NC Stage Continues Its Free Play-Reading Series

Share

('’)

by Amanda Leslie
on Wednesday, January 20, 2010

North Carolina Stage Company and the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement (NCCCR) are partnering to present free readings of True West, by Sam Shepard. These readings are part of NC Stage's (For)Play Series, a unique series of public rehearsals during the 2009-2010 Season. The (For)Play Series allows the public to sit in on the first reading of one of NC Stage's plays, offering an unprecedented glimpse into the workings of a professional theatre.

True West will be read Saturday January 23rd at 2:00pm at North Carolina Stage Company, and Sunday January 24th at 2:00pm at the Reuter Center on the campus of UNC Asheville.

True West is a brilliant and dangerous comedy that launched the careers of John Malkovich and Gary Sinise and established Sam Shepard as a master of American theatre. The New York Post wrote that True West is "Shepard's masterwork.... It tells us a truth, as glimpsed by a 37 year old genius." Charlie Flynn-McIver and Scott Treadway play a pair of estranged brothers who converge on their mother's suburban home one sweltering summer weekend. One is an upstanding screenwriter, the other a petty thug - but which is which?

The series continues with readings of Dead Man's Cellphone by Sarah Ruhl in March, and What the Butler Saw by Joe Orton in April. Each (For)Play weekend features a 2:00 Saturday event at NC Stage and a 2:00 Sunday event at The Reuter Center.

What is a (For)Play reading? NC Stage's rehearsal process always begins with a "table read" of the play from start to finish. This exercise allows the entire production team (director, actors and designers) to hear the play out loud, and identify the particular challenges they will need to address during the rehearsal period. The (For)Play Series makes that table read public, and includes a discussion and questions from the audience. NC Stage will then rehearse its production for three weeks, 30 hours per week before opening.

The North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement is an award-winning, internationally-acclaimed learning community dedicated to promoting lifelong learning, leadership, community service, and research. It opened its doors in 1988 as a department of the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA). Its goal is to enable members to thrive in life's second half.

North Carolina Stage Company is Asheville's professional non-profit theatre, presenting a year-round season of classic and contemporary plays, plus community outreach programs like the grassroots Catalyst Series and No Shame Theatre. Founded in 2001, NC Stage focuses on classic plays and what might be called contemporary classics: award-winning plays that are being presented on Broadway, off-Broadway and in regional theatres across the country. NC Stage was named Best Local Theatre by readers of the Mountain Xpress for four years running (2006 - 2009).

Admission to the readings is free, but RSVPs are requested. Contact NC Stage at (828) 239-0263 or ncstage@ncstage.org to RSVP. For more information or to get tickets to the production of True West, visit www.ncstage.org.

Comments

About the Author - Amanda Leslie

Contact Amanda Leslie:
North Carolina Stage Company
828-239-0263
amanda@ncstage.org
www.ncstage.org

Learn more about Amanda.