POWERHOUSE SEASON
The Powerhouse Season, our annual partnership with Vassar College, is the core of our artistic programming. About three hundred and fifty professional playwrights, directors, actors, and designers, plus forty-five students in the Training Company live and work together, away from critical and commercial pressures, allowing them to take risks as they explore and develop new projects.
The 2018 Powerhouse Season ran from June 22 - July 29.
The 2019 Powerhouse Season will be announced mid-Spring.
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LIZA BIRKENMEIER
Liza Birkenmeier is currently an Audrey Resident at New Georges and a recent member of the Emerging Writers Group at the Public Theater. radio island was a finalist for the inaugural Relentless Award and on the Kilroys list. Her work as been developed at Rattlestick, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, City Theater, Ars Nova, University Settlement, The Playwrights Realm, The San Diego Museum of Art, Invisible Dog Brooklyn, San Francisco Playhouse, and elsewhere. Her play the hollower is premiering with New Light Theater Project. She has been awarded fellowships at Yaddo and The MacDowell Colony. She received her BA from Washington University in St. Louis and her MFA from Carnegie Mellon under Rob Handel.
RADIO ISLAND
by Liza Birkenmeier
directed by Jaki Bradley
scenic design by Daniel Zimmerman
costume design by Tilly Grimes
lighting design by Bradley King
sound design by Broken Chord
featuring Pascale Armand, Kelly AuCoin, Birgit Huppuch, Maryann Plunkett, Adina Verson, Stephen Tyrone Williams
Ellen is an expert hostage negotiator facing her biggest challenges yet. In this high-stakes thriller, she works from her rural childhood home to free an oil tanker from pirates – while also balancing her injured mother’s rehab, salvaging her crumbling love life, and tracking down a mysterious visitor from her troubled past. Home life and international crisis converge in this inventive new play from Liza Birkenmeier, directed by Jaki Bradley (Good Men Wanted, 2017 Powerhouse Mainstage production).
June 28 - July 8
FROM TOP LEFT:
LISA PETERSON
DAVID BUCKNAM
RAÚL ESPARZA
ADAM GWON
THE WAVES
adapted from the novel by Virginia Woolf
book by Lisa Peterson
music and lyrics by David Bucknam
with additional music and lyrics by Adam Gwon
directed by Lisa Peterson
creative consultant Raúl Esparza
scenic design by Rachel Hauck
costume design by Michael Krass
lighting design by Jen Schriever
sound design by Nick Kourtides
featuring Ken Barnett, Raúl Esparza, Eleasha Gamble, Douglas Lyons, Alice Ripley, Lauren Worsham
Six childhood friends and their shifting relationships come vibrantly to life in this captivating chamber musical inspired by Virginia Woolf’s celebrated novel. Over the course of one day - or is it a lifetime? - The Waves illuminates the interior yearnings, ambitions, and defeats of these extraordinary individuals with stirring choral music and Woolf’s signature text. Writer/director Lisa Peterson (An Iliad) and composer Adam Gwon (Ordinary Days) revisit and reimagine Bucknam and Peterson’s lush and layered musical, which premiered off-Broadway over thirty years ago.
July 19 - 29
FROM TOP LEFT:
STEVEN SATER
DUNCAN SHEIK
JESSIE NELSON
ALICE BY HEART
book by Steven Sater with Jessie Nelson
music by Duncan Sheik
lyrics by Steven Sater
directed by Jessie Nelson
featuring Alex Brightman, Noah Galvin, Molly Gordon, Megan Masako Haley, Zachary Infante, Gizel Jeminez, J. Quinton Johnson, Lesli Margherita, Heath Saunders, Don Stephenson
When the madness of the world is too much to bear, we take refuge in the stories we love. In the rubble of the London Blitz, Alice Spencer’s budding teen life is turned upside down and she escapes with her childhood friend Alfred into their most cherished book. They journey down the rabbit hole to Wonderland, finding first love, loss, and courage to move forward, and their imaginations transform even the harshest circumstances. Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning creators of Spring Awakening, Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik, reunite for their new musical inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, directed and co-written by Jessie Nelson (Waitress).
July 5 - 7
FROM LEFT:
JASON ROBERT BROWN
JONATHAN MARC SHERMAN
THE CONNECTOR
music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
book by Jonathan Marc Sherman
directed by Daisy Prince
featuring Renée Albulario, Nick Blaemire, Alvin Crawford, Max Crumm, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Danielle Lee Greaves, Mylinda Hull, Dan Jenkins, Jimmy Kieffer, Jeff McCarthy, Jessica Molaskey, Ana Nogueira, Eliseo Roman,
Michael Winther
How true is true enough? New York City, 1995. Aspiring writer Ethan Dobson has his first article published by The Connector, a magazine with a storied history. As Ethan strives to be part of the magazine’s legacy, he navigates editors with god complexes, fact checkers with vendettas, proofreaders, lawyers, and the challenges of his own history. In this new musical, playwright Jonathan Marc Sherman (Women and Wallace), composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown (The Bridges of Madison County) and director Daisy Prince (The Last Five Years) tell a story about telling stories. What is the difference between facts and truth? And what is the difference between journalism and entertainment? What happens when a gifted storyteller’s stories begin falling apart? And can anyone stop him?
