In the News: Orfeh and Andy Karl Acquire Rights to Murder Mystery The Dancer, John Cameron Mitchell Featured in New Poll Worker PSA, More | Playbill

Industry News In the News: Orfeh and Andy Karl Acquire Rights to Murder Mystery The Dancer, John Cameron Mitchell Featured in New Poll Worker PSA, More Plus: Watch Tony winners Mark Rylance, Eddie Redmayne, and Frank Langella in the trailer for The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Orfeh and Andy Karl Joseph Marzullo/WENN

Read on for some recent theatre headlines and videos you may have missed.

Andy Karl and Orfeh Acquire Rights to Murder Mystery The Dancer
Tony-nominated actors and married couple Andy Karl and Orfeh, who most recently shared the stage in the Broadway musical Pretty Woman, have acquired the rights to Eric Bernat’s novel The Dancer, according to Deadline. The 2016 murder mystery, set in New York City in 1985 during the burgeoning AIDS epidemic, follows a dancer named Joey who must prove his innocence after discovering a murder victim. The deal is the couple's first with Michael Moore Agency and Kevin Pope.

Drama League Accepting Applications for Fellowships and Residencies
The Drama League is now accepting applications for its 2021 fellowship and residency opportunities, aimed at new and mid-career stage directors. The available programs are the Classical Directing Fellowship (in partnership with Red Bull Theater), the Hangar Directing Fellowship (in partnership with the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York), the New York Directing Fellowship, the Next Stage Residency (focusing on new works), and the Beatrice Terry Residency for Womxn Writer-Directors. Christian Avila, Jasmine B. Gunter, and Nicholas Polonio have already been named Hangar Fellows for the 2021 class, and two other programs have selected participants: Leo Shull Musical Directing Fellow Sivan Battat and Public Works Directing Fellow Tayana-Marie Carlo. Each fellowship offers stipends, networking opportunities, skill acquisition, mentorship, creative development, and administrative support. Applications are open at DramaLeague.org until January 4 at noon ET.

John Cameron Mitchell and Spread The Vote Release PSA
The #WorkThePolls campaign from Spread The Vote dropped a new PSA September 18, featuring Hedwig and the Angry Inch star John Cameron Mitchell’s recent single “New American Dream.” The PSA is directed by Robin Frohardt to motivate young people to become poll workers in the upcoming election. “These incredible talents put so much creativity and upbeat humor into their videos, and we believe people will find them fun and inspiring—and we hope they will particularly inspire young people during this most vital election process,” said Kat Calvin, founder and executive director of Spread The Vote. Check out the video below.

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Anthony Veneziale, Aneesa Folds, Arthur Lewis, James Monroe Iglehart, and Chris Sullivan in Freestyle Love Supreme Joan Marcus

Freestyle Love Supreme Academy Outlines Fall Virtual Classes
Freestyle Love Supreme, the improv troupe founded by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Anthony Veneziale, kicks off a three-month fall season October 2 with a virtual FLS Academy showcase and educational hip hop weekend for kids called Hip Hop Homeroom, plus three introductory courses aiming to bring more adults into the creative improv community. FLS Academy is the first freestyle school created and run by FLS members, including teachers and guest facilitators, in partnership with long-time FLS producers Kail, Miranda, Ars Nova founders Jenny and Jon Steingart, and Hamilton co-producer Jill Furman. Current teachers include freestyle facilitators Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan, Tarik R. “Tardis Hardaway” Davis, Andrew “Jelly Donut” Bancroft, and Aneesa “Young Nees” Folds. For more information, click here.

IAMA's Virtual Season
The Los Angeles-based IAMA Theatre Company will present four new solo shows digitally in its 2020–2021 season. Each will be performed live on stage for a multi-week run and launch to stream at reserved dates and times. The virtual season will first begin October 22 with the company's free New Works Festival, in which six new plays will receive readings over four days. The four subsequent solo pieces, each performed by their respective writer, are Tom Detrinis' Making Friends (December 11–January 17, 2021); a repertory presentation of Anna LaMadrid's The Oxy Complex, directed by Michelle Bossy and an untitled project from Sheila Carrasco, directed by Margaux Susi (February 19–March 28); and Brandon Kyle Goodman's The Latrell Show, helmed by Co-Artistic Director Stefanie Black (April 30–June 6).

“At IAMA, we look toward the future by elevating voices that need to be heard to promote change in our world," say Black and fellow Co-Artistic Director Katie Lowes. "By supporting a season of virtual solo performance workshop productions, we are proclaiming that the road to change and transformation deserves a spotlight. Let’s illuminate this path together by supporting ‘essential’ and diverse voices as they break down the walls of isolation and encourage connection and community.”

Watch Tony Winners Mark Rylance, Eddie Redmayne, Frank Langella, More in Trailer for The Trial of the Chicago 7
The true story of the seven men put on trial in 1969 for conspiracy against the U.S. government in their attempts to protest the Vietnam War is coming to the screen. Check out the cast—including Tony winners Mark Rylance, Eddie Redmayne, Frank Langella, and Alex Sharp—in action below. Joining the trio are Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeremy Strong, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Michael Keaton, and John Carroll Lynch. The previously announced film is the latest project from director-writer Aaron Sorkin, who penned the 2018 Broadway adaptation of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird.

Production Photos: Freestyle Love Supreme on Broadway

 
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