Joining the previously announced Pride Plays festival at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater this June is a full slate of summer programming including the Alumni Jam, in which returning playwrights share excerpts from new work, Rattlestick's unplugged concert series, New Songs Now, and the theatre marathon and pot luck, TheaterJam.
On June 3, Rattlestick will present Alumni Jam, hosted by Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer). This year’s event will include excerpts from the plays Greater Clements by Samuel D. Hunter (Lewiston/Clarkston), The Ziegfeld Files by Jesse Eisenberg (Revisionist), and The Agonist by Halley Feiffer (How to Make Friends and then Kill Them), and an excerpt from Clairvoyance, a concert by Diana Oh ({mylingerieplay}). The evening will also feature an excerpt from the upcoming 2019–20 mainstage production, The Siblings Play by Ren Dara Santiago.
Next up, New Songs Now will take place June 4, 5, 6, 10, and 12. This summer's lineup of songwriters includes Preston Max Allen (We Are the Tigers), Troy Anthony (The River Is Me), Masi Asare (The Family Resemblance), the Bengsons (The Lucky Ones), Lila Blue (Have a Look), Andrew R. Butler (Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future), Michelle Rodriguez (East o', West o'!), Angela Sclafani (Your Ghost), Rona Siddiqui (Salaam Medina: Tales of a Halfghan), and Jillian Walker (SKiNFoLK: An American Show). Post-show conversation facilitators include Anne Kauffman (Our Lady of 121st Street), Leigh Silverman (The Lifespan of a Fact), Natasha Sinha (Disgraced), Rachel Sussman (What the Constitution Means to Me, Producer), and Mei Ann Teo (Lyrics From Lockdown).
On June 15, Rattlestick will host TheaterJam, a six-hour-long theatre marathon and potluck in which over 20 artists share 15 minutes each of new material. This year's event will feature the work of Josiah Bania, Julissa Contreras, Sarah Cote, Emily Daly, John Darnton, Edison Mata Diaz, Gracie Gardner, Alexander Lambie,Kareem Lucas, Robbie McCauley, Genne Murphy, Azure D. Osborne-Lee, Lisa Purrone, James Scruggs, Kevin Christopher Snipes, Arturo Soria, Kate Tarker, Sanaz Toosi, TJ Weaver, Adrienne D. Williams, Emily Zemba, and more.
Pride Plays, a festival of readings that will amplify LGBTQIA voices in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, will run June 20–24. The festival will include works in the queer theatre canon, such as plays by Paula Vogel and Terrence McNally, alongside newer works by artists such as MJ Kaufman and Daaimah Mubashshir, among many others. Actors slated to perform in the festival include Michael Urie (who is producing), Maybe Burke, Mario Cantone, Robin De Jesus, John Glover, Beth Malone, Jason Tam, and more.
Rounding out the June slate will be Rattlestick's Directorgy on June 26. The evening will showcase excerpts from the work in progress of directing fellow Shadi Ghaheri. For more information visit Rattlestick.org.
