Stage Banter: The Arena Stage Blog

A Buzz Worthy Stick Fly Salon

by Janine Sobeck

 It's that time again!  The Salon for Stick Fly is this upcoming Monday, February 1st. Starting at 7:00 pm in the Crystal City Theatre, this Salon will focus on the topics of education, wealth and privilege in the Black community.  This engaging and thought provoking discussion will be lead by our special panel of guests, including Arlington Chief Judge William T. Newman, Pamela Pinnock from Busboys and Poets, "Jack and Jill mom" Deboray Henry, and Mickey Thompson from Social Sightings. 

The event is FREE and open to the public.  To reserve your seats, please contact the Arena Stage Box Office at (202) 488-3300.  

Hope to see you there!

Congrats to our Helen Hayes Award Nominees!

We just wanted to take a moment to congratulate the artists from Arena Stage who have been nominated for a Helen Hayes Award:

Outstanding Director, Resident Musical: Amanda Dehnert, The Fantasticks

Outstanding Director, Resident Play: Lisa Peterson, The Quality of Life

Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical: E. Faye Butler, Crowns

Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play: Valerie Harper, Looped

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical: Nate Dendy, The Fantasticks

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical: Laurence O'Dwyer, The Fantasticks

Outstanding Resident Musical: Crowns

Outstanding Resident Musical: The Fantasticks

Outstanding Resident Play: The Quality of Life

The Canadian Embassy Award for Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Musical: Crowns

The Canadian Embassy Award for Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play: The Quality of Life

We're proud of all of you!

The Gospel Truth with Marva Hicks

Arena Stage in partnership with Howard University present the workshop presentation of

Gospel Truth
Starring Marva Hicks
By Pearl Cleage and Marva Hicks
Musical Director and Original Music By e'Marcus Harper
Directed by Denise Burse-Fernandez

Join Arena favorite and Howard University alum Marva Hicks as she traces her life through Gospel music. Watch her start as a young girl in rural Virginia and become the Broadway and Hollywood sensation that she is today. Hear some of your favorite Gospel pieces and learn that all things are possible

Presented at Howard University's Ira Aldridge Theater January 30, 2010 at 8:30 PM.

Please RSVP to the Arena Stage box office at 202-488-3300. General seating and free admission.

Directions: The Ira Aldridge Theater is on 6th Street above Howard Drive. Drive past the Cramtom Auditorium, then turn right into the drive (you'll see a guard booth). Parking is available in the lot behind the theater.

Some Light on the Piazza

by David Dower

As the buzz around Stick Fly continues to build, we're also moving into full production mode on The Light in the Piazza.

Casting was recently announced. A whole bevy of Broadway performers joins a bevy of DC actors and musicians on this production. That's Hollis Resnik, our Margaret.

Earlier this week Janine Sobeck, our Literary Manager, interviewed director Molly Smith in what's become a standard practice in our production schedule: The "Page One" meeting. These meetings are an early opportunity for the whole staff at Arena to hear from the artists at the helm of our productions-- about their vision, their priorities, and their passion for the piece we are all about to produce together. Molly expressed her vision in terms of "compression"-- she's hoping to make the audience viscerally experience the compressed timeframe and heightened passions of the story.

Even those who have seen the musical may have missed the sense that it all takes place in a single week! The love story at the center, and the swirling emotions it evokes in everyone concerned, ignites and reaches its fever pitch over the course of a few days. Molly's hope is that we create a production that sweeps the audience into that sense of urgency and breathlessness-- life altering decisions having to be made on a dime. Love overwhelms in this play. What would you do if it struck you with this much force?

Telling their stories: Black Playwrights at Arena Stage

by Janine Sobeck

This weekend was, well, somewhat awe-inspiring.  As part of the American Voices New Play Institute, Arena hosted (with Georgetown University) a convening for Black Playwrights that was specifically focused on the stories that are being told: in their plays, in their lives, and in the field.  

 

 We've started to chronicle some of the main themes, ideas, suggestions and highlites from the weekend over at the Institute blog - and there's still a lot more to come.  You can check it all out HERE.

The final part of the convening was a public performance of new works by 6 of these playwrights (Lydia Diamond, Paul Anthony Notice, Rha Goddess, Daniel Beaty, Katori Hall and Marcus Gardley).  If you were at the event, or watched it on the livestream, we'd love to hear about your experience.  The comment box is open!

 

 

Stick Fly Salon: Monday, February 1st.

If you are like most of the audience at Stick Fly,the performance left you buzzing and wanting to keep the discussion going. Join us in the Crystal City theater on Monday, February 1st to talk about it.  We'll have Arena artistic staff and guests from the audience to keep the conversation lively, but mostly we're making a space for you to share your thoughts with others still abuzz.

The conversation kicks off at 7pm in the same theater as the performances.

Lydia Diamond speaks

by Janine Sobeck

Stick Fly's playwright Lydia Diamond has been everywhere this past weekend.  Other than the Black Playwright's convening where she read from her new play (more on the whole event is coming, I promise), Lydia also talked with NPR and DC Theatre Scene about Arena's production of Stick Fly.  If you missed either one, then check them out.  Trust me, Lydia is so delightful, you're not going to want to miss a word.

 
  

Don't Forget - Black Playwrights convening this weekend!

by Janine Sobeck

So we're all pretty excited about the gathering of some of the leading black playwrights in America that will be happening this weekend as part of the American Voices New Play Institute.  If you haven't already RSVPed for the public portion Sunday night - where 6 of the playwrights (including Stick Fly's Lydia Diamond) will be reading from there new work, plus a Q&A session with all the participants - then make sure you get your name on the list because seats are going FAST.  Click HERE for full info on the event and how to RSVP.  See you on Sunday night!

Allen Lee Hughes: The Perfect Eponym

By Christin Siems, Dramaturgy/Literary Management Fellow

Everything in Washington is named for somebody important.  The buildings, the turnpikes, the bridges... pretty much anything impressive or useful in this city is named for someone whose importance and influence exceeded their lifetime.  Because usually these people are dead.  Not always.  But usually.  Sometimes I feel like DC is this giant mausoleum of important people, and my morbid side kinda likes it.

I came to DC last August for an Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship at Arena Stage, but have only recently gained understanding of the eponym that employs me.  I was, first of all, surprised to learn that Allen Lee Hughes is alive and well.  In fact, Allen Lee Hughes is more alive and well than most people I have met, and his importance is found in a history richly connected with Arena's own.

Last week, my fellow fellows and I had coffee and doughnuts with the namesake of our fellowship and found that, despite his importance, Allen Lee Hughes is a self-made man.  Allen first found employment at Arena Stage years and years ago (he wouldn't say how old he was, but hinted that "two dollars and fifty cents" was an exciting wage back in his day).  Contrary to the belief of Arena's founder, Zelda Fichandler, Allen was not an intern.  He worked his way up from the "scrub jobs" (his description of the various tasks such as theatre changeovers) and eventually became a Tony-nominated lighting designer, and one of Arena's very best.  In fact, he most recently designed the lights for Stick Fly which opened to a delighted audience last week.

My favorite part of our time with Allen was listening to him describe how he designed a sunrise for K2, Arena's 1982 production for which he won a Tony nomination.  He also demonstrated his mentorship skills by encouraging us to set high-achieving, but realistic, goals.  He told us how he gave himself ten years to become a professional lighting designer, and then he did it in three.  I'm telling ya, the man is impressive.

 

Arena's 1982 production of K2 

The Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship was originally created to give opportunity to minorities in the theatre and now seeks to "cultivate the next generation of theatre professionals by providing the highest standard of training through immersion in the art and business of producing theatre."  Allen Lee Hughes exemplifies the artistic drive, strong work ethic, curiosity, and perseverance that Arena Stage is looking to foster in the next generation.  And for that, he's the perfect eponym.

(The application deadline is April 1st for the season fellowships, and March 1st for the summer internships.)

 

Citizen Reviews: Stick Fly (Buzz Buzz Buzz)

by David Dower

We had a great opening weekend at the Crystal City space with Lydia Diamond's Stick Fly. The atmosphere in the theater is pretty electric.

And people are talking about it everywhere, which is very cool.

Go to Goldstarevents.com and look up the show. You'll see a bunch of glowing reports.

There are people writing about it at WashingtonPost.com as well.

Do a search on Twitter for "Stick Fly" Arena and you'll see another whole group of people discussing it.

What do you think of the show? Leave us your review here!