The Chekhov Reading Series

presented in partnership with Theater J

In our third series of readings, Theater J and The Theatre Lab continue a collaboration that began with The Theatre Lab's Acting in a Professional Production: Israeli Plays, performed in conjunction with Theater J's Pangs of the Messiah, then Arthur Miller plays complimenting The Price, starring Robert Prosky and sons.

Now we are presenting adaptations of Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters and Cherry Orchard by David Mamet alongside Theater J Artistic Director, Ari Roth’s Seagull on 16th Street (inspired in part by Mamet’s screenplay Vanya on 42nd Street) and ending this series with Chekhov's epic yet unfinished and untitled play in an adaptation by Michael Frayn, called Wild Honey.

This reading series is presented in conjunction with Theater J's current production of The Seagull on 16th Street, an adaptation by Theater J Artistic Director Ari Roth, partially inspired by Vanya on 42nd Street. The dynamic clash between spiritual yearning and artistic ambition provides the stage for a journey back to the Russian countryside in this tale of artistic conflict, love, loss, jealousy and lots of laughs. Click here for full info on The Seagull on 16th Street.

All readings are Pay What You Can.

 

June 30 at 7:30pm at Theater J (1529 16th Street NW, Washington):

Cherry Orchard
Directed by Dorothy Neumann (Theater J: In the Land of Israel; Theatre Lab Instructor), featuring Mitchell Hébert (Theater J: Picasso’s Closet, Death and the Maiden, UMD Professor)

Mitchell Hébert has performed at many of the DC areas leading theatres including Woolly Mammoth; where he us a long time company member, Round House Theatre; where is a member of its Artist’s Round Table, Olney Theatre Center; where he recently directed the critically acclaimed production of Rabbit Hole, The Shakespeare Theatre, Studio Theatre, Theatre of the First Amendment, Rep Stage, and Everyman Theatre in Baltimore. He has been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award; Outstanding Lead Actor/The Drawer Boy, and received the Greater Baltimore Theatre Award for Outstanding Actor/Uncle Vanya.  Mitchell is on the faculty of the University of Maryland’s Department of Theatre where he teaches acting and directing.  His students are working all over the country in every aspect of the entertainment world.  He played a significant role in the development of the department’s new MFA in Performance, scheduled to begin in fall 2010.

Dorothy Neumann has been directing in the Washington area for over 30 years and has received three Helen Hayes nominations for Outstanding Direction for Top Girls, Johnny Bull (both Horizons productions) and Unidentified Human Remains…at Signature. She has served as Artistic Associate at Source Theatre, Horizons and Signature and has taught at The Theatre Lab for the past 12 years. She is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers and is a published poet. She directed Bread of Winter for Theater Alliance in April of ’09.

July 7 at 7:30pm at Theater J:

Three Sisters
Directed by Michael Russotto (Theater J acting credits: Tattooed Girl, The Chosen; Theatre Lab Instructor; Woolly Mammoth Company member), featuring Kimberly Schraf (Theater J: Hannah & Martin, upcoming Mikveh; Theatre Lab Honors Conservatory Director)

Kim Schraf has performed at Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center, Studio Theatre, Ford’s, Round House, Signature, Woolly Mammoth, Everyman, Theater J, The Theatre of the First Amendment, and the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. Credits include starring roles in Angels in America at Signature Theatre; Skylight and Frozen at Studio; Measure for Pleasure, Freedomland and The Gene Pool at Woolly Mammoth; and Proof and Light Up the Sky at Everyman. A graduate of St. John's College in Annapolis, she has been teaching for twenty-five years, most recently at the Parkmont School. She is also a successful narrator of audio books and a speech coach. Kim helped launch the Honors Conservatory for The Theatre Lab in 2006 and continues to serve as one of its directors.

Michael Russotto is a longtime Washington actor and director who has appeared in shows on many local stages, including The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Theater Alliance, Theatre J, The Folger Theatre, Arena Stage, MetroStage, Olney Theatre, and Studio Theatre. Recent roles include Alexandra in She Stoops to Comedy and The Soul in Vigils, both at Woolly Mammoth. Michael has directed at The Actors' Theatre of Washington (cofounder), MetroStage, Source Theatre, The Washington Shakespeare Company, Studio Theatre, and The National Academy of Dramatic Arts. He is a member of the Woolly Mammoth Acting Company, and is also a narrator of recorded books for the Library of Congress.

