While most of the theatrical world is concentrating on the Tony Awards June 3, Lark Theatre Company will be thinking about the future of the art. The Off-Broadway theatre collective kicks off their Playwrights Week reading series that day with a special talk entitled "The Happy Collaboration" to be moderated by bookwriter and playwright Arthur Kopit.
In the week following this discussion of the playwright-director working relationship, the Lark will host staged readings of several up-and-coming playwrights. Among the works:
June 6: Day of the Kings by Daphne Greaves, a political tale of Cuba's best doctor, a woman disguised as a man, who plies her trade during the 1820's slave uprisings, directed by Steven Williford
June 7: Old Woman Flying by Susan Johnson, tracing four generations of West Virginia women, directed by Melanie Martin Long, and A Breath Short of Breathing by Zachary Berkman, a comedy about three siblings abandoned by their parents at a matinee of Cats, directed by Larry Geddes
June 8: Guy Stuff by Rich Orloff, a coming-of-age comedy about a college grad who moves in with a couple of beer fiends to learn about being a man, directed by James Ashcraft and Blackout by Lance Crowfoot-Suede, which describes an Orthodox Jewish family's crisis of faith, directed by Derek Jamison
June 9: Fuente by Cusi Cram, a young man searches for a mythical Latin American town, directed by Alejandra Lopez Kluger, and Bromius Beaujolais by David Rosenthal, in which the god Bacchus returns to earth as a wine industry executive, directed by Giovanna Sardelli
June 10: Happy New Century, Dr. Feud by Sabina Berman, translated by Kirsten F. Nigro, an examination of what happens when Freud faces off against his famous patient Dora, and Now Dig This...The Terry Southern Show by Charles Pike, a celebration of "Dr. Strangelove" author Southern, directed by Scott Vehill
There is a $10 suggested donation at each reading. The Lark Studio is located at 939 Eighth Avenue between 55th and 56th Streets. For reservations, call (212) 246-2676.
— By Christine Ehren
