammerman, Leslie Taylor, Tim McDonough and Lisa Paulsen as well as Jim Donadio and Emory alumnus Matt Huff.

The season’s first full production is Frank Wedekind’s “Spring Awakening,” directed by McDonough (Nov. 9-19, 2006). It follows the adolescent members of a small German town in 1890 as they struggle with questions of sexual identity, disillusionment with adult hypocrisy, philosophical issues and school pressures. Although Wedekind’s tale was written in 1890, it tackles such controversial issues as teen pregnancy and suicide; consequently, it did not receive a successful staging in Germany for 14 years and was banned in England until the 1970s.

“Brave New Works” makes its biennial reappearance ( Feb. 6-25, 2007). Produced by Emory’s Playwriting Center, the festival will allow playwrights to work with students and professionals in developing new plays. Its rehearsals are open to the public and will culminate with several staged readings of the works in progress. In its recent history, the center has successfully developed plays from such notable writers as Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan and Tony Award nominee Arthur Kopit.

The season concludes with William Saroyan’s “The Time of Your Life,” the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award ( April 19-29, 2007 ). The play introduces audiences to a host of colorful characters who interact at a San Francisco bar. Among them are a talented African American piano player, an unfunny comedian-dancer and a fanatic pinball player. The production will be directed by Richard Garner, artistic director of Georgia Shakespeare.

For tickets and information, contact the Arts at Emory Box Office at 404-727-5050 or www.arts.emory.edu.

Season Calendar Listings
For tickets and information, contact the Arts at Emory Box Office at 404-727-5050 or www.arts.emory.edu. Please note that evening performances begin at 7 p.m. and matinees begin at 2 p.m.

Theater Emory
“Young Acts: Program A”
Sept. 29, Oct. 4 and 6, 2006, at 7 p.m. The Oct. 4 performance is Pay-What-You-Can Night (pay-what-you-can pricing only available at the door).
Oct. 1 and 7, 2006, at 2 p.m.
Mary Gray Munroe Theater, Dobbs University Center, 3 rd floor, 605 Asbury Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322
$15; patrons over 65 and under 18, non-Emory students and discount category members $12; Emory students $6
Romulus Linney’s “Can Can,” directed by Matt Huff
Adam Rapp’s “Train Story,” directed by Tim McDonough
Richard Greenberg’s “Life Under Water,” directed by Jim Donadio
John Patrick Shanley’s “The Red Coat,” directed by John Ammerman

Theater Emory
“Young Acts: Program B”
Sept. 28 and 30, Oct. 5 and 7, 2006, at 7 p.m. The Oct. 5 performance is Pay-What-You-Can Night (pay-what-you-can pricing only available at the door).
Oct. 6, 2006, at 10 p.m.
Mary Gray Munroe Theater, Dobbs University Center, 3 rd floor, 605 Asbury Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322
$15; patrons over 65 and under 18, non-Emory students and discount category members $12; Emory students $6
Jose Rivera’s “The Winged Man,” directed by Leslie Taylor
Tennessee Williams’s “This Property Is Condemned,” directed by Lisa Paulsen
Nick Dear's “Lunch in Venice,” directed by Jan Akers

Theater Emory
“Spring Awakening”
By Frank Wedekind
Translated by Carl R. Mueller
Directed by Tim McDonough
Nov. 9-11 and 15-18, 2006, at 7 p.m. The Nov. 15 performance is Pay-What-You-Can Night (pay-what-you-can pricing only available at the door).
Nov. 12 and 19, 2006, at 2 p.m.
Mary Gray Munroe Theater, Dobbs University Center, 3 rd floor, 605 Asbury Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322
$15; patrons over 65 and under 18, non-Emory students and discount category members $12; Emory students $6
At the center of “ Spring Awakening” are the sons and daughters of a small German town in 1890, who deal with the joys and trials of adolescence.

Theater Emory and The Playwriting Center
“Brave New Works”
Feb. 6-25, 2007
Free
Rehearsals and semi-staged readings open to the public. For information on times and locations, contact the Box Office in January 2007 at 404-727-5050.

Theater Emory
“The Time of Your Life”
By William Saroyan
Directed by Richard Garner
April 19-21 and 25-28, 2007 at 7 p.m. The April 25 performance is Pay-What-You-Can Night (Pay-what-you-can pricing only available at the door).
April 22 and 29, 2007 at 2 p.m.
Mary Gray Munroe Theater, Dobbs University Center, 3 rd floor, 605 Asbury Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322
$15; patrons over 65 and under 18, non-Emory students and discount category members $12; Emory students $6
In this classic American Pulitzer Prize-winning play, youthful energies interact with a colorful array of older characters in a San Francisco saloon.

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