July 14 at 7:30pm at Theater J: 

Uncle Vanya
Directed by Jessica Lefkow (Theater J: Honey Brown Eyes), featuring Jeff Allin (Theater J: Bal Masque; Broadway and numerous regional theatre and TV credits)

Jessica Lefkow directed the world premiere of Honey Brown Eyes at Theater J, winning the 2009 Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play. She has directed, performed, coached and taught theater across the United States, Europe and Asia. Local credits have included new works for The New Play House (On Island, The Disposition of the Mail), Firebelly Productions (Conversing 11s/Take Stock), Calliope Productions (Spirit of the Faiths), and the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington (Anna Shulman, the Queen of H Street). Her work has appeared each year in the Capital Fringe Festivals (Frida Vice Versa, Margherita), most recently with the 2008 world premiere of Andrea Stolowitz' TALES OF DOOMED LOVE, or is it ever worth it? (2008), first developed with StreetSigns at UNC. TALES OF DOOMED LOVE will run this December as part of Spooky Action Theater's 2008-2009 season. Jessica has directed readings for the Kennedy Center's 'Page to Stage' Festivals, Theater J, Washington Shakespeare Company, Theatre Lab, The New Play House, Playwrights Forum, and served as the dramaturg and course instructor for Theater J's Winter 2007 play-reading series on Anglo-Jewish playwrights, 'Identity, Conflict, Social Justice: Contemporary Jewish British Playwrights and their Plays.'

Jeff Allin appeared on Broadway in Plenty and at Lincoln Center Theater in Richard Greenberg’s Everett Beekin. In the DC area he played Trey in the world premiere production of Richard Greenberg’s Bal Masque at Theater J, Sebastian in The Tempest at The Shakespeare Theatre and Vic in The Price at Baltimore Center Stage. Regional credits include Everette Beekin, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Beginning of August (South Coast Repertory); Romeo and Juliet (The American Conservatory Theater); As You Like It (Seattle Repertory Theatre); The Real Thing, Joined at the Head (Pasadena Playhouse); Stones in his Pockets (Bald Mountain Stage). Numerous television credits include seven years on The Bold and the Beautiful, Mr. Stirling, NYPD Blue, Star Trek: Voyager and TNG, LA Law, Chicago Hope, Moonlighting, St. Elsewhere and Murder One.

July 21 at 7:30pm at The Theatre Lab: 

Wild Honey
Directed by Delia Taylor (Theater J: Sleeping Arrangements, There are no Strangers; Theatre Lab Instructor), featuring Buzz Mauro (Theatre Lab Director) and Matt Anderson (Theater J: Rise & Fall of Annie Hall, David in Shadow & Light, and Shlemiel the First; Kennedy Center, Ford’s)

Delia Taylor has many local theatre credits, including leading roles in Medea, Antony and Cleopatra, and Metamorphosis and directing Twelfth Night and The Taming of the Shrew for Washington Shakespeare Company. She is on staff at Theater J and there directed world premieres of There Are No Strangers and Sleeping Arrangements. She directs and teaches at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Indiana, where she recently played the title role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. She is proud of her twelve-year association with The Theatre Lab which has given her the opportunity to work with her mother on Creating a Role (Othello, Electra, and The Way of the World).

Buzz Mauro is Co-Director of The Theatre Lab and a Helen Hayes Award nominee who has performed extensively with Signature Theatre as well as at Ford's Theatre, Studio Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, the Potomac Theatre Project, and with the Washington Shakespeare Company. He received his B.A. from Yale University and has an M.F.A. in Acting from Catholic University. Along with Deb Gottesman he is the founder of Center Stage Communications, a unique consulting firm specializing in the application of acting techniques to the business world. Together they are the authors of three books on applied acting: The Interview Rehearsal Book, Taking Center Stage, and The Best Answer, all published by Berkley Books, a division of Penguin Putnam.

Matthew A. Anderson was recently seen at Theater J as Will in the world premiere of Sam Foreman’s comedy The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall and also appeared in David in Shadow and Light and Shlemiel the First. Earlier this season, he was seen having entirely too much fun in Miss Nelson is Missing and Busytown – both with Imagination Stage in Bethesda. Locally, he has also worked with Signature Theatre and Ford's Theatre in addition to spending 2 years (47 states/450.5 performances) on the road with the Kennedy Center’s national tour of Willy Wonka – The Musical. Currently, he can also be seen in Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center through June 2009. He is a proud member of Actors’ Equity since 2005, a proud native of beautiful Boise, Idaho since birth and a proud uncle to his 13 incredibly entertaining nieces and nephews.