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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE

WATERWELL
ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF
S U M M E R   T H E A T E R   L A B  2 0 1 4
WITH KELLI O’HARA

SESSION 1: THEATER
MONDAY-SATURDAY
AUGUST 4-9, 2014

SESSION 2: MUSICAL THEATER
MONDAY-SATURDAY
AUGUST 11-16, 2014

New York, NY (February 12, 2014) – Waterwell, one of the Village Voice’s Best Arguments for Devised Theater and creators of GOODBAR and #9, announces the second year of its Summer Theater Lab, under the leadership of Victor Maog.  The program has two sessions: Monday-Saturday, August 4-9, and August 11-16, 2014.  For more information about classes and enrollment, visit www.waterwell.org/summer.

Now in its second year, the Waterwell Summer Theater Lab offers dedicated high school students the opportunity to engage in week-long intensives in theater and music theater with world-class practitioners in the heart of New York City’s fabled Theater District.  Last year’s inaugural session brought students from across the nation including the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, LaGuardia School of Performing Arts and the Professional Performing Arts School, who were taught by guest artists Stephen Adly Guirgis, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Otis Sallid, and Beau Willimon.  Four-time Tony Nominee Kelli O’Hara is the first Master Class Artist announced this season.

Victor Maog, known for his innovative stage productions and award-winning training models, returns to lead this flagship Waterwell program.  Currently, Artistic Director of Second Generation (2g) in NYC, his multi-disciplinary collaborations and groundbreaking education programs have attracted world-class faculty artists and top-tier student talent.  Allyson Morgan returns as Associate Director.

“Victor’s vision for what young theater artists can and should be continues to inspire and energize all of us at Waterwell,” said artistic director Tom Ridgely in a statement.  “The Drama Program – both at PPAS and in the Summer Theater Lab – is not only about honing skills, it’s about building community.  Last summer was an incredible testament to what can happen when passionate students, dedicated parents and world-class educators come together around that simple but powerful idea.  We’re thrilled to have him back and thrilled to welcome what will no doubt be an incredible group into Year Two.”

“The Waterwell Summer Theater Lab is about artistic risk, personal authenticity and the knowledge and discipline it takes to be in this field.  Seeing Kelli onstage is one thing, but to have her in dialogue with our students speaking about this life is very special.  STL is about hard work and knowing there are no short cuts. Ultimately, that’s what gives our students the long-term advantage in art and, hopefully, life,” said Maog.

Bios_______________________________________________________________

VICTOR MAOG‘s (Director, Summer Theater Lab) work over the past 20 years as a director and producer has reached over half the continental United States collaborating with theaters including the Public Theater, Hartford Stage, Williamstown, Signature, Joe’s Pub, Mabou Mines, the Lark, and New Dramatists. He’s the recipient of the NEA/TCG Career Development Award, Altvater Fellowship at Cornerstone, Van Lier Directing Fellowship at 2ST, the U.S. Presidential Award for Outstanding Academic Enrichment. Taught: NYU/Tisch, UPenn, Fordham, American Theatre Wing, and TDF. Artistic Director, 2g. B.A. – NYU/Gallatin. www.victormaog.com

ALLYSON MORGAN (Associate Director, Summer Theater Lab) is an actress, writer, producer, Columbus, Ohio native, and graduate of The Ohio State University. In addition, she is the founder and Executive Director of film and theatre collective, F*It Club. Most recently, she has been seen onstage with F*It Club (world premieres by Mark Schultz, Lucy Boyle, and Nick Jones), aMios, EST/Youngblood, Studio 42, NY Fringe Festival and New York Theatre Experiment. She has been named a “performer to watch” by ReviewFix.com. TV: “Hostages,” “Law and Order: SVU,” “One Life to Live.” 4 Dates, a short film which she co-wrote and co-produced, was awarded Best Comedic Film at the Zero Film Festival in 2010 and was a selection at the Drive-In Film Festival in 2011. Her short play What Goes Up was a finalist in the Samuel French Festival in 2012, reaching the top 10 out of 900 submissions. Most recently, she was named one of just five winners out of thousands of entrants from over thirty countries in the Bombay Sapphire Imagination Series, and her short film Need For Speed (Dating) will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2014. Allyson has additionally served as the Outreach Coordinator for Tropfest New York and the Nantucket Film Festival, Special Events Team Coordinator for the Hamptons International Film Festival, and Casting Associate at Jodi Collins Casting and Vh1.

KELLI O’HARA (Master Class Artist) is currently starring in the Bridges of Madison County on Broadway. She recently completed a run in Nice Work If You Can Get It for which she garnered her fourth Tony Award Nomination. Other Broadway credits include: South Pacific (Tony, Drama Desk Nominations, OCC Nominations), Pajama Game (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC Nominations), The Light in the Piazza (Tony, Drama Desk Nominations), Sweet Smell of Success, Follies and Dracula. Regional/Off Broadway credits include: Far From Heaven at Playwrights Horizon and Williamstown, King Lear at the Public Theater, Bells Are Ringing at City Center Encores, Sunday in the Park with George at Reprise, My Life With Albertine at Playwright’s Horizons and Beauty at the La Jolla Playhouse. Kelli starred in the New York Philharmonic productions of Carousel & My Fair Lady, receiving critical acclaim for her portrayal of Julie Jordan and as Eliza Doolittle respectively. Kelli’s concerts span from Carnegie Hall to Capitol Hill and in between. She has performed three times at the Kennedy Honors and frequently appears on the Memorial Day and July 4th PBS live telecasts. Among her film and television credits are Sex & The City 2, “Blue Bloods,” Martin Scorsese’s The Key to Reserva opposite Simon Baker, The Dying Gaul starring Patricia Clarkson, “Alexander Hamilton” (PBS), “NUMB3RS” (CBS), “All My Children,” the animated series “Car Talk,” and numerous live performances on national television shows. Kelli’s voice can be heard on numerous cast recordings. Her second solo album, Always is currently available on Ghostlight Records.

WATERWELL (Arian Moayed & Tom Ridgely, Artistic Directors; Rebecca Schwartz, Director of Education) is a unique ensemble of theater artists dedicated to the creation of new work and the bold re-interpretation of classics. Founded in 2002 by Arian Moayed and Tom Ridgely, the company’s special blend of music, theater and social dialog has been nominated for three IT awards, a Drama Desk, a New York Magazine Culture Award and a Village Voice Best of NYC. The Voice calls them, “dynamic, resourceful and relentlessly entertaining.” And TheaterScene says, “There’s no way a written description can do justice to their blazing energy and inventiveness.” The New York Times hails the work as, “brilliant, original and inspired. Alive enough to surprise even the performers themselves,” and Theatermania writes, “Waterwell has staked a claim on our collective conscience.” Since 2003, Waterwell has also offered structured classes in collaborative playmaking, or “devising”, the process by which the ensemble develops its material. By 2010 those educational activities had grown and coalesced into the Waterwell Drama Program , which now delivers – in partnership with the Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS) – top-quality, year-round, in-school theater training to over 200 NYC public school students. The program addresses the student-artist holistically and demands they develop both as an interpreter and as a creator. Voice and movement work connect with scene study and devising; classroom learning supports rehearsal and performance projects; and everything is designed to be in dialog with what’s going on outside the classroom – in their homes, communities and the world at large.

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