Sundance Institute Announces Projects and Artists for Two Fall Theatre Labs New Playwrights Studio at Flying Point and Fall Musical and Ensemble Theatre Lab at MASS MoCADavid Cale, Dan LeFranc, Jos Rivera, Christopher Shinn and Cori Thomas Selected for Playwrights Studio, Oct. 19-26
New Work by Lucy Alibar, Elise Thoron, Frank London and 600 HIGHWAYMEN Selected for Lab at MASS MoCA, Nov. 30 Dec. 14
Posted Oct 20, 2014
New York, NY Sundance Institute today announced the projects and artists that will participate in its two Fall artist development programs: the inaugural Playwrights Studio at Flying Point in Water Mill, NY (October 19-26), as well as the two-week Theatre Lab (November 30 December 14) for musical theatre, ensemble-generated projects and solo work at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). Under the supervision of Artistic Director Philip Himberg and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, the initiatives are among the Theatre Programs five annual Labs and Residencies for theatre artists and part of the 24 artist residency labs across many creative disciplines Sundance Institute offers annually.
New this fall, the Playwrights Studio at Flying Point offers Theatre Program alumni an uninterrupted period of time and the space to work on their projects in a studio setting. The two one-week sessions each year are generously hosted by George and Joan Hornig.
Himberg said, These fall labs provide unique and inspiring locations for these new and established artists to develop and explore their stories. MASS MoCA allows the creators of these innovative musical theatre and ensemble-generated projects the time and space for collaboration and rehearsal, while the Playwrights Studio offers a home to our alumni who continue to grow and experiment and can take advantage of the retreat setting to focus solely on their work.
The artists selected for the fall session of Playwrights Studio at Flying Point in Water Mill, NY are:
David Cale
Davids solo shows include The History of Kisses, Palomino, A Likely Story, Lillian, Deep in a Dream of You, Smooch Music and The Redthroats. He wrote the book, lyrics, co-composed the music for, and played Floyd in the musical Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky, inspired by the character of Floyd Studebaker Duffner he portrayed in the film The Slaughter Rule. His plays include Betwixt and Nightwear. Cale has written lyrics for songs sung by artists including Elvis Costello, Deborah Harry and Jimmy Scott. Most recently he wrote the songs for 600 Highwaymens Employee of the Year. As an actor he performed on stage in shows including John Jesuruns Chang in a Void Moon, Stew and Heidi Rodewalds The Total Bent and Kevin Elyots Mouth to Mouth. His film credits include Winter in the Blood, Two Lovers and Pollock. David has been a participant in the Sundance Theatre Lab three times, twice as an actor working on new plays by Annie Baker, Paula Vogel and Doug Wright and as a writer, working on his solo Palomino.
Dan LeFranc
Dan is the playwright-in-residence of Playwrights Horizons. His new play Troublemaker was commissioned by and recently produced at Berkeley Repertory. His last play The Big Meal premiered at ATC (Chicago), received an extended off-Broadway run at Playwrights Horizons and made its UK premiere last summer. Other plays include Sixty Miles to Silver Lake (Soho Rep, P73, NYC), Origin Story, Bruise Easy and Night Surf. Dan received the 2011 Helen Merrill Playwriting Award, the 2010 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award, and the John C. Russell Fellowship, among others. He teaches at the Yale School of Drama and is currently on staff for the Showtime television drama The Affair.
Christopher Shinn
Christopher is the head of Playwriting at the New School for Drama, and author of many plays including Dying City (Pulitzer Prize finalist), Where Do We Live (Obie Award), and Four. His work has been produced internationally, with five world premieres at the Royal Court Theatre in London.
Jos Rivera
Jos s The Motorcycle Diaries was nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar in 2005. His film On the Road premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and Trade was the first film to premiere at the United Nations. In theatre, Rivera has won two Obie Awards in playwriting for Marisol and References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot. Cloud Tectonics, Boleros for the Disenchanted, Sue o, Sonnets for an Old Century, School of the Americas, Massacre (Sing to Your Children), Brainpeople, and Adoration of the Old Woman have been produced in theatres across the country and around the world. New plays include Human Emotional Process, The Last Book of Homer, The Hours are Feminine, Another Word for Beauty (a musical), and a new translation/adaptation of The Kiss of the Spider Woman. For television he co-created and produced Eerie, Indiana for NBC as well as The House of Ramon Iglesia for PBS. In the works is an untitled HBO series with Tom Hanks, producer. Films in development or in production include Three Apples Fell from Heaven (about the Armenian genocide, Shekhar Kapur, director), The 33, John Brown (Giancarlo Esposito, director), Vincent,and an adaptation of Jack Londons White Fang for Disney, among others. Celestina, based on his play Cloud Tectonics will mark his debut as a feature film director. Love Makes the City Crumble is his first novel. Rivera runs a writing workshop in New York and has been a mentor/advisor for the Sundance Screenwriting Labs in Utah, Jordan, and India.
Cori Thomas
When January Feels Like Summer (Ensemble Studio Theatre/Page 73/Womens Project Theater NYC, World Premiere- City Theatre Co., Pittsburgh); Pas Hat (Pillsbury House Theatre, MN); My Secret Language of Wishes (Mixed Blood, MN); Akosua Means Sunday; The Princess, The Breast, and, The Lizard; The Unusual Love Life of Bedbugs and Other Creatures