July 13 - 15
DAN FINNERTY
Dan is the frontman and creator of the comedy rock group The Dan Band. He is best known for his infamous appearances as the inappropriate wedding singer in the films Old School, Starsky & Hutch and The Hangover as well as his one hour comedy special The Dan Band: I Am Woman directed by McG and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Dan was an original member of the first American tour of STOMP and originated the role of Lonny in the world premiere of Rock of Ages in Los Angeles. He's released 3 albums and appeared numerous times on Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he was a recurring comedy correspondent. Other films include The Terminal, Rock Of Ages, The Wedding Planner and the upcoming film Dumplin' starring Jennifer Aniston.
LITTLE ORPHAN DANNY
book, lyrics, & music by Dan Finnerty
created by Dan Finnerty & Sean Daniels
additional music by Dan Lipton
directed by Sean Daniels
The hilarious and candid musical memoir of The Dan Band’s frontman Dan Finnerty: Growing up a small-town altar boy in a nice conservative family doesn’t always suit our adopted protagonist. Childhood outbursts of blasphemy in church only lead to pathetic adolescent attempts at playing sports. But of the many lessons he’ll learn, none could prepare him to navigate the road ahead after the fateful day he and his mother meet the woman who gave birth to him. An irreverent-yet-tender story of an adopted boy and the women who made him.
July 25, 26, 28
FROM LEFT:
MOLLY BEACH MURPHY
JEANNA PHILLIPS
ANNIE TIPPE
COWBOY BOB
created by Molly Beach Murphy, Jeanna Phillips & Annie Tippe
music & lyrics by Jeanna Phillips
book & additional lyrics by Molly Beach Murphy
additional music by Alex Thrailkill
directed by Annie Tippe
featuring Alex Brightman, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Alex Grubbs, Eric Lockley, Claire Rothrock, Kate Shindle, Felix Solis, Barbara Walsh, Amelia Workman
Peggy was a good neighbor, a good daughter, and a great bank robber. Disguised as a man in a fake beard and a ten-gallon hat, “Cowboy Bob” evaded detection for more than a decade. In a score that's equal parts Riot Grrrl rage and Texas two-step, the small-town legend inspires an assortment of competing wannabe rebels to claim her story as their own.
July 27 - 29
JACLYN BACKHAUS
Jaclyn Backhaus is a playwright of Punjabi, German, and desert botanical descent. Select plays: Men on Boats (NYT Critics’ Pick, Clubbed Thumb/Playwrights Horizons, Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Playwriting Award Finalist, published by Dramatists Play Service), India Pale Ale (Manhattan Theatre Club, Fall 2018), Folk Wandering (Pipeline Theatre Company), You Across From Me (Humana Festival of New Plays), People Doing Math Live! (Under The Radar Festival), and You on the Moors Now (Theater Reconstruction Ensemble, The Hypocrites in Chicago). She is under commission with Playwrights Horizons, MTC, EST and Ars Nova and was the 2016 Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence at Clubbed Thumb. She is currently a playwright-in-residence at Lincoln Center. BFA: NYU, where she now teaches. She is co-founder of Fresh Ground Pepper, a New York-based arts incubator. She lives in Queens with her husband, theater director Andrew Scoville, and their son Ernie.
INDIA PALE ALE
by Jaclyn Backhaus
directed by Will Davis
featuring Adeel Ahmed, Eshan Bay, Purva Bedi, Jay Charan, Anna Itty, Sophia Mahmud, Nate Miller, Shazi Raja,
Lipica Shah
In a small Wisconsin town, a tight-knit Punjabi community gathers to celebrate the engagement of a traditional family’s only son, just as their strong-willed daughter announces her plans to move away and open a bar. One generation’s cherished customs clash with another’s modern-day aspirations and ancestors from the family's past haunt the present day, when one sudden event changes everything. This poignant and smartly funny new play about legacy, life and pirates comes from the fresh voice of Jaclyn Backhaus (the award-winning Men on Boats), who teams up with director Will Davis (The Great Leap, 2017 Powerhouse Inside Look workshop).
July 6 - 8
ANNIE SAUNDERS
Annie Saunders is a director, performer and collaborative live artist. She is the artistic director of Wilderness, which has presented its acclaimed immersive performance The Day Shall Declare It site-specifically in Los Angeles and London in a disused engine shop and the derelict offices of the BBC. She is a core collaborator with Lars Jan’s Early Morning Opera and has appeared in Holoscenes, The Institute of Memory (TIMe) and Abacus. She trained at the University of London and RADA.
BECCA WOLFF
Becca Wolff is a California-based director and co-founder of Tilted Field Productions. She has developed and directed new plays and premieres by Chris Chen, Lauren Yee, Harvey Fierstein, Jen Silverman and Sarah Gubbins at venues including ACT, Theatreworks and Z Space. Awards and nominations include Princess Grace, Outstanding Solo Show & Outstanding Musical at the NYC Fringe, Ovations (Los Angeles), Theatre Bay Area and Bay Area Critics Circle. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and co-creator of SCOTUS Theater. Member SDC.
OUR COUNTRY
conceived by Annie Saunders & Becca Wolff
direction & dramaturgy by Becca Wolff
additional dramaturgy & original writing
by Annie Saunders
additional devising by the company
“Who do you think decides what is a big deal and what isn’t?” Inspired by Sophocles’ Antigone and origin stories from the American frontier, Our Country is set in California’s marijuana country, our still-Wild West. Based on recorded conversations between the artist and her younger brother, and steeped in psychoanalytic theory, childhood memories, and mythologies from Ancient Greece, this autobiographical creation recalls a time when we were young — as siblings, as a nation, as a democratic system.
July 13 - 15
featuring Max Hersey & Annie Saunders
FROM TOP LEFT:
CLARENCE COO
HALLEY FEIFFER
SARAH GANCHER
RUPI KAUR
JACKIE ROBERTS
THE PAIN OF MY BELLIGERENCE
by Halley Feiffer
directed by Trip Cullman
Friday, June 22 | 8pm
LICK O'THE KNIFE
by Jackie Roberts
directed by Kent Gash
Saturday, June 23 | 2pm
ON THAT DAY IN AMSTERDAM
by Clarence Coo
directed by Kareem Fahmy
Saturday, June 23 | 8pm
untitled
by rupi kaur
directed by Leah C Gardiner
Sunday, June 24 | 2pm
THE HOLE
by Sarah Gancher
directed by Danya Taymor
Sunday, June 24 | 5pm
Readings Festival 1 | June 22 - 24
FROM TOP LEFT:
GEOFFREY NAUFFTS
DONJA R. LOVE
DAN MCCABE
STEPHEN NATHAN
JONATHA BROOKE
THE NORTH STAR
by Donja R. Love
directed by Malika Oyetimein
Friday, July 20 | 8pm
THE DIZZINESS OF FREEDOM
by Stephen Nathan
directed by Daniella Topol
Saturday, July 21 | 12pm
THE PURISTS
by Dan McCabe
directed by Billy Porter
Saturday, July 21 | 5pm
MELISSA R. AND DOROTHY SUE
book by Geoffrey Nauffts
music & lyrics by Jonatha Brooke
directed by Sheryl Kaller
Sunday, July 22 | 5pm
Readings Festival 2 | July 20 - 22
FROM TOP LEFT:
KORDE ARRINGTON TUTTLE
KEELAY GIPSON
RYAN AMADOR
JAMES LECESNE
CHRISTINE AUCOIN
FOUNDERS' AWARD RECIPIENT
Korde Arrington Tuttle
EPSTEIN FELLOW
Christine Aucoin
DRAMATISTS GUILD FELLOW
Keelay Gipson
ACCIDENTALLY BRAVE
by Maddie Corman
directed by Kristin Hanggi
SISYPHUS
co-created by Sarah Baskin, Larry Biederman,
Albert Dayan, Michaela Escarcega, Jacqueline Writer
BAND AID
by Zoe Lister-Jones
directed by Leigh Silverman
ADAM
book by Max Mayer
music by Steven Page
directed by Amy Tinkham
Q2
by James Lecesne & Ryan Amador
THE LARK CENTER FOR NEW PLAY DEVELOPMENT
MEASURE FOR MEASURE
by William Shakespeare
adapted & directed by Andrew Willis-Woodward
July 13, 14, 15
AS YOU LIKE IT
by William Shakespeare
adapted & directed by Doug Paulson
July 20, 21, 22
I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING IMPORTANT
composed & directed by Max Reuben
July 5, 12, 19, 26
METAMORPHOSES
by Ovid (translation by Ted Hughes)
adapted & directed by Elizabeth Hess
July 22, 23
ONE ACT PLAY FESTIVAL
by Members of the Training Company
July 25
NOT, NOT, NOT, NOT, NOT ENOUGH OXYGEN
by Caryl Churchill
directed by Members of the Training Company
July 27