[NEohioPAL] Shaker Theatre presents New Stages 31: Shaker New Plays Series

Tue Mar 5 12:03:20 PST 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Christine McBurney

216-295-4258

24 Hour Box Office: 216-295-4287 or www.tix.com<http://www.tix.com>

Shaker Theatre presents New Stages 31: Shaker New Plays Series

Written, Directed, Produced & Performed by Students

The Theatre Arts Department of Shaker Heights High School presents the thirty-first festival of new plays, written, directed, produced, and performed by students in our intimate black box theatre, Stage 3.  Six one-act plays will be presented as part of a full season of theatrical events, which began with William Shakespeare’s As You Like It in December and concludes with the Spring Ensemble Show in May.

The plays are: The Art of Kleptomechanics, written by senior Mara Schoch and directed by senior Zoe Davidson; Binding, written by senior Lizzy Wood and directed by senior Kevin Parker; Broken Glass, written by sophomore Joe Schmittgen and directed by senior Dean Carlson; Open House, written by senior Ford Shelton and directed by senior Kristen Leonard; Cat and Mouse written by senior Eli Millette and directed by junior Steven Friedman-Romell; 10 Minutes written by senior Ophira Berenholz and directed by senior Ryan Claus.

Performances are at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, March 13 and Thursday, March 14.  Performances on Friday, March 15 and Saturday, March 16 are at 7:00 pm AND 9:15 pm.  All performances are in Shaker Heights High School Stage 3.  Seating is limited and all seats are reserved.  Tickets are $10.00 for adults, $5.00 for students and senior adults, and may be purchased in person at The Shaker Heights High School Box Office from 4:00-5:00 on March 7th and 8th. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.tix.com<http://www.tix.com/>  beginning March 9th.  Online sales will close at 1pm daily on each day of the production.  Tickets may also be purchased at the box office one hour before each performance.  Please note if you are a Patron at the Associate level, your two complimentary tickets must be ordered by calling the Box Office at 295.4287 and leaving a voice mail for our Box Office Manager, Barry Sandman.

Please note that New Stages performances typically sell out, and due to the size of the space, there is no standing room.  Also please return any unused tickets so that we may seat those on the waiting list.  There are no refunds.

New Stages, now in its thirty-first continuous year, was begun by retired Shaker Theatre Arts Department founder, James Thornton, in 1983. Having developed it out of a playwriting class, Thornton considered New Stages to be the most significant thing we do as a theatre program.

“The fall show is flashier and on a larger scale. The Spring Ensemble Show provides our most polished and sophisticated performances.  Across the line, if you ask Shaker Theatre alumni what their most memorable moments were, they will most likely recall those moments shared in New Stages.”

Department Chair and Playwriting Program Director Christine McBurney adds that "New Stages provides an exciting guided learning experience for students that is unparalleled. A diverse group of students works closely together, learns how to communicate their ideas all in service of one goal: to make the best possible piece of theatre.”

This year’s New Stages provides working and learning opportunities for more than 50 students. For 31 years, the series has involved more than a thousand students in the creation of new works for the theatre. Among Shaker Theatre alums, many of whom return to meet with current students are:

 *   Jamie Babbit, ’89, writer/director of the film, But I’m a Cheerleader, The Quiet, and Itty Bitty…Committee, Made in Cleveland.  Television directing credits include “Smash,” Ugly Betty, “Dirty Sexy Money,” “The L Word,” “Gossip Girl,” “Gilmore Girls,” and more.
 *   Carter Bays ’93, five-time Emmy-nominated writer for Late Night with David Letterman. Bays is also a writer and producer for American Dad and executive producer, head writer, and co-creator of the Emmy-award winning comedy, How I Met Your Mother.
 *   David Wain, ’87, writer/director of the film Wonderlust,Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten and Role Models.  Writing credits include “Mad TV, “The State,” “Stella,” and more.
 *   The late Louis Schechter, ’83, Los Angeles film producer and director whose credits include Proximity, Next Action Star, and Bet Your Life.
 *   Michelle Federer, ’91, New York stage actress, the original Nessarose in Broadway’s Wicked and who appeared recently in the television show Smash and Off Broadway in Anon, and in the film Flannel Pajamas.
 *   Michael McElroy, ’84, New York Tony nominated stage actor, Big River, Rent, Miss Saigon, Angels in America, Some Men.  Now a Professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
 *   Andrew Kober ’02.  An original member of the Tony-nominated production of Hair on Broadway and in London.
 *   Halle Morse ’05.  Alum of the current production of Mama Mia on Broadway.
 *   Laura Jacqmin,’00 recipient of the second annual Wasserstein Prize, established in memory of the esteemed playwright Wendy Wasserstein, who died in 2006.  The $25,000 prize is awarded for an outstanding script by a young woman who has not yet received national attention.
 *   Sara Knowlton, ’86, television, film and New York stage actress.  TV includes “House,” “Ugly Betty,” “As the World Turns,” and more.
 *   Betsy Hogg, ’06, appeared Off Broadway in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie with Cynthia Nixon and on Broadway in Peter and the Starcatcher, The Crucible with Liam Neeson and Laura Linney and Fiddler on the Roof with Harvey Fierstein.  She appeared in the film, Rocket Science and on television’s “Law and Order.”
 *   Gabrielle Perrin, ’87, former casting director for all West Coast operations for the television channel, Nickelodeon.
 *   Benjamin Karlin ‘07, Stage Manager at Lincoln Center Mabou Mines, Atlantic Theater Company, and Lincoln Center Theater
 *   Danielle Saks ’05, Current Broadway Company Manager of Mama Mia
 *   Arlo Hill ‘04, currently appearing in the New York Philharmonic’s Carousel; Phantom of the Opera.
 *   Two English Speaking Union Cleveland Shakespeare Competition winners, Valerie Kilmer (2009) and David Wemer (2010)
 *   and many others…

Stage 3—Shaker Heights High School’s intimate black box theatre—was the vision of student Amy Silberman, ’81.  For her Senior Project, she drew a design for a black box theatre and identified the space in the basement of the school.  Amy was the catalyst for turning the former fallout shelter into a performing space. Stage 3, dedicated in her memory, is the perfect venue for New Stages, seating only 70 people and usually selling out every performance.

The award-winning Theatre Arts Department at Shaker Heights High School offers 8 daily theatre classes, produces 4 major productions, several showcases and tours, and involves nearly 300 students each year.

The past few years the program has already hosted numerous Guest Artists, including:

·         Film & Television Director Jamie Babbit ’89

·         Emmy –Award winning Writer Karey Dornetto (Portlandia, Community, South Park)

·         Filmmakers Robert Banks and Eric Swinderman

·         Geoff Bullen, Associate Director at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA)/Tisch NYU.

·         Actor Russell G. Jones ‘85

·         Actor Derdriu Ring

·         Actor Jim Green

And our Associate Guest Artists include:

·         Matt Thornton ’92 of Pilobolus Dance Theatre

·         Wendy Kriss, Movement Specialist & Director

·         Katie Daley, Poet

·         Megan Pitcher, Costumer

·         Bruce Jennings, Musician

Faculty and staff include:

·         Theatre Arts Department Chair Christine McBurney, who teaches (or has taught) Dramatic Literature & Writing, Film as Art, IB Theatre Arts, Junior Ensemble, Acting, Improv, Shakescenes, Theatre I, and  Theatre Management

·         Ensemble Program Director Erik Johnson, who teaches or has taught Junior, Advanced and Senior Ensembles, IB Theatre Arts, Acting, Theatre I, and Theatre Management

·         Chuck Tisdale, Technical Designer and Auditorium Manager

·         Brendan O’Connell, Stage Manager

·         Brian G. McCann, Production Assistant

·         Barrie Sandman, Box Office Manager

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Christine McBurney
Theatre Arts Dept. Chair
Shaker Heights High School
15911 Aldersyde Dr.
Shaker Heights, OH 44120
216.295.4258
216.295.4277 fax
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view photos at shakertheatre.zenfolio.com

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