Lilly Award Foundation Announces Casting for 3-play Reading Series Feat. Bergl, Ferrerra and Mulgrew
Contact:
Rick Miramontez / Jaron Caldwell/ Philip Carrubba
rick@oandmco.com / jaron@oandmco.com / philip@oandmco.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE
CASTING ANNOUNCED FEATURING
EMILY BERGL, AMERICA FERRERRA, AND KATE MULGREW
THE LILLY AWARDS FOUNDATION
PRESENTS THE INAUGURAL
“(3)PLAYS FROM THE KILROYS’ LIST: A READING SERIES”
WITH NEW WORKS BY FEMALE PLAYWRIGHTS AND DIRECTORS
PLAYWRIGHTS INCLUDE
LARISSA FASTHORSE, MEG MIROSHNIK AND LAURA SCHELLHARDT
DIRECTORS INCLUDE
LEAR DEBESSONET, LEIGH SILVERMAN, AND LIESL TOMMY
PERFORMANCES BEGIN MONDAY, MARCH 9 AT 7:00 P.M.
AT THE DUKE ON 42nd STREET
A NEW 42ND STREET® PROJECT
AN “AFTERCHAT” RECEPTION SPONSORED BY THE INTERVAL
TO FOLLOW EACH READING
New York, NY – (March 4, 2015) The Lilly Awards Foundation has announced complete casting for the Inaugural (3)Plays from The Kilroys’ List: A Reading Series featuring new works by female playwrights Larissa FastHorse, Meg Miroshnik and Laura Schellhardt, with female directors Lear deBessonet, Leigh Silverman and Liesl Tommy. The acting company includes Emily Bergl (“Desperate Housewives”), America Ferrerra (“Ugly Betty”), and Kate Mulgrew (“Orange is the New Black”), with Kally Duling, Alexandra Henriksen, Colbie Minifie, Jesse Perez, Madeline Sayet, and Erin Wilhelmi (Perks of Being a Wallflower).
Performances begin Monday, March 9, 2015 with subsequent dates set for Mondays, March 16th and March 23rd at The Duke on 42nd Street (229 West 42nd Street). All performances begin at 7:00 p.m. Admission is free but reservations are strongly recommended and can be obtained at http://www.thelillyawards.org or https://www.artful.ly/the-lilly-awards-foundation.
After each reading, attendees are invited to join the artists and members of The Lilly Awards at “AfterChats” hosted by The Interval (www.the-interval.com), a new website dedicated to female voices in theatre. The “AfterChats” will be held at Bea Restaurant (403 West 43rd Street) and will offer guests the chance to discuss the plays, learn more about getting involved with the community, and to mingle and be merry over snacks and wine. To stay updated on all the AfterChat fun, follow @TheIntervalNY on Twitter.
(3)Plays from the Kilroys’ List: A Reading Series was created to support the Lilly Awards Foundation’s mission to promote gender parity at all levels of theatrical production, and develop and celebrate the work of women in the theater. Released by The Kilroys in 2014, THE LIST consists of the 46 plays most recommended by industry leaders in a national survey of the best underproduced plays by female and trans* playwrights. It was created as “a tool for producers committed to ending the systemic underrepresentation of female voices in the American theater.”
(3)Plays from the Kilroys’ List: A Reading Series Schedule
Monday, March 9th at 7:00 p.m.
The Comparables
A play by Laura Schellhardt
Directed by Lear deBessonet
Featuring America Ferrerra and Kate Mulgrew
In Laura Schellhardt’s play The Comparables three women vie for power in the cut-throat world of high-end realty. Bette runs her own female-dominated agency. Monica is her loyal second-in-command. Iris is the savvy new hire. When Bette's reputation falls under attack, the future of the agency is at stake. Who, if anyone, will survive the ordeal, and to what lengths will they go to ensure success? A dark comedy that begs the question: for women in the competitive world, is there more than one way to do business?
* * *
Monday, March 16th at 7:00 p.m.
What Would Crazy Horse Do?
A play by Larissa FastHorse
Directed by Liesl Tommy
Featuring Emily Bergl, Jesse Perez and Madeline Sayet
Set today, What Would Crazy Horse Do? by Larissa FastHorse, is about two Native Americans who are facing the extinction of their tribe while the first female leader of the KKK is poised to bring a gentler version of the Klan into the limelight. When the two groups are brought together, they find that sometimes they are asking the same questions. When is race separation racism? And when is it essential preservation? It’s a question both sides need to answer before it is too late.
* * *
Monday, March 23rd at 7pm
The Tall Girls
A play by Meg Miroshnik
Directed by Leigh Silverman
Featuring Kally Duling, Alexandra Henriksen, Cobie Minifie and Erin Wilhelmi
The Tall Girls takes place in Poor Prairie – the dusty, desolate town where fifteen-and-a-half-year-old Jean has been exiled as caretaker for her wild-child cousin, Almeda. It’s a grim, dangerous place to eke out an existence as a teenage girl—until a handsome man with a past arrives, a brand-new basketball in tow. As the town’s girls come together to form a team set on making it out of Poor Prairie, a murky committee of townspeople threatens to stamp out girls' sports altogether. Inspired by the flourishing and decline of high school girls' basketball teams in the 1930s rural Midwest, The Tall Girls asks: Who can afford the luxury of play? And what is the cost of childhood?
* * *
The Lilly Awards were started in 2010 as a way to honor the work of women in the American Theater. The founders of The Lilly Awards are Julia Jordan, Marsha Norman and Theresa Rebeck. The Lilly Awards Foundation was named after Lillian Hellman, a pioneering American playwright who famously said, “You need to write like the devil and act like one when necessary.” The Lilly Awards have expanded their mission to promote gender parity at all levels of theatrical production, as well as develop, celebrate and advocate for the work of women in the theater. The Lilly Awards Foundation created the Inaugural (3)Plays from The Kilroys’ List: A Reading Series in order to support the sister mission of The Kilroys and their organization, and to put the work of women playwrights in front of the community that can produce and support them. For more information: www.thelillyawards.org, Like them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheLillyAwards or follow on Twitter at @thelillyawards.
The Kilroys
Founded in 2013, The Kilroys are a group of LA-based female playwrights and producers committed to gender inclusivity in the American theater. They are creating positive initiatives to achieve field-wide change while working independently to advance the artistic and professional goals of their members. Their first national initiative, THE LIST, is published on their website and is a tool for producers committed to ending the systemic underrepresentation of female voices in the American theater. For more information, go to www.thekilroys.org or follow on twitter at @thekilroys13.
The New 42nd Street
Founded in 1990, The New 42nd Street is an independent nonprofit organization charged with the continuous cultural revival of 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Avenues. Committed to the transformational power of the arts, The New 42nd Street builds on the foundation of seven historic theaters to make extraordinary performing arts and cultural engagement part of everyone’s life. The New 42nd Street fulfills this purpose by ensuring the ongoing vibrancy of 42nd Street’s historic theaters; maintaining and fully using the New 42nd Street Studios and The Duke on 42nd Street to support performing artists in the creation of their work; and through The New Victory Theater, New York’s premier theater devoted to kids and families.
About The Duke on 42nd Street
The Duke on 42nd Street is an intimate black-box performance space in the heart of the theater district, available for rental to both nonprofit and commercial organizations. Featuring a gallery along all four walls and a custom, state-of-the-art seating system, The Duke on 42nd Street is a fully-staffed, full service facility that offers full light, sound and support systems in various configurations. Many performing arts companies have called the theater their home, including Primary Stages, The Royal Court Theatre, Transport Group, Theatre for a New Audience, Lincoln Center Theater, Steppenwolf Theater Company, Armitage Gone! Dance, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Naked Angels, Classical Theater of Harlem and the National Theater of Great Britain.
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