STAGES REPERTORY THEATRE
www.stagestheatre.com
Presents
RECENT TRAGIC EVENTS
October 1 - 26, 2003
Arena Theatre
(L-R) Shelley Calene-Black, Brian Byrnes, Elena Coates, Jason Douglas star in RECENT TRAGIC EVENTS by Craig Wright,
a play about the September 11th Tragedy. Photo by Bruce Bennett.
REGIONAL PREMIERE OF AWARD-WINNING
RECENT TRAGIC EVENTS OPENS STAGES' 25TH SEASON
Craig Wright play gives new meaning to "put a sock in it"
HOUSTON, TX - What would an advertising executive, a bookstore
manager, a musician, and a world-renowned author - who is represented on
stage by a sock puppet - have to say about September 11? Recent Tragic
Events, playwright Craig Wright's sublime and surprisingly funny response
to September 11th, answers that question and poses many others in its
exploration of how this group of ordinary people in Minneapolis, MN, responded to that
extraordinary day. Winner of the 2003 American Theatre Critics / Steinberg
New Play Commemorative Citation, the 2003 Humana Festival of New American
Plays, and nominated for the Helen Hayes/Charles MacArthur Award for
Outstanding New Play, Recent Tragic Events runs in Stages' Arena Theater
October 1 - 26, 2003.
"One of my favorite John Lennon lyrics is 'life is what happens to you
while you're busy making other plans,'" said Rob Bundy, Stages'
artistic director and the director of Recent Tragic Events. "September 11 is what
happened to all of us while we were making other plans, and Craig has
wisely chosen this as an even playing field to explore issues of chance and
choice. His wit, his humor, his playfulness, makes for a simultaneously unsettling
and hilarious evening in the theatre."
Clockwise from top left: Brian Byrnes, Elena Coates, Jason Douglas, and Shelley Calene-Black in RECENT TRAGIC EVENTS by Craig Wright,
a play about the September 11th Tragedy. Photo by Bruce Bennett.
Wright wrote Recent Tragic Events while in Houston for the
opening of The Pavilion at Stages in October 2001. The play was deemed "poignant,
thought-provoking" by Variety and "everything good theatre is about... the
quintessential example of a captivating piece of art that inspires,
provokes, and lingers" by Cultureflux. Recent Tragic Events had a reading
in New York in November 2001 under Rob Bundy's direction, made its world
premiere at Woolly Mammoth in Washington, DC, in 2002, and opened at
Playwrights Horizons in New York on September 5 of this year. Wright lives
in Los Angeles, and is a writer for the HBO series "Six Feet Under." He
has received playwriting fellowships from the McKnight Foundation and the
National Endowment for the Arts, and is the author of Orange Flower Water,
John Dory, and Molly's Delicious.
Tickets for preview performances are $20 - $25; tickets for
regular performances are $25 - $35, with group rates and senior / student discounts
available. For more information or to make a reservation, please call the
Box Office at 713-527-0123. Window hours are 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM Monday -
Saturday, and Sundays from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM. On other performance days,
the Box Office remains open until curtain time.
Foreground L-R: Brian Byrnes, Elena Coates; Background L-R: Shelley Calene-Black, Jason Douglas in RECENT TRAGIC EVENTS by Craig Wright,
a play about the September 11th Tragedy. Photo by Bruce Bennett.
The regional premiere of Recent Tragic Events builds upon
Stages' reputation as an innovative theatre that inspires a vital engagement with
its audiences. Now entering its 25th season, Stages has introduced world,
national and regional premieres of innovative contemporary plays to
audiences in Houston and surrounding areas. Stages is a member of the
Fresh Arts Coalition, a collaboration of 15 arts organizations that work
collectively to raise awareness of the size and diversity of the arts in
Houston, and a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the
national service organization for not-for-profit theatres. Stages operates
under an agreement with Actor's Equity Association (AEA), the union of
professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
STAGES REPERTORY THEATRE FACT SHEET
MAINSTAGE: RECENT TRAGIC EVENTS by Craig Wright
DIRECTOR: Rob Bundy
CAST:
Waverly…………………..Elena Coates
Andrew …………………..Brian Byrnes
Ron……………………… Jason Douglas
Nancy / Joyce……. Shelley Calene-Black
L-R: Jason Douglas, Brian Byrnes, Shelley Calene-Black in RECENT TRAGIC EVENTS by Craig Wright,
a play about the September 11th Tragedy. Photo by Bruce Bennett.
PRODUCTION:
Scenic Design……………..…… Tom Boyd
Lighting Design……….……. David Gipson
Sound Design……………… Matt Crawford
Costume Design…………….. Janet Harreld
Properties Design……….… Jodi Bobrovsky
Assistant Director ……….…Randy Symank
Production Stage Manager……. Karen Mata
DATES:
Previews: Wednesday, October 1 and Thursday, October 2, 2003
Opening: Friday, October 3, 2003
Close: Sunday, October 26, 2003
TIMES: Opening Night: 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday and Thursday: 7:30 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 8:00 p.m.
Sunday: 3:00 p.m.
TICKETS: Previews: $20 - $25 (October 1 & 2, 2003)
Regular: $25 - $35
DISCOUNTS: Students: $10 day of show Wed/Thurs/Sun.,
$15 day of show Fri/Sat
Senior: $15 & $20 Preview; $20 - $25 Wed/Thurs/Sun; $25 & $30 Fri/Sat
Group Discounts available. Call the Box Office for more information.
BOX OFFICE: 713.527.0123
3201 Allen
Parkway at Waugh Drive
Tickets available online at www.stagestheatre.com