PLAYWRIGHTS' REVOLUTION 2013 to Play Capital Stage, 8/15-17

Capital Stage continues its annual new work festival, PLAYWRIGHTS' REVOLUTION 2013 with staged readings of three new plays August 15-17, 2013. As Sacramento's leader of bold, thought-provoking theatre, Capital Stage created this series of staged readings to identify and develop exciting new plays and playwrights. Each year, several new plays are selected to participate in the series and audiences are invited to take part in the new play development process by attending readings and participating in post-reading discussions.

This year out of nearly 150 submissions, Capital Stage will present three exciting new plays by three compelling playwrights. In August these works are brought to theatrical life in a series of staged readings performed by professional actors in Capital Stage's intimate theatre.

PLAYWRIGHTS' REVOLUTION 2013 performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday May 15, 16, and 17 at 8pm. Individual tickets are $12 per staged reading. Discount tickets are available as follows: tickets for the festival of three staged readings are $30; Subscriber individual tickets are $10 and subscriber discount tickets for the festival of three staged readings are $25. Tickets are currently available at the Capital Stage Box Office, by phone at 916-995-5464 or online at www.capstage.org.

The Plays:

THE HEMINGS DIARY by Lucile Lichtblau

Thursday, August 15 at 8pm

Directed by Peter Mohrmann

When a tell-all diary allegedly written by Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson's slave/mistress, is discovered at an estate sale, ancient ghosts come to life and issues of power, race and the elusiveness of truth emerge.

CRYING FOR LIONS by Andrew Kramer

Friday, August 16 at 8pm

Directed by Ben Ismail

Rae and Shane are a young couple expecting their first child. When an important man from Shane's past shows up at their isolated home in the country, a very large and very hungry mountain lion begins to pursue them. As their fears and apprehensions spiral out of control, they learn that sometimes, we must act like animals to survive.

THE POWER PLAY, or Smart Bombs & Other Sexy Toys by Susan Kathryn Hefti

Saturday, August 17 at 8pm

Directed by Stephanie Gularte

An odyssey through the lives of four hopeful graduate students, THE POWER PLAY, or Smart Bombs & Other Sexy Toys, explores the nature of power, seduction and betrayal in the context of U.S. military policies: Threading the personal through the eye of a pointedly political needle, the play wrestles with moral questions evoked by the increased reliance on unmanned drone strikes, the targeted assassination of the American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and the 2009 troop surge into Afghanistan.

The Stage Readings:

Capital Stage Associate Artist, Peter Mohrmann (THE NORTH PLAN, IN THE NEXT ROOM, or The Vibrator Play) will direct Lucile Lichtblau's THE HEMINGS DIARY, Ben Ismail will direct Andrew Kramer's CRYING FOR LIONS, and Capital Stage Artistic Director Stephanie Gularte (ENRON, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, SUPERIOR DONUTS) will direct Susan Kathryn Hefti's THE POWER PLAY, or Smart Bombs & Other Sexy
Toys in Capital Stage's annual new works festival PLAYWRIGHTS' REVOLUTION 2013.

Capital Stage presents PLAYWRIGHTS' REVOLUTION 2013 at 2215 J Street, Sacramento, CA, August 15, 16, & 17, 2013. Performance Times & Prices: Thursday, Friday, & Saturday at 8pm. Individual Staged Readings: $12; Festival of Three Staged Readings: $30; Capital Stage Subscriber Discount; Individual Staged Readings: $10; Festival of Three Staged Readings: $25. Ticket Purchases: Box Office: 916-995-5464; Online: www.capstage.org; In Person: 2215 J Street.

Capital Stage Company's mission is to be a dynamic leader in the evolution of the contemporary live theatre landscape in the Capital region and to passionately engage audiences in the art of live storytelling with bold, innovative plays performed by professional artists, in an intimate, up close setting. With a strong commitment to expanding the base of working artists in the greater Sacramento region, we shall develop a company of actors, directors, writers, designers, and technical staff who are dedicated to bringing bold, lively productions of contemporary and classic plays to our community.

While part of the mission of any theater company is to entertain its audience, we at Capital Stage feel strongly that the productions we mount address issues that are vital to understanding the society we live in and ourselves as human beings in that society. We address themes of power and manipulation in relationships between men and women, children and parents, and organizations and individuals. We invite audiences to question the ethics and meaning of art, the definitions of sanity and intelligence, and the line between exploitation and legitimate relationship. We believe that in a large and growing urban environment, where individuals and groups are constantly bombarded with information and demands for decisions, the need for thoughtful examination of our interactions in society has never been greater.