NEW YORK CITY: New Georges has announced the two productions in its 2014–15 season. The theatre, which focuses on work created by women, will remount A Beautiful Day on the Banks of the Greatest of the Great Lakes by Kate Benson and present the world premiere of Ariel Stess’s Heartbreak.
A Beautiful Day on the Banks of the Greatest of the Great Lakes, billed as a twist on a family dinner, was presented in May 2014 at New Georges’ Jam on Toast Festival for early-career artists. It will be remounted at City Center Stage II Jan. 13–Jeb. 7 and will be produced in association with Women’s Project Theater.
Heartbreak, written and directed by Stess, follows a man on the brink of retirement looking back on his life. It will be presented in May 2015 by New Georges and the Bushwick Starr. An excerpt will be shown as part of PRELUDE 2014, for contemporary New York City artists, on Wednesday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at City University of New York’s Martin E. Segal Center.
In addition, New Georges adds 13 new members to the New Georges Jam, a “performance gym” for early-career playwrights and directors. The new “Jammers” are playwrights Helen Banner, Kim Davies, Tasha Gordon-Solmon, MJ Kaufman, Normandy Sherwood and Caitlin Saylor Stephens and directors Kathleen Amshoff, Louisa Proske, Colette Robert, Lisa Szolovits, Danya Taymor, Nicole A. Watson and Emma Weinstein.
They also announced the 11 artists in the 2014–15 Audrey Residency Program, who will be able to use New Georges dedicated work space the Room to develop their plays: They are Elena Araoz and Susan Zeeman Rogers; Carolyn Baeumler, Carson Kreitzer and Elyse Singer; Adrienne Campbell-Holt and MJ Kaufman; Cusi Cram; Gina Femia; Leigh Fondakowski; and Brenda Withers.
“The new members of the New Georges Jam were chosen from the largest, most exciting pool yet, and this year’s Audrey residents and their deeply innovative projects represent all theatrical disciplines and include artists who’ve been part of our family since the beginning alongside artists we’ve just met,” says New Georges producing artistic director Susan Bernfield in a statement. “I’m delighted that the two plays in our producing season have emerged directly from these programs, and happy we can expand their reach through partnerships with Women’s Project Theater and the Bushwick Starr.”
New Georges was founded in 1992 and is dedicated to producing work created by women. They have premiered 41 plays and 11 festivals of new work. 2014–15 also marks their 20th year at the Room, their workspace for female artists in midtown Manhattan.